Round Five: Studs & Duds

Studs

Frank Lampard, Manchester City: Don’t do a double take, that’s right, Frank Lampard plays for Manchester City now, at least for a few more months.  No one could have predicted this storyline a year ago, one which saw the former Chelsea man score the equalizer in a hotly contested match against the club he spent over a decade at.  His emotional goodbye to the traveling Chelsea supporters was a heartwarming sight, and his refusal to celebrate his goal showed his undeniable class.

The Leicester City Forwards: Leonardo Ulloa scored a booming header seconds after United extended their lead to 2-0, and later a spot kick after Jamie Vardy won the second of two penalties.  Vardy’s work-rate was inhuman on Sunday, while the eight million pounds Nigel Pearson paid for Ulloa is paying dividends.

Winston Reid, West Ham: Reid opened the scoring with a simple tap-in from James Tompkins’ flick off of an excellent Stewart Downing ball in.  Reid was constantly in the right place defensively, serving as a leader on the West Ham back line.  His goal was what started the momentum for the snatch-and-grab Hammers.

Ryan Bertrand, Southampton: Bertrand had expensive shoes to fill at the Saint Mary’s Stadium following Luke Shaw’s move to Manchester United, but the on-loan Chelsea man has proved his worth in the South.  Bertrand, billed as the successor to Ashley Cole a few years ago when he joined Stamford Bridge, is finally flashing the form we all expected of him back then. 

Mesut Ozil, Arsenal: “I don’t play to prove anything to anyone, I play for Arsenal.”  These were the words of Arsenal record signing Mesut Ozil in the morning papers, who silenced critics with a scintillating contribution at Villa Park on Monday.  Everyone points to the positional change as the reason for Ozil’s performance, but it’s nice to see the player confidently stand up for himself with both his words and his play on the pitch.  

Duds

Wilfried Bony, Swansea: Bony cost his side a chance to continue their strong start when he inexplicably earned himself two very bad yellow cards.  The second challenge on Maya Yoshida was unforgivable, and the suspension which follows the red card will further cost the Welsh club.  Credit to his teammates for keeping it close playing a man down for so long.   

Steven Gerrard, Liverpool: I called Gerrard’s display ‘spineless’ in my power rankings today, and after much contemplation, I concluded that this was not too harsh of a word to describe the former England captain.  Gerrard’s positioning as the only defensive midfielder doesn’t help him, but the one-club man’s influence is waning on Merseyside.  

Wayne Rooney, Manchester United: Rooney assisted on Di Maria’s mercurial tally in the first half, but otherwise struggled in the playmaking role for Manchester United.  The image of Wayne Rooney losing his head after Leicester tied the game won’t vacate twitter anytime soon, and neither will the speculations that Van Gaal chose the wrong man to captain his side.  

Tim Howard, Everton: It was unusual to see Howard make two such glaring errors.  First, Howard and Jon Stones had a collective brain fart, then the American missed his punch which led to Frazier Campbell’s goal.  As an American, I’m not used to seeing Howard make such awful mistakes.  

Liverpool Back Line: Between Manquillo, Lovren, Moreno, and Sakho, the Liverpool back line from Saturday’s horror show have one year of premier league experience.  Brendan Rodgers, known for his philosophies on the offensive side of the ball, may want to allocate more attention to his increasingly shaky back line led by a big-money signing who admitted to a lack in confidence early on.