EPL Week Six Round Up
Well, it did not take place during an EPL match, but it looks like the honeymoon in Manchester City is over. After having drawn two weeks ago to Fulham, they lost 2-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League. While a loss is unwanted, it can be overcome, especially in the group stage. What cannot be overcome; however, is that Carlos Tevez refused to play in the second half. Tevez must go.
Mancini, after the defeat, stated: “He just refused to go on. I don’t know why. I cannot be happy with this situation. Would something like this happen at Bayern Munich, AC Milan or Manchester United? I am the manager. I decide everything.
“I have helped him every time for two years, he has wanted to leave but I still picked him. The thing is there were still 30 minutes until the end of the game. We could still change it. Carlos didn’t play at the start of the season because he has not had a pre-season for three years. He was not ready to play.
“If it was another player maybe this could happen but for a player to refuse to go on in an important game like this is not right.”
He later went on to infer that Tevez would not play again while he remained manager at Manchester City. What was Tevez’s response?
Tevez responded with the following gem: “That’s a decision for him to make. … I’ve been a professional during all my time here. Last season I was the best scorer. I have said I wanted to leave for family reasons, but I keep trying to do my best.”
Tevez’s response reads like that of a brat. If Mancini is to have any credibility with the rest of his locker room, Tevez must not play again and must be sold in the winter transfer period. This will help in two ways, Tevez will be gone and there will be one less forward clogging up Manchester City’s roster. This may be a blessing in disguise as Mancini has recently reconciled with Mario Balotelli.
On to the recap:
Manchester City 2 – Everton 0: Manchester City was able to pull even in points with Manchester United with a win and United draw. City looked solid throughout the match and played one of its most complete games on defense, even if the offense was not as high scoring as previous weeks. Everton’s offense needs to show up and play better as the season progresses, or this will be a disappointing season.
Arsenal 3 – Bolton 0: Arsenal played its best game of the season; hopefully they can build on it. Like the rest of Arsenal’s season, the good does not come without the bad. After scoring his 100th career goal at Arsenal Robin van Persie has stated that he will wait until after this season to listen to extensions of his contract. Van Persie has seen both Fabregas and Nasri leave during the previous transfer period, one wonders if he is contemplating doing the same. Arsenal will need to play well during this season and in all of their tournaments, if they want to keep their new skipper. This comes on the heels of the news that Jack Wilshire will be out until at least Christmas after undergoing ankle surgery. Bolton now sits at the bottom of the table and may need to sell off some of its players in the winter transfer period.
Chelsea 4 – Swansea 1: Chelsea was able to rebound after its loss to Manchester United, with a resounding win against Swansea. Swansea has been able to hold its ground against most of the premier league, but has suffered two lopsided losses to Man City and Chelsea, which was not to be unexpected. On the bright side Swansea were able to score during the game.
Liverpool 2 – Wolves 1: Liverpool was able to rebound from a poor performance last week and was able to capture all three points against the Wolves. Liverpool still has trouble generating offense when Suarez cannot convert. Liverpool has now taken the fourth spot in the table, which is where they will hope to finish. The Wolves had a terrific start to this premier league campaign, however that has quickly faded as they continue to fall further down the table.
Newcastle 3 – Blackburn 1: Newcastle remains in the top half of the table and have had a strong start to the premier league. Blackburn was not able to carry over the momentum it had from last week’s win against Arsenal.
West Brom 0 – Fulham 0: Both teams will be disappointed with only one point, however neither really played well enough to earn all three points, as both sides had their chances. Clint Dempsey has looked better the past few games though, so perhaps he can help ignite Fulham’s offense.
Tottenham 2 – Wigan 1: Tottenham has continued its recent hot streak and was able to take all three points from Wigan. Tottenham has the talent and the focus to challenge for the fourth spot in the EPL and have their eyes set on a return to the Champions League next year.
Stoke City 1 – Manchester United 1: Manchester United is tied in points with Manchester City after drawing against Stoke. Manchester United will be very disappointed in this game, but are lucky that they walked away with a point, since Stoke had plenty of chances to convert and take all three points. De Gea had a solid game in goal; however it was United’s defense that let them down. Stoke has been a revelation this season, they beat Liverpool and were able to salvage a draw against United. While they are not contenders to finish in the top three, they may have a chance to sneak into the fourth spot. At the very least they will be one of the tougher sides to beat in the EPL this season.
QPR 1 – Aston Villa 1: QPR salvaged a tie against Aston Villa. Aston Villa has yet to lose a match, however they have been less than impressive the past two matches. QPR also does not have much to show for its spending in the transfer market. Both sides will expect better results in the future.
Norwich 2 – Sunderland 1: Norwich was able to grab all three points against Sunderland.
Three Matches to Watch
Tottenham v. Arsenal – One of the best rivalries of the EPL starts again.
Manchester United v. Norwich City – It will be interesting to see how United copes after their draw against Stoke
Manchester City v. Blackburn – After their disgraceful showing in the Champions League, will City carry it over to the EPL?