Premier League Review - Manchester United given causes for optimism

United have reasons for optimism after a bleak week

Manchester United sealed victory against Southampton despite being reduced to 10 men when they started the match with Wayne Rooney. His presence was embarrassing, given his inability to play passes that were not slow and out to the wings. Even the ability to pass five yards ahead of him has left him, as he was responsible for the failure of one promising counterattack.

Aside from that, United can, for once, be optimistic. David de Gea demonstrated why some people regard him as the greatest living Spaniard, pulling off excellent saves throughout the match. The defence wasn’t a complete disaster in Luke Shaw’s absence, and was largely capable with Marcos Rojo introduced in his place. It struggled at times, but so would many defences against Southampton. Only when Paddy McNair was introduced did it become seriously squeaky, but introducing young players from a position of strength is a necessary risk, and one that has been rarely available to United in the previous two seasons.

For all the pelters Memphis received recently, it should be noted that it was his assist for Juan Mata that ensured United didn’t come away with a disappointing 2-2 draw, but an inspirational, well-fought 3-2 victory. His spin inside the box gave room for a shot to thud off the post and into Mata’s path - there are enough moments of ability to justify his youthful inconsistency being indulged Anybody suggesting his transfer was a misstep is operating from a position of melodrama, not any definitive insight.

The biggest reason for optimism beyond De Gea and Memphis is obvious, though. Anthony Martial might have been fortunate to latch onto Maya Yoshida’s witless backpass, but the calmness in converting that chance and the equaliser recalled the best of Robin van Persie for United, in his first season. In that year he appeared to be able to take as many touches as he wanted, each making the final shot the simplest one available given the time and space he was afforded. It is too early to know how this will end up, but many of the best United moments have come from the presence of an inspirational Frenchman.

Brendan Rodgers is on borrowed time

A wobble can be endured if the form before that is impressive enough to justify belief. If the players, managers and board know that there is a reason persevere, or evidence that it is a momentary stumble, not a regression to a depressing norm. Rodgers had that at Liverpool last season, when there were also the excuses of new players and a lack of Luis Suarez to justify why things weren’t quite so magic. A brief resurgence carried him to the summer, where yet he was given another round of heavy investment.

The problems remain. A defeat to rivals Manchester United last week demonstrated the rivalry is now to do with history alone, not due to any closeness in quality. A draw on Sunday against Norwich showed that the turgid dross, poor finishing and weak defending have not been fixed. Again, there are mitigating factors, such as more transfers to be assimilated and a new, working formation to be discovered. The problem is that Rodgers only has one truly positive season to point to, the rest being mediocre or hugely disappointing. Patience has understandably started to run out.

It is almost always your fault if Diego Costa gets your sent off

Diego Costa is going to try to wind you up, regardless of whether you are the kind of man with a short temper, righteous fury or a stoic attitude. You can tell which players are the stoics, because they haven’t been sent off pointlessly, and haven’t left their team to struggle. You can tell which are the temperamentally weak, because they have reduced their team to 10 men and given Costa yet another reason to carry on as he does.

Gabriel, Arsenal’s defender, can be correctly identified as temperamentally weak, and therefore the archetypal modern Arsene Wenger player. He has talent, and he will likely never make the most of it because he plays for Arsenal and cannot be trusted to focus on the pitch. The same as almost every player in Wenger’s squad. Santi Cazorla, who was also rightly sent off, is another to add to that list.

Chelsea were there to be beaten or at least seriously tested. They are not yet out of the Carneiro-Mourinho row, the captain John Terry has been demonstratively dropped to the bench after some early season mistakes, and the rest of the side are in a funk. Eden Hazard and Costa have been struggling, and this was the game to absorb the pressure and play for a draw, perhaps to steal a win on the counterattack. Instead, Wenger did the same as ever, and sent his team out to be beaten by Chelsea and Jose Mourinho, and give Chelsea the chance to gain confidence after a miserable start to the season. The victory came without the possibly disgruntled Terry, remember.

Costa, on the other hand, was the same as ever. A deliberately and superficially provocative man (except, perhaps, in a much more serious instance that he is yet to be asked about in England), it is only less tiresome than people predictably getting wound up. A self-consciously irritating irritant, he has such a track record of bellendry that it is so transparent as to be easy to expect and ignore. Costa is a Daily Mail correspondent - completely amoral, but short of putting them on the ground with a clean, right hook, you have to ignore them for your own sanity.

West Ham and Newcastle demonstrate that money is no guarantee of success in mid-table

West Ham and Newcastle can both outspend almost any side in the world. They are both managed by men who saw Croatia defeat England at Wembley, which saw Slaven Bilic go to the Euros, and Steve McClaren find himself out of work.

Bilic went on to Lokomotiv Moscow, where he failed, and then to Besiktas, leaving two years into a three-year contract. McClaren did brilliantly at FC Twente, struggled at Wolfsburg and then found himself adrift at Derby County. Comparatively, the two managers have achieved similarly impressive feats amongst some obvious struggles, but because of public perception, Bilic is seen as a steely-eyed sophisticate, and McClaren hasn’t left the umbrella’s umbra, almost a decade later.

And so far, it appears to be the correct opinion after the opening stretch of the Premier League. West Ham have been chaotic, and also occasionally thrilling, winning at the Emirates, Etihad and Anfield, all of them with no great slice of luck to ease their victories. They have withstood pressure, obviously, but that is a skill in itself, not a fluke. The indiscipline of the Europa League ties has not been eradicated, but if it does then West Ham should be able to make the most of the money spent.

The same can’t be said for Newcastle. Even if they do manage to knuckle down, there’s little hint that Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic have the spark between them, and the players behind, to be the difference over the course of the season, especially when the defence is in such a state. It remains early in the season, but it appears McClaren is not yet the man to turn around Newcastle.