Tottenham top, remarkable Rice, happy Hammers and leg breaks from a players perspective

 Most teams get a mention as Tony Cascarino, Tom Roddy and Gregor Robertson join Tom Clarke for Mondays’ edition of The Game.

Who are city missing most and is the result Arsenal’s spring board.

West Ham are playing good football and getting good results, will David Moyes get the credit.

At the other end of the table Luton and Burnley are good to watch, but they’re getting no results, will that start to effect morale and belief. For Bournemouth they’re still winless, despite a new manager who arrived with much expectation.

Following the injury to Sheffield United’s Chris Basham, Gregor Robertson talks with painful honesty about his time recovering from a severe leg break, the immediate shock, the monotonous daily routine and the thoughts of how it might affect the rest of your life/career.

Timeline:

Arsenal v City

1’ Arsenal, champions after beating City..? Declan Rice was immense.

3’ City weakness or Arsenal strength. What’s happened to Kalvin Philips?

4’ Poor quality games. City playing with four centre backs. Both teams more defensive then one might imagine. Do City have a new approach to breaking the press? Overload midfield.

8’ Is Rodri their most important player? Tony thinks it is still De Bruyne.

10’ Keepers asked to do very risky things. Raya a wreck but then improved.

Tottenham top

15’ Ange ball, gritty ball. Impressive spirit and character. Van de Venn impressive.

16’ Does expectation need to rise, are they the real deal. Spurs still don’t have enough to go the whole season.

19’ will the style get figured out. No cover for Maddison and Bissouma.  Top four only.

Luton and Burnley

20’ Luton played well can’t take chances. What happens if belief starts to wain.  Rob Edwards job could be to keep a team motivated if defeats mount.  

24’ Kompany’s style is risky and will often concede goals, but if it works…

26’ Burnley will grow into the league.

Chelsea

28’ turning the corner…had some luck, but results turning. Injured players coming back. Key players scoring, building confidence.

31’ Cole Palmer took the penalty…a young player brought in to cover two kep injuries in the Chelsea squad.

West Ham v Newcastle

37’ Hammers impressive playing good football. Signings all working, Alvarez, Kudos, Ward Browse all playing very well.

39’ Newcastle come down after Europe, Isak best player, looks very good.

41’ West Ham players who were off it last year are back on it.

42’ Is Moyes the chucky monster. Cas thinks he’s tough, resilient and deserves huge credit. Now has his best West Ham team.

Fulham v Sheff Utd

46’ Willian stole the show. 35 signed from a trial at Fulham, set up chance after chance all game. Despite that the team lack goal scorers. Can’t convert their chances.

51’ still good to watch but no edge.

53’ Gregor had the same injury as Basham, severe lower leg injury. He talks graphically about his recovery and the long road ahead for Sheff Utd. How will his absence affect the team?

58’ even with the injury, Sheff Utd weren’t good.

Bournemouth

59’ No wins under Iraola. They play Wolves and Gary O’Neil after the international break. Will he be under pressure if they lose. Noise is he could be starting to panic.

1;00 Club are invested in Iraola, he won’t go. Belief is an issue though.  

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