Phil Jones had a nightmare and what does it say about Solskjrs side that Scott McTominay is so sorely missed?Half-close your eyes, squint a little, do not think too hard and you could just about persuade yourself this was nearly a classic Manchester United comeback. But just as they were preparing to hail the youthquake, three goals by players aged 22 or under including one from Mason Greenwood, the third-youngest Premier League scorer in their history, Oli McBurnie popped up to point out that this is an imperfect simulacrum.It bears certain clear similarities to Manchester United, it has a manager who is clearly Manchester United, it plays with the tropes of Manchester United and yet somehow it is not quite...
When Mourinho is in the dugout you have to keep one eye on the pitch and one on the touchline. He is pure box office On Thursday I bumped into a couple of friends of mine, both dyed-in-the-wool Spurs fans. Before I even spoke to them, their shoulders slumped in unison and they let out a joint groan. It was as if they had just been summoned for collective root canal surgery. Its not going to end prettily, they grumbled.Hang on, I said. He hasnt even started. Continue reading...
Emery’s Arsenal have lost their direction and Spurs’ problems start at full-back but Burnley’s Dwight McNeil is on songRiyad Mahrez impressed only in spells during his first season at Manchester City but, with Leroy Sané felled by a cruciate injury in August’s Community Shield victory, the onus was on the £60m man to step up. An imperious performance at West Ham on the opening day of the season suggested he would do exactly that, yet he has started only four league games since – two of those being defeats – and with his side desperate for goals in a critical game at Anfield he was not called on at all. Mahrez remains a magical player on his day but the...
Liverpool’s resilience faces biggest test, Vardy threatens to deepen Arsenal’s gloom and a welcome dilemma for NewcastleApparently there is a game going on in Liverpool on Sunday. Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Genk in midweek was very much a continuation of a theme – since mid-September they have also beaten Chelsea, Leicester, Tottenham and Aston Villa by the same scoreline, and they last won a league game by more than one goal at home to Newcastle on 14 September. In their last six league games they have a goal difference of only five, yet they have somehow converted that into a mathematically maximal 16 points. The day Liverpool beat Newcastle was also when Manchester City lost at Norwich, but since then...
Arsenal fans turn toxic, Ralph Hasenhüttl faces a daunting week and Chelsea are no longer a one-man bandThere can be little doubt that Granit Xhaka has underwhelmed since his big-money move from Borussia Mönchengladbach three summers ago, failing to provide either the midfield bite or the drive that has been perennially lacking in Arsenal’s post-Vieira era. He has not, however, lacked effort or interest, no matter how low his performances have dipped and you wonder what exactly those home fans who booed the captain as he left the field in the second half were thinking. Certainly Arsenal’s supporters, who pay through the nose, deserve better and are entitled to vent their frustrations. But to single out an underperforming player for...