2016/17 Premier League season preview (6-10)

10) STOKE
Since Mark Hughes took charge three years ago, they’ve become a team you’re surprised to see outside of the Top 12 at any point in the season. While The Potters have evolved to become strong Premier League regulars, the gap between them and teams chasing European places continues to grow. That’s not a hit on Stoke, but a fourth straight ninth place finish might be just out of reach this season.

Even with the additions of Xherdan Shaqiri, Bojan Krkic, Marko Arnautovic and Ibrahim Affellay, Stoke potted just 41 goals last season. Barring injuries, Affellay was quite unlucky last year, that number should increase this season. The addition of someone like Saido Berahino would certainly help, but Stoke’s efforts to free the 23-year-old from West Brom have gone for naught.

If Stoke can avoid their usual slow start to the season, they might just be strong enough to finish a couple of places higher should the bigger clubs not play to their potential.

9) EVERTON
When was the last time Everton started a season with this much confidence?

Luring Ronald Koeman seemed quite easy. With the ambition and investment on the blue side of Merseyside now, one can see why. Koeman will take home twice what he made on the south coast, a cool £6 million a year. And work under one of the men responsible for Leicester‘s remarkable title run, after Steve Walsh left The Foxes to become The Toffees first director of football.

Everton expected to lose John Stones eventually. No one could’ve expected any club to pay £50 million for him after the season he had last year. The Toffees have been able to reject massive bids for Romelu Lukaku, while spending to bring in Wales captain Ashley Williams, and Idrissa Gueye from Aston Villa who was one of very few bright spots for the relegated side last season.

This team has holes, but are guaranteed to be better defensively than the Roberto Martinez side that finished 11th. That alone should be worth 10 more points.

8) WEST HAM
New digs. New crest. New record signing. And Slaven Bilic says he’d still like five more players! Hammers supporters have plenty to be excited about this year.

The Hammers would have been the best story in the Premier League last season, had it not been for Leicester’s unthinkable title run. West Ham will be even more enjoyable to watch this season.

£20 million for Andre Ayew may seem like a lot when he doesn’t fit in to Bilic’s 4-2-3-1. Andy Carroll remains the first choice number nine, but he’s likely to only play nine league matches so it’s nice to have options. Sofiane Feghouli joins from Valencia to make West Ham’s right side nearly as deadly as the left, with Dmitri Payet working his magic in front of the incredibly underrated Aaron Cresswell.

Ownership has Champions League aspirations, and they may get there soon. But not this year.

7) LEICESTER CITY
Last season was truly magical. The Foxes claimed the title of “best underdog story of all time.” They inspired little clubs everywhere, and Claudio Ranieri must have had a proud father’s grin on his face every time he read a story describing Iceland as “the Leicester of The Euros!” But how can you match last season? You can’t.

Surely Ranieri doesn’t actually believe himself when he says this summer, “the goal is to stay up.” His level head is what lead Leicester through the marathon last year. Although maybe he’s had a look at the bookies lists. How disrespectful that Leicester are 14-1 to go down, but 33-1 to repeat!

The Foxes have spent an incredibly modest £27.5 million on four players this summer. Considering N’Golo Kanté went to Chelsea for £30 million, I thought surely Ranieri would go on a £50 million shopping spree. But that’s not Leicester’s style, and that’s ok. They just will not be able to fight wars on multiple fronts.

Leicester used just 27 different starting lineups last season. That was second-fewest among Premier League champions. The schedule will be grueling this fall. Injuries are bound to plague Leicester this time around. Ranieri is going to have become The Tinkerman again. They are considerably deeper than last season, but his squad just isn’t deep enough.

Ahmed Musa looks to be a great signing already, and Ranieri is confident Nampalys Mendy will be a suitable replacement for Kanté having worked with him at Monaco. This is before Mendy left for Nice and became club captain at the age of just 22. Now 24, no player will be under the microscope more in the first half of this season than Mendy. He declined a move to Manchester United to join new Saints boss Claude Puel at Nice three years ago. Now, he’s a £13 million man.

Keeping Jamie Vardy, Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Drinkwater is the equivalent of spending £125 million on new players because that’s surely what they would have gone for. But if Riyad Mahrez does leave before the window closes, it will have a massive ripple effect on the entire squad that will already struggle without Kanté.

6) LIVERPOOL
Many seem to think a full season with Jürgen Klopp at the helm will power Liverpool back in to the Top 4. They are close, and should be much better than they were for much of last season. But the Reds just aren’t there yet.

