So far this season we have seen Man Utd concede eleven goals in their opening ten games, Tottenham fourteen, Chelsea fifteen and Arsenal twenty-one. All had conceded less at this stage last year and for a club like Arsenal the news is particularly grim. They have conceded just under half of the total number of goals they did in the whole of last season in their first ten games this year. Have we got to the stage where the naivety of managers has reached new lows amongst the Premier League’s top clubs?
Man Utd
Manchester United’s figures for this year may not seem too bad at a glance, but you have to consider that they could have conceded a lot more. They have allowed more shots on goal than any other club this season and for a team that just spent almost £40m shoring up its defence with the signings of Phil Jones and David De Gea there defensive display’s have been mediocre at best. Fans might point to the injuries and suspensions to Vidic and Ferdinand but frankly Man Utd endured much worse injury crises last season and fared a hell of a lot better. To be conceding over a goal a game as champions is not what you’d expect and United fans will be hoping for an improvement.
Tottenham
Spurs too have bolstered their defensive options this year with the signing of Brad Friedel in goal and Scott Parker protecting the defence. On top of that they have regained Kyle Walker at right back to give them options that they didn’t have last year and club captain Ledley King has already played as many games as he did in the entirety of last season. However, if they carry on conceding at the rate that they are then they would end up conceding far more than they did last year.
Chelsea
Chelsea has the excuse of a manager new to the Premier League that promotes attacking football. But to go from one of the meanest defences in the league to conceding five at home in one game then we can see that there are clearly problems to be addressed. Villas-Boas has said that Chelsea will not change their attacking style of football and whilst this is admirable and entertaining it also reminds me of a certain stubborn French manager enduring torrid defensive troubles of his own at the moment. Chelsea has proved under previous managers that the players they have can form a formidable defensive force and the subsequent, present frailty suggests naivety from the young Portuguese manager.
Maybe plenty of goals but they are not enjoyable
to a real football fan as it can clearly be seen that defences are all at sea.
It is stupid to see defenders afraid to tackle because of the undeserved penalties given.
It is more stupid that games are spoilt because of the silly foul by the last defender earning not just a penalty(that would be enough)but a sending off.
I am surprised TV pays for games that are rendered
uninteresting because of this.
I was watching Bham v Leicester the other week and after the early penalty and sending off I switched off too, it was never going to be a game
after that. Last night Barcelona were having a hard time of it and then pen and sending off. Game over.
Fans pay £50 a match and are short changed when this happens.
Like so many rule changes (Cards for instance) not enough forethought is given as to their probable effects.
I think the rule was brought in becasue some very young player about to score in a big match was brought down from behind and this when I think
there was little time left and the defending team were losing anyway. This was bad but how often is this the case?
Like these silly goalline judges, how often does a decision be difficult? Compared to all the bad offside decisions that affect results every week!