Eden Hazard was fantastic in the opening fixtures
Stephen Kirwan
Sports Writer
The aftermath of the first weekend of the Premier League season is a period notoriously home to the phenomenon of the overreaction. The new season has yet to find any pattern yet invariably after a few short weeks players find themselves to be held out as a managerial masterstroke or consigned to the ridicule from the terraces. Financially undernourished and newly promoted clubs who have threadbare squads not yet plagued by injury can make an impact against bigger, seasoned clubs who correctly treat the season as a marathon rather than a sprint. The transfer window has not yet closed, and those big, season-affecting purchases have often not yet been made or even realised. Inevitably, however, the season progresses. Clubs with finances assert their dominance by the end of the season. Players like Peter Odemwinge look like world beaters. But for that brief moment the organised chaos of the early season makes things much less predictable, here are the odds are the games for the opening week of the premier league – and you can see, even the bookies are all over the place.
Despite this reality, knee-jerk reactions are habitually made by boards, chairmen and fans after one or two games based, almost always, on nothing concrete. Managers and players alike have too often lived or died on the same fickle assumption. One win means a season of triumph, one loss a season of despair. It is uniquely fascinating phenomenon.
Given the brilliant summer of sport, there was something of a lethargic feeling about the Premier League starting all over again. That quickly changed. With about five minutes of the first half of the first day to go, and with only two top-flight goals on the tally, it was tempting to join in with the collective consensus. Two 5-0’s, two sending’s off and four penalties and the overreaction could finally begin to kick in. So what have we learned and what should we look out for the coming weeks? Here are some features of the opening week which may prove to be interesting topics of conversation in the coming weeks.
Same old Arsenal?
The lion’s share of possession and 23 attempts on goal. The stats are depressingly familiar from an Arsenal perspective and appear to tell the same old story of a side dominating the tie but failing to capitalise on this control at key times. Despite a hive of transfer activity by Wenger a limp 0-0 draw with an admittedly resurgent Sunderland side, will do little to appease Gunners fans who will no doubt be wondering whether inconsistency against arguably weaker sides will cost them again this season
There was clearly an expectation on Arsenal to win this game in the familaiar fluid and beautiful style which they possess. The Gunners hoped that the new signings and the increasing maturity of more recent Arsenal sides would help prove to the world that importance of showing that faith in Wenger as a manager far exceeds the individual ability of any those players who have left Arsenal over the past five years. However just as screaming teens are inevitable at a Jedward concert, the conclusion of Arsenal’s first Premier League game of the season has been met with a predictable deluge of responses, speculations and sweeping conclusions based on our prior knowledge.
This game was intriguing for a number of reasons. The first sign of encouragement was Arsenal’s domination in the middle of the park. The departure of Alex Song to Barcelona is surely a cause to panic, but the Arsenal midfield was distinctly resolute particularly in central areas. Abou Diaby looked surprisingly good as a box-to-box midfielder. Arteta was also fascinating to watch. While Arteta made surprisingly few tackles compared to traditional defensive midfielders he thrived in this position by admirably protecting the back four and provided chances. Arsenal were slightly more disappointing in wider areas with Theo Walcott and his eventual replacement Andrey Arshavin failing to capitalise on their supremacy. The midfield will prove key for Arsenal in the coming games given the well mooted defensive frailties contained in the current side and it will be interesting to see whether the re-introduction of Jack Wishire and Oxalade-Chamberlain into the set-up could shift the dynamic of the team this season.
Arsenal’s attack, for example, has immediately been identified as a weakness within the team, and a possible barrier to success, because the team failed to score in their game over the weekend. Despite the inaccuracies of both Podolski and the chance for substitute Olivier Giroud there were signs that the new signings could prove astute purchases given more time to integrate into the side particularly if they can re-discover some of their previous form.
What Gunners will undoubtedly take away from the game however the dominance with which Santi Carazola played. Cazorla managed to look as assured in the deep-lying forward position and was energetic for the entire game. His creation of a guild edge chance for Giroud towards the end of the second half was certianly encoraging from an Arsenal perspective given that he coped admirably with the physicality of the English game.
Liverpool: Picking up where they left off?
Jokes about amendments to 150 page dossiers and over-inflated Scouser expectations aside, an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to West Brom will certainly herald the end of a brief honeymoon period for Brendan Rodgers. The result is particularly worrying given that three of the next four League games feature Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs.
