Americans Tim Howard and Brad Friedel–generally considered among the stronger goalkeepers in the Premier League–had weekends to forget, as each gave up four goals Saturday in front of their home fans.
Howard’s Everton side lost at home to West Brom 4-1, while Friedel’s Aston Villa side lost 4-2, also at home, to Arsenal:
A much better performance and result for another American abroad in England: midfielder Clint Dempsey continued his strong play and scoring for Fulham, getting the equalizer for them against Birmingham City. Dempsey is playing aggressively and with confidence–watch the way he wins the header for the goal, and follows that up with a cracker that almost goes in for a 2nd goal, if not for a great save by the Birmingham ‘keeper:
The X-Factor coming back to fitness for the second half of the season
[Editor’s note: Here’s the inaugural edition of something we’d like to make a semi-regular feature: a look at the top of the table. Here we look (once again) at the Premier League table, but we plan to check in on other tables around the world over the course of the season.]
Someone eventually has to win the Premier League title–but from recent results, it’s hard to figure out who. Here’s the top of the table as of today–it’s virtually certain to be one of these teams that ends up on top at the end:
But alas none of the top contenders have been especially impressive:
Chelsea lost again over the weekend, this time to lowly Birmingham–their third loss in four weeks, following losses at Liverpool and at home to Sunderland. And the latest loss came days after unceremoniously dumping their assistant manager; whether or not it contributed to the latest loss, it has precipitated close to a full-blown crisis at Stamford Bridge, with manager Carlos Ancelotti saying “I am not in control at Chelsea.”
Man Cityhad been the team in crisis-mode over the past month, with their home fans booing a scoreless draws against Man U and Birmingham–until they broke out of their doldrums this past weekend in a big way, with a 4-1 thrashing of Fulham. Following which, Fulham’s manager (and Man City’s former manager–and Man U legend), the “super classy” Mark Hughes, said Man City are still in the hunt: “On their performance today certainly they’re contenders. They were excellent. If they have belief and there’s some forward thinking, and maybe they’re a bit more attack-minded as they were today on more occasions, there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be. They’ve got as good a chance as anybody.”
Man U? Somewhat surprisingly, still undefeated–but hardly dominating, with a record of 7 wins and 7 draws. And let’s not forget they had been the team in crisis not too long ago; in fact, young Mr. Rooney returned to the pitch this past weekend.
Rounding out the top of the table, tied with 22 points apiece, are the victors of that North London derby, Spurs–whose manager thinks they’ve got a shot at the crown; and Bolton (not sure who thinks they have a legitimate shot at the title). But who knows, the way things are going…
In fact, the situation can be best summarized by Uncle Harry’s comments referenced above:
This is the best chance anyone is going to get, this season. The league has never been more open. Sunderland go to Chelsea last weekend and win 3-0, Manchester United were losing by two goals at Aston Villa until late on. It’s wide open for somebody who can put a run together. It’s there for someone to have a real go at it. Why be fearful and say ‘we can’t win it’. Why can’t we win it?
Man City v Arsenal - probable starting lineups (via the Guardian)
The CultFootball team went over the list of this weekend’s televised matches, and frankly not a whole lot jumped out at us–except of course the big Premier League match of the weekend: Arsenal at Manchester City. The match kicks off Sunday at 4pm GMT–for those of us in the US that translates to 11am ET, televised on FSC.
Why is this the match of the weekend? Just take a look at the top half of the table:
(The table is also via the Guardian, specifically their Stats Centre. Click thru on any individual team in the table to see all sorts of data and stats–and in particular some interesting data visualization under “Current league form” and “League position analysis”).
By our reckoning, Man City and Arsenal are two of four teams giving chase to favorites and early front-runners Chelsea for the Premiership title this season (we like West Brom, but doubt they’ll stick around the Big Five–and we don’t see sides like Sunderland or Bolton climbing up among them). Hence the importance of this match, as 2nd place Man City will look to win to stay two points behind Chelsea (who won on Saturday), while Arsenal will need a win to keep from falling further behind Man City and Chelsea, and from allowing Spurs and West Brom (and probably Man U) to jump above them in the standings.
The table/title chase is just further motivation for what will hopefully be an entertaining match between two very talented teams. A look at the Guardian’s squad sheet of probable starters above shows that (also useful to have open during the match are the current squad lists of both clubs: here is the goal.com page for this match, and the Wikipedia entries for the current squads are here and here).
Fabregas leads the way for Arsenal--including in the stretching circle, apparently
Among the players to watch: for Arsenal, captain Cesc Fabregas returns to Premier League action after nearly a month on the sideline due to injury. He played most of Arsenal’s Champions League match mid-week against Shaktar Donetsk, and is the creative force that pulls together Arsenal’s talented attack: Andrei Arshavin, and the youngsters Samir Nasri and Maroune Chamakh. It’s a shame though that 18-year old boy wonder Jack Wilshere will have to sit out this match, as well as Arsenal’s next two, due to the red card he received last Sunday. In his stead in the midfield the Guardian seems to think we’ll likely see Brazilian Denilson–although Abou Diaby and Tomáš Rosický have both played a lot more in the Arsenal midfield this season than Denilson has. In fact, Arsenal’s squad stats seem to indicate that Denilson is the odd man out in Arsenal’s crowded midfield so far this season, despite how ever much Wenger loves him and his passing ratio.
