Opening Weekend’s Winners and Losers

By Brian Lofrumento | 17th August 2009

Opening Weekend's Winners and Losers | read this item

everton-lose-to-arsenal With the opening weekend of the 2009/10 Premier League season now in the books, we can now look back and see who came out winners after the first round of action and who disappointed. Here are the opening weekend’s winners and losers.

Winners

Arsenal

Arsene Wenger’s side has been heavily tipped as the side most likely to miss out on the top four this season, but an emphatic 6-1 win over Everton on Saturday sent a loud and clear message to the rest of the Premiership. Cesc Fabregas ran rampant at Goodison Park as new Gunner Thomas Vermaelen scored on his debut, and David Moyes was sufficiently embarrassed.

Wayne Rooney

He-who-must-not-be-named is now playing in a sunnier place (and no, I’m not talking about Lord Voldemort), and it’s Wayne Rooney who has been given the task of leading Manchester United to an unprecedented fourth straight Premier League crown. The former Evertonian scored the only goal of the match as the Red Devils picked up an opening day win against Birmingham, and Rooney looks set to have his best season ever. One goal down, 20+ to go.

Wigan Athletic

New manager Roberto Martinez got off to a stunning start with Wigan as the Latics beat Aston Villa 2-0 at Villa Park on opening day. According to many “experts” Wigan will have a difficult season in 2009/10, but a strong showing on Saturday showed that not only will Wigan impress this season, but they’ll play some beautiful football along the way.

Wilson Palacios

Palacios and his Tottenham teammates all deserve a spot among this weekend’s winners, but the midfielder deserves praise of his own. Palacios not only commanded the center of midfield against Liverpool on Sunday, but his skill and attacking prowess led Spurs to an unlikely opening day win.

Manchester City

If it was ever in doubt (which it was), City means business. A tricky away tie at Ewood Park could have caused problems for the new look City squad, but Mark Hughes triumphed 2-0 over his former team. Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed a goal on his league debut for City, and Stephen Ireland continued his good form from last season that saw him pick up his club’s player of the year award.

Darren Bent

With the Twitter saga well and truly behind him, this England hopeful scored a goal in his Sunderland debut and led the Black Cats to a 1-0 win over Bolton. Afterwards, Bent told the awaiting media that he could already “feel the love” from the Sunderland fans, and the fairy tale goes on. For now…

Losers

David Moyes, Everton, and Toffees fans

David Moyes and the entire Everton organization is generally a proud and admirable group. This summer, though, has been full of turmoil and frustration as Manchester City relentlessly chase one of Goodison Park’s most prized assets: Joleon Lescott. With the defender’s future still hanging in the balance, Everton looked distracted and embarrassed as they fell 6-1 to Arsenal.

Portsmouth

The cloud of uncertainty is surrounding Portsmouth’s off the pitch business, and on the pitch they’re in just as bad of a situation. Last season ended with Pompey narrowly avoiding relegation, and based on their 1-0 loss at home to Fulham on Saturday, they could endure more of the same this season. Goalkeeper David James made it clear how worried he is about the club’s future, and unless something drastically changes (like that takeover that has been on the verge for over a month now) the south coast club could be in serious trouble.

Rafa Benitez

Ever since Rafa lost the plot last season, Liverpool’s form has suffered as well. The Reds never really looked like winning against a determined and energetic Tottenham side, and Liverpool now start the season off already behind their competitors. The absence of Xabi Alonso may hamper Liverpool’s season, and Rafa will need to figure something out. Fast.

The promoted clubs

While it may be too early to predict who will face the drop this season, all eyes will be on the three promoted clubs. Birmingham, Burnley, and Wolverhampton all started their Premier League campaigns with losses, and in the greatest league in the world there isn’t much room for complacency. Granted, Birmingham battled hard at Old Trafford, but Wolves and Burnley will only face stiffer challenges in the coming weeks (Burnley will take on United on Wednesday!).

Who are your winners and losers from this weekend’s action? Have your say below!

Reader Comments

The below views are those of our readers and do not reflect the opinions of Premiership Talk or its employees.

mintox says:

August 17, 2009 at 9:55 am

Benitez lost the plot last season and then Liverpool won 10 out of its last 11 games.

I wish my teams form was hampered like that!

Tottenham were average, Liverpool seemed to slump in the middle of that game when Skrtel and Carragher clashed heads.

At the end it was all Liverpool, I think Tottenham can thank the referee that it wasn’t 3 penalties and a 3-2 win to Liverpool.

Reply to this Comment