Emmanuel Adebayor should be commended for his celebration, plus nine other things we learned from watching this football this weekend.
The Premier League returned with a bang this weekend, with goals, great games and aggro galore. But what have we learned, asks Dan Silver?
Emmanuel Adebayor should be commended for his celebration, not censured . Given how he spoke on Friday about finally feeling the love at Eastlands , it was only natural he should want to sprint the length of the pitch and spread some to those glum and gloomy Arsenal fans. Or have we misread the big fella's intentions there?
Manuel Almunia is a definite contender to keep goal for England. In fact, the clanger he dropped for Manchester City's opening goal would probably earn him a starting spot.
Sir Alex Ferguson was absolutely right when he said Paul Scholes gets dismissed on reputation . Scholes has a reputation for not being able to tackle for toffee, and when he proves it on the pitch he gets sent off. What's next: Fergie accusing goalkeepers of letting in Wayne Rooney's shots because they think he's quite a good striker?
We like excitably deluded fans as much as the next man, but Spurs supporters really go the extra mile. After Jermain Defoe's brilliant early goal against Manchester United on Saturday, the Tottenham faithful in the MirrorFootball office actually said – in all seriousness, and out loud and everything – that they 'only' needed to win 3-0 to go above Chelsea at the top of the table.
Stoke fans finally feel at home in the Premier League. Not content with doing as much to keep their team up last season as anyone in the actual team bar Rory Delap, they're now taking the mickey out of their more illustrious visitors as well. The Gael Kakuta-referencing 'you're not signing anyone' chant aimed at Chelsea fans on Saturday was one of the weekend's best.
It really warmed the heart to see a man wrongly punished for offences others committed, and who was subsequently forced to endure an extended separation from his friends and colleagues, enjoying such a happy and warmly received return to Anfield on Saturday. And wasn't it great that Michael Shields was also there to witness Yossi Benayoun's hat-trick?
Rafa Benitez is a man who learns from his mistakes: last season Liverpool drew too many home game against the Premier League's also-rans and ended up losing the title; this season they’ve already thumped Stoke and Burnley 4-0 at Anfield. Alright, so they've lost to pretty much everyone else, but one thing at a time, eh Rafa?
Phil Brown is really thinking big this season. By signing Jan Venegoor of Hesselink he now has one of the biggest names in the league playing up front in Hull. And on the strength of their pasting at Sunderland , after selling Michael Turner his back four now have the league's biggest holes too.
West Ham's new Italian signing, Allesandro Diamanti, looks like he could be a star in the making, but he really needs to do something about that outrageously out of control Barnet. As the fruit juice ads (almost) used to say: 'The mop on Diamanti? We say, no!'
What tickled you about the weekend's football? Let us know by leaving a comment below…
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