Is the pressure off Solskjaer?
Man United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was under a lot of pressure going into their game against Everton on Saturday after poor performances in defeats to Arsenal and Istanbul Besaksehir in their last two games in all competitions. United put in a better display as they won 3-1 at Goodison Park and after that big win, is the pressure off the United manager? He definitely needed a response after the performance against Arsenal and in mid-week and he got in the win at Everton. They looked reasonably solid at the back unlike their game in mid-week and Bruno Fernandes appeared to be back to his best in midfield by scoring two goals. It was a better performance to the ones they produced in their last two games and the question will be now if they can keep this up after some inconsistent results so far this season. The pressure could be off Ole if he can get a number of good results and performances in the next few games to try and get some consistency in this team.
Are Tottenham title contenders?
Spurs currently lie 2nd in the Premier League one point behind leaders Leicester after their 1-0 win at West Brom on Sunday. They haven't lost in the league since the opening day defeat to Everton and have started to tighten up at the back in recent weeks. This got me asking if they could be title challengers come the end of the season. I asked how long Mourinho would last at Spurs after their opening day day defeat to Everton and he's gone on to get some good results ever since that defeat. They've looked better defensively in recent weeks which has a concern for them last season as they let in 47 goals in the league. Eric Dier is looking more comfortable at centre back and his performance at West Brom showed that by winning headers and making vital tackles. Reguilon has been a decent buy at left back and Pierre Emile Hojbjerg has given them the solidity in midfield which they've lacked for at least the last two seasons. This has shown how much they've improved defensively and if you're going to challenge come the end of the season, you need a strong defence and Mourinho's had that at most of the clubs he's been at. With a strong attacking line of Kane, Son and Bale plus some strength in depth which they haven't had for the last few years, they could be challenging but we'll have to wait and see.
How many points will Aston Villa take off the big six?
Over a month after their 7-2 thrashing of champions Liverpool, Aston Villa defeated another big six side as they thumped Arsenal 3-0 at the Emirates. This got me asking if they can take more points off the classified big six. Ollie Watkins, Ross Barkley and Jack Grealish all played key roles in both wins with Watkins scoring a hat trick against Liverpool before bagging two at Arsenal. Barkley and Grealish both scored in the win over Liverpool and they both assisted each of Watkins' goals in the win at the Emirates. Villa went for it in both games against Liverpool and Arsenal by playing some good football and having a good team balance by being solid defensively and having quality players going forward in Watkins, Grealish and Barkley. If they can play like they did in those games against the other big sides, they could get more points against them because Man United aren't the best defensively and are inconsistent plus Man City and Chelsea can also look suspect at the back at times despite their recent improvements in that area. With the quality that Villa now have, they might cause some more surprises like they already have done against Liverpool and Arsenal.
Should the offside rule be changed?
Patrick Bamford had a goal disallowed because his arm was offside whilst the rest of his body was in an onside position. I'm asking this question because since VAR came into the Premier League along with other new rules, the offside rule has been criticized a number of times because of an arm or an armpit being in an offside position when the rest of a players' body is seen onside. Patrick Bamford said in a post match interview after Leeds' 4-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Saturday that you can't score with your arm and that the offside rule doesn't make sense. He's made a very good point there because most players and managers are probably feeling exactly that when their team has a goal disallowed because an arm or an armpit was in an offside position. Many players last season had goals disallowed for having their arm or armpit in an offside position and many of us were hoping that this was going to change this season. If this theme continues for the rest of the season, the people who write the rules may need to consider a change to their offside rule.
Should the Premier League go back to five substitutions?
Five substitutions were used in the Premier League last season after the restart because of not playing a lot of games before hand due to the Coronavirus pandemic which halted the season to a stop. This season its gone back to three and many clubs are losing players to injuries because of the amount of games being played, the lack of a pre-season and not enough recovery time. Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer criticized the busy schedule after his sides' 3-1 win over Everton saying that his side were not given enough time to recover after playing Istanbul Besaksehir in Turkey on Wednesday having returned to England on Thursday morning. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp both want five substitutions back in the Premier League because of the amount of injuries there have been and also the Champions League are allowing five substitutions. The return to five substitutions would only benefit the clubs competing in European competitions because of the amount of travelling and the amount of injuries picked up because of the amount of games they're playing in a congested season. If the injuries continue to pile up during this congested season, the Premier League may have a decision to make due to the proposals other managers are making.
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