Just under three years ago, England travelled to Basle and negotiated the Swiss challenge to record a second win from the opening two matches of their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
The game was most memorable for Wayne Rooney’s goal.
Not that it was spectacular, it just came in the eye of the storm over some particularly lurid claims about his private life.
But, perhaps, the greater significance was that SIX England players were provided by Manchester City.
Joe Hart, Joleon Lescott, Gareth Barry and James Milner started, Adam Johnson and Shaun Wright-Phillips made substitute appearances.
None were homegrown by City, but it was a proud night all the same.
At the time, the talk at Eastlands was of buying young English talent and raising their own at an academy that would benefit from unrivalled investment.
The attitude of a new regime at a new superpower augured well for England.
But any reliance on that young English talent has long since vanished.
This summer, more than £90million has been spent on bringing in a Brazilian, two Spaniards and a Montenegrin.
By the time you read this, Pepe, a Portuguese, might have signed from Real Madrid.
City still have six players with England ambitions – Hart, Lescott, Barry, Milner, Micah Richards and Jack Rodwell (I think we can gloss over Scott Sinclair).
As he has yet to select a team for a competitive match, it is tough to second-guess Manuel Pellegrini, but, of those six, you would imagine only Hart would feature in a first-choice City XI.
In one of several lengthy interviews last week, Richard Scudamore pointed out that club executives do not have a duty to the country.
However, Scudamore claims clubs ARE committed to local talent.
He said: “I don’t speak to a single club owner who wouldn’t rather make a player locally than buy. I genuinely believe they are committed to homegrown talent.”
Really? Does Scudamore expect us to swallow the idea that Sheikh Mansour and Roman Abramovich actually have a view on the subject?
Remember when Chelsea were going to be self-sufficient, with an academy that would feed the first team with quality?
In the final game of last season, Chelsea started with just one academy graduate… and that was Dutch teenager Nathan Ake, poached from Feyenoord when he was 16.
The Premier League is flooded with owners who do not care where the personnel come from.
Spurs have despatched Tom Huddlestone (four England caps) and Jake Livermore (one England cap) to Hull and Steven Caulker (one England cap) to Cardiff.
Jermain Defoe (54 England caps) will probably follow them out of White Hart Lane.
The club have recruited Etienne Capoue, Paulinho, Roberto Soldado and Nacer Chadli.
French, Brazilian, Spanish and Belgian.
Liverpool have dispensed with Andy Carroll (nine England caps) and Stewart Downing (34 England caps) and brought in Spaniards Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas.
Things are a bit more encouraging at Old Trafford, but will Tom Cleverley and Danny Welbeck get regular starts this season?
Quite simply, among clubs with Champions League commitments or serious aspirations, there is – on a grand scale – a loss of faith in English players.
And that, I am afraid, is why Roy Hodgson’s task is a truly, truly thankless one.
Jose Mourinho loves Chelsea – but I bet he hated the moment Roberto Di Matteo led them to European glory.
He knows there will only ever be one man considered at
But Di Matteo was able to achieve the one thing Mourinho could not. And I guarantee he is desperate to put that right.
Mourinho will have seen Di Matteo lifting that trophy in Chelsea colours two years ago, and something inside him will have stirred.
That was supposed to be his moment. That was a piece of history he was supposed to write.
In management terms, Di Matteo is a minion compared to Mourinho.
ButJose failed to deliver the biggest trophy of all last time he was at the Bridge, and that’s why I believe there will be a desire burning inside him to prove he can do it.
When you look at him this season you will notice he still has that George Clooney smile and his Portuguese charm.
Buthe is hurting. In his final season at Real Madrid he missed out on leading them to a magical 10th success in the Champions League.
Just like Di Matteo unexpectedly landing Europe’s top prize, that would have stung.
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He has won it before, of course, with Porto and Inter Milan. But that’s not enough.
Mourinhowill not be happy with his CV until he has lifted the Champions League trophy in Chelsea colours. I am not going to say Chelsea WILL win it this year – mainly because of the strength of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
But I do not believe our other three clubs are going to be a force of any kind on the continent.
I just cannot see Manchester United, Manchester City or Arsenal even getting to the quarter-final stages.
So Chelsea will be flying the flag for England.
Intheir ranks Chelsea have plenty of players with experience of winning the Champions League and Europa League.
And Jose, although he will talk most about winning trophies at home, will want to make a point in Europe.
It is because of the fact that Chelsea look so strong that I can still see Wayne Rooney joining them.
He would have looked at his options this summer and realised the Blues have the best chance of success.
By moving to Stamford Bridge he would get a serious tilt at more domestic and European honours … as well as a pay rise.
The Blues won’t have it all their own way.
United and City will both challenge for the Premier League. But Mourinho has come back for a reason.
He wants to be bigger, better, and more successful than he was last time around.
have made the best signings of the summer – and it could give them the edge over Arsenal.
People will talk up the talent of Manchester City’s new boys, but I think
I can not wait to see Paulinho and Roberto Soldado in action, they are top class.
Theaddition of Spaniard Soldado particularly excites me, because he is a proper striker and is going to score a lot of goals. When a cross comes in you will see his movement, anticipation and great execution.
It’sa big day for Spurs – this afternoon we will see whether they will bounce back from missing out on the top four last season.
Gareth Bale won’t be out there – but I think they could be just as exciting to watch.
About time!
Goal-line technology is here and it is great news.
I know Rio Ferdinand says it takes some of the fun out of football, but I have wanted this for a while.
It is a matter of fact – was it a goal or not?
Andif you are still in doubt over whether it is a good thing, just think how you felt when Frank Lampard’s effort against Germany in Bloemfonteinwas not awarded!
