Are Arsenal cheating and are United better without the preening peacock?
Manchester United's Raphael Varane celebrates after team-mate Bruno Fernandes scores their side's second goal of the game during the Premier League match at Villa Park, Birmingham. Picture Nick Potts/PA Wire.
The North London derby was called off because Arsenal told the Premier League they didn’t have 13 outfield players and a goalkeeper available. The Premier League agreed and made a statement to that effect. It was not true. For a start, the Gunners have 17 players out on loan, not to mention a substantial U-23 squad. What are all these players there for if not to play football? Leeds United had two injuries in their game against West Ham and fielded two teenage subs. If they can do it, why couldn’t Arsenal? It looks very like Arsenal are cheating, or, if you’re feeling generous, exploiting a loophole. Nah, let's call it cheating.
There is now more than a suspicion that lots of clubs are trying to game the system when it suits them. The lack of transparency that patient confidentiality ensures means any club could assert a player has got Covid even if they haven’t. Add in a few ‘injuries’ and you can pretend you can’t make the 13 outfield players. When you’ve got players suspended, injured or at the Africa Cup of Nations, it benefits clubs like Arsenal to put off games until they have some or all players back. Corruption for self-interest should not be ruled out, indeed it should be assumed. These rich clubs have huge resources and yet still they are pretending they’re down to the bare bones. There should be an independent body who rules on these issues. The Premier League has shown itself untrustworthy. Maybe we should get Sue Gray to do the job?
There was a touch of romance about Philippe Coutinho’s return to the Premier League after four years. With Aston Villa two goals down he registered an assist and a goal to come out of the game with a draw. While Villa had a decent second half, playing at a better tempo, a defeat looked inevitable until the Brazilian's introduction. He has a quicksilver touch to his game. A rather slight, svelte figure, he is one of those players who seems to pass through the air more easily than most. Fleet of foot and with a good eye for space, he was a huge success at Liverpool alongside his new boss, and, if this game is anything to go by, looks set to transform a mid-table Villa side into a more formidable creative unit.
There’s no doubt Manchester United are a more cohesive team without the Portuguese up front, hanging around, looking at himself on the big screen and hoping to hog all the glory. He doesn’t do much but he can score a dramatic goal, but then again, United have always had plenty of players who can do that. They’ve never been short of goals. It’s the midfield where their problems still lie. That’s why he’s always seemed to be an added layer of frosting on a cake. Bruno Fernandes, the two-goal man on Saturday night looked like he had got his mojo back. Things were far from perfect, but somehow the side made more sense without the preening peacock.
Manchester City winning another game with a great Kevin de Bruyne goal is not a news story anymore. Their games often seem less like a competitive battle and more like an exhibition. They took a 13-point lead with their 1-0 win over Chelsea. It is not said enough that in the TV age, football is played mostly for neutrals; people who just want to see a competitive match and are not invested in either team. And when one side is running away with the league it is boring for those people. Football is about jeopardy and competition and City are simply too good for the rest. Manchester City's last 13 games with John Stones and Aymeric Laporte as a central defensive pair: 13 wins, 41 goals scored, one goal conceded. No-one can live with that. While this might be expected given their investment, it is not what most of the football public wants to see. This will be the fourth title win in five years. It does make the massive investment made in other teams look like so much wasted money. That no-one else can get any closer to City is pathetic and it has to be said, their sportswashing is as exemplary as their football.
Talking of sportswashing, at times it seemed as if Newcastle United were actively trying not to win their game against Watford, who had gone 29 games without keeping a clean sheet. Even when a goal up, the knowledge that Newcastle had already dropped 19 points from winning positions this season seemed to undermine their belief in themselves. With 20 minutes left, they began giving the ball away repeatedly. Fortunately for the Geordies, Watford squandered all the opportunities until the 88th minute when Joao Pedro scored a lovely header to notch a draw. They had played the better football, which is not saying much. NUFC were booed off after another rather pathetic performance. They are 19th, one point ahead of Burnley who have three games in hand. They had one shot on target, Watford had five. Rotten.
