‘Should’ve been Ange’: Flop rubs salt in Aussie wounds; ugly script finally flips — PL Talking Pts

Ange Postecoglou’s brief second act in the English top flight is over, while Manchester United might be re-emerging as a force after a wild weekend of Premier League action.

Champions Liverpool are in a free fall after they were humbled by United at Anfield.

The Red Devils broke a near decade long hoodoo, and also shook a monkey off manager Ruben Amorim’s back.

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League leaders Arsenal are making their fans party like it’s 1991, while Sunderland are bucking trend that has plagued newly promoted sides in recent years.

West Ham’s struggles continue, but a key moment in the managerial merry-go-round could have made things very different.

Here are the biggest talking points from match week eight of the English Premier League!

ANGE’S ‘SLIDING DOORS MOMENT’

Ange Postecoglou’s brutal sacking immediately after Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 loss to Chelsea in the early kick-off on Saturday dominated headlines for several days.

The many reflections on the Australian’s 39-day spell at Forest agreed that the former Tottenham manager was never the right fit in Nottingham.

The fans still wanted previous manager Nuno Espirito Santo despite his public saga with club owner Evangelos Marinakis that got him sacked.

The team was also used to play Nuno’s defensive style, and a shift to Postecoglou’s famous ‘Angeball’ philosophy would take time, and be hard to implement on the fly with the season already underway.

Postecoglou ultimately did not have the time, and the irony of the situation is that the 60-year-old would be much better suited to Nuno’s current job.

The Portuguese manager took the West Ham role after Graham Potter was fired, and former Socceroo, and Premier League winner with Blackburn Rovers, Robbie Slater believes the opportunity in East London was a huge “sliding doors moment” in Postecoglou’s managerial career.

West Ham were beaten 2-0 at home to Brentford on Tuesday morning Australian time, and sit in second last with just four points from eight matches, one place and one point below Forest.

Like Postecoglou in Nottingham, Nuno is winless with the Hammers and under the pump.

“He would have been much better at West Ham,” Slater told Fox Sports News.

“They love their football. I played there. They’re very critical.

“No matter where they are on the ladder, or god forbid in the Championship, but that’s where they’re headed at the moment it looks like although it’s very early, but they love football.

“They love attacking football. Absolutely suited to Ange Postecoglou, and Nuno is really not what West Ham fans want.

“Nuno is, as we know, super successful with his low block and counter-attacking style.

“That’s not West Ham’s style. That’s not the way they want to play.

“Their history is players with attacking ability, and that’s what they want at West Ham.

“It would have been a perfect fit for Ange Postecoglou, and it’s kind of bizarre that Nuno ends up there, and he’s got the exact opposite.

“They lost at home again, to Brentford. They’re now second last.

“But the stats were interesting to read.

“That’s what Forest’s stats were always like - less possession, they had seven shots to 17 for Brentford.

“Sliding doors moment, but unfortunately, that’s gone.”

READ MORE

Postecoglou v Marinakis: Ange was perfect scapegoat for Poms who couldn’t handle his rise. The true villain was never him

Feature: How Ange’s brutal Forest sacking played out... and Aussie’s classy gesture in wake of axing

UK View: ‘Least effective ever’: Brutal Ange fallout as Poms feast on Aussie demise

‘HOPE THIS IS A BIG TURNING POINT’: MAN UTD’S SHOCK WIN

The upset of the weekend belonged to Manchester United as the Red Devils ended a near decade-long drought at Anfield.

United’s 2-1 win against bitter rivals Liverpool made it the first time in his managerial reign that Ruben Amorim’s side has won back-to-back league matches.

Bryan Mbeumo scored the opener in just the second minute to stun the Liverpool crowd, and then Harry Maguire headed home the winner in the 84th minute to not only send the away end into hysteria, but to usher in a new wave of optimism surrounding United.

The content creator who has vowed to not cut his hair until they win five games in a row is daring to dream of ditching his shaggy mop, while the many Manchester United greats that have become pundits were pleasantly surprised.

Former United captain Roy Keane said on Sky Sports: “Let’s hope this is a big turning point for Man Utd.

“We don’t have to get bogged down after this game about tactics and systems. This was about players and personality, and showing quality.

“The players looked like they were embracing playing for Man Utd.

“They had a bit of luck at the back but you need that going to Liverpool. As poor as Liverpool were, they had some great chances.

“It’s a big win for Man Utd and a milestone for the manager, but they need to use this as a springboard to kick on.”

Keane’s former teammate Gary Neville is confident that the current United team can play their way into the European places this season after such a result.

“They’ve just gone into the top half of the table, to ninth, and I think if they win next week, they’ve got to start thinking of pushing up the league,” Neville said on Sky Sports.

“Because they’ve got to get to a point whereby there’s stability at the club, the only way there’s going to be stability is through winning football matches.

“I think Manchester United have got a top six squad, particularly when you know that they haven’t got European football, and they haven’t got the Carabao Cup now.