Darren Bent always gets goal, but that’s not enough
– seeing it as his chance to make it to the World Cup in Rio next summer.
But my concern over him is that he has never really developed his game. He has always remained in the comfort zone.
Bentis a very good goalscorer: I would give him an A+ for his prowess in and around the penalty box. His games-to-goal ratio is exceptional, scoring almost every other game.
PA
But have the best clubs ever made serious efforts to sign him?
Hespent a while at Tottenham, but this is one of the most prolific English strikers to play in the Premier League, so why are the top clubsnot interested?
It’s because there are flaws to his game too. You see them when he has his back to goal, linking play. On that front I would only award him a D-.
So when you combine the main aspects of his game you are getting a player who marks overall at around a B- or even a C.
That is why no big clubs have taken a gamble on him.
I questioned his move when he went to Aston Villa because I believed the club were putting all their eggs in one basket.
People will say his goals kept Villa up in his first season, but that is debatable. I’m not sure it made the difference.
Nowhe is at Fulham it is a chance to start again, prove to everyone just why Villa paid £18million for his services in 2011 – and get back in theEngland frame.
Darren Lewis is in position for us and is raring to go.
He writes: "So good afternoon from Selhurst Park where the new-look press box is packed, the bacon sandwiches have been scoffed (not by me I hasted to add) and the Spurs team taking shape under Andre Villas Boas take on newly-promoted Crystal Palace.
"For me Spurs have put the rest of the top six to shame with their transfer dealings. With Arsenal fans building a (metaphorical) bonfire under Arsene Wenger, here is a chance for Tottenham to increase that pressure by showing how it should be done when you’re trying to push on."
12:57 pmDarren Lewis
And Darren’s got the team news:
"The Palace squad are out on the pitch warming up, the Spurs team has been announced on paper. And its good.
"No place for Gareth Bale, as we expected. But Mousa Dembele and Paulinho should dominate the midfield, Lennon and another new signing, Nacer Chadli, should dominate on the wings.
"Gylfi Sigurdsson has a chance to excel in arguably his best position, just off the striker.
"And what a striker it is, Roberto Soldado who got off the mark in Spurs’ final pre-season game against Espanyol last week. It will be a bit of a disappointment if he doesn’t fill his boots here today."
And here’s Darren with the Palace team assessment.
"For Palace new signing Marouane Chamakh from Arsenal is on the bench along with another couple of new recruits, full-back Florian Marange.
"Must say that if he is fully fit then I am surprised to see goal-scoring midfielder Jose Campana on the bench. He is an exciting talent. He’s only 20 but captained Spain at the Under-20 World Cup this summer. He also made 20 appearances for the Sevilla team over the last two seasons.
"Given the strength and power of the Tottenham engine room, I’d have expected to see Campana in there for Palace."
Our Dazza’s been checking out the stats, and he reckons they make interesting reading.
"Palace have scored in all but one of their previous eight Premier League fixtures against Tottenham. In fact, they have scored more goals (10) against Spurs than against any other side in the division.
"The Eagles have also lost only one of their last six Premier League games against Spurs.
"Tottenham have only managed to win TWO of their last 12 opening-day fixtures (W2, D4, L6).
"It will be interesting too to see whether or not they get a penalty this afternoon.
"Last term they and Swansea were the only clubs not to be awarded a single spot-kick all season.It was the first time it had happened to a club since Charlton in 2004-5."
1:25 pmNeil McLeman
And a warm welcome to Neil McLeman who is alongside Darren at Selhurst Park.
Here are his opening thoughts on the match:
"It is an opening weekend clash between a Palace side without the sold Wilfried Zaha and injured Glenn Murray and a Tottenham XI without Gareth Bale.
"Both clubs have broken their club transfer records this summer – Spurs twice – with different targets this season. Ian Holloway has admitted he will be delighted with fourth bottom while AVB have to finish in the top four.
"After watching Cardiff, who comfortably won the Championship last season, out-classed by West Ham yesterday that will be a real achievement.
"Tottenham lost at Newcastle on the opening weekend a year ago and needed four matches to get their first win under AVB.
"It will be fascinating to see how his new signings – especially Roberto Soldado – do this afternoon."
1:31 pmDarren Lewis
And they’re off! Here’s Darren Lewis on the atmosphere at the ground:
"The Holmesdale stand is a sea of red and blue as the Palace fans prepare to welcome back Premier League football to Selhurst Park.
"In each of their last four Premier League campaigns Palace have fallen through the trapdoor.
"But the pressure will all be on Spurs to justify their expenditure and do what they failed so often to do last season: see off the small teams in the manner that a big team should. "
1:38 pm
Five minutes in and Spurs have been passing it around nicely, but no further than the Palace back line.
Meanwhile there’s some great banter going on between former Spurs striker Gary Lineker and former Spurs owner Lord ‘Surralan’ Sugar.
RT: poor start for Spurs missing Bale …….. He is injured with a cracked eyelash
— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar)
1:40 pmDarren Lewis
Darren Lewis is keeping a close eye on proceedings:
"All the action in the Palace half as the north Londoners probe for an opening in this first few minutes. On the rare occasion that the home side do break Owen Garvan has an attempted cross deflected into the arms of Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris.
"Palace are closing down well. Mile Jedinak cut out a ball into the box from the right from Kyle Walker and Aaron Wilbrahim pressed high up the pitch to pressure Michael Dawson.
"But the danger that is Roberto Soldado is always lurking. The Spaniard has just had a header wide, darting across his defender to latch on to a Danny Rose cross. Eight minutes played."
