[h=1]Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend[/h] Wrong cards at the wrong time at Newcastle, Fernando Torres can succeed if supported and QPR's defence must step up
Here we go again: Arsenal's Gervinho clashes with Newcastle's Joey Barton before being sent off. Photograph: Lee Smith/Action Images
[h=2]1) Three wrongs still don't make a right[/h]Alex Song should have been sent off.
Arsenal should have had a penalty.
Joey Barton should have been sent off. Gervinho cannot argue with his red card (even though it was for the most pathetic slap this side of an Audley Harrison fight) … but all in all, Arsenal's trip to
Newcastle United was not the greatest of adverts for the return of the Premier League. And that is before you even consider the football. Still, if the reaction goes nuclear at this stage of the season, there will be no possibility of an escalation, so a quick, phlegmatic appraisal is what is needed. No hysteria about falling standards of behaviour; no high-pitched whining about referees; no mock surprise that
Arsène Wenger actually saw the incident (well, maybe a little).
First, Song's sneaky stamp on Barton – the first brightly lit lemon dropping into place on the Newcastle midfielder's internal "let's have some" fruit machine. This should have led to Song's dismissal and, although he probably will be hit with a retrospective disciplinary charge, if Arsenal had been reduced to 10 men at that point, the match (as well as subsequent events) would likely have panned out differently.
As he was not, Barton continued to bubble like a saucepan left on the hob, until his eye was caught by Gervinho's 18-yard-box flop. Replays showed contact from Cheik Tioté's challenge, so arguably Walton should have pointed to the spot there and then but the referee played on, at which point Barton, morally outraged (ding! another lemon), intervened by hauling the Ivorian to his feet by his shirt and attempting some form of bawling, snarling redress. Was this excessive force or brutality, the key ingredients of violent conduct according to Fifa? The first part certainly seems to apply. In which case, that is a red card and, again, a penalty.
But Walton had his back to all this (understandably, as he was following play) and in the ensuing Anya Hindmarch summit, Gervinho caressed Barton's cheek and (ding! ding! ding!) hit the jackpot. Whether that constituted violent conduct is another matter – but players know what to expect from referees if they raise their arms, even if it is not stipulated in the rulebook. Maybe a pair of yellow cards and an instruction to quit acting up would have been a more appropriate response. And that's without touching on the inherent contradiction of Barton getting all worked up about a perceived dive, and then throwing himself to the ground like a leaf in autumn. Or the matter of what the butler (as played by Steven Taylor) did or did not see. However you look at it, we are told football is a results-based business and there were precious few winners at St James' Park.
AG
[h=2]2) Torres needs support to flourish[/h]One thing we learned from the outset is that André Villas-Boas is going to back
Fernando Torres. So the new manager stands by his owner's £50m plaything, you might say? Big surprise. But given that Torres suffered concussion while on international duty with Spain last week, not to mention his Chris Sutton-esque scoring record at
Chelsea, Villas-Boas could have been forgiven for quietly inking the Spaniard's name in among the replacements and getting on with the business of trying to crowbar points out of Stoke City with Didier Drogba leading the line.
But having been thrown a bone by his manager, Torres gambolled exuberantly after it, impressing with his work rate and movement in and around the box. Not for the first time he was lacking a goal – but he was at the centre of Chelsea's best moments and probably should have won at least a penalty for his efforts.
For all that, he was clearly lacking support as the focal point of Chelsea's attack, with the wide players Florent Malouda and Salomon Kalou failing to link up with Torres or get behind the Stoke defence. A trio of Frank Lampard, Mikel Jon Obi and Ramires may help dominate possession in midfield but none offers the sort of forward forays that were a feature of Steven Gerrard's successful partnership with Torres at Liverpool.
Chelsea have been conservative in a bearish transfer market but a creator in the mould of Wesley Sneijder or Luka Modric, already identified targets, looks increasingly important to their chances this year. Or, in these make-do-and-mend times, perhaps Villas-Boas should consider another show of faith and give a chance to the man who replaced Torres after 89 minutes at the Britannia: Yossi Benayoun.
