Say What – Gameweek 31

We roll out our usual collection of sound bites from the previous Gameweek’s post-match press conferences this Thursday afternoon. Jose Mourinho praises Loic Remy and Cesc Fabregas but is unimpressed with Oscar. Alan Pardew and Louis van Gaal discuss the recent transformations of Glenn Murray and Ander Herrera respectively, whilst Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez talk tactics.

Mourinho complimentary on Cesc, critical of Oscar

Cesc Fabregas tallied 15 assists in his first 21 league appearances for Chelsea but went through a brief dry patch in his next four matches, failing to register an assist until a Gameweek 30 clash against Hull City. Likewise, Oscar has been subject to mild criticism of late in light of a paucity of attacking returns in his previous seven outings. Talking on the form of the Blues duo, Jose Mourinho posited that Fabregas’ dip in assists was simply a product of his strikers not scoring. As for Oscar, the Portuguese boss was a little less complimentary:

“I always think stability is very important in a team and it’s not in April that you are going to make important changes. April is a moment of stability and obviously I keep faith in the people that I have trusted from the beginning of the season. When some people write that Fàbregas drops his level because the number of assists are not the same, the number of assists is probably not the same because the player that he assists doesn’t score. I think he’s playing wonderfully well… I don’t think he (Oscar) had a bad performance, I just think he was not good enough, which is a huge difference.”

Mourinho lauds Remy commitment

Loic Remy has stepped out of Diego Costa’s shadow in the past two Gameweeks and recorded crucial winners for Chelsea in their pursuit of the league crown. Now with Costa set for a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a fresh hamstring injury, the former Newcastle frontman is hoping to take centre stage as the Blues close in on the title. The Blues boss heaped praise on the France international for maintaining his match sharpness despite spending the season in Costa’s shadow:

“He’s a striker, every striker has this in them, so when Eden recovered the ball you could see immediately he sprinted to score what I call an easy goal, but I love strikers to score easy goals. The tap-in when the goalkeeper has an incomplete save, attack the ball in a low cross, rebounds – I love the easy goals from a striker, so I’m really happy with him. He trains fantastically well. He keeps himself in great condition to come to matches, even without many, many minutes to be ready for us, so I’m really pleased and everybody’s pleased for him. He’s a great boy and his contribution for us is already crucial with these two match-winners in the last two matches.”

Pardew hails Murray’s displays

Having been restricted to just 16 minutes of pitch time under Neil Warncok before being farmed out on loan, a revitalised Glenn Murray has repaid the faith invested in him by new Crystal Palace boss Alan Pardew, notching five goals and two assists in five appearances. Murray managed to score with his only chance of the match against Manchester City, yet above all else the former Brighton marksman demonstrated a willingness to graft, winning 10 of his 15 aerial duels. Speaking on how Murray coped with the physicality of City’s centre-backs, Pardew insisted that his performance was an exemplar of how to play the No. 9 role:

“In terms of a striker’s performance, we knew the two centre halves were aggressive so we said to Glenn, ‘look, you might need to buy us fouls, you need to win your headers, you’re going to need to work hard and come back to the point for us. I thought he gave us an exceptional performance. Forget about his goal – he gave a lesson in how to play the No 9. He’s had a terrible time with injuries. This is a guy who should have been in the Premier League years ago, so (I’m really) pleased for him that he’s getting the reward for the quality that he has.”

Allardyce to stay on the offensive

Following a breathless start to the season that saw them rank fourth in the league table with 31 points after 17 Gameweeks, West Ham have accrued just 11 points in their subsequent 14 fixtures. During that lean spell, the Hammers recorded just three clean sheets – a shortcoming that manager Sam Allardyce attributes to their increased emphasis on attack this term. Nonetheless, Allardyce is not willing to change his newfound forward-thinking philosophy in response to recent defeats, stating that it’s also the reason West Ham are within reach of posting their highest Premier League points total (47) since he joined the club:

“No I’m not going to change the way we play. The big shout at the beginning of the season was that we were going to attack more and for that reason we’ve lacked a few more clean sheets than we wanted. That would have got us a few more three point victories than draws and got us higher up the table. We’ve scored more goals than we’ve ever scored and we now must push on over the next seven games to get more than 46 points, which is our best total from year one, and if we can do that by continuing playing like we’re playing then we’ll go on and do it. We played like that and won earlier in the season, which was why we got to third or fourth so I’m not going to stop the players playing like that.”

