Newcastle United feature along with Chelsea’s biggest signing of the summer.
Despite plenty of entertainment being on show in the first few months of the season, there are certain clubs, players and other things that haven’t lived up to expectations.
Newcastle United
Last season Newcastle were one of the most exciting teams in the league, with a slew of talented attacking players, and a scouting network that was routinely making excellent signings. The summer was mostly a chore for the Magpies, as they attempted to stave of interest in their prized assets, but having done so, the stage was set for another good season. However they have failed to reach anywhere near the standards they set last season, with injuries to players like Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa, and a drastic loss of form from Papiss Cisse. Alan Pardew, 8 year contract notwithstanding, seems unsure of how to set up his team to get the best from them. Hopefully Newcastle can strengthen their squad in January, and get back on track next year, as the league is a richer place when they are near the top of it.
Defending
If you wanted to be charitable to the Premier League, you could suggest that the amount of goals that have flown in so far this season is because of the brilliance of the attacking play. However it is at least as much down to poor defending, with even top sides struggling to keep clean sheets regularly. This has been shown up in Champions League, where the four best teams in England managed a meagre three clean sheets in their 24 matches, with two going out in the group stages as a result. Time to tighten up.
Eden Hazard
This is perhaps a little harsh, as Hazard has only really been disappointing in comparison to the standards he set himself in the first few games of the year. But since then the Belgian has not lived up to either his own talent, or the £30 million plus transfer fee that was spent on him in the summer. Hazard has the attributes to be as effective as the very best in the world, scoring and assisting 15+ goals per season; hopefully he will pick up his early form again in the New Year.
Fans
Without wishing to go into too many of the events this season, there seems to have been a plethora on unsavoury incidents happening weekly in the Premier League. It’s clearly not unique to the UK, and there are plenty of countries with bigger problems, but the increase in the regularity of occurrences that’s the worry.
English players
This year has continued the worrying trend of England’s top players becoming less and less important at their club sides. Looking at recent England squads, the majority of players are not guaranteed starters for their domestic teams, something that even extends to the first team. Players like James Milner are finding it easier to get starts for their country than their club, and the next generation of stars like Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge are not getting the first team experience required to develop their talent. You’d expect that England will continue to struggle as a result.
images: © StartAgain, © mikebrown59
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
