Statues of Liberty

"Swansalona" is quickly becoming a common term this season as the first Welsh side in the English Premier Division continues to impress. While this article may be long-overdue (Swansea have been sticking with the same style of football since August), it, like the team in focus, has had a patient build-up.

Few sides can boast wins against both Man City and Arsenal this season (only Sunderland and Man Utd can, if you count all domestic competitions) as well as draws against Chelsea and Liverpool, alongside a point gained against Spurs when they still played Bale on the left and Van der Vaart behind Adebayor (more on that in coming weeks) at the end of 2011. For a newly-promoted side to have that record - as well as only losing to Arsenal and United due to lone, individual errors - almost boggles the mind.

And this is a side built on a shoestring budget, with none of the funds that the likes of Malaga or even Leicester City have splurged to propel them into (relative) footballing heights. They've spent less than £6m on signings for the first-team (Vorm and Graham) and have among their squad a number of players who have played for the side (Garry Monk, Alan Tate, and Leon Britton) who have played for them across 4 domestic divisions. If ever there was a rags-to-riches story, it is at the Liberty Stadium that you'd find it, surely.

And a fitting name that, looking at the way they go about ther business on the pitch. For long periods of time this season (and during individual games), many believed that Swansea flattered to deceive, that their possession-based play would not do them any favors. "Swansalona" might be the catch-phrase, after all, but Danny Graham isn't Lionel Messi, Nathan Dyer isn't David Villa, and Leon Britton and Joe Allen aren't Xavi or Andres Iniesta. That Opta once had an in-depth comparison between Britton and Xavi notwithstanding, such comparisons were amusing, if nothing else.

But the results mentioned before speak for themselves. They currently sit 8th in the table, comfortably safe from relegation (barring a spectacular collapse) and only three points behind mighty Liverpool. What have they been doing right with such limited resources?

Many point to manager Brendan Rodgers for encouraging their style of play, while others point towards former manager Paulo Sousa (though in his best season his side only managed 40 goals in the league, contrasting with beating Twente 3-1) who took over from one Roberto Martinez. Either way, credit still has to be placed on Rodgers, who once worked under Jose Mourinho at Chelsea. Perhaps a bit of The Special One's special touch rubbed off on the former youth team manager, who has gotten the absolute best out of his squad so far.

Their rock-solid defensive displays have lent themselves to their string of impressive performances in 2011/12. World Cup Finalist Michel Vorm, signed for less than 10% the fee Manchester United paid for David de Gea, has been heroic. Ashley Williams in the heart of defence has been similarly imperious, and the side did not concede a single goal at home until the end of October. Only Manchester City have conceded fewer at home, and even then the Swans have already baeten the men from the Etihad.

Their regular wingers Nathan Dyer and Scott Sinclair have also won many plaudits (as well as Fantasy Football points) with their incisive running on the flanks, offering endless energy and enthusiasm if perhaps lacking in genuine quality. But as mentioned before, manager Brendan Rodgers has allowed his two wingers (and the journeyman Wayne Routledge as well) to flourish in the roles he has set for them.

But it is in the centre of midfield where the answer to Swansea's rise to prominence lies. The partnership of Allen and Britton, complemented by either Mark Gower or the excellently-named Gylfi Sigurdsson, is the reason for the parallels drawn with a certain Catalan side. Leon Britton remains one of the only outfield players who have a 100% pass accuracy in a single game (v Bolton in October). That's not happened in over half a decade in the Premier League, and the only other players who have done it in that time frame are defenders playing square passes.

It was their wins against Arsenal and Manchester City that raised the most eyebrows, and made the most headlines, of course. But again, why have they done so well?

Last week, both Manchester clubs, far and away the best-performing ones in England domestically this season, crashed out of Europe. They've already been eliminated from the Champions League, obviously, and now bowed out of what many see as a significantly inferior competition against significantly inferior opposition. Sporting Lisbon and Athletic Bilbao aren't even Porto and Barcelona. But Sporting and Bilbao, over two legs, outplayed City and United with possession-based play. City also lost in the group stage to Bayern Munich, who also keep the ball very well thanks to Bastian Schwensteiger. Barcelona beat (some say humiliated) Arsenal in Europe with the same style last season. And in the final, Barca beat BPL champions United with the same game-plan, executed to perfection. This season, Arsenal (again) were comprehensively outplayed in the first leg of their knock-out tie against a Milan side that kept the ball tremendously well. Which is what Swansea did against them as well. Yes, Swansea have now been compared to Bayern Munich and AC Milan as well as Barcelona.

This blueprint was obviously not set in place with the specific intent to beat Wenger, Ferguson and Mancini, but the consistent failures of the "top" English sides in Europe against sides that employ this form of play might even suggest a fundamental failing that English sides have against it. The counter-argument is that City are a cosmopolitan side managed by an Italian, but perhaps this is still an observation worrthy of further study. If such a failing or weakness does exist, perhaps Brendan Rodgers and his Swans have stumbled upon it, and inadvertantly or not, have exploited it to their startling benefit.

In all probability, the cries of "Swansalona" will continue to ring for the rest of the season, whatever happens. Perhaps they are deserved, the comparisons between the smallest side in the league to arguably the best footballing side in a generation, but either way, it is certainly fitting that it is at the Liberty Stadium where the most unrestricted brand of football is on show.

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In the Wings

Spanish playmaker in the blue kit, signed from Valencia and has created more goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates than anyone else in the league. No, it's not David Silva, but his former teammate at the Mestalla, Juan Mata. While that notable statistic is remarkable itself, it's also remarkable that Mata is often deployed on the wing, rather than through the middle like most other players classed as "playmakers". That being said, he is hardly the only one in that situation.

Placing a creative player on the wing, rather than through the middle, seems like a curious tactical decision. In other parts of Europe, the term trequartista is common, and often attributed to attacking midfielders and deep-lying forwards who dictate the tempo of their team. Francesco Totti is perhaps a great example of this kind of player. In the BPL though, we regularly see Mata playing on the left wing for Chelsea, and the same goes for Samir Nasri at Man City. The Frenchman is, of course, playing in the same side as the premier trequartista in the league so it may be hard for him to find a place in the side otherwise. That being said, his best moments for Arsenal in the past came when a certain Cesc Fabregas was missing and he was shifted central. You could even say the same for the current fans favourite at the Emirates, Andrei Arshavin. Once the hottest property in European football, the Russian has been reduced to a bit part player, booed and jeered by his own supporters. But it's worth noting, again, that he played his best - at Zenit and for Russia - when deployed in a central position and not on the left wing, opposite a mostly hapless Theo Walcott on the other side.

There are others too, of course. Rafael van der Vaart is arguably Tottenham's best player, but even he is sometimes tasked to play on the right wing, rather than "in the hole" behind Adebayor (or Peter Crouch last season). The same goes for Niko Kranjcar, who almost never gets to play in the middle of the park given the presence of van der Vaart and/or Luka Modric (who has received more passes than anyone else in the league). Mikel Arteta, while at Everton, played many games on the right wing. Now at Arsenal, many have said he is no replacement for Fabregas but the stats show that in the games he has started, they've picked up significantly more points per game than when he is missing. No surprise, he plays at the heart of the Gunners' midfield and has been subtly sublime.

And so the likes of Arshavin and Nasri have been criticised for their lack of contribution to their respective sides, while Juan Mata sometimes remains only on the periphery of the game and the leader boards.

Conversely, Some other teams and their managers - for whatever reason, recognise the importance of a central playmaker. Yohan Cabaye, Newcastle's outstanding purchase from French champions Lille, never strays from the middle of the park. Paul Scholes, save a few outings for England on the left wing, is the same (pre and post retirement). Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Pavel Nedved and Andrea Pirlo are other prominent examples alongside the likes of Joe Allen as less-heralded, modern-day editions of midfield metronomes. You may argue that that's at least partially because they lack another attributes (such as pace) to be placed on the wings at all, but isn't it more because they are simply devastating in the middle of the field, while not nearly so anywhere else?

