Good Weekend, Bad Weekend

Now that Serie A and La Liga have returned it really feels like the 2008/9 season has started. The weekend saw an abundance of great action, and with the international break coming up it will be another couple of weeks before we are treated to another few days like those just gone by.

Good Weekend

Jimmy Bullard

Everyone loves Jimmy “the wig” and now we know Fabio Capello does too.

Wigan

During their previous two games the Latics have played well, they were unlucky to lose at Upton Park and then were just a Deco free-kick away from securing a good result against Chelsea. Hull felt the full force of their frustration and barring injuries it appears that Steve Bruce has built a team at the JJB that could be the surprise of the Premier League this season.

Chris Kirkland and Titus Bramble provide a solid spine in defence (except for the occasional lapses in concentration from the former Newcastle center back), Wilson Palacios and Antonio Valencia provide some class in midfield, and up-front the Latics may possess one of the best strike partnerships in the division. Many predicted that Amr Zaki would be one of the signings of the summer, and if he continues on his hot streak of form then their will be some big clubs sniffing around the Egyptian. Credit must also go to Emile Heskey, probably the most unselfish striker in world football, who has helped the Egyptian settle in to the Premier League. Heskey’s quality has been illustrated with interest in recent days from Spurs and Newcastle.

Jermain Defoe

Michael Owen’s admission from the England squad came as a surprise in some quarters, but for those that saw Defoe’s performance at Goodison Park then it should have been expected - Jermain Defoe will start against Andorra just as he did against the Czech Republic. The signs are there that the Crouch-Defoe partnership could well come to fruition, with the lanky former Liverpool striker setting up Defoe’s first.

Defoe’s assist for Glen Johnson was an illustration that he isn’t just a finisher and his third was more proof that he is a clinical striker. Credit for Pompey’s win must also go to Younes Kaboul for a great clearance off the line and to David James for his save from Mikel Arteta which could be one of the saves of the season.

SWP

Two goals on his return for City should have proven what a class player Shaun-Wright Phillips is, but in truth his brace just reminded everyone what a wasted few years he had at Chelsea. Footballers have short careers, we are reminded that every time there is a discussion about astronomical wages, SWP should have left Chelsea a long time before he did.

Darren Bent

After Chelsea’s opening goal it didn’t look like Bent would be in the “Good Weekend section” of this round-up but his goal just before half-time could be crucial, especially with the arrival of Roman Pavyluchenko, and if reports are to be believed one more striker by midnight tonight.

Rangers

Former Celtic player Kenny Miller has taken the plaudits for his brace but this was a huge result for Rangers football club. Out of Europe altogether, a defeat at Parkhead would have left the Gers chasing their bitter rivals with a sense of doom and gloom surrounding the club.

Hamburg

Martin Jol’s side produced the comeback of the weekend coming back from 2-0 down at Arminia Bielefield. Hamburg now have seven points and could be the main challengers to Bayern Munich this season. The signing of Thiago Neves is arguably the transfer coup of the summer and should be an excellent replacement for Rafael van der Vaart.

PSV

A 5-1 win, coupled with Ajax’s 2-1 defeat suggests that PSV’s dominance of the Eredivisie should continue this season.

Bad Weekend

Michael Owen

Owen, not for the first time in his career, cut a disconsolate figure for the Toon in just his 50th appearance in three seasons in the defeat to Arsenal. Dropped by Capello - his pay demands are looking way out of place compared to his present standing in the game.

AC Milan

Alarm bells should have been ringing at the San Siro earlier in the weekend when Andrea Pirlo claimed “we are becoming Galacticos a la Real Madrid.” For such an intelligent player, perhaps Pirlo didn’t notice how badly the Glactico experiment failed at Real Madrid. Confirmation of hiw difficult it can be with so many world class players in a squad was further illustrated by Barcelona last season.

The Rossoneri also have a number of ageing players which could further complicate matters. Pippo Inzaghi started the defeat to Bologna, whilst Pato and Shevchenko began the game on the bench. The Ukrainian striker was guilty of a shocking miss which would have put the Rossoneri 2-1 up and as well as Ronaldinho played there is still no guarantee that Carlo Ancelotti will be able to find the right formation for the gap-toothed one and Kaka when he is fit. A classic “Galactico problem.”

David Moyes

This question has been asked before, but has David Moyes taken Everton as far as he (or anyone else) possibly can?

Robbie Keane

Questions are now being asked of the Irishman. Was it a mistake to join Liverpool?

At Villa Park, Keane was played on the left hand side, and although he has played there before, a look at Keane’s career shows that he is much more successful as a big fish in a small pond.

Tactically, there are many question marks surrounding Keane at the moment and most of them were raised by Tony Cascarino in The Times last week:

“So Keane doesn’t have the support he enjoyed at White Hart Lane from attack-minded defenders such as Pascal Chimbonda or Gareth Bale. Liverpool are lacking options and ideas. Then there’s his strike partner, Fernando Torres, the main man. It was a question often asked when Torres was with Atletico Madrid: is he a partnership player or does he prefer to operate alone up front?”

Fernando Torres’ damaged hamstring puts the onus on Keane to deliver the goods in Liverpool’s next game at home to Manchester United, the injury to “El Nino” might actually turn into a blessing for Keane.

Paul Ince

By all accounts the reception the Guv’nor received on yet another return to Upton Park wasn’t too bad, nevertheless a 4-1 defeat suggests it could be a difficult campaign for Blackburn especially as Roque Santa Cruz went off injured in the first-half. The win over Everton and the draw with Hull that preceded this game don’t look like such good result any more.

Barcelona/Real Madrid

The ability to win away is usually crucial to a title success, so their respective opening day defeats were disappointing. Ultimately though, there is a strong feeling there could be an epic battle for La Liga this season, involving potentially more than two teams. Valencia and Atletico Madrid, who both recorded comfortable wins, could well be challengers.

Umit Ozat

Recent seasons have seen a remarkable number of players die on the pitch, and everyone watching Umit Ozat collapse during Cologne’s win at Karlsruhe must have feared the worst. News later emerged that the player had suffered from heart failure, but fortunately Ozat has now returned home.