Football Chat: Arsenal need to make changes, surprises at the top and bottom and the start of the Championship
Wenger has come in for a lot of criticism
Arsenal should bring back David Dein…
Manchester United played brilliant football and scored some wonderful goals in beating Arsenal 8-2 at Old Trafford.
True, Arsenal were missing a lot of top players but they were still awful and its their heaviest defeat since 1896. United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has yet again rebuilt his squad and again has a winning squad on show.
Arsene Wenger has now gone six years without winning a trophy so it’s not just about injuries, but Arsenal know they need to stick with him. He is their best option and has done a great job in the past and may well do it again, but things will have to change around him. Paul Merson made a great point that he is missing David Dein in the boardroom. Arsenal’s new power brokers should bring Dein back to support their beleaguered manager.
Dzeko is coming good…
Manchester City are certainly a huge threat and there is a better togetherness about the team already this season.
Edin Dzeko is coming good; his four goals looked brilliant. It takes time to settle when you move to this country and the Premier League. Manchester United’s new goalie, De Gea is taking time but getting there (apart from Arsenal’s first goal) and now Dzeko has arrived. It’s easier for Nasri and he has settled straight in from Arsenal.
City will be loudly banging at the door but I stand by United and their remarkable manager Sir Alex Ferguson…
Liverpool and Chelsea head the unbeaten gang…
Nine teams remain unbeaten after the three opening Premier League matches.
You would expect the usual suspects like the Manchester clubs, Liverpool and Chelsea. But what about Wolves!? A 0-0 at Villa and hanging in there – well done manager Mick McCarthy. While Aston Villa’s Alex McLeish, definitely a good manager, has won over the fans who protested about his move from Birmingham City. It’s elementary, dear boy… it’s all about results! Newcastle, under Alan Pardew, are unbeaten too, despite selling top players. Wigan and Stoke are yet to lose as well.
I hope it lasts for the lesser lights as far as the higher positions are concerned. It’s a very long season!
Blackburn look in big trouble…
Hard to believe Tottenham are currently bottom of the league, surely that will not last long.
Arsenal, with just one point are immediately outside the current drop zone – that cannot last!
I expect trouble for one the other early basement dwellers – Blackburn – unless changes are made soon.
West Brom? Well they were unlucky against Stoke with referee Mike Dean ignoring a high boot by substitute and late scorer Ryan Shotton. The ball appeared to be in WBA’s keeper Ben Foster’s hands but TV replays do not show clearly. Lets assume Mr Dean had for once a better view than different TV replays. The one thing that is sure; Foster should have done better. The Baggies will have better days and will not go down under manager Roy Hodgson.
Sven gets lucky…
I was hard on Sven-Goran Eriksson’s big money buys by Championship standards although I do think Kasper Schmeichel is a good £1m plus buy from Leeds as long as he keeps calm. He produced four stunning saves to give Leicester their first home win of the season 3-2 over the then leaders Southampton. So lets give the side credit for that.
The new Thai owners have backed Eriksson on all his deals. The final one for the time being could be the most successful – £6m on Bristol City striker Nicky Maynard. It would be the 13th signing for an overall spend of over £15m. Sven, old love, you will HAVE to get PROMOTION to stay in the job. You are running the Manchester City of the Championship.
In my 50th year of supporting the Foxes (I am much older than I look!) I hope Sven does it. The ambition and set-up and support of Leicester deserves Premier League football, but first you have to earn it!
Brighton’s Championship start…
Gus Poyet has made a great start with Brighton this season. They head the Championship with four wins from five games. He has them well organised. Five games gone and Leicester are six points behind – stacks of time to make that up! Patience in management is such an important thing and Derby, in third place just one point behind the leaders, have stuck by Nigel Clough. He was a good choice as manager and they deserve their early season success. They would be top if they had not lost 2-1 at home to Burnley on Saturday… “If only”. (Fred Reacher former Chairman at Nottingham Forest called his house “If Only” during Brian Clough’s incredible reign at Forest!)
Euro 2012…
Our international teams their Euro 2012 qualifiers this week.
England play in Bulgaria on Friday, live on Sky Sports 1, 7.15pm kick-off. England head Group G along with Montenegro on 11 points. Montenegro play Wales at the Millennium Stadium live on Sky Sports 2 at 7.45pm. Wales cannot qualify – they have nil points from four games and play England at Wembley on Tuesday week!
October 7th will be a key date when England go to Montenegro. The winners of group nine qualify for the final tournament together with the one runner up with the best record against the highest five teams in their group. The eight remaining runners-up go into the November play-offs. England WILL qualify. That is the least Fabio Capello will achieve on his £6m tax-free salary a year.
Who will win Euro 2012? Don’t hold your breath it will be England. Everyone will fancy Spain again. We look forward to finding out next summer…
For more from Gary Newbon, visit his official site at garynewbon.com.
Tagged in: Arsenal, Brighton, Dzeko, football, Manchester City, manchester united, poyer, sven leicester, wengerRecent Posts on Sport - Latest analysis on the Sporting world -
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