There are times where converting someone from a central player to a winger proves a great move. Gabriel Agbonlahor is a fine example of such - an athelete who possesses great pace and power while perhaps lacking panache. A player we've analysed many times, the general consensus is that he is much more effective out wide simply because of his physical attributes, which far outweigh his "football intelligence" - a statement often attributed to folk like Gabriel Obertan, Theo Walcott and Aaron Lennon as well. So it seems almost self-explanatory, surely, that a team should have its most "intelligent" player in the heart of the midfield. With the Super Bowl still fresh in recent memory (for those of us interested...), you have the traditional quarterback, key to just about any offensive play, in the middle of the pitch as well.

It's worth noting, obviously, that there have been instances where a playmaker or dazzlingly creative player on the wings benefitted a team to great effect. A young Cristiano Ronaldo and a younger Lionel Messi for Manchester United and Barcelona respectively were frighteningly good on the right flank. But then you realise that since Ronaldo has moved to Madrid and Guardiola has switched Messi to his central attacker, they have been that much more brilliant. And so it's a very real point for many managers past and present to examine the players they have at their disposal and decide if, by playing someone as a winger, all he is doing is clipping their wings.

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Striking Out

The Christmas-Boxing Day-New Year's period is always a frantic one for the Premier League. Arguments and debates regarding a winter break aside, you're almost guaranteed some fantastic talking points with action just about every day. This year's run of games was no different, with shocking results all around in what has been a most engrossing season. Other than upsets though, the last few weeks have also seen a few strikers hit the news for various reasons.

I've written about Arsenal numerous times, and for a long time I've felt that they've been lucky to have finished in the Top Four and qualify from the Champions League. Since their stunning team of Invincibles, each incarnation of Arsene Wenger's Gunners has been significantly weaker than the last, and they are only where they are this season because of RVP's goals, Gervinho's addition and Vermaelen's return. Given that their star man is due a long-term injury soon and Gervinho will be off to the African Cup of Nations, the loan signing of a certain Thierry Henry might be perfect. Wojciech Szczesny says that his side "needs" the return of the Frenchman, and that statement raises a few pertinent questions.

The former Arsenal frontman and skipper returns to a side that barely resembles the one he left - Ljungberg, Gallas, Baptista, Flamini, Lehmann, Adebayor and Aboue have all left alongside the other big name Cesc Fabregas (also to Barcelona). Their replacements have turned in performances at varying degrees of success (you'd pick Wilshere over Flamini, surely...) and Robin Van Persie has certainly supplied the goals that Arsenal have needed. But what else are they lacking?

Szczesny said that Henry would provide a dressing room presence that the club needs, a telling line that might suggest that the London side still lack a leader - an accusation made even when Fabregas had the armband. This Thierry Henry is not the Henry of old, though, arguably the most dangerous striker on the planet (possibly out-performing Ruud Van Nistelrooy near his peak) and Arsenal will hope that his short-term deal will pan out as well as Henrik Larsson's did for Manchester United in 2007.

The Red Devils themselves have a strange striking situation. Dropping the league's top scorer at the start of the season isn't a luxury afforded to many sides, but United are still the only side to have scored in every league game this term. Most of the attention, of course, is on Wayne Rooney, the talisman United have craved for since the days of Eric Cantona.

But it is on the dropped striker that the Cantona comparisons are made, with Dimitar Berbatov's relaxed approach to the beautiful game drawing as much praise as it does criticism. Linked with a move to Juventus recently, the Bulgarian has often said that he is very happy to remain a squad player at United (a sentiment shared by the forgotten Michael Owen) but has started firing again in recent games, and one wonders what the future holds for the silky striker.

United do need him, though not as much as Arsenal need RVP, but Berbatov offers the option that Rooney, Welbeck, Hernandez, Owen, Macheda, or Diouf (that's a lot of strikers...) don't. When I wrote a few months ago of the importance of Tom Cleverley in allowing Wayne Rooney to play at his best, the main point was that the young midfielder offered a fulcrum to which the rest of the team could revolve around. Dimitar Berbatov is that sort of player as well, if utilized properly. He is not a big targetman like Edinson Cavani. He will not run behind defenders like Filippo Inzaghi. He is not going to score from 35 years like Gabriel Batistuta. And he will not run, terrier-like, as Carlos Tevez once did for Man Utd.

It is perhaps unfortuante, then, that the purchase of Berbatov was seen as a factor in driving out Carlos Tevez, who in many ways is the polar opposite of his former team-mate.

Never staying anywhere for long, the vagabond Argentine has been courted by both AC Milan and Internazionale, as well as big-spending Paris Saint-Germain. City's former captain, and now public enemy number one, the man's career is a transfer saga in itself. There isn't much to say about him except that the move in many ways has been long overdue, and that at his best, there are few better in the world at the position. It says much for City, sitting pretty at the top of the BPL, that they are so willing to offload the player that is probably the reason for all their success now. Would David Silva and Yaya Toure have flourished without Tevez? Would they have even been persuaded to move to Eastlands?

The departure of one South American hitman coincides with the absence of another, the former Ajax maestro Luis Suarez. Banned for eight games after the incident with Patrice Evra, details are sketchy to this day, with Liverpool saying it a matter of one man's word against another. The fact that testimonies from the Liverpool players and officials (including Suarez himself) don't add up though, speak poorly for his case.

On the pitch though, he is the dynamo that Liverpool have lacked since injuries cripplied Steven Gerrard's playing time. An on-form Suarez makes Liverpool as dangerous as they did when Torres and Gerrard terrorized defences across the country. However, the striking difference is just that, the striking.

With a strike conversion rate of less than 10% (and only about 50% of his shots hit the target at all), to call him wasteful might be generous. But the form of Andy Carroll, the conversion of Dirk Kuyt to winger, and the inability of Stewart Downing to find or create a goal this season does not bode well for the Reds, still seeking a top four finish even after this morning's crushing defeat to ten-man Manchester City.

How can Liverpool cope without him? Andy Carroll did so well at Newcastle because Joey Barton, Jonas Gutierrez and Kevin Nolan supplied him the kinds of balls that the big man thrives on, enabling him to reach doubel figures before Christmas. The delivery has been lacking at Liverpool, despite the management bringing in Adam, Downing and Henderson becuase of their apparent chance-creating prowess. Indeed, Charlie Adam has been almost ever-present (though not Carroll) but it almost looks like he has ceased to chance the glorious long balls to the targetman that made him so effective at Blackpool. It is notable that Steven Gerrard did supply Carroll with those balls in the game against Newcastle when he came on, and the ponytailed forward looked immediately more dangerous.

The next few weeks will be very interesting for many sides, and many players, not least the strikers we've looked at today. Be it a returning hero, a languid trickster, a wantaway maverick or a misfiring misfit, you can be sure that something is going to happen.

Even if nothing does, that in itself is surely something to talk about.

Happy new year everyone!

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The Oil Firm Derby

A rampant Manchester City side visiting an embattled Stamford Bridge, where players and some members of the media have been exiled by a young manager under pressure. Chelsea, who had already lost two of their last three home games, and had lost games against United and QPR as well, were billed as vast underdogs as they awaited the visit of Roberto Mancini's men.

And after the fiery Mario Balotelli opened the scoring after two minutes, you could be forgiven if you were already penning the eulogies for a certain AVB.

Last week, I wrote about how Chelsea had abandoned their high line and how it proved to be an effective tweak in AVB's highly-favoured "Porto 4-3-3". Against Newcastle, they were defensively sound and kept a clean sheet. Their abandonment of the high line against Valencia also proved beneficial, but for some inexplicable reason, the London club decided to opt for this tactic yet again against City.

