I haven't done one of these regularly on here for nearly three years now, so I'd thought I restart it and hopefully do it for longer than last time.
Welcome to the first Weekly Review of the new Premier League season. The best place to start is of course the weekend's football action; where two of the three Premier League newcomers were in action, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal all dropped points and there were some suspect refereeing decisions down in the Championship. We start our round-up with the Premier League.
Neil Warnock's QPR suffered a heavy defeat at home in their first top flight game for fifteen years against an improved Bolton side. An early candidate for goal of the season from alleged Arsenal and Liverpool target Gary Cahill was followed by a Danny Gabbidon own goal, a deflected finish from Ivan Klasnić and a Fabrice Muamba strike to put the Hoops to the sword. Clint Hill later saw red for an altercation with former Manchester City winger Martin Petrov. Meanwhile, QPR lost injury prone new signing Kieran Dyer after just five minutes. Bolton, who many (including myself) thought would struggle this year, looked on form and new signings Chris Eagles and Nigel Reo-Coker looked good. Conversely, QPR's defence were all over the place and star man Adel Taarabt did not impress following his 19 goals last year.
Meanwhile, Joey Barton made a rare appearance in the headlines as he was involved in two incidents in Newcastle's goaless draw with Arsenal; one of which saw the dismissal of Arsenal's new signing Gervinho. In a clash of unfortunate haircuts, Barton grabbed Gervinho following an alleged dive by the Ivorian international. This was followed by a traditional melee in which Gervinho slapped Barton. Barton then, after a good couple of nanoseconds delay, hit the deck like the proverbial sack of excrement. Gervinho was dismissed, and Barton got away with a booking, when both probably should have gone. However, this was preceded by another incident involving Barton, as well as Alex Song (sporting his Perry Groves toupee) who stamped on the Newcastle midfielder. Song will probably now face a retrospective three game ban, and Barton had yet another genuine grievance that he poorly handled as he rushed up to the fourth official. On the pitch, it was not a brilliant game, as Laurent Koscielny had the best chance of the game, having his headed cleared off the line by Danny Simpson.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Norwich managed to get a draw at the DW against Wigan. Ben Watson converted a penalty, following Richie De Laet's challenge on Franco Di Santo. Norwich equalised with a Wes Hoolahan strike following a Ali Al-Habsi howler, before Di Santo had another genuine penalty shout waved away.
At Anfield, Liverpool brought out the new signings as Jose Enrique, Jordan Henderson, Charlie Adam and Stewart Downing all started. Kieran Richardson (some would argue) was lucky to stay on the pitch as he tripped Luis Suarez as he was one on one, but I'm sure the former West Brom and Man Utd man sighed a sigh of relief as the Uruguayan handball captain skied the resulting spot kick. Nevertheless, he made up for it minutes later to put the Reds ahead. Andy Carroll had a goal chalked off for a push on Anton Ferdinand before half time. Liverpool then faded in the second half and the Black Cats, also displaying some new signings, grew into the game as summer capture Sebastian Larsson applied a good finish to an Ahmed El-Mohammady cross to level the scores.
The other games on Saturday saw Wolves win away at Blackburn thanks to a Stephen Ward's strike and new managers Martin Jol and Alex McLeish saw their Fulham and Villa sides draw 0-0.
Onto Sunday, and Manchester United were able to achieve what they often struggled to last year: an away win. Wayne Rooney opened the scoring at the Hawthorns against West Brom, before David De Gea lived up to his reputation of being beaten by Long shots (get it), by letting in an effort from the former Reading man. United then grabbed a late winner for the first time ever as Steven Reid put past his own keeper. However, United left the game with some important injury concerns with both Ferdinand and Vidic having to be subbed.
At the Brit, United's title rivals Chelsea could only manage a goalless draw with Stoke. No doubt Roman Abramovich will already be looking for AVB's replacement as Chelsea failed to get off to a winning start. Frank Lampard had a penalty shout turned down, whilst Fernando Torres looked a lot sharper than last season (but still no goals).