1:47 pmDarren Lewis
Over to Darren again:
"That’s what you call a lack of confidence. Stephen Dobbie darts into the box, leaves Michael Dawson on his bum with a neat turn, but with no-one in the box turns back to find a team-mate instead of having an effort on goal.
"Less than a minute later, Mousa Dembele almost shows him that you have to have a dip with a rising drive that flies very narrowly over the bar."
Meanwhile, the Palace fans have unfurled the scariest banner we’ve seen all season.
Jamie McDonald
1:57 pmDarren Lewis
The crowd have been in good voice at Selhurst, reports Darren:
"The summer for promoted teams gives football fans to come up with new chants for the new opposition they will be encountering.
"Palace have chosen a new take on an old taunt. Still raised a smile, however: ‘He leaves when he wants / He leaves when he waaaaants / Gareth Bale, he leaves when he wants.’
"As you can probably tell, not much goal mouth action to speak of. Part of that could be because Aaron Lennon has just taken too long to cross a ball inside the full-back from Kyle Walker allowing the full-back to get back.
"Had Lennon been more switched on, Spurs could have had a scoring opportunity."
2:05 pmDarren Lewis
Ian Holloway is pacing up and down his technical area like a hungry lion, and barking orders at his players like a sergeant major.
The Eagles boss is also a columnist for our very own Sunday Mirror, and this week as he plots Palace’s survival plan, he says he’s dreaming of being Sam Allardyce.
2:09 pmDarren Lewis
Finally a shot on goal! Gylfi Sigurdsson turns and manages to get off a fierce shot out of nothing, which stings the palms (as the parlance goes) of Palace stopper Speroni.
Spurs make a complete mess of the resulting corner and then Danny Rose goes down in the box, but referee Mark Clattenburg is having none of it, and has his hands firmly behind his back.
Here’s Darren’s take on that Sigurdsson shot:
"I’ve tried not to say it. I’ve hoped I wouldn’t have to. I clawed at every other sliver of action in order to keep myself from alluding to him.
"And now I won’t have to because Gylfi Sigurdsson has just forced a fabulous save from Palace keeper Julian Speroni with a lovely turn and a fierce drive.
"Its early days. There are three new signings in this Spurs team (four if you count Danny Rose back from loan). They are still finding their feet."
2:12 pm
Oh Aaron Lennon! The diminutive winger is put through down the right and goes racing into the box. But with three Spurs players running in towards goal, Lennon took the wrong option and elected to shoot when he should have pulled it back.
Speroni saves and Lennon’s team-mates are left to imagine what might have been. Imagine? Lennon? See what I did there? Oh never mind.
2:14 pmDarren Lewis
And Darren is no less critical of Lennon’s decision making there.
He writes: "Chadli swivels his hips and moves past two players, clips the ball into Soldado but the ball comes off the Spaniard’s knee and into the arms of the keeper. Spurs are growing into this.
"Aaron Lennon’s decision-making though, leaves a bit to be desired. Sent clear again by Walker, he has Paulinho in space near the penalty spot but sends the ball into a cul-de-sac with Soldado crowded out by a defender and keeper Speroni.
"Lennon needs to offer more. Yes, he is quick. But then Forrest Gump is quick…"
2:19 pmNeil McLeman
PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEP!
It’s half time at Selhurst Park, and it remains 0-0, though Chadli could have put Spurs ahead with the very last kick of the half, but put his header over the bar.
Here’s Neil McLeman’s half time verdict:
"Ian Holloway will be the happier manager after their first 45 minutes back in the Premier League.
"They have not created much but they have worked hard and not given Spurs’ new signings any time on the ball.
"Tottenham’s best moves have come down the right but Aaron Lennon has not delivered the killer cross.
"Roberto Soldado, who is playing off the shoulders of the Palace centre-backs, is still trying to get on the same wavelength as his new team-mates."
2:31 pmDarren Lewis
And here’s Dazza’s verdict at the break:
"Half time and my colleague Neil McCleman is right. The Palace team may not be as glamorous as their north London rivals, they certainly can’t match them for millions spent in the transfer market this summer. But they have matched them for effort and work-rate.
"Have Spurs turned up here expecting to win? At times it has looked that way.
"Aaron Lennon hasn’t provided enough penetration. Chadli on the left is all right foot. Sigurdsson has no understanding with Soldado who is having to come deep to make his own luck.
"Meanwhile Palace have an able last line of defence in Julian Speroni. Mile Jedinak has Lennon’s number, Aaron Wilbrahim has had a header saved by Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris and the south Londoners could get a point if they keep this up.
"Just a reminder: West Brom, Norwich, Stoke, Wigan, QPR and Fulham. All teams against whom Spurs slipped up last season.
"You-know-who might not be here. But Spurs should still be doing far better than this against the team that finish fifth in the Championship last season."
2:40 pm PENALTY!
Referee Mark Clattenburg has no hesitation in pointing to the spot after Moxey’s hand ball.
Spurs’ big money signing Roberto Soldado stepped up and casually chipped the ball into the back of the net with Palace keeper Speroni going the wrong way.
Palace 0-1 Tottenham.
2:43 pmDarren Lewis
Here’s what our reporters made of it.
Darren Lewis writes:
"Penalty. Stonewall penalty and a sizzling finish from the spot from Soldado.
"Funny the damage a decent cross can do? Aaron Lennon at last puts in a decent delivery, it catches the arm of defender Dean Moxey and ref Mark Clattenburg points immediately to the spot.
"Soldado, who netted from the spot against Espanyol last week, sends Speroni the wrong way to put Spurs ahead. Now maybe the game will open up with Palace now needing to come out and play."