Losing the Europa League final may yet turn out to be a blessing. The lure of Champions League football would have helped their business in the transfer window this summer, but it would have seen them forced to pay a premium and this squad still isn’t good enough to challenge on multiple fronts.

With Sadio Mané running around opposing defenders, Liverpool are far more balanced than they were last season. Georginio Wijnaldum is exactly the type of player that would have thrived at Klopp’s Dortmund. If he can find some consistency, he can be one of the most dangerous players in the Premier League. Much like Daniel Sturridge who is likely to spend even more time on the trainer’s table given the intensity of Klopp’s training sessions. They’re doing three-a-days! Who does that? Klopp couldn’t get Mario Götze from Bayern Munich, but he did lure their fitness coach and nutritionist to Anfield with praise from the German press. Liverpool players are reported to be, surviving and better fed.

I am excited for Liverpool fans this season. This team is capable of taking points off their rivals above them. Will Klopp endure a sixth consecutive cup final defeat? I don’t know if his heart can handle it.

Be sure to check back soon. My Top 5 predictions blog is coming later today!

5 Things To Watch In The Prem This Weekend – Feb. 13

1) Is this the match when we finally accept Leicester City as title contenders?
Unless you’re a Gooner, who doesn’t want to see Leicester win at The Emirates on Sunday? Shame for us on this side of the pond that it’s the early kickoff. But that’s why television companies invented the PVR.

Claudio Ranieri said before The Fantasy Foxes trip to the other Middle Eastern luxury airliner stadium last weekend, “they have to win. We have to play.” Same scenario this weekend. I just hope Leicester can continue to play with the carefree bravado they employed in the fall and again in their most recent two victories. He hasn’t tinkered with the side, fielding the same XI five matches in a row now.

Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have scored 32 goals between them this season. Arsenal have scored 39 goals, the lowest total of any Top 4 club. Stan Collymore said this week that Arsenal are “the club most likely” to sign Mahrez in the summer. Shall we expect a shining audition Sunday morning then?

And I know it’s been said by others all week, but I’ll say it again because it’s hilarious. If Per Mertesacker starts running now, he may be able to catch Jamie Vardy.

That 5-2 win at The King Power Stadium, thanks to an Alexis Sanchez hat-trick, was five months ago. The way LCFC are playing, it might as well have been five years ago.

2) Will Sunderland finish with XI men?
They’ll need eleven men on the pitch to get anything from a side that have only lost once in their last seven league matches. And here you probably thought the only thing worth talking about ahead of Manchester United‘s trip to the northeast was Wayne Rooney‘s impressive five goal 2016. Bettered only by Jermain Defoe‘s six… and some bloke named Sergio Agüero with seven.

But for those who would raise an eyebrow every time Howard Webb would referee a United match, take at look at these stats. In the 17 Sunderland matches that Andre Marriner has officiated, he’s sent off seven players. He also worked Sunderland’s 6-2 loss at Everton and that 8-0 embarrassment against Southampton. On the other side, United have lost five of their last six matches that Marriner refereed. So don’t be surprised if AM takes a bit of the spotlight early Saturday morning.

3) How many goals will we get at The Etihad this weekend?
Nobody expected Joe Hart to pick the ball out of his net three times last weekend, in a losing cause. But he may do it even more times this Sunday when second placed Tottenham travel north. The last nine Premier League matches between these two have delivered 41 goals. Safe bet that Agüero will put his name on the scoresheet. He’s bagged 10 in his last eight league matches against Spurs.

Considering that Man City haven’t beaten any club this season currently in the top 6, Pellegrini will need his Argentine wonder-striker to be on his A-game. Otherwise, I don’t think City will be able to put the Londoners in the rearview and close the gap with Leicester.

4) Will Frencesco Guidolin ever lose a game again?
Sure, The Saints are getting all the attention because they’re unbeaten in five, having not even allowed a goal. Winning at Old Trafford and drawing at The Emirates is impressive, but this is not the same Swansea side that lost 3-1 at St. Mary’s at the end of September. One win and two draws won’t put the Italian in to ‘manager of the year’ conversations just yet. But considering Ki Sung-Yueng is back after recovering from a concussion and Gylfi Sigurdsson has scored as many goals in his last six games as he did in his previous 33, the Swans can put an end to Fraser Forster‘s run of five straight clean sheets.

5) Can Everton win with John Stones back in the squad?
I know that sounds crazy, if you continually read all the transfer rumours and see the money big clubs are prepared to pay for the promising but unproven defender. But three matches without Stones resulted in three straight 3-0 Toffees victories. I’m not saying he’s the problem, but maybe just maybe he isn’t a £40 million solution?

