Premier League roundup: Chelsea’s Dr. Jekyll, Reading’s big comeback
Jan 12, 2013, 12:53 PM EDT
Getty Images There’s no explaining this Chelsea team. The ups and downs are too extreme, too often. In the last month, they’ve lost to Corinthians, Queens Park Rangers, and Swansea (the last two at home) while beating Aston Villa and Southampton by a combined 13-1.
Today was more of the latter, though they got some help. Two own goals from Jon Walters staked the Blues to a 2-0 lead. Sprinkle in insurance via Frank Lampard (from the spot) and Eden Hazard and Chelsea was back in the win column. Combined with Spurs’ draw at Loftus Road, the 4-0 result vaulted the Blues back into third place.
The scoreline was deceiving, though. Chelsea weren’t that good. Through most of the first half they looked the better team in talent but not in execution. The match was playing out as a game Stoke could steal via defensive mistake or a set piece.
But fortune went the other way, starting in first half stoppage time. Walters headed a cross into his own net to send Chelsea into halftime up 1-0. A second own goal in the 63rd minute and Lampard’s 194th goal for Chelsea (second on the club’s all-time list) two minutes later eliminated all doubt. Hazard’s tally was pure icing.
It’s the type of result that will obscure the fact Chelsea are still performing nowhere near their capabilities. People will see the lopsided score and make positive inferences, but it’s unclear this team is making progress. They may be within four points of second place Manchester City, but Chelsea are still more third/fourth place battlers than title contenders.
Which, incidentally, is right where most predicted them to land at the beginning of the season.
Mid-week, I rolled out the trite Dr. Jerkll and Mr. Hide analog (though I used it incorrectly). It’s cliché, but it’s an apt shorthand for Chelsea’s schizophrenia behavior, especially if you’re trying to avoid too many mental illness metaphors.
You really can’t predict which Chelsea team is going to show up. Today, the good one got three points at the Britannia.
Eight minutes, three goals, three points for Reading
When QPR drew this morning, we talked about the importance of going for three at home, especially if you’re fighting relegation. One point is nice, but at this juncture of the season, holding serve is not enough.
Through 80 minutes on Saturday, Reading weren’t even in frame for a draw. Nineteenth and 69th minute goals from Romelu Lukaku gave West Brom a 2-0 lead at the Madejski Stadium. The Baggies were on their way to snapping a two-match losing streak.
Then came the onslaught. Jimmy Kebe broke through in the 82nd minute, with mid-week hero Adam Le Fondre equalizing from the spot two minutes later. Not content with the lesser comeback, Reading got a winner from Pavel Progrebnyak in stoppage time to claim their third win in 22 games.
With neither Aston Villa nor Wigan winning, the three points loom particularly large. Not only did the Royals vault out of the basement, they’re now within three of both the Villans and Latics. Plus, Brian McDermott’s team holds the goal difference advantage on each.
The comeback underscores the importance of full points. QPR walked off the pitch at Loftus Road feeling good about their 0-0 with Tottenham, but after the result at Reading, Rangers are worse off than they were before the day’s opening whistle.
Elsewhere in England
Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton - Ricky Lambert’s first half penalty conversion holds up to move Saints into 15th place. Villa drops into the relegation zone. Make a list of the potential reasons you should replace a coach mid-stream then ask yourself whether Villa should move on from Paul Lambert. Given their recent managerial history, is easier said than done, but it’s hard to see how, based on what he’s done at Villa, Lambert’s the man to keep them up.
Everton 0-0 Swansea - Swansea hasn’t lost since a 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Dec. 16. In that respect, this is an understandable result for Everton, though for a team chasing a Champions League spot, this looks like points dropped.
Fulham 1-1 Wigan Athletic - A 71st minute Franco Di Santo goal gets the Latics a valuable road point, temporarily pulling them out of the drop. Fulham started all of Dimitar Berbatov, Mladen Petric and Bryan Ruiz but were unable to snare a crucial second goal before Martin Jol started changing things just after the hour.
