Premier League winners and losers

Ger McCarthy

Winners
Michael Laudrup
Played two, won two. Scored eight, conceded none. Not a bad start for Michael Laudrup and Swansea who brushed aside newly promoted West Ham to make it back-to-back Premier League victories. Laudrup’s new signings; Chico Flores, Michu and Jonathan De Guzman have settled in quickly with Michu in particular looking a bargain-buy and filling the void vacated by the departed Joe Allen. Few expected the Welsh club to repeat their heroics of last season especially after losing their manager and midfield lynchpin to Liverpool. Not even the impending departure of Scott Sinclair looks likely to derail the Swansea juggernaut from enjoying their most productive start in the top flight. Michael Laudrup deserves all the plaudits coming his way for overseeing the Swan’s rise up the table and building on the foundations laid down by Brendan Rodgers.


Chelsea
Roberto Di Matteo defied the critics to guide Chelsea to the Champions League glory last season but few could have predicted the Londoner’s ascension to the summit of the Premier League after a plethora of summer transfers and talks of Di Matteo’s services not being retained. Instead, the Londoners have rattled off three consecutive victories to go top of the table thanks to the brilliance of new signing Eden Hazard and the rebirth of Fernando Torres. The former Liverpool striker has rediscovered his mojo in recent weeks thanks to Di Matteo’s decision to switch to a more fluid 4-3-3 formation with the Spaniard at the apex of the attack. Chelsea are certainly reaping the dividends of Torres’ return to form and have the look of title contenders after only a fortnight of the campaign.


David Moyes
The Everton manager is one of the most respected in European football for consistently finishing in the top echelons of the Premier League on a relatively meagre budget. This season the Everton coach has his club’s supporters buzzing following terrific wins over Manchester United and Aston Villa. No injury concerns coming into the new season has certainly helped Moyes who has enjoyed the rare luxury of a full-strength squad to choose from. The Scot deserves immense credit for building a dependable back four of Hibbert, Jagielka, Distin and Baines while bringing in Pienaar from Spurs and Jelavic from Rangers has made Everton a threat going forward. The emergence of Marouane Fellaini as one of the form strikers of the Premier League suggests another fruitful campaign for the Toffees and their long serving manager.


Losers
Wayne Rooney
The Manchester United player’s frustrating start to the new campaign was further compounded following a nasty injury at home to Fulham on Saturday afternoon which looks like ruling the striker out of action for some considerable time. The nasty gash on Rooney’s thigh failed to overshadow Alex Ferguson’s decision to bench his former record signing following a disappointing display at Goodison Park. Rumours of Rooney’s summer off-field activities affecting his weight and sharpness refuse to go away suggesting a few weeks off recuperating from this latest injury might be best for both player and club.


Manchester City
True, Roberto Mancini’s side avoided defeat at Anfield despite playing well below par for the second weekend running but the Citizens would have surely lost were it not for some pitiful Liverpool defending. Mario Balotelli was anonymous, playmaker David Silva has still to rediscover last season’s form and the City back four has a worryingly porous look about it these days. Of most concern to Mancini however will be the fact his side has been 2-1 behind after 70 minutes for the third game running and having to scramble a result from the jaws of defeat. On current form the reigning champions will struggle to retain their title with off-field rumblings of discontent between Brian Marwood and Mancini only further adding to a difficult start.


Arsenal
The new-look Gunners attack has yet to gel and drew a blank for the second consecutive league match following Sunday’s stalemate at the Britannia Stadium. Arsene Wenger cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines despite his team coping admirably with Stoke’s long-ball tactics yet failed to put the ball in the net. The lack of a cutting edge up front is all the more galling for Arsenal fans on the same weekend former captain and talisman Robin van Persie opened his account for Manchester United. Of Wenger’s three high profile acquisitions only Cazorla has stood out as a potential match winner thus far while Podolski and Giroud struggle to find their feet. On the plus side, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came on as substitutes to inject some badly needed pace and Arsenal desperately need their English internationals to shine in the coming months if a Champions League place is to be obtained.
 

Liverpool defending
Brendan Rodgers’ first home game as new Liverpool manager produced plenty of neat attacking football reminiscent of the Northern Irishman’s time in charge at Swansea but all his side’s good work (including excellent strikes from Skrtel and Suarez) was undone by some awful defending. Manchester City were gifted two goals with a mix-up between Reina and Kelly drawing the visitors level at 1-1 before Skrtel’s ill-advised back-pass presented Carlos Tevez with a straightforward equaliser to earn City a point. The re-building job facing Rodgers is difficult enough and will take a hell of a lot longer to sort out unless Liverpool sort out their current defensive deficiencies.


Daniel Levy
The Tottenham Hotspur chairman appears to be leaving his club’s probable transfer activity until the last minute of the window once again. Holding out for the right price on Luka Modric from Real Madrid is all well and good yet failure to complete an early deal leaves Spurs requiring a new striker, midfielder, defender and goalkeeper with just seven days before the window shuts. Unfortunately for Tottenham and Levy, every club they approach for players is aware the North London club has money to spend and are raising their prices accordingly. It is going to be an interesting week for Spurs fans to say the least so expect plenty of last minute deals and images of AVB scratching his head.


Follow Ger on Twitter: @germccarthy74

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/bNGWHrax-50/post.aspx

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