• I cannot help but wonder what the fans would have made of the decision had they been in the stadium and what was going through the minds of Spurs’ fans everywhere as they stared at their televisions.
• It is true that we have no real idea what on-going effects of catching Covid-19 has done to Pogba's fitness. However, he did miss two weeks of training after testing positive.
Image: /REUTERS
The new handball law has seen Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson and Tottenham’s Jose Mourinho stare in disbelief as their players were given penalties against them for what should not even have been considered foul play.
Eric Dier’s handball against Newcastle was a disgrace. Big Andy Carroll headed the ball against Dier who had his back to the Newcastle striker. It was not even a goal scoring chance and yet a penalty was awarded and Newcastle earned an undeserved draw.
The fact that Dier was also pushed by Newcastle’s Jamaal Lascelles should have been considered but, regrettably, was ignored.
The referee, in my opinion, should have been stronger and shown wisdom and ruled no penalty. The handball law changed because of micro-refereeing in the world of new video technology.
I cannot help but wonder what the fans would have made of the decision had they been in the stadium and what was going through the minds of Spurs’ fans everywhere as they stared at their televisions.
I know the playing staff around the ground could not believe what was happening. Later in the day Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp commented on the penalty and said Dier did nothing wrong. He added that even referees are not convinced about the new rules.
When handballs are deliberate and prevent a goal scoring chance it is obviously a penalty if the incident happened in the box and to watch players moving around like penguins with their hands glued to their sides is frankly ridiculous.
The lawmakers need to look again at the handball rules and make sensible decisions which give players the freedom to play.
Pogba well below standard
After Manchester United’s disappointing game against Brighton there have been discussions all week about Paul Pogba’s place in the team. Ole Gunner Solskjaer has a problem with Pogba.
The manager pulled him off after 65minutes against the Seagulls and replaced him with Fred. Pogba struggled in midfield and he definitely lost the battle against Adam Lallana and Steven Alzate. During his time on the pitch, he did not create one single chance, produce one shot at goal or make a tackle or interception.
He also had the lowest passing accuracy in the United team. At Crystal Palace, he was also poor and was replaced by Donny van de Beek, who looked far sharper and fitter than Pogba.
It is true that we have no real idea what on-going effects of catching Covid-19 has done to Pogba's fitness. However, he did miss two weeks of training after testing positive.
I can tell you that Solskjaer has had conversations with his trainers about the possibility of dropping Pogba for a couple of games while they sort out his problems. No hard decision has been made but the club is definitely worried.
Stay at home Moyes tastes success
Who would have placed a bet on West Ham beating Wolves 4-0? David Moyes managed his team from his sofa at home because he tested positive for Covid-19. He talked to his assistants by phone and walkie talkie whilst watching the match on his TV.
Perhaps he should stay at home for the rest of the season and sit with a cup of tea, taking comfort breaks and perhaps enjoying a biscuit instead of pacing up and down in the pitch technical area watching his team lose.
Last week West Ham owner David Sullivan expressed his depressed mood caused by West Ham’s poor opening to the season and not having the money to spend on bringing in new talent. He was further frustrated because his manager, David Moyes and players Issa Diop and Josh Cullen were isolated at home with the coronavirus.
However, his mood changed on Sunday evening and he was the happiest man in the Premier League as the Hammers sent Wolves home with a 4-0 beating. Back in the dressing room, a delighted Hammers team sent a message to Moyes saying that win was for him and get well soon.
Burnley were in crisis before a ball was kicked
My observations when visiting Burnley recently left me worrying about this fine northern club. They are clearly not in a happy situation behind the scenes.
The relationship between manager Sean Dyche and his chairman Mike Garlick has deteriorated and with two outside consortiums bidding to buy the club, all transfer action has been put on hold which has considerably weakened Dyche’s options. Burnley’s squad is threadbare and the transfer window closure is fast approaching.
Dyche and Garlick rarely speak these days. Leading team players are worried that no new talent is arriving and next season six of the top players are out of contract. Jeff Hendrick, Aaron Lennon and Joe Hart left at the end of last season.
Competing in the Premier League with only 18 first team squad players means Dyche’s job is almost impossible. To put things in perspective, Burnley’s highest price paid for a player is £15million whereas rivals Aston Villa have just paid £28million for Brentford attacking forward Ollie Watkins.
It is unlikely that Dyche will walk away from a £3.5million a year contract which has two years to run. However, it is always possible that another club will come in for his highly regarded talents.
Big problems for Guardiola
Pep Guardiola spent Sunday evening watching a replay of his team’s catastrophic 5-2 loss to Leicester. Once again his brittle defence was leaking goals like a sieve although giving away three penalties did not help City’s course.
That defeat was City’s worst opening home match for 31 years and Guardiola experienced the biggest loss of his career. During his career he has been in charge for 686 games and has never conceded five goals.
To add insult to injury, only two players have ever scored hat-tricks against Pep: Lionel Messi and Jamie Vardy — and the Leicester man has now done it twice!
Last season several teams beat City by exploiting the space behind their high defensive line and again it proved to be their weakness. A last word on the scoreline. Leicester are the first team since 1957 to score three penalties.
Pep complained after the match that Leicester came to Maine Road with defending as the main tactic. It was pointed out to him that for a defending team to score five doesn’t support his excuse.
Pressure on Lampard
As I wrote previously, the pressure on Frank Lampard to succeed at Chelsea is immense.
Lampard got his job because he is a club legend and much loved figure at the club. However, those factors will not keep him employed if he does not do better. Great players do not always make great managers and Lampard might not possess the qualities needed to succeed.
That is the view of many Chelsea supporters I have spoken with this week and I am hearing rumours from inside the club that all is not well. Making Thiago Silva captain when he has only just walked into the club and doesn’t speak English was a very strange decision.
Thiago is taking English lessons five days a week but at the moment can only speak to one or two players in the dressing room. When Ben Chilwell, Edouard Mendy, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech are fit, the team will have four extremely talented players to call upon but despite Chelsea spending huge sums on new players this summer, it is the manager who has to make them work as a team.
As owner Roman Abramovich sits in his Israeli office and looks at the win/lose stats and Chelsea’s position in the league, he will be listening anxiously to the report from his club directors which he receives every Monday and drawing with arguably the Premier League’s weakest club will not make his day a happy one.
Dire situation at Fulham
With the new season into only its third week, the situation at Fulham is already causing considerable concern. It is embarrassing when immediately after the game, the owner puts out a Twitter statement apologising to fans for Fulham’s awful performance against Aston Villa and suffering a 3-0 home loss.
It is equally embarrassing that the manager responds and criticises the owner by commenting that his words were hardly helpful and he was backed up by the players.
Owner Tony Khan also promised new recruitments will be arriving to aid under siege manager Scott Parker however with three games gone, no points and ten goals scored against, this could be a long and difficult season for the newly promoted south London team. There are already rumours that Parker will not remain in the manager’s seat for long.
Sessegnon going out on loan
My club contacts have told me that Southampton’s hierarchy have been asking Tottenham if they can take Ryan Sessegnon on loan. Jose Mourinho is, I understand, very keen on the 20 year-old gaining more experience and although he is not using Ryan at present the manager does see his future at White Hart Lane.
Brighton and German club Hertha Berlin have already shown interest and could enter the bidding.