I've already touched upon why the high defensive line isn't suited for Chelsea and their squad (last week), and against City - especially with the livewire Sergio Aguero - it seemed an almost comical decision. And it was Aguero who found is strike partner early on, and Balotelli almost turned provider for the Son-in-Law-of-God a few minutes later, as the plodding Chelsea backline kept with AVB's protocol.

An argument for his case might be that AVB opted to put pressure on the City midfield, and David Silva in particular, as Liverpool did so well in their 1-1 draw recently. There, a fired-up Lucas Leiva took David Silva out of the game completely, making him a non-factor with a quite brilliant display of man-marking in midfield. The difference here, though, is that no man-marking role seemed to have been assigned to anyone among the Chelsea trio of Raul Meireles, Oriol Romeu and Ramires. David Silva was then free to drift to either flank, as City lined up with their own trio of James Milner, Gareth Barry an Yaya Toure behind the Spaniard.

La Masia graduate Romeu again played the role of deep-anchorman, almost always sitting alongside Terry and Ivanovic while Cole and Bosingwa moved forward, turning the 4-3-3 into a 3-4-3. Again, this is something we've seen all season with Chelsea, with varying degrees of success. Romeu and Meireles (when deployed there), have been much more influential and effective than a certain Jon Obi Mikel, culpable for Liverpool's first goal in their own clash last month.

Early on, City's 4-3-1-2 formation (the one Mancini preferred at Inter, and also something I praised highly very early in the season) seemed to dominate AVB's 4-3-3/3-4-3. With an unmarked David Silva finding gaps to play despite the high line, Sergio Aguero and Mario Balotelli exploited the space behind the Chelsea defense, who struggled to cope with the attacking trio early on.

Again, it is strange to see AVB revert back to his instruction of a high defensive line after success without it, and especially against a side who have the pre-eminent midfield Trequartista in the league (if not the world) and two skilful and mobile strikers. Roberto Mancini may have had that high line in mind when selecting his lineup, picking Balotelli ahead of the less mobile Dzeko, or Samir Nasri, who would have gotten in the way of David Silva in midfield, if anything. This is the same Mario Balotelli who, only a few weeks ago, that Roberto Mancini said he would not pick in the big games due to his temperament.

With all the focus on Man City's attacking prowess though, the goal they conceded was sloppy, if you're being kind. Former City man Daniel Sturridge breezed past Clichy to whip in a ball towards Meireles to volley home. This, during a passage of the game where City had visibly slackened. A cynic might suggest that should Nigel De Jong have started, he might have helped City maintain their lead with his no-nonsense, hard-man approach. But De Jong started on the bench, only coming on for Silva after they were reduced to 10 men and hanging on, during a period where Chelsea were enjoying up to 80% possession even against 11 men. The tactical analysis, of course, flew out the window after Clichy's dismissal (not a good day for him...), and Chelsea piled on the pressure and eventually found the winner.

On a side note, one wonders why City paid so much money for Gael Clichy, who is arguably far inferior to Jose Enrique at Liverpool.

This isn't the first time that City have let a lead slip due to a drop in work ethic (Fulham early on) and with the red card, penalty, and overall performance in the second half one wonders if the City collapse that so many have predicted (or hoped for...?) has finally come. Chelsea, too, have questions and issues to face themselves; persisting with the high-line, shaky defensive pairing, the futures of Malouda, Alex, and even Drogba and Lampard and probably Mikel.

Overall, Manchester United and their supporters will be delighted with Chelsea's victory, their joy second only to Chelsea themselves who have both qualified from a tricky Champions League group and have handed the league leaders their first domestic loss since the Community Shield. A bad week for Roberto Mancini, who saw his own side knocked out of Europe's premier competition, of course (while an even less experienced Napoli side went through). After a weekend where all eyes were on El Classico early Sunday morning, the Premier League title race may have just been reignited by the result at "El Cashico".

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Chelsea's Line-Dancing

Ever since Roman Abramovich took control of Stamford Bridge in 2003, the revolving door at Chelsea has been ever-turning, with players and managers alike moving in and out of London with perhaps an alarming frequency. I've written about their latest boss before, and while I've been a fan of the man and his principles, the pressure has been growing on the young manager, who only recently claimed that his employers can't afford to sack him.

Promising a more adventurous and entertaining approach to football, Andre Villas-Boas has certainly done well to dispel the pragmatic Chelsea style that counterpart and former mentor Jose Mourinho instilled into the side. Unfortunately for AVB though, one of the key components of Mourinho's all-conquering side was their defensive solidarity, and that seems to have evaporated quite suddenly. In 2004-05, the season Mourinho first won the title at Chelsea, their side conceded just 15 goals all season, compared to the 17 the current Chelsea team has already shipped in.

In many games this season, Chelsea have deployed a "high defensive line", a tactic employed by many, including the current Barcelona side. This tactical ploy affords opposition forwards space behind the defence, but also increases the likelihood of them being caught offside, and squeezes the play in midfield, pressuring the middle of the park. Unfortunately for AVB though, the gambit cost them more than it helped. Off the top of my head, the Blues allowed clear cut chances against West Brom, Norwich, Man Utd and Arsenal due to catastrophic failures of their high line.

Against Newcastle though, the Chelsea high line was almost non-existent, and AVB's side came away with a very good three points, and a clean sheet at St. Jam - oh, I mean the Sports Direct Arena. The defensive performance, of course, was helped by an immense display from John Terry, including clearing an effort off the line to preserve his side's lead. Far cry from the black mark he has been receiving recently from many corners (including me) especially after his slip-up against Arsenal.

But Terry's stalwart display was indeed helped in no small part by the abandonment of the high line. Looking at the areas in which he made and won interceptions, tackles and headers, you can see that Chelsea played much, much, deeper at Tyneside.

One of the important factors that determine the success of a high defensive line is the presence of pacy defenders. This is due to the fact that they need to be able to compensate for the inevitable failure of the offside trap, and get back to make amends for any errors on the part of their fellow defenders or officials. We can all agree that even a youthful John Terry never was never a sprinter, and so playing a much deeper line suited him and Chelsea as a team.

The discipline of the entire back-line is also important for the deployment of a high-line, and while Mourinho's side (who didn't play high) had Ricardo Carvalho beside a John Terry on top of his game, AVB has to work with Branislav Ivanovic or David Luiz, both of which are prone to bookings and have been shown to be vulnerable to pace as well. The fact that wingbacks Cole and Bosingwa aren't the best defensively doesn't help matters. Playing the Serbian at right-back alleviates that wing-back problem, but then you have him as well as Luiz alongside Terry, since AVB seems not to fancy Alex. Tactical discipline is another matter, with the great Milan side of Arrigo Sacchi marshalled by legendary Franco Baresi, master of the offside trap and flanked by Alessandro Costacurta and a prodigal Paolo Maldini. The defensive gaps that Chelsea have allowed (in addition to the failed offside traps) against Liverpool and Arsenal in particular, as well as David Luiz's tendency to bomb forward, suggest that this tactical discipline is another issue.

Finally, perhaps a very important difference between Jose Mourinho's selfish Chelsea and AVB's charitable one is the presence (or absence) of one midfielder specifically. While many have called out Arsenal for not replacing Patrick Vieira, Chelsea have similarly not replaced Claude Makelele. Both Frenchmen were the anchormen in the midfield of their London sides, adding much-needed strength, grit and stability to the back-line by acting as a buffer or shield in front of the back four. Other notable anchormen include Mascherano at Liverpool, Gattuso at Milan, and Tiote at Newcastle, who was missed against Chelsea of course.

One of the aspects of his AVB's imported "Porto 4-3-3" (as I like to call it) is the role that the holding midfielder plays. AVB has rotated between Jon Obi Mikel, Raul Meireles and most recently Oriol Romeu as that holding midfielder, who does still serve to protect the back-line, but is also supposed to act like a third ball-playing defender while the wingbacks attack. Indeed, the attacking contribution of Cole, Bosingwa and Ivanovic (when played there) have been very important to Chelsea this season, but it is currently imbalanced from a defensive standpoint.

