Cahill shows his worth to Palace, Lacazette proves Emery’s odd one out again and Wilson could be the signing of the seasonIt will not end the culture war between Newcastle fans and Mike Ashley, but victory at the Tottenham Stadium might just lift a few suspicions over Steve Bruce. In the first half, Newcastle were the team with greater vigour, and Joelinton’s finish for his goal followed a fine pass from Christian Atsu. Bruce does not enjoy comparisons with Rafa Benítez, but players such as Atsu, Miguel Almirón and Sean Longstaff might just be allowed greater freedom to express themselves under his supervision than they were within the Spaniard’s rigid tactics. Having taken the lead, plenty of last-ditch defending was...
Ljungberg and Trossard make instant impact, Wilson has Liverpool quality and Rodgers leaves ‘young Frank’ on back footThe inclusion of Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson against Burnley a week after they became the first pair of teenagers to start a Premier League game for Arsenal since Paolo Vernazza and Matthew Upson in 1998, was more evidence of Unai Emery beginning to trust his young players. That may have something to do with the promotion of the former under-23s coach Freddie Ljungberg to become the Spaniard’s assistant, with Willock particularly impressive alongside Matteo Guendouzi in midfield. The 19-year-old played in a more advanced role in the opening day win over Newcastle and shows how Emery is tapping into the former Sweden...
The midfield problems at the root of Frank Lampard’s early defeats as Chelsea manager will have been familiar to anyone who followed the ups and downs of his playing careerC enturies from now, when the world is a wasteland and football exists only in the ruins of stadiums half-buried in the desert, there will still come a wind through the dusty valley and on its breath will be the question: “But if they were great players, why couldn’t they play together?”The few surviving humans will huddle in caves, squabbling over the meagre crops that remain, divided implacably into two tribes, the Gerrardites and the Lampardians, deaf to the various efforts of minority groups such as the Barryists and the Hargreavesians...
There were promising signs in the Super Cup defeat by Liverpool but the new man at Stamford Bridge has to start winning soonAfter losing badly to Manchester United on the opening day, Chelsea’s performance against Liverpool in the Super Cup, even if they did not quite manage to win, was very impressive.It is hard to say at this moment what a good season would look like for Chelsea, with a transfer ban and a young, inexperienced manager who promises to field young, inexperienced players. The fact Frank Lampard is in charge, a man with so much goodwill from his time at Chelsea as a player, will buy the team a little time but what are the minimum expectations? I feel...
Midfielder delivered hugely encouraging debut against Liverpool in a team selection that showed Chelsea can and will compete this seasonThe first all-English Uefa Super Cup final served a dual purpose for Frank Lampard. Victory, he had considered beforehand, would not only etch another trophy into Chelsea’s history but instil in his young team the confidence that they compete at Liverpool’s level this season. There would be no trophy, only more pain for Lampard in a Super Cup final, but his team left Istanbul in the knowledge they can and will compete.After the misery of Old Trafford on Sunday and more distant memories of defeats as a player in the Super Cup games of 2012 and 2013 Lampard was desperate to...