da bet7： The Premier League is taking a weekend off to make way for the Euro 2016 qualifiers, and while this may come as bad news for those football fans who find the international break a tedious affair, the pause at least gives us the opportunity to fully scrutinise last weekend’s domestic action.
da 888： The 2014/15 season is almost a third of the way through, and while the most recent round of fixtures largely conformed to the general narrative of the campaign so far – a runaway leader looking invincible, continued struggles for the established order, and the remarkable rise of the underdogs – there was still plenty to garner from the action. Here are four things we learnt…
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CLICK ON SHANE LONG TO REVEAL THE FOUR
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1. Curse of Europe strikes again
Chelsea, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Everton were all involved in European competition in midweek; all bar Chelsea failed to win in the Premier League this weekend. The belief that participation in the Europa League is more of a hindrance than an honour is long-standing given the fact that its Thursday night schedule leaves teams with precious time to recover and prepare for domestic duty, however the debilitating effects of continental football seem to have extended to Champions League participants as well. Manchester City and Arsenal were still clearly suffering from damaging results in Europe with the Citizens snatching a draw against relegation candidates QPR and the Gunners losing at Swansea, while Brendan Rodgers’ bold decision to rest key players against Real Madrid on Tuesday was not vindicated as his Liverpool side suffered a third straight defeat in all competitions against Chelsea. The Reds seem to be adhering to some absurd logic whereby mere qualification to the Champions League is more important than actual participation in it. For Rodgers, the ideal is sweeter than the reality, which hints towards a sad truth concerning world football’s elite club competition, namely that only a handful of sides can realistically hope to win the whole thing. Chelsea are the only English side who possess the quality and strength in depth to seriously challenge domestically and continentally; most other sides seem to find great difficulty in managing the demands of both. Why, then, are the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal even bothering to compete in the Champions League in the first place? The answer is simple: money.
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2. Southampton serious contenders for top four
Questioning the point of qualifying for the Champions League should not take anything away from Southampton’s incredible season. It is hard not to like the Saints and their attractive brand of winning football under the brilliant Ronald Koeman, and while they gained many plaudits for their impressive start to the campaign, it is about time that we stopped viewing the side as a flash in the pan that will eventually fade and settle in mid-table. The South Coast club should be considered as genuine contenders to last the whole season and finish in the top four – they are already 11 points ahead of last year’s runners-up Liverpool, and presently one can only see that gap widening. For all their attacking verve, Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Leicester City highlighted the importance of a solid defence for the Saints, and if their back four continue to impress for the remainder of the season – they have conceded just five goals, a league best by a considerable distance – then it is difficult to see how they can possibly slip up.
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3. Swans show importance of stability
Swansea City gained promotion to the Premier League a season before Southampton managed the feat, with many identifying the stable, responsible leadership of Huw Jenkins in his capacity as chairman of the club as a key factor in the Swans’ success. However, this stability came under threat last season as things began to turn sour during Michael Laudrup’s second year in the dugout. There were talks of a schism in the dressing room with Chico Flores being a particularly disruptive influence, and this internal turmoil was clearly having an effect on the field as the Swans struggled against being dragged into a relegation battle for most of the season. Change was clearly needed, yet the sacking of Laudrup in February and the appointment of Garry Monk as his successor did not initially inspire much hope – Monk was still registered as a player at the time and had no prior experience of managing a club. Nevertheless, the 35 year-old led the Swans to safety and the way in which his side has started the current campaign shows that the decision to name him as manager was an inspired one by Jenkins. Monk has been at Swansea for more than ten years – he has seen them rise from League Two to the Premier League and has a greater understanding of the workings of the club, its ethos and its footballing philosophy than any other potential managerial candidate could ever have possessed. His steadying influence is precisely what the Swans needed after a trying season under Laudrup, and Sunday’s superb victory over Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium served only to strengthen Monk’s reputation.
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4. Burnley are not dead and buried just yet
While Swansea City and Southampton may be examples of recently-promoted sides relishing life in the top flight, Burnley cannot be considered in this category. After ten games of the season, there was talk of the Clarets being dead-certs for relegation and even finishing the campaign with the lowest-ever points total. Sean Dyche’s men had amassed just four points – none of which came from winning a game – and a glaring lack of attacking potency was expected to be their downfall. Though this issue is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, not even in the January transfer window where the Clarets will find it difficult to lure a proven, Premier League-standard goalscorer to Turf Moor, they did at least manage to record a first victory at the eleventh time of asking on Saturday. The tight 1-0 defeat of Hull City is exactly the type of result that Burnley will need to register on a more regular basis if they are to stand any chance of staying in the league; goals will always be hard to come by, so snatching one in the hope that the defence remains impregnable could see them gain just enough points to survive. The Lancashire outfit are now just two points from safety; there is hope yet that they can confound all expectations.
Got any questions? Follow me on Twitter @GruffuddOwen
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