2:43 pmNeil McLeman
Neil McLeman adds:
"Conceding a goal is tough on Palace though the penalty looked the right decision from referee Mark Clattenburg.
"Dean Moxey’s arms were away from his body as he blocked Aaron Lennon’s cross.
"Roberto Soldado was cool as you like from the penalty spot. This is a real challenge for Palace now. Can they open up and try to force the equaliser – or will they capitulate and let in more?"
2:49 pmDarren Lewis
More from Darren:
"Remember that penalty stat I told you about earlier in the blog? I’ll remind you. I said earlier: ‘Tottenham have only managed to win TWO of their last 12 opening-day fixtures (W2, D4, L6). It will be interesting too to see whether or not they get a penalty this afternoon. Last term they and Swansea were the only clubs not to be awarded a single spot-kick all season. It was the first time it had happened to a club since Charlton in 2004-5.’
"That monkey looks to be off their backs now, eh?"
Meanwhile, Mousa Dembele has gone off, to be replaced by new signing Etienne Capoue.
3:01 pm
Ian Holloway is throwing the dice here, and going for a triple substitution to try to rescue something from this game.
Garvan, Wilbraham, and Dobbie all go off, to be replaced by Chamakh, Williams and Phillips.
Holloway’s bold move nearly pays dividends as a cute through ball from Arsenal refugee Chamakh causes Spurs keeper Lloris to come rushing out of his area, and miss the ball.
But the Palace players get their knickers in a twist and can’t take advantage. Spurs nick the ball back and AVB breathes again.
3:02 pmDarren Lewis
Here’s Darren on those subs:
"A frisson of excitement rockets around Selhurst Park. It is because Palace boss Ian Holloway – seeing his side need to spark themselves back into life – has made a triple substitution.
"Jonny Williams has come on for Kagisho Dikgacoi, Kevin Phillips has come on for Aaron Wilbrahim and who’d have thought that when ex-Arsenal striker Marouane Chamakh moved to Arsenal a few years back he would end up as a substitute at Crystal Palace for Owen Garvan.
"And just as I say that: WHAT. A. MISS. Soldado does superbly well to create space for Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 18 yard box.
"The Iceelandic international attacking midfielder had time to take a touch. Instead he hit it diagonally first time and, instead of the ball nestling in the bottom corner, it flew wide.
"In fact, it is all happening here with sub Kevin Phillips beating the offside trap, Lloris rushing out to clear and his defenders needing to help the Frenchman out!"
3:14 pm
There’s life in the old dog yet!
Forty-year-old Kevin Phillips flashes a shot wide of Hugo Lloris’s goal as Palace push for a way back into the game.
Meanwhile Andre Villas-Boas is also shuffling his pack. He’s brought off new signing and penalty scorer Roberto Soldado and has thrown on Jermain Defoe for the last ten minutes.
He’s also bringing Danny Rose off, with Younes Kaboul coming on in his place.
3:19 pm
And Defoe goes so close to doubling Tottenham’s lead. He turns in midfield and sets off towards goal as the Palace defence opens up nicely for him.
He checks his run and gets his shot away, but it trickles past the left hand post. Such a shame once he’d done all the hard work of creating the chance for himself.
Just a couple of minutes of normal time left now for Palace to get anything out of this – and just as I type that, Hugo Lloris in the Spurs goal comes to their rescue, saving well twice from Dikgacoi, after Phillips had nodded it back to him.
Three minutes of added time…
3:26 pm
PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
That’s the sound of the referees whistle signalling the end of the match and it’s Spurs who leave Selhurst Park with all three points thanks to a very casual penalty scored by new signing Roberto Soldado, who has targeted 20 goals this season. That’s one down, Rob!
Palace’s start to life in the Premier League ended pointless, but they looked lively after Ian Holloway sent on Chamakh, Phillips and Williams.
Full time: Crystal Palace 0-1 Tottenham.
3:28 pm
Here’s Neil McLeman’s full time verdict:
"The three changes made by Holloway after the goal made a real game of this in the end. Hugo Lloris had to make late saves from Damien Delaney and Kagisho Dikgacoi as subs Kevin Phillips, Marouane Chamakh and Jonny Williams added needed urgency and pace up front.
"Spurs should still have killed the game off on the counter-attack and although AVB will be relieved to get off to a winning start, his signings still need time to adapt to the English game.
"Holloway will be pleased with a lot of the performance but not the result – and that is what counts. It is going to be a season-long battle against the drop at Selhurst Park."
3:34 pmDarren Lewis
And here’s what Darren made of it:
"Spurs win but goodness me did they leave their fans needing a large one. It should have been easy and emphatic – a chance for Andre Villas-Boas’s new-look line-up to express themselves against the team that finished fifth in the Championship last season.
"Instead it was yet another tale of missed chances and the door left ajar for their lowly opponents right until the very end.
"Tottenham had eighteen attempts in total to Palace’s five – yet only three of the north Londoners’ efforts were on target.
"Gylfi Sigurdsson missed a sitter, Jermain Defoe too. So thank goodness for the £26million that Spurs paid for Roberto Soldado. As you know, in this life you get what you pay for and in Soldado Spurs have a man with ice in his veins from the penalty spot.
"Spurs win and are off to a flyer in an opening game that they lost last season. Let’s be charitable and say that they can only improve from here."
3:56 pm
Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen admitted Crystal Palace were not a walkover as Roberto Soldado scored on his Spurs debut to claim a 1-0 winat Selhurst Park.
"That’s what we wanted. We couldn’t get a loss here," Vertonghen told Sky Sports 1.
"Of course we want to do better but this was about getting the win for us. Next time we will score more goals."
