Eleven points from eleven games. That is the start that Chelsea, the defending Premier League champions, have made to their title defence this season. It is, by some distance, the worse start to a title defence in Premier League history. In fact, you have to go back to the ’92-93 season, the first in the Premier League era, to find one that looks as bad.
That season, Leeds United, who had won the title by four points from Manchester United the previous season, took 14 points from their first 11 games, which included a loss to a Middlesbrough side that would ultimately get relegated. Leeds actually went into the final few matchdays of the ‘92-93 season with relegation a real possibility, but draws against Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, and Coventry City kept them in the Premier League by a margin of two points as they finished 17th (in a 22 team division).
Now, we’re not saying that Chelsea – a team that has been put together with investment of over £200 million – is in danger of relegation, but as I write this, they do find themselves a mere four points above 18th placed Newcastle and already ten points off the Champions League places.
What we can agree on is that there is a lot wrong with Chelsea at the moment. Star men from last season like Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, and Diego Costa just aren’t the same players this season as they were last as the Blues swept to the league title.
Their 3-1 loss to Liverpool was a microcosm of their current malaise – aside from their fourth minute goal and Oscar’s cheeky attempted lob in the second half, they didn’t really trouble Simon Mignolet. Two Philippe Coutinho goals and another to Christian Benteke off the bench and that was that as the champs slumped to their sixth loss already this season.
SUMMARY: Premier League form last 5 games. pic.twitter.com/IjwMFLzniK
— BBC Sporf (@BBCSporf) November 1, 2015
And here’s where things get interesting. In the Premier League era, no team that has ‘won’ 11 points from their first ten games, let alone their first eleven, has finished higher than seventh. Right now, today, Chelsea’s best chance of playing Champions League football in ’16-17 is winning the European Cup in ’15-16.
Moan-rinho bonus: it’s just getting sad now, isn’t it? Another Chelsea loss, and another petulant, childish post-match strop from the Special One. For the record, I don’t think Chelsea will sack little ol’ Jose, but that’s only a belief borne out of the fact that there really isn’t anyone to take the role – Pep Guardiola is hanging out for the Manchester City job next season and you get a sense of ‘been there, done that’ with Carlo Anceoltti.
The race for fourth
Given the above stat, and barring a £100 million+ spending spree (and possibly a new manager), Chelsea are already potentially done in the race for the top four.
Despite the current table – a top four of Manchester City, Arsenal, Leicester, Manchester United – it really seems like, ever since the appointment of Jurgen Klopp, that Liverpool look like a team more than at any time since Steven Gerrard’s imfamous slip. Klopp has galvanised the Reds, and that fourth place, in behind the two Manchester clubs and Arsenal, appears to be theirs to lose.
This is not to discount Tottenham, who moved themselves into fifth place with a 3-1 win over manager-less Aston Villa in the late Monday fixture, but Spurs always seem to come up short, don’t they? Go here for more on Spurs chase for fourth.
The real question here is whether or not upstarts like Leicester, West Ham, or even Southampton have the staying power to truly maintain a top four challenge.
Life at the bottom
Even though it’s only November, it’s all going tits up for a few clubs already, starting from the bottom:
Villa still haven’t won since the opening day of the season, losing nine of their other ten games, and have a new manager coming in, the club’s fifth since Martin O’Neill left in 2010. The Villians have also scored the least goals in the Premier League (10).
Sunderland were just smashed 6-2 by a rampant Everton, and have a pair of centre halves intent on keeping as much space between them as humanly possible.
Despite their lowly league position, Newcastle get a pass as they seem to be gelling, and despite not scoring against Stoke, they did look excellent in attack, notching six shots on target to go along with eight in last week’s bizarre 3-0 loss to Sunderland. Something tells me Newcastle will be fine.
Bournemouth are suffering under a crushing injury crisis and an inability to defend – 24 goals conceded, second worse in the division, having shipped 12 in their last three games.
