Here’s What We Learnt This Weekend #6

So after the latest week of the Premier League season, here’s what we learnt this weekend:

Firstly we’ve learnt that Fernando Torres is still not having his own way in the Premier League. After suffering embarrassment the weekend before last against Manchester United as a result of THAT miss in front of the Stretford End, you would have thought that the tide would be changing for him after he put Chelsea ahead at the weekend with a lovely goal against Swansea.

That wasn’t to be the case of course as the £50m Spanish striker saw red before half-time completely undoing his good work, after lunging in on the Welsh side’s Mark Gower, giving Mike Dean no option but to send the striker off. There’s no doubt that in the last fortnight or so Torres’ performances have improved, but having picked a 3-match ban, if one or two of the Chelsea strikers does well in his absence then he may well not return to the starting place when his ban ends. That’s the harshness of football.

We’ve learnt that Neil Warnock’s still as honest as ever. It was brilliant to hear him criticise his left-back Armand Traore on Sunday in QPR’s home draw with Aston Villa. Whilst I understand first-hand why managers will defend their players 9/10 on most of the occasions, it’s refreshing to see Warnock call one of his players a ‘disgrace’ when they’ve done something stupidly like Traore did.

Players may not like being criticised in public by their manager; after all it just doesn’t happen in today’s modern football. However for Traore it may be the best thing to happen to him as after all his career grew stale at Arsenal and he should not have been caught laughing late on in the Gunners 8-2 defeat at Old Trafford (even if some of his team-mates probably were at the time as well but were lucky enough not to be filmed doing it) and you feel he will play well to make him up to Warnock and the fans.

We’ve learnt that when injury-free Robin van Persie at times can be unplayable. He took his goals against Bolton at the weekend in Arsenal’s 3-0 victory very well and it was good to see him bring up his century (100) of goals for Arsene Wenger’s side. There’s no doubt that the Dutchman has been dreadfully unlucky with injuries and there’s no denying the fact that had he stayed injury-free over the last couple of seasons that Arsenal would have probably won something.

He has gone on some run since the new year and has already got 5 goals (in all competitions) this season and after getting the captaincy after the departure of Cesc Fabregas will be under alot of pressure this season, not only to say injury-free but to score 20-25 goals this season for Arsenal and help them prove the press and fans across the country wrong by dragging the Gunners single-handedly to a trophy this season.

We’ve learnt that whether you like them or not, Stoke City and their manager Tony Pulis have to be respected. Whilst United were unlucky not to win two penalties at the weekend there’s no doubt that Stoke backed by their enthusiastic and loud fans fully deserved a point at the weekend and Sir Alex Ferguson will have probably been pleased that his team got a point at the Britannia.

Already before the United game, Stoke had taken 4/6 points of Chelsea and Liverpool at home already this season. They are a side that deserve to be respected and it’s a credit to Pulis that since winning promotion to the top-flight in 2008, that they have not flirted once with relegation getting steady mid-table finishes, playing a hard but effective brand of football.

We’ve learnt that Newcastle might have a very exciting player on their hands in Demba Ba. The Senegalese forward impressed in a short spell with West Ham last season and whilst he is by no means a big-name forward that the Toon Army wanted Alan Pardew to buy, there’s no doubt that if he can go on a scoring-run they will be very happy to watch him score goals every week.

Ba won many admirers playing in Germany for Hoffenhiem and many fans across Europe were surprised that he signed for the struggling ship (well that was effectively stranded as well) instead of going to a bigger club. There’s no doubt he showed he has the strength and class to do well in England and could prove to be an excellent signing for Pardew.

Lastly we’ve learn that James Milner can score a league goal for Manchester City, that Owen Coyle could probably do with 2-3 more players and a win or two ASAP, that Ramires has the ability to grow into a box-to-box player that Stamford Bridge has been crying out for since a fit Michael Essien, that Blackburn even with new additions look weak away from home and that sadly for Aston Villa fans, Richard Dunne’s own-goal curse has continued into the new season.

By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87