Mourinho to walk or get pushed and other Premier League shots

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We had ten in a pretty mixed bag last season. With just six games to shoot on our knees so far, we’re going half the number, but double the shots. José Mourinho will be interested.

Arsenal will finish in the top four
It had all the makings for the traditional Arsenal dish of disappointment with a side of despair: an away game at a promoted club with new signings to join, a popular player left out due to an impending sale, and two team members involved in what the world is. you are contractually obligated to describe it as a “heated exchange.” Add an air of tentative positivity and the stage was set for the Gunners to slip back into frustrated darkness, longingly gazing at a Champions League spot they had reserved without challenge for nearly two decades.

In 2019/20, Arsenal could not win away at any of the three clubs that came out of the Championship. Unai Emery lost to Sheffield United in October, Freddie Ljungberg drew with Norwich in December and Mikel Arteta was beaten by Aston Villa in July. It was ‘just Fulham’ on Saturday, but this was a team that had developed a kind of habit of losing to ‘just’ anyone.

The backdrop for Emiliano Martínez’s departure and Dani Ceballos and Eddie Nketiah clashing in the pre-game warm-up would be altered to suit the mood of the result. If Arsenal had lost or drawn, they would be selling out a key player while the harmony in the team would be questioned. Think “crisis point” and broken plates.

But such a comfortable and commanding victory maintains the general sense of progression in this half of North London. Had Robaldinho, Mo Elneny executing procedures in the center and Fulham falling victim to the same fluid movement that has trapped Manchester City and Liverpool in recent months.

Those similarities are not a coincidence, rather the product of focused training and movement, positioning and decision-making instruction in players who didn’t seem to have a goal long ago. Scoring the exact same goal against different calibers of opponents underscores mastery of the general idea.

The midfield could use some work, with gaps that Thomas Partey or Houssem Aouar could fill. But this summer he has been dedicated to carefully honing the team at low cost: central defensive options are considerably better, Willian is the creator they craved and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the top five scorers in the world today. Arsenal haven’t had this much depth across the board for some time.

Only a nerd I would suggest that “beating Fulham on opening day does not have to lead to instinctive conclusions about Arsenal this season or how far the road is in Arteta’s vision.” The first four attract.

Fulham and West Brom fell
Scott Parker and Slaven Bilic maybe they should get used to this. Arsenal and Leicester are not the kind of opposition they should definitely be judged against, but both saw their teams perform quite well in total losses. Fulham started badly but ended well; West Brom started well but ended badly. Both suffered 3-0 losses and a reminder of the harsh realities of life in the Premier League compared to the Championship.

Fulham is gone. Aleksandar Mitrovic will provide them with a more skilled focal point on attack once they are fully fit, but that does nothing to tackle a defense that will struggle significantly. Bear Grylls would have a hard time surviving on a central defensive diet of Michael Hector, Tim Ream and Maxime Le Marchand, with right backs Kenny Tete, Denis Odoi and Cyrus Christie in reserve.

Hector is the only real addition to a defense who conceded 81 goals in his final period in the Premier League.

West Brom will fare better with forward options like Matheus Pereira and Grady Diangana, but they too have their problems in a light midfield and substandard defense. Branislav Ivanovic, 36, might not change that.

The Cottagers and Baggies will play great football and get a lot of results, but neither of them seems to have enough without high levels of investment.

José Mourinho will not last the season
Nine possible matches in 22 days guaranteed at least one instance in which José Mourinho blames a global pandemic or the whole concept of time for a Tottenham setback, as if no other club were dealing with the same obstacles. by such excuses emerging after a game does not bode well.

“We were lazy in our pressure,” was his assessment of the loss to Everton. “This is the consequence of a bad physical condition, a bad preseason. Some players didn’t even have preseason. Some players were in the wrong mood. “

You’d think a club like Tottenham would hire someone to identify and resolve these various issues before the start of what is sure to be a grueling season, perhaps giving them an industry leading salary and the ability to delegate such responsibilities, but no. He has received this campaign as a distant relative at a wedding, doing his best to avoid and ignore the inevitable and awkward conversation until he looks directly at him.

It is not yet clear if the tactical side of the game has passed from Mourinho, but considering that he is famous for his meticulous preparation, a first loss on opening day suggests that he might not enjoy the same handicaps from the starting blocks as everyone. . plus. “Poor physical condition” and a “bad preseason” are compounded, not cured, by a constant stream of games in different competitions. Things are more likely it only gets worse.

The only thing that would prevent Mourinho from leaving before May at that event is his own ego and the fact that Daniel Levy is absolutely in love with the coach he has longed for for more than a decade. All Rise for his long-awaited fall into coaching purgatory.

Mo Salah will win the Golden Boot
For the fourth season in a row, the wonder of a season has begun as he intends to continue. Mo Salah was almost completely overlooked during Liverpool’s title win as he received no nominations on the PFA Player of the Year nomination list, missed Team of the Year, and didn’t even rank in the top three. first for the Player of the Season award from his own club. Leeds endured the brunt of those rejections.

Two of his goals came from penalties, but Illan Meslier had as much chance with them as Salah’s emphatic second. Nine shots, four chances created, seven dribbles, 88 taps, and even two completed tackles translated into a pretty ridiculous and comprehensive performance.

Though he failed to claim the Golden Boot for a record-setting third consecutive season, Salah finished as Liverpool’s top scorer and few would bet against him adding the 22 goals needed to lift a Premier League century this season. An explosion in the 2017/18 mold could be on the horizon for a player who has yet to receive anything close to his due credit.

Leeds will be in a relegation fight
This is the big one. It is time to consider relocating myself and my loved ones to avoid the ignominy of my face overlapping Alan Hansen’s charming beige suit and combed hair after Leeds secures European qualification with games to spare.

They were fun against Liverpool. Marcelo Bielsa is brilliant. It is not a bad template. But the obvious romanticism of having Leeds back in our high-profile lives has obscured any sensible judgment. Neutral pundits and fans alike preached about a team that ‘seemed’ to belong to the top half, condescendingly patting a team’s head that brings a fresher feel than they could come up with.

However, Bielsa himself did not lose perspective. “We should have created more danger when we attacked,” he said. “We were very efficient but we didn’t create enough scoring opportunities. Nor can we ignore that we conceded four goals. Many of those goals could have been avoided. “

The loss of Ben White has had an obvious impact and while it will take Rodrigo time to adjust, they benefited more from individual mistakes than their own wits. Liverpool were incredibly rusty but still had 22 shots and only conceded six. In their first game last season, also against the championship winners at Anfield, they had just 15 attempts, while Norwich was down with 12. The Canaries were admired for their original approach, but that alone is not enough.

Leeds will fare better than a club that painfully sold out in July, but prosperity predictions seem guided more by the heart than the head. They will finish no more than ten points above the relegation zone, and it must be said that that would represent a successful season. As it stands, the grandiose projections seem to be setting them up for a powerfully disappointing fall.

Matt stead



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