Norwich are yet to keep a clean sheet in the league, despite the occasional excellence of ‘keeper John Ruddy; getting City to the half at 0-0 was probably seen as an achievement.
We’ll stop there, as Chelsea are next, and we’ve already covered their issues in depth. Needless to say, surely the Blues results will pick up eventually, while these five teams run a serious risk of being cut adrift before Christmas.
View image | gettyimages.com
It ain’t easy being a ref
A couple of talking points from the Chelsea v Liverpool game. Firstly to Reds midfielder Lucas, who probably did deserve a second yellow card for his continued indiscretions. That said, the match really should have been 10 v 10 after Costa (any surprises?) performed some sort of kick out-stomp on Martin Skrtel’s chest. Imagine for a moment if Costa had done that to a player who doesn’t look like he eats nails for breakfast. Imagine if he’d done that to teammates Hazard or Oscar? Most other players would have been rolling around like they’d been stabbed, actively trying to get Costa sent off, and he probably deserved it. Hopefully Skrtel’s professional approach to the situation taught Costa something about not being a colossal c*nt all the time.
A quick point from the West Brom v Leicester match, with what looked to be a clear make-up call for the home side. First, Leicester defender Robert Huth ploughs straight through the back of Darren Fletcher for what looked a clear penalty with the match evenly poised at 1-1. But no spot kick, with Riyad Mahrez giving Leicester a 2-1 lead shortly thereafter. Then, with the match now 3-1 Leicester, West Brom were handed the softest of soft penalties. Perhaps the ref had a guilty conscience.
Vardy bonus: Jamie Vardy continues to score goals, having now scored in eight straight Premier League matches, the third player to do so alongside Ruud van Nistelrooy and Daniel Sturridge. Can Vardy crack Ruud’s all-time EPL record of goals in 10 straight matches? You assume Vardy is now on penalty duty for the Foxes!
Kloppage Time
So, some people have an issue with the amount of first half stoppage time that was played between Liverpool and Chelsea. If you’re one of these people, you really need to listen to what the ground announcer says when the fourth official puts the board up to show how many minutes. “There will be a minimum of two added minutes.” Key word there – minimum. Meaning, and I’m just speculating here, that there could be more than the minimum, maybe thirty seconds more, which was just enough for Coutinho to haul Liverpool level at the break.
Klopp bonus: Has Jurgen Klopp put a foot wrong since taking the Liverpool job? The latest instalment – yelling at a Chelsea coach on the bench, has no doubt further endeared him to the Liverpool faithful. This is just my opinion, but every team in the Premier League would bin their manager today if they could appoint Klopp tomorrow.
Please put Wayne out of his misery
This much is now clear – Wayne Rooney has become a burden to Manchester United and he needs to be dropped. He is far too ponderous and he is slowing down the United attack. Case in point, when Rooney wasn’t quick enough to latch onto Anthony Martial’s defence-splitting pass, with the England striker beaten to the ball by Palace ‘keeper Wayne Hennessey. One wonders that Marital would have had the pace to gather and bury the chance had their roles been reversed in that particular action.
Rooney is actually slowing down and hindering what could be a frighteningly pacy, dynamic front line – Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin in midfield, an attacking triumvirate of Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, and Memphis Depay buzzing in behind Martial, who is in fact a striker, despite his manager’s post-match protestations.
On any other day, Yannick Bolaise in the first half and Yohan Cabaye in the second would have put this game beyond United, and Rooney’s uselessness is a big part of that.
View image | gettyimages.com
A quick note about first-placed Manchester City
Aleksandar Kolarov missing a penalty with the last kick of the game pretty much summed up the afternoon for City against Norwich – they had the game won, but had massive difficulties in putting Norwich away 2-1. Not having Sergio Aguero or David Silva in your team can do that.
A quick word about second-placed Arsenal
Arsenal have won their past five games, scoring 16 in those games, with the 3-0 win against Swansea the latest installment. North London derby up next for a team that is right in the thick of the title conversation.
