Our Monday review of this weekend’s Barclays Premier League action focuses on events at St. James’ Park, besides a round-up of the other games with reaction from the rest of the blogosphere.
Alan Pardew’s Newcastle United team have made an impressive unbeaten start to the season and find themselves in the top-four of the table, writes William Geldart.
It is unlikely that the Magpies will be able to hold off the respective challenges of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in the battle to qualify for the UEFA Champions League, but excitable Geordies are pleased with the progress being made.
It has been a difficult nine months in charge of the Toon Army for Pardew. After replacing popular Championship winning boss Chris Hughton, the ex-Southampton and West Ham United manager has faced the difficult challenge of winning over sceptical fans and moving high-earners on to pastures new, before attempting to mould the team in his own image.
The departures of ex-captain Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll and Joey Barton did little to convince the natives on Tyneside that Newcastle could improve upon last season’s 12th place, achieved in their first season back in Premier League.
Unbeaten in their opening six games, the goalscoring contributions thus far of previously maligned striker Leon Best and new boy Demba Ba have helped bring fresh optimism for the campaign ahead.
Ba’s hat-trick in Saturday’s 3-1 home win against Blackburn Rovers was his first ever in the Premier League and after a slow start to his Toon Army career, his maiden goals for the club.
Behind this rejuvenated forward line are the group of players the local media have dubbed the French Connection. Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa, Mehdi Abeid, Sylvain Marveaux and Gabriel Obertan are the Gallic heartbeat making Newcastle tick, and they are quickly gaining admirers.
Marveaux told the Newcastle Chronicle: “Everybody has settled in well at Newcastle so far. Yohan, Demba Ba, Hatem and Mehdi are all feeling good about life – it has been great.”
With Ba and Best scoring three goals each so far this season, have the Magpies found the goalscoring formula that had been eluding them?
Meanwhile, Blackburn’s resurgence came to an abrupt end. Steve Kean’s men registered consecutive victories against Arsenal and Leyton Orient last week, but apart from the inspiration provided by David Hoilett’s consolation goal, they rarely looked like taking anything back with them to Ewood Park.
Elsewhere, Manchester City produced a battling display to defeat Everton 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium and go level on points at the top of the league with rivals United.
Bad-boy Mario Balotelli has found himself on the fringes of the first-team squad so far this term, but his measured shot from the edge of the area gave the home side the lead on 68 minutes, after the Italian had come on for Edin Dzeko just after the hour mark.
David Silva’s threaded ball to James Milner saw the England midfielder slide home for City’s second goal a minute before time, as Roberto Mancini’s side demonstrated their mettle, to add to their attacking flair.
Balotelli rushed to embrace Mancini after scoring, and his manager praised the attitude of his striker while having to be content with warming the substitutes’ bench.
He told BBC Sport: “Mario didn’t start for three or four games but he has worked well, did not say anything and he was waiting for this moment. He scored an important goal and now it is important that he can continue.”
Arsenal overcame a poor Bolton Wanderers side 3-0 at the Emirates on Saturday. Robin van Persie’s brace marked his 99th and 100th goals for the Gunners, with Alex Song smartly finishing late on to seal a comprehensive victory.
It was not until the second-half that Arsenal stepped up a gear and the outcome of the match could have been different had Bolton’s Darren Pratley not been brilliant denied by Wojciech Szczesny in the first period.
Dutchman Van Persie opened the scoring shortly after the re-start, slotting past Wanderers goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen who endured a busy afternoon.
Bolton defender David Wheater was then shown a red card for hauling down Theo Walcott when clean through on goal. Van Persie flicked home a second goal for the home side fourteen minutes from the end, before Song’s effort added a further gloss to the scoreline.
It was only the Gunners’ second-win of the season, whereas Bolton find themselves rock bottom of the table after their fifth straight defeat.
Wanderers fans’ patience with boss Owen Coyle is wearing thin and the man that some have sarcastically dubbed ‘St. Owen’ will have to soon start presiding over victories with the side that he has built.
Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-1 win against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium is the club’s third straight victory and one that helps alleviates some of the early season pessimism coming out of White Hart Lane.
With ‘wantaway’ midfielder Luka Modric seemingly showing little ill effects of a failure to engineer a move to Chelsea, Spurs have risen to sixth in the Premier League table after their win in Lancashire.