AG
[h=2]3) Young will shine for United[/h]
Manchester United, unlike their title rivals, have an embarrassment of riches in the wide areas, which has always been the way under Sir Alex Ferguson. Down the years Ryan Giggs, Andrei Kanchelskis, Lee Sharpe, David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Antonio Valencia have provided the pace and incisiveness strikers dream of and defenders have nightmares about. The newest name to add to that list,
Ashley Young, has plenty to live up to then but his performance in the victory over West Brom suggests he is more than capable of enhancing the dynamism that makes United favourites to win the league.
Now 26, Young had to leave Aston Villa in the summer. Although he had been by far their best player since joining them from Watford in 2007, he had never played in the Champions League or been to an international tournament with England. In that context it was perhaps a surprise that United were willing to pay £14m for him, especially when another transfer target, Internazionale's Wesley Sneijder, was a Champions League winner and World Cup finalist in 2010. However Young's qualities – intelligence, speed, skill, good delivery from set pieces and an eye for goal – were enough to tempt Ferguson.
Last season he impressed in a variety of roles for Villa and England, as either an inside-out winger on the left, a support striker through the middle or a conventional winger on the right. Against West Bromwich Albion he was used in the first role, from where he created both United goals. His first assist was relatively simple as he set up Wayne Rooney with a pass inside, but his second demonstrated precisely how much damage he can cause, Young skipping past Chris Brunt and then sending in a cross which went in off the unfortunate Steven Reid via Gabriel Tamas. Greater tests await, particularly in Europe, but United's fans and players will like what they have seen. More importantly, so will Ferguson.
JS
[h=2]4)
QPR's defence needs to state its case[/h]Last season QPR romped to the Championship title via a combination of the meanest defence in all of the four professional divisions – conceding 32 goals – and the skills of Adel Taarabt, the league's player of the year. Considering the ever-widening gulf between the two divisions, making the step up to the Premier League was always going to be a difficult task for Neil Warnock's men but perhaps even he did not envisage this result.
Bolton Wanderers at home should not have been the hardest of starts. Owen Coyle has lost Johan Elmander, Bolton's top scorer last season, to Galatasaray and the on-loan Daniel Sturridge went back to Chelsea. They may have held on to Gary Cahill but they had the worst away record in the Premier League last season – picking up a measly 11 points on the road. But you know what they say about assumptions …
It is always difficult to stop a 25-yard screamer that is heading for the top corner but a defence that looked as stable as Kate Smith walking a tightrope cost QPR dearly in the second half – what was Danny Gabbidon thinking? – and will be exploited further by teams more ruthless than Bolton. However, it is not just defensive weaknesses that will have to be cured. For the majority of the first half QPR were on top but failed to take any of the chances that landed at their feet. They will have to start scoring if they are to avoid the drop. They will also need to avoid silly sendings-off, à la Clint Hill's one-man recreation of a stag's rutting ritual on Martin Petrov.
Making predictions after the first game of the season is liable to leave one red-faced in May – see Alan Hansen for further details – but QPR are going to have a tough time unless they regain last season's solidity to their defence. The last time a newly promoted team let four goals in at home on the first day of the Premier League season was Crystal Palace in 1994. They went down. QPR will not want to suffer the same fate.
IMC
[h=2]5) Wolves look fit to take on all comers[/h]
Wolverhampton Wanderers began the new campaign where they finished the last – with a match against Blackburn Rovers. In May, despite losing 3-2, Mick McCarthy's side bobbed clear of the drop for the second season running, albeit by a more pant-tightening margin than the year before. Last season Wolves struggled against the teams in the bottom half but, armed with their slingshot, they were off chasing Goliaths. They won seven times against top-10 teams, beating the top three at home and collecting victories at Anfield, Villa Park and the Stadium of Light.
On Saturday Wolves fell behind again but this time rallied through goals from Steven Fletcher and Stephen Ward. Matt Jarvis, the provider for the first and the man fouled for the penalty that led to Ward's sumptuously struck winner, buzzed like a bluebottle trying to catch Fabio Capello's attention once again and the visiting support was even treated to the sight of the new signing Roger Johnson marauding out of defence to initiate an attack that he finished himself, with a header that just cleared the bar. Wolves had developed a reputation for failing to accrue the points their performances deserved but, if that changes, a season of mid-table mundanity might raise half a smile from their famously lugubrious manager.
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