Alan Hansen’s Column: Thoughts on Liverpool, Hull, Spurs, Arsenal, Everton, Wigan, Newcastle & Chelsea

I would like to start by congratulating Hull on an incredible result at the Emirates on Saturday. I thought the Tigers were absolutely magnificent on the day to become only the 2nd team to beat Arsenal at their fabulous stadium.Hull’s equalising strike must be a contender for goal of the season and it sums up Phil Brown’s side’s great start to the season. Usually for the promoted sides their home form is key to survival but 7 points from 9 available on the road is remarkable. They have shown they are a well organised outfit with quality going forward so Phil Brown and the Hull fans must be absolutely delighted with their start.

Arsenal on the other hand received the kind of knock back you get in football when everything seems so be going well. The Gunners had thrashed Sheffield United in the week, albeit with their kids and had the chance of going back to the top of the table. However, after 11 changes it shows that you can’t face Premier League opponents thinking you have already won the game as Arsenal did. The players didn’t show the same level of passion and commitment as Hull and were punished as a result.

The Gunners North London rivals Tottenham remain bottom of the Premier League after losing at Portsmouth leading to question marks arising about their ability to remain in the top division. For me, with the players they have at their disposal they should never be in this situation. However, it was evident from the opening day defeat at Middlesbrough that this team has a major problem in the middle of the park. Juande Ramos has no one to protect his back line and thus they look wide open to attack. This has led to the defence struggling and confidence extremely low. If the manager has everyone fit then he has some talented individuals there but you can have the 11 best players in the world but it’s important to find a balance.

From one crisis club to another, news that Newcastle had appointed Joe Kinnear as caretaker manager was a surprising one. There’s no doubt Joe is a real football man but the fact he has been out of management for so long makes his choice a strange one. Four years is a long time to be out of the game even though Joe has done a bit of scouting. He did a fantastic job at Wimbledon but this is a whole new situation. To come into a club where he won’t know the players and they won’t know him is very difficult, especially when you consider the lack of confidence around St James’. To get the job for 6-8 games does not give him much chance of turning things around and that’s the reason no one wanted to take it in the first place.

I must say I was very impressed with Wigan at the weekend and in particular Amr Zaki. The Egyptian has got to go down as the find of the season. His work-rate is phenomenal and he is scoring plenty of goals. I know for a fact Steve Bruce will be working hard to get him on a long-term contract as soon as he possibly can. Now I don’t know the ins and outs of his loan deal but the quicker they get Zaki committed to the club the better as he’ll be attracting plenty of admirers. For Wigan to beat a Man City side that decimated Portsmouth the previous week was an excellent result. Steve Bruce has done a good job there but will still be looking to elevate the club into a position of safety as soon as possible.

A lot has been written about how great Fernando Torres played at the weekend though to be fair he didn’t do anything for 60 minutes at Goodison. However, he took his two goals great and his second strike was particularly good. Even the Spaniard’s goal that was chalked off was taken quite brilliantly. Whether yet another win and importantly another clean-sheet means Liverpool can stay in the title race remains to be seen but as I always say you can’t win the title in the first few months of the season but you can lose it. Therefore, Rafa Benitez’s side have given themselves a good chance but the fans know what really matters is whether you are at the top of the table come March and April.

This wasn’t the greatest Merseyside Derby as Everton were pretty poor on the day. I feel for David Moyes as expectations are high at the club but unlike some of his rival managers he doesn’t have £100m to spend. He has spent virtually nothing this summer but for a club to keep improving you need to bring in better players and to do that you need to spend money. Therefore, you can’t point the finger at Moyes as his hands have been tied.

Finally I would like to praise the performances of Ashley Cole at Chelsea. The full-back looks to be returning to his best form near to the level he achieved when at Arsenal. In fact, both Cole and Jose Bosingwa are playing very well. Luiz Felipe Scolari has a great spine to his team. They have a great balance, they can either play it tight and grind out results or launch into a expansive attacking style. Frank Lampard is also playing out of his skin at the moment and with their strength in depth they remain the team to beat.

This weekend the rollover jackpots for Premier 10 and Footy 15 have moved to a staggering £100,000 and £275,000 respectively. Last weekend a number of players got 13 correct predictions on Footy 15 with Hull and West Brom’s shock away wins ruining their chances of the huge jackpot. In fact, the Arsenal result scuppered a number of Premier 10 players who ended up 9 correct. It wasn’t just Gunners fans who were left fuming by that giantkilling.

This weekend offers even more value for your £1 bet so back your judgement and you could be in some serious money.

Good luck

Alan

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Tags: Alan Hansen, Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, footy 15, Hull, Liverpool, Newcastle, Premier 10, Spurs, Wigan

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