August’s Premier League Report Cards: Man United – Stoke

By Brian Lofrumento | 10th September 2008

August's Premier League Report Cards: Man United - Stoke | read this item

With one month of Premiership action out of the way, Premiership Talk reviews all twenty teams and grades them based on their early season performances.

Manchester United

The defending Premiership champions are perennial slow starters, and this year is no different. Even with their slow start, though, United are in a good position – still without a loss this year. Albeit, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men have only played two games, their last match in August was postponed due to the Super Cup. A home draw against Newcastle opened the season, and an unconvincing win against Portsmouth leaves United with four points. Darren Fletcher is the only goalscorer for the Red Devils this year, but the introduction of Dimitar Berbatov to the starting lineup in September should see a drastic change. I expect United to vastly improve, but even with their slow start they’re in a good position to be top of the table once they make up their match with Fulham.

Report Card Grade: B+

Middlesbrough

Middlesbrough’s early season form has delighted fans. Gareth Southgate has finally made a team worthy of stringing together some victories, and their only loss came in a defiant display against Liverpool. The re-emergence of Mido has certainly helped Boro. I don’t think fans could have asked for anything more than what Boro have already accomplished so far this year, so it’s hard to give them anything but a good rating.

Report Card Grade: A

Newcastle United

Newcastle had the chance to redeem themselves against Manchester United at Old Trafford to begin the season, and that’s exactly what they did. There was no 6-0 thrashing this year; Newcastle held strong to earn a 1-1 draw against the champions. They went on to beat Bolton via a Michael Owen goal, but then proceeded to lose 3-0 against Arsenal. Even after the loss, Newcastle remain in 11th, which is around where they hope to be at the end of the season. The club, however, have already been thrown into turmoil in September, so watch this space.

Report Card Grade: B-

Portsmouth

Portsmouth came into this season with huge expectations placed upon them. They got off to a horrible start against Chelsea, crashing to a 4-0 defeat. Manchester United then took all three points at Fratton Park in a 1-0 win. Portsmouth finally got their first victory of the season against Everton in an extraordinary 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park. Even with that win, though, Pompey sit at the wrong end of the table and they’ll need to worry about improving in September.

Report Card Grade: C-

Stoke City

Not much is expected of Stoke this year, so any points they pick up are a positive. Like Derby last year, Stoke fans will need to cherish every victory, and Stoke haven’t disappointed so far. A huge win over Aston Villa a few weeks ago, Stoke proved that on their day they can hang with the best. They showed their other side, however, in defeats against Bolton and Middlesbrough. Stoke find themselves in 15th place – outside of the relegation zone – and that’s exactly where they wish to be at the end of the season. For this reason they receive a good grade.

Report Card Grade: B+

Stay tuned tomorrow for the remaining Premier League clubs’ report cards.