Van Gaal praises Herrera’s transformation

Despite not securing a run of starts longer than three matches until Gameweek 25, Ander Herrera has still managed to tally five goals and four assists in his debut Premier League campaign. The Spanish midfielder was not famed for his finishing prowess in La Liga – notching five in 39 appearances during his final season at Athletic Bilbao – so his seven-goal haul in 24 appearances in all competitions for Manchester United represents a significant mark-up in that regard. Red Devils boss Louis Van Gaal is the first to highlight Herrera’s improvement, insisting that few midfielders possess his composure and positional awareness:

“He develops himself very good. He’s more composed with the ball, positionally he is playing better than in the beginning. So he develops and he scores goals – it’s very important because when you can score seven goals [all season] and you don’t play regularly, then who can do it better than him as a midfield player?”

Rodgers still seeking winning formula

At this stage last season, Liverpool were 14 points better off in the league and had netted an incredible 84 goals. Contrast that to the 45 strikes they’ve conjured up this term and it’s clear that the Reds have suffered from Luis Suarez’s absence and Daniel Sturridge’s persistent knocks. Suarez and Sturridge ended the last campaign as the league’s top two scorers, with 31 and 22 goals, respectively; while this season, Raheem Sterling, Steven Gerrard and Jordan Henderson are tied on six goals each. Although Liverpool head coach Brendan Rodgers has settled on a system that suits the players at his disposal, he’s still searching for solutions for their relative poverty of goals this season:

“We are still trying to find solutions at the top end of the field. When everyone is fit and available we are able to compete with this squad, but our top goalscorer is on six goals. Three players on six goals. That’s the reality of where we are at, and we have to find solutions for that. It’s about finding what suits the players. We have obviously got a number of players out now and when we changed the system it suited them. We are always looking to find a way.”

Martinez talks tactics

Toffees boss Roberto Martinez has come under fire of late for refusing to eschew his preferred, measured brand of football that places an emphasis on building from the back. In the wake of three wins on the bounce for Everton, Martinez has offered a riposte to his critics by claiming there’s been innovation present throughout every stage of his managerial career. The former Wigan coach also went on to give examples of how he adapts tactically to each unique match-up:

“The people who say that I am tactically not flexible are people who do not follow my work. I have been innovative at every football club I have been at with my tactics, my shape and my approach. I am not someone who needs to defend myself but if you follow my work then I am probably one of the most flexible managers tactically that you could work with…It was because we didn’t have Romelu (the shift to 4-1-4-1). In certain games we played with two strikers. On Saturday we had Aaron Lennon really high up the pitch and James McCarthy had freedom. Every game is different. Southampton have a very strong back six that needs to be broken in different ways. We don’t play the same way twice, but it is not for me to go openly and publicly and tell everyone what we have done.”

Pearson ready to take risks

Sitting four points adrift at the foot of the table with eight matches to go, draws are of little use to Leicester City any more. Foxes boss Nigel Pearson was very much of that mindset when he elected to shift from a 3-5-2 to a 3-4-3 formation with things all square against West Ham United. Pearson concedes that it was a risky decision, yet he’d would rather shoot for the win than settle for a draw.

“At 1-1 we went to 3-4-3, which is a big risk in some ways. But I’ve got to be honest with you I’d rather lose a game trying to win it. A point at this stage in our season, if you score an equaliser in the final minute of added time then you can look at it as a point gained, but in the situation that we’re in, we’d rather lose trying to win. That’s always difficult to strike the balance with, because every goal and game will be important. I think the players are up for the challenge as they have been for the whole of the season.”

Wenger on Bellerin’s rise to prominence

With Mathieu Debuchy already on the books and Calum Chambers arriving in a reported £16 million deal from Southampton, few could’ve predicted the emergence of Arsenal’s youth defender Hector Bellerin this campaign. A product of Barcelona’s La Masia academy, Bellerin has shared the right-back berth with Chambers – in the absence of the injured Debuchy – and started eight of the Gunners’ last 11 league ties, scoring twice in the process. In the wake of Bellerin’s most accomplished performance to date against Liverpool – in which he curled in Arsenal’s opener and stifled Raheem Sterling in the second half – Arsene Wenger lauded the 20-year-old’s mental fortitude while conceding that he’ll profit greatly from more experience:

“He’s one of the surprises of the season. He was at Watford on loan last year and didn’t get the games. He’s just 20 years old, if you look at what he does at 20 years of age… He played against a great player today in Sterling in the second half. Maybe he still has some experience to gain but defending one against one is good and going forward is good as well. He scored an important goal in a big game and that always shows that the guy has the mental quality to be there.”