This tactical nuance is most keenly seen at Barcelona, where Sergio Busquets (and sometimes Keita) plays as that "third defender", who is still able to play clever passes from the back to add to the attack. It is this passing ability (or lack thereof) that has seen Javier Mascherano move from defensive midfielder to central defender (a limited defender, some will call it) in the Catalan side. Mikel is not that sort of clever player. Meireles has a great range of passing, but his talent is wasted playing too deep (like Wayne Rooney). It is no surprise then, that it looks like the best person suited for the job (as seen in the past two weeks) is a graduate of the La Masia academy. Romeu isn't a long-term solution though, as Barcelona already have very clever clauses to buy him back at a cut-price if he does succeed at Chelsea (which he is expected to), like Bojan Krkic at AS Roma.

So it does look like AVB has abandoned the high-line that has been so risky for the London side, at least for now. Additionally, he has put faith in the young Romeu (and Daniel Sturridge) for now to help integrate his vision of how a 4-3-3 and how football should be played. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea continue this trend, and either way, how the futures of AVB, John Terry and Chelsea pan out in the months to come.

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We Built This City

Originally and optimistically billed as the tie that saw the unstoppable object meeting the immovable force, that end result allowed a Highlander-esque "there can be only one" to be uttered around the BPL and its pundits, analysts and viewers.

Not there was ever any doubt.

As written earlier, a firm and formidable Newcastle side had (and still has) done fantastically well to be in fourth place after 12 rounds of fixtures. Above the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool, beating your cross-town rivals, and also doing better than the "big sides" against the teams that they have faced.

But unlike rock and roll, which Starship built their city on in their "classic" track, Man City have built their recent and meteoric success on newly-acquired financial muscle and, at least as importantly, a manager who knows what he's doing.

Only an exuberant Manchester United and a rampant Bayern Munich and have recorded wins over the Citizens in any competition, while Napoli and Fulham managed to hold them to draws within four days of each other. Even then, it could be argued that their best striker (Aguero) was not fully fit for their first result, and the others were flukes, blips or simply off-days. Even Barcelona and Spain draw and lose from time to time, right?

But are Man City being compared to the current conquerors of both world and club football (Sorry England & Costa Rica, friendlies don't usually amount to titles...)? Many already do, pointing at their dominant play and the way opposition teams set out against them. That City's success is inevitably a result of David Silva's play is also one telling point, and that the player himself has been used in the "Messi role" when Spain line up against most teams recently. Many predict that it is indeed Man City, and not the likes of United, Bayern, Milan or even Real Madrid, who possess a squad that can challenge Barcelona for major honours.

That's all very far-sighted though, one feels. What about domestically, in the league? Is it a foregone conclusion that they will finish at the top come May, and that there will be fewer reasons for "ticker" banners to be strung up around Old Trafford? Are the remaining BPL fixtures now only a matter of who will finish in the top four, or to see who goes down, or if Torres and Carroll can manage ten goals between them? Looking at the results and performances, one might argue that such a bold prediction isn't too far off.

That being said, no team in invincible. England beat Spain, which speaks volumes. With all due respect to supporters of the Three Lions, looking at the Spanish and English squads, you can tell the gulf in class. The visitors enjoyed the comfort of bringing on Reina, Puyol, Fabregas, and Mata and not even using Valdes, Llorente and Jesus Navas. The hosts had Bobby Zamora on the bench. Yet, the win went to the less-fancied side.

England achieved that result with some gutbusting defending and a solitary goal from a set piece. Their game plan was obviously to strangle the game, not allowing Xavi, Iniesta, Xabi Alonso and David Silva the luxury of time and space on the ball for them to tear England to shreds. In the BPL, we've seen sides like Everton, Blackburn and most recently Newcastle United attempt the same but fail.

Here is where the Barcelona and Spain comparisons end.

For a while now, I've felt that as good as Spain are, they only have one game plan. Given that they usually execute it to perfection and it is very difficult to stop even with the best players (Holland, Germany and Portugal will agree), it's hardly a fault of theirs, perhaps. But Man City, for all the comparisons, and for all the glowing tributes to David Silva and the Son-in-Law of God Sergio Aguero, have more than one side to them.

And so, playing incredibly deep and inviting pressure will get you slaughtered. And we've seen that so far this season.

The argument, of course, is that if you play expansive football, you will get caught and punished. I might point out that attacking football gave Man Utd and Bayern their wins, and served Aston Villa and Newcastle well in the opening half hours of their games. (That, and hauling off Rio Ferdinand in the Community Shield...)

Is that the answer to the wrecking ball that is Manchester City? It's hard to say, until a talented and well-organized side can bring their A-Game when the tie comes. Right now, it's down to Liverpool, Arsenal, and/or Chelsea to slow down the blue tide, and believe me when I say it, I would never use both "talented" and "well-organized" when describing any of those three sides now. But anything can happen, and I will admit that I will be happy to be proved wrong. Perhaps a moment of brilliance from Luis Suarez or the dazzling form of RVP can overcome the City machine. Maybe Torres will bag a hattrick. (Ha!)

In the end, while "We Built This City" was once voted to be one of the worst songs of the 80's (and this writer might feel that even then it's still much, much, better than most of the music today...), there is a harmony in the Etihad Orchestra. The leader of the band is quietly confident, donned in his trademark scarf, and even the troublesome diva of the group looks to be on his way out. It remains to be seen how the rest of the season will play out, but for sure, the Manchester City starship will hope that their title track will instead be "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now".

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Toon Titans

One wonders how what the odds were at the start of the season that going into November, the only unbeaten sides in the Premier League would be free-scoring Manchester City and a resurgent Newcastle United. Many still find it hard to believe that the Magpies are sitting comfortably in third, above the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Many had written off the side from Tyneside, who have, historically, the tendency to underwhelm and underperform. Even during the days of Alan Shearer, the closest they ever got to silverware was a Premier League runner's-up spot in the 1996-97 season, and even then they beat eventual champions Manchester United 5-0, and Shearer himself bagged 25 league goals. But even then, few would have thought that they would be relegated to the Championship about a decade later, in a stunning collapse that perhaps only Leeds United can better (worse?) in terms of recent English club disasters.

One of the shining lights in that dismal and disastrous campaigns was the acquisition of a certain Jonas Gutierrez from Mallorca. The Argentine winger was somewhat of an anomaly, but after a virtuoso display during his Premier League debut against Man Utd (who Newcastle seem to have good results against...), he proved his quality. Still at the club, he, along with the likes of Fabricio Colocinni and Steven Taylor, alongside Ryan Taylor, Alan Smith and a few others have remained at St James' throughout the tumultuous few years since their relegation and immediate promotion the following season.

Indeed, those first few names - Jonas, Colocinni and Taylor (both of them) - have been integral to Newcastle's excellent run thus far. The ponytailed Argentine is a key component to Newcastle's midfield, serving both as an attacking outlet and as defensive foil to either fullback on a consistent basis. The centre-back pairing of former Milan player Colocinni and Steven Taylor has been the rock upon which countless attacks have broken this season, and the only time they have conceded more than once in the league this season was against Spurs in a 2-2 draw, which included a Rafael Van Der Vaart penalty.

Many fans, neutrals, skeptics and critics looked at the transfer dealings in the calendar year of 2011 and predicted that the Toon Army would be halted, and possibly even sink back down to the Championship. A side that many feel was (or is) mediocre, at best, losing the likes of Andy Carroll, Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton would be crippled, surely. Their home-grown star forward, who inherited the famous No. 9, the outstanding left-back in the league (alongside Leighton Baines), the inspirational club captain (who was last season's top scorer), and the man who arguably dragged Newcastle back from 4-0 down to draw against Arsenal in one of the greatest comebacks in recent memory.

