Matchday 36 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 36 Round Up

Saturday 9th May

Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

An appallingly bad display from both sides, who seemed to be trying to lull everyone watching to sleep with their slow build up play. It is little wonder boos rang out around the stadium at the end, it was well deserved for two extremely expensively assembled teams who are badly letting down their fans.

Starmen:
The fans - for bothering to watch this slop.

Flops:
Both clubs' boards - for the mismanagement that has dragged both teams down so far. The players are there, the money has been spent but neither have been able to hire a manager to make the most of them.

Sunderland 0-0 Manchester United

Man Utd have started to become more passive as the time wears on under Carrick, in large part likely due to the influence of Steve Holland, who seems to favour this style of play. That, for me, is the main reason they failed to beat a Sunderland side that has been on such a poor run of form in recent weeks and is missing their main centre-back Ballard. Though, it must be said, neither team have much left to play for this season. I did think that the decision to bring back Martinez hampered them, it meant the backline was worryingly slow. Sunderland did look more like the team that started the season so well, aggressive and trying to play always on the front foot, but just lacking good finishers and simply not good enough to beat the Red Devils.

Starmen:
Geertruida - filled in at right-back and did a good job.
Xhaka - he holds this team together.
Lammens - having a good solid keeper has made such a huge difference to Man Utd's team.

Flops:
Hume - he really is not Premier League quality, even though he always gives his all.
Brobbey - he is a handful for defenders but his finishing is woeful.
Zirkzee - needs to get himself more involved.
Cunha - so much talent but has been disappointing so far.

Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

A one-sided stroll for the Seagulls, with Wolves very limp and clearly not really putting their all into the match. It was little wonder Edwards was so angry on the sidelines and called out his players after the game, he has been utterly unable to motivate them and has lost his cool with them now. It must be so frustrating to manage these multimillionaires that just cannot be bothered to earn their enormous wages.

Starmen:
Cuyper - under no pressure whatsoever defensively, so was able to gain a couple of assists.
Dunk - even a very average defender like Dunk can stroll through a game against Wolves these days.
Minteh - tortured Wolves at times with his pace and workrate. Shame he lacks a bit of quality.

Flops:
Wolves - the club as a whole have not even shown pride for the fans' sake. It has been an embarrassment to see them produce nothing week after week.

Fulham 0-1 Bournemouth

A really odd game, with both sides having a player sent off. It is not often you get an entire second half of ten against ten! Lots of space was there to exploit but both teams looked to be running out of energy at this stage of the season and playing with a man down. It is another step towards some kind of European football for the Cherries, keeping them in contention for the Champions League as well. Fulham are slumping badly and need to arrest this slide as it will cost them a lot of prize money at the end of the season.

Starmen:
Castagne - enjoyed having space to attack.
Rayan - got the goal and was always a threat with his pace.
Truffert - the one player in their new look defence that might even be an upgrade over last season.

Flops:
Andersen - destroyed Fulham's man advantage by getting himself sent off.
Chukwueze - has failed to impress at all this season.
Smith-Rowe - is simply not good enough and it was no surprise he was the one sacrificed to re-organise after the sending off.
Wilson - really needs to put more effort in.
Christie - stupid tackle to get sent off with his team dominating the play. It was such a needless lunge.

Manchester City 3-0 Brentford

It was starting to become extremely tense in the stadium as time went on without a goal. Once Doku opened the scoring there was only ever going to be one result, Citeh were clearly by far the better team and it ended up a very comfortable win. Even more importantly, from a Man City point of view, is that it increased pressure on Arsenal by reducing the goal difference advantage the Gunners hold and increasing their advantage on goals scored. The Bees were still in the fight for a Champions League place, but they never really went for a win, mainly just looking to frustrate the Mancunians. It worked for an hour, but a piece of magic from Doku broke the deadlock and they had nothing in the tank to pull it back.

Starmen:
Doku - was on a completely different level from everyone else on the pitch and caused absolute havoc. Well deserved a goal for an absolutely outstanding performance where even doubling up on him by Brentford could not stop him. Gone are the days when you could just let him have the ball and know he would almost certainly just end up putting the ball out for a goal kick. He has developed an end product and become a top class winger.
Haaland - he has improved so much. Last season's struggles for Citeh seem to have been a major learning process for so many of their players. He got a goal and an assist in a very good all-round performance.
Semenyo - he is not playing as well as he was after initially making the move, he is also being majorly overshadowed by Doku but he was very good in this game.

Flops:
Reijnders - struggled to cope with Brentford's physicality.
Cherki - needs to work harder.
Schade - lots of pace but no brains.
Damsgaard - usually so good for Brentford but he had an off day.