And when will Tony Pulis accept that Saido Berahino is likely the solution to pulling West Brom away from the drop zone? Just six points up on Norwich, there will be plenty of Baggies supporters pulling for West Ham to take all three points at Carrow Road on Saturday.

5 Things We Learned From The Prem This Weekend – Jan. 18

1) LVG’s self confidence swings on a pendulum
A month ago Louis van Gaal didn’t think he was fit for the job. Now after a five game unbeaten run, he sees his team in a title race. Not everyone else does, but just seven points back of Arsenal there’s plenty more reason to be optimistic at Old Trafford. Even nine points wouldn’t be insurmountable, I mean there is still plenty of football left to be played. But this team isn’t capable of winning the title. Even with Wayne Rooney‘s regained scoring form. He single handily can carry United to a Top 4 finish, and that is a title in itself.

2) Eight minutes of stoppage time is a real thing
Once found in only the degenerate tales of frustrated Qatar Stars League gamblers, Mike Jones showed us something as rare as a unicorn dressed as a Mountie. (That’s a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer, for those who don’t get the reference.) He didn’t see that John Terry was offside before he put his cheeky flick passed Tim Howard. But hey if eight minutes is the standard for a six goal second half, then I hope we see many more matches like that.

3) Leicester will play out the season like a Jose Mourinho side
If there was any doubt that Leicester have retired the swashbuckling, no fear football that had them top of the table at Christmas, Saturday’s trip to Villa Park confirmed it. The Foxes were the better side in the first half and deserved leaders, although they missed a penalty. Aston Villa were the better side in the second half, and should’ve had a penalty. How Roger East didn’t see Robert Huth throwing his sharp German elbow through the face of Libor Kozák as a clear cut penalty, I’ll never understand. But when the ball struck Rudy Gestede’s hand in the build-up to his equalising goal East could’ve blown up and stopped play. So maybe Villa are finally going to get some good fortune they’re long overdue.

But what surprised me most was Leicester’s lack of urgency in the final 10 minutes. Vardy had a real chance to win it, but apart from that Leicester seemed fully content to wait for a counter-attacking opportunity. There was no rush to get the ball back in play or pressure Villa off it. Exactly the opposite of the team that ran the table in the fall. But fully reflective of a side that will only take calculated risks to protect their position. Claudio Ranieri won’t see Saturday’s match as two points dropped, but top spot regained. He should be disappointed.

4) Arsene Wenger thinks far more of football fans than he should
The Frenchman has been around long enough to know that no matter how much Premier League match tickets cost, a large percentage of attending supporters will never be mature role models. Stoke’s chants of “Aaron Ramsey, he walks with a limp” rattled Wenger to the core. Or, maybe he was taking a page out of Jose Mourinho‘s book and distracting attention from how poorly his team played. The Britannia is a difficult ground to win at, but after watching Leicester drop points at Villa Park on Saturday, Arsenal need to play with a lethal urgency and control what they can if they’re going to be champions come May.

5) Spending money is scary. But you’ve got to do it
One can only imagine the relief Eddie Howe felt when Benik Afobe found the back of the net on his Cherries debut. The future England boss hasn’t hid his concern about Bournemouth‘s record spending this month. And while the £10 million it cost to bring Afobe down from Wolves will only be justified when they stay up come May, Bournemouth showed just how much better they are than Norwich and continue to pull away from the bigger, more established clubs whose struggles seem never ending. Sunderland.

NOTABLE MENTION
Swansea did something few others have been able to this season: shut down Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney. It’s a massive three points for a club that may not regret sacking Garry Monk mid-season after the odd, yet incredibly exciting appointment of Francesco Guidolin. But I think Swansea will rue the decision to sell Jonjo Shelvey to Newcastle. He seems exactly the type of player you want in a desperate fight. He’s walked right in to Steve McLaren‘s side and will most certainly help Newcastle in theirs.

Full credit to Mark Bunn for making the very most of his opportunity with Aston Villa toiling away at the bottom. Having hardly seen any action since leaving Norwich in the summer, Bunn followed up a fortunate clean sheet with an admirable performance against a title challenger. His penalty save on Riyad Mahrez yielded one of the loan positive Villa appearances on MOTD all season.

