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Premier League grades: Steve McClaren’s weekend verdict
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Who was top of the class? And who needs to catch up on their homework? Steve McClaren gives his weekend Premier League grades…
They seem to have lost their mojo from last season. They’ve had huge losses in Diego Costa and Nemanja Matic, and it is in those areas that they are struggling. Tiemoue Bakayoko has not been what we expected so far, Alvaro Morata is not leading the line like we expected and Conte has had to tweak things slightly. They’re getting results, but not in the style of last season.
Claude Puel has come in and has added to Leicester, not changed them. He has got them back playing to their philosophy, and with Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy, they’re always going to be a threat.
He’s got them organised, as you can see from holding on with 10 men for a large stint of the game.
They’ve lost just one in 12 Premier League games. They have organisation and are hard to beat, and have a front three that will hurt any defence. It’s a great weapon to have, and very dynamic.
Burnley, with their resources, are punching above their weight and will be delighted with their position. They didn’t get turned over, and have only been losing by the odd goal. A top-half finish is still on the cards.
I know from the Championship last year that David Wagner plays in a certain style and sticks by it in the Premier League. That philosophy will get you wins and plenty of defeats too, and how he deals with the defeats has been very good so far. It’s making sure the defeats don’t knock the belief out of the players. I admire his courage to stick with the same philosophy. I believe it will work over the long term.
When you get the right manager in to match the club, you can turn it around. It’s what Palace have done with Roy, and what West Ham have done with Moyes. West Ham are loaded with talent, and he’s been getting them to work hard and be disciplined.
There’s always discontent at Newcastle. You will only get success at a football club when you have stability, and when there is good cohesion between the top, middle and bottom. Once you get instability it impacts everything, and Newcastle over the years have been prone to that. Rafa Benitez is trying to steady the ship and do his job. The key is that Benitez has the backing of the fans, which is tough because they haven’t won a home Premier League game in seven.
Again, a change of management, but this one is a little different. What Swansea needed was someone to bring them back to the philosophy of years back, under Brendan Rodgers and Roberto Martinez, known for playing good football from the back, possession-based. I think they wanted to return to that and chose a foreign coach in Carlos Carvalhal to do that.
At the beginning of the season, Watford were unbelievable. Marco Silva organises them very well, but they have had inconsistencies of late. They’ll have highs and lows, not just over weeks but during games too. I’d still give them a B for getting back into the game.
Southampton have a way of playing and working, and have always played good football. For some reason it’s not working out for Mauricio Pellegrino. Again, you don’t get success without stability, and I don’t think the Virgil van Dijk situation helped them this season.
West Brom have matched their squad and what they need in a manager by appointing Alan Pardew. It’s no good taking over a Tony Pulis team and having them play football from the back. This is his first Premier League win, and he desperately needed it, albeit by two typical West Brom set-play goals.
Brighton will be OK because they are stable as a club. There is no background noise, and for a manager in the Premier League, you have enough on your plate dealing with your players and the opponent without having to deal with front office issues. Brighton don’t have that, and like Huddersfield, they’ll be OK.
Mauricio Pochettino has brought a style and philosophy to Spurs, not unlike Man City, not unlike Liverpool or the Arsenal of old. It’s pressing, work rate, concentration, but with quality players. They are not an enjoyable side to play against. As Sam Allardyce said, as soon as you lose discipline against them, you’re gone.
I think Everton are a top-seven side capable of winning a cup, with players capable of playing at a high level. At the time Sam went in, it was entirely the correct call. What’s important were his comments after the game, a plea to be more boring next time. Sam will be disappointed because they were easy to beat. They can be boring, they did it against Liverpool, but you have to find the balance and get as much out of the squad as you can. I think the impetus since he came in has slowed down, and they’ll have to move up to the next level.
I like Bournemouth a lot. They’re great to watch as a neutral. Eddie Howe achieves these wins with an incredible work rate in his players. When I look at British coaches for the future, Howe is just that, because he has a style and philosophy which will get big success with better players. I admire that, and their comeback win shows the character.
They were 1-0 up away from home. I love Arsene Wenger to death, and if I had to buy a season ticket, it would be at Arsenal. Over the years there’s something wrong with them, however, and again I think it’s instability inside, criticism from outside. Without Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, you’re going to struggle. I have to admire the way Wenger deals with the outside noise, but that’s a really bad defeat.
It was the best game I’ve seen for a long, long time. For me, if I was a young coach, I’d take that game, analyse it and would want my teams to have that philosophy. It’s very difficult to coach that style and get success at the same time. You need a lot of courage. Jurgen Klopp pressed high for 95 minutes, which is a huge risk, and that’s what he brings.
The errors they made were forced mistakes, not unforced. They were forced by pressure. Even at 4-1, City never stopped playing. I remember thinking this could be six or seven, or it could be 4-4. That’s a great lesson for our coaches, to look at that game and know that it takes an unbelievable amount of courage to play that way. It’s so entertaining, and that’s how we want our football to be. Despite the defeat, I’m giving them an A for contributing to a brilliant game.
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