Winners
Chelsea
"No," said Felipe Scolari after the 4-0 thrashing of Portsmouth, "it wasn't like watching Brazil." And as a Brazilian who had enjoyed the ultimate honour of managing his country's national team, Scolari possesses the authority to make that the definitive verdict on the matter. But neither was this like watching Chelsea. Solidity was replaced by fluidity, defensive emphasis forgotten by two over-lapping full-backs. Functionality is out, and a playmaker, in the form of Deco, is in.
Welcome to the new Chelsea. You might even like watching them.
The comparison with Brazil shouldn't be discounted entirely because it is apparent that, while he has yet to acquire a single Brazilian in the tried-and-traditional way that managers tend to buy from their homeland, Scolari has implemented a very Brazilian system. Both Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa attacked as auxiliary wingers in the manner of Roberto Carlos and Cafu while Obi Mikel filled in as additional defender whenever possession was lost. Meanwhile, ahead of Deco's subtle promptings, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard provided the support for Nicolas Anelka, a lone striker who must have felt anything but lonely. Such was their fluidity that attempting to categorise the formation as either a 4-1-2-3, a 4-1-3-2 or a 4-1-4-1 would be misleading. It was all of those shapes and none of them.
The caveat in the acclaim must be that Chelsea are unlikely to encounter such complicit opponents again this season. If Scolari's design is to be faulted it will not be by a four-man midfield between an immobile set of defenders and a little-and-large combination up front. Premiership managers eager to avoid the embarrassment endured by Portsmouth would be wise to heed the tactical lesson learnt the hard way by Harry Redknapp: "I made a rod for my own back by bringing in two strikers. I don't think you can play 4-4-2 here. You get overloaded in midfield."
Fernando Torres
In a blink of an eye and two yards of space, Fernando Torres transformed an insipid performance into the sort of hard-fought away victory that can be summarised as a good day's work. It is Torres' capacity to affect such a dramatic alteration - even in a match in which he otherwise barely featured- that underlines his value to Liverpool and why he should be considered a bargain even at £23m.
Not that his strike excused the dross that had preceded it, however. While Liverpool's display was an improvement on Wednesday's showing against Liege then such praise is merely a reflection of the depths Benitez's team plunged in midweek. Creativity was stymied, once again, by a lack of width and any hope that the absence of wingers would be compensated by overlapping full-backs will never be realised if Andrea Dossena and Alvaro Arbeloa, both of whom appear to have an aversion to crossing the half-way line, remain first-choice selections.
The Vocal Element In The Away End At The Stadium Of Light
The internal machinations and politicking that destabilised Liverpool for most of last season has already re-emerged as a theme for the new campaign. Its seriousness shouldn't be underestimated and conspicuous in the statement released by Rafa Benitez over the weekend reiterating his commitment to Liverpool was a denial that he contemplated resigning last week in the wake of Rick Parry and at least one of the club's owners refusing to pay £18m for Gareth Barry. If Benitez is dismayed at the apparent lack of faith in his judgement then he is also entitled to ask why it has taken so long for such objections to be raised given that Villa's valuation has been public knowledge for two months.
However, aside from the salient issue of whether Barry is worth £18m, it is puzzling that Benitez considers effectively replacing Xabi Alonso with the Aston Villa captain worth another high-stakes public confrontation with his publicity-shy Anfield bosses. The suspicion is that the Spaniard requires little excuse to belittle Parry, the chief executive who he apparently cannot tolerate and his judgement may also have been clouded by a reputed falling-out with Alonso last year. Yet it is palpably evident that he regards Barry as representing value for money, even at £18m, highlighting both the player's nationality and left-foot this weekend. "Don't forget we will need eight British players - and the left-footer we were talking about can play in three positions too," he reminded reporters after the victory at Sunderland.
Yet one opinion that Benitez has apparently not factored into his calculations is that of the Liverpool support. Judging by the feedback F365 has received, they are far from convinced as to the wisdom of pursuing Barry and the travelling support at the Stadium of Light made their admiration for Alonso audible long before he was introduced. The second-half substitute duly responded by providing the guile that Liverpool were otherwise bereft of.
Until now, Benitez has always enjoyed the absolute support of the Liverpool support. Which makes his determination to land Barry no matter the cost - which may or may not include Alonso's exit - so risky and perhaps even, as far as his reputation and reign is concerned, defining.
Aston Villa
With all due respect to Gabriel Agbonlahor - whose hat-trick was the first to be scored on the opening day since Dion Dublin's triple for Coventry against Chelsea in 1997 and the second-fastest in Premiership history - the talking point at Villa Park remains Gareth Barry.
