Underrated Pearson has transformed Watford, Wolves’ unsung hero comes to fore and Messi and Griezmann just don’t clickThe sound of a top-flight stadium reverberating to “We’ve got super Nigel Pearson, he knows exactly what we need” (tune: Bad Moon Rising) can be filed among the things few envisaged in August. But Watford’s win against Liverpool was a measure of the uplift one of the season’s less likely appointments has contrived. “He is always about feet on the floor, he [has] never overreacted and you have to stay focused,” said Abdoulaye Doucouré. “He showed us videos and said we can do it. Nigel is a great, great manager, a great lad, and now he will keep everyone on the floor to...
Arsenal look stronger at the back, Saints may regret some of match programme content and QPR bring the excitementIt says a lot about the reign of Unai Emery that, until Sunday, it had been almost 11 months since Arsenal kept successive clean sheets in the league. Burnley and Newcastle are not the sternest tests of a side’s defence – and Arsenal rode their luck in both instances – but there is no doubt David Luiz and co have begun to look notably more assured. Fourteen years after the departure of the club’s last top-class centre-back in Sol Campbell, could this be the beginnings of a new, level-headed Arsenal backline? Mikel Arteta’s first 11 games in charge have seen his side...
It took a 9-0 humiliation for the manager to switch to his beloved 4-2-2-2 system but improvement has been dramaticFor Ralph Hasenhüttl and Southampton, the first three months of the season felt like an ordeal but the tone had been set from the very start. The manager took his team to Burnley on the opening weekend, full of optimism and with his first pre-season at the club behind him, only to lose 3-0 after a second-half capitulation.“You have seven weeks to prepare for the first game and then you lose the first game and that means the seven weeks were shit,” Hasenhüttl says as he prepared for the return fixture with Burnley at St Mary’s on Saturday. “This is a...
Ralph Hasenhüttl’s Southampton turnaround has been impressive while West Ham might end up giving Manuel Pellegrini a £10m severance package for little gainA lot of clubs have spent the season yo-yoing around the Premier League. In early November Bournemouth were seventh and Brighton were eighth, and now both are fighting relegation; Crystal Palace were seventh at the start of December and now they aren’t looking comfortable; Southampton have appeared doomed, safe and now look uncertain again; Burnley have crossed the halfway line eight times already. Beneath the top two, there is real competitive balance; people have always said that in the Premier League anyone can beat anyone, and this year – aside from Liverpool, and Manchester City when they turn...
Olivier Giroud’s absence is a mystery, Hugo Lloris proves his worth and Manchester United’s defence continues to wobbleThe debutant Steven Bergwijn will rightfully claim the headlines for Spurs but the contribution of Tottenham’s current third-longest serving player against Manchester City should not be forgotten. Hugo Lloris made one of the saves of the season to deny Sergio Agüero in the first half, somehow getting a big toe to turn a deflected shot on to the post, before he also denied Ilkay Gündogan from the penalty spot (the fourth spot-kick City have missed in their past six). Lloris rode his luck – he was clearly off his line when palming Gündogan’s effort away and fortunate not to concede another penalty when...