Our regular roundup of the weekend’s most quotable excerpts returns this afternoon as we piece together some tasty sound bites from the fallout of Gameweek 2. This week Manuel Pellegrini and Arsene Wenger talk strikers, Sam Allardyce has a few words on some welcome quality in West Ham’s final third, Nacer Chadli discusses Mauricio Pochettino’s attacking style and Harry Redknapp ponders QPR’s tactical headache. Meanwhile, Ronald Koeman and Roberto Martinez give us the scoop on a couple of players with bright futures at their current clubs.
Stevan Jovetic managed to steal the limelight during Monday night’s six-pointer between Manchester City and Liverpool with a brace and an all-round display of quality and commitment in a convincing 3-1 win for the champions – only to be upstaged by Sergio Agüero’s first touches as a late substitute, with the Argentine notching for the second match consecutively off the bench. Jovetic’s 13-point Fantasy Premier League (FPL) haul came as a timely reminder of the risks of knee-jerk decisions as almost 25,000 Fantasy managers shipped the Montenegrin out after a quiet opening Gameweek, causing a price fall. Manuel Pellegrini seized the opportunity to reward his crop of strikers, with Jovetic in particular – now back up to 8.0 in FPL – coming in for some heavy praise:
“Stevan worked hard for the whole game also without the ball. He was very unlucky last season but we never doubted his quality and I am very happy for him because he deserves to start this season the way he has. At the moment, it is difficult to say who is the best striking partner for him because Alvaro Negredo is injured and Kun Aguero is not yet 100% but he can play with anyone. At this moment, Stevan is working very well but you cannot forget about what Negredo did at the beginning of last year. He is also very important but now, he’s injured. During the whole year, we play so many games, we need four strikers. In this moment, Stevan and Edin Dzeko are playing very well and it is important players like Stevan and Fernando, who are 100% fit, continue to play the way they did today.”
Tottenham forced former manager Harry Redknapp to revisit his new 3-5-2 formation after Sunday’s emphatic 4-0 demolition of QPR at White Hart Lane. The man who once led Spurs to their highest ever Premier League finishes (4th in 2009/10 and 2011/12) had adapted his system to accommodate returning star Loic Remy after a proposed move to Liverpool came unstuck earlier this summer, but with his three experienced centre halves being run ragged by Spurs’ attacking unit, and his side left propping up the Premier League table, it will be interesting to see how long Redknapp perseveres with his current formation:
“I don’t know if that [the system] is the problem, we played okay last week playing that way. It was about energy, we didn’t play with enough energy and we looked off the pace a bit. In certain areas we weren’t sharp enough, we’ve got to work harder than that with and without the ball. Maybe one or two looked a bit slow. I don’t think it’s systems; that system allows me to get two strikers in the team, which I was trying to do. [Loic] Remy doesn’t play up on his own, Charlie Austin doesn’t either really; it’s difficult so you’re looking to get two up front. You [can] play 4-4-2 but you get slaughtered in midfield, it’s very difficult”.
Of course, with a brace to his name, Nacer Chadli was free to wax lyrical after the result. Spurs have adapted quickly to new manager Mauricio Pochettino’s high-intensity style and reaped the rewards with a result that sent them to the summit of the Premier League after their opening two fixtures. With an array of reasonably priced options in both defence and attack at their disposal after underperforming in previous seasons, Spurs may well serve up a hot-bed of Fantasy talent if they can maintain their early form, evidenced by Gameweek high-scorer Chadli who comes in at just 6.0 in FPL.
“[Our style] is very different and I have never played this system before. We have Ade [Adebayor] at the top and then behind him we have me, Christian [Eriksen] and Erik [Lamela], who can change positions all the time. That makes it difficult for the opponents to choose which one of us to pick up. It becomes automatic and we’re trying to play like that. For me it’s better to come off the left wing and get into a central position when we have a cross because I can finish it off – or sometimes I can move out to the right. I think it’s good for me. We can also get the full-backs into forward wide positions, and it’s happening a lot with Danny Rose and [Eric] Dier. When the full-backs go high, there’s no point in me staying there, high on the wide side, so I have to go into the box. I’m tall and Ade’s tall and we try to make the difference.”
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce gave new forward Mauro Zárate a glowing review after taking all three points from their trip to Selhurst Park. A shoulder injury to Kevin Nolan brought Zárate into the starting XI to face Crystal Palace after the Gameweek 1 blank against Spurs, and the Argentine striker wasted little time in announcing his return to the Premier League – notching on his debut, and grabbing a share of the bonus points.