And yet, Newcastle have confounded their doubters. Indeed, they have shocked many of their loyal fans as well with this current unbeaten streak. While it's true that one might argue that they have not been truly tested yet (we'll come to that later), the results, statistics and performances speak for themselves. Here are some numbers looking at this season compared to last.

2011/12

Played 11

Won 7

Drawn 4

Lost 0

Scored 17

Conceded 8

2010/11

Played 11

Won 5

Drawn 2

Lost 4

Scored 18

Conceded 14

That's significant, if you ask me. Even looking past the fact that they had already lost four at the same time last season, they have scored almost the same number of goals (and last season's period included a 6-0 win against Villa) and conceded far fewer, turning losing results into draws and draws into three points. We'll take a look at the numbers again though, this time analysing the exact same fixtures that they have played this year as the corresponding ones last year.

2011/12 (2010/11)

Newcastle 0-0 Arsenal (D 4-4)

Sunderland 0-1 Newcastle (D 1-1)

Newcastle 2-1 Fulham (D 0-0)

QPR 0-0 Newcastle (NA)

Aston Villa 1-1 Newcastle (D 1-0)

Newcastle 3-1 Blackburn (L 1-2)

Wolves 1-2 Newcastle (D 1-1)

Newcastle 2-2 Tottenham (D 1-1)

Newcastle 1-0 Wigan (D 2-2)

Stoke 1-3 Newcastle (L 4-0)

Newcastle 2-1 Everton (L 1-2)

Discounting the QPR fixture, which had no corresponding one last season (unless you count a 2-0 defeat to Blackpool during the same weekend last time round), that translates to...

2011/12

Played 10 (-QPR)

Won 7

Drawn 3

Lost 0

Points gained: 24

2010/11

Played 10 (-Blackpool)

Won 0

Drawn 6

Lost 4

Points gained: 6

That, for lack of a better word, is progress. People talk about Man City improving, but there are few other sides in Europe with such a drastic leap forward in the space of less than a season, if you ask me. 18 more points from the same fixtures, seven more wins, no losses. That, my friends, is pretty special.

Of course, the next few games for Newcastle are tricky, to say the least. Away trips to Manchester City and Manchester United followed by hosting Chelsea at St James' means that if they actually do go into the next game against Norwich with another more than the number of points they've already amassed, it would probably be a good Christmas for the black and whtie part of Tyneside. It's also worth noting, of course, that whatever those results may be, historically no team that has collected 25 points after 11 games has finished outside the top 6. Something to think about for fans and rivals alike.

A few weeks ago, I planned to write a piece on the Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote partnership in the heart of the Newcastle midfield, though I then got sidetracked and the article turned into an analysis of Tom Cleverley (I get distracted easily...). This time though, I'll spend a few moments talking about those two players, who, like the defenders behind them, have played a large role in the recent success of the Magpies.

Many great teams are grounded on solid midfield pairings, in almost any formation they play. Perhaps the best Liverpool side in recent years had Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano, Arsenal had Patrick Vieira and Emmanuel Petit, Manchester United looked to Roy Keane and Paul Scholes for so long, Milan enjoyed great success with Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, and even now Barcelona are marshalled by Xavi and Andres Iniesta (Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas don't exactly play in the middle in the strictest sense of the word). Of course, to liken Cabaye and Tiote to any of those pairings would be optimistic, to say the least, but such a midfield axis provides a solid and important anchor to which a team can move about on.

Not quite (but almost) the same as the "double pivot" that many classic and current Dutch and Spanish teams make use of, having the whole team move around two deep, central midfielders allows a side to retain its shape in both defence and attack, but requires a few things. Tactical awareness on the part of the players and staff, a good work ethic, and tremendous talent from those midfielders. In the above examples, those things are all accounted for, and while I did say that to compare this Newcastle side to any of those winning teams would be premature, recent performances suggest that Alan Pardew, his Magpies, and most importantly the core of the team do understand and are able and willing to pull it off. Like I alluded to in my Tom Cleverley piece, a good central midfield pairing can make or break a team.

It remains to be seen how long Colocinni and Taylor can keep the goals out, or if Cabaye and Tiote can boss the midfield when facing the bigger sides. It's also almost unfair that I haven't even spoken about Demba Ba or converted left-back Ryan Taylor (and how some believe Enrique's departure contributed to Newcastle's solidity). But I think I've rambled long enough already, and it will be a fascinating few weeks to follow after the international break.

Will the Toon Army march on?

PS: I'd like to extend my warmest congratulations to the newlyweds Jeryd and Janet, huge Newcastle fans in their own right. Good luck in all you do!

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Quick Notes from Matchday 10

I usually write (or ramble...) at length about a particular topic after the weekend's BPL matches, but due to time constraints today I'll just have a few short snippets of things that have happened or developed over yet another quite startling week of Premier League action.

Arsenal are beginning to find their stride, but Chelsea need to rethink things

Celebrating their win at Stamford Bridge (where they've had great success in the past, it has to be said) like they've won the Champions League, the much-maligned Gunners came out on top in a thrilling 5-3 encounter. What was more remarkable is that Daniel Sturridge, Ramires and especially Gervinho could have added to the scoreline. Long gone are the days where defensive solidarity was a hallmark of both London clubs' framework. Theo Walcott had a rare storming game, and Gervinho and the in-form RVP looked dangerous. Gunners fans will be very happy to see Thomas Vermaelen return, and that could be even more significant than scoring five against the Blues. I've written before of my liking for AVB and his 4-3-3, but defensively his team are wanting. Attacking fullbacks and a high defensive line aren't suited to overrated wingbacks and an England captain who has never possessed pace to begin with.

A Rooney-Cleverley partnership can contribute immensely to United's success

As I've written on more than one occasion before, I've always believed that Tom Cleverley is a great and underrated talent, even today when the spotlight is shining upon him more than ever. Starting against Aldershot in midweek and at Goodison on Saturday in midfield, the young playmaker bossed possession alongside surprise partner Wayne Rooney. The Roonatic has always preferred to drop deep, but in earlier games with Cleverley in the side he did so much more rarely. Here, it was apparent that he was instructed to sit very deep (as the deepest in a midfield 5, most often) and the Rooney-Cleverley axis enabled United to move the ball around even under constant pressure from Rodwell and Fellaini, creating chances for Welbeck, Park, Hernandez and the marauding Phil Jones. The withdrawal of Cleverley led to a scrappy period for United until Dimitar Berbatov came on, another player with brilliant technique and vision. Rooney the new Scholes? The player himself has distanced himself from the comparison, but it will be interesting to see if United continue with this.

Man City can be beaten

The first half at the Etihad Stadium was quite an intriguing one, with the league leaders hosting Wolves, who had only just barely managed to stop a horrendous losing streak. To add to the mayhem, City had just hammered Wolves 5-2 at Molineux in the Carling Cup a few days before, and everyone was expecting a mauling. What we saw instead was an open game of football in the first 45 minutes, where both sides had chances to score. An inspired performance from Wayne Hennessey kept City out, though only until he himself was caught in possession, his mistake cancelling his earlier heroics. It is interesting to see that Nigel De Jong remains benched, and that Yaya Toure has been converted (back?) to a holding midfielder. Should a side go on the offensive (like Wolves) from the start and open the scoring instead of sitting back (like Everton and Blackburn did), one wonders what the result might be. Fulham's result in September suggests that the City isn't impregnable.