Parallels will of course be drawn with King Kenny’s ill-fated reign given the comprehensive nature of the scoreline, a point Liverpool fans will be quick to point out to the owners should the results continue in this vein for the rest of the campagin. Surprisingly however it was the one of the shining lights, Steven Gerrard, who appeared to be the weakest link in the new system. The captain’s pass completion rate, a badge of honour for Gerrard in seasons past, was the lowest of any outfield player in a red shirt. This is particularly disappointing from a Liverpool perspective given the quality of his displays for England during the Euros.
Liverpool played well for an hour, until Daniel Agger was shown a straight red card. From then on the team lost their shape and the defence lost their composure. The necessity for strict defensive discipline is vital when playing with ten men. This is particularly the case given the tendency of such systems to be out-numbered in midfield, and this proved to be so. Instead of bolstering the midfield, Rodgers continued to encourage Johnson and Martin Kelly to press down the wings leaving large gaps high up the pitch. With Jamie Carragher replacing Stewart Downing, the already stretched back-line lacked the pace to stop either substitute Romelu Lukaku or Peter Odemweinge from controlling the game up-front. Luis Suarez looked dangerous for Liverpool but similar to last season failed too often to turn decent opportunities into goals. The entire burden of scoring goals appeared, as it did last season, to fall on Luis Suarez and the anonymous nature of Borini’s Premiership debut will surely worry even the most ardent ‘Kopite’.
These failings aside, Joe Allen looked comfortable both on the ball and in creating chances providing a commendable performance that Liverpool will hope to build on. Clearly it will take time for Rodgers to implement his ideas and with an average pass accuracy of 89% notwithstanding Gerrard’s sub-par performance; there is still a prospect of an Anfield revival. Supporters will hope that this result proves to be an anomalous one and will surely be hoping that potential arrival of Clint Dempsey will add some much needed firepower upfront. On the basis of the West Brom result Rodgers will also have to stregthen defensively in order to improve on last season’s 8th place finish, the Pools worst in 18 years.
City’s Tactics
When Sky Sports were advertising the first Super Sunday even football enthusiasts could have been excused for not believing the hype. With seasoned football watchers struggling to pick out more than a handful of those Saints players from the starting XI and with Rickie Lambert, the only household name, sitting on the bench it’s fair to say that this clash looked less like a clash of the titans and more like an inevitable massacre from Tevez et al. We all should have known better.
While many points can be taken from the game, the most important being how the injury to Aguero will shift the dynamic for the thousands competing in this year’s Fantasy Football league; the intricacies of City’s tactical set-up offer an interesting insight into what we might expect for the season ahead. Roberto Mancini provided great tactical interest in the pre-season by lining City up in an experimental 3-4-1-2 formation. Last season, there was never a true consensus on what City’s first-choice formation was. Most games seemed to be structured around some variation of 4-4-2. David Silva and Samir Nasri would come inside from the flanks, and the forwards generally worked as a duo. In exceptional encounters Mancini’s alternative was to employ a 4-2-3-1 in which two holding midfielders were employed as ball-winning midfielders with Yaya Toure utilised as an attacking midfielder.
A three-man defense would at first glance appear to suit a team with the attacking prowess of City. The weakness of the 3-5-2, given the tendency of both Nasri and Silva to play in advanced roles higher up the pitch, is that both wings could be exposed leaving the central players under pressure when not in possession of the ball. This was the case in the Community Shield the concession of two soft goals was a big cause of concern. City’s reversion to a 4-4-2 against Southampton perhaps makes the idea of a permanent tactical shift moot for now. While playing with a three man defense still offers an intriguing Plan B for City’s title defense it is surely bound to fail if it hinges on Jack Rodwell who will need to improve if he is to cement a starting position for the season. Even with the absence of a striker with Aguero’s quality, City’s depth will be the envy of the rest of the league.
Chelsea: the great-entertainers?
The other half of Super-Sunday proved to be a much more pedestrian affair which Chelsea establishing their title credentials with a routine win over an average Wigan side. However, Chelsea proved in patches how they have the potential to become the entertainers for whom Roman Abramovich has always pined. With the possibility of Victor Moses, Hulk and Cavani still to come to the Bridge, Roberto Di Matteo’s biggest problem could be accommodating this array of talent into a cohesive team structure. While there is no doubt that such signings would have suited AVB’s aim of high pressing and fluid attacking movement, one can’t help but feel that Di Matteo’s cautious approach may limit Chelsea in living up to its billing. The Wigan game is an indication that Di Matteo’s side can live up to this expectation but there are still reasons to remain skeptical.
