Johnny Nicholson: David Moyes continues to handle Zouma issue very poorly

West Ham United's Kurt Zouma backed out of Sunday's game, after already being booed, with what seemed like a very convenient ‘illness’, writes Johnny Nicholson

Manchester United lead but don’t win. Again

JUST like in their last three games, Man Utd took the lead on Saturday against Southampton, but failed to win. It seems they don’t have faith in how the team is structured. The proof is that they don’t stick with it in adversity. The best sides have a way of playing, a way of winning, but United don’t. They don’t work as a collective and against the Saints, they resorted to a lot of hit and hope once the scores were level. Their offensive players don’t do their share of defending and they keep leaving themselves wide open by having both full backs up the pitch. This exposes both centre halves, especially Harry Maguire, whose ability to resemble a massive oil tanker trying to turn around in the Suez Canal is remarkable. At one point, Che Adams skinned him so comprehensively, it was too embarrassing to even be funny. With stories constantly leaking to the press, Old Trafford is obviously not a happy, unified, content or even coherent ship at the moment, with most of the blame surely resting with the players’ attitudes.

Southampton are on the up

It’s been a good week for the Saints, who finally seem to be finding a way to play with some consistency. In the midweek game against Spurs, as well as the Manchester United game, they were the better side. They still need to improve defensively, having let in 37, but their pressing in both games was coherent, well-timed, and put the opposition under such pressure that it allowed them to come from behind in both games. There was a moment in the season when it looked like they’d be in a relegation battle, but those days are well behind them now and a mid-table finish seems guaranteed, though any higher than 9th or 10th is unlikely. 2nd, 7th, and 20th are the only positions the club has not occupied under Ralph Hassenhutl. He has some absolute batterings under his Southampton belt, but it’s to his credit he has rode them out and is finding better days and better results.

Brentford halt the losses

Christian Eriksen got a huge welcome at Brentford. Everyone will be delighted to see him playing on a football pitch after the horrors of last summer. But football being the ornery sport it is, the match v Crystal Palace did not deliver anything else to linger in the memory. Brentford have picked up just eight points since the end of November, so this single point at least interrupted six consecutive losses but did little to arrest the feeling that their decline may still be fatal. However, with Eriksen due to begin training next week and playing soon after, if all is well, they will still rightly feel they have a chance of survival. The great first third, average second third, poor last third, is many a newly promoted team’s lot. With 24 points, a few wins would put the debate to bed. But is that possible?

Celebrity manager improves Everton a little

There is a significant contingent of football’s audience that believes new Everton boss, Frank Lampard, has been given two opportunities to manage Premier League clubs even though he has no CV to justify it and more qualified people have been overlooked for his famous name. That he has most of Fleet Street endlessly flattering him also does not earn him respect from many. Even so, as transfer spend and wage bill usually dictates league position pretty accurately, it’s been clear the Toffees have been massively underperforming. Given this fact, almost anyone could turn Everton from an outside bet for relegation into a mid-table side and Lampard is currently that almost anyone. Maybe the modern footballer wants to be managed by a celebrity and is inspired by the thought.

Given the way they responded on Saturday to Lampard’s relatively unremarkable management instructions, suggests indeed they are. They beat a poor Leeds, who hit the bar twice, playing a basic 4-4-2. Restoring this Everton squad to the top half shouldn’t be too difficult, an achievement that will be hailed by Lampard’s media propaganda merchants as nearly miraculous.

Set piece non-defending

Leeds United continue to be injury ravaged and lost another one of their best performers in Stuart Dallas early in the first half against Everton, but regardless of injuries, they should be doing much better at set pieces. The one they conceded at Everton was the 14th time this season they have done so. Only Leicester with 19 have conceded more, after letting in West Ham’s equaliser from yet another on Sunday.

There are no excuses for this major weakness from these two sides.

