Sonatine 10139 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Shamelessly stolen from football365.com, but anyway.... The Premiership Weekend Winners & LosersMonday September 19 2005 Winners Chelski And this weekend they were winners on Saturday and again on Sunday. Bolton Wanderers Not since Bradford City won at Derby in 2001 without offering a shot on goal has the Premiership witnessed such a fortunate victory. Alan Shearer All the pre-match talk focused on Craig Bellamy, but in the event it was Shearer who took a measure of vengeance against his former employers by netting for the first time in seven months and 16 days. A declining force in the Premiership, his 195th goal for the Toon will be one of his last (although he now only requires six more to break Jackie Milburn's club record), but it saved Graeme Souness’ job. For now. Charles N'Zogbia A fantastic bit of skill - although it's a bit of skill that a player only tries when his team is two-nil up.... Tottenham Hotspur A point was more than they deserved but it did not disguise that - having began the season brightly - Tottenham have lost their way. Momentum stalled a month ago when Martin Jol decided to change a winning line-up for the trip to Blackburn. Robbie Keane's strike was Spurs' first goal since then. Yet the Irishman's finely-taken goal also underlined the difficulties Jol has in keeping the many members of one of the league's largest squads happy. For as Spurs are discovering, strength in depth can also be a weakness. Jermain Defoe, for instance, is rightly considered to be the club's number-one striker, but a little-and-little partnership with Keane has been tried and failed. How, then, to keep Keane, let alone keep him happy? "Play them both and teams pressurise you because the goal kicks from Robinson keep coming back. Robbie's not the second choice, he's my first choice. But Jermain is as well, so it's a problem," admitted Jol on Saturday. Finding a solution is what Jol is well paid to do, though. The size of the squad was his choice and if Spurs are to realise their potential this season - a top-six place, for starters - then Jol must do what Claudio Ranieri couldn't and keep his squad content and his team consistent. All Those At Craven Cottage On Saturday And even Fulham are good fun when they don't play 4-5-1. Wigan Athletic Almost as remarkable as Chelski's start to the season is the sight of Wigan Athletic joining them in the top half of the table after extending their unbeaten run to three games. Losers ManYoo & Liverpool Taken out of context, a point for both was a reasonable result. Both managers evidently thought so - or at least that, in the pursuit of Chelski, avoiding defeat was the priority. Despite the game, in the words of Sir Alex, "having 0-0 written all over it from early on", neither made any attempt to chase a win. Rafa Benitez stubbornly refused to introduce Djbril Cisse as a partner for the isolated Peter Crouch, while Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park were left on the bench until the 89th and 92nd minute respectively. The two sides might as well have agreed on a 0-0 beforehand and told everyone else not to bother turning up/tuning in. Yet all that this strangely passive 'derby' added up to was a bonus victory for Chelski and two dropped points for two of their supposed title rivals. The bookies' telling response was to slash the odds on the Blues retaining their title. With Chelski setting an unrelenting pace, ManYoo had to win at Anfield, or at least attempt to. That they didn't suggests that they have in effect already conceded defeat in the title race. To compound matters, Roy Keane has been ruled out for two months and the stats indicate that ManYoo will pay a severe cost. The current ManYoo side is a very different beast to the monster of the early 1990s. Two rampaging wingers have been scarified for a three-man midfield that offers security but not much spice. Sunday's encounter simply reinforced the impression that ManYoo's best hope of success this season lies in Europe. This is a team - and a formation - built for the Champions League, not winning the Premiership. The same applies to Liverpool, of course. Scorers of a single goal - and that from a direct free-kick - in their opening four league fixtures, the stark reality is that they were closer to winning the Premiership under Gerard Houllier than they are under Rafael Benitez. The Spaniard is a manager built for the Champions League and his team is his mirror image. It seems very probable that Benitez believes that, with the exception of Chelski, a side cannot succeed both in the Premiership and in the CL - if so, he can point to Arsene Wenger's Arsenal as proof positive. Perhaps, mindful of the difficulties in overcoming Chelski during a 38-game sprint, Sir Alex Ferguson has reached the same conclusion. For the neutral observer, the depressing conclusion from this weekend was that the title race was over in September. Jermaine Jenas As an F365 employer, it is my duty to point out that it was Jenas' woefully under-hit back-pass that lead to Villa's goal on Saturday and that it was the Anonymous One's only notable contribution during the 90 minutes. Milan Baros It is said that Duncan Fletcher realised that Ian Ward wasn't a cricketer of international calibre when he was dismissed LBW during the 2001 Ashes series to a straight ball that he missed by approximately a foot. If Rafa Benitez ever requires an explanation for why he jettisoned Baros then he should refer all enquires to the 74th minute of Saturday's Villa v Spurs clash when the Czech striker dashed on to a through ball that left him with a clear sight of goal. Seconds later, the ball flashed