Five Things we Learnt from PL Gameweek 25
1. Newcastle will be Force to be Reckoned with Again
Having tipped Newcastle to beat Chelsea, it was no surprise to me that the Geordies overcame Chelsea by three goals to two in a dramatic game. Admittedly, it would only be fair to concede that refereeing decisions rather went in the home side’s favour, but the victory was also fully deserved by a resurgent Newcastle team, and the atmosphere in St. James’ Park was triumphant by the final whistle.
Alan Pardew looks to have bought tremendously well in the January window. I thought at the time that Sissoko looked to be the best of the players that they’d brought in, and the midfield player has begun his Newcastle career in tremendous form, drawing comparisons with Yaya Toure. Once Hatem Ben Arfa is fit again, the Magpies will have a formidable team, and can look to their Europa League campaign with great optimism, beginning with a very winnable looking tie against Metalist Kharkiv.
2. Relegation Scrap is Completely Unpredictable
Often the twists and turns at the bottom of the table more than match the excitement associated with the title race. This season looks to be no different, particularly after a weekend of results that were intrinsically unpredictable. Aston Villa turned in one of their best performances of the season at Everton, but failed to win. The improving Reading picked up another useful home win against Sunderland to climb out of the bottom three. Wigan looked certain to win, but leaked a late equaliser against Southampton in the relegation six-pointer. QPR could have picked up a much needed three points at home to Norwich, but missed a penalty. Both the Canaries and Cottagers continue to slide closer to the relegation zone, just while the teams that have been down in the doldrums all season begin to pick up some points.
The battle to stay in the Premier League looks set to go down to the wire.
3. Title Race is Less Unpredictable
It’s hard at this point in time to argue the same regarding the title race. Manchester City’s 2-2 draw at home to Liverpool, coupled with neighbours and rivals United’s hard fought win over Fulham, mean that last year’s champions trail at the summit of the Premier League by nine points. Although they made up a similar gap last season, there doesn’t seem to be too much room for optimism that City will be able to repeat the feat this term.
Firstly, United have only dropped thirteen points in their first 25 Premier League fixtures, and considering they lost on the opening day against Everton, only ten in their last 24. There is little reason to expect them to drop nine points in their remaining thirteen matches. Even if this were the case, City would be required to win every single game between now and the end of the season to overtake them. This seems highly unlikely.
Secondly, City aren’t playing at the same level as last season. Defensively they have certainly been strong in recent weeks, but they’re not playing with the same verve offensively that they achieved last term. They have less striking options as well, now that Mario Balotelli has returned to Italy. Samir Nasri has yet to reproduce his Arsenal form for City. And Scott Sinclair’s City career has been virtually non-existent since signing in the summer.
The good news for the reigning champions is that Yaya Toure will be back from the African Nations Cup this week, after Cote d’Ivoire were eliminated, but making up nine points on a very determined looking United side appears a bridge too far for this season.
4. Stoke Deserve Their Reputation
Stoke City and Tony Pulis revile their reputation as being a, shall we say, tough tackling, direct team that aren’t great to watch and play little constructive football. One can’t blame Pulis for maximising the potential of his squad, but having watched them play at Arsenal on Saturday, I find it very difficult to dismiss out of hand the image that Stoke have earnt during their time in the Premier League. Every time I’ve seen them this season, Stoke have sat at least nine men behind the ball from the first whistle. Saturday’s game at Arsenal was no different. And once again during the game at the Emirates, Stoke’s centre-back Ryan Shawcross made what can be generously described as a very poor challenge on Laurent Koscielny. This was just minutes after Shawcross had been berating an official for allowing Arsenal’s solitary goal in the game to stand; in other words, I believe Shawcross simply saw red and lashed out.
Pulis may not like the insinuation that Stoke are a dirty, negative team. But if it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s not unreasonable to point out that it might just be a duck.
5. Benteke will be Hot Property in the Summer
Two more goals for the powerful hitman Christian Benteke nearly gave Aston Villa a victory over Everton. However, regardless of whether Villa manage to extend their stay in the Premier League, it seems highly unlikely that brilliant Belgian will remain at Villa Park next season. There is sure to be big interest in Benteke come the summer, and with the likes of Newcastle, Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Everton and conceivably Liverpool all interested in signing a striker, it seems a racing certainty that Benteke will move on.
