Our usual look at the post-match press conferences from the previous round of fixtures arrives again this evening. Gus Poyet talks tactics, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger explain their midweek tinkering, whilst Louis van Gaal discusses Wayne Rooney’s importance to United’s midfield.

With his side 2-0 down at home to QPR, Gus Poyet switched from 4-1-4-1 to 4-4-2 as Sunderland looked to find a way back into the match. The Black Cats manager’s decision to replace Jordi Gomez with Ricardo Alvarez and shift Connor Wickham up top failed to breach the visitors’ backline as the hosts were booed off at full-time. After the match, an irate Poyet claimed his tinkering was purely down to appease the fans and bizarrely slammed the subsequent tactical change after the break:

“That is what people want in the second half. That is what they want, and they have been asking for a while, so maybe they need to be a little bit more proud of the team. But that craziness of the second half didn’t give us points either. I don’t know if that was football. I don’t define that as football. It was a desperate team running about and trying to be nice with the fans. Everybody wanted the players to play the ball forward – to let it bounce and get corners. It was more important to get a corner than make a pass. I learned that if you give your team-mate an angle and pass the ball forwards you’ve a better chance. I think it is time for everybody to sit down, reflect and learn. Then maybe we can make a big step forwards”.

After earning a 1-1 draw at the Etihad with a 3-4-2-1 formation last weekend, Steve Bruce altered his approach for Hull’s vital home clash against Villa. The Tigers boss switched to 3-5-2, with Nikica Jelavic and Dame N’Doye leading the lines, and both frontmen were in the goals in a 2-0 win that helped Hull ease fears of relegation. After the match, Bruce explained his decision to freshen things up in the final third and praised his new-look strike force:

“If I’d played Jelavic against Manchester City last weekend, I don’t think he would have played on Tuesday night. And then when you bring a new player into the team, especially from abroad, you wonder if they can handle it and hit the ground running but Dame has had a terrific home debut. It was a difficult decision because Ramirez and Aluko were terrific against Manchester City but with two games in three days, I thought a fresh two would be enough. Thankfully the two strikers came up trumps. They were a real handful and as a former centre half looking on at them rampaging around, I don’t think you’d want to play against them when they’re at it.”

Arsene Wenger’s team sheet for Tuesday’s win over Leicester left many Olivier Giroud owners disappointed after the Frenchman dropped to the bench to accommodate fit-again Alexis Sanchez up front. The Gunners boss cited the previous Saturday’s north London derby against Spurs as the reason for his tinkering, whilst also saw Danny Welbeck and Aaron Ramsey drop out for Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky:

“We were not the sharpest, we were not the most glamorous. Before the game I was concerned because I didn’t know how much of a part the disappointment of Saturday will play in the confidence level, and also how much we had recovered physically. I changed a few players in the team because of that and at the end of the day we are happy to win the game.”

United’s 3-1 win over Burnley saw Wayne Rooney fail to produce points for the seventh successive Gameweek. Louis van Gaal initially fielded his skipper on the right of a midfield diamond but an injury to Daley Blind forced Rooney even deeper – with Ander Herrera on as a replacement, the Red Devils’ skipper was forced to sit in front of the back-four. After the match, Van Gaal praised Rooney’s versatility as key to finding a solution in the centre of the park:

“I have to look for the better balance and I think until now because of Rooney we have a better balance in midfield. I was very pleased how he replaced Daley Blind in the number six position. He showed composure and of course he was also today the Rooney that I want to see but he has showed that he can play in every position. Maybe he can better play in a striker’s position but then I have a problem in midfield.”

A 1-0 win over Everton ensured Chelsea stayed seven points clear at the summit as Jose Mourinho’s side served up a twelfth clean sheet of the season. The Blues boss opted for Petr Cech over Thibaut Courtois between the sticks and the former helped himself to a four straight shut out in the league – the Belgian, on the other hand, has conceded in each of his last four top-flight outings by comparison. Mourinho
revealed that form had nothing to do with his decision, though, and admitted that tiredness, in addition to John Terry’s possible absence for the Toffees’ visit, made his mind up to field the veteran stopper:

“Courtois played consecutive matches – Liverpool, Man City, Aston Villa – matches that the goalkeeper has to be very focused. Even when he doesn’t touch the ball, the focus has to be permanent. A goalkeeper can be fatigued, in the nervous system. Petr was working really hard in every training session, his condition was good and I believed it was best for the team, also in terms of leadership. John Terry was ill in the morning, he was probably out of the game until the last moment, so I thought Petr’s personality and communication would benefit our side.”

After his exploits for DR Congo in the African Cup of Nations came to a conclusion last weekend, a somewhat fatigued Yannick Bolasie was used sparingly by Alan Pardew for the midweek home clash against Newcastle. The wide man was introduced off the bench with just 22 minutes remaining but needed only three minutes to provide the assist for Fraizer Campbell’s leveller, taking his tally to six assists for the season. Pardew – who has started with Jason Puncheon and Wilfried Zaha out wide in each of the last two – was full of praise for Bolasie’s potential as he helped the new man in charge salvage a point against his former club:

“I was really pleased with our reaction second half. We really took the game to Newcastle. But really it was the bench that salvaged the game for us. Yannick’s cross was of the highest order and he had no right really to put a ball in of that quality that he had. He’s [Bolasie] an exciting player. Obviously I’ve been an opposing manager to him and he has great power and technique. He gives you an unpredictability in your team which I quite like.”

A two-goal haul at Stoke finally ended Sergio Aguero’s scoring drought as the champions emerged from the Britannia with an emphatic 4-1 victory. The Argentine had failed to net in each of his last five in all competitions and was struggling to replicate the devastating form that served up 14 strikes in the opening 15 Gameweeks but according to Manuel Pellegrini, we can expect normal service to resume now his match sharpness is up to speed:

“When Sergio has more minutes he will return to his normal performance. He scored one goal, he scored the penalty – I think it is important for him, Samir Nasri, Vincent Kompany, Edin Dzeko and all the players who have had long injuries to have more minutes because they will improve. It’s very important for Kun to be fit. If he plays for three months in a row you will see how good he is. This year he had that problem in his knee. He didn’t have any muscle problems and that is important for him. We hope if he continues playing every game from now until the end of the season we will see what we know he can do.”

Brendan Rodgers’ new 3-4-2-1 formation has reinvigorated Liverpool’s Fantasy prospects at both ends of the pitch in recent matches. Summer signing Alberto Moreno has been one of the main beneficiaries – after flitting on and out of the first-team, the Spaniard has now started each of the last seven as the Reds’ left wing-back and has served up a goal and four clean sheets over that period. Discussing his more advanced berth with the club’s official website, Moreno revealed he’s far more comfortable in his new role compared to being fielded at left-back:

“I played as a winger when I was younger. I really like this formation as I can attack more, which is one of the things I like to do the most on the pitch. Of course, we also have defensive duties but this system gives me more freedom to attack. I like this formation as I think it suits the type of players we have very well – and things are unfolding well as a result. We’ll continue to improve as a team if we keep doing things as we have.”