Norwich City 0-0 Newcastle - Everything I said about Paul Lambert, above? Apply them to Alan Pardew. Newcastle snaps a three-match losing streak (in league) but are only two points above the drop.
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham United - It’s the kind of result that makes you wonder if West Ham’s hat a wall. You can point to the absence of midfielder Mohamed Diamé, but it takes more than one man’s absence to explain conceding three times to Sunderland. Seb Larsson, Adam Johnson, and James McClean scored for a Black Cats side who’ve taken nine points from their last five games.
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Huge cost of World Cups: Did we needed a protest like Brazil’s to point out the obvious?
Jun 18, 2013, 12:10 AM EDT
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Brazil has infrastructure concerns. They’ve also spent $3.3 billion on soccer stadia. No surprise, people aren’t happy.
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Christian Eriksen’s potential for Borussia Dortmund a particularly cloudy picture
Jun 17, 2013, 10:43 PM EDT
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The mythology of Ajax, Dutch soccer and one stars’ struggles outside the Dutch league make this potential transfer difficult to evaluate.
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Ancelotti may be impatient, but Real Madrid wait should prove inconsequential
Jun 17, 2013, 8:23 PM EDT
It’s only a matter of time before Ancelotti’s holding pattern’s resolved.
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Early returns from England’s offseason tell a tale of two Manchesters
Jun 17, 2013, 7:39 PM EDT
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It’s early days, but while City close the gap, Manchester United have yet to act.
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This André Villas-Boas to Paris Saint-Germain link makes more sense by the day
Jun 17, 2013, 6:51 PM EDT
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With a buy-out in his contract, Villas-Boas likely will be given a choice between Paris and London.
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Honduran international Maynor Figueroa completes move to Hull City
Jun 17, 2013, 5:59 PM EDT
Reuters
Steve Bruce reunites with a player he brought to Wigan Athletic.
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It’s time FIFA reconsiders the Confederations Cup bid to the Oceania region
Jun 17, 2013, 5:19 PM EDT
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Tahiti are a great story, but nobody wins when small countries get slaughtered by the world’s top teams.
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Monday’s Transfer Rumor Roundup: Bale to PSG and Koscileny wanted by Bayern and Barcelona
Jun 17, 2013, 3:38 PM EDT
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So just how serious are PSG? Word has it they’re ready to break the Premier League transfer record.
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Colorado Rapids send Pablo Mastroeni to LA Galaxy; Baggio Husidic re-enters the fold
Jun 17, 2013, 2:21 PM EDT
“It will be difficult to leave the Rapids after growing so close to the club and the fans in Colorado,” Mastroeni said in a statement.
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Six Dutch teenagers convicted for manslaughter after beating referee to death
Jun 17, 2013, 11:21 AM EDT
Justice has been served in Holland where six teenagers have been convicted of manslaughter for their part in kicking a linesman to death.
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Three good questions for Clint Dempsey – Part III: Shunning complacency, and his second season at Tottenham Hotspur
Jun 17, 2013, 10:30 AM EDT
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In the last of three parts in ProSoccerTalk’s exclusive interview, Tottenham Hotspur and U.S. international Clint Dempsey talks about expectations for his second go-round at White Hart Lane:
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Joe Kinnear is named Newcastle’s director of football – Newcastle fans up in arms
Jun 17, 2013, 8:07 AM EDT
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Joe Kinnear, the man who drove Newcastle to relegation in 2008-09, is returning to the club as the director of football.
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Three good questions for Clint Dempsey – Part II: London calling
Jun 17, 2013, 7:30 AM EDT
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In the second of three parts in ProSoccerTalk’s exclusive interview, Tottenham Hotspur and U.S. international Clint Dempsey talks a little about London and his American roots:
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“Robert will definitely be playing for Borussia Dortmund next season,” said BVB general manager Hans-Joachim Watzke.
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Premier League coaches may face loyalty test in face of Paris Saint-Germain
Jun 16, 2013, 11:49 PM EDT
Villas-Boas, Laudrup have been linked. One makes sense, but should both show their EPL clubs loyalty?