Gareth Bale isn't a one-trick pony

After his performances against Internazionale last season, many hailed Gareth Bale as one of the best wingers of all time. His hattrick and the way he single-handedly dismantled Maicon and co suggested that he was finally living up to the billing of being the next Ryan Giggs. Later in the season though, he began to fade, especially after teams and opposing right-backs (most notably United and Rafael) simply showed him onto his weaker right foot, reducing his effectiveness. Recently though, he's shown that he is more than able to drift infield, mixing things up as a sort of inside forward as well as a traditional winger, with a combination of pace, power and panache. The two goals against QPR were prime examples, the first where he drifts in from wide and later on, starting from a central position.

Wigan and Blackburn are in more trouble than we thought

Roberto Martinez turned down the chance to move to Aston Villa (and coach the likes of Emile Heskey) in the summer, stating his commitment and loyalty to Wigan Athletic. I wonder if he regrets it now, especially after losing Charles N'Zogbia and seeing his side slump to seven straight defeats and hitting the woodwork twice in their latest loss. Steve Kean, similarly, has seen his side take no wins from five games since that incredible result against Arsenal (who tend to have incredible results, one way or another). Could the latest one, at Carrow Road, be his last? Throwing away a two-goal lead isn't something that bodes well for the embattled manager, and the Canaries might just have forced the hand of the poultry giants that own Rovers. Bad luck for both Wigan and Blackburn for sure, but as the saying goes, you make your own luck.

That's all for today (though maybe not this week), and I may or may not expand on one of these topics if work allows me to. I decided against writing about certain topics in particular for one reason or another (lack of objectivity, for example) so let me know what you think, and if you agree or would like to hear more.

Unhappy Birthday, Wayne

Wayne Rooney must be one unhappy boy. Six in the City has surely been repeated more than "Happy Birthday" today.

That's a line being repeated again and again online and on air across the footballing world today (or at least the parts that care a lot about the BPL). And with good reason, perhaps. The Manchester derby last night was quite something, in many aspects. Leaving work on Sunday evening, a certain presenter here at ESPN-Star Sports asked what I expected from the big game, having called the Anfield result the night before. "I don't have a good feeling about it, but hope it's close" was my answer. I was half right, I guess!

This isn't the first "seven-goal thriller" that the fixture has produced, but here the red side left feeling blue, and smiles were reserved for the contenders, challengers and ultimately, conquerors. Talk of paradigm shifts and the balance of power in the city has been rife for the past twelve hours and would probably continue well into the season.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing about the game (from a United perspective) was the way the team capitulated near the end. Losing 3-1 against a City side that has been rampant and ruthless, a ten-man United decided it was best to go on the offensive. Of course, playing at Old Trafford against your noisy neighbours might mean that was a given, and having pulled a goal back it did seem like a good idea. But then the Red Devils conceded another, and another...

And even after the fourth, it looked like they honestly believed that they could get something from the game, pushing numbers forward. It's one thing to be brave and look for a realistic result (I salute you once more, Mr. Villas-Boas) but another thing altogether to be naive and simply stupid. Leaving only two at the back (one of them a noticeably sub-par and demoralized Rio Ferdinand) and having Danny Welbeck the only one tracking back? That's poor. Very, very poor. Amateurish, even.

Take nothing away from Manchester City, they were very good. But then the players who performed well at Old Trafford have been doing so at that level all season (or longer). No surprises to see David Silva pulling all the strings, getting into and finding pockets of space. James Milner has been a personal favorite of mine since he broke into the Leeds team and broke Wayne Rooney's record of being the youngest Premier League goalscorer. The explosive Mario Balotelli found the scoresheet again, and even that wasn't much of a surprise (the goal and the fire) nowadays.

As mentioned before, United are sorely lacking a midfielder who can link the player between defence and attack. I've said before that their poor play recently can be traced back to Tom Cleverley's injury, and the fact that United dominated the second half of the Community Shield suggests at least some credence to the claim. Missing this sort of link, Wayne Rooney was continually forced to drop deep (even deeper than Darren Fletcher) to claim the ball and start any kind of attacking thrust for his side. Lacking a strike partner, Welbeck was left isolated and was then easy pickings for the ever-impressive Vincent Kompany. One might wonder why Dimitar Berbatov is still denied game-time, and Javier Hernandez has been relegated to the role of Super-Sub (since his very poor showing against Barcelona). The situation was compounded, of course, by the frustratingly useless Nani, who I have never been a fan of.

The second half of the Community Shield also saw the withdrawals of Rio Ferdinand, who was poor then and was poor last night, though not nearly as horrible as Jonny Evans. The Irish defender has always been vulnerable to a striker with the slightest of pace (Liverpool know this very well) and his sending off was the invitation City needed to run riot. And they did. Such a rash, idiotic, and laughable decision from Evans, who should have known better.

But the red card would not have changed anything, from this humble United fan's perspective. Like Liverpool's thumping from Spurs a few weeks ago, the other team would have won, and were already comfortable regardless. Fingers will be pointed at players who let their heads drop, or managers who didn't sign Wesley Sneijder. But in reality, United were beaten - comprehensively - by the far better side on the day, and it remains to be seen if the blue half of Manchester will celebrate come May. Judging from this outing though, they are in with a glorious chance and United will need to hope that that Chelsea, Arsenal or Liverpool (Newcastle?) can do something to halt the City charge.

Oh right, happy birthday, Wayne Rooney.

Boy Wonder

Robin has always been the subject of ridicule as a certain caped crusader's sidekick, be it for his little tights or overzealous exclamations in the heat of battle. That being said, the Robin roosting at the Emirates is now, more than ever, the only gun firing on all cylinders there.

Another brace over the weekend, relieving some pressure from an embattled manager, the former Feyenoord man is truly the main attraction at Arsenal, and has attracted interest from Man City as well - but then they tend to cast covetous eyes towards the area anyway, as attested to by Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor, Gael Clichy and Samir Nasri. Contract speculation aside, "RVP" has been at the club since 2004, and has played alongside such names as Vieira, Henry, and Bergkamp, as well as Fabregas, Nasri and, well, Jenkinson. Such is the situation that he has gone from substitute and sidekick to captain and catalyst. The one true flying Dutchman in the Gunners now (though with Bergkamp's famous fear of flying...), they can ill afford to have him fly off, be it to a rival or the treatment table.

The son of two artists, the artful Van Persie's attributes and contributions are matched by few. Be it a close clinical finish, a swerving freekick, a slaloming run or a Cantona-style chip against Sunderland (they do seem to fall victim to those...), the maverick striker is indeed Arsenal's main striker (much to Chamakh's chagrin). That being said though, he has never finished a season playing more than 30 league games. The closest he has ever come to that came in the 2008-09 season, where he finished with only 11 goals (but was still top-scorer for the club). The tally is not a black mark against the man though, having played as a wide or supporting player for much of his early career, such figures are still respectable, but perhaps unacceptable for the coming season.

His form and fitness notwithstanding, the difference and challenge he faces today is that of the supporting cast. For so long one of them himself, the burden of goalscoring (and creating, it seems) has now fallen on his shoulders alone. Mikel Arteta and Gervinho, quality players in their own right, are not like-for-like replacements for Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri - a point hammered home by everyone it seems - and one look at Fabregas' and Nasri's stats and achievements since their moves might suggest the same. And even before that, the likes of Dennis Bergkamp, Jose Antonio Reyes, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg and of course Thierry Henry could pick up the slack. Not any more.

Many Arsenal (and opposing) fans believe that Arsenal's success in tied directly to Van Persie's performance. From what we have seen so far this season, that isn't too far from the truth. More than a century of goals from the man who has stepped out of the shadows of those before him, it's time for Robin to go from sidekick to superhero. The Gunners will hope that it happens, and that they can hang on to him after.

Men in the Middle Part I

Over the past few weeks, we've seen one striker reach a hundred goals for his side, two hit the headlines for reacting angrily after being substituted, another refusing to come on, one score and get sent off, one failing to score after promising he would, and another miss a game through an injury revealed via his wife's Twitter account.

This week, Frank Lampard scored a hattrick.

