English soccer shows stresses of heavy pace
By Vic Mills
LONDON (JP): If English soccer is not the best in the world, it is certainly the most demanding.
The weekend round of matches will be the third game in eight days for Premiership clubs, several of which also face testing European ties next week.
Barely seven weeks into the new season then, and the stresses and strains are already beginning to show. On Tuesday night, Tottenham Hotspur had 12 first team players sidelined with injury for its game at Bolton.
As the game gets quicker and more physical, the injuries increase, and the need to provide cover grows ever greater. The luxury of a squad system, however, is only available to the larger more prosperous clubs.
Few come bigger or more wealthier than Arsenal, which displaced Manchester United at the top of the Premiership on Wednesday evening. Two goals from Mark Overmars, Dennis Bergkamp's eighth of the season and another for Ian Wright in the 4-0 rout of West Ham were enough to take Arsenal top on goal difference.
The squad system is an integral part of life at Highbury, although team changes these days are as much the result of lack of discipline as injury. Having finished bottom of the fair play league last season with 82 bookings and five sendings-off, Arsenal has already clocked up 18 bookings this season.
Lack of discipline arguably cost the Gunners the title last campaign. The signs are little better this, for with four yellow cards each, Bergkamp and Steve Bould are just a booking away from suspension.
Arsenal takes its talent and temperament to Goodison Park on Saturday. Everton will not find the visiting defense as accommodating as Bransley last week. The aerial battle between Duncan Ferguson and Tony Adams is a key contest, although the outcome will probably rest on the efforts of Slaven Bilic and Dave Watson to subdue Bergkamp and Wright.
Having lost the outright leadership with a 2-2 draw at home to Chelsea on Wednesday, Manchester United makes the short journey to Leeds at the weekend.
Injury problems
United's injury problems, pride apart, has eased of late with the return to fitness of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Teddy Sheringham and Ryan Giggs. The likelihood is that manager, Alex Ferguson, will have close to his full squad from which to select. And not before time as United faces Juventus on Wednesday night in the Champions' Cup.
Leeds have been the epitome of inconsistency this season, veering from the inspired to the insipid. It was dashing in the recent 4-3 win at Blackburn, only to be jeered off the pitch by its supporters last weekend after losing 1-0 to Leicester City.
The match of the weekend brings Newcastle United to the capital for the second time in eight days to play Chelsea.
The multi-talented Stamford Bridge strike force will not find it easy against a Newcastle side that has added both steel and a meanness of spirit to its extrovert attacking talents.
The signing of goalkeeper, Shay Given, from Blackburn has brought much needed reassurance to the Newcastle back four. He may not have the physical presence of Peter Schmeichel, but his shot-saving and athleticism are the match of anyone.
The latest Tyneside bulletin on Alan Shearer is that he had both the plaster cast and pin removed from his leg last Friday. The injury is responding well and a comeback early in the new year is still on course.
Severe swelling
There is better news, too, of Chelsea's Michael Duberry, who was stretchered off against Arsenal on Sunday. X-rays revealed he did not break his left ankle, but no diagnosis is possible on the ligament or tendon damage until the severe swelling goes down.
With Duberry out and Frank Leboeuf facing a suspension, the possibility exists, Chelsea short on cover in defense, that manager, Ruud Gullit, will make his first Premiership appearance since March.
West Ham United, beaten by Manchester United, Newcastle and Arsenal this month, will hope to have Paul Kitson back to team up with John Hartson for the visit of Liverpool on Saturday. The Upton Park faithful will also have another chance to assess the form of defender, Ian Pearce, a recent US$4 million buy from Blackburn Rovers.
Liverpool will not name its team until just before the kick- off. Mark Wright, Paul Ince and Jason McAteer all missed the 3-0 mid-week win over Aston Villa. Its absence was tempered by the inclusion of Robbie Fowler, for the first time since April, and Patrik Berger.
The Midland derby this weekend features Aston Villa at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Substantial summer investment by both clubs has yet to reap a dividend. As such, the pressure on the new players increases with each match. An early goal should open the game out; the reserve, and it could be another under-achieving afternoon.
Ambitious Blackburn Rovers host Coventry City in the Sunday match. The home defense will look for an easier time after its torment at the hands of David Ginola last week. It would be unwise to take the visitors for granted, however, as Gary McAllister, Dion Dublin and John Salako have the talent to cause an upset.
Elsewhere, injury-hit Tottenham faces another physical test with the visit of Wimbledon; Crystal Palace goes in search of its first home points of the season against Bolton Wanderers; basement dweller Southampton will do well to take anything from its trip to Derby County; as indeed will Barnsley which entertains high-flying Leicester City.