Updated at 11.00
Wayne Rooney’s record against the Magpies sees expectations grow ahead of Saturday’s clash
Earlier this week, the official Manchester United Twitter account posted a video of Wayne Rooney scoring that spectacular volley against the Magpies at Old Trafford back in 2005.
It did two things: remind us of how good he was and how much he’s changed in a decade but also of how productive he seems to be against the Tyneside club.
Last season, he got his mojo back after failing to find the net against them for quite a while and with question marks over his early-season performances, his record against Newcastle is reason to feel optimistic that he’ll impress in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off.
It’s been well-documented that Rooney has failed to score in a competitive United game since 4th April while he has spoken openly about how poor he was against Aston Villa last time out.
But with United failing to land Pedro and seemingly not interested in trying to lure another centre-forward to the club before the transfer window closes, Rooney is only too aware of what he needs to do.
In two games, Newcastle have conceded four goals and their new signings are taking time to gel.
It seems a solid opportunity for United to make it three wins from three and for Rooney to make some positive headlines.
Will hapless Sunderland be gone by Christmas?
How Dick Advocaat must regret not walking away from the Stadium of Light when he had the perfect opportunity. After keeping them up last term, he could’ve left a hero, an idol, a figure of permanent admiration on Wearside.
Instead, as so many people do, he focused on the best case scenario rather than the worst. But a man of his experience should really have known better. No doubt there were all kinds of whispers in his ears about the prospect of new signings, putting his own stamp on the team and the appreciation the supporters had for him but his wife’s instincts were spot-on: in Sunderland, a brief moment of happiness is usually followed by months of misery.
But since the season has started, he’s overseen the football equivalent of some old-school slapstick sitcom. The performances have been laughable, pathetic. And two things have happened. New signings have been awful and the fans have already lost patience, walking out in their droves after Norwich racked up a third goal against them last weekend.
A staggering statistic that’s accompanied these turbulent times for the club is that Steve Bruce was the last Sunderland manager to complete a full season in charge – that was in 2011.
Against the technical and seriously impressive Swansea on Saturday, the contrast between the sides is stark and more than a little worrying.
Advocaat is a smart man. He knows how this scenario plays out. The question is: how bad can this get for Sunderland? Could they be effectively relegated by Christmas? If their current form keeps up, it’s worth a wager.
Toffees optimistic after excellent display against Southampton
Everton were poor on the opening day, fortunate that Arouna Kone popped up with a late equaliser against Watford.
But, last weekend they sparkled. Certainly, Southampton are struggling and aren’t the same side they’ve been in the last two seasons but Roberto Martinez’s side had a platform – a solid defensive performance – something they’ve desperately lacked for a long time. And they also had an attack that dovetailed superbly with each other, hinting at big, exciting things on the horizon.
Ross Barkley has scored twice in two games – already bettering his tally for the entire previous campaign. In Romelu Lukaku, there’s a powerful offensive weapon. In Tim Howard, Seamus Coleman, John Stones and James McCarthy, there’s a solid collection of impressive performers. The squad has intelligent and vibrant players like Steven Naismith and Kevin Miralles.
And ahead of their clash with Manchester City on Sunday, it’s worth reminding ourselves of Everton’s impressive record against them at Goodison. From their last six meetings, City have won once. The Toffees have had their number four times while there was a 1-1 draw last term.
Certainly another reason to be hopeful.
Can Pedro make immediate impact to cure Chelsea’s ills?
Something’s not quite right at Chelsea. They were embarrassed against Manchester City and how many times has that happened them in the Premier League? Jose Mourinho replaced the iconic John Terry, his heroic captain, at half-time. Another humiliation. And where once was a dogged, relentless, determined defence, there’s now a pale imitation. See Branislav Ivanovic.
In their opening game, they were immensely fortunate to get anything against Swansea but had a big incident to dominate the headlines afterwards. Oh, and there was the small matter of Mourinho exploding at a pair of colleagues for doing their job. Oh, and he later demoted both Eva Carneiro and Jon Fearn. Why? Just because.
So, it’s not exactly a harmonious atmosphere Pedro walks into. And it remains to be seen just how much the signing was Mourinho’s doing. It will surely help reignite things in attack but they don’t need much help there.
They really need defensive reinforcements and if John Stones doesn’t arrive, it could be a long wait until January.
Still, it’s West Brom on Sunday lunchtime. Should anything go wrong there, the alarm bells will be deafening.
Spurs need to show something and fast
You can trace a lot of the current issues to the departure of Gareth Bale, really. At the time, Tottenham were a top-four club – they missed Champions League qualification by a point. But still, everyone remembers then-coach Andre Villas-Boas with disdain. Ah, well.
With all of that money that arrived when Bale moved to Madrid, Spurs had no idea how best to use it. And so began a bizarre chain of events that has led to right here, right now – one point from two games, an over-reliance on Harry Kane, a squad that lacks both depth and quality after a never-ending trimming and with the closing of the transfer window inching ever closer.
They face the early enthusiasts Leicester on Saturday. Claudio Ranieri’s side has thrilled with its counter-attacking style and the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez full of energy and excitement.
How Tottenham could do with some of that.
