Why Wenger still has something to learn, Harry and Rafa have a lot of work to do and David Moyes’ key weakness in the transfer market:

The Portuguese has demonstrated belief in Defoe far above that which the forward enjoyed under his previous manager and has been rewarded with a series of fine displays.  Defoe’s potency and direct style will make it extremely difficult for Villas-Boas to consider excluding him from his team.

Clint Dempsey is hinting at a return to his Fulham form, while the understanding between Sandro and Tom Huddlestone will provide their manager with the happy dilemma of whether to select Scott Parker when the player, who 12 months ago was the form midfielder of his type in England, is fit again.

Nigel Adkins has, outwardly at least, remained unswervingly positive in the assertion that his Southampton team are equipped to compete at the highest level.  Notwithstanding that the Scouser, like his demanding chairman Nicola Cortese and the club’s support, will have been eager to see his bullishness imitated on the field.

The first steps towards that happening came with the Saints dismantling of Q.P.R. in a pressurised fixture a week ago.  The task of beating an albeit injury-hit Newcastle United would be more demanding but Adkins’s side utterly dominated the Geordies.  A tweak to their previously porous defence and the return to fitness of Jack Cork in midfield have enabled the sometimes breath-taking attacking players in Southampton’s team to flourish.

Of particular interest to Roy Hodgson must be the form of Adam Lallana who, in tandem with Gaston Ramirez and Jason Puncheon, was to the fore in all of the Saints excellent offensive work.  Lallana is blessed with a fine touch, vision and vast football intelligence.  There is no reason for him being unable to translate those attributes onto the international stage.

The definition of insanity said Albert Einstein is ‘doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results’.  That is something Alan Pardew will do well to heed as his side, stymied by injuries which were largely avoided last term and struggling to cope with the demands of Europa League football, descend into a fight at the wrong end of the table.

Newcastle’s weekend vanquisher’s, Southampton, have closed to within three points of a team on a worrying downward spiral.  A concerning pattern has emerged to the Magpies’ performances that sees them overrun in midfield and conceding myriad chances on their goal.

Following three spiritless defeats and with a bleak run of fixtures stretching ahead, Pardew must firm up the central area in his team.  The most likely sacrificial figure would be the fading Papiss Demba Cisse, a move that may be unpopular with fans.  As he seeks a way out of his first difficult spell at St James’ Park, however, Pardew must find a way to stem the tide.  The exciting 19 year-old, Gael Bigirimana, signed in the summer from Coventry City, can provide that extra body and energy in midfield.  The team will lose nothing in the way of creativity by his inclusion.

Harnessing the wild tendencies of – and re-invigorating – Cheick Tiote, yet to reach the exalted standards he set last year is another matter of immediate priority to which Pardew must tend.

Brendan Rodgers will have learned little new as his current and former team’s passed each other to death at the Liberty Stadium.  If the Northern Irishman later tuned in to see the player he’s loaned to West Ham, Andy Carroll, score and take the fight to Tottenham it can’t have escaped his attention that the presence of such a target man would provide his side with a completely different dimension.

Without the contribution of Luis Suarez, Rodgers may have found even the stated patience of his club’s owners and fans being stretched.  Carroll is not prolific – Sunday’s header at White Hart Lane was his first goal for the Hammers – but his presence and ability to bring colleagues into play would pose Liverpool’s opponents problems beyond handling the elusive Suarez.

Across Stanley Park David Moyes was admirably honest about a situation that has become more pressing for him in recent weeks.  Along with his charges profligacy in front of goal and some defensive anxieties, the form of Tim Howard is costing vital points to a team who have confirmed designs on a top-four spot.

Howard has been culpable for a number of goals conceded by Everton this season and his inability to deal with a late free-kick into his area led to Norwich’s equaliser in the closing minutes at Goodison Park.

Far from instilling any confidence in those in front of him, Howard’s erratic goalkeeping unsettles his defenders and frequently inspires panic.  Allied to a susceptibility to shots from range the American’s place in the team should be at risk.

Unfortunately Moyes’s eye for a ‘keeper does not match that for talent elsewhere on the pitch.  Consequently, since Howard moved to Goodison in 2006 he has not had a serious rival for his position.  In his frustration after seeing two more points spurned on Saturday, Moyes spoke of the need to provide Howard with genuine competition.  It’s not before time.

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