Archive for May 10th, 2011

What We Learned From Prem Week 36


I Did It My Way… But There’s No I In Team

This was the week when Man U finally sealed the title. As if they hadn’t sealed it before. The terrifying thing about this season is that this is still possibly the least good Man U team in Prem history (they’ve lost to Chelski, Man City and Arsenal not to mention Wolves this season and were there for the taking for much of the early months), with fewer standout, big name players, but in the last few months they’ve undoubtedly begun to gel.

Unlike previous Man U sides, this is a team that is very much more than the sum of its parts with a great attitude, which could win an amazing double and you sense that they’re only beginning to get into their stride. The watershed moment was undoubtedly the Rooney inspired comeback at West Ham. At half time they were 2 – 0 down, by the end they were comfortable winners. Sure they’ll need a new goalie, but you can expect them to buy big (and probably buy a second, reserve keeper too) and they’ll certainly have to reinforce the midfield.

But the strength of the side is evident when you play the swopping game – who of this team would you swap for another team, for members of your team to make the side better? The first team defence Van Der Saar, Evra, Ferdinand, Vidic and Raphael/Fabio stays the same with Smalling coming along nicely, as does the Valencia, Rooney, Nani/Giggs, Hernandez attack, it’s only the midfield where you feel they’re inadequately served, with either ageing players like Scholes, water carriers like Park and Fletcher (vital but easily improved on), or inadequates like Gibson, Anderson and Carrick. Certainly it’s where they lost the battle against Man City and Arsenal.

Yet how many other Prem midfielders would be shoo-ins? On this year’s form precious few – Silva and Yaya Toure from Man City? Great game changing players, yet they’ve not really pulled up many trees. Wilshire but not Song from Arsenal? Modric from Spurs? Anyone from Chelski? Liverpool? Not for the midfield. Not this year. You could argue Dirty Suarez  or possibly Van Persie instead of Hernandez, but that seems to be simply replacing like for like for the sake of it. After that you’re really into crazy gambling territory. You play the game with other teams this season and you find yourself making wholesale changes – like who do you keep from the Arsenal defence?

Chelski show that their mid-season slump wasn’t just a slip up and was something a little more serious. They have an ageing squad that seems to have lost its way, with an inadequate wellspring of youth to come through. Like the post-Makelele Galactico Real Madrid they are the exact opposite of Man U, a team of stars that is somehow suddenly less than the sum of its parts. They need a clear explanation for their total mid-season slump and an injection of new life and vitality – the kind of kick up the arse that Liverpool have had this year.

Arsenal have been found wanting again (and again) this season. It’s hard to say which is the more remarkable, that Arsenal have yet again managed to mess up a potentially title winning position or that they were actually in that position to start with. Wenger continues to damn his side (and with it his philosophy) with ever fainter praise. Apparently now third would be an achievement, a far cry from that quadruple people were talking about only a few months ago. But, the Man U match aside, it’s been a dramatic crash and burn for the Arse since they blew the Carling Cup.

And yes, Wenger’s right in a way, third is some kind of an achievement, it’s what looked great at the end of September, but it’s so much less than they promised. Unlike Man U there are no selfless engines in this side, nor does there appear to be a driving, winning mentality anywhere to be seen. How they would like an unselfish, fully committed player like Man U’s Park instead of insipid second string whining dilettantes like Arshavin and Bendtner.

This is now a critical off-season for them. How will Wenger adapt? Because it’s clearer than ever that this side is missing something(s). Simply letting them become a year older as seems to have been the case for the last couple of seasons clearly isn’t going to reap the necessary benefits. He will have to do something about their performance anxiety not least in the ‘little’ games where they seem perpetually not up for it. For the first time in ages the issue of whether Fabregas goes to Barcelona will not be the most important thing happening to Arsenal in the close season.

That coming in third actually is an achievement is reinforced by Spurs, who won’t even come in fourth (or possibly fifth if they’re really unlucky). A side that many claimed was the ‘best squad in the Prem’ has significantly failed to emulate the achievements of last season despite having what can only be described as ‘a good cup run’. Clearly the Big Cup was a step too far too fast for ‘Appy ‘Arry and his lovely boys. Like Arsenal they’ve taken defeat to heart and haven’t been the same since they were beasted by Real Madrid (who themselves have been left smarting by Barcelona), and it’s easy to feel that the players felt that the rest of the season was an anticlimax. Still with the slow rise of Man City and the apparent resurgence of Loserpool RedSox, Spurs could be out of Europe for a generation.

And with no Big Cup action, either next season or more worryingly ever, what price the likes of Bale, Modric or even Van Der Vaart hanging around if top Champions League clubs come a-calling? Being Welsh Bale is never going to do well internationally (no Euros or World Cups for him), so his real pinnacle has to be Big Cup. This close season is his window, certainly he won’t enhance his value or desirability by playing a non-Big Cup season in a Prem that fundamentally isn’t watched by the big European teams. Sure he’s taken advantage by negotiating a new deal, so if no one comes for him he’s done alright, but right now he can’t lose by being open to offers/opportunities. And that’s got to be a worry.