Vertonghen, a Belgium international, hailed the new signings made by Villas-Boas over the summer but also praised Palace.
"They (new signings) are strong and Roberto scored a goal," Vertonghen said.
"We have a big and strong team. We want to play for the prizes and Champions League qualification. That’s why we need a big team.
"They (Palace) play long balls towards (Marouane) Chamakh and (Kevin) Phillips. We knew that would make it tough and that’s what we had to try and get two goals."
For Chadli, who made his debut appearance for Spurs following hissummer transfer from Dutch side FC Twente, the first game of the seasonwas more about settling into the English game.
He said: "I really enjoyed it. It was a nice game with plenty of chances. It’s most important to get three points.
"It is different to Holland but I like the way we play. We play quickly and that’s how we create chances."
That will just about do it for us on the blog, but
Stoke fans! Still kicking the cat over Saturday’s season-opening ? Then prepare to be cheered up.
already have a deal in place for USA international striker Juan after the current Major League Soccer season ends.
And it’s probably just as well if this sensational goal is typical of what the New England Revolution star can do.
In Saturday’s match against Chicago, Agudelo raced onto a high, hopeful through ball the uncharitable might say was typical of Stoke in the ‘bad old days’ under Tony Pulis.
With Chicago keeper Sean Johnson off his line to close down the angle, the Colombia-born 20-year-old improvised a BACK-HEELED lob over him into the net.
“I just thought the ball slowed down a little bit,” said Agudelo. “It was just instinct. Maybe it was a littleSouth American swag, I don’t know. I’m just happy it went in.”
As are we, beam Potters fans – and Leslie Mark Hughes OBE.
When the Agudelo deal was announced 10 days ago, new Stoke boss Hughes said: "We’ve put a lot of work into this deal, and I am delighted that we have managed to get the deal over the line.
"It’s a good deal for us, because he is a very good young player who boasts a lot of talent as well as a lot of potential too.
"I’ve known of him for a couple of years now. He burst on to the scene for the United States at the age of 17 and everybody has paid attention to him since.
"I have kept my eye on him for the last 18 months, and thankfully we were in a position where we were able to pull this deal off."
Good afternoon and welcome to our LIVE coverage of Chelsea vs Hull City Tigers (TM).
In the day’s early kick off at Selhurst Park, Tottenham beat Premier League new boys 1-0 thanks to a Roberto Soldado penalty.
But attention now turns to West London where it is time to behold the Special One’s second coming.
yes, Jose Mourinho is back in the Chelsea hotseat and newly promoted Hull City have the pleasure of taking him on in the first Premier League match of his second Blues reign.
We’ll keep you up to date with all the latest on the game, with the help of our reporters John Cross and Oliver Holt who are in the press box at Stamford Bridge.
It’s Jose Mourinho 2.0 and it surely won’t be dull. Stay tuned folks.
3:38 pm
The team sheets are in so let’s take a look at the lineups.
Mourinho has gone with Fernando Torres up front, and has picked Kevin De Bruyne in midfield in what is his first competitive start for the Blues.
Steve Bruce has gone with Sunderland refugees Elmohamady and Danny Graham for his first team of the Premier League campaign.
The man himself Jose Mourinho walks out of the tunnel to the biggest cheer of the day from the Stamford Bridge faithful.
The volume goes up and he stands up to give his adoring crowd a wave. There are plenty of banners proclaiming their love for the Portuguese including: "Simply the best", "One of us", "We love Jose’ and "Welcome home".
But we must deduct points for one which says: ""We are the happy one’s". Simply shocking misuse of an apostrophe there, but the point is made.
Clive Mason
4:07 pm Penalty to Chelsea!
Five minutes into the game andit’s still 0-0. "Mourinho out!" cries no one, but then the referee comes to the rescue and awards a penalty to Chelsea after Hull keeper McGregor tries to punch the ball away but misses by a mile and ends up punching Fernando Torres in the side of the head.
He’s clearly handy with his fists which comes in useful just moments later as he saves Frank Lampard’s penalty kick.
Still 0-0 then folks.
4:15 pm GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Hull.
The first goal of Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea 2.0 is scored by Brazilian midfielder Oscar who tucks away a tidy finish underneath Tigers keeper McGregor after some neat approach play from the Blues.
So it only took 12 minutes and they shoud be 2-0 up had Lampard buried his penalty.
Could be a long afternoon for Steve Bruce and his Tigers. Not that Mourinho or the home fans will worry about that – all going to plan so far for them.
4:19 pmJohn Cross
John Cross is in the Stamford Bridge press box.
Here’s his take on the opening exchanges: "Jose Mourinho is up and punching the air.
"Chelsea have a 12th minute lead after a well worked move finished off by Brazilian forward Oscar.
"Mourinho received a fantastic reception from the home fans when he took his seat in the dug-out.
"The Special One responding by blowing kisses and waving to the fans who are displaying banners which read with messages such as "Simply The Best."
"There is a love-in at Stamford Bridge. Poor old Hull are under the cosh even if keeper Allan McGregor saved Frank Lampard’s sixth minute penalty."
Getty
4:27 pm GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Hull.
You get the feeling Allan McGregor has just made Frank Lampard angry by saving that early penalty.
The England midfielder – and Jose favourite – has doubled Chelsea’s lead with a sensational free kick that leaves the Hull keeper flapping above his head but to no avail.
So that’s 25 minutes played, and two goals for the home side.
Meanwhile Kevin De Bruyne is looking lively on his competitive debut for Chelsea.
The 22-year-old midfielder, who spent last season on loan in Germany with Werder Bremen, is certainly not hiding.