Kevin Mirallas is a game changer. On his day. I’ll never get tired of seeing quality goals like that. Mirallas is a player that deserves more regular football, but if he can’t earn it consistently at a club like Everton, he’ll struggle to get in to the Belgium squad this summer.

5 Things To Watch In The Prem This Weekend – Jan. 16

1) Is LVG changing his ways?
United fans were beside themselves watching Tuesday’s 3-3 draw up on Tyneside. Not because relegation threatened Newcastle fought their way back from 2-0 down, but because LVG attempted to beat the Magpies with something very popular among forward thinking managers who are not him: pace. A trip to Anfield facing a side on the brink of setting a Guinness World record for group hamstring injuries, is a great time to employ it. Playing Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingaard made United a real threat and if Wayne Rooney continues to score goals, the Red Devils will find it easier to string together performances that will yield results AND silence their critical fanbase.

2) Do Tottenham want to win the league as much as Sunderland want to stay in it?
Completely valid question. Would never have expected Sunderland to win at Swansea, and I know they were the beneficiary of some questionable officiating. Not to mention Jermain Defoe performing like he’s 25. And losing 1-0 to a fellow title rival is usually nothing to hang your head about. But if Spurs are legit title contenders, it’s not Leicester they can be excused for dropping points against. I don’t believe they are in a title race. But Mauricio Pochettino has all the pieces to make a Top 4 run this spring, and given the failures of bigger teams around them have little excuse for not doing so.

3) Can Everton finally win at Stamford Bridge?
They may never be in a better position to do something they haven’t been able to in 21 trips to West London. Everton‘s draw away to Man City midweek was not just a valuable point taken off a title contender, but in fact the first scoreless draw at The Etihad since 2010. That’s no small feat. Considering Chelsea have wanted to buy Everton’s entire backline in recent years, it will be a real challenge for Diego Costa and Co. to find the back of the net. Despite their six match unbeaten run since Jose Mourinho‘s departure, the Blues are just six points up on Sunderland and Guus Hiddink seems well aware of the disastrous possibility of being pulled into a relegation battle with a trip to The Emirates next on the calendar.

4) Will Leicester regain their scoring touch?
A trip to Villa on Saturday will reveal Leicester‘s true identity. I know that sounds crazy, but so does the fact that The Foxes have scored just one goal in their last four matches. Leicester look increasingly aware of their position. They’re playing tighter and taking less risk than they were to start the season. Leicester won’t outscore their opposition by three or four anymore. But they’re fully capable of doing so against Villa. If they want to.

5) Will West Ham fans ever tire of Jonjo Shelvey’s resemblance to Voldemort?
I know it isn’t nice to tease someone about their lack of attractiveness. But there is something continually hilarious about West Ham fans chanting “Harry Potter is coming for you!” every time Jonjo Shelvey takes the pitch against their beloved Hammers. The travelling few will certainly make the most of their opportunity when Shelvey makes his Newcastle debut. Expected to fit right in to Steve McLaren‘s side, Shelvey provides a huge boost to The Magpies survival hopes. Exactly what went wrong at Swansea will likely never come out, and despite the suggestions that Shelvey thinks rather highly of himself, he is a talented footballer that has a lot to contribute. Particularly when the fighting gets rough.

5 Things We Learned From The Prem This Weekend – Apr. 26

Arsene Wenger will never beat Jose Mourinho

Not because he’s not tactically sharp. Not because he doesn’t have the best players. Wenger will never beat Jose simply because Mourinho will kill the game before he gives Wenger’s team a chance. Jose doesn’t even respect Wenger enough to start a striker!

The frustrating part for the neutral is watching Chelsea assemble an expensive squad with some of the very best players around, and then suffocate their opponents, happy to settle for away draws. Why not just build a team full of guys that once played for Stoke, or TFC for that matter if you never intend to unleash the quality you have available?

Obviously I’m being a bitter cynic. Chelsea are the second highest scoring team in the Prem, and put together a string of very entertaining matches this season. But Jose’s critics are right. When Chelsea go up against talented opposition, they’re boring as all hell.

Manchester United are incapable of playing well against Everton

Who was that team wearing red yesterday? Certainly didn’t look like the United we’ve gotten used to watching over the last two months. Everton have been one of the biggest disappointments of the season. But United made them look like Champions League semifinalists.

Expect a few Champions League clubs to put in phone calls for Ross Barkley and John Stones this summer. Last month we were talking about Everton being sucked in to the relegation battle, but thanks to this six match unbeaten run, they’re likely to finish in the top half of the table.

