Once again, Compliment of the season to all our dear readers! We couldn’t ask for a more dramatic finale to the premier league action in 201...
Once again, Compliment of the season to all our dear readers!
We couldn’t ask for a more dramatic finale to the premier league action in 2013! In the last 8 days, we’ve seen breath taking actions across the league as teams battle to finish the year on a good note.
Liverpool are obviously the biggest losers; topping the league at Christmas was an unbelievable feet but slipping outside the Champions league spot 4 days later after facing the two largest squads in the country on paper has made this festive period one they will want to forget quickly.
Arsenal definitely the biggest winners; they Londoners are top going into the new for the first time in 6 years. Good sign for their title credential. Let’s not forget United, who are now 3 points behind Everton who are in 4th! Rule them out at your own peril! And yes Huddlestone’s hair is finally gone after he broke his goal drought after 54 games!
I’ve said a lot already, let’s look at the 5 things we gathered from the matches
Picking Up The Pieces
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| Danny the super sub scored his 4th goal in 6 games to push United up to 6th |
Honestly I would be lying to you if I knew what David Moyes was going on about when he said Man Utd had a chance at retaining the Premier League title after coming from behind to beat Hull City during the midweek encounter but Man Utd have picked up the pieces and have won six games in all competitions and their win against Norwich City, without Talismen Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, highlights the self-confidence the team is beginning to brew.
No disrespect to the Canaries, the game against Norwich was a game you would expect Man Utd to win even though they had lost their previously, but the trademark of champions has always been the ability to grind out wins even when they have not been at their best performance and the Red Devils showed that.
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| Still Possible! Moyes believes United can still win the league |
Qualification for Champions League remains a priority right now for Moyes and if they continue grinding out wins albeit good performances, then retaining the title could come into play but for now Man Utd, on the log, remain far off the ribbons on the trophy come May.
Star On The Tree
Arsenal have had, not only a good opening season, but a good year as well. So it was only right they finished top of the table this 2013; would they finish top come May 2014- that is another.
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| Giroud to the rescue! The Frenchman's strike ensured the Gunners finished the year on top |
Back to Back wins over West Ham and Newcastle United is quite something given that the Wenger’s team is getting thread bare and had to work to get those wins. The Gunners are beginning to grab wins in any way they can, unlike the previous years where the neat and tidy approach was always the case, the North Londoners at the moment are ready to play dirty, roll their sleeves up, and take battering.
They have been new visitors to the treatment table with the absence of Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey but the return of the old guards and their immediate contributions means they are all on board.
Ynwa For Luis Suarez
If it is not broken then don't fix it, one of the oldest ideologies in the game. Back to back defeats for Liverpool means they might just have to fix this broken team.
Well it would be harsh to call them broken but their performance against Chelsea suggests the Reds might be in the market for another advanced forward and a playmaker if the bank would allow them to.
Against Man City, each team had the chance to threaten goal occasionally and with City's wingers pushing forward there was space in the middle of the park for Rodgers' men to play in but the case was different for Liverpool against Chelsea.
Jose Mourinho kept his team compact and resulted to almost similar tactics against Arsenal, where it was just the counter-attack and the Happy One is using such tactics against the bigger teams and while it is working for him, Liverpool were unable to break it.
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| Suarez had two shouts for a penalty but didn't get the nod from Howard Webb |
Luis Suarez looked more frustrated as the game went on and it looked like his team were expecting were expecting him to conjure up some magic.
The Uruguayan needs a better supporting cast or one to ease his burden and with rumors of Liverpool trying to get Mohamed Salah, the boardroom have already identified the need for new men to help them get into the UCL spots after falling out of it recently.
NO EASY RIDES
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| City needed to fight tooth and nail before overcoming dogged Palace |
You have to create your own luck and that is what it is going to be this season. You have got to do your best and pray others falter, problem is teams are doing their best and rivals are not faltering, so it means to keep those below you on the table below you, you have to just keep them below you i.e. beat them.
Man Utd and Man City both got wins while Liverpool and Newcastle came out with nothing after losing to Chelsea and Arsenal respectively. Spurs were able to get a win and Everton did the same thanks to Lukaku ending his goal drought.
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| Lukaku scored his first goal in 6 games which proved to be the winner against the Saints |
To maintain your position in the top six means you have to beat the immediate people surrounding you as the teams from London did, no team is willing to give a free ride to anyone and all teams apart from Tottenham ended up with a goal margin.
Hair-CuttingRaising Performances
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| Tom Huddlestone promised to cut his hair and raise funds for charity when he scores |
If the 3-3 game between West Ham and West Brom wasn't enough for you satisfaction then the Cardiff game against Sunderland should. The Black Cats were able to claw back from going 2 goals down to snatch an equalizer right at the end thanks to substitutions from Gus Poyet. But away from Upton Park and at Hull City, we saw Tom Huddlestone give the worst impression of Samson, don't think that was what he intended but, the Tigers were able to trash Fulham 6-0, Steve Bruce is really good at what he does, eh?
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| They couldn't even wait till full time! Huddlestone's hair being chopped off right on the pitch |
Swansea were able to get a draw from an energetic Aston Villa side and Tim Sherwood at Tottenham seems to be getting everything right, with Spurs beating Stoke City 3-0.
With how the table is set up at the bottom and teams picking up more draws than wins between them I'm guessing this season the bench mark for staying up this season might be less than the traditional 40.
Written By: ChukaMVP. You can follow him on twitter Follow @chukamvp
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