Spurs? West Ham? Man Utd? Anybody out there want to finish fourth in the Premier League? Nope? – The Warm-Up
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Published 14/02/2022 at 08:28 GMT
Tottenham lost, West Ham drew, likewise Manchester United. The race for fourth in the Premier League is, once more, not exactly a sprint for the line. Elsewhere, Graeme Souness is unsurprisingly Team Cat in the case against Kurt Zouma, while Newcastle’s hopes of staying up could depend on the results of Kieran Trippier’s injury.
Hugo Lloris looking miffed
Image credit: Getty Images
MONDAY’S BIG STORIES
The stumble for fourth
This feels very familiar. Last season it was a limp to the line for fourth in the Premier League, and it appears we’re following a similar pattern this time around too.
Let’s go back and see what it takes to finish fourth…
- In 2016-17 Liverpool needed 76 points to finish fourth by one point ahead of Arsenal
- In 2017-18 it was Liverpool again who came fourth with 75 points, five more than Chelsea in fifth
- In 2018-19 it was Tottenham’s turn to finish fourth with 71 points – one more than Arsenal
- In 2019-20 the bar was lowered somewhat, with Chelsea’s haul of 66 points enough for fourth, four more than Leicester
- In 2020-21 it was a similar outcome, with Chelsea pipping Leicester to fourth with 67 points to the Foxes’ 66 – West Ham were just behind on 65 and Liverpool a smidgen ahead with 69 in third
And so… to the current season.
Going by current points per game, starting from fourth down to eighth as it stands, West Ham are on course for 62 points, Manchester United 63, Arsenal 67, Wolves 61 and Spurs 62.
So hang on… does that make Arsenal in pole position to reach the top four?
With games in hand Arsenal have fourth in their own hands too – and despite not playing due to Chelsea’s involvement in the Club World Cup (the Blues won, we think, going by their Twitter), the Gunners had a very good weekend indeed.
A draw for West Ham, a draw for Manchester United, and a sorry defeat for north London rivals Spurs, who succumbed 2-0 to a Wolves side who are slowly creeping up into contention.
Souness pulls no punches
When he played he was in the spotlight, and then when he pulled out last minute due to feeling “unwell” he was in the spotlight once more. And yes, there was little sympathy for Kurt Zouma from Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness, who dissected the saga as if Manchester United had just drawn another game.
"I have zero sympathy for him,” Souness said. “If he turned up today, he could've got abuse from his own supporters. West Ham's roots are in the East End of London, they're salt of the earth people. The vast majority of them wouldn't be accepting of what they saw on TikTok or whatever it was.
"I've got zero sympathy for him. I've got major problems with this. For me, looking at that video the cat hadn't done anything wrong. It was picked up and it was abused for entertainment.
"It wasn't out of anger... they were laughing. The example he sets there, and he smashes the cat out of the child's arms. And then, and this is the biggest problem I have with it, they decide to put it on social media.
"The fact they then put it out on social media then suggests that they don't see anything wrong with it and their behaviour. They thought that people would find this funny and amusing. It's just wrong on every level what they did.
"You can be too close to it and be blinded by what's in front of you. For West Ham, this has been a masterclass in how not to handle a crisis."
Trippier injury fears
Score the winning goal: Check. Leave the stadium on crutches: Check.
Ah…
Kieran Trippier had the whole of England dreaming at the 2018 World Cup when his free-kick gave the nation an early lead against Croatia in the semi-final.
Now he is carrying the hopes of the north east, or more specifically Newcastle United, and while another free-kick was enough to beat Aston Villa yesterday, there are now fears Trippier has broken a bone in his foot.
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said afterwards: "Trippier got stamped on and he couldn't continue with a problem on the top of his foot, so he's gone for an X-ray at the hospital. We're keeping everything crossed hoping that there's no broken bone."
Three wins on the bounce mean Newcastle are four points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand over 18th-placed Norwich.
The Toon are on the right track, but Trippier being on the sidelines for a prolonged spell could derail their – *Must. Maintain. Train. Analogy* – er, journey past the relegation station towards Premier League safety.
IN OTHER NEWS
Big trick from Dave
A nod to Chelsea’s Club World Cup victory, and the most captain of moves from Cesar Azpilicueta, who fooled Palmeiras into thinking he would take the extra-time penalty – thus taking the pressure off Kai Havertz, who eventually booted the winning goal in from the spot.
"It was a tactic because I knew how they are," said Azpilicueta, after fan footage caught his moment of brilliance.
"I knew they were coming for the penalty taker, so I took the ball.
"Kai knew that he was going to shoot so it was to release the pressure from him. It was a decisive moment and Kai is one of the best penalty takers.
"I waited and listened to everything their players told me, and I think it worked which is the most important thing."
IN THE CHANNELS
For fans of ‘out of context’ videos, this shorter clip of Sky Sports pundit Graeme Souness tearing into Kurt Zouma would certainly make for confusing viewing if you didn’t know the backstory.
RETRO CORNER
It’s Valentine’s Day. Isn’t that lovely. That also means Edinson Cavani, Kevin Keegan and Angel Di Maria are all celebrating their birthdays – so too one Christian Eriksen. Thirty today, back in the Premier League with Brentford, you really do love to see it.
Here are his best Premier League goals.
COMING UP
There’s West Brom v Blackburn in the Championship tonight, but overall it’s pretty quiet before the Champions League returns tomorrow. Yes. Yes. Yes.
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