Not too long ago, I was examining the case of the (soon-to-be-former?) England international and how his days may be numbered at Stamford Bridge. It seemed he had lost his verve, his energy, and his ability to command a place in Andre Villas-Boas' interesting 4-3-3 gameplan. At the Reebok a few days ago though, Harry Redknapp's nephew reminded us all of what he still had to offer.

Or did he?

Lampard scored 3 of Chelsea's 5 against a hapless and helpless Bolton side that had not won since an opening day trouncing of QPR (who just conceded six against Fulham). They've been hammered by Liverpool, Manchester United, and - perhaps most tellingly - Arsenal since then, and have even managed to engineer a loss to Norwich City (no disrespect to Paul Lambert's side). One can't read too much into scoring a bunch of goals against a side that looks as poor as any I've seen in a long time. Darron Gibson starred against Schalke in the Champions League last season, but he was never touted as the future of United's midfield.

And it's United's midfield, rather than a single Chelsea midfielder, that I'd like to turn my attentions to today.

It seems an awful long time ago now that Manchester United were playing fluent, fluid football and people were already pencilling them to face Barcelona in the Champions League final once again (Real Madrid and Bayern Munich might have something to say about that). With the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Nani ruthlessly leading the line, United had looked dangerous since the second half of the Community Shield. Then on September 10th, one reckless tackle sent a spanner in the works.

A certain Kevin Davies slid in late and hard on a Man Utd midfielder, forcing him off the pitch with a foot/ankle injury. United still scored five that day, but then again, we've already looked at how incompetant Bolton seem to be this season, especially without Stu Holden.

With a last name like that, Tom Cleverley might be a football writer's dream subject (second only to Eden Hazard?), especially looking at his intelligent use of the ball and space. Analyzing his stats and passes in the league games he played fit (West Brom, Spurs, Arsenal), a quite fascinating conclusion can be drawn.

Manchester United play that much better with Tom Cleverley in their side.

In those three games, his passing rate did not drop below 88%. That's even more impressive when you consider that the majority of his passes are positive, forward ones, Long diagonals searching for a winger (Young was his main beneficiary) or intricate threaded balls to the forwards. He also made a tremendous amount of passes (and challenges) in the middle third of the pitch, which might sound strange to point out, but when a similar analytic gaze is placed

on Darren Fletcher or (oh no) Michael Carrick, the differences are glaringly obvious.

Fletcher has bundles of energy, but tends to only stay on the right side of the pitch. He started his United career as a right-sided midfielder (opposite Kieran Richardson on the left) and so he does that naturally, and to good effect of course. Michael Carrick, on the other hand, plays a disturbingly large number of passes very short to his own defenders, or long to his keeper David De Gea. It frustrates me as a fan, and recently it has come to my attention that it frustrates his own team-mates as well! If you can, take a look at Michael Carrick's backpass in the 71st minute against Chelsea.

Tom Cleverley's work-rate and passing also lead to another indirect, but hugely significant, benefit for United. His attributes contribute to the early-season performance of Wayne Rooney as well. With Fletcher's hesitance to drift to the left side of the pitch and Carrick's lack of confidence to look for the forward pass, the "Roonatic" often drifts very deep and United lack another attacking body up front. While dropping deep has been a hallmark of Rooney's career thus far, it can be observed that without Cleverley, he is forced to do that to such an extent that United sacrifice potency in attack. You wouldn't expect Carrick of Fletcher to roam ahead when Rooney invariably drops deep anyway, but Cleverley starred in such a capacity in his loan spells at Leicester, Watford, and Wigan, being named Watford's Player of the Year.

Much was made about Paul Scholes retirement in the summer, with eager eyes looking towards the San Siro as Wesley Sneijder's move to United was said to be the way to fill the void. Indeed, fans and pundits have been saying for ages, it seems, that United lack creativity in midfield. I've always felt they were right, and right now, more than at any point in this fledgling season, that charge seems poignant and prudent. It remains to be seen if Ferguson can find a quick solution for the games against Liverpool and City to come, and he will do it as he has always done.

Cleverly.

The Benchmark

Carlos Tevez and Frank Lampard. Between them 650 Premier League appearances and 209 goals, 5 league winners medals, 4 FA Cups, numerous awards and countless accolades. And zero minutes played over the weekend. Interesting, to say the least, how two players who have, even as recently as six months ago, been the central to the success of their own clubs.

They were joined on the sidelines - at least for a time - by Mario Balotelli, James Milner, Didier Drogba, and Florent Malouda respectively, while the likes of Ryan Giggs, Steven Gerrard, Andrei Arshavin, and Marouane Chamakh sat our varying periods of Manchester United's, Liverpool's and Arsenal's own Premier League commitments. Stellar, and in some cases legendary, names. But then some of those, established as they may be, were returning from injury, or have already been consigned (resigned?) to the part of a squad player for months or even years.

There are very few players who can and who have single-handedly galvanised a team or won a game. Roy Keane and Steven Gerrard famously did it for Manchester United and Liverpool on many occasions, most notably perhaps against Juventus and AC Milan in the Champions League. It is no stretch, perhaps, to say that without Carlos Tevez, Manchester City would not have enjoyed all the success they have in the past few years. His arrival and presence at Eastlands/the Etihad was a welcome, necessary and and for most of his stay he seemed altogether indispensable. But then he completed his traditional two-year stint at a club (the longest he has stayed at any one side since originally leaving Boca Juniors) and wanted out. Crisis, headlines, spanner.

I have previously written about Chelsea, and when I saw the team sheets for their match against Swansea, I was actually excited. No Lampard? Again? AVB stamping his authority on a Chelsea side and dressing room that has for so long appear to have dictated the squad selections of Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink, and Carlo Ancelotti? Potentially huge news, the exclusion of the midfielder with the most goals in Premier League history. While it was evident that Lampard fit poorly into AVB's preferred 4-3-3 formation (which differs from Mourinho's in many aspects), many curious minds wondered if the young manager would yield to perceived player and perhaps supporter pressure to select the England man. But even Capello has started to lose faith in the former Swansea player who once made over 150 consecutive league appearances for the Blues.

And yet, even with a skipper that wants to leave and a key midfielder performing markedly below his previous standards, Manchester City and Chelsea continue to perform excellently. Second and third in the league, only because of the brilliance of Manchester United (and possibly the inconsistency of Arsenal and Liverpool), the futures for blue sides of Manchester and London seem bright.

Kick in the Arsenal

"Bloody hell, French? I've got to play for a Frenchman? You must be joking."

The quote has long been attributed to legendary Arsenal hardman Tony Adams, upon hearing that Arsene Wenger would be the new manager of the side. I feel it's quite poignant right now.

I've come to realize that I tend to write a lot about Arsenal, even though I am far from a fan. Again, as mentioned before, I don't mean to demean or put down a club that is clearly going through a horrendous period of time, but these events are exactly what needs to be looked at.

The last time I took a long, hard, look at the Gunners, they had just been shot down at Old Trafford, and were still winless this season, with the worst defensive record in the league. Since then, they've managed a win, draw and loss in three games and truth be told, I'm still far from convinced that they will exit this slump anytime soon.

Their solitary win came at home against a side that at the time had not scored in the BPL (and looked like they should have against Arsenal) and they drew with the reigning Bundesliga champions in Germany. The latter result seems like a good one, but considering Dortmund were fourth seeds, it speaks volumes for the European credentials that Monsieur Wenger has gone on for so long about. And to be frank, his London side were battered throughout the game, and the lead they took was unlikely, at best. The Black & Yellows were surely disappointed to have only gone away with a point. I won't even start on the win against Swansea, which only came about due to an uncharacteristic blunder from unsung hero Michel Vorm.

