Suspend Rob Styles
Looking back on this weekend in the Premiership a few performances stood out above all others. First, Stephen Hunt at Reading has to start to get consideration as one of the top players in the league. Unfairly known around England as the player that cracked Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech's skull, Hunt should now be getting recognition for his inspiring work rate on the pitch. His goal secured the 3 points for Reading against a very solid Everton side. More than that, Hunt was everywhere on Saturday. He was causing problems for Everton with his runs down the wing and his crosses into the box. He was muscling his way through the middle and you couldn't help but think you were watching one of the unheralded players in the Premiership. If Hunt were playing for a bigger club than Reading he would getting talked about much more.
Manager Steve Coppell has to be aware that his player will become more attractive to richer clubs. This undoubtedly is going to happen as Hunt only seems to operate at a speed higher than most other players on the pitch. Reading are once again a very well organized side and Coppell rightfully so is getting whispered about as an England manager candidate when Steve McClaren's tenure comes to an end - possibly when England fail to qualify for Euro '08. That being said, if I were to pick one player I would want starting in my midfield it would be Stephen Hunt. He's never going to be the flashiest player in the top flight but that doesn't matter. His effort will inspire the players around him to give their all and if he gets a goal of his own every now and again all the better.
The next standout performance was Micah Richards at Manchester City. I don't think many believed that Manchester City would come away from the derby on Sunday with all 3 points. Much less be top of the table after three matches played. The young Richards was immense for Sven-Goran Eriksson. He bullied Carlos Tevez and made tackle after tackle in the box on attacking United players. Considering that United had a ridiculous bulk of the possession and really should have connected on a few 2nd half opportunities it makes Richards' performance all the more admirable.
City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichal was almost as brilliant. He was well out of position a couple times and were it not for the likes of Richards and captain Richard Dunne, City would have conceded a couple of goals. Certainly Richards has earned a start for England on Wednesday against Germany. The boy is easily the best available option to play central defense. I say that only because John Terry is not going to be 100%, and there are no other healthy England defenders that come close to the form the City player is in. You cannot ignore the confidence he will carry in the weeks ahead.
You also cannot ignore the confidence Manchester City will have. One of the most dangerous type of side is the one that doesn't necessarily have the best players or the deepest squad, but that somehow pulls off victories and gets on a bit of a run. They begin to believe in one another and believe they can beat anyone. City have that look right now. I'm not predicting they are going to challenge for the Champions League, but I will predict that they are going to be a handful the rest of the season.
Finally, Rob Styles, referee during the Chelsea v. Liverpool match should be suspended after his terrible performance. Styles was fine during the 1st half. He let there be physical play, allowed for advantages to be had and gave a few deserved yellow cards. But his penalty call in the 2nd half was dead wrong. Dead wrong! Despite being so early on in the season the match today was possibly a title decider and he did the worst thing referees can do: he has caused all the post-match talk to be about his decisions and not the play on the pitch.
A great referee goes unnoticed during the big matches and it was as if Styles couldn't allow that to happen. The league should watch the replay of the match and do the right thing - suspend Rob Styles. You know when he was handing out all those yellow cards in the 2nd half that control of the match had been lost. In fact, I thought he had given Michael Essien a second yellow card without sending him off. He was so horribly unclear that fan and the announcers couldn't be sure what was going on. What was a thrilling 1st half and early 2nd half was marred by Styles' decisions. When the big clubs of England hook up that cannot be allowed.
Manager Steve Coppell has to be aware that his player will become more attractive to richer clubs. This undoubtedly is going to happen as Hunt only seems to operate at a speed higher than most other players on the pitch. Reading are once again a very well organized side and Coppell rightfully so is getting whispered about as an England manager candidate when Steve McClaren's tenure comes to an end - possibly when England fail to qualify for Euro '08. That being said, if I were to pick one player I would want starting in my midfield it would be Stephen Hunt. He's never going to be the flashiest player in the top flight but that doesn't matter. His effort will inspire the players around him to give their all and if he gets a goal of his own every now and again all the better.
The next standout performance was Micah Richards at Manchester City. I don't think many believed that Manchester City would come away from the derby on Sunday with all 3 points. Much less be top of the table after three matches played. The young Richards was immense for Sven-Goran Eriksson. He bullied Carlos Tevez and made tackle after tackle in the box on attacking United players. Considering that United had a ridiculous bulk of the possession and really should have connected on a few 2nd half opportunities it makes Richards' performance all the more admirable.
City goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichal was almost as brilliant. He was well out of position a couple times and were it not for the likes of Richards and captain Richard Dunne, City would have conceded a couple of goals. Certainly Richards has earned a start for England on Wednesday against Germany. The boy is easily the best available option to play central defense. I say that only because John Terry is not going to be 100%, and there are no other healthy England defenders that come close to the form the City player is in. You cannot ignore the confidence he will carry in the weeks ahead.
You also cannot ignore the confidence Manchester City will have. One of the most dangerous type of side is the one that doesn't necessarily have the best players or the deepest squad, but that somehow pulls off victories and gets on a bit of a run. They begin to believe in one another and believe they can beat anyone. City have that look right now. I'm not predicting they are going to challenge for the Champions League, but I will predict that they are going to be a handful the rest of the season.
Finally, Rob Styles, referee during the Chelsea v. Liverpool match should be suspended after his terrible performance. Styles was fine during the 1st half. He let there be physical play, allowed for advantages to be had and gave a few deserved yellow cards. But his penalty call in the 2nd half was dead wrong. Dead wrong! Despite being so early on in the season the match today was possibly a title decider and he did the worst thing referees can do: he has caused all the post-match talk to be about his decisions and not the play on the pitch.
A great referee goes unnoticed during the big matches and it was as if Styles couldn't allow that to happen. The league should watch the replay of the match and do the right thing - suspend Rob Styles. You know when he was handing out all those yellow cards in the 2nd half that control of the match had been lost. In fact, I thought he had given Michael Essien a second yellow card without sending him off. He was so horribly unclear that fan and the announcers couldn't be sure what was going on. What was a thrilling 1st half and early 2nd half was marred by Styles' decisions. When the big clubs of England hook up that cannot be allowed.
posted by Anonymous at 12:07 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home