Well that was an eventful weekend, and it looks like things could be starting to take shape at the top of the table...
The top 3 is now containing 3 of the 4 teams you might expect it to at the end of the season (bar Arsenal) and the likes of Everton, Tottenham and Arsenal all consolidated the theory that they will have good seasons and be in the running for the top 4 this season.
The game at the DW Stadium on Saturday was a fast-paced, attacking game with 4 goals ending in a 2-2 draw between Wigan and Everton. Wigan put in a very promising performance and there are a lot of reasons for their fans to be positive after the game, regardless of the late equaliser they conceded to their old boy Leighton Baines. Arouna Kone had an excellent game on the right of their front 3. He looked a constant thorn in Everton's side and scored the first goal (even though he was in an offside position) and laid on the second for Franco Di Santo. Kone had 2 shots and scored 1 of them and he appears to be the marksman that Wigan have missed for probably all of their years in the Premier League. He now has 3 goals and 2 assists for Wigan this season in just 7 appearances, and his presence up front seems to be aiding Franco Di Santo who has also scored 3 goals already this season in 6 games - nearly half of his tally last season (7) which he achieved in 31 games. All this positivity is curiously framed in the fact that Wigan have made one of their worst starts in the Premier League. They have equalled last years tally at this stage, have 3 points less than they did in 2010/11, and they have 4 points less than 2009/10...anyway you get the idea. I think the reason for this is this 3 at the back system that Wigan are playing with this season. A 3 at the back system always seems to need pace, which is why you wonder how Gary Caldwell gets in the middle of the 3 every week - he is one of the slowest players I've ever seen and I've never been convinced he's actually that good. Ivan Ramis has also had a pretty inauspicious start to life in the Premier League and hasn't really shown any signs that he has got the quality to succeed in the top flight. Wigan looked really susceptible to attacks down the wing against Everton and Steven Pienaar in particular ravaged their defence. Wigan aren't the first and won't be the last team to face problems up against Pienaar this season but the lack of defensive width due to their 3 system didn't help at all. Roberto Martinez appears to have gone for the mantra 'attack is the best form of defence' and it seems their setup is geared to gain results up front and hope they score more than they concede which could lead to a really interesting season for Wigan.
Bolton were the latest side to dispense of their manager, showing club legend Owen Coyle the door on Tuesday afternoon. This came as something of a surprise, because the club can't surely have been expected to win promotion at the first attempt given the sheer number of departures and lack of arrivals at the club this summer following relegation. Phil Gartside has always been one for prudence and this Summer was no different, so what exactly his expectations were of Coyle this season (he apparently set a points target)? I am not sure. It seems like the writing was on the wall since January last year. Coyle didn't seem able to inspire his players and you can only blame injuries for so long. Coyle will no doubt find himself a job again soon though; Scottish managers are a highly sought after breed right now in the English game it seems. So much so that even Steve Kean might find himself in a job again sooner rather than later!
Last season they lined up against each other in training matches at QPR, but this season DJ Campbell locked horns with Matt Connolly and Heidar Helguson in a Championship match between lowly Ipswich and table toppers (but annual bottlejobs) Cardiff City. Campbell drew first blood as he somehow managed to escape Connolly and the Cardiff keeper's attentions to guide the ball into the net Maradona style without either them or the officials noticing! The away side were victorious in the end though thanks to C's Doppelgänger Heidar Helguson tapping in from a Scott Loach howler and scoring a trademark header late on. Helgar even had time to produce one of his trademark headers at the other end of the pitch, casually crashing a header against his own bar. There's no way he didn't mean that... Ice cool from the ice man.
Roundup
We'll start with the bad news, and yet again C was on hand to witness QPR lose, this time at The Hawthorns, where comical defending and lack of attacking prowess contributed to a 3-2 defeat to the Baggies. Match report available here.
Sunday saw Manchester United record an excellent win away St James' Park (we can call it that now again thanks to wonga.com). Newcastle produced some QPR-esque marking from corners to allow Evans and Evra two quick-fire goals which effectively ended the game as a contest. Wayne Rooney relished his new role at the tip of the midfield diamond and it really seems like the pressure is off him. Last year he was the one carrying the team but now he has Robin Van Persie to share the burden and this seems to have given him a creative impetus he has lacked for a few years. Tom Cleverley in midfield also adds some dynamism that is lacking with Carrick, Scholes or Giggs.
Crewe managed back to back 2-1 wins in League and Cup with victories over Hartlepool (H) and Shrewsbury (A) on Saturday and Tuesday respectively. Mathias Pogba has a claim for the award for Worst Penalty of 2012 against Hartlepool. Even worse he took the ball from the normal penalty taker before missing it. Even worse, he took the ball from the boss' son Harry Davis who scored 4 penalties at the back end of last season!
And finally, as you learned on Friday, Union Berlin took a battling away point back from St Pauli. All in all, not a bad weekend for our sides then. Sort it out Hughes!
- If you want a man to take a penalty for you, you could do worse than Leighton Baines - that's 9 career penalties scored from 9 attempts.
- My word Santi Cazorla is good.
- We told you that in AFC Wimbledon's manager job specification it was compulsory to have played for the original Wimbledon, but what we didn't tell you was that Neal Ardley was the successful candidate (not Lawrie Sanchez, who will have to make do with Sky punditry as a source of pocket money)
- Clearly either the recent form of Palace, the sheer number of goals flying in at Selhurst Park or lure of cheaper seats has brought some long lost Eagles fans back. The ground looked packed out for the first time I can recall in years for their 4-3 win over Burnley. That's now 22 goals scored in SE25 in just five league games so far this season.
C&J
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