Put November 30 in your diary. That is the day when the question “Who is the best midfielder in the Premier League, Chelsea’s Moisés Caicedo or Declan Rice?” could be answered.
I know Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham supporters will have their own views, but after researching over 100 football insiders, my results show that these are the two players most clubs fear facing. City’s Rodri was the only other serious contender.
Caicedo indeed plays as a No. 8 and therefore usually operates a little behind the advanced midfield play of Declan Rice, but both players joined their current clubs for over £100 million each, and the debate continues as to which club made the wisest choice.
Chelsea’s win over Tottenham last weekend saw Caicedo go strong into every tackle, and he was all over the pitch with exceptional energy. The Ecuadorian won Man of the Match.
His goalkeeper, Robert Sánchez, is a huge fan and claims Caicedo is the “best in the world” in his position. He said, “He is a beast and every 50-50 challenge he faces he always wins… if he goes for goal he is always accurate.”
Rice, it is argued, is the complete midfielder because he not only defends but also takes goal-scoring opportunities.
He has one more goal assist than Caicedo this season, but it must be taken into account that he also takes most of Arsenal’s set pieces, and we have seen him score some spectacular goals.
Caicedo’s tackling ranks him 11th highest, whereas Rice is down in 59th place. Caicedo’s tackle win rate is 14th 14th-highest, and Rice comes in at 17th.
In Rice’s favour, against Burnley for instance, he had 94 touches of the ball — the highest in the match — played seven passes into the penalty area, won nine duels, and won possession nine times. Very impressive figures.
So who is the best? November 30 could answer that question.
Is it time for Salah to leave Liverpool?
I have talked a lot recently about Mo Salah, but when one of the best strikers in the world is going through a rough patch of form, I think you will agree that we have to ask questions.
Liverpool supporters certainly need to put on a brave face at the moment. I am sure things will turn around because this is a great club with great people, but I can tell you that behind the closed doors of Anfield, many players and training staff have been questioning themselves over their Premier League performances.
This week’s excellent 1-0 win over Real Madrid has hopefully calmed their self-doubts and fears.
I totally agree with Wayne Rooney when he commented that, after signing contract extensions, Virgil van Dijk and Mo Salah have not shown the body language of past seasons when they were world-class in their positions.
Van Dijk consistently held his defence together, and Salah could be relied upon to score in almost every game.
Big signing Florian Wirtz has disappointed so far, and it is being discussed between coach Arne Slot and his directors that the German could be loaned out in January and his wages reinvested.
Arne Slot recognises that even as the manager of a title-winning team, his job is very much under scrutiny by the hierarchy at the club, and if he doesn’t turn things around very soon and with consistency, he could be walking through the exit door.
Mo knows that a mega payday deal is on the table for him to play in the Saudi Pro League. Liverpool have also received a message that Cairo-based club Al-Ahli, who play in the top tier of his native Egypt, are interested in taking Mo home.
However, when I did some checking, I am not certain they have the resources to pay a huge fee plus big wages for him. Wishful thinking, I feel.
Surprisingly, many Liverpool supporters I have spoken with inside Anfield think it is probably both right and acceptable for Mo to leave now.
They point out that he has nothing to prove, will always be a club legend, but they should probably cash in on his value now he is 33 years old.
Having scored 249 goals in 414 games, his remarkable tally puts him third in Liverpool’s all-time top scorers behind Ian Rush and Roger Hunt.
Regrettably, it looks likely that record £125 million signing Alexander Isak will require surgery to return to the form he displayed at Newcastle.
Casemiro to say goodbye
At the moment, Manchester United do not intend to renew Casemiro’s contract next summer. One of my most admired players over the last ten years, Casemiro, has enjoyed a stellar career at Real Madrid and now at United.
I am hearing from inside Old Trafford that he will leave at the end of the season.
The 33-year-old Brazilian has done well under Amorim’s playing system and is starting regularly, and Amorim constantly tells his players to study and copy the experienced midfielder.
But all good things come to an end, and the club want younger talent to take the team forward, which means Casemiro will leave, possibly to go somewhere else, but I know he does not plan to retire at the moment.
Isak’s problems are of his own making
Alexander Isak’s career at Liverpool has not gone according to plan. In fact, it is fair to say the Swede has made little impact since joining from Newcastle.
Insiders around Anfield and over at Newcastle blamed Isak, claiming his problems are self-inflicted.
He handled his transfer very badly and is now paying the price. He went on strike at St James’ Park and didn’t train with the Magpies.
He went to Real Sociedad in Spain and used their facilities, hoping to keep fit, which would not have been anywhere near as effective as working with Newcastle’s trainers.
He did not play in any pre-season matches during the period when he was trying to force his exit from Newcastle.
He achieved his ambition before deadline day and joined Liverpool for a staggering £130 million. Since then, his form and fitness have been very poor. He sustained a groin problem at half-time when Liverpool beat Eintracht Frankfurt, and he never scored.
All summer, he lacked proper first-team training, but it was his own decision. Newcastle left the door open for him, but he ignored them.
He is probably a month behind other Premier League players, and he has also performed poorly for his native Sweden.
Isak never believed he would be in this position, and the Liverpool fans are losing patience with him.
You can imagine a very hostile reception when Liverpool meet Newcastle at St James’ Park — if he is good enough to be selected, that is.
