![]() ![]() That was as good a chance as Nigel Pearson's side could have expected and they failed to take it. If you can't beat a 10-man Hull City at home, you don't get to stay and play in this division next season. The Foxes are not as bad as the league table suggests and no-one has beaten them by more than two goals all season, but they are doomed now. There's no way this ends well.įarewell, Leicester City. Arsenal are only a point behind, Manchester United only two. Roberto Mancini didn't survive a season like this and it's hard to see Manuel Pellegrini hanging on for too much longer. Mission Impossible awaits in Barcelona, but you wonder if the machinations behind the scenes have already begun. With just three wins in their last 11 matches, their campaign is collapsing around their ears. Manchester City are far less than the sum of their parts this season. The 2014-15 title defence has been every bit as miserable as the 2012-13 title defence. Few on Wearside will mourn his departure. This might have been one of the worst first half performances in the history of the Premier League. Late on Sunday night, well connected local journalists reported that the Uruguayan's tenure was effectively over and that a short term replacement would be entrusted with keeping Sunderland safe. The players didn't turn up, so why should the supporters have felt obliged to stay? This was a disgraceful performance, an absolute capitulation and it means the end for Gus Poyet. You can't blame the Sunderland fans for walking out so early. Surely Gus Poyet's time in charge of Sunderland has come to an end? Jan Kruger/Getty Images VILLAINS They are not safe yet, but this felt like a turning point in the season, something to build on in the run-in. Fortunately, there was something of their old verve visible in his team's dismantling of Newcastle. Roberto Martinez could not afford to lose this game. Performances have been riddled with individual errors and confidence has been sinking fast. Within touching distance of the Champions League last year, it's been most disconcerting to see Everton sinking so close to relegation this year. Arsenal? But they ran themselves off the road months ago! Remember back in November when they lost to Swansea and Manchester United? And over the winter when they lost to Stoke and to Southampton? What do you mean they've won 12 of their last 14 games in all competitions? My God, man! How is this happening? They're still accelerating! Surely they can't. What's that in the rear view mirror? Is that. It's fair to say that Sherwood's appointment has been vindicated. All that and there's still the small matter of a trip to Wembley for the FA Cup semifinal. Villa had only scored four times away from home all season before this cakewalk. Four first half strikes turned what had looked like a difficult encounter into a joyous carnival of goals. No wonder the fans were singing, "We've Got Our Villa Back!" at the Stadium of Light this weekend. He has been mocked and maligned, but Tim Sherwood has transformed Aston Villa beyond recognition in just a matter of weeks. They might have been a little fortunate not to concede a late penalty, but given their ill fortune elsewhere this season, perhaps they deserved a bit of luck. This is a squad without stardust and yet it has a group mentality on which you cannot put a price. Burnley, with a wage bill thought to be the lowest in the league by some distance, somehow overturned Manchester City, whose wage bill could finance revolutions, and there is renewed hope at Turf Moor. Just when you thought they were out, they pulled themselves back in. And it has been a long, long time since we've been able to say that. Led by an effervescent Wayne Rooney, criticised in some quarters for recently having had fun with friends like a normal human being, United were outstanding. Louis van Gaal and the press corps have clashed repeatedly since his arrival in England last summer, but here, finally, was a performance that we could all agree was at the level expected of this club. Hold the phone! Was that an exciting, aggressive and cohesive Manchester United? It most certainly was. Matchday 29 of the Premier League is in the bag, so it's time to run the rule over the Heroes and Villains of the weekend.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |