While traditionally we try to stay positive in our weekly wrap of the Premier League star players you need to know about, some weeks we just can’t ignore the other side – those making the headlines for the wrong reasons. And in week 14, there were quite a few.
So, for a change, let’s look at the good and the bad from last week’s Premier League action…
Troy Deeney, Watford FC
Think of the team you support. Now think of their biggest rivals. Now imagine how much fun it must be to score against them away from home in the 85th minute to effectively win your team three points and entrench that rival at the bottom of the league. That’s the kind of weekend Troy Deeney enjoyed after firing Watford’s third goal in a 3-2 win at Aston Villa.
Not only is Deeney a self-confessed ‘Bluenose’ from Birmingham and lifelong supporter of Aston Villa’s rivals Birmingham City, he was also rejected as a teenager after having trials at Villa Park, though the blame lays squarely with Deeney after not bothering to show up to half of it. “I was more interested in chasing girls at the park, so I wasn’t really interested,” as he tells it.
A lot has changed in the years since. From chasing girls in the park to prison and parenthood, Deeney is now Watford captain and a pillar of leadership in the camp at Vicarage Road. “The Deeney I know is an amazing boy and amazing player,” Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores raved after a vital win that propelled the Hornets to 11th. “He’s a very good captain.”
The 27-year-old’s wonderfully instinctive header was followed up with an equally courageous celebration, rubbing the noses of Villa fans in it having taken abuse from the crowd all game. It earned Deeney a booking, but he won’t care after what was a dream goal for him.
85: Superb leap from Deeney to outjump two defenders after Ighalo's shot looped in the air. 3-1 #watfordfc! pic.twitter.com/NizqNE7Tb5
— Watford FC (@WatfordFC) November 28, 2015
Jamie Vardy, Leicester City
We may need to rebrand Names of the Premier League as the weekly Jamie Vardy status report such is the 28-year-old England international’s incredible form this season. Vardy features for the fourth time in 14 rounds in 2015/16, and rightly so after breaking the Premier League record for goals in consecutive games with a peach of a strike against Manchester United in a 1-1 draw.
In a sense, it was fitting for the Leicester City striker to break the Premier League record against the team of the previous incumbent. Ruud van Nistelrooy took to Twitter to praise Vardy after Leicester’s lightning quick counter attack turned a United corner into a Vardy goal in a matter of seconds. After 13 years, the Dutchman’s exploits of goals in 10 straight games for the Red Devils back in 2002 was finally surpassed.
Well done vardy7! You're number one now and you deserved it. #11inarow. https://t.co/qJHjZlnFDA
— Ruud van Nistelrooy (@RvN1776) November 28, 2015
Leicester boss Claudio Ranieri arranged for all the players to sign a ‘Vardy 11’ shirt as a gift to the record-holder post-match. Next in Vardy’s sights is the chance to equal Jimmy Dunne’s all-time top flight record in English football with a goal against Swansea this weekend.
Wayne Rooney, Manchester United
From the sublime to the ridiculous now as Wayne Rooney’s struggles at Manchester United continued for another week. This time another lacklustre performance finally had repercussions for the United captain, Louis van Gaal hauling his skipper off after 68 minutes (though van Gaal later put this down to Rooney picking up an injury).
While Vardy dazzles, the contrast between him and Rooney could not be more stark. Vardy only had one chance on goal at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, but he snatched it with all the authority of a striker at the top of his game.
Rooney, meanwhile, plodded along aimlessly for most of the match without managing a single shot on goal or creating one chance for his teammates. He completed three attacking third passes all game – as many as Kasper Schmeichel in the Foxes goal.
Rooney may be United’s top scorer with seven goals this season but the stat says more about the Red Devils under van Gaal than it does of Rooney. Take away the hat-trick against a desperate Club Brugge side in Champions League qualifying and Rooney has four goals in 19 appearances and just two Premier League goals all season.
Rooney is doing nothing to justify his place in the Manchester United lineup at the moment, let alone the £300,000 pay packet he takes home weekly. Time to drop him?
Rooney's inspirational journey from the Premier League to non-league is a story for the ages.
— Jonathan Fadugba (@JFfutbol) November 28, 2015
SEE ALSO: Wayne Rooney and 10 underachievers in the Premier League this season so far
Diego Costa, Chelsea
From an elite striker with just two league goals all season to one with three – though in the case of Diego Costa at least he has the fair excuse that he didn’t even play this weekend.
Then again, that’s exactly the problem. Facing a potentially season-defining game against high-fliers Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho decided he didn’t need his £32 million striker, dropping him to the bench in favour of utilising Eden Hazard in an unfamiliar lone striker’s role.
It worked, to an extent. Chelsea left north London with a creditable 0-0 draw, rather than the type of thrashing Manchester City were handed at this same ground back in September. That Mourinho considered his main striker expendable for such a big game, however, says much about the Spanish international’s mediocre season to date.
Costa’s response was to throw a tantrum that raised many a chuckle on social media – not to mention the Chelsea bench, where John Obi Mikel and Papy Djilobodji found Costa throwing his bib towards Mourinho quite hilarious.
But this only distracts from the very obvious problem: Costa has three goals in 11 Premier League games this season, an average of a goal every 322 minutes – not good enough for a floundering side whose title last season now seems a distant memory.
“Diego is very privileged because he was the last one to be on the bench,” Mourinho commented post-match. “Everyone else has been left out.” A message has been sent from manager to player. It will be interesting to see how Costa responds in the weeks to come.
You all saw Diego Costa throw his bib toward Mourinho when he didn't get subbed in, yes? pic.twitter.com/SK7GJC8MdB
— Miriti Murungi (@NutmegRadio) November 29, 2015
Steve McClaren, Newcastle United
From two strikers in crisis to a club in crisis. As much as we’d like to list all 14 Newcastle United players who took part in the 5-1 capitulation against Crystal Palace, ultimately in situations like this the buck stops with the manager. Not even a full six months into the job, Steve McClaren is already under serious pressure.
SEE ALSO: Is your gaffer safe? Ranking all 20 Premier League managers’ job security
Unfortunately no umbrella is big enough to shelter McClaren from the torrential rainstorm he currently finds himself in at St. James’ Park. A furious training ground showdown followed last weekend’s 3-0 home defeat to Leicester City, apparently so fierce it forced the former England manager to lift the swearing ban he’d imposed on his players since taking over.
“A few home truths were voiced” is how McClaren diplomatically described that unsavoury incident, but it seems to have had no effect whatsoever on a team who’ve registered just two Premier League wins all season and currently sit second bottom. If anything they were even worse.
After taking the lead at Selhurst Park through Papiss Cisse Newcastle were completely overwhelmed by Alan Pardew’s spritely Eagles.
FULL TIME Crystal Palace 5-1 Newcastle United #NUFC pic.twitter.com/aeKaaxy9aN
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) November 28, 2015
Rumours on Tyneside suggest McClaren’s job is safe for the moment, but Newcastle need points on the board and fast. Next up? Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, who put four past Manchester City in their most recent away game.
Who were the star players this week in your opinion? Let us know below or on Twitter @JustFootball or our Just Football Facebook page.
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