wide of goal. Very wide. Very, very wide. There will be more extreme examples over the coming months, but in its own wayward way Baros' effort was a worthy contender to be miss of the season. Sunderland Can't we just put them out of their misery and relegate them now? Leicester City used to be regarded as the archetypal 'too good for the first division, not good enough for the Prem' club, but Sunderland have taken it to a whole new level. Having notched up the lowest points haul in the Premiership's history during their last stay in the top flight, Sunderland appear destined to worsen their record this term. Such is the unrelenting misery of the Premiership, Sunderland fans could be excused next season - if, as expected they are relegated - for hoping that their side struggle to produce another promotion bid. Steve Bruce You would have thought that Nicky Butt's dismissal was of the indefensible variety, but you would have thought wrong. Conveniently bypassing the notion of 'intent', Steve Bruce had this to say afterwards: "It was petulant, but Nicky just flicked the foot, and missed. "We're English and we like to see a bit of blood and thunder. Emotions run high, and the crowd likes to see a few fisticuffs." Ahh, right you are. We’re English so kicking an opponent in the, erm, groin is to be applauded. Referees, meanwhile, should ignore the rulebook and let the state of the game dictate their decision-making. "If we're not careful we're going to ruin the whole thing as a spectacle; we should remember that people pay a lot of money to come and see the Premiership. Referees have a hard job and the directives they are given are the problem. Common sense can't prevail any more. We are seeing empty seats because people are getting fed up of what we've seen today, 10 men, or just one up front and teams playing not to get beaten." In short, then, the second-half tedium at Fratton Park should be blamed on Dermot Gallagher. The irreproachable Nicky Butt was merely the victim of a rigid rulebook that states that violent play should be met with a red card and lacks an addendum along the lines of 'except, of course, when the referee reckons that a red card might make the rest of the match a tad dull.' This coming from a manager whose side has failed to score a goal in half of their matches this season and whose 'goals for' record was the 18th worst in the Prem last season. It is difficult to believe that any manager in any league this year will utter more moronic comments, so apologies for giving Bruce's words more attention than they deserve. Yet they are worth a moment's attention on the grounds that they should be wheeled out whenever he is touted as a possible contender to replace Sven-Goran Eriksson. Fortunately, I am not a Birmingham City fan. But if I were, I would be embarrassed that Steve Bruce was the manager of my club. Nice to see he is starting where he left off here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob W 0 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 quite good................. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zico martin 87 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 quite good................. 35372[/snapback] yeah good article - i might keep my eyes open for that next week , assuming it is a regular feature on that site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tooj 17 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 about Jenas.... same shit different club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sima Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 So people in the media are finally picking up on Jenas's inability now? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo 133 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 about Jenas.... same shit different club 35417[/snapback] true to form as usual ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alex Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 So people in the media are finally picking up on Jenas's inability now? 35420[/snapback] He's gotten stick off football365 before I think and rightly so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut 9 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Now if he'd only helped set up Milner like that a couple of months ago, we'd be right up the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney 0 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 They have had a go at him before. Justafiably in my opinion. They called him out on being the master of the backward/sideways pass. I think the Mr. Anonymous title is very apt. I saw his debut against Liverpool and he was very poor. He just spent the game chasing Gerrard's shadow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Optimistic Nut 9 Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Ray Wilkins & David Batty roled into one, except without the passing, tackling & shooting ability. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sima Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 They have had a go at him before. Justafiably in my opinion. They called him out on being the master of the backward/sideways pass. I think the Mr. Anonymous title is very apt. I saw his debut against Liverpool and he was very poor. He just spent the game chasing Gerrard's shadow. 35478[/snapback] He's always a second behind the play tbh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckyluke 1 Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 I was surprised to be honest. Hitting the ball back to the keeper was one of the few things he could actually do recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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