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The deadline day chos that engulfed old Trafford less than three weeks ago is beginning to
look like a double stroke of genius. At St Mary’s on Sunday, United started awfully and
ended nervously but won, 3-2.
Southampton took the lead after 13 minutes and for 30 minutes seemed set to overwhelm
United. They didn’t. The difference makers were Anthony Martial, seemingly a desperation
purchase on deadline day, and David de Gea, who would have left the club that evening if the
paperwork trail from United to Real Madrid to the Spanish soccer federation had not
mysteriously broken down.
De Gea stayed calm and assured as the United defense struggled against high balls into the
goalmouth. He made a string of good saves, the best when he reached back to claw away a
header from José Fonte, after 60 minutes. At the time, United led 2-1. Both the goals had
come from Martial, who has now scored three in his first two league appearances.
The first, after 34 minutes, should probably not have counted because Juan Mata was offside
in the build up. Martial still had to finish. He swerved to shake a defender, lost control but
recovered calmly and scored with cool aplomb. The second was a gift from Maya Yoshida,
who hit a weak back pass in the 50th minute without looking up to check for danger. Martial is
as dangerous as a tiger shark. He pounced on the present without a second thought and
unwrapped it with calm certainty, waiting for Maarten Stekelenburg to move and then passing
the ball into the net.
After the goals, Martial simply turned and jogged away before spreading his arms as
teammates closed in. He does not look surprised when he scores. He is giving United the
pace, poise and scoring punch Memphis Depay was supposed to bring. On Sunday, it was
Memphis who looked like the over-awed teenager. When Mata struck in the 68th minute, it
was United’s third goal from its third, and last, shot on target. Southampton shrivelled.
United briefly took compete control.
Louis van Gaal, the United manager, again emphasized how different he is from Alex
Ferguson when he told Sky TV that what most pleased him was “the way we killed the
game.”
Yet when Graziano Pelle headed in with four minutes left, United allowed the game to come
back to life. Van Gaal said after the game that his team was tired because it played in the
Champions League in mid-week.
“We lost by ourselves,” Ronald Koeman, the Southampton manager told Sky. It has been a
good weekend for United. The victory lifted it to second. It is only two points behind
Manchester City. The table suggests United is a contender.
“You cannot expect from a team in transition already a title,” Van Gaal said. “But if we are
close we shall grab it.”
YOUTH MOVEMENT When Manchester United won the Premier League with kids in
1993, its squad was larded with veterans. Some of the over-30s, like Bryan Robson, Neil
Webb, Mike Phelan and Mark Hughes did not play much. But Steve Bruce, who turned 32
during the season, and two 29-year olds, Brian McClair and Peter Schmeichel were pretty
much ever-present. Alex Ferguson had experienced leaders on the field and in the locker
room.
Tottenham is unlikely to win the league this season. But its third straight Premier League
clean sheet, as it beat Crystal Palace, 1-0, on Sunday and the dodgy form of some of the
habitual top-four teams suggest Spurs could be chasing a Champions League place. It would
be remarkable if they did because Mauricio Pochettino is playing kids without a safety net.
He does not have any grizzled veterans to turn to.
Apart from Michel Vorm, the backup goalie, Tottenham does not have a single player in its
squad over 28. Two of those, goalie Hugo Lloris and centerback Jan Vertonghen started on
Sunday. Eight of the players who started or came off the bench on Sunday are 23 or less.
A youthful team would make sense if Tottenham was playing the type of high-tempo pressing
game that Pochettino used at Southampton. They don’t appear to be. It might be that the age
profile of the squad is a result of Tottenham unloading a busload of under-performing
veterans acquired under previous managers. It might also be that the club is trying to hold
down its wage bill as it spends £400 million ($620 million) on a new stadium.
Pochettino seems to be trying to create an intricate passing game. In a way the most
encouraging sign on Sunday, in a game in which Palace hit the post twice, was that Spurs
won even though the style isn’t really working yet. The attacking players still seem to be
getting to know each other. That suggests the kids will grow more dangerous as the season
goes on.
HATE FIGURE Diego Costa’s performance, in every sense, against Arsenal on Saturday
divided soccer. On one side are the Chelsea fans, on the other there is everyone else.
“For me man of the match for sure,” José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager said of a striker
who managed one shot on target in 82 minutes. “He played the game like a game like this has
to be played.”