The state of the Premier League
With ten games played and a quarter of the season gone, this is probably a fair time to talk about what is happening in the Premier League.
Manchester United have enjoyed a winning run and pulled off a last-minute draw at Nottingham Forest last weekend.
Rúben Amorim has worked through the fear of a tap on the shoulder and being handed his employment cards, and the United faithful and the owners are supporting him again. Behind the scenes, the players are in a better place mentally than they were a month ago.
Sunderland continue their astonishing start to this season, and Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth are perhaps the most exciting team in the Premier League, despite grinding to a halt last weekend at Manchester City.
The big question is: can any club challenge Arsenal, who look unbeatable? Their defence is probably the best in football at the moment, and they haven’t conceded a goal in five weeks. The Gunners are currently six points clear at the top of the table.
Mikel Arteta is relaxed and well aware of what happened when Arsenal fell away last season, and he is determined not to let history repeat itself.
Is Arne Slot really under pressure of being sacked at Liverpool, and are Wolves already relegated after sacking manager Vítor Pereira?
Everyone expects Bournemouth to drop away at some point, but Iraola’s team look very confident at the moment. Manchester City tend to overwhelm the lesser clubs but lose to their main challengers, yet they are back in second place, and their poor start to the season is bringing out the best in Pep Guardiola’s managerial skills.
Chelsea tend to sign youngsters who will be severely challenged to keep up a continual threat at the top, but they are in sixth place and level with Tottenham on points. Spurs are having problems under Thomas Frank.
They are taking time to accept and play to Frank’s strategies, but they do not have a wealth of talent to call upon. A midweek Champions League beating of FC Copenhagen 4-0 will have given them a boost.
That all leaves the obvious statement — can any team match Arsenal, with their strength in depth, working with a first-class coach and a defence so solid they haven’t conceded a goal in five weeks? Scoring is their only vulnerable spot, and it is fair to say that their one- or two-goal winning margins could become a problem as the season moves forward.
When you consider that Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke and Kai Havertz have all been out injured, the Gunners could be even stronger with their return.
Woltemade is not made for Howe’s away-game strategy
One of the worst things a player can encounter during their career is being subbed at half-time. It is embarrassing, demoralising and upsetting.
Sometimes, due to an injury elsewhere on the field, a change of tactics forces the coach to reorganise, but otherwise being replaced early reflects a player’s performance during the first half.
It happened to Nick Woltemade at half-time when Newcastle played West Ham last weekend.
The German has been playing okay, but many are asking if he is an out-and-out striker.
Newcastle have struggled on the road this season, scoring only two goals in five away matches. Their first three were all goalless draws against Villa, Leeds and Bournemouth.
Eddie Howe uses a home-match strategy — pressing opponents, playing fast, quick football, and sending balls into the penalty area.
This has worked for Woltemade, who quickly impressed the fans.
Away from home, they are completely different, as they showed against West Ham. They hold up the ball and push the defensive lines back, but this does not work for Woltemade.
It is a fair comment because Woltemade has a slight body build, isn’t particularly quick, and whereas he is good with one-touch passes, he does not hold the ball up, giving his fellow forwards time to get into goal-scoring range.
He also doesn’t make space for others by making runs behind defences. And so, considering all this negativity, I refer you back to Bayern Munich board member Karl-Heinz Rummenigge’s comment after Newcastle paid £69 million for the Bayer Leverkusen striker — he called them “idiots” who were wasting their money.
Newcastle might have to look forward to the return of Yoane Wissa before they start to score regular goals again.
Nuno gives Hammers supporters hope
During the week leading up to West Ham’s game against Newcastle, supporters who have been campaigning for the removal of owner and chairman David Sullivan and CEO Karren Brady worked on their latest protest.
Instead of wasting the money they had paid for a season ticket and not attending the game, they decided to protest with a sit-in at the end of the game and refused to leave for 40 minutes after the final whistle.
20,000 supporters boycotted the home game against Brentford, and thousands marched to the directors’ entrance before the Crystal Palace game.
Another march was planned for the Hammers’ next game against Burnley, but this is under review. West Ham had lost eight of their ten opening games and have suffered their worst start to a season for 52 years.
Out went Graham Potter as manager, and in came the highly talented Nuno Espírito Santo, who had fallen foul of the erratic owner of Nottingham Forest.
Instead of constant boos from the supporters, suddenly they had something to cheer about as West Ham overcame some poor defending to emerge as 3-1 winners against Newcastle.
The sit-in still took place, but it lacked the venom and anger. However, the supporters still made their point, wanting a managerial change at the top.
Nuno has changed this team around already.
Poor recruitment means he does not have the most skilled players at his disposal, but he has instilled more confidence and ambition, and after the final whistle, the players were jubilant, feeling on top of the world — something that has been missing for a long time.
In my opinion, Nuno Espírito Santo is the man who could turn the Hammers’ season around and possibly avoid what looked like a season-long relegation battle.
Wolves sack Pereira on the cheap
The big question asked by Wolves fans is why their club gave Vítor Pereira a new contract on September 18, only to sack him 45 days later.
Surely, they said, it was an expensive mistake.
The answer is that the board wanted to reward him and give him time to turn things around after saving the Amber & Blacks from relegation last season, but they did not trust him completely and inserted a clause into his new contract stating that if he was sacked, they would have to pay only 12 months of his three-year deal.
by BBC NEWS