(An extended aside on Jack Wilshere, even though we won’t be seeing him in action today: Wilshere has been increasingly impressive through the beginning of this season, but especially Arsenal’s two matches last week in, resulting in much praise and press (e.g, “Wilshere has the talent to define his generation“; presumably meaning the “next generation” that will take over from the ultimately disappointing “golden generation” of English football (Paul Scholes, Michael Owen, David Beckham, Rio Ferdinand, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry). In fact, there are rumblings of an entire coterie of talented English youngsters on Arsenal’s reserve squad, such that some are saying that Arsene Wenger is grooming England’s next golden generation. More on that in a later post, perhaps.)
For Man City, striker Carlos Tevez is their captain and attacking talisman. Though it appears he’s starting to get some help in attack, with Emmanuel Adebayor scoring a hat trick last Thursday in Europa League action (albeit against Polish side Lech Poznań), and David Silva seems to be coming into form and getting more comfortable playing in the Premier League, after coming over during the summer from Spanish side Valencia.
Tevez came across town from Manchester United two years ago (and amid all the Wayne Rooney/Man U drama last week was supposedly lobbying for Man City to make an attempt to bring Rooney across too), while Adebayor was lured away from Arsenal, the club that initially brought him into the Premier League in 2003 from France, at age 19.
(That has led to some drama, in particular when Man City played at the Emirates towards the beginning of last season, just after Adebayor had made the switch. Adebayor scored for his new club against his old club on their pitch–and then ran the length of the field in order to slide and celebrate in front of the Arsenal supporters!
It’s not just Tevez, Silva, and Adebayo that Man City have signed away from other big clubs for big money over the past two years. Man City essentially bought the entire squad we’ll see on the pitch today in the time period, using the seemingly infinitely deep pockets of the Abu Dhabi United Group and its owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Vincent Kompany was signed in August 2008, with Wayne Bridge and Nigel de Jong signed in January 2009. During the summer of 2009, Man City spent over £100 million on bringing in Adebayor, Tévez, Gareth Barry, Roque Santa Cruz, Joleon Lescott, and Kolo Touré (also signed away from Arsenal, which signed him directly from Côte d’Ivoire in 2002, at age 21). Then this past summer they spent even more on acquiring Silva, Jérôme Boateng, Yaya Touré (Kolo’s younger brother), Aleksandar Kolarov, James Milner, and Mario Balotelli (though the latter has made only one brief appearance for Man City so far, due to injuries).
See below for video highlights from each side’s most recent Premier League match: Arsenal’s victory over Birmingham City, which featured some of that stellar play by Jack Wilshere, in particular in combination with Chamakh, which leads to a fantastic goal for the latter; and Man City’s 3-2 victory over Blackpool, in which Tevez scored twice in his typically scrappy manner (one of them assisted by Silva btw)–but it’s the 3rd late goal by Silva that’s the one to see, a fantastic individual effort.
Thanks to our very own Blues supporter Sumit Sasidharan for this surprisingly fair & balanced evaluation of Chelsea’s latest victory, over London rivals Arsenal (with video highlights of the match embedded below Sumit’s comments):
No bogarting, it's puff puff pass, Jon.
That was the best match all week. Tempo, width, muscle and touch on display–exciting.
Drogba’s touch seems better than ever. I was more surprised by Gunner lack of possession by their big men; Diaby and Song failed to exert the kind of muscle that could’ve been the edge.
After reading the beebs’ and guardian reports on the game and listening to Wenger, must’ve been a different game than I was watching. It really felt pretty even. Both sides had chances and possession seemed pretty even. A. Cole’s goal should’ve made the margin 3 and Anelka’s 4.
Instead of the past two beatings, Arsenal seemed to have clawed their way to an even showing but the reality is goals decide the difference. Wenger’s been the best coach in the EPL for a long while but he’s got to stop putting kids out there. I love his approach to the game and the way his team plays but that place looks like an ER.
Blues in front by 4 points seven games in.
What does everyone think of Obi Jon Mikelobi for the newest line of Michelob?