Mourinho must have known that this would not be a widely held opinion.
Costa’s chief contribution was to kick, shove, slap, scratch and ceaselessly insult the Arsenal
center backs, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel, until the latter lost his temper, aimed a tame
little kick at the striker and was sent off.
That red card probably decided the game. Chelsea looked crisper than it had in any league
game this season, but Arsenal was holding on. With 10 men, Arsenal fell behind. With nine,
after Santi Cazorla was sent off in the 79th minute, the Gunners conceded again in the dying
seconds. Chelsea won, 2-0.
Like almost every defender who has faced Costa, Gabriel has had bad-tempered run ins with
the striker in the past. He should not have fallen for the provocation. But he did.
Former Arsenal men were particular indignant. George Graham, a former Arsenal player and
manager, told the BBC: "Although you've got to keep that physical intensity, once you step
over the mark he's got to be dealt with by officials, it's as simple as that - and I think he will
be."
Martin Keown, one of three accomplished but thuggish center backs who formed the bedrock
of Graham’s two title-winning Arsenal teams, tweeted what seemed to be an offer to come
out of retirement and kick Costa.
Yet Graham’s point hints at part of the problem. Mike Dean, the referee, could have shown
Costa three yellow cards and a straight red in the few minutes before sending off Gabriel.
Perhaps referees reactions are deadened by the relentlessness of Costa’s nastiness. They know
they should probably save time and show him a red card in the tunnel before every game
even starts, but sending him off every week would be ridiculous. Costa is playing the
percentages.
On the other hand, as Graham suggests, referees watch television and read the soccer news.
There will be payback. Perhaps it will come at Newcastle next week where, inevitably, Costa
will be up to his tricks again. But, after he has served a suspension, there will be a period
when he referees, striving to be fair and ignore reputations, will let him get away with it until
the outrage again becomes overwhelming.
CITY SLIP Chelsea’s much-criticized practise of warehousing players and then farming
them out – 33 are at other clubs – paid dividends on Saturday. Victor Moses, on loan at
another Premier League club for the third straight season, scored the first goal that
Manchester City has conceded in the league this season to set West Ham on the way to a 2-1
away victory.
look like a double stroke of genius. At St Mary’s on Sunday, United started awfully and
ended nervously but won, 3-2.
Southampton took the lead after 13 minutes and for 30 minutes seemed set to overwhelm
United. They didn’t. The difference makers were Anthony Martial, seemingly a desperation
purchase on deadline day, and David de Gea, who would have left the club that evening if the
paperwork trail from United to Real Madrid to the Spanish soccer federation had not
mysteriously broken down.
De Gea stayed calm and assured as the United defense struggled against high balls into the
goalmouth. He made a string of good saves, the best when he reached back to claw away a
header from José Fonte, after 60 minutes. At the time, United led 2-1. Both the goals had
come from Martial, who has now scored three in his first two league appearances.
The first, after 34 minutes, should probably not have counted because Juan Mata was offside
in the build up. Martial still had to finish. He swerved to shake a defender, lost control but
recovered calmly and scored with cool aplomb. The second was a gift from Maya Yoshida,
who hit a weak back pass in the 50th minute without looking up to check for danger. Martial is
as dangerous as a tiger shark. He pounced on the present without a second thought and
unwrapped it with calm certainty, waiting for Maarten Stekelenburg to move and then passing
the ball into the net.
After the goals, Martial simply turned and jogged away before spreading his arms as
teammates closed in. He does not look surprised when he scores. He is giving United the
pace, poise and scoring punch Memphis Depay was supposed to bring. On Sunday, it was
Memphis who looked like the over-awed teenager. When Mata struck in the 68th minute, it
was United’s third goal from its third, and last, shot on target. Southampton shrivelled.
United briefly took compete control.
Louis van Gaal, the United manager, again emphasized how different he is from Alex
Ferguson when he told Sky TV that what most pleased him was “the way we killed the
game.”
Yet when Graziano Pelle headed in with four minutes left, United allowed the game to come
back to life. Van Gaal said after the game that his team was tired because it played in the
Champions League in mid-week.
“We lost by ourselves,” Ronald Koeman, the Southampton manager told Sky. It has been a
good weekend for United. The victory lifted it to second. It is only two points behind
Manchester City. The table suggests United is a contender.
