Week 2: How Did You Do?

Week two is over.  What caught your eye over the weekend?

Here are a few of my midweek thoughts.

Arsenal have some fight in them.

Two games played,  two added time goals obtained to grab points in the Premier League.  They may be mounting up the injuries but the squad are showing the fight and belief that comes with winning a trophy and making trophy signings.

With breaking news that Olivier Giroud may have broken his ankle Arsene Wenger is going to have to spend when it seems he doesn't he really wants to.   Boy did he sound down in today's press conference.

Arsenals system is at its best with a front man who holds up play and links the fantastic midfield options they have.  The two transfer targets linked so far Loic Remy and Danny Welbeck skill set involve running off the back of the centre backs and into channels.  In Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez the squad already has this option within.  It will be interesting to see how Wenger approaches the decision.  Die hard gunners Ming and Goalfather can you enlighten us to the best available forward to suit your situation?

Manchester United ask for the help of an angel.

Maybe now we are starting to see the job Louis Van Gaal has taken on is a bigger rebuilding job than many fans believe.

Although they are either injured (Ander Herrera, Luke Shaw) lacking a work permit (Marcos Rojo) or not yet arrived Angel Di Maria, United have been buying the foundations of a new team.  Before next Monday it is expected we will see at least one more and hopefully it will be a central midfield player although a further central defender wouldn't hurt.

Whatever happens in the next seven days LVG will need time and plenty of patience to build his side but in the modern world time isn't something we tend to give people.  Update as I type we are 4-0 down at MK Dons, oh dear.

One final point for all the talk of top players would not join a side not in the Champions League we can look at the Di Maria signing.  Money talks and as long as football's super rich clubs are willing to pay the highest wages/rewards players will still move, Champions League or not.

Villa are awesome

Well they are in defence so far.  Two games, two clean sheets as "concrete" Ron Vlaar leads his backline with the same authority he lead the Netherlands in the World Cup.  Home to Hull City next, I'm not going to risk picking against them 3 weeks in a row.

Palace are to be bet against until they appoint a new manager

Always seemed a strange call to let Tony Pulis go.  I guess behind the scenes the relationship had broken down.  Straight away their rock like defence has shown cracks.  To be fair it was pretty good at Arsenal but they had been working on that game plan for weeks but game two, conceding 3 at home to West Ham, is alarming.  Not to take anything away from the Hammers who under Big Sam have got shots galore in both games this season.  Sam is a good manager and West Ham will survive in the Premier League as long as he is manager.

Mad Mario is back

Even as a Manu fan I loved watched Mario Balotelli, you just never knew what you would get.  Brilliant one moment, in a mood the next.  Mario is box office but one I prefer on any team but mine.

Brendan Rodgers has showed his man management skills through his time in the Premier League but Mario presents him with his biggest challenge yet.  I get the impression Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling are a couple of fun loving guys which I guess will be an environment more suited to Mario.  He seems the personality needs the arm around the shoulder and positive outlook.

Statistic time.  In the last 4 years Luis Suarez averaged a goal every 139 minutes.  Mario Balotelli, well he averages a goal every 140 minutes.  Different player same goal ratio.

89 points for me.

A shocker for me.  At 5pm UK time Saturday it was all going quite well.  Sanchez -1, RVP -1 and Eriksen 4pts was not what I had hoped.  I'm kicking myself for letting my heart overrule my head with the RVP/Sanchez selections.  I will hope for much better in week 3.

How did you do?

Stall