Timmy Sherwood’s Villa are a good watch

Football isn’t fair. Aston Villa deserved something from their trip to The Etihad, and that’s not my fandom talking.

After gifting Citeh the opening goal, Villa bossed the first half. They controlled possession and created chances. The issue was Tom Cleverley tended to get in the way and his efforts on goal often leave a lot to be desired. Though his goal made up for a couple of his previous poor attempts.

Carlos Sanchez scored a goal that only South American players can. It was a thing of beauty. If only Christian Benteke hadn’t been called offside 38 previous times, his most important run of the match would have gone in his favour and likely resulted in a game winning penalty. It was an incredibly close call, but having been offside all afternoon, the official had no choice but to put his flag up. Shrewsbury Joe wins again! Of course City found a winner in the end. The roller coaster of emotions one in love with The Villa goes through, is unlike anything else.

The universe wants QPR to be relegated again

How else can you explain how Charlie Austin has a penalty stopped? Time and time again Chris Ramsey‘s side have been forced to settle for draws when they probably deserved all three points. That might have been the final nail in the coffin. Hull’s miracle win at Palace certainly didn’t help their cause.

Leicester don’t want to satisfy everyone that picked them to go down

What a fight from The Foxes to win at Turf Moor on Saturday. This relegation battle just got real. Leicester are home to Chelsea on Wednesday, but after that Newcastle and Southampton pay a visit, before they go to Sunderland and finish the season at home to QPR. Another six if not seven points are very likely.

5 Things We Learned From The Prem This Weekend – Feb. 8th

Lady Luck has rekindled her love for Manchester United
Well done Daley Blind. Well done. United didn’t deserve to leave Upton Park with a point on Sunday. But they did. Reminding every neutral and anti-United fan of how annoying they were when Sir Alex was in charge.

There was a time, before David Moyes, when you couldn’t count United out until the final whistle. Even on Sunday, after Blind’s equaliser, it felt like they had the opportunity to win the match. For all the inefficiences we’ve seen from Louis Van Gaal‘s team this season, that is one trait that should comfort United fans.

That fear factor is back. We’re all screwed.

Man City aren’t really too bothered with the idea of winning back to back Premier League titles
City couldn’t be any more inconsistent if they tried.

The Blues looked flat and uninspired. Though unlike the other club from Manchester, a shared result was deserved. But nothing more than back.

James Milner deserves a run of games and proved how good he can still be when used in his natural position. Manuel Pellegrini would be wise to start him next to Yaya Toure, when he returns from his AFCON successes.

Their last win? New Year’s Day versus Sunderland. Chelsea’s seven point lead isn’t insurmountable, but it’s going to take more than Wilfried Bony to steady the ship.

Harry Kane can score against the big clubs
That boy’s a bit special, isn’t he? Move over Asteras Tripolis! Add Arsenal to the list of team’s Kane has scored against this season. I expect the criticism that he only scores against weak opposition is over for good?

The 21 year old couldn’t have dreamed of a better first North London derby.

Tottenham have never finished above the Gunners during Arsene Wenger‘s time at Arsenal. But the way things are going, and with the vulnerabilities Arsenal put on display Saturday morning, this could be that year.

Aston Villa remember how to bulge the old onion bag
It may not happen again. But at least it happened, finally. Those long suffering fans deserve it.

For about 15 minutes, Villa played some of the best football I have seen them play in years. Leave it to Branislav Ivanovic to ruin the day. Jose Mourinho‘s excitement at the end was genuine. It was not an easy 90 minutes for the Blues.

Nigel Pearson doesn’t like to hang on to his money
What does one do two months after being banned for a game and fined £10,000 for swearing at one of his own side’s fans? Strangle an opposing player on the ground of course. Duh!

I wouldn’ve loved to have been a fly on the wall in the room where Jose Mourinho and his intimidating yet well groomed number two Rui Faria were sitting drinking port wine watching the incident on Match of the Day. Oh, the conversations about the players they wished they had treated the same way! Though let’s be honest, more than half would have been their own players.

I completely forgot Leicester had two bids, of £5m and £7m, for James McArthur rejected by Wigan. McArthur bowling Person over was clearly an accident. Could you image how the Leicester boss might react to being cut off driving down the M5? Whoa doctor!

NOTABLE MENTION

A thrilling Merseyside Derby requires one side to be convincingly stronger than the other, not just reflected by the mid-season standings. These two squads are far more even matched than their current records would indicate. Hence, the dull affair that played out Saturday afternoon while wasting the superb voice of Mr. Peter Drury.

