Peter Anderson ⚽ on the opening week of the English Premier League.

What did the first week of the new season tell us about this year's title race?

Nothing surprising! We find Man Utd at the top of the league after the comprehensive thumping of Leeds on Saturday. All the pundits are effusive with praise due to the scintillating way they dismantled a poor Leeds team, but will they be there at the end of the season? 

As a fully paid-up member of the "anybody but Man U brigade", I sincerely hope not. The pundits point to the incorporation of Sancho from Dortmund and Varane form Real Madrid as key pieces in the title push, but I just don't see them winning it this season. The win over Leeds was a masterclass from Paul Pogba. He finished the game with four assists and some of his passing was exquisite, but will he maintain that form? 

Martial and James also appeared, Martial from the bench and James started. Can Ole get these two playing at the same level every week? Bruno Fernandes scored a hattrick, but last season he was the only attacking player to maintain his level. Ole can't rely on him to win the league, he will have to get his other big names to stay at the highest level to see off Chelsea, Pool and City and I don't think Ole has the nous or stature. I've no doubt that they will finish in the top 4 and be a threat to all the clubs, especially in Old Trafford, I just can't see them lifting the prize, unless the relationship between Ole and Pogba changes radically.

City were the big losers in the opening weekend from the group of favourites, losing at our now bogie ground of White Hart Lane. Son proving what a player he is with the only goal of the game against a pedestrian City team. I think City should try to sign Son and not Kane. Son is fitter, faster and less injury prone, while being almost as potent in front of goal.

Liverpool overcame a potential banana skin by easily beating Norwich. I have to say that it was great to see Van Dijk back on the pitch. I know that that is bad for Man City as he makes Liverpool so much better, but it is good for the Premier League to have its truly world-class players on the pitch. Van Dijk is joy to behold, he makes it all look so easy.

Chelsea also shone brightly destroying Palace and they have Lukaku yet to come. West Ham seem to have started from where they left off last season putting away a dangerous Newcastle team in front of 50,000 at St James. Twice coming from behind, they ended up winning 2-4 and Moyes was over the moon with the resilience of the team. They currently sit in 4th place.

All in all, a great start to the season. Plenty of goals and not much VAR! If anything, my conviction that this season could be a classic has grown stronger.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

Goals Aplenty And Little VAR

Peter Anderson ⚽ on the opening week of the English Premier League.

What did the first week of the new season tell us about this year's title race?

Nothing surprising! We find Man Utd at the top of the league after the comprehensive thumping of Leeds on Saturday. All the pundits are effusive with praise due to the scintillating way they dismantled a poor Leeds team, but will they be there at the end of the season? 

As a fully paid-up member of the "anybody but Man U brigade", I sincerely hope not. The pundits point to the incorporation of Sancho from Dortmund and Varane form Real Madrid as key pieces in the title push, but I just don't see them winning it this season. The win over Leeds was a masterclass from Paul Pogba. He finished the game with four assists and some of his passing was exquisite, but will he maintain that form? 

Martial and James also appeared, Martial from the bench and James started. Can Ole get these two playing at the same level every week? Bruno Fernandes scored a hattrick, but last season he was the only attacking player to maintain his level. Ole can't rely on him to win the league, he will have to get his other big names to stay at the highest level to see off Chelsea, Pool and City and I don't think Ole has the nous or stature. I've no doubt that they will finish in the top 4 and be a threat to all the clubs, especially in Old Trafford, I just can't see them lifting the prize, unless the relationship between Ole and Pogba changes radically.

City were the big losers in the opening weekend from the group of favourites, losing at our now bogie ground of White Hart Lane. Son proving what a player he is with the only goal of the game against a pedestrian City team. I think City should try to sign Son and not Kane. Son is fitter, faster and less injury prone, while being almost as potent in front of goal.

Liverpool overcame a potential banana skin by easily beating Norwich. I have to say that it was great to see Van Dijk back on the pitch. I know that that is bad for Man City as he makes Liverpool so much better, but it is good for the Premier League to have its truly world-class players on the pitch. Van Dijk is joy to behold, he makes it all look so easy.

Chelsea also shone brightly destroying Palace and they have Lukaku yet to come. West Ham seem to have started from where they left off last season putting away a dangerous Newcastle team in front of 50,000 at St James. Twice coming from behind, they ended up winning 2-4 and Moyes was over the moon with the resilience of the team. They currently sit in 4th place.

All in all, a great start to the season. Plenty of goals and not much VAR! If anything, my conviction that this season could be a classic has grown stronger.

Peter Anderson is a Unionist with a keen interest in sports.

7 comments:

  1. One of the greatest crimes in football is Newcastle's underachievement.

    Still, I was dragged out of bed at midnight to watch the Chelsea game by my almost teenage son and was impressed by how we played. Composed, enthusiastic and positive. Sad to see Abraham leave albeit probably only temporary but hoping Lukaku hits the ground running against Arsenal this weekend. I also watched the Arsenal game...they were amusingly dire.

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  2. Newcastle and Sunderland have both been grossly mismanaged and both have the best fans in England. Sad!
    As for Chelsea, unfortunately Tuchel is a cut above Lamps. I was hoping Lamps would do well, he is married to a North Downer you know!

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    1. Lampard could shoot Tuchel and we'd still forgive him. But you are right, he's got a far better technical brain with great man management style.

      Still, it's us. 3 losses in a row and Tuchel will be looking elsewhere for a new job.

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  3. how do they compare to Boro fans which is also up beside them?
    I would love to see all those teams get a serious lift.
    Tuchel has something special. He reminds me so much of Klopp when he talks about the game. Lampard just didn't have it. I think he probably arrived at the Bridge a bit too early. Although getting sacked by Chelsea is not a useful way to judge any coach. Was glad Jose took Tammy Abraham.
    Bad start for your lot Peter. I suppose we just have to regard it as a blip.
    Watched the Monaco-Shakhtar game last night. The pitch looked very large for some reason. It was a good game.

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    1. Agree with Lamps being tapped too soon. Really hope he cuts his teeth in Europe as I think it adds something to the skillset then come back in the future. Abraham has the potential to dominate in Italy, especially under Mourinho. Look forward to seeing his progress.

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  4. My mate is a Liverpool nut and did his degree there in the late 80s. He says that Boro fans were the best away fans he ever saw at Anfield. At the same time I was living in London near the Old Den. I went to see Millwall v Newcastle and there were 6,000 Geordies at a second division game. The NE of England has the most tribal fans for some reason.
    I am unconcerned about our bad start. The team that starts the season best rarely wins the league. That's 4 or 5 defeats in a row at Spurs, so not unexpected. It will take us a few weeks to get up to speed, we'll be there or thereabouts when it matters!

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    1. I was in Newcastle years ago, one thing that surprised me is that they don't class themselves as English. They were very vocal that they were "we're fooking Geordies man." St James is a great stadium I thought too.

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