Spurs need to address pretty much all areas of their side, not least a hugely expensive attacking lineup that simply hasn’t delivered, either as a consequence of the changes necessary to accommodate Van Der Vaart (Crouch and Defoe) or through sheer lack of skill/application (taxi for Pavlyuchenko and Keane). Plus there’s a bloody great hole in the defence. Spurs’ first choice of Gomes, Ledley King and Woodgate leak goals and lack basic fitness. You have to feel that having both permacrocks King and Woodgate on the same payroll is one of those financial cesspits that only really stupid people sign up to. One Owen Hargreaves or Vermaelen is unlucky, two or more smack of carelessness.

Man City are playing it as cool as you can when you’ve got an economy of petrodollars and an ambition the size of the planet behind you. They will comfortably achieve their goal of fourth and probably win the FA Cup (a nice little bauble bonus), while cementing their place in the big four. Their most impressive moment to date has been the FA semi final against Man U, where they turned the screw on their opponents and ended up dominating the game. They manage the difficult feat of looking almost impossible to beat while being relatively toothless up front. Expect big changes here too with Tevez looking to make another fast buck by jumping ship and a whole swathe of new faces attracted by both the Big Cup and the billions on offer.

Games

Man U sealed the championship with an authoritative win over Chelski, who were comfortably outthought and outplayed from minute 1. Looking back on Man U’s last week or so (victory over Schalke, loss to Arsenal, victory over Schalke, victory over Chelski), you have to feel that the Arsenal game was the one that Fergie felt fairly relaxed over losing. Sure they were outplayed by Arsenal, but if you had to lose one of those four matches, the Arsenal one was the one that had the least impact. Chelski will be left wondering how they transformed a brilliant run of form into one of the most inept displays we’ve seen at Old Trafford since Fat Sam Allerdiché last brought one of his supine rollover sides here.

Arsenal showed that they really have mentally capitulated this season by being overrun by Stoke. This was a comprehensive win for the purveyors of humiliating anti-football, who outthought and outplayed the supposed masters of technique and ‘proper’ football. One of these sides still has something to play for this season and it doesn’t appear to be the team from North London. It’s a bit touch and go who played the most cowardly football, Chelski or Arsenal.

Man City did their best to inject a small amount of tension into the hugely uninspiring Race for Fourth by being overwhelmed by Everton, not that you would have given Everton any credit in the first half. Rather like City themselves did in their FA Cup semi final, Everton soaked up a lot of pressure, conceding a goal, before pulling themselves back in the second half.

Tottingham then failed to add to the tension by only managing a dour draw with Blackpool, a result that suits neither club. Six points behind with just three games to play, one of which is against Man City, Tottingham are all but mathematically out of the Big Four unless they win against City. Despite playing some nice football, neither side appeared to want to seize the game and go for the win.

Not wanting to be left out of the upcoming Race for Europa/Fifth, Loserpool RedSox continued their excellent end of season run by absolutely stuffing a pretty poor Fulham. Another hattrick for previously useless footballer Maxi and another outstanding performance from Champion Cheat Dirty Suarez. In an interesting quirk of fate Loserpool’s next match is against Tottingham – the Race for Fifth decider! Who will drop out of the Europa Cup places? Does either team actually care?

Not wanting to be dropped out of the Prem, a partially resurgent Wolves did for their local rivals West Brom Lovely Boys. One of those inexplicable matches where a side is somehow comprehensively beaten with ease for no discernible reason. Uncle Wroy was left scrunching his face in the manner he made popular at Loserpool earlier this season.

None of which will be good news for West Ham, who barely scraped a draw with Blackburn, where both sides really needed the win, or Wigan, who only drew with Villa. This left Wolves out of the bottom three for the first time in an age. Oh and it’s West Ham v Wigan at the weekend. That’s what they call a six point £40million match.

Midtable mediocrity awaits both Bolton and Sunderland, neither of whom have anything worth playing for and who accompany that with pretty poor form. Stunningly Sunderland actually managed to win a game.

Flirting a little too close to the relegation zone (they can’t be relegated with 39 points surely) Birmingham managed to add a bit of squeak to their season by losing to Newcastle. They can’t be relegated this season can they? Surely not? Still always worth hoping for.

Rob Green Save Of The Day

Some of Mark Schwarzer‘s attempts against Loserpool were thoroughly shocking, and Petr Cech had a bit of a nightmare against Man U, but the winner for the second week is Tottingham’s Hilarious Gomes, who managed to first save a penalty before immediately going a bit walkabout mental and conceding a second one, which he let in to allow Blackpool back into the match and effectively give up on the Race for Fourth. That’s six points in two games and that’s the end of Big Cup football down at the Lane.