We’re back with our weekly guide to Sat/Sun footy TV action (here in the US). Here’s what catches our collective eye–again culled from SoccerInsider’s full TV listing, with some notes from various members of the CultFootball team:
Saturday Oct 2
England, Sunderland-Manchester United 10 a.m. ESPN2: Another former Man U player now managing and probably hoping to replace Sir Alex one day. Plus Ghanaian striker Asamoah “Baby Jet” Gyan partnering with Darren Bent up front for Sunderland, and a good northeast crowd
England, Spurs-Aston Villa 10 a.m. FSC: Uncle ‘Arry brings flair to White Hart Lane–most recently with the big win Wednesday in Champions League action–while Gerard Houllier tries to keep last season’s thriller team in it. Gareth Bale really turning it on this season for Spurs–and Dutch import Rafael van der Vaart playing all over the field, and doing it well
England, Birmingham-Everton noon FSC: Everton still looking for their first win (with USMNT stalwart Tim Howard in goal), and Birm looking to win another against Merseyside
Brazil, Botafogo-Flamengo 6 p.m. GolTV: Just for a look at some Brazilian club ball
Sunday Oct 3
But really Saturday is just prelude to Sunday, when we get the first really big match of the season:
England, Chelsea-Arsenal 11 a.m. FSC: Both teams coming off disappointing losses in their previous Premier League games last weekend (see here), but both bounced back with wins mid-week in the Champions League. This London rivaly will have an impact on the table, and it’s one that a long and storied history–see the Guardian’s “Joy of Six” feature, this week about six classic Chelsea-Arsenal matches.
For good measure, we’ll throw in a handful of add’l Sunday matches–from Spain, Italy, Mexico and the MLS:
Spain, Real Madrid-Coruna 3 p.m. ESPN2, ESPN Deportes: Will Madrid–and in particular Cristiano Ronaldo–break out of the funk?
Italy, Inter Milan-Juventus 2:30 p.m. FSC: Even if Juve have struggled since the match-fixing (they have) this is still a first-class, traditional Serie A fixture
Italy, Napoli-Roma 9 a.m. FSC: Another big meeting of the Derby del Sol (though a bigger meeting in the 70s and 80s), with Roma is trying to get out of the bottom of the table while Napoli challenges for a champions league spot
Mexico, Cruz Azul-America 6 p.m. ESPN Deportes: A longtime rivalry between two Mexico City clubs–a derby known as Clásico Joven
MLS, Chivas USA-Los Angeles 8 p.m. ESPN2: a clash of local rivals, probably the biggest rivalry in the MLS
Guardian Squad sheets: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City
If you’re not up early (kickoff was at 7:45am ET) watching this opening game of the 2010-11 English Premier League, you’re missing a doozy. As the inimitable Guardian liveblog put it, “a cracking start, real 200mph This Is What The Premier League Is All About™ stuff.”
We have a Spurs season preview from cradle-to-grave Tottenhamite John Lally up here, and we expect he’ll also post a match recap later today or tomorrow. At some point we’ll also have to comment on Man City’s chances, as they’ve been more active in the transfer market than any other EPL side (having spent an astounding ~$156 million to bring in international stars David Silva (Spain), Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast), Aleksandar Kolarov (Serbia), Jerome Boateng (Germany), and just in the last 24 hours, Mario Balotelli (Italy).
That list points out the internationalization of the Premier League. Here’s a run through the starting lineups in this morning’s match, along with the national side of each player:
"Javier Hernández puts United two up – but there is a hint of fortune about the goal, the ball skewing off Hernández's boot before striking him in the face and flying into the net" (via The Guardian)
Yesterday was the traditional pre-opener to the English season–the FA Community Shield. We watched bits and pieces off the DVR later in the day. Personally, I was impressed by Antonio Valencia, Man U’s newly acquired Ecuadorian winger, as well as (like last season) Nani.
Some additional commentary by our man (and Chelsea supporter) Sumit:
Saw it on replay. Chelsea looked the better team in terms of ball control and movement for very long periods of time. The attack is just not there; Malouda looks his old lazy French self and Salomon still hasn’t got a f’in Kalou while the defensive communication is poor. Terry’s not fast so they need to work cover schemes with the midfielders or the wingbacks right quick before they get torn to shreds in a game that actually matters. Chelsea need some organization quickly. Glad to see the Bison back and playing, big boost there. Chelsea desperately need a quick flank player, o/w the 4-3-3 scheme is going to look a little ponderous and get caught out in a midfield tussle.
ManU didn’t impress me enough to be scared of them (famous last words). Aside from Rooney’s work rate and, oddly enough, Berbatov’s movement and touches there wasn’t much in the way of an attacking threat and the midfield was poor. I stopped really watching at the 75 minute mark.
In case you missed it, here are video highlights of Sunday’s match, via footytube:
We here at CultFootball HQ are still quite new to the footy blogosphere. We were poking around Twitter a couple weeks ago, looking for soccer-related feeds to follow, and came across Off The Post (on Twitter here, and also on Facebook here), and we’ve since become a big fan. Like us, they have a healthy sense of their own importance (their subhead: “The best football blog on the planet!”).
What we like is their idiosyncratic take on the sport, such as their “Top 5 [or 10] Conclusions” series.
West Ham’s pre-season friendly at Peterborough was given some extra, erm, bite by the presence of Mike Tyson. The cash-strapped boxer was in Peterborough for a £100-a-head Evening With The Baddest Man On The Planet.
He went onto the pitch at half-time wearing a Peterborough shirt and told the crowd through a loudspeaker: “I’ve never heard of Peterborough before but as soon as I heard it was West Ham I thought, we’ve got to really give it to them.”
He obviously didn’t see much of West Ham last season!
