Three Talking Points From Gameweek 38
Here are three talking points that we can take from the Premier League’s Gameweek 38.
1. Villa stay up at the expense of Bournemouth and Watford
Watford have been made to pay for the sacking of Nigel Pearson as they go from 17th to 19th in a dramatic final week of the season.
Villa will be feeling on top of the world, they avoided what was looking to be the inevitable, but they were helped by one of the most undeserved sackings in Premier League history.
Is this a tale of how Aston Villa miraculously stayed up, or a story of how Watford threw away their Premier League status by sacking the man who had turned their season around?
There are certainly a lot of questions that need to be answered from Watford’s hierarchy, surely a new approach is needed now they’re in the Championship.
It could take time to build a team capable of returning to the Premier League and their current approach of sacking managers multiple times a season, lacks the type of stability needed for a rebuilding job.
They will most likely lose the core of their squad which is full of players accustomed to playing in the top division and so it’s unlikely they will come straight back up.
How strong their squad is on paper also begs the question of how they went from the FA Cup final and a mid-table league finish, to relegation a year later?
As for Bournemouth, their return to form came too late.
They showed against Everton on Sunday what they are all about but we should have seen that all season.
Under Eddie Howe, Bournemouth have been an enjoyable team to watch since their remarkable promotion to the Premier League, but it has been their defensive frailties that have cost them dearly.
In their 5 seasons in the top-flight, they have conceded 330 goals, compared to their 241 goals scored.
They have also kept just 38 clean sheets in 190 Premier League games, a concerning stat for Howe who desperately needs to find a consistent back five before next season.
That includes a goalkeeper who can be trusted, something Bournemouth haven’t had in their time in the Premier League but need to find if they are to succeed in the long-term.
As for Dean Smith and Villa, they need to be far more intelligent in the transfer market this window and reinvest in a defence that has conceded the second most Premier League goals this campaign, behind only Norwich.
It was a case of too little, too late for Eddie Howe’s Cherries (Via Getty Images)
2. Leicester City miss out on Champions league football in showdown with Manchester United
Leicester will be feeling dejected and maybe a bit frustrated that they let such a comfortable lead slip.
Cast your mind back to January, (before the coronavirus took over our lives) Leicester had just beaten Newcastle 3-0 away from home and were flying.
That win took them 14 points clear of Manchester United who had just been defeated 2-0 by Arsenal.
Fast forward 7 months and Leicester find themselves in 5th, missing out on Champions League football after a dreadful second half of the season.
Although it is partly a story of how Leicester faded away at the crucial end of the campaign, it is also about how Manchester United turned their season around since the arrival of Bruno Fernandes in January.
He has reignited Manchester United in an attacking sense and has brought that X-factor quality in midfield that has been missing for so long.
He has not missed a penalty; he’s assisted big goals in big games and he has shown glimpses of magic that very few players are capable of in the Premier League.
He isn’t the only reason Manchester United have gone on an incredible 14 game unbeaten run in the league.
The emergence of Mason Greenwood has also been a big factor, he was making a name for himself in the first half of the season through his Europa League performances.
However, it wasn’t until after January when he started to become an important part of the first team and now a regular starter.
The improvement of Martial as the season has gone on has also been noticeable, his goals and greater consistency have been invaluable for Manchester United in this unbeaten run.
Other players like Fred and Matic who stepped up, when Manchester United needed them most, have also contributed to this upturn in performances and results.
Ole has improved as a manager as the season has gone on as well, he seems to be more comfortable dealing with the press now and more ruthless in his decision making.
It’s now up to the owners to give him the backing in the transfer window again and the time to continue building this Manchester United team, as they look to get back to being title challengers for the first time post-Ferguson.
As for Leicester, they will bounce back from this and if they improve their squad depth in the summer, then under the management of Rodgers, they can continue to grow.
Although they may have missed out on the Champions League, they have still met their season objective of securing European Football, which is an achievement in itself.
The Foxes’ star striker, Jamie Vardy, was at the helm of that success, as he became the oldest recipient of the Premier League’s Golden Boot - contributing with an astonishing 23 goals at the age of 33.
Bruno Fernandes stroked home a penalty to help fire Manchester United into the Champions League (Via Getty Images)
3. Spurs make the Europa league as Jose hails their rise from 14th to 6th
It seemed inevitable when Spurs made the surprising decision to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino and replace him with Jose Mourinho, that the ‘special one’ would lift Spurs up the table.
Winning after all, in whatever way possible, is what Mourinho is one of the best in the world at.
Since his arrival in November, Spurs have jumped 8 places despite only being 3 points off 6th placed Arsenal at the time.
They have showed more fight and consistency since his arrival but it has been far from vintage Jose.
Mourinho is known for his defensive tactics and ability to shut up shop when 1-0 up in important games but Spurs were leaking goals for fun when he first arrived, even if they were scoring even more.
Although they have improved defensively, they still look vulnerable and with Vertonghen leaving, they will surely need to invest in a new centre back in the summer.
It is also hard to say what Spurs’ style is anymore compared to their very distinct, on the front foot, attacking style under Pochettino that made them such an attractive team to watch.
They haven’t been sound at the back or particularly free flowing in attack, particularly when Kane and Son were out injured.
A new striker in the summer to give Kane some competition and the chance to rest occasionally seems important to avoid further injuries for their talisman, as the mammoth rebuilding job continues.
Keeping hold of Kane is also essential if Spurs are to be competitive next season, he has been their best player since Bale and his goalscoring ability is too valuable to lose at this juncture in the Jose era.
Jose Mourinho was elated to successfully steer Spurs into European Football (Via Getty Images)