Another win for Potterball

Their 2-0 victory at Watford cements Brighton’s ninth position in the table, four ahead of Southampton with a game in hand over them. Now looking to overtake Wolves, only three points behind Spurs and with a better goal difference, these are heady days at the Amex.

Their last game of the season is against West Ham on May 22. That may prove to be a play-off for a Europa League place. Wow. Brighton in Europe! With an away game at Manchester United up next, the contrast between a side with no identity and one very much determined to play smooth, easy on the eye Potterball, will be fascinating.

Burnley: a great old club that’s now just another asset in an investment portfolio

Many still believe Burnley are a small family run club, but they’re not. They were acquired over a year ago by ALK Capital, an American investment company with an extensive sports portfolio.

They did this, in part, by using over £80m already in the club’s bank account, thanks to prudent financial management over the years. Buying a club with the club’s own money does seem downright weird. They have recently deferred payments due to former directors to complete the takeover in order to have funds to invest in the squad, or a cynic might say, with relegation looking likely, to delay final payments in order to withdraw in May, and thus cede ownership back to the previous administration and lose as little money as possible.

Either way, if they go down, there is much financial pain coming Burnley’s way because ALK was only ever interested in the giant wads of free money from being in the Premier League, something which is less likely after Sunday’s defeat at the hands of Liverpool, a defeat which saw them huff and puff but fall short, running out of steam in the second half, even failing to make set pieces dangerous. They ended the game having had only 32% of possession.

Spurs are blowing it

They had so many games in hand on everyone around them, that fourth or even third was within reach. But they appear to be going backwards at some speed. Midweek they lost to Southampton and on Sunday, Wolves were two up within 16 minutes and it could’ve been even worse. They woke up in the second half but it was too late by then. With every game, it becomes obvious the bulk of the squad is just not good enough or does not have the right attitude. They are not responding to Antonio Conte’s coaching in a similar way that Manchester United are not responding to their new manager.

There’s no doubting Conte’s quality, is he getting it all wrong, or are the players at fault for their ineffective, sometimes chaotic, comical play? Maybe it’s both. A great win for Wolverhampton, though, who are now seventh, just three points behind Manchester United in fifth and with a game in hand.

Newcastle saved by VAR

Sportswashing continued its ceaseless work at Newcastle United with a win via Kieran Tripper’s deflected free-kick. As Newcastle pull away from the relegation places, his purchase is proving one international class player can make such a difference down in the boondocks.

They missed him badly when he went off early in the second and were lucky that VAR intervened to chalk off Ollie Watkins’ goal because his toe was offside even though it gave him no advantage in the move, and even though the referee not to being able to spot something so minute, was the very definition of not a clear and obvious error. VAR remains ridiculous and doesn’t even obey its own rules and guidelines. The incident seemed to suck the life out of the game. Villa had 62% of the possession, but did little with it.

Zouma, Moyes, West Ham, and a cat

In trying to justify his selection of cat abuser, Kurt Zouma for their midweek game, David Moyes sounded like a man who simply was unable to free himself of football speak, talking of being “disappointed” and saying Zouma is “a good lad”.

Listen, Davey, when fans are booing a player on their own side and taking the mickey out of him with targeted chanting, you know you’ve got something badly wrong. Moyes should not have played Zouma midweek and should’ve suspended him for the rest of the season, never mind saying he’d play him again on Sunday, only for him to back out in the warm up, after already being booed, with what seemed like a very convenient ‘illness’.

To rub salt into the wound, the opening goal was set up by Zouma’s replacement, Issa Diop, thus proving they could easily do without Zouma. Moyes continues to handle this issue very poorly and has looked woefully out of his depth having to talk about anything that isn’t football related. He’s damaged his reputation in doing so, with even the normally overly supportive press and media excoriating him for choosing money over morals.

The last word on Zouma goes to Souey. “I’ve not no sympathy for him. The fact that they put it on social media, means they think there is nothing wrong with it. For me, I wouldn’t have played him again this year and if I was still a player, I wouldn’t want to play in a team with him.”