“If you look at the four or five players they’ve got up front in Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha, Amad Diallo, and Bryan Mbeumo, Mason Mount, and Bruno Fernandes behind them. And then the centre-backs they’ve got - Leny Yoro, Matthijs De Ligt, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, they should be able to get a top six finish with the free weeks out of that squad.”

LIVERPOOL CRISIS DEEPENS

Liverpool have suffered four straight defeats for the first time since November 2014, raising serious questions about their summer spending spree.

The vast majority of a near £450 million (A$926 million) spend in the transfer market was focused on adding extra firepower to the Reds’ attack.

But club record signing Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz are yet to score a Premier League goal for Liverpool.

“When you spend that type of money on players, the people who have spent it want to see them justifying it on the pitch,” Liverpool great Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“I was one of the people who wasn’t entirely sold on Isak coming into the club; I thought that when you buy Ekitike for £80m and another guy for £125m, and it’s not good for Isak having him on the bench.

“He’s always looking over his shoulder; he can’t relax - if he hasn’t done anything in the first hour, he’s going to come off. I think he has to find a way of getting those two players on the pitch.

“I’m trying to rack my brains as a Liverpool supporter what to do. Concentrating on the attack, he’s got to try to make Isak and Ekitike work at some point.”

The problems are not confined to the front half, however, as Arne Slot’s men are suddenly wide open at the back.

Liverpool conceded just five times in Slot’s first 12 games last season as he took a more conservative approach in his early days as Jurgen Klopp’s successor.

At the same stage this season, the English champions have shipped 17 goals. Slot has been keen to use his wealth of attacking options. For the final half-hour against United he played with five forwards.

However, that lack of balance was exposed as, just six minutes after Cody Gakpo had cancelled out Bryan Mbeumo’s opener, Harry Maguire was left completely unmarked to head in Bruno Fernandes’ cross.

“I think we conceded a very sloppy second goal,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk.

“We worked so hard to get back into the game and we created great opportunities to score the winner but if you concede a second goal like that, that is the disappointing part.”

Former Manchester United captain Roy Keane believes van Dijk must take a long look in the mirror.

“When you’re a centre half and you’re a big player, last year we were on about who was going to stay and he signed a big contract, then you’re giving up loads of goals,” Keane said on Sky Sports.

“I’d be looking at him and asking ‘what are you doing’?

“Particularly as a big leader of the team. A couple of years ago we talked about United parking the bus here and we were critical. Now they’ve scored two today and two last year and you’re the centre half.

“Always start with the man in the mirror. Van Dijk, if you’re the centre half and your team are all of a sudden giving up loads of goals, and you’ve got new people coming to your club, you’ve got to have a good look at yourself and think ‘am I really helping people?’”

1-0 TO THE ARSENAL

The Gunners have a history of success built on solid defensive foundations. Two league titles won under George Graham in 1989 and 1991 gave birth to the chant “1-0 to the Arsenal”, such was the frequency of that scoreline at the old Highbury.

Yet, Mikel Arteta’s current crop have proved even more difficult to breach in setting a new club record after conceding just three times in their opening 11 games of the season in all competitions.

For the second consecutive game, Arsenal did not even concede a single shot on target in grinding out a 1-0 win at Fulham to retake top spot.

“The level of organisation I’m very pleased with, but it’s more about the mindset and the willingness to do it,” said Arteta.

“The way our front line chases the ball, puts people under pressure, creates chaos there, it’s phenomenal.” Once again Arsenal required a set-piece to get the only goal as Leandro Trossard turned in Gabriel Magalhaes’ flick-on from a corner.

But they do not need to be prolific in front of goal if they continue to concede at a historically low level.

“I said at the start of the season I didn’t feel Gyokeres would be the man to win Arsenal the league, I always felt it’d be the two centre-backs, the goalkeeper and Declan Rice in midfield,” Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports.

“It looks like they’re going to give Chelsea a real run for their money in terms of that defensive record under Jose Mourinho (25 clean sheets and 15 goals conceded).

“They’re going to run that really close and if they do, they’ve got a fantastic chance of winning the Premier League.”

BLACK CATS BUCK PROMOTED TREND

Sunderland were languishing in English football’s third tier just over three years ago.

Now they are looking down on their Saudi-backed local rivals Newcastle after a dream start to their Premier League return.

The Black Cats have matched their best ever start to a Premier League campaign with 14 points from eight games after beating Wolves 2-0 at the Stadium of Light.

For the past two seasons all three promoted clubs from the Championship have sunk straight back to the second tier.

But a squad overhaul with 14 new signings has put Regis Le Bris’ side in position to end that trend.

Relegated trio last season Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich managed just 14 points between them after eight matches last season.

Sunderland’s points tally is the best from a promoted side since Wolves in 2018-19.

“For me at this stage of the season, probably later with 10 or 12 games left we’ll see where we are in the table and the opposition between teams – who has to fight to stay in the league will be different,” Le Bris said.

“Early in the season it’s a bit too late and we have to have this mindset; we can win or lose against anyone.

“This is my mindset and we want to play like that. We’ll go to Chelsea and try our best to win something.

“We feel this mentality is not a question of opposition, it’s not a question of event, it’s a question of us. We want to win, do our best, to create something and be proactive.”

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