He’s taken a corner which he lifted on to the roof of McGregor’s net, and he’s just hit a thunderbolt of a long range shot that whistles wide of the the Hull goal.
4:30 pmJohn Cross
John Cross was also impressed with Lampard’s effort.
He writes: "Sensational free kick by Frank Lampard. The Special One gets his special ones to roll back the years.
"Lampard’s 30 yard strike beats Hull keeper Allan McGregor all ends up and the England midfielder runs over to celebrate with Jose Mourinho.
"Lampard then seems to just drop short, realise it would be a bit teacher’s pet to celebrate with the new/old boss and instead gets mobbed by his team mates. Everyone playing well for Chelsea.
"Hull are all hands on deck. If there’s one weakness then it looks as if Ashley Cole is short of match fitness. That must explain why he has struggled to get up and down the pitch early on."
4:32 pmOliver Holt
And here’s what our chief sports writer Oliver Holt has made of the opening half an hour:
"Some predicted Chelsea would be more defensive, more cautious, now that Jose Mourinho is back at Stamford Bridge.
"The evidence of the first half an hour does not suggest that. In fact, it suggests the opposite.
"Chelsea have made a breathtaking start to their match against Hull, playing some exquisite, quick-fire passing football and scoring two brilliant goals.
"Stamford Bridge is buzzing about the return of the Special One and Chelsea have made the best possible start."
PA
4:49 pm
PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
And that’s half time at Stamford Bridge. You’d have to say, saved penalty aside, it’s all going to plan for Jose Mourinho and Chelsea.
Two goals up through Oscar who finished off a neat passing move, and Frank Lampard who atoned for his penalty miss with a sumptuous free kick to double the score.
Hull had a very short spell of decent possession just before the whistle went, but this already seems like one of those comfortable wins Mourinho specialised in during his last spell in West London.
Jose’s so relaxed he’s even got time for a matey chat with Steve Bruce on the touchline.
5:02 pm
Honourable mention for the GDS – or Goal Decision System as the kids are calling it – which gets a run out just before the half time whistle went.
Branislav Ivanovic powered a header at goal but Allan McGregor just gets his hand to it to make a fine save from under the crossbar.
Play continues – as the little watch-buzzer thing the ref now wears didn’t make a sound – and the TV replays then showed us the ball was not over the line. It’s just like Wimbledon.
5:11 pm
We’re back underway at Stamford Bridge, which seems a lot quieter in this second half.
On the pitch things are continuing much as they were in the first period, with Chelsea dominating possession.
Mourinho is up out of his seat and urging his players on with some top level managerial hand-clapping. Wonder what page of his super secret coaching bible that bit’s on?
5:14 pm
Meanwhile Chelsea’s other Special One, Roman Abramovich is shown on the big screen, and gets a warm welcome from a friendly crowd still in a good mood about Mourinho’s return.
Roman, Roman, give us a wave. And he does. That's the Jose factor for you.
— John Cross (@johncrossmirror)
5:22 pm
John Cross brings news of some Hull subs:
"Finally Hull boss Steve Bruce brings on Tom Huddlestone and Jake Livermore to bolster his midfield.
"I found it strange he didn’t start with one of his two new signings to help his team get a hold on midfield.
"Huddlestone and Livermore give Hull’s midfield a bit more of a physical look. Well, if you ignore Huddlestone’s alice band."
Thanks John. They will have to go some if they’re going to help the Tigers get anything out of this one though – at the moment Chelsea look more comfortable than someone sitting in a chair made entirely from marshmallows.
5:27 pm
Well I reckon that should have been another penalty for Chelsea, but referee Jon Moss clearly doesn’t agree.
Hazard released Ivanovic who races into the area and is shoved over by Hull defender Brady, but Moss waves away the appeals and I can’t imagine why.
Meanwhile we have another Chelsea player making his Premier League debut for the club as Andre Schurrle replaces De Bruyne.
bout 25 minutes to go here, and Chelsea are cruising.
5:35 pm
Chance for Hull!
It’s Hull’s best moment of the match so far as defender Curtis Davies rises higher than everyone else to meet a deep cross and powers a header at goal.
He makes a decent enough connection and Petr Cech is ever so slightly troubled in making the save, but it remains 2-0.
Meanwhile Fernando Torres has trotted off, to be replaced by Romelu Lukaku. That little exchange could soon be playing out in reverse if the young Belgian continues his good form from last season now he’s back from his loan at West Brom.
5:37 pmOliver Holt
Oliver Holt reckons this win is in the can for the Blues.
He writes: "Second half has fallen a bit flat at Stamford Bridge but only because there is such a gulf in class between the sides.
"Hull have actually managed some decent passages of play and have tried to keep the ball on the deck.
"They have narrowed the gap after the interval with the kind of play that suggests they will have a fighting chance of staying up.
"But this still counts as a satisfying Premier League return for Jose Mourinho.
5:39 pm
New boy Andre Schurrle has a very good go at marking his Premier League debut with a goal.
Lukaku picked out Ramires who rolled it into the path of Schurrle, but his chipped shot dipped a tad too late and dropped down over the bar.
Hull have now made their final substitution, bringing on George Boyd for Sone Aluko.
Just over 10 minutes left now.
5:45 pm
So remember we told you about the Goal Decision System being used in the first half?
Here, thanks to Sky Sports, are the pictures to prove it. Sadly, or perhaps mercifully, it wasn’t accompanied by that clapping they do at the tennis when they go to Hawkeye.
5:49 pm
Meanwhile, we have yet another Chelsea man making his debut. Young Dutchman Marco van Ginkel, who joined from Vitesse in the summer, has come on to replace baby-faced scorer of the first goal, Oscar.
