Not So Lucky Louie

Look, you can’t say it wasn’t coming. 17 games in a row without a loss, with only a handful of games in that lot where they played this well, so obviously Manchester United were gonna drop one. Play poorly, still win. Play with some fluidity, confidence and pace… lose to a second half deflection off Gomis’ dreads.

That’s been the way of Van Gaal’s United team. So very illogical.

The big news was probably in the naming of the team. Wayne Rooney up front, Ander Herrera in the middle. Look, Rooney’s role has been well publicised. He’s a striker! Playing in midfield! But here’ the truth: He’s a damn fine midfielder. Rooney not scoring goals doesn’t mean he’s innefective. Nobody in this United team bar the injured Michael Carrick can switch play like Rooney can. He’s clever on the ball and his vision is superb. Playing in midfield actually suits several of his stronger points, the only fault was that he didn’t free himself up enough to get onto those loose balls at the top of the box the way a Yaya Toure does. But that’ll come with more time. However people seemed to use ‘Rooney + Midfield’ as another example that Van Gaal has lost the plot or something, even as his team was winning. People just can't be satisfied.

So I was kinda frustrated that Van Gaal went back to playing Rooney up front at the behest of the critics. Even if it was probably his intention all along. Rooney’s gonna be great regardless of where he plays, the problem was that Radamel Falcao and Robin Van Persie (and Angel Di Maria on occasion) weren’t pulling their weight up top.

Herrera, though. That one’s legit. He’s a really handy player, constantly effective. I love how he never dwells on the ball the way that others might, waiting for a pass to open up. Herrera just keeps it moving, laying it off, picking up return passes, turning on it, running it forward. He’s a busy player. That’s exactly what this often lethargic Man U team needs. And even though it goes against all that I just ranted about, with outsiders trying to tell the experts what to do tactically, I think Van Gaal missed the boat not going all out in that way. I’d have picked Juan Mata in the hole instead of Mary Fellaini. Mata’s not gonna match up against every team. Against Swansea though, I though they could really have leant on the passing angle, instead of the battering ram attack of Fellaini.

Fellaini gave up foul after foul. Many were harsh, but that’s the way the game went. Not coincidentally given Fat Sam’s Long Ball United comments, the ref in this game was super strict with any aerial challenges. Which made it a pain to watch, with United showing some actual fluent moments of attack, only for any crosses/long balls to be crushed by the whistle. Lukas Flappyhandski got away with a couple of poor moments thanks to refereeing leniency. That deep option out of the way, Swansea could sit in and defend compactly, which they did admirably. Swansea were awarded 15 fouls to United’s 6. Fellaini was responsible for 6 on his own.

But there’s adversity in every game. This one came down to the fact that Robin Van Persie had 7 shots and only 1 on target, while Nosferatu came up with a couple of inspired moments. Watching the game, there was no doubt that United were the better team. But the better team tends not to win with (Un)Lucky Louie.

Sprigs Up

I’ve watched the Ashley Barnes challenge on Nemanja Matic in the Chelsea-Burnley game about 20 times trying to figure it out. He doesn’t look like he’s going in for anything malicious, laying the ball off yet his sprigs find themselves embedded in Matic’s calf. Initially I was ready for something horrific, given Jose Mourinho’s ‘criminal’ accusations, but I actually think now that it was probably accidental. Matic throws his foot in there late and cops it as Barnes’ own foot comes down. I mean, it’s gotta land somewhere. It’s possible he knew what he was doing but, eh, benefit of the doubt. Sure, it could have been horrific, and a red card would not have been unexpected, yet that stuff happens all the time. Chelsea fans who wanna complain should focus on the penalty that they didn't get for a clear foul on Diego Costa.

Anyway, you lose all right of passage in the ref’s mind when you react as wildly as Matic did, charging Barnes and throwing the la to the ground. Burnley’s late equaliser probably would have been avoided with 11 men on the park. It could prove crucial too, with City slamming a disinterested Newcastle side 5-0 to close the gap. Chalk that up as a slap in the face for people ready to write the title race off prematurely. As early as 5-6 weeks into the season the experts were calling it Chelsea’s title to lose. And it was. But whether or not they do lose it, the fact that they could have in some alternate universe means that, as a great man once said, baby it ain’t over ‘til it’s over.

Cash Money

Apparently there’s a whole lotta cash gonna be floating around the Premier League soon with this new TV deal. Will it change anything? Probably not. Clubs are already finding their way around the Financial Fair Play rules, and transfer fees are only getting bigger anyway. There’s the football, then there’s the money. Two intertwined but still individual strands. We’re all fans here, we don’t have to care about the money. Let the suits take care of that, we’ll just keep turning up in jerseys and scarves to watch the game.

A few games back, Radamel Falcao was subbed off for Manchester United. As he departed, seemingly shocked and upset, the fans started chanting: “What a waste of money! What a waste of money!” Usually the United fans are some of the most supportive and understanding of the lot of them, I mean they put up with Moyes! (Not to mention the decades of success)

Here’s the deal with that. First of all, Falcao is only on loan. They real money is optional and yet to be spent. Second of all, by this stage in the game’s evolution, you simply cannot hold a player’s transfer fee over their heads. Transfer fees are indicative of one thing and one thing only: the ability to leverage. A player costs what his club is willing to accept and what his suitors are willing to pay. That’s balanced by contract situations, player desire, talent, skill, need… and so on. But every case is different and none can be compared. Falcao’s playing crap. That’s nothing to do with what he cost.

Other Ponderings

Coutinho… damn, son! Where was this stuff three months ago!?

Liverpool are making a serious dart for the Champions League spots and if Wenger/Van Gaal aren’t careful they may just snag one too. It pains me to say this, but the Reds are the form team of 2015. In fact, if you separate the 2015 results from the rest of them the table reads as such:

Liverpool – 17 points
Arsenal – 15
Chelsea – 14
Southampton – 13
Tottenham – 13

It’s incredible how much Liverpool have recovered. No Gerrard matters, for sure. He was a big, black hole in their midfield, giving the ball away and trying to do too much. This team thrives when the y get the ball to the fellas up top. Sturridge back helps too. As does Emre Can’s emergence and Jordan Ibe offering a nice back up alternative to Raheem Sterling. Even Simon Mignolet looks good again. Against Southampton they didn’t create many chances, heck they scored from their only two shots on target. But that’s how you beat Southampton, you take the few chances they give you. No side makes fewer defensive errors than the Saints, no team concedes fewer goals. Liverpool are the only team so far to score in both games against Southampton this season.

Meanwhile their Merseyside rivals are a mess. No team has lost more points from winning positions than Everton (I’m full of stats today!).

Another statty – Spurs have recovered the most points from losing positions. They did it again against West Ham, through Harry Hotspur, who else? Alex Song has been West Ham’s player of the season by a distance, but he has plenty to answer for giving away that last-gasp penalty.

Joey Barton picked up his 6th career EPL red card, this time for trying to punch Tom Huddlestone in the bollocks. It was his 8th consecutive game with a card. What a fella.

Tony Pulis, aka The Fixer, has lost just once in 9 games in charge of West Brom, with 4 clean sheets in his last 6 games. He is the Premier League's version of Mike Ehrmantraut from Breaking Bad.