Columnist image

Analyst, TSN Radio 690 Montreal

Archive

"There is a great intensity in the Premier League and it's very physical. I don't know if I'll sleep tonight because the adrenaline is high." 

In the understatement of the year, Antonio Conte wrapped up his post-match news conference this past Monday night following his new charges' dramatic last-minute winner against West Ham. 

Diego Costa’s goal had been the signal for the new Chelsea manager to make his recent EURO 2016 touchline celebrations and histrionics appear passive.

Conte’s high-fiving and jiving with Chelsea supporters along the touchline swept Stamford Bridge into a whirlwind of euphoria, the likes of which has likely not been witnessed in this particular part of London since Chelsea finally beat Liverpool in a Champion’s League semifinal in April 2008. The relief of an opening weekend victory following last season’s calamity of a title defence was quite palpable from all around. 

If Chelsea were satisfied with the spoils of kicking off their campaign, then Manchester United must be giddy for the season ahead after providing the most complete 90-minute performance for the opening weekend. A virtuoso Ibrahimović scoring in his league debut as like he did in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1 for Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSG respectively. 

With Rooney partnering the maverick Swede up front, the appointment of Mourinho is already looking like a master stroke from the Old Trafford brain trust which has very much fallen out of favour with the club’s supporters since Sir Alex. 

One match doesn’t make a season, but if the body language of the Manchester United players during the later stages of their Vitality Stadium encounter last Sunday afternoon is any indication, then their bruised egos and delicate psyches following three straight lacklustre seasons are well on their way to full recovery.

With United’s performance a reminder of far better time times under Ferguson, then what could you make of Liverpool’s dismantling of a fragile-looking Arsenal? 

With Jürgen Kloop signing a six-year extension last month and having only had nine months in the hot seat at Anfield, you would have to think that, sooner rather than later, the five-time European champions will finally win a title during the Premier League era. 

Hull City were full value as they disposed the champions on their return to the Premier League, a victory made all the more remarkable since Steve Bruce shocked the club by walking out on it less than four weeks before the season began. Heady times for the Yorkshire club, whose players have let ownership know they should sign Sir Alex Ferguson’s erstwhile and loyal ex-assistant Mike Phelan on a full-time basis. 

Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri will certainly not be rewarding his players with pizzas anytime soon. When factoring in their Community Shield defeat, the Premier League champions have now suffered a second-straight 1-2 reversal. 

Riyad Mahrez has finally put pen to paper on a new four-year deal and with Ranieri stating that Danny Drinkwater was close to signing his new deal, the defending champions will be in a far more buoyant mood when they host Arsenal in their home opener on Saturday. 

Arsene Wenger will need an immediate uplift from the duldrums of that seven-goal thriller at home. In a week, he's faced more prying eyes, ears and microphones than any naked senior IOC executive could ever dare to imagine. 

Now in the final year of his contract, we may well be witnessing the final throw of the Premier League dice for an individual who has revolutionized the Arsenal way. Additionally, it's a pioneering Wenger who carved out, created and curated the pathway for the continental coach in the highest ranks of English football. 

If nothing else, the likes of Mourinho, Kloop, Guardiola and Conte owe the 66-year-old Frenchman an immense debt of gratitude. The Premier League will be poorer for a man who - along with Ferguson - have without question been the real dynamic duo on and off the pitch.  

Wenger may well be facing an uncertain future if Joe Hart didn’t get the hint his future at the Etihad was in doubt following his dropping to the bench for Manchester City’s opener. And Guardiola’s pronouncement that Hart was free to leave the club if he handed in a transfer request has bookended a miserable summer for the England stopper, who rightly faced harsh criticism for his poor EURO 2016 campaign.  

This will not have gone amiss with new England boss Sam Allardyce, who will soon name his debut squad ahead of England’s friendly against Croatia. Not sure Hart will find any respite from his current bench woes as the smart money is on Southampton goal keeper Fraser Forster getting the nod from Big Sam.

Allardyce is sure to be in attendance at Old Trafford when Manchester United and Southampton contest the very first Friday evening fixture in Premier League history. Introduced to help capture and captivate further the growing global audience, it will be a perfect setting for Paul Pogba to start his very first Premier League fixture as he re-unites with a club he calls home.