1. Jose Mourinho can still talk – and how
It would be fair to say that after his recent period of refusing to speak to the media, Jose Mourinho is back with a bang in terms of grabbing headlines with his comments.
In a particularly eye-catching double-bill over the weekend, the Portuguese began on Saturday immediately after his Chelsea side’s 1-1 home draw with Burnley by listing the minutes in which what he deemed to be the “four crucial moments” of the contest had occurred – a thinly-veiled attack on referee Martin Atkinson.
It then was Ashley Barnes in the line of fire the next day, with Mourinho describing the Clarets striker’s ugly-looking, unpunished lunge on Nemanja Matic – who was sent off for reacting by shoving Barnes to the ground – as a “criminal tackle” on a particularly eye-catching appearance on Goals On Sunday.
2. Liverpool’s top-four tilt is looking tip top
There may have been some controversial decisions made by the referee during this game as well, but with Liverpool emerging triumphant from Sunday’s trip to Southampton, the Reds’ push for a top-four finish is looking as strong as it ever has done this term.
The 2-0 win which moved them into sixth place, two points off fourth, was their seventh victory in what has now extended to a 10-match unbeaten run in the league. Like last season, they appear to be gaining serious momentum as the second half of the campaign goes on.
The team are perhaps not as free-scoring as before, but in defence they certainly appear more solid, while in attack, the likes of Sunday’s scorers Raheem Sterling and Philippe Coutinho are on-song, Daniel Sturridge is gradually finding his feet as he returns from injury and even Mario Balotelli is making a useful contribution.
3. Bad boy Barton is back
The key question here is will Joey Barton himself learn anything from what happened to him this weekend – or indeed ever?
The QPR captain was sent off for the ninth time in his career in Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Hull as his temper once again got the better of him, Barton aiming a low blow at Tom Huddlestone as players clashed following a foul by R’s debutant Darnell Furlong.
Barton apologised via Twitter, insisting he was attempting to support Furlong, but their team-mate Charlie Austin said of the skipper: “There’s only so many times you can say sorry.”
I'm gutted I got sent off. I've let my teammates down today and being someone who puts the team above everything else I'm gutted about that.
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) February 21, 2015
I've apologised to the lads and would like to apologise to all QPR fans who travelled today.
— Joseph Barton (@Joey7Barton) February 21, 2015
Austin also said “villain” Barton has “got to deal with it” – but one wonders if the midfielder has an anger management problem he is ever really going to be able to get on top of.
4. Tim’s in for a tough time
Tim Sherwood was certainly talking a good fight as he settled into the manager’s chair at Aston Villa last week – but following his first game in charge on Saturday, he will know he and his players really do have a survival battle ahead of them.
Sherwood said he was “devastated” after his team were beaten 2-1 at home by Stoke, a result that left Villa second-bottom of the table.
They offered little threat after going 1-0 up early on, then had their captain Ron Vlaar sent off in the dying minutes as his foul yielded the penalty that settled the match, and they have now lost six Premier League games in a row. Tim – over to you.
5. It’s grim up north-east
It was another less-than-cheery weekend for local rivals Newcastle and Sunderland in a season that is looking increasingly gloomy at each club.
Newcastle put in what was described by their former striker Alan Shearer as a “pathetic” performance as they were crushed 5-0 at Manchester City – a result that means they have now won one only one of eight games under John Carver, the man in charge until the end of the campaign.
Earlier on Saturday, Sunderland were held to a 0-0 draw at home by West Brom, taking their recent Premier League record to one victory in nine matches. They are only three points above the relegation zone and the relationship between head coach Gus Poyet and the club’s fans is looking strained.
6. The fans are revolting
One of the most striking images of the weekend saw Crystal Palace fans unveil this banner during their team’s match against Arsenal.
There have been calls for ticket prices to be lowered in the wake of the recent megabucks TV deal which saw Sky and BT Sport renew their contracts with the Premier League.
Could this banner be a sign that fans are finally ready to do more than grumble about ticket prices and actually take action?
Source: SNAPPA