Fun fact, Van Ginkel’s first names are actually "Wulfert Cornelius". Can’t imagine why he prefers to go by "Marco".
In classic Jose Mourinho style, Chelsea have completely shut this game down now, which, while admirable in it’s own way, doens’t make for great viewing. Wonder if Roman’s enjoying himself?
5:54 pm
PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!
Chelsea 2-0 Hull.
That’s full time, and it feels like He never went away. Chelsea wrapped up the most comfortable wins against Hull here, two early goals and then masterful control for the rest of the game.
Not Barcelona-esque thrilling, but it is effective.
Does back up my theory that Jose Mourinho’s press conferences are actually more entertaining than his teams’ matches.
A theory I reckon Danny Baker might agree with:
There's a big drawback to hyped live football. If this Chelsea/Hull game had been on MOTD it would've been next to last and 4 minutes long.
— Danny Baker (@prodnose)
6:20 pm
That’s it from me, John Cross and Oliver Holt on the live blog today, so thanks for joining us for Jose Mourinho’s return.
You can read a first take
Our next live match will be Monday night’s clash from the Etihad when Manchester City will be taking on Newcastle.
Join us then to see how new City boss Manuel Pellegrini gets on in his first Premier League match.
Until then, look after yourselves, and each other.
He is one of our greatest ever goal scorers, whose skills lit up the world’s most iconic stadiums – but Michael Owen traces his success back to the muddy pitches he played on as a boy.
says that without the grass roots coaches and volunteers who gave up their time to help him and his pals, he never would have made it to the top.
Now he is leading the quest to honour football’s unsung heroes, .
Introduced to celebrate The FA’s 150th anniversary, the FA Football Champion Award is open to the hundreds of thousands of committed people who are the true lifeblood of the national game.
Speaking at Wembley Stadium, Michael says: “People like Gareth Bale and Wayne Rooney will tell you the same thing, they all have people to thank at grass roots level.
“Whether it be referees, coaches or managers, all footballers are indebted to those people. None of us could get to the top without the start we had.”
But grass roots football is about so much more than giving stars their first break.
Our Award winner may be someone who coaches disabled players, has turned their life around through football, or used the game to transform their community. If you know someone who deserves to be honoured, nominate them at http://www.prideofbritain.com.
The winner will receive their Award at the star-studded ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House in October, in association with Lidl, once again screened in prime time on ITV.
Michael, who won a Pride of Britain Award for Most Inspiring Young Sportsperson in 1999, says: “The Awards are very important – I was honoured to win one. The Awards night has gone from strength to strength, it has got its own place in the calendar.
“It is fantastic to recognise the work of unsung heroes and it’s a great initiative from the FA and Pride of Britain to find a fitting person to receive this new award. The FA need to be applauded for the work they do using football as a way of supporting young people with disabilities or from difficult backgrounds.
“The beauty of football is the fact it’s a choice. It’s a game you choose to play, there’s nothing that says you have to go and join a club. It’s a game that virtually everybody enjoys. Socially you’re meeting people.
“Seeing people who are less fortunate than you having a great time – football is just one of those special games that can bring people together like no other.”
, after netting a massive 40 times for his country – enough to earn him fourth spot on the list of all-time England scorers.
He was European Footballer of the Year in 2001, the year his hat-trick destroyed Germany in the Olympic Stadium in Munich, and he won the Golden Boot as Premier League top scorer in 1998 and 1999.
, including Manchester United, Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle and Stoke City.
But it all started when he pulled on a pair of boots aged seven to play for Mold Alexandra, his local club on the English-Welsh border. Within a year he was turning out for his county side, Flintshire, where he played from the ages of eight to eleven.
Michael says: “I remember the name of virtually everyone that coached me, from my first club right the way through to the first team at Liverpool. People like Brynn Jones and Dave Nicholas at Flintshire had a big impact on me. Their enthusiasm was infectious. They created an environment where you could flourish and taught you all the right things, not just about playing, but about manners and respect.
“I still remember one referee, his name was Les. He was there every Saturday, probably not getting paid, but dedicating his time to seeing 22 lads running around the pitch. It’s people like that you remember for the rest of your life.
“My dad and the academy at Liverpool may have taught me more about the intricacies of the game, but those people who gave up their time laid the foundations.”
That groundwork ensured Michael shot straight to the top. At just 18 he was the fulcrum of the Liverpool attack and his goals had fired him into England’s starting line-up. And the passion for the game that had enchanted him as a schoolboy playing in the park remained just as strong.
He says: “The joy of playing football is the same, no matter what you do. You still get the same sense of excitement knowing you kick off in an hour. If you score when a nation is watching you it cranks it up to a new level, but you can never get to that stage without going through the grass roots.”
Now at the other end of his career, after retiring at the end of a single season at Stoke.
As well as becoming an FA Ambassador, he has followed other footballing greats, such as Sir Alex Ferguson, into horse racing – his horse Brown Panther recently romped to victory in the Artemis Goodwood Cup.
He has also launched his own business to support talented teenagers as they embark on their footballing careers.
Michael says: “It makes me laugh when people ask how I’m enjoying retirement. I’m five times busier than when I was playing. You think ‘I’m going to have to fill a lot of time’ but now I’m fighting for spare time to spend with my family. I have certainly taken to retirement quite well.”
Michael married childhood sweetheart Louise in 2005.
They live in Flintshire, with their three daughters and son.
And the star is keen to get down to the local pitches and watch his seven-year-old boy, James, play more.