Here are the Premier League results in full:
Blackburn Rovers 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa
Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland
Newcastle United 0-0 Arsenal
Queens Park Rangers 0-4 Bolton Wanderers
Stoke City 0-0 Chelsea
West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Manchester United
Wigan Athletic 1-1 Norwich City
Team of the Week:
Begovic
Coloccini Brown Woodgate Johnson
Larsson Eagles Hoolahan Downing
Rooney Fletcher
Down in the Championship, Sam Allardyce's West Ham got off to there first win of the season at Doncaster. Captain Kevin Nolan struck early on in a 1-0 win.
At Elland Road, Leeds' fans protests continued as Simon Grayson's side fell to a home defeat to Middlesborough. Dutchman Marvin Emnes made it two league defeats on the trot for Leeds. The game was marred however by the questionable refereeing of Anthony Taylor who dished out reds to three players, as well as ten bookings during the course of the game. Whilst Max Gradel's second yellow was probably just, Tony McMahon and Johnny Howson's were arguable. Particularly the latter who lightly clashed with Emnes. Taylor was prepared to book the Dutchman for diving before changing his mind and sending off Howson.
The second week of the Championship also saw newly promoted Southampton and Brighton continue their winning starts with three points earned over Barnsley and Portsmouth respectively. Cardiff went level top with Southampton thanks to a 3-1 win over Bristol City and Steve McLaren's Nottingham Forest were beaten by Millwall. Finally, Sven Goran Eriksson's big spending Leicester were beaten at home by beaten play-off finalists Reading, who are getting used to the loss of star striker Shane Long.
Here are the Championship results in full:
Barnsley 0-1 Southampton
Birmingham City 1-0 Coventry City
Blackpool 2-1 Peterborough
Cardiff City 3-1 Bristol City
Crystal Palace 2-0 Burnley
Doncaster Rovers 0-1 West Ham United
Ipswich Town 0-1 Hull City
Leeds United 0-1 Middlesbrough
Leicester City 0-2 Reading
Millwall 2-0 Nottingham Forest
Portsmouth 0-1 Brighton and Hove Albion
Watford 0-1 Derby County
Up in Scotland, Motherwell went top with a 1-0 win at St. Mirren. Celtic (a point behind with a game in hand) thrashed Dundee United 5-1, whilst Kilmarnock grabbed their first win of the season, beating Hibernian 4-1. Rangers beat bottom Inverness 2-0.
In Spain, it was the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. Barcelona gained the advantage for the second leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday grabbing two away goals in a 2-2 draw. Mesut Ozil had put Los Merengues ahead, before goals from David Villa and Lionel Messi turned things around. Xabi Alonso grabbed an equaliser to give hope to Jose Mourinho's team.
Football Quote of the Week
'Imagine the worst-case scenario and we lose Fabregas and Nasri. You cannot convince people you are ambitious after that.'
A quote from Arsene Wenger last month. Well, um....
*In Profile: Best Signings of the Summer
Only sixteen more days remain of the summer transfer window, and most clubs have already got most their business done early (Arsene, take notice). So, with around £300 million already spent by the top flight clubs, which signings will prove to be excellent purchases and which ones will flop as badly as a £17 million Spanish goalkeeper. Well, anyway, here are my best and worst purchases of the summer:
The Best:
Shay Given
Far too good of a keeper to spend his time sitting on Manchester City's bench, Ireland's number one finally got a move away from City to join Alex McLeish's Birmingham side. He made a couple of good saves in his league debut against Fulham, and with two solid centre-halves in front of him in Dunne and Collins, Villa may be able to push for a top seven finish this year.
Nigel Reo Coker
I'm surprised Aston Villa let him go, and I'm even more surprised that a bigger team (with all due to respect to Bolton) did not go in for him. He's the sort of determined tough-tackling midfielder that Arsenal or Spurs could do with to bolster their midfields, but it seems neither was interested. He had a good start to his new career at Bolton with a solid performance in the team's demolition of QPR.
