The jinx got to City early this year, with Tevez fluffing a complete sitter, and then watching in horror as Bent knocked in an injury time penalty to seal their fate. The Shirtman’s smugly confident assurances of a comfortable win over Sunderland leading them (inevitably I suppose) to an inglorious 1-0 defeat. Open mouth. Insert foot. Repeat on a weekly basis. Welcome back to Premier League tipping with the Shirtman ladies and gentlemen – the place where Carlos Tevez makes liars of us all.
A glorious day for Sunderland – let’s not gloss over that. 1-0 wins against footballing giants don’t come around to often for the Black Cats (in fact I’m pretty sure they don’t come around at all), and this one will be remembered for a long, long time. They didn’t dominate mind you – in fact, they spent most of the game under more pressure than the Australian Electoral Commission – but they turned a spirited second half performance into points thanks to Darren Bent and whatever variant of ice-water he has running through his veins. More importantly they moved themselves away from the bottom of the table…and if they play that way more regularly they will very likely stay there.
For City, this is not a time for panic. But it is perhaps time for raised eyebrows, and pretty soon, the finger pointing will begin. Nobody spent twice the amount of Sierra Leones national debt on a squad to watch them lose to the likes of Sunderland. That was the Citizens of old. Before all their players were international football stars and wore underpants made entirely of gold.
Manchester City came into this season with hopes for a title. Three games in and they have four points on the board.
Rest assured folks, that the Princes of Abu Dhabi are not even slightly amused.
Stadium of Light
We knew they would come out inspired at St James’ Park…but 6-0? 6-0?!?!? That’s not a Newcastle game. That’s a Chelsea game. Or an English Ruby Union Test. Or a High Court vote for chrissakes. That’s not the scoreline of a team that only recently returned to the nations Premiership division. One who embarrassed themselves 3-0 last week. Not with a team packed with talent that was too old (Steve Harper), too slow (Kevin Nolan), or too crazy (Joey Barton) to prosper – and yet prosper they did, giving Newcastle fans a game they will remember for a long, long time.
It seems like ages since we had the chance to see Newcastle get kicked around by the Premier League elite – but we got the opportunity last week when they were demolished by an ominous looking Manchester United in their first game back amongst the big boys. They lost by a margin of 3-0 and were lucky to be that close. One week into the competition and already most of the talk is centred on their relegation prospects. The competition honestly hasn’t been as much fun without them.
As the great Yogi Berra once said, it was like déjà vu all over again for Liverpool, who gave away vital points against a major rival with an embarrassing last minute howler from keeper Pepe Reina. Last season was built on these kinds of performances – toying with their fans, oscillating wildly between brilliant form and bone-headed balls-ups. Taking leads and throwing them away – snatching draws out of the jaws of certain victory. It was exactly the sort of thing new manager Roy Hodgson was hoping to avoid in the opening game of the season. Welcome to Anfield.
The season proper kicks off with a mouth watering clash between Tottenham and Manchester City, but we’ll be starting a day later with the opening weekend special; Liverpool v Arsenal – two clubs looking to start the season on the right note after disappointing endings last time around.
It seems like only days since the sound of Vuvuzelas finally stopped ringing in our ears, but already the next keenly anticipated footballing moment is upon us. For English fans (and fans of English football) the time to forget the horrors of the World Cup has arrived. No more wondering what went wrong – time to ponder new questions, and look for new answers. Can Wayne Rooney redeem himself after the embarrassment of South Africa? Will Chelsea retain the title? Can Liverpool shrug off their annus horribilus last year and return to top four form? And how the hell did Blackpool get here and when are they going away?
Spain. 1-0. Iniesta.
