EPL 2017/18 - Game Week 4

Neymar moved to PSG for a world record 222 million Euros and will be paid 865,000 Euros per week. Go figure it out. How much more many of us do for a pittance. I remembered Trevor Francis moved from Birmingham to Nottingham Forest for a then British record fee of 1 million pounds. A great player in his time under the great Brian Clough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsMLI6zklWk (Trevor Francis)

Neymar said Countinho was sad and disappointed and with a bad back, Coutinho travelled half the world to score a goal for Brazil. Was it just a Qatari statement?  Over at PSG, Kylian Mbappe was put "on loan" to PSG from AS Monaco for lots of money in future so as not to be punished for unfair practice. Before that Paul Pogba's agent got almost half of the transfer fee. Granted a footballer's life span at the top is short and they should make hay while the sun shines, there is no such thing as loyalty or gratitude anymore. Before Barcelona came knocking, Coutinho agreed and signed a 5 year deal to stay but was plotting to leave before the ink dried. Of course Liverpool knew Barcelona had the money from Neymar in the pocket and they sent a strong signal they do not need to sell but I believe at a higher right price later, business could be done. In this case, Southampton could hold onto Virgil van Dijk for a better price since they knew Liverpool had the money if they sold Coutinho and so too Monaco with Thomas Lemar till the next madness window in January. Its the waiting game.

There are no more Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and the likes. It will therefore be extremely difficult to overtake and beat Wayne Rooney's record because nobody hangs around longer anymore and no one could beat my records too - 36 years as of now and just like Johnnie Walker, still going strong! 

Arsenal wanted Thomas Lemar who did not agree to over there and and they had to retain Alexis Sanchez. Keeping an unhappy player may prove counter productive. Fernando Llorente's move from Swansea to Tottenham meant there is a solid forward to cover Harry Kane. Chelsea managed to add a full back Zappacosta from Torino. Wifred Bony returned to Swansea after failed experiment at Manchester City. Newcastle sent Tim Krul on loan to Brighton. Leicester added Dragonovic (on loan) from Bayer. Everton have not finished, they signed Vlasic from Hajduk Split, even Brighton have signed Schelotto from Inter. Watford has a loanee in Wague, Zeegelaar from Lisbon and Kamezis from Udinese. Paul Clement has done very well for Swansea beside Bony he has gotten Renato Sanches from Bayern on loan. Tottenham got their target in Serge Aurier. Liverpool failed to land Lemar nor van Dijk but got their man Alex Oxlande Chamberlain. 

Meantime, the international break saw England boring themselves with a 4-0 win over Malta with late goals where Harry Kane finally scored with a brace. Gareth Southagate has made some bold changes to the set up but why he persisted with Joe Hart at goal was beyond me? Hart could still make Pep Guardiola regret at times but his best seemed to be over. There are promising keepers like Tom Heaton (Burnely) and the young Jordan Pickford (Everton) but Jack Butland (Stoke) has shown on his return from a long term injury like he was never away. They should have been given a chance in preparation for the future. 

As for Singapore, Sundramoorthy has finally realised that he should not have been ultra defensive. When you play opponents at Asean level and you play ultra defensive, you give you opponents a psycological advantage, reduced the belief of your own team and curtail their freedom of expression. You can strategize but it takes balls to play. Look what happen now when they held Turkmenistan 1-1 with an impressive display. Now back to the Premier League...

Manchester City v Liverpool - They first met at City on 16 September 1893 in the former League Division Two in which Liverpool won 1-0 and last met on 19 March 2017 at the Etihad in a 1-1 draw. The last tiem City won was in 2014 and after that Liverpool have won 4 and drew 2. This is the match of the day! Both the Sky Blues and the Reds are unbeaten with 7 points from 3 games. Both are attacking sides and make for an entertaining match. Coutinho is sulking and back from Brazil is unlikely to go straight into the team. In fact, in a twist, Liverpool flourished without him. Een with a cameo, Daniel Sturridge nudged in one. Never change a winning team I say. City have not been all-scoring and all conquering so far. Twice they had to wait till late for Raheem Stirling to rescue them and save the blushes at Everton for a 1-1 draw and then at Bournemouth for a 2-1 win. Not as convincing as they should be and they were throwing Stirling with cash to lure Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal.

Those of you who have watched Liverpool crushed Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield two weeks ago even among neutral fans would fall in love with soccer again and the score line cold have been bigger. The Reds were off the blocks from the first second and even as the Gunners knew how they would play they could not stop them. When Liverpool is in such fine attacking form, few teams could stop them. They were almost perfect and even make their notoriously porous back line looks good. In fact, several players could have been M-O-T-M. Mane as usual ran the opposition ragged. Firmino was intelligent and pivotal while Salah makes you think something is going to happen whenever he got the ball and just watch how he accelerates. We should not read too much into one game as while Liverpool were scintillating, Arsenal were abject allowing Liverpool to swarmed them. Could City do better? The only fear is that many players from both sides were playing for their countries and some have travelled far and if fatigue set in, the game and result can be affected. Other than this it should be mouth-watering. More City players travelled farther so Liverpool may have a slight edge. Liverpool have been more impressive of the two so far. Mane and Salah also starred for Senegal and Egypt. Salah has fuel to burn and will be a handful. Moreover, Vincent Kompany is out with an injury. I was thinking of a 2-2 draw but if Liverpool play like they did Arsenal they win. If they believe. 1-2.