Stewart Downing
The £20 million signing from Villa nearly got off to a dream start on his Liverpool debut, smashing a strike from distance against Sunderland's crossbar following a emphatic run. Nonetheless, it was an impressive first game for the former Boro man who will be sure to provide ammunition from wide for strike duo Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez.
Sergio Aguero
Whether he will adapt to the Premier League or not is yet to be seen, but Manchester City's £35 million man is just the marquee signing City needed to announce their arrival on the Champions League stage. Aguero lit up La Liga for Atletico over the last few years, and will certainly look to do the same in the Premier League this year.
Ashley Young
Yet another departure from Aston Villa, Ashley Young joined Manchester United for £16 million and has already proved a fantastic signing. Young had a good pre-season, followed by a good performance in the Community Shield and in the opening league game with West Brom. The 26-year old has added more movement to United's side, and now must be considered as one of the first names on Fabio Capello's teamsheet.
Jonathan Woodgate
If he stays injury free (easier said than done), then this will be a great season for Stoke City's Jonathan Woodgate. Signed on a free from Spurs, the former Leeds and Newcastle defender has had his injury problems over the years, but he has put in assured performances in Stoke's Europa League victory over Hajduk Split, as well as in their first game of the season over Chelsea.
John O'Shea
Manchester United may just regret letting utility man John O'Shea leave following injuries to Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, but the Irishman joined Sunderland for £4 million in the summer. Capable of playing anywhere along the back four or midfield, the versatile O'Shea, along with Wes Brown, will finally get the week in, week out starting role that they have deserved for years.
Roger Johnson
At a reported £7 million, Wolves may have pulled off the signing of the season in their new captain, Roger Johnson. Brilliant in Birmingham's Carling Cup victory last season and throughout the past two seasons, like Reo-Coker its a surprise that another club (Arsenal *cough*) did not go in for the experienced defender. Wolves' defence was not exactly solid last year, but the signing of Johnson should go some way to sort that out.
The Worst
Kieron Dyer
A very talented player who has had an awful history of injury, yet QPR still had faith in the former West Ham man. Whilst Stoke's gamble on Woodgate looks set to pay off, Dyer was stretchered off after just five minutes into his debut against Bolton. Luckily for Dyer, nothing was broken, despite a feared broken metatarsal. If he can return to full fitness and stay fit, then he will have a good season, but somehow I doubt it.
David De Gea
He's still a young keeper at 20, but he can be faulted for the two goals in the Community Shield, as well as West Brom's equaliser at the weekend. Conceding a large proportion of goals from distance last year, De Gea looks a real liability in goal for United. Whilst he will learn from these mistakes and improve, can Man United afford to keep playing him this season?
Charles N'Zogbia
Charles N'Zogbia is a good player. Well he's good whenever he's playing a big four side or towards the end of a season when he's looking for a move. He was subbed off in the second half during a lacklustre start to his Villa career at Fulham and replaced by Mark Albrighton who looked more dangerous going forward. He will certainly struggle to fill the gaps left by Downing and Young.
The Week's News
Cesc Fabregas finally completed his dream move to Barcelona after months of speculation. The Spaniard is all set to complete his €40 million move (including add-ons) to Las Blaugranas.
Further speculation regarding another midfielder as Chelsea continue their pursuit of Spurs' Luka Modric with both Daniel Levy and Harry Redknapp still unwilling to let the Croatian go.
Following the English riots, the England-Holland friendly and Tottenham-Everton were called off as well as a series of League Cup ties that are due to be rescheduled some time in the immediate future.
One to Watch
Name: Emmanuel Frimpong
Age: 19
Club: Arsenal
Nationality: Ghanaian/English
Comparison: The New Abou Diaby (high praise indeed...)