Those believing that Barry's appearances in claret this week signals the end of his transfer saga should note his subdued demeanour and the conspicuous absence of any statement committing his future to Villa. While the saga could yet culminate in the departure of either or both Rick Parry and Rafa Benitez from Liverpool, as well as Xabi Alonso, the stakes are also critically high at Villa. Shorn of Barry, Villa would have to reconsider their aspirations of breaking into the top four and the whereabouts of his future may also have a persuasive bearing on whether Ashley Young, the next best thing at the club, can be persuaded to sign a new contract.
Crunch time is fast approaching. By August 31, the day the transfer window slams shut, the saga must be resolved one way or the other. As coincidence would have it, Liverpool and Villa just happen to on-field opponents on that very day. For a device that is supposed to be random, the fixture-list computer has a strange tendency of regularly producing such political occasions.
Newcastle United
As effervescent and impressive as their hosts were flat and uninspiring.
Bolton Wanderers
Aside from enjoying a winning start, Bolton will also have been relieved at the size of the attendance at the Reebok on Saturday. Considering that Stoke City are arguably the least enticing side in the top-flight, 22,717 was a higher than expected gate - and exceeded last year's average attendance.
Amid fears that the credit crunch will adversely affect attendances, such statistics will be studied especially closely during the opening weeks of the new campaign.
Middlesbrough
It was just as well that Justin Hoyte did not complete his move to Middlesbrough in time to be eligible for the match against Tottenham. Had the paperwork for his transfer from Arsenal been filed before the 5pm deadline on Friday night, the new recruit would have probably taken the place of David Wheater at right-back and is unlikely to have scored either of the goals the 21-year-old scored - the first being incorrectly disallowed - or performed with such general aplomb. Even if Wheater's repositioning was the product of necessity rather than inspiration, Gareth Southgate deserves credit for convincing the youngster that he could thrive in an unfamiliar role. "We kept saying to him that good players can play anywhere and he's a good footballer. He didn't have any qualms about it and dealt with it no problem," observed the Boro boss.
Southgate should also be applauded for daring to deploy Jeremie Aliadiere on the right-wing in a side that also included Sanli Tuncay, Afonso Alves and Stewart Downing. Having promised to provide attacking football, Southgate's reward was a warranted victory and an attendance of 32,623. Last year's average was just 26,708.
Dean Ashton
Although sufficient to rule him out of contention for the England squad to face the Czech Republic this week, Ashton's injury is not believed to be particularly serious.
Paul Ince's Blackburn Rovers
What else can be said when all their talking that was required was expressed loud and clear on the Goodison Park pitch? It was as deserved as it was silencing.
Samir Nasri
During his time at Arsenal, Arsene Wenger has recruited almost twenty of his countrymen. Samir Nasri, this summer's Gallic recruit, is the latest in a long line of Frenchmen arriving in North London but his immediate eligibility for first-team action is unusual. Not even Thierry Henry was considered ready for Premiership action when he first joined Arsenal, nor Patrick Vieira or Robert Pires. With a match-winning goal and a man-of-the-match performance, Nasri justified Wenger's faith as well as the expectation that he will provide greater penetration than the unmourned Alex Hleb.
Hull City
As many wins after one game as Derby County, the previous play-off champions, managed in 38 last season.
Losers
Manchester United
As the Old Trafford faithful trooped out of the stadium on Sunday night there would have been plenty of consoling patter dismissing the significance of the draw with a reminder that last year's campaign also began with an unexpected stalemate. Yet a glance at their season-ticket stubs should have prompted plenty of gloomy introspection. It will be a long time before they can watch their side from the comfort of the Stretford End again, and, when they do, any casual disregard for the two points dropped against Newcastle is bound to be a source of agitated regret.
Generally considered to have made a poor start to the league season, United actually ended last September in good shape and five points clear of Chelsea. This year, with the fixture against Fulham scheduled for August 30 postponed to accommodate a Super Cup clash against Zenit St Petersburg, they will play just one other league match on home turf before October - against Bolton on September 27. Ahead of that fixture, the champions have just three league engagements: next Monday's trip to Portsmouth, where they drew last August, followed by back-to-back visits to Anfield and Stamford Bridge.
In the aftermath of Sunday's action, Chelsea were immediately installed as favourites by the bookies. This was not a knee-jerk reaction but one borne of the likely implications of a fixture-list that has clearly perturbed Sir Alex Ferguson. The odds on a Ronaldo-less United trailing Chelsea by as many as nine points when Bolton journey across Manchester in six weeks' time will be surprisingly short.
Chelsea's Remaining League Fixtures Before The End Of September
v Wigan, away, August 24.
v Tottenham, home, August 31.
v Man City, away, September 13.
v ManYoo, home, September 21.
v Stoke City, away, September 27.
ManYoo's Remaining League Fixtures Before The End Of September
v Portsmouth, away, August 25.
v Liverpool, away, September 13.
v Chelsea, away, September 21.
v Bolton, home, September 27.