Sunday 10th May

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle United

A late goal by Anderson against his boyhood club secured the point that gives Forest another year of Premier League football. It was a nervy performance by the Tricky Trees at home, with a crowd that were clearly worried. They were not helped by not having Gibbs-White available, as he has been central to all their attacking play this season. The Toon, on the other hand, had their talisman available and look so much better for having Guimaraes in the side. He is the captain and leader of their side and makes a very noticeable difference for them.

Starmen:
Anderson - stepped up with Gibbs-White absent.
Guimaraes - Newcastle's key player.

Flops:
Woltemade - Howe has not figured out how to get the best from him at all.
Hall - a very strange choice to start at right-back.

Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa

A case of after the Lord Mayor's show for Villa, who looked sluggish after their excellent performance in midweek to reach the Europa League final. Burnley gave them a real fright and turned it into a real battle through hard work and industry. There was a clear gap in quality but the Clarets made up for it by running hard and refusing to give up. They have nothing to play for and an interim manager, but they came it out and gave it their all, which makes you wonder how many were playing for a move in the summer.

Starmen:
Mejbri - the former Man Utd youngster had a very good game.
Flemming - another goal for the striker.
Barkley - a good header for his goal.
McGinn - another of those players that seems to lift the team around him when he plays.

Flops:
Rogers - as often happens with younger players, he is having a down season following on from such an excellent one last year. Still shows flashes, but it is just the odd moment, rather than a regular effect on games.
Cash - terrible error to give away the equaliser.
Mings - looks like an accident waiting to happen at the moment.

Crystal Palace 2-2 Everton

Palace are looking ahead to the Conference League final, with little left to play for in the Premier League this season but they still managed to put a dent in the Toffee's European ambitions. Just when they needed to lift themselves for the run-in, Everton's form has dipped and they have struggled to get the wins they needed. Everton always seem to let the opposition take the initiative the moment they have a lead. They always seem to just want to sit back and defend it, rather than taking advantage of any dominance they have at the time.

Starmen:
Munoz - can be a bit dodgy defensively, but Richards does help to cover that behind him, however his driving runs forward are extremely effective.
Beto - not a great player or goalscorer by any means, but he is a handful for any defence and will get goals when high on confidence, as he did in this game.
Ndiaye - looks a step above the level of his team mates.
Tarkowski - got a goal and an assist, but his legs are clearly going. He looks in urgent need of replacement.

Flops:
Strand Larsen - a very strange signing.
Johnson - needs to offer more.
Rohl - was excellent in the previous game against City but struggled against Palace.
O'Brien - was overrun at times. He is too big and slow on the turn to be suited at full-back.
Mykolenko - simply not a very good full-back.

West Ham United 0-1 Arsenal

A really tough match with two teams desperate for the points for completely different reasons. The Hammers knew only a win would get them out of the drop zone, while the Gunners have Man City breathing down their neck in the race for the title. It led to a very nervy battle that was decided by a controversial decision late on. It was one of those decisions when both sides have a good point to make. The Hammers will be annoyed as those kind of goals have been allowed repeatedly all season and there were a number of clear fouls on their players happening at the same time. However, the keeper clearly was fouled, so it is understandable that it was ruled out. The only issue I have is that it took a long time for VAR to come to a decision, which means it was not really a clear and obvious mistake by the referee, so I would have said the right thing to do would have been to go with the on field decision because of that. But that is probably just because I dislike these long VAR stoppages and would rather see VAR removed from the game altogether. Overall, Arsenal were the better side and really should have won by more, but it made for great entertainment as the nerves jangled towards the end.

Starmen:
Mavropanos - kept the Hammers hopes alive with a couple of good clearances.
Trossard - scored the goal and was always threatening.
Raya - for me he has been excellent all season and really should be in the discussion for player of the year.

Flops:
Hermansen - flapped at things a few times.
Soucek - lacks the mobility for a game like this, Arsenal players could run rings round him.
Castellanos - got little service.
Saka - he needs a proper full-back behind him to offer an option and stop opponents double and triple teaming him.
White - he is playing like someone who does not really like football.

Monday 11th May

Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Leeds United

One thing is for sure, Spurs players have finally started trying. A bit late in the season maybe, but they are now giving their all to avoid relegation. Questions have to be asked where this effort was previously. Leeds will to win, despite having little on the line with safety assured, was impressive and showed a desire and professionalism that has been lacking from Spurs. It made for an entertaining game, desperation to win from Spurs, matched by a desire to win from Leeds, both teams were always looking to get three points. I really enjoyed this game and it was probably a fair result overall.

Starmen:
Tel - scored a very good goal.
Ampadu - was very good protecting the Leeds defence.
Bijol - had a solid game.
Kinsky - made a great save.

Flops:
Kolo Muani - there were periods of the game I forgot he was even on the pitch.
James - works hard but is so weak and lacking in quality.