Welcome to my first blog on fcfootballblog.com. I had planned somewhat of an introduction piece as my first blog, however with such an eventful premiership weekend I’m going to jump right in. And as much as I didn’t just want to focus on the top four, for this week at least, they dominate my thoughts.
Saturday’s early kick off saw a thoroughly entertaining game as Bolton hosted an in-form Liverpool team, and the 2-0 game could easily have finished 6-3. You often hear that about games – yet this time, it really could have.
As a Liverpool fan, it was great to see El Nino return and prove a handful for a tiring Bolton backline, however, yet again, the ultimate plaudits must rest with Xabi Alonso. The Spaniard’s masterclass proved that the best piece of business Liverpool did this summer was reluctantly keeping hold of their playmaker. It was a game where Alonso’s class was needed – especially in the first half as Fabrice Muamba shadowed Steven Gerrard superbly. In fact, Alonso has made Liverpool tick all season, and those who watch Liverpool should testify that he has outshone the skipper on more than one occasion. Somehow, Garth Crooks named Gerrard ahead of Alonso in his team of the week on BBC Sport?
Despite willing him to succeed, the jury is still out on Robbie Keane. Last week’s double could well have proven as the kick-start he needed, however, yet again his performance lacked any quality, and his reaction to being taken off was downright annoying. Liverpool have had a few workers upfront recently, and one thing is for sure – you don’t pay £20 million for one.
I have heard all the excuses – he is a slow starter, he has been unlucky etc, and although I agree with some, I have also seen the likes of Harry Kewell, Djibril Cisse, El-Hadji Diouf et al arrive and fail miserably, and therefore as much as I want him to be a revelation, and the missing piece of the title puzzle, I will wait till the end of the season before I jump on any bandwagon. What I will say is that he does have it all to prove – as did Torres last season, and I do accept Keane works his socks off. As the season progresses, I will come back to why he may be struggling to show the quality he has undoubtedly shown at previous teams – I do have a few theories up my sleeve.
The biggest game of the weekend was Arsenal entertaining Aston Villa – and the Gunners failure to build on their defeat of Manchester United the week earlier was seen as somewhat of a surprise. I actually saw it coming.
The facts are simple – Arsenal’s spine is not good enough to win the league, and their spine on Saturday was nowhere near good enough to beat the 5th place-elect. This is where I usually judge a team’s title chances – and the fact is that I think the other ‘big four’ teams would unanimously only take ONE of Arsenal’s spine, Cesc Fabregas. Liverpool might take an on-form Robin van Persie and possibly one of their center backs, but Chelsea or United would not touch another, least of all Manuel Almunia.
Those who know me may say that I fancied Arsenal to win the league last year, and their spine was quite similar, however, in an area where the other top three stayed fairly consistent, Arsenal got weaker. Much weaker! Gilberto Silva and/or Mathieu Flamini were not effectively replaced, and although Arsenal remain the most pleasing on the eye, they undoubtedly have a soft center. Aston Villa, with a central midfield packed with quality and experience took full advantage of this and if the fifth best team in the league, at full strength, cannot beat a team with Almunia, Michael Silvestre and Nicklas Bendtner in the spine, the gulf in the class between the top four and the rest would be even more worrying than it currently is.
