5 Talking Points From the Premier League Weekend: Rooney, Liverpool and More
The Premier League has resumed after the international break, and all the fixtures, bar Blackburn vs Sunderland, have been completed.
As with every Premier League week, the weekend's events have left behind some talking points, so, in no particular order, here's my list of talking points after another exciting EPL week.
Wayne Rooney Out of Favour
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Wayne Rooney, last season's hero, seems to have fallen out with Sir Alex Ferguson.
In case you don't know, Rooney claimed to not have suffered any kind of ankle injury this season, going against what Ferguson had told the media earlier in the season. Ferguson may have been covering for Rooney, to get him some time out of the spotlight while the scrutiny around his private life was more intense than ever before. If that was the case, it appears Rooney wasn't after the help.
Whatever the reason, Rooney has come out and contradicted Ferguson. Given past incidents, falling out with Ferguson isn't a good move if you intend to spend much longer at Old Trafford. Given the rumours that Rooney may be looking for a move to Real Madrid, it is perfectly possible that Rooney wants out of Manchester. Falling out with Fergie is certainly a quick way to get out of United, as David Beckham and others will confirm.
Rumour has it that contract negotiations between Rooney and United have stalled or even broken down, a further indication that Rooney might be on the way out.
On the positive side, Rooney's marriage appears to have survived, so it's not all doom and gloom for the England striker.
Liverpool In Real Trouble
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Any possibility of Liverpool's disastrous start to the season having something to do with the ownership of the club evaporated this weekend.
Liverpool's performances have been far from impressive this season, and nothing changed this weekend as Liverpool fell to a 2-0 loss to close rivals Everton. There was nothing lucky about the win either; Everton thoroughly outplayed their rivals.
Liverpool are second from bottom, merely by virtue of having a better goal difference than West Ham. With no possibility of new players arriving before January, Roy Hodgson will have to hope that he can turn things around or he'll be on his way out.
Worryingly, Robbie Fowler, a Liverpool legend and a former Leeds player, has claimed that Leeds had a better side when they were relegated in 2004. While January should bring in new players, who would want to move to a club that has been performing as poorly as Liverpool?
The stars of the side like Joe Cole and Fernando Torres have underperformed badly and Steven Gerrard can't be expected to carry Liverpool by himself. Unless other players start to perform, Liverpool could be in for a very tough season.
Big names have fallen before and if Liverpool don't sort themselves out, they could be next.
Van Der Sar's Fumble
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Ferguson said the last time Van der Sar had made a mistake like he did at the weekend he was probably in "Primary School". Van der Sar is one of the Premier League's most reliable, and experienced, goalkeepers and the mistake was certainly a rare one, but it is typical of United's season.
They have surrendered two goal leads three times so far this season and have conceded 11 goals in eight games, two poor statistics by United's high standards.
His spill gifted the Baggies an equaliser as West Brom came back from 2-0 down to snatch a draw at Old Trafford. United cannot afford to drop points as easily as they have so far this season if they wish to challenge for yet another league title.
The Red Devils are five points behind leaders Chelsea, and must count themselves lucky that Chelsea also dropped two points.
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Tackling
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Another week, another bad tackle. This season has seen the resurgence of the debate about tackling. De Jong's tackle on Ben Arfa has been the most high profile incident so far, but Bobby Zamora has also suffered a broken leg and Danny Murphy has claimed that some managers send their players out to hurt other teams.
This weekend, perhaps slightly surprisingly, it was an Arsenal player making the headlines for a tackle. Jack Wilshere, by no means a violent player, was lucky to not break Zigic's leg with a lunge that took out the players standing leg.
It was something of a role reversal as it was in a match against Birmingham that Eduardo suffered a broken leg after a bad tackle. Arsene Wenger had used his pre-match notes to call for clarification over the rules for tackling, but he had no argument over Wilshere's red card.
The English game has always been more physical than other leading leagues. The question is, are the injuries suffered an acceptable price to pay for the more physical game?
Video Technology
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The seemingly everlasting debate reared it's head once again this weekend.
Three poor decisions in the Blackpool vs Man City game, as well as a dodgy decision in the Fulham vs Tottenham match have led to renewed calls for video technology to be introduced. Ian Holloway, understandably, was infuriated by the decisions that went against his team and in his post match interview suggested that the fourth official be put in charge of looking at technology already in use on TV and informing the referee.
Technology looks to be on its way into the game after a World Cup that saw a fair few bad decisions, not least among these was Frank Lampard's goal that wasn't given. That decision, along with the recent spate of mistakes has highlighted how important it is for referee's to get every decision right. Referee's are often not in a position to be able to make the correct call. That is why video technology is so vital. There are cameras covering almost every single angle, why not use them to improve the game?
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