English Premier League: Part 5 - Winners of the second weekend
The English league season so far as been a very bad one for goal keepers. Robert Green and Co. were abysmal in South Africa and in the Premier League so far which is why experts believe that goal keeping has left a lot to be desired. However, one man has emerged with his reputation intact and that man is Ben Foster.
A footballer is someone who plays football, which is obvious to many people around the world but what do you call a person who gets paid for playing football but doesn’t get the opportunity to do so? Ben Foster was one of those at Manchester United. During his time at Old Trafford, the English international goalkeeper only played 23 games in five seasons. Foster understood the importance of playing regular football once he was left out of the English national team’s squad for the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa by the English national team manager, Fabio Capello.
Ben actively sought a future away from Manchester United to gain more first team football and he got his wish when Birmingham agreed a transfer deal with Manchester United in the summer transfer window of 2010. Ever since his arrival at Birmingham, Foster has put in impressive performances. In the first league game of the season for Birmingham, Ben displayed his solid technique as a goalkeeper as Alex McLeish’s side earned a draw at the Stadium of light against Sunderland.
In their second English Premier League match, Birmingham’s record of sixteen unbeaten football matches at the Saint. Andrew’s stadium was kept intact largely due to a marvellous save by Ben Foster. After the match, Foster described the save as the best he has ever made and rightly so. Another team that earned themselves an incredible draw in their second league match of the season against the runners up of the 2009/2010 season is Fulham F.C.
Last season under Roy Hodgson, Fulham reached the Europa League final and lost to Atletico Madrid from Spain but the quality in their ranks was evident in terms of organization and discipline in the squad. The crowd at Craven Cottage in their match against Manchester United chanted ‘Can we play you every week?’ Such is Fulham’s record against the 18 time league champions that United have been defeated twice at the Cottage since March, 2009.
Many thought that after Hodgson’s departure from Fulham to Liverpool, the London club will suffer in form and return to their old ways of mid table mediocrity but Mark Hughes has done well to retain the values that Roy had installed at the club. Despite, Fulham’s terrible record against the rest of the big four (Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea), their resilience against Manchester United at the weekend should be admired.
One thing that should be given attention to is that, United’s manager Sir Alex Ferguson plays a 4-5-1 formation against teams that he expects to field a tougher test for his side but against Fulham in the previous three occasions that both the teams have played, Ferguson has opted for a 4-4-2. Maybe it is his underestimation of Fulham that costs Manchester United these points at the Cottage. Fulham’s main focus this season will be on their efforts to earn another Europa League spot finish for the 2010-2011 season so that they can compete in Europe in the 2011-2012 season.
Bolton can also take something away from the second weekend of the English Premier League season. Bolton’s win over West Ham at the Upton Park signals that Owen Coyle is taking his team in the right direction of playing proper football rather than hoof and head style of play. Bolton and West Ham have played each other seven times since November 2007 and an interesting fact to note is that, the Wanderers have won every one of those meetings between the two English clubs.
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