The EPL Compass - September 21

What a weekend. Plenty of goals, tumultuous scenes on Derby Day and some ducks broken down the table.



Heading North

Arsenal

At 2-nil down in Belgium, Arsenal’s season was on the verge of unravelling. But the gritty comeback against Standard followed by the brushing aside of Wigan actually put a smile back onto Arsene’s face! Not the most dazzlingly Arsenal display but good enough.

Manchester United

What do you reckon the overriding emotion was at full time (plus six minutes) on Sunday? Relief would be pretty high up there I’m guessing. United were patchy to say the least but on the sheer weight of possession and chances in the second half, they deserved to win. Just. Fergie will be delighted to get the 'w' over his “noisy neighbours” , but will also know how serious a threat they are. A wonderful advert for Premier league football. A cracking, cracking match.

Michael Owen and Fernando Torres

Great finishes from great finishers. And truly great players choose their moments...

Manchester City

Ok, so they lost the game, but certainly laid down a marker for the rest of the season. The better side in the first half, they hung on and refused to lie down. They are truly exhilarating on the counter and have some resilience. A defeat but possibly a watershed moment for City and the Premier League. Doing a fine job of crashing the 'big four' party.

Craig Bellamy

Incredible performance. The finish for his first goal was quality, but the run past Rio was breathtaking. He is playing the best football of his career right now. The only thing that may sour it is the fracas with a supporter.

Shay Given

Similar to Bellamy. Given is the best shot stopper in the league and he kept City in the game.

Chelsea

It’s all going rather well for Ancelotti’s side at the moment. Spurs were a challenge for much of the first hour, but once King was withdrawn, Drogba dominated. Add to that the continued excellent form of Ashley Cole and Essien dominating, and you have a heady mix. Will be tough to beat this year. Drogba’s injury the only downer.

Wolves

A crucial win for Wolves. They never allowed Fulham to settle and by the time the Cottagers started playing they were two down. There’s life at Molineux.

David Nugent

The North-West air agrees with Nugent. Prolific with Preston, pathetic at Pompey, but two clinical finishes have got his Burnley career off and running. Great win for the new boys.

David Moyes

A good news week. Lucas in and two comfortable wins. The green shoots of recovery at Goodison maybe?

Birmingham

It looked like the same old story. Chances galore, but no-one to finish them off. But finally Garry O’Connor buried the chance and got the Blues a much needed win on the road. 10 players were missing through injury so credit where its due.



Going South

Match Officials

Received the ire of several managers at the weekend. None more so than Howard Webb who didn’t give penalty for Spurs (Keane did give him the opportunity to not give it with his dramatic tumble), and of course Martin Atkinson for using the classic Old Trafford stop watch.

Liverpool’s Back Four

What on Earth is going on there? Jamie Carragher had a shocking day out at Upon Park, run ragged by the young Hammer Hines. Skrtel couldn’t pass water, and as a unit they were appalling. Vulnerable at set pieces, troubled by pace and all at sea.

Spurs

Couldn’t have gone much worse really. Missed chances, penalty turned down, injuries galore. The bubble has burst, but on the bright side, that’s now threee of the top four already played and the fixtures look handy over the next month. Providing ‘Arry can find a fit centre half. King’s latest drama is a body blow.

Kenwyn Jones

Relegated to the bench in recent weeks, Jones got a chance in the second half at Burley, and promptedly made the mistake that led to Burnley’s second. His lacklustre display summed up Sunderland’s mood, and will frustrate Steve Bruce, who sees his side’s form swing wildly.

Phil Brown

The knives are out for Browny, with several English papers suggesting that the end is nigh. Defeat against an under strength Birmingham at home is a pretty depressing result. The Premier League novelty value has worn off on Humberside, and they are now dealing with the reality of week by week struggle and it’s not pretty.

Bolton and Blackburn

One step forward, two back. After positive weeks, these two clubs had a poor weekend. Bolton were booed off at the Reebok after escaping with a draw at home to Stoke in a poor game, and Blackburn rolled over at Goodison.
Pompey

I don’t know why but I really believe Portsmouth have a good group of players there, and will come good, but every week the results don’t reflect that. Some many new signings will obviously take time to gel, but six defeats on the spin, combined with the schoolboy defending we saw at Villa Park does not bode well at all.