The youngster has already played in a few local tournaments and Michael says: “He doesn’t really have a position yet, he plays anywhere the ball is at the minute. He’s already reaping the benefits provided by a lot of local volunteers and it’s great that he can go along, find new friends and play the sport that we all love and that’s very good for his health.
“Wherever I can lend a hand or pass on my experience, I’ll always be happy to do that for the good of the game.”
Of the thousands of boys and girls who boot a ball around on a Sunday morning, only a handful will ever reach the upper echelons of the game.
For the rest, the closest they will get to scoring a winning goal at Wembley is through their childhood day dreams, thumping the ball between two jumpers for goalposts.
But football can still offer them a lifetime of pleasure.
Michael says: “I’m still in touch with some of the friends I made on the football pitch when I was younger. Now that I’ve retired I like to play five-a-side with my brothers and my mates to keep the weight off.
“People can’t believe it when they see me out there on the pitches, but it’s great fun.”
Thanks for a happy 150th anniversary – FA chairman Greg Dyke
PA
Earlier this month, we staged a Sir Bobby Robson football day, with 150 events taking place across the country, ranging from disability football to beach soccer. It was a brilliant day attended by thousands.
For a century and a half, The FA has been supporting football in this way. We are a not-for-profit organisation that puts £100million back into the game each and every year. In particular, our focus is the 400,000 volunteers who get games on up and down the country every week, in all weathers.
Last year we rightly lauded the incredible Games Makers who ensured we had an Olympic and Paralympic Games to remember in London. This year, as we mark 150 years, it is only right we celebrate those who truly support football.
We are extremely grateful to Pride of Britain for creating this special award.
The knowledge that he would almost certainly have become a squillionaire had his Manchester United takeover gone through in 1989 might have driven lesser men bonkers, but not so Michael Knighton.
The keepy-up specialist, UFO spotter, “creative genius” and a “football visionary” (those last two quotes courtesy of his own website) has become an artist under the cunning pseudonym Kongthin Pearlmich and plans to release the first volume of his collected poems in November.
Here are some remarkable extracts..
From Tsunami:
“Mother Nature sneezed, blew her nose and showed her gargantuan power.
“Many humans then saw, first hand, the black reaper’s witching hour.”
From The Vagrant:
"He knows not where his vagrancy will next tell him to o’ a wandering a- go.
"But he holds no fear – he’s learned to expect the unexpected deep down on skid row.”
From Ode To The Grand Designer Of The Beautiful Butterfly:
"She’s come a long way from the hairy caterpillar.”
And from Myths:
“Did you know that man came from a serpent’s tooth?
“Don’t look aghast I swear it’s the real gospel truth.
“I heard it first from Jacob’s Mother – the biblical Ruth.”
You can pre-order Michael Knighton’s Selected Poems Volume 1 from michaelknighton.co.uk.
Not Gunner travel
In what looks like a masterstroke after , Arsenal are not running an official fan trip to their Champions League qualifier at Fenerbahce on Wednesday.
The club say they have been unable to secure enough flights for supporters.
Yes, that’s the same Arsenal sponsored by… an airline!
Auntie’s bloomers
A solid start to the new campaign from BBC TV.
Football Focus’ Garth Crooks called Norwich’s new signing “Wolf van Winkel”, said David Moyes needed “seven or eight points from his first three games” (good luck getting eight, Dave!) and wore this remarkable shirt.
Then came MOTD. And, after seeing the graphic below, who says there are no new faces at Manchester United?
Jamie’s magic touch
Jamie Oliver has taken over the catering at Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium and, from Monday night’s opener against Newcastle, is pledging to deliver what the gourmands of Beswick, Ardwick and Clayton have long been demanding – a range of artisan pies and chips sprinkled with fresh rosemary.
Sneak previews of the new fayre have been hugely positive, so all looks set to work out much better than Jamie’s previous foray into football.
That came five years ago during the filming of a TV show, when he bravely ignored the example of fellow TV cook Delia Smith and decided to address the crowd at Rotherham during half-time.
Alas, Jamie’s own pukka offerings had taken a toll on his waistline since his svelte Naked Chef days and his attempts to banter with the Millmoor faithful were drowned out by chants of “You fat b*****d”.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Folically-challenged Wayne Rooney doesn’t seem to have seen the funny side of the sponsored seats in the dug-out at Swansea…
Getty
Crerand has Nou idea
Manchester United legend Pat Crerand has started the new season where he left off.
The 1960s enforcer, who now works for the champions’ MUTV channel, enlivened the end of the last campaign by watching Rio Ferdinand rapping during their title parade and telling viewers: “He thinks he’s Snoop The Dogg.”
Getty
The grand old man then delighted journalists on the champions’ pre-season tour by asking, “What kind of Spanish name is Cecil?”
When he received blank looks in return, Crerand explained “You know, Cecil Fabregas.”
Younger heads had to explain that the Barcelona midfielder was christened Francesc…
One name that is definitely real, however, is that of man who refereed United’s pre-season game against FC Kitchee in Hong Kong… a Mr Chiu Kok.
Football gaffes
Heard a gaffe? Tweet it using #FootballGaffes or email steve.anglesey@trinitymirror.com
"Gareth Bale has been levitated to the status of one of the best players in the world” – PERRY GROVES?
“It would be risky to risk Gareth Bale" – ALAN BRAZIL?
“I think Southampton will finish above teams that are well below them” – PAUL MERSON
“Who’ll win the league? It’s a toss of a coin between three of them” – MATT LE TISSIER?
“Luis Suarez has been talking in Uruguayan” – MIKE PARRY
Mirror image
The architect of a hotel where Manchester City’s youth team stayed during a recent trip to Croatia is clearly a Tottenham fan…
Eye of the Tigers
What’