Kieran Davies looks back on seven days of Dream Team ruining fixtures.
This early in the campaign three points isn’t going to make or break anyone’s season. Psychologically however, it can have a big boost to a team’s confidence going into future fixtures. Cardiff was the scene for the Super Sunday game this week as the first ever Welsh derby was played out in the top flight. Swansea have more experience at this level as this is now their third season in the Premier League and they started the more confident, knocking the ball around as they love to do. Cardiff were playing a flat 4-5-1 and this left their striker isolated. That formation works when either the lone striker is world class or you have very pacy wingers who can support the striker. It didn’t really work for Cardiff and the best of their work was of a defensive nature. They were always going to be a threat from set pieces and it was just that threat that brought Cardiff their second half goal with Steven Caulker burying the ball in the Swansea net. This prompted the song from the home fans of ‘1-0 to the Capital’ goading their counterparts throughout the game. Swansea only created half chances throughout the game and David Marshall wasn’t called into any real strenuous action. At the other end Swansea’s Michel Vorm saw red for taking out Frasier Campbell and being the last men left the referee with no other option. Having used all their substitutions Angel Rangel had take over duties. He managed to tip the resulting free kick over the bar and claimed a clean sheet in the process. Swansea have European adventures to add to their season this year and this will be a stern test of the depth of quality in their squad and they will now be without the Dutch stopper after this sending off. Cardiff fans will bathe in this win knowing what ever colour their kit they can still beat their arch rivals and swim away with three points.
Elsewhere, Arsenal v Liverpool was the real pick of this week’s fixtures. The game which was to ruin dream teams around the country. In all fairness Arsenal probably did enough to deserve this win but Liverpool were poor. Rodgers is currently playing with wing backs to accommodate both Suarez and Sturridge in the same team. Their usual three pronged attack simply isn’t possible without Phillipe Coutinho. Rodgers may revert to this and play four at the back with the return of the Brazilian trickster. The bottom line is the current formation only works with certain players. When Liverpool have Enrique and Johnson fit they play this role perfectly as they will offer you a lot of options in attack but will also get back and defend. The players being asked to play these positions in the absence of these two are not able to competently play them. Arsenal’s first goal resulted from Flanagan failing to get back but Skrtel also failed to act quickly enough to ball rebounding off the post and Corzola was quickest to react. All over the pitch Liverpool were giving Arsenal too much space and time on the ball. Toure and Skrtel were guilty of doing just this and when players shoot just turning their back to the attacker. This is poor defending and they are better than this. Ramsey picked the ball up outside the box and had time to control the ball and unleash a fantastic effort which nestled in the back of Minolet’s goal. Liverpool will feel hard done by that at 1-0 they scored a goal from a quick free kick and referee disallowed it and was more concerned in dishing out a yellow card to the Arsenal player. A lot of referees in the same position would have let this goal stand, this is how fine the margins are in this league. This was a day to forget for Liverpool fans and they will hope their players bounce back with some purpose in their next game.
The early kick off saw Newcastle beat the not so special one’s Chelsea. This was a spirited performance by the Geordie outfit and they fully deserved their win. Mourinho felt his Chelsea never turned up and he made 11 mistakes in his team selection. Man Utd seemed to kill their game off with Fulham at Craven Cottage in a very early burst but Fulham almost staged a comeback late on but Moyes’s men held on for their win. Man City absolutely demolished Norwich at the Etihad putting seven goals past Hughton’s team. Don’t be surprised if Mr Hughton is creating profiles on job websites by the end of the week. His team are looking a shadow of their former selves and are shipping goals at an alarming rate but also failing to score goals as well. Steve Bruce’s Hull City got one over his former club Sunderland with the Mackems ending up with only 9 players on the pitch by the end of the game. Lee Cattermole is an absolute time bomb and he is a liability to any team he plays in. It was West Ham’s and Aston Villa’s turn to take the award ‘flatliner of the week’ playing out a drab 0-0 draw. Asimir Begovic surprised many at the Britannia Stadium as he scored a very quick goal against Southampton. He said he felt for his opposite number when he scored but luckily for Boruc his team mates saved his blushes and managed to get a point out of the game.
Everton enjoying one of their best starts to a Premier League season entertained AVB’s Tottenham at Goodison Park. Spurs bossed the first half but couldn’t make their possession count and were caused a few more problems by the hosts in the second half but a draw was probably a fair result after all. Whether Hugo Loris remembers what he did Sunday afternoon was another thing. In those situations the player shouldn’t have a say in whether he stays on the pitch or not. Let’s be honest people with head injuries aren’t the best people to leave the decision making powers to. A lot of teams are involved in European action this week which will be a test prior to another gruelling Premier League weekend. Arsenal have Dortmund and Man Utd to test them and we will know a lot more about their title credentials by this time next week. Although we all do it, the reality is it is not until Christmas before we can look at the table and take any real statement from the positions of teams. Arsenal have put a bit of daylight between themselves and the rest of the league but there will be a lot more twists and turns before the season is out.
