1 – Man United still have massive problems.
Jay-Z once lamented that he had 99 problems. Well, he probably didn’t have an injury crisis, a disquieted fanbase or Anderson. So United are in even worse shape. The arrival of Louis van Gaal had lifted the gloom around Old Trafford, but a shock (not that shocking) opening day loss to Swansea has led to more questions being asked.
A new 3-5-2 formation has been trialled, given the strengths (and weaknesses) of Van Gaal’s squad, and it was exposed by the Swans in the league’s opening match. One thing remains clear, United are not themselves, and confidence is low.
Twitter has almost broken under the strain of half-baked memes, supporter anxiety and the weight of fans of rival clubs queuing up to take a pop at United. Seemingly at the centre of this storm is Ed Woodward, who is blamed for the worrying lack of transfer activity at Old Trafford. He has eleven days to put that right, or United’s season will go down faster than Ashley Young under a challenge.
2 – Chelsea are as good as champions
Yes, it was ‘only’ Burnley. Yes, the Burnley team cost about as much as Diego Costa’s shoelaces. Yes, it was only 3-1. And yet, watching Chelsea on Monday night felt almost like an epiphany: this machine of a football team is going to be very difficult to beat.
After falling behind early on, eyebrows would have been raised. Could this team - assembled at the cost of the GDP of a small country – fight back from adversity in the face of a plucky opponent and a baying crowd? The answer was delivered within about 20 seconds.
Costa himself got the equaliser and for the next 20 minutes, Chelsea set about playing football of the highest quality. Amongst this was a Cesc Fabregas assist which literally (not literally) came from heaven, and was generously sprinkled with sheer class and the tears of Arsenal fans.
3 – Liverpool are just as dangerous in attack. And just as fallible at the back.
In effect, Liverpool spent the summer replacing Luis Suarez with Ricky Lambert. As a result, fans and pundits alike doubted Liverpool’s capacity to mount a title challenge. Trading the Uruguayan for the Scouser was a bit like swapping a Ferrari with a Fiat Punto. A very loyal Fiat Punto… which is excellent at taking penalties.
Nevertheless, key signings in other positions have allowed Liverpool – so free-flowing last season – to play with even more swashbuckle…and we don’t even think that’s a word. Suarez’s exit has liberated Daniel Sturridge and, crucially, Philippe Coutinho. However, some of the problems of last year remain in defence. Simon Mignolet still looks allergic to clean sheets, and conceded another against a Southampton side who have spent the summer being raided by some of the bigger clubs including, most notably, Liverpool.
4 – QPR – all the gear, no idea?
Rangers fans, forgive the potentially inflammatory sub-heading. For QPR, their previous two seasons in the Premier League were a tale of very expensive failure, and there must be a fear that this campaign could be the same.
The addition of excellent players like Rio Ferdinand and the retention (for now) of Loic Remy means QPR really should be aiming for a mid-table finish this season, but their display against Hull must be worrying. Under Harry Redknapp, they have a manager not afraid to splash the cash and drag the best out of most players. The problem is, this season, it already looks like he really needs to.
Of course, we will probably all look back on these assertions at the end of the season and laugh. After all, there have only been 90 minutes of action for each team. There are still 3,330 to go.