Arsenal v Bournemouth - The Gunners were outclassed, out-thought and out-fought in every department in the 0-4 embarrassment at Anfield. When Sanchez's move fell through, retaining a sulking Sanchez may not be a good plan. They have also sold Oxlade Chamberlain. What happens when Ozil leaves? Arsenal need to have an impressive display and an emphatic win to forget their woes when the season is still so young. Hosting the Cherries who are having a poor start must be a relief. Can you imagine an upset here. But Eddie Howe's Bournemouth is known as Arsenal lite. I think the Gunners will recover from this match but one must feel for Bournemouth how their new season has turned out so far. Worse, Bournemouth has never beaten Arsenal. 2-0.

Brighton v WBA - The Baggies are doing really well. Brighton are struggling. Jay Rodriguez is back and he is a fine striker and good signing by WBA and they are showing some real ambition. Brighton need results or they may find it tough to recover. A forward line that has not scored versus a solid back line. 0-1.

Everton v Tottenham - After a dream start for the Toffees being his second wind, Wayne Rooney found time to screw himself when caught drink-driving a woman's car and the woman in the car is not his wife. Mmm... was he trying to score? Everton's talisman so far could be dropped as Ronald Koeman is no-nonsense. Last time out they were outgunned by Chelsea. Both picking up just a point from two previous matches aren't good enough. 

Harry Kane must be a fan of Greenday. "Wake me up when September ends" oh or rather August. He just could not score in August. Has his brace plus an assist for England kick-started his season? Former Red Devils great Ruud van Nistelrooy said that Harry Kane is a born leader and goal machine. van Nistelrooy himself struck 150 goals for United in 219 games. He believes that Kane is a great player who is just like him - ruthless. Tottenham must be unhappy with their home draw with Burnley. New 23 million pound signing Serge Aurier may help tighten defence. Harry Kane is back and August and the curse is over. Everton has spent much and recruited well so they need a result here for sure. I want to say Spurs win but Everton held them 1-1 in their last two visits and this Everton team is stronger except without Lukaku. 2-2.

Leicester City v Chelsea - The Foxes should do a lot better than the previous season and hosting a resurgent Chelsea. Watch Alvaro Morata, he is scoring well and also scored for Spain. The irony is that Danny Drinkwater has drank that other shade of blue water and could appear against his previous club. Young Harry McGuire will have to provide another assured performance. 1-2.

Southampton v Watford - The Saints and the Hornets are in fine fettle. Both teams would love to maintain their good form and results. So it could turn out to be an interesting match. Look out for Southampton's Manolo Gabbiadini. Also Saints manager Pelligrino is like Spurs' Pochettino, both were Argentinian defenders and shared the name Mauricio. 1-1.

Stoke City v Manchester United - Leaders Manchester United have to go down the M6 to Stoke City which is not an easy journey but they are currently riding on the crest of a wave. Even Mourinho is a jovial non-sulking lad these days. Phil Jones is back to the fold. The Potters are unpredictable and have scored and conceded twice, as usual solid but nothing spectacular. They have toughened up with signings of Zouma from Chelsea and Wimmer from Tottenham and then there is Darren Fletcher. The Red Devils have been quite flawless having scored ten goals without reply. For any result, Stoke must bring out a special performance. Surely United can't keep having a clean sheet and Jack Butland, a very promising goalkeeper will have to at  his best perhaps. It would be quite a physical contest. 1-2.

Burnley v Crystal Palace - Burnley have not been too bad or should I say quite good. When you have beaten Chelsea and held Spurs, people take note. Surely they must fancy their chances as Palace has not gained a single point. You feel sorry for Frank de Boer. At home, the Clarets can be formidable. Home win. 2-1.

Swansea v Newcastle - Swansea was impressive when they won 2-0 at Palace previously and Newcastle was equally good when they won 3-0 at home to West Ham. Swansea's Sigurdsson loss would have been will be make up for by Wilfried Bony. It shall not be easy for the Magpies. 1-1.

West Ham v Huddersfield - The Hammers are in trouble so how will Slaven Bilic turn them around. Meanwhile, the new kid on the block is living a dream. It is a must win for West Ham. I expect Javier Hernandez aka Chicarito to score. West Ham are looking for their first points of the season but it won't be easy. 1-1.