Whilst there seems to be an exodus of midfielders at the Emirates, Arsenal do have another pool of young midfielders ready to jump in. Along with Wilshere and Ramsay, Emmanuel Frimpong will feature heavily this season. Last year was supposed to be his breakthrough season, but an injury to his knee in pre-season left him absent for the entire season. However, after a very good pre-season, Frimpong will finally get a chance to show everyone what he can do, adding much needed bite to Arsenal's midfield. Frimpong has announced his desire to play for Ghana, but he is also eligible for England and Stuart Pearce should definitely take notice. Solid in a tackle and with Arsenal's trademark passing skill, Frimpong will certainly be one to watch this season.
The Big Preview(s)
Two big matches to preview this week: the first of which sees a certain South Wales club make their Premier League debut.
Manchester City v. Swansea; Monday 15th August 2011
The last game of the first week of the 2011/2012 Premier League season (Tottenham-Everton excluded) is a clash between two sides of very different financial backgrounds. 'Mega-rich' Manchester City meet Welsh Premier League newcomers Swansea City at Eastlands (or whatever it's called now). The Swans could not have wished for a tougher start to their first top-flight campaign since all round here was green fields.
Whilst many bookies have them as relegation favourites, one must not immediately right off Brendan Rodgers' side as dead certs for the drop just yet. Following their 4-2 Play-Off final victory over Reading at Wembley last season, Swansea have brought in some solid signings. Leroy Lita and Wayne Routledge both have prior experience of the Premier League, but its the signing of Danny Graham that is exciting in particular for Swans fans. Last year's top goalscorer in the Championship was a £3.5 million acquisition from Watford and looks set to do well in the Premier League. Combined with the likes of Scott Sinclair and Nathan Dyer, and despite the losses of Darren Pratley to Bolton and Dorus De Vries to Wolves, Swansea might have enough to rack up enough points to survive.
Unfortunately for them, however, I cannot see any of those points arriving tonight. Despite throwing away a two goal lead in last weeks Community Shield against Manchester United, City look like real title contenders this time out and should too strong at home for the newly-promoted side with an assortment of attacking talent to choose from.
Onto team news, and talking about that assortment of attacking talent, at least £35 million of it will be on the bench as Sergio Aguero will again not start. Dzeko and Balotelli are likely to play instead.
For Swansea, captain Gary Monk in doubtful, whilst Graham, Lita and Routledge will probably all make their competitive debuts for their clubs.
Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Swansea City
Now onto Arsenal, who are in Champions League qualification action on Tuesday
Arsenal v. Udinese; Tuesday 16th August 2011
If it were not for the Gunners' collapse towards the end of last season, they could have been safely in the Champions League group stage and avoided a nasty looking tie with Serie A fourth placers Udinese.
The Italians have one of the Italian league's most prolific goalscorers of recent years in Antonio di Natale, but are without star man Alexis Sanchez who Barcelona signed earlier in the summer. Arsenal are sure to empathise, with Cesc Fabregas all set to join to Sanchez at the Nou Camp as well.
The two sides have never met in a UEFA competition, but the Italians did beat Tottenham Hotspurs in the UEFA Cup in 2008 at home.
Arsenal will be missing last year's top scorer Robin Van Persie following his dismissal at the Nou Camp last season. Despite his red against Newcastle, Gervinho will be available and will most likely partner Marouane Chamakh and Theo Walcott or Arshavin in attack. Wilshere is a doubt, whilst Japanese winger Ryo Miyachi will not be available until the Liverpool game at the weekend. Rosicky is a doubt, whilst Nasri is also suspended (like he was going to play anyway).
Despite home advantage, one has to fear for Arsenal who really lacked a creative spark against Newcastle. Whilst not reaching the Champions League, will be a financial disaster for the club, I can see Udinese giving them real trouble.
Prediction: Arsenal 1-1 Udinese
Next Week's Predictions
Arsenal 1-2 Liverpool
Aston Villa 2-0 Blackburn
Bolton 1-2 Manchester City
Chelsea 3-1 West Brom
Everton 1-0 QPR
Man Utd 2-1 Spurs
Norwich 0-1 Stoke
Sunderland 2-1 Newcastle
Swansea 1-0 Wigan
Wolves 0-0 Fulham
(Next blog: 22/8/2011)