I watched and examined the Blackburn-Arsenal game in great detail, as did many others, I'm sure. It goes without saying that once again, the Arsenal defence was in shambles. The terms "diabolical", "disastrous", "calamitous", and "amateur" have been used, and are thoroughly deserved. And this is an Arsenal defensive unit that welcomed back Alex Song and Bacary Sagna.

Now, Song and Sagna aren't exactly Vieira and Dixon. Nor are they Campbell or Cole. Heck, they aren't even Johnson and Agger, Bosingwa and Alex or even Rafael and Carrick. And I deplore Michael Carrick.

But those were two of the names missing, two of the reasons that many Arsenal fans (and staff) pointed to when they conceded 8 against United. They were back, and conceded four against Blackburn. Blackburn Rovers, who were until that point winless in the league, led by the only man that might have been under even more pressure that Arsene Wenger. And Song and Sagna were helped by the presence of new recruit Per Mertesacker, German international and who has played at two World Cups.

Or were they?

Mertesacker looks twice the player of Koscielny and Squillaci (put together), but that might be his biggest problem. He's huge. For so long, Arsenal's defensive frailties when dealing with set pieces and crosses have been picked apart - 51 of the last 100 goals they've let in before the win at Shrewsbury have been from such situations - and the big man's arrival was seen as Wenger's answer to that. We remember, of course, that Mertesacker's (panic?) purchase was only because the pursuits of Gary Cahill and Christopher Samba were in vain.

But even with Mertesacker, two of the four Arsenal conceded came from crosses and set pieces. His presence has failed to offer a solid base for the Arsenal back line, which was also evident in the (two) failed offside traps that led to Yakubu's opener. And Yakubu isn't even the sprightly sort of forward that is known for breaking the move. Andre Santos, another new defensive purchase, was most at fault for the goal, being yards behind his team-mates (who weren't in line anyway). But back to Mertesacker, there were times during the game where his addition to the side failed to help Arsenal against Rovers' set-pieces, especially in the first half.

With the transfer window shut, there isn't really much that Arsenal can do to address these concerns, other than wait for the return of Thomas Vermaelen. The way a side with such a history and (supposed) pedigree is banking so much on one defender speaks volumes for the aspirations and ambitions for the club that went a season unbeaten not so long ago. Their rivals have managed to get through even more injuries (United & Tottenham), player bans (City), loss of form (Chelsea) and even fewer options (Liverpool).

I have long accused Arsene Wenger for poor or even a lack of long-term planning, most recently after the 8-2 debacle at Old Trafford. If that was just a blip, albeit an astounding one, conceding four against Blackburn - when it could have been more - suggests that their defensive weakness is a problem that will only get worse as the season progresses and more and more teams start looking to exploit it as their primary game-plan. Purchases and player returns have not helped at all, and what lies in store for the Gunners?

Arsene Wenger has apparently survived a "vote of confidence" from the Arsenal board, which suggests, ironically, his position is more tenuous than it has ever been in all his years in charge, despite the Arsenal ship veering so dangerously and dramatically off-course in the past year (or more). Tony Adams is the kind of player most Arsenal fans have deemed missing from their side, and perhaps like he said so long ago, such defensive solidarity might elude Arsenal for as long as Wenger steers this domed vessel.

A Tactical Analysis: Chelsea

I've been looking forward to writing this for a long time, and not because I'm keen to critique Chelsea or their players. In fact, this is the first time Chelsea has interested me in a long time, and I find myself looking forward to Chelsea games every weekend, though not necessarily due to any support for the club.

Much was made of the London club's acquisition of young manager Andre Villas-Boas. His heritage and meteoric rise to fame - spectacular league and European success - drew quick comparisons to former mentor Jose Mourinho, and in many ways both can be said to be cut from the same cloth. It remains to be seen if "AVB" is tailor-made for Chelsea as Roman Abramovich continues his barren quest for European glory.

AVB's Porto finished the league season unbeaten, winning 27 out of 30 games, with the most potent attack and the best defensive record in the league (conceding only 13 goals). Admittedly, it would have been difficult not to stroll to success in one of the "lesser" leagues with a squad boasting the likes of Hulk, Falcao and Joao Moutinho, but their domination continued in Europe as well. Starting with a 7-2 aggregate victory of eventual Belgian champions Genk, they finished the group stage unbeaten and claimed the scalps of CSKA Moscow, Sevilla, Spartak Moscow, Villarreal and league rivals Benfica on the way to lift the trophy. That they did so with some style (scoring 5 goals three times in the knockout stage) is more than impressive.

For the vast majority of the season, Villas-Boas employed a 4-3-3 formation home and away. While many variations of this formation exist (think about the difference between Mourinho's Chelsea and Guardiola's Barcelona), I personally find AVB's permutation quite interesting. A key component of AVB's 4-3-3 is the way his central midfielder (Fernando) drops deep to allow the defence (particularly the wing-backs) to push up to provide width for an otherwise narrow line-up. The fact that the "wingers" of Varela and Hulk cut inside and scored hatfuls of goals suggests that they aren't the typical wide men that many would expect (more on Hulk later). Additionally, his left-sided central midfielder, Joao Moutinho (a Football Manager favorite) acted as his chief playmaker.

As far as the forward line goes, the central striker (Falcao) was the speedy finisher, while his right-sided wingman (Hulk) wasn't really a winger at all but an intelligent and dangerous striker with pace, power and panache that would and could drive inside and either take or make a chance (Henry at Arsenal, Ronaldo at Man Utd, etc). The left-sided forward was a more traditional winger, though the number of goals Silvetre Varela scored would suggest he is more than that as well.

Looking at the Chelsea team, recent purchases and the last four games, one can see how AVB has attempted to drape this winning formula over a side that is expected to do well.

Attacking wingbacks? Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa. Ashley Cole, in fact, has been found to be the farthest man forward for Chelsea in most of their attacks. Deep-lying central midfielder? Jon Obi Mikel for three games, though his lack of creativity meant that a reunion for Raul Meireles was on the cards. The former Liverpool man played this role excellently against Sunderland, linking up with his team-mates and initiating several moves (including a goal). Left-sided playmaker? Frank Lampard has featured in this slot in every game so far this season for Chelsea, and stats have shown that he has actually created more chances for his team-mates than anyone else in the BPL. He might be more effective driving forward (a few years ago?) but this is the way he plays - or more poignantly, is asked to play - now. Chelsea's dogged pursuit of a certain Luka Modric also hints at AVB's preference for a player that fits this framework. Finally, the forward three have rotated almost non-stop since January 2011, when Fernando Torres joined from Liverpool. The sacked Carlo Ancelotti was faced with the problem of how to play Drogba and Torres together. AVB simply didn't (save one game). Instead, he opted for the Spaniard despite his dismal form. Why? As mentioned earlier, AVB's 4-3-3 needs a speey central striker, a Falcao-sort. And for so many years there were few better than El Nino at that role. Left winger? Frank Malouda, and now Juan Mata. Strong right-sided forward? Surprisingly not Drogba most of the time, but he originally played Salomon Kalou there, and Belgian prodigy Romelu Lukaku (the mini-Drog) and athletic Daniel Sturridge featured on the right wing prominently when they have played this season.

In my opinion, the purchases of Mata and Lukaku, and the failed one of Modric, point to AVB trying to fit his Chelsea players into the formation that has brought him such huge and quick success in the short managerial career. It remains to be seen how effective this would be, but judging from their most recent game (Sunderland away), the pieces are fitting rather well. Meireles, Mata, and Sturridge/Lukaku may hold the key to this formation's (and Villas-Boas') success or failure, and perhaps the only flaw in this venture is that Villas-Boas lacks that central playmaker and a consistent central striker (Anelka might be his best short-term solution).

I'm intrigued as to how Chelsea line up against Manchester United this weekend, as the Red Devils aim to continue their simply breathtaking form. Between AVB's 4-3-3 and United's swarming red tide, it promises to be either a wonderful spectacle, or a tactical chess-match. Or both.