Swansea bonus: while Arsenal are rolling in attack, Swansea are struggling, particularly Bafetimbi Gomis, who has not scored since notching four goals in four games to open the season.
West Ham roller coaster getting beyond a joke
What started out as a running joke in this item has become a full-blown crisis of confidence for West Ham. These are the teams they have beaten this season: Arsenal (a), Liverpool (a), Newcastle (h), Manchester City (a), Crystal Palace (h), Chelsea (a). These are the games in which the Hammers have failed to take maximum points: lost to Leicester at home, lost to Bournemouth at home, drew with Norwich at home, drew with Sunderland away, and now we can add lost to Watford away. These dropped points against some of the Premier League’s lesser lights stand between the Hammers and a place in the top four.
Big Sam the tea lady
Sam Allardyce emerging from the Goodison tunnel holding his cup of tea might just be the most English thing the Premier League has ever seen #NoExaggeration.
Goal of the week – Jermaine Defoe
The one bright spark for Sunderland on a day of woe against Everton. After his Black Cats teammates had twice hit the frame of Tim Howard’s goal, Defoe stepped up to drag Sunderland back into the game. First, he sticks out a hopeful toe to bring down Sebastian Coates pass from deep in front of John Stones, chips the ball pas the challenge of Funes Mori, before lashing a shot past Howard, via the faintest of deflections off the recovering Stones. A goal for those that love sheer determination, one “with so much to do” as the match commentators put it, Defoe’s fifth goal in his last eight Premier League games at Goodison.
Goose of the week – Andy Carroll
A week after Slaven Bilic said Carroll was the best player in the division in the air, he shows just how much of a goose he can be with the ball on the ground. His dawdling on the ball that led to Odion Ighalo’s opening goal set in motion another embarrassing day for the Hammer’s against ‘inferior’ opposition.
Gloveman of the week – Jack Butland
As 0-0 draws go, Newcastle can probably feel aggrieved at the fact they only took a point from this game, and Butland was the main reason for that. England’s number two was in the form of his life on this day, pulling off save after save to deny Aleksandar Mitrovic in the first half, and then Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko (twice), Ayoze Perez, and Jamaal Lascelles in the second. A fighting point earned and a Man of the Match award for a player who has made more saves than any other ‘keeper in the Premier League this season.
Assist of the week – Gerard Deulofeu
This is a new item, and a shameless new item at that – shameless, as it’s only purpose is so I can mention the brilliance of Deulofeu’s perfectly weighted pass for Romelu Lukaku’s goal. This was just one sublime piece of attacking skill from an Everton team that looked like they could score every time they broke forward (yes, it was only against Sunderland).
Fantasy stud
Everton’s attack was clicking on all cylinders against Sunderland, and it was Arouna Kone who starred for fantasy players, notching a hat-trick of goals as well as an assist for Deulofeu’s opener. Lukaku might be the focal point of the Everton forward line, but with Kone, and Deulofeu and Ross Barkley all on song, the only way is up for the Toffees.
Fantasy coach killer
So many fantasy owners would have jumped on Joe Hart given City were playing Norwich. To concede a goal is one thing, but to essentially drop the ball, on your goal line, onto an opposition striker’s foot is a killer. For so long, Hart was England’s undisputed number one, but he’ll want to cut out moments like this with Butland in such good form.
Final thought…
Congratulations to the New Zealand All Blacks for winning the Rugby World Cup over the weekend, even if it was over our Wallabies. It was also good to see some of that Rugby culture make its way into the Premier League over the weekend – after scoring what would be the final goal of the game, Southampton striker Graziano Pelle celebrated with what looked like his own version of the ‘haka’, the All Black’s pre-match war dance. The Southampton v Bournemouth game came on Sunday in the UK, after the World Cup Final on Saturday night. I wonder if Pelle knew he’d just scored past an Aussie, Bournemouth ‘keeper Adam Federici, who was playing for the injured Artur Boruc. Perhaps Pelle was trolling Federici over the Rugby score?