Liverpool crash, United owned, Toon time

So with two new managers at the helm, one of which was facing his old club. It was Steve Clarke v Br...I mean West Brom v Liverpool. A game that would see a fresh new start. One which had seen Liverpool have good performances in pre season especially with many reserve players and youngsters. Naturally, West Brom were not going to lay down and let Liverpool play. They took it to Liverpool and took a 3-0 victory. Had Suarez been on form, it may have been a different story, but West Brom took their chances and took all three points. Liverpool have never really been great on opening day of the new season and so this adds to the book. Liverpool do tend to bounce back and this coming weekend the red half of Merseyside hosts the blue half of Manchester. These tend to produce good games and hope more of the same this Saturday with preferably 3 points to Liverpool.

The blue half of Merseyside had a more positive start to the season with a home win against Man United with the recently signed Robin Van Persie. Everton were all over United, so much in fact that had the previously criticised De Gea kept  it to just the one goal. Fellaini was on form and ran the United ragged. The defeat must have really got to Sir Alex Ferguson as he poured out the insults and the standard bad loser lines.He said Everton just lumped the ball forward and that they were the better football team. 

Some may have thought Everton maybe lacking having seen Rodwell and Cahill depart, but far from it. The Toffees looked like they hadnt finished the 4-4 draw which cost United the title last season.  Everton finished 7th last season and if they play like they did against United, they could well push that further. 

Newcastle United had the opening game against Tottenham on the Saturday tea time kick off. Both Spurs and Newcastle wanted to get off to good starts and when Demba struck for the first time in ages, it looked like that the home side would take all three points. Spurs though moved up a gear and eventually found an equaliser through Jermain Defoe and then it looked like it would be points shared but Aaron Lennon's foul on Ben Arfa saw a penalty awarded and converted by Ben Arfa. Both sides will no doubt be up there this season and if Ba has found his shooting boots again, it could well be Newcastle United's time for the Champions League.

Van Persie - Arsene's genius or not

So the Robin Van Persie transfer saga is over before the season started and his destination will probably leave a bitter taste in the club's supporters that have stayed by him through thick and thin. Van Persie is moving to Manchester United. Short of joining former Arsenal colleagues at City, the Dutchman has probably made himself unpopular whilst the rest of the Premier League fans either frown at such a move or laugh at the expense of Arsenal.

Wenger's hands were tied to a point. Did he sell him now or did he wait and let him go for free. With Van Persie edging closer to 30 it was possible that his value would not be great, but naturally when you have a resource, there will always be someone to buy it and that buyer happened to be Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United. Man United who narrowly missed out on the title which was the highlight of an otherwise below average season, could do very well with signing RVP although naturally, his history of remaining fit and healthy would be one question mark. 

For Wenger when a club comes in with a healthy bid of around the £20 million plus mark, he will no doubt be thinking that whilst he would rather the Dutchman go somewhere else, he could at least with the money sign one or two new players. If Wenger had either waited till January or the end of the season, he could in theory lose him for nothing. It is of course not the first time that Arsenal have lost a big name player, but they have managed to cope. This time they have two top name strikers who could do just as well and remain more fit to play.

It will of course be interesting to see what happens at United now they have a number of strikers. This will certainly spell the end of Berbatov, although now Owen's gone the, subs bench may seem a little more comfortable. Hernandez may find himself further down the list. It is likely that Rooney will play behind Van Persie (suspensions permitting). Man United fans of course will think that they can walk to the title with the addition of RVP, but I think it would be a bit too soon to make that judgement so early. Whatever happens, it will be an interesting season ahead.

It will also be interesting to see what Wenger does with the income from the RVP transfer. Arsenal fans will of course be hoping that he buys some new players.