I had no idea Ki Sung Yeung and Robin Van Persie were actually the same person.

Premier League Matchweek 24 – Three Things to Watch

North London derby: Which manager gets it right

Mauricio Pochettino had a rough start to his tenure at White Hart Lane. But Spurs have, rather quickly, found their way and Saturday’s derby could play a massive role in the Top 4 race.

Since arriving at Arsenal in September 1996, Arsene Wenger’s Gunners have never finished below Spurs. His North London derby record in all competitions? 21 wins. 17 draws. And just 6 losses. And he’d be happy to tell you, Spurs have employed 10 managers in his time at Arsenal (That’s not even including caretaker bosses.)

Smothering Tottenham’s midfield will be the key to a result for the visitors. Nabil Bentaleb is back from the African Cup of Nations, and the Algerian has been one of Pochettino’s best this season. I’d be stunned if he wasn’t put straight back into Mo Po’s XI.

And then there’s Christian Eriksen. How Spurs haven’t doubles his salary yet, I’ll never understand. The Dane is reportedly on £32,000 a week. I can think of a couple of MLS clubs that would be happy to triple that…

It’s time Wenger makes David Ospina his number one keeper. The Colombian has been stellar in his few appearances and deserves a consistent run of games.

Another thing that will be interesting to watch is how physical Spurs are with Theo Walcott. This will be his first North London derby since being carried off the pitch against them last year.

Will fielding a nearly full strength side in FA Cup hurt Liverpool?
Why on earth would Brendan Rodgers do that just three days before the Merseyside derby? Was he really that worried about Bolton? I understand trying to appease the fans by “giving it a real go” in the Cups, but c’mon. ‘Ave a bit of common sense!

Everton have been dreadful by their own standards this season. Liverpool have come along way in pulling themselves back into Top 4 conversation. Losing at Goodison on Saturday would be a real setback for a team that starting to click.

How QPR get on after ‘Arry
It will be very weird not to see Harry Redknapp on the touchline this weekend. Will Chris Ramsey get enough out of this squad to keep them up? I don’t really know. But this is a crucial stretch. If they could actually manage to get a point at home this weekend versus Southampton, it would give them loads of confidence before heading to fellow strugglers Sunderland and Hull.

3 Things We Learned From The Prem This Weekend – Oct. 27

Manchester United are in fact still capable of stealing points they don’t deserve
I too thought that ended when the old knight left, but the salt and peppered Dutchman proved that maybe, just maybe, United can take points off teams they are miles better.

“But can they win at Burnley on a Tuesday night?!?!?”

United did play quite well actually. Of course that must be prefaced with the fact that Jose instructed his men to only do the very minimum required to leave with all three points. In the end, it wasn’t enough

But for the sake of giving the Old Trafford faithful hope and the rest of us the potential for an actual title race come the spring, the universe rewarded Louis Van Gaal with something. He’s going to need a bit more than that Sunday in the Manchester derby. But at least LVG proved to himself that he can field a back five that can hold their own for an hour and and half.

Celebrities are exempt from regular security protocol at Upton Park
I get it, Russell Brand loves West Ham and that’s kind of a big deal in the East End.

But c’mon Russ, Big Sam sweats enough as it is! Let the man enjoy his remarkable achievement of beating the Premier League champions with a squad that will never taste the Champions League, but could probably go on a real run in the Copa Libretadores right about now.

Sammy Eto’o refuses to get old
Where would Everton be without him? That is the question I was expecting to ask when writing about Romelu Lukaku this year.

He might just be the best signing Roberto Martinez has made yet, if not the signing of the summer. His match winning brace had the travelling Toffees faithful singing directly to their Merseyside rivals “You sign Balotelli / Lambert, they’re shit! We sign Samuel Eto’o!

Yea the Reds are two points better at the moment, but I’d be very surprised if that was the case come February 7th – the Merseyside derby.

NOTABLE MENTIONS
I think Man City actually hate Eliaquim Mangala. How else can you explain the lack of support he got Saturday at Upton Park? City’s Jekyll and Hyde show has been fun to watch this year. But if they keep this up, Jose will have the title wrapped up for Christmas.

Aston Villa hit rock bottom this week. Losing at Loftus Road is bad enough. But losing five in a row without scoring one goal is nothing short of pathetic. I blame Roy Keane for shaving his beard.

I’m a big fan of Vito Mannone, but I think it’s time Gus Poyet does the honorable thing and drop him for a minute. Guy has been thrashed all season. Needs a rest just to let his confidence heal.