The good news for Newcastle is that Kieran Trippier looked a class apart from the rest of his teammates, the bad news is that Chris Wood didn't. While Allan Saint-Maximin scored a great goal, he remains a player who needs polishing into the finished article and Eddie Howe shows no signs of being able to help with that at all. Too often he looks threatening and then cedes possession. He also fades in games. It remains to be seen if adding quality to the squad with cash from their deep, blood-soaked pockets will achieve better results if their manager doesn’t know how to organise, motivate and psychologically prepare the squad. Howe lacks gravitas and authority. The owners going into the dressing room after the FA Cup loss only helps to make him look like a lackey of the Saudi Arabian state.
They couldn’t could they? Are the Canaries going to have a second half of the season revival and avoid relegation? Admittedly beating a poorly performing Everton team 2-1 isn’t a high bar to clear but the three points takes them to within a point of safety. When there are four rotten teams, you only need to be a little less rotten than the other three to survive. As few as two more wins in the next 17 games could be enough to keep them up. Amazing.
Wolves are an unusual team. They have scored just 17 goals, third lowest in the league, but have conceded just 15 — only Manchester City have let in less. With such a tight defensive record it doesn’t take many goals to win their games. This is probably why they have flown under the radar somewhat. Bruno Lage is doing a fine job in the Black Country and would’ve been delighted to see the oiled-up flying machine that is Adama Traore score his first of the season to take them to eighth.
Everton look like they should be a decent team, they have good players and their injury crisis has eased, but their defensive unity, which was once Rafa Benitez’s hallmark, is just not there. Everton are in a mess, their owner has had no vision, no sense of direction or organisation. They have wasted so much money. Even so, it was untenable to keep Benitez in charge after one win in 13 and Sunday saw him pushed through the door marked ‘jog on, lad’. Where they turn to next is anyone’s guess. Wayne Rooney? Don’t be surprised if Big Duncan Ferguson takes charge for the rest of the season.
Their great form in the first third of the season has evaporated. Saturday’s loss makes it one win in five in the league. One shot on target was all they could muster against the team they beat in the Champions League final just a few months ago and they rarely looked threatening. It’s easy to assign blame to Romelu Lukaku, and he must shoulder some of the responsibility. He had two good chances and squandered both - and suffered criticism from his manager as a result - but as important is their play in the final third. Too often the midfield runs into brick walls and they seem unable to play through the opposition lines. Manager Thomas Tuchel cuts a frustrated and annoyed man because his systems are not operating efficiently at the moment and Pep Guardiola is bossing him.
It’s not often you see two teenage subs come on at the same time within seconds of each other in the first half, but Leeds’ season has been defined by such chronic injury problems. But God bless Marcelo Bielsa’s dedication to going after a game with whatever players are available. They entertain and what is football about if not entertainment? They set about West Ham with the gusto of a fighter who knows he has to get the first punch in to have any chance. A fantastic Jack Harrison hat-trick saw them take the lead three times, have a fourth goal VARed out and still they came at West Ham swinging haymakers like an angry drunk. The Hammers were almost down and out, only to get up off the canvas and score a third, but again VAR said ‘yer jokin’ aren’t yer, son?’ There were heroes all over the pitch for Leeds. The imperious Raphinha was relentless, Stuart Dallas was tireless, Jack Harrison carried their goal threat. Despite a last-gasp miss by Jarrod Bowen, it was a well-deserved win for the Yorkshiremen. Leeds were the better side despite being torn apart by injuries. They simply wanted this more, gambled they could press the life out of West Ham, and got what they deserved. If the four teams below West Ham win their games in hand, the Cockneys could find themselves in a less impressive eighth very quickly. Leeds, nine points off relegation can start to look upwards.
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