Tottenham Hotspur
Same old Tottenham? Not quite. The Spurs side defeated at Middlesbrough this weekend contained just two of the eleven who started last August's opening-day calamity at Sunderland. Juande Ramos cited the inevitable lack of cohesion as he sought to explain why his side had been second best at the Riverside, observing that "It's always difficult when you've got quite a few new players for them all to settle in." But what is Ramos' job but to shape eleven individuals into a cohesive unit?
Spurs dawdled before belatedly entering the transfer marker this summer, waiting until late July before finally pursuing their long-anticipated overhaul with proper haste. Even now, with Dimi Berbatov exiting and Andrei Arshavin expected, the alterations are not yet complete. Ramos' remark should not be read as an excuse but a damning observation. There is no excuse for a club to begin the new season in such a state of flux.
In fairness, the Tottenham boss has apparently been a mere observer to the Berbatov saga but it is difficult to sympathise with Ramos when he continues to proclaim the Bulgarian's "professionalism" and then feels compelled to omit his lead striker. If, as reported, Berbatov waited until the eve of the new season before handing in a transfer request then that is the most unprofessional act of a Premiership footballer since, well, Ledley King warmed up for the new campaign by falling out of an Essex nightclub on Monday night.
Having announced in an interview published on Saturday morning that "I can play every game this season...I'm fit at the moment so I don't see why I shouldn't be able to play in all the games", there was a particularly depressing resonance to King's omission from the starting line-up. No reason has yet been provided, but he can hardly have been rested on the opening day of the season and it's reasonable to assume his absence was related to a longstanding knee problem. Aside from identifying a replacement for Berbatov, the unavailability of King should cause Ramos to reconsider his decision not to buy a centre-half this summer while events at the Riverside also highlighted why Spurs' failure to buy a defensive midfielder is so baffling.
Officially, Alan Hutton was the only Tottenham player unavailable for duty due to injury. The absence of the right-back should not have spelt calamity but it was the start of Spurs' undoing on Saturday once Ramos opted to deploy Didier Zokora as the Scot's replacement. That left Spurs midfield wretchedly unbalanced and short of bite. Such was Modric's anonymity it was difficult to determine what his role in the team actually was but it certainly appeared as if the Croatian, a playmaker for his national team, was tasked with filling the holding role. No wonder Spurs' defence was run ragged.
In Match of the Day's commentary of Middlesbrough v Tottenham, the name of the visitors' £16m summer recruit wasn't mentioned even once. What a shocking waste of talent.
Everton
Perhaps this result will work as a blessing. Perhaps it will result in the realisation that so long as no new players are acquired, and David Moyes has to start matches with a 17-year-old in midfield and call upon a 16-year-old when it needs saving, the only way is backwards. Yet Moyes will not have required a home defeat to realise that. As he reflected on Saturday night, "We are still hopeful of bringing some players in, but we've been hoping for a long time." A crisis, if not mutiny, is brewing.
Sunderland
Yet to score a single goal in their five matches at the Stadium of Light against members of the Big Four since their restoration to the top flight.
The Player With The Worst Injury Record In The Premiership
It would be funny if it wasn't so serious. Yet to re-appear for City after suffering a knee ligament injury in last August's Manchester derby, Valeri Bojinov will now be sidelined for a further six months after snapping his Achilles during the warm-up before the game at Aston Villa.
The Player With The Second-Worst Injury Record In The Premiership
F365 has remarked on a couple of occasions that the injury to Abou Diaby which Arsene Wenger revealed last week was the fourth muscle strain the midfielder had suffered this year. But such a brief summary does not do justice to his extraordinary record in 2008.
Having begun the year on the fringes of the Arsenal team, Tomas Rosicky's season-ending demise in late January should have signalled a prolonged run in the Gunners team for his designated deputy. Diaby duly started the next match, the trip to Manchester City, only to suffer a thigh strain in the process. After a month on the sidelines, Diaby made his return in the Champions League tie in Milan and, once again, suffered a muscle strain. His next start occurred three weeks later at Bolton and lasted a mere thirty minutes, although it was a red card rather than injury that brought a swift halt to his participation.
Finally recognizing that playing Diaby in a football match was a hazardous and counterproductive undertaking, Arsenal's response was to arrange a behind-closed-doors friendly so that the 21-year-old could gain some much-needed exercise before his third first-team comeback in three months could be contemplated. Needless to say, the predictable outcome was that Diaby suffered yet another injury in the form of a season-ending ruptured tendon.
The cause of his latest ailment, suffered at some point during pre-season training, is unknown but Wenger confirmed this weekend that he does not expect Diaby to return before October. By that time, a new midfielder ought to have been bought, but the question of why, with Diaby registering as many injuries as starts since January, the Arsenal boss even planned to use him as Cesc Fabregas' partner this season should still be asked.
Pete Gill