I said I’d talk about the title race when we had seen 10 games.
We’ve now seen 12.
It’s clear to me that Chelsea or Liverpool will win the Premier League.
Manchester United and Arsenal will compete for third.
Aston Villa are journeymen with pace up front.
Man City have lost 7 of 12 and their inconsistent results will continue, even after they sign defenders in January. Dunn is past it, Richards over-rated.
Arsene Wenger has a vision and an original model. But there are flaws in his model and I’ll summarise those on Tuesday.
Manchester United have turned into the Harlem Globetrotters. The Red Devils are a beautiful vehicle for the Bulgarian Meadowlark Lemon but he’s adding his artistry to a diminished Cristiano Ronaldo and a Rooney who is failing to mature.
Berbatov, a balletic minimalist who makes it look so easy, is replacing the abrasive, inventive, sweat-soaked Tevez, who set the tone and tempo in last season’s title campaign. Tevev has no ego, just a remarkable will to win.
Behind Tevez, the team developed the collective spark, bite and professional efficiency to retain their title. Three in a row isn’t possible these days. Momentum drops, desire fades, champions become flaccid, superstars provide more party pieces rather than winning goals.
United peaked in Moscow in 2008 with the big Double, just as Barcelona peaked in Paris in 2006.
Barcelona then partied two for years, with nine of the squad getting divorced in the aftermath of beating Arsenal 2-1.
They needed to rebuild. Their new 37-year old coach, Pep Guardiola, is better off without Deco and Ronaldinho, and has rehabilated the electric Samuel Eto’o, who scored four goals in a 6-0 demolition of Valladolid. We are all enjoy the blossoming of Messi, who has the best left foot since Puskas. While Chelsea have scored 29 goals in 12 games, Barcelona have scored an amazing 34 goals in 10. That’s 3.4 goals per game !
At the Emirates, Man United had a bad day at the office and we’ll never know what would have happened if Rooney had sidefooted Ronaldo’s square pass high into the corner of the net, rather than over the bar. Or what might have happned if Ronaldo had guided his shot inside the far post, not just past it.
Obviously, I got it wrong in my preview when I said Man United are stronger now. They’re NOT stronger because they’ve become galacticos. They’re weaker because the battling Tevez was a crucial influence in that magnificently sustained team effort last year.
With Berbatov, the team is a different beast, especially in away games. Interviewed on Sky, Berba was asked what was the best thing about being a Manchester United player. He smiled and said, “Being a Manchester United player.”
Wrong answer, Dimitar.
Resting seven players at Celtic didn’t help United’s cohesion and Gary Neville and Edwin van der Sar are clearly over the hill. Past it, no question. In the same fixture last year, a 2-2 draw, Man United never looked like losing. This year you could almost say they never looked like winning.
Also, CQ has gone again.
When Sir Alex’s No.2 Carlos Queiroz last left to join Real Madrid in 2003, Arsenal won the title in 2004. His coaching, his training sessions, and his rapport with Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson were big factors. Nobody understands talented young Portuguese footballers better than he does. What Wenger is to young French footballers, CQ is to young Portuguese .
Saturday’s 2-1 win by Arsenal was deserved because they had the player who made the difference. If Nasri had been playing for Man United, Arsenal would have lost. The new guy was shooting when Hleb would have fiddled, turned and passed. He surprised us by scoring two goals. Surprised himself as well. Nasri had never scored two goals in a match before.
But remember : it wasn’t the fluency of Arsenal’s passing that provided that vital first goal in 22 minutes. It was a foul and a Fabregas free-kick and a deflected shot.
Robbie Keane scored two typical goals in a 3-0 win by Rafa’s Liverpool, while Scolari’s Chelsea were solid and Anelka scored twice. Both teams have better goalkeepers than Arsenal or Man United.
ARSENAL (4-4-1-1): Almunia (Fabianski, 77); Sagna, Gallas, Silvestre, Clichy; Walcott (Song, 77), Fabregas, Denilson, Nasri; Diaby (Touré, 86); Bendtner. Subs not used: Vela, Ramsey, Wilshere, Djourou.
MAN UNITED (4-4-2): Van der Sar; Neville (Rafael Da Silva, 63), Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Ronaldo, Carrick, Anderson (Giggs, 72), Park; Rooney (Tevez, 76), Berbatov. Subs not used: Kuszczak (gk), Nani, O’Shea, Evans.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2): Reina; Arbeloa, Carragher, Agger, Aurelio; Benayoun, Gerrard (Alonso, 80) , Mascherano, Riera (Babel, 65); Kuyt, Keane (Torres, 72). Subs not used: Cavalieri (gk), Hyypia, Insua, El Zhar.
WEST BROM (4-1-3-2): Carson; Zuiverloon, Donk, Olsson, Robinson; Greening; Koren, Valero, Kim (Teixeira, 56); Bednar (Moore, 56), Miller (Brunt 71). Subs not used: Kiely (gk), Hoefkens, Dorrans, Pele.
BLACKBURN (4-5-1) Robinson; Simpson, Nelsen, Khizanishvili, Olsson; Villanueva, Andrews (Derbyshire, h-t) Warnock, Grella (Mokoena, 44) Pedersen; Roberts (Fowler, 76). Subs not used: Brown (gk), Samba, Tugay, Treacy.
CHELSEA (4-1-4-1) Cech; Bosingwa, Alex, Terry, Bridge; Mikel; Kalou (Belletti, 61), Deco (Ferreira, 90) Lampard, Malouda; Anelka. Subs not used: Cudicini (gk), Ivanovic, Di Santo, Sinclair, Mineiro.