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Who Needs The Top Four More?
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As there's little of tangible note to play for elsewhere, this edition of Big Weekend simply focuses on the scrap for the Champions League, and who it matters to more...
Nervy Times For Pardew & Newcastle
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There will be some emotional goodbyes at Old Trafford and Goodison Park, but the real stuff takes place at the bottom of the table. Newcastle's hubris clings to them...
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Brendan Rodgers
It's interesting that one of the main criticisms levelled at Roy Hodgson by Liverpool fans was his reaction to their exit from the Carling Cup at the hands of Northampton.
"These players have to accept responsibility," said Hodgson at the time, after selecting a much-changed side for the tie. "I accept responsibility for changing a lot of players in the team, I did it because I honestly thought the players I put on the field were good enough to win the game and they weren't...
"I am just bitterly disappointed that the team I had so much faith in did not repay that faith this evening with the exception of one or two performances."
Compare that with Brendan Rodgers saying after the defeat to Oldham: "I was disappointed with the young players today I've got to be honest.
"We are trying to give them experience and let them see what it was like to play for Liverpool. It is not just about playing for Liverpool, you have to be competitive and be part of a group that is going to challenge for trophies.
"I thought how we reacted to that and how we performed, knowing that is what we are looking for, was disappointing."
The reaction this time has not been quite so vitriolic, perhaps because expectations have been lowered these days - back in 2010 the expectation was still that Liverpool were a Champions League team, but these days most people accept that a top-six or seven finish would represent a successful season.
Still, even though most fans seem to accept this is a(nother) rebuilding season for Liverpool, it's quite evident that Rodgers cannot afford any more results as bad as the Oldham defeat if he is to maintain the cautious goodwill that most fans seem to hold.
And then of course there's still the matter of Liverpool not having beaten a side in the top half of the table yet this season...
Arsenal
Speaking of sides who struggle against the better teams, Liverpool visit Arsenal on Wednesday.
In many ways, the spankings of Reading, West Ham and Newcastle must make capitulations against Chelsea and Manchester United even more frustrating. They can play, this lot, but for whatever reason they frequently show such an infuriating lack of spine against the big boys that supporting them must involve an awful lot of sighing/heavy drinking/smashing your head through a window.
I'll leave whether Liverpool fall into the category of 'better teams' for you lot to argue about in the comments section, but they are three points behind Arsenal so at the very least qualify as 'rivals'.
So which Arsenal will show up? The rapier-like side that sliced and diced West Ham in a devastating second-half spell, or the limp excuse for a team that laid down in front of Chelsea in the opening 45 minutes at Stamford Bridge?
Uncertainty can put years on a person, so one imagines there are a lot of grey hairs in north London.
Bacary Sagna
After his nosedive in form, Sagna was 'rested' for Arsenal's trip to Brighton on Saturday. Of course, he wasn't the only player shifted to the bench for that game, but it will be interesting to see whether Arsene Wenger sticks with Carl Jenkinson or continues to play the Frenchman.
For perhaps the first time since Sagna arrived at the club, the latter may be a bigger risk.
Mauricio Pochettino
"We're going to Manchester United to win - that has to be our mentality. Our mentality always has to be to win."
Ballsy stuff from Southampton's new manager ahead of his first away trip in the job.
Usually one would almost write off any prospect of the Saints getting any sort of result at Old Trafford, but because of the circumstances in which Pochettino got the job, there is extra pressure on him to get results quite quickly. As I wrote in this rather lengthy piece on Nicola Cortese's decision to remove the well-liked and admired Nigel Adkins and replace him with Pochettino, the wisdom of sackings cannot be judged properly until we know how well the new man does.
If Pochettino gets something at Manchester United so early in his tenure, he'll certainly pass the first impressions test at St Mary's.
West Ham
Just one win in the last eight now for Sam Allardyce's men. Their defence seems to be all over the place on the road too, the nadir being the four goals in ten minutes at Arsenal.
"It was totally unacceptable for us with the standards we have set ourselves," Kevin Nolan said after that game.
"The gaffer wasn't happy and rightly so - so he asked for us to come in at 7am the next morning on the Thursday. There were no complaints from any of us - we all need a kick up the backside every now and then and we take it all on board."
They travel to Fulham on Wednesday, so we'll see if that kick in the rump has worked.
Rafa Benitez
Last week Benitez described Chelsea as the 'perfect club' to manage, stopping just short of asking Roman Abramovich if he'd lost weight and printing out a 'John Terry; Captain, leader, legend' A4 poster and stapling it to his forehead.
Alas Rafa, it's not going to happen. The prospect of Benitez still being Chelsea manager next season is so remote as to be silly and fanciful, so perhaps he needs to think a little more about himself. Where will Rafa Benitez be next season? His motivation to win games now must surely not be to stay at Stamford Bridge, but to attract a new employer.
Norwich
While anyone who claims they predicted Norwich would lose to Luton at the weekend is a liar and a charlatan, the Canaries have only gained one point from the last available 18 in the league. Perhaps more troublingly, they have scored five goals in those six games, and three of them were in the 4-3 defeat to Manchester City.
It's no wonder they're desperately scrabbling around for a striker. If they haven't signed one by the time their game against Spurs comes around on Wednesday, their fans would be quite justified in feeling very nervous indeed.
Steve Clarke
Quite apart from West Brom's recent form, Clarke faces an interesting decision when the Baggies visit Everton - does he start with Peter Odemwingie?
Plenty of players have represented teams that they want to leave, but few could have done it so publicly as Odemwingie, who took to Twitter in order to express his dissatisfaction.
The problem is, Clarke needs all the help he can get at the moment, with just one point gained from the last four games. Ah, the life of a Premier League manager.
Nick Miller - now on Twitter. Has been for a while, actually
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