Will the party ever end?
THERE’S A ROLLOVER and then there’s partying Jamie Vardy style.
When the Leicester striker scored for the 11th straight Premier League game, against the league’s meanest defence, it was hard to act surprised – he has been that good. And all while under intense pressure and scrutiny.
It’s been the story of the season so far and rumours of interest from Real Madrid are starting to feel less daft as the weeks go by.
The England international is the first player to score in 11 consecutive games in the Premier League era, passing Ruud van Nistelrooy’s 10-game run in 2003.
He is, however, still two behind the all-time record set by Dubliner Jimmy Dunne when he scored in 12 straight games for Sheffield United in the 1931/32 season.
With Swansea (away), Chelsea (home), Everton (away), Liverpool (home) and Manchester City (home) coming up he will have his work cut to keep the run going but it is an achievement that should be celebrated and enjoyed while it lasts.
€77 million well spent
What were Chelsea thinking. Kevin De Bruyne has looked every bit a €77 million footballer since arriving in Manchester.
He has been that good for City, and surely paining Chelsea fans to such an extent that Manchester United supporters are probably feeling a bit better about the whole Paul Pogba situation.
He has scored seven goals for Manuel Pellegrini’s side and was sublime against Southampton, setting up two goals and scoring one himself.
The Belgium international tapped home City’s first before his corner was dispatched by Fabian Delph and supplied a clever cross later on which Alexander Kolarov tucked away tidily to secure the three points.
As the weeks pass the 24-year-old must surely be shortening in price to win Man City’s player of the year award.
Bournemouth’s fighting spirit
After a slow start to the season, and a belief that they weren’t getting what they deserved from games, Bournemouth are starting to show the fighting spirit that they’ll need plenty of to stay in the Premier League.
They looked down and out on two occasions against Everton – with 10 minutes and one minute to play respectively but dug deep to salvage an uplifting point.
Trailing 2-0 with 79 minutes on the clock, Adam Smith gave them hope with a sizzling strike from 25 yards before Junior Stanislas levelled it on 87 minutes.
And the Cherries must have thought ‘here we go again’ when Ross Barkley snatched what looked like a last-minute winner with 95 minutes played.
As Everton fans and players enjoyed a pile-on on the pitch after Barkley’s strike, Eddie Howe’s side refused to lie down and Stanislas’ equaliser in the eighth minute of injury time will be a huge psychological boost for the club.
Big Sam making progress
Sunderland looked lifeless under Dick Advocaat and looked a great bet for Premier League relegation. A scan of their squad was enough to raise concerns about their potential to plummet.
And while he has taken a few games to get going, Sam Allardyce has got them winning games again – with two Premier League wins in six days against decent opposition.
They now find themselves out of the relegation zone with just their third Premier League win of the season, thanks to two late goals against Stoke – one of which from Duncan Watmore who has been excelling in recent weeks.
Sunderland are going to have plenty of more bumps along the way, of that there is little doubt, but it is looking like they have the right man behind the wheel as they embark on the road to Premier League survival.
McLaren running out of time
Allardyce’s results must be making a bit of noise down the road in Newcastle.
Steve McClaren’s side are in freefall at the moment, a bit like Sunderland earlier in the season, and pressure is building on boss Steve McLaren.
The defeats are bad enough but the manner of their 5-1 spanking by Crystal Palace must really twist the knife – the fact that the latest wound was inflicted by former manager Alan Pardew must make the pain excruciating for the Toon Army.
Newcastle look spineless, leaderless and toothless.
Of course that’s not all McLaren’s fault but the way the professional game is, he must be on borrowed time already. And with the fixtures coming thick and fast next month Newcastle need to arrest this slide before it’s too late.
Unless they can manufacture a surprise win when hosting Liverpool next week or on the road to Tottenham the week after, it is hard to see McLaren still being in charge by the time we start tucking into the mince pies.