“He likes to come off and start up the top and play coming off and find spaces. He’s a different kind of player to what we’ve had before. It’s very important in terms of wanting to play against a certain team and what strengths he would give you by playing against that certain team. He has some strengths which other players at the club don’t have and I thought he showed that today. Crystal Palace have very good defensive qualities and have done ever since Tony Pulis took over and breaking down those defensive qualities is difficult but I think he has those qualities to break that kind of defensive unit down.”
Following up on one of last week’s major talking points, José Mourinho continued with his line of reasoning over the decision to hand Thibaut Courtois the starting role between the sticks for the opening two fixtures. The Belgian international excelled for Chelsea in their Gameweek 2 clean sheet against Leicester at Stamford Bridge. Mourinho’s latest comments will compound the suggestion that Petr Cech’s chance of seeing Premier League action is becoming increasingly slim, while the arrival of cup competition should see him dust off the gloves to afford Courtois a break. Mourinho also intimated that the same could be true for a number of his players as we head into a busy Autumn schedule.
“Petr is a top professional. He is working as always, behaving as always, being a group man as always, being a Chelsea person as always. Is he totally happy? I don’t believe he is but it is not only him, it is everyone who didn’t start the game. This period is hard for them and for me because there is only one match per week so the first three matches they clearly feel that some are playing more and some don’t, but in September with the Capital One Cup, Champions League and Premier League, with three matches a week, everyone playing, rotating, resting – it is an easy period for them and it is an easy period for me as everyone feels much better. Now, in these first three matches with one match per week some are not playing and they feel it more, but Petr Cech’s behaviour is fantastic and that is important.”
Roberto Martinez touted Gameweek 1 show-stopper Aiden McGeady for big things this season, despite giving the Irishman a view from the dugout as Everton welcomed Arsenal to Goodison Park. McGeady produced a stunning strike in the 2-2 draw at Leicester City but still made way as Martinez reverted to a set-up that had garnered success against The Gunners in their last campaign, but could well be set for a return to action following his managers encouraging words.
“I’ve seen Aiden come back in really good shape this pre-season. I haven’t seen a player with as much individual quality that Aiden has and we are really excited to see what he can produce this season. The fans are in for a great treat because I think his quality is quite unique and I haven’t seen such a talented footballer for a long, long time.”
Meanwhile, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger continued to ring the changes to his frontline against Everton as he sought to find his best striker amid fitness concerns over Yaya Sanogo, Olivier Giroud and World Cup star Alexis Sánchez. Sanogo and Giroud both picked up injuries in the opening two games and with rumours building of an extended spell on the sidelines for the Frenchman, Sánchez looks set to make a sharp return to first team action despite his half-time withdrawal at Goodison. Wenger will be hoping for a more confident performance from his marquee signing, whose underwhelming displays have convinced over 127,000 FPL managers to pull the trigger on his sale since the opening weekend, shipping the Chilean out in favour of the likes of goal hero Aaron Ramsey.
“I have more strikers than before so sometimes I can give them a little rest. Giroud has just played one game since the World Cup so I gave him a little breather today but I knew we were dominating the game in the second half and we needed some physical presence up front and he did that very well in the second half…..At the moment he (Sanchez) is not completely ready physically but I don’t worry about him. At the moment he knows that he’s not at his best physically and once he’s at his best physically, the confidence will come back. It’s all linked together. It’s always difficult to know why the confidence is not at his best. I believe it’s mainly physical.”
James Ward-Prowse was tipped for a bright future by new Saints manager Ronald Koeman this weekend following their first point of the season at home to West Brom. The Southampton Academy prospect did catch the Fantasy eye last season as a cheap set-piece-specialist in a decent, attacking side, but a lack of regular pitch time prevented him from making a serious dent in the game. This year, however, the youngster appears to have been handed a first-team role and racked up 167 minutes in his opening two games. Priced rather modestly at £5.0 (FPL), and with a superb run of fixtures on the horizon (only one of last year’s top eight – Spurs – face Saints in their next ten Premier League games), Ward-Prowse looks a great punt for those considering budget options for their Fantasy midfield.
“I hope and I think that he will have a great future, because he’s a young talent. He’s played already a lot of matches in the first team. He’s a boy from the academy. He’s a great player, because he’s left-footed, he’s right-footed, he has a good feel for good positions in the midfield and then at set-pieces he’s an important player. I like him as a football player – I told him this week, because he’s a young one but with a great future.”