Modric’s corner was met by the head of Gareth Bale to put the away side 2-0 up after just 23 minutes. Dutch midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart had turned in from an Emmanuel Adebayor pass to give Spurs a third-minute lead.
Mohamed Diame pulled one back for the hosts but Steve Gohouri’s dismissal for two yellow cards just after an hour played did little to help the Latics’ search for an equaliser.
Following the 4-0 thrashing of Liverpool, Spurs blog THBN proudly hollered, “write us off at your peril”, and certainly in the context of the race for fourth spot in the Premier League, it seems an apt headline after securing another three points.
In the rest of the weekend’s action, Liverpool’s 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers puts them back on track after two defeats. Wolves slumped to their third consecutive loss although they remain in mid-table. Charlie Adam and Luis Suarez scored for the Reds while Steven Fletcher reduced the deficit but Liverpool held on.
The good folks over at ‘Wolves Blog’ were understandably peeved with another defeat, albeit against an expensively assembled Liverpool side in front of their own fans at Anfield. Mick McCarthy’s team selection was dissected and the blog lamented how life in the Premier League limits “on-field aspiration”, adding that “a bottom six finish is most probably the best we should realistically expect, just like we’ve been told to expect for the previous two years.”
West Bromwich Albion and Fulham played out an entertaining 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns, although the result does little to help either side escape the lower echelons of the league table.
Arguably, the Cottagers should have taken all three points back to west London with them. Costa Rican forward Bryan Ruiz missed the best chance for the away side, stabbing wide after Ben Foster had fumbled John Arne Riise’s stinging free-kick. Replays appeared to indicate that Foster had made the slightest of touches to keep the £10.6m record signing’s effort out.
Manchester United’s previous three visits to Stoke City’s Britannia Stadium had yielded maximum points, but they were to be denied the full set on Saturday evening by a Peter Crouch header in their 1-1 draw.
Nani had scored another exceptional solo effort to put the champions ahead after Javier Hernandez had been forced off through injury.
Stoke did not sit back after equalising and United goalkeeper David de Gea produced a string of fine saves to prove his worth and protect a point for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.
The curse that continues to afflict Chelsea striker Fernando Torres refuses to leave his crushed body. Having opened the scoring against Swansea City with a neat swivel of the hips and a well-placed shot, Torres saw red just before half-time for a two-footed lunge on Mark Gower.
That Chelsea still won the match 4-1 was testament to their dominance and even with a man advantage for around 55 minutes of the match, the Welsh side rarely threatened.
A Ramires double and a late goal from Didier Drogba wrapped up an easy three points for the Londoners. Ashley Williams scored a consolation goal for the Swans.
Encouraging for Chelsea and Torres is the ‘missing link’ partnership developing between Juan Mata and the striker, who combined for the opening goal. Writing for the ‘Made in London’ blog, Chelsea fan Tony Glover picked out some of the best reflections on Torres’ overall contribution to the victory, and the madness of his sending-off.
And finally, Queens Park Rangers managed to salvage what seemed at one stage to be an unlikely point from yesterday afternoon’s match-up with Aston Villa.
Richard Dunne’s ninth career own goal ensured the spoils were shared in the 1-1 draw at Loftus Road, with much of the post-match talk focussing on contentious decisions.
Villa went ahead on 58 minutes after Gabriel Agbonlahor was adjudged to have been tugged back in the penalty-area by Armand Traore, who was later rightly sent-off for a late lunge at Marc Albrighton, resulting in a second yellow card. Barry Bannan converted the spot-kick and all three points appeared to be heading back to the Midlands until Heidar Helguson’s cross deflected in off Dunne to deny Alex McLeish’s side a vital win.
Rangers boss Neil Warnock was furious with what he deemed to be a weak penalty decision and after his side were denied their own opportunity from the spot after Alan Hutton appeared to handle twice in the penalty-area.
Certainly, Hutton’s left hand seemed to move towards the ball to block a Shaun Derry header that was goalbound but in keeping his balance, a Tommy Smith cross later on in the match, inadvertently struck his arm.
‘QPR Today’ was also scathing in its own criticism of Villa’s perceived cynical play and persistent fouling.
The remaining fixture from round six’s fixtures pits Norwich City against Sunderland at Carrow Road this evening.
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