“You cannot expect from a team in transition already a title,” Van Gaal said. “But if we are
close we shall grab it.”
YOUTH MOVEMENT When Manchester United won the Premier League with kids in
1993, its squad was larded with veterans. Some of the over-30s, like Bryan Robson, Neil
Webb, Mike Phelan and Mark Hughes did not play much. But Steve Bruce, who turned 32
during the season, and two 29-year olds, Brian McClair and Peter Schmeichel were pretty
much ever-present. Alex Ferguson had experienced leaders on the field and in the locker
room.
Tottenham is unlikely to win the league this season. But its third straight Premier League
clean sheet, as it beat Crystal Palace, 1-0, on Sunday and the dodgy form of some of the
habitual top-four teams suggest Spurs could be chasing a Champions League place. It would
be remarkable if they did because Mauricio Pochettino is playing kids without a safety net.
He does not have any grizzled veterans to turn to.
Apart from Michel Vorm, the backup goalie, Tottenham does not have a single player in its
squad over 28. Two of those, goalie Hugo Lloris and centerback Jan Vertonghen started on
Sunday. Eight of the players who started or came off the bench on Sunday are 23 or less.
A youthful team would make sense if Tottenham was playing the type of high-tempo pressing
game that Pochettino used at Southampton. They don’t appear to be. It might be that the age
profile of the squad is a result of Tottenham unloading a busload of under-performing
veterans acquired under previous managers. It might also be that the club is trying to hold
down its wage bill as it spends £400 million ($620 million) on a new stadium.
Pochettino seems to be trying to create an intricate passing game. In a way the most
encouraging sign on Sunday, in a game in which Palace hit the post twice, was that Spurs
won even though the style isn’t really working yet. The attacking players still seem to be
getting to know each other. That suggests the kids will grow more dangerous as the season
goes on.
HATE FIGURE Diego Costa’s performance, in every sense, against Arsenal on Saturday
divided soccer. On one side are the Chelsea fans, on the other there is everyone else.
“For me man of the match for sure,” José Mourinho, the Chelsea manager said of a striker
who managed one shot on target in 82 minutes. “He played the game like a game like this has
to be played.”
Mourinho must have known that this would not be a widely held opinion.
Costa’s chief contribution was to kick, shove, slap, scratch and ceaselessly insult the Arsenal
center backs, Laurent Koscielny and Gabriel, until the latter lost his temper, aimed a tame
little kick at the striker and was sent off.
That red card probably decided the game. Chelsea looked crisper than it had in any league
game this season, but Arsenal was holding on. With 10 men, Arsenal fell behind. With nine,
after Santi Cazorla was sent off in the 79th minute, the Gunners conceded again in the dying
seconds. Chelsea won, 2-0.
Like almost every defender who has faced Costa, Gabriel has had bad-tempered run ins with
the striker in the past. He should not have fallen for the provocation. But he did.
Former Arsenal men were particular indignant. George Graham, a former Arsenal player and
manager, told the BBC: "Although you've got to keep that physical intensity, once you step
over the mark he's got to be dealt with by officials, it's as simple as that - and I think he will
be."
Martin Keown, one of three accomplished but thuggish center backs who formed the bedrock
of Graham’s two title-winning Arsenal teams, tweeted what seemed to be an offer to come
out of retirement and kick Costa.
Yet Graham’s point hints at part of the problem. Mike Dean, the referee, could have shown
Costa three yellow cards and a straight red in the few minutes before sending off Gabriel.
Perhaps referees reactions are deadened by the relentlessness of Costa’s nastiness. They know
they should probably save time and show him a red card in the tunnel before every game
even starts, but sending him off every week would be ridiculous. Costa is playing the
percentages.
On the other hand, as Graham suggests, referees watch television and read the soccer news.
There will be payback. Perhaps it will come at Newcastle next week where, inevitably, Costa
will be up to his tricks again. But, after he has served a suspension, there will be a period
when he referees, striving to be fair and ignore reputations, will let him get away with it until
the outrage again becomes overwhelming.
CITY SLIP Chelsea’s much-criticized practise of warehousing players and then farming
them out – 33 are at other clubs – paid dividends on Saturday. Victor Moses, on loan at
another Premier League club for the third straight season, scored the first goal that
Manchester City has conceded in the league this season to set West Ham on the way to a 2-1
away victory.