The performance of £30 million-man Eden Hazard will be of particular delight to Chelsea fans. He showed in the first seven minutes why exactly he is touted as being one of the Premierships signings of the season, playing a defense-splitting pass to Ivanovic for the first goal and winning a penalty for the second. Hazard’s positioning throughout the fixture was particularly made his impact even more impressive. While playing with Lille, Hazard was notorious for his ability as an explosive winger, but was also noted for his ability to cut inside opponents at pace, a trait normally associated with central attacking players.
Hazard essentially started in this central role alongside Juan Mata in a 4-3-3, with both players gravitating to the right of Fernando Torres. Notably the intricate interchanging of positions between Mata and Hazard throughout the first half could only have delighted the ever-placid Roberto Di Matteo. There was also a glimpse of Oscar’s capabilities when he appeared as a substitute. Should Di Matteo be able to devise a system to accommodate both Hazard and Oscar, their combination with Juan Mata could prove to be an irresistible force this year. Chelsea played quite defensively in large patches of the game and were put under pressure by a Wigan side who pressed hard for a goal. In truth however this was probably due more to lack of Chelsea concentration as opposed to any great resurgence on Wigan’s behalf.
Chelsea added to their opening game win with an eventful 4-2 win over Great London rivals Reading. Hazard was again supreme in the win and looks set to shine for the near future.
Don’t write Manchester United off
If there is one thing we have learned over the last 20 years, it is to never to read too much into Manchester United’s performances in the first half of the season. While this game appears to be significantly less important this early in the campaign it doesn’t mean that there wasn’t plenty to take from both Everton and United.
United lined out in a largely familiar 4-2-3-1, with Welbeck spearheading the attack and Rooney slotting in behind. The widely criticized central midfield will worry Alex Ferguson. The lack of a physical presence in midfield has been a problem for a few years still remains unaddressed by Ferguson. The inclusion of Shinji Kagawa in the starting line-up did little to ease this problem as Ferguson chose to accommodate the new signing into the team by playing him in his preferred attacking role. This left the defensive midfield pairing of Paul Scholes and Tom Cleverly overrun by the imposing Everton midfield.
However the defence may prove an ongoing issue for United on the basis of Monday’s performance. While Nemanja Vidic played well on his return from injury, the use of Michael Carrick as an emergency centre-back and Antonio Valencia at right back left United’s defensive frailties exposed. It really is impossible to overstate exactly how dominant Fellaini was against the United defence with Everton completing 53 of their total 196 passes to the Belgian. It will be interesting to see whether United now revert to the tried and tested 4-4-2 in order to accommodate Robin Van Persie whose did far too little in his brief cameo as a late substitute to be judged fairly upon.
Best of the rest
Two five-nil wins by sides not tipped by many to make a mark on this year’s league are certainly worth mentioning. While we shouldn’t really be surprised, Fulham look good to maintain or even slightly improve their form in the Premiership that has rightly earned then the plaudits of being the most consistent team in the league. Some have predicted Fulham will struggle this season, particularly if they lose Clint Dempsey to Liverpool, but if this display is anything to go by, Fulham will not miss their talisman from last season particularly if new-signing Milan Petric has anything to say about it. Petric, signed from Hamburg, was in outstanding form scoring two and setting up a third. Alex Kacaniklic, who the Daily Telegraph aptly describe as Fulham’s answer to Kaka, was also in inspiring form moving from the left of midfield to comine well with the Petric upfront. What is clear from this opening performance is that Fulham are capable of playing some lovely football under Martin Jol and it appears the departure of Danny Murphy and the exclusion Dempsey from the line-up has done nothing to change that.
Swansea’s 5-0 drubbing of QPR was another highlight of a fantastic opening weekend. Like Brendan Rodgers and his predecessor Roberto Martinez, Michael Laudrup has dipped into La Liga and has managed to land what appears to be a great bargain in new signing Michu. It was interesting to see that while he played in deeper positions behind lone striker Danny Graham he tended to encourage both Wayne Routledge and Nathan Dyer to get forward instead of creating chances himself. This is unusual for classical attacking midfielders and this will be interesting to see how other sides deal with this side of his game. Although Laudrup will surely be aware of what happened to Blackpool, who also came out all guns blazing two seasons ago, this start will surely give Swansea hope of a successful season ahead.
While the ‘Best League in the World’ mantra may seem more than a little self-aggrandizing and footballers may indeed be over-paid under-worked and generally less likeable then their Olympic compatriots right now we should all be content to simply enjoy this fantastic league and the various exciting twists and turns this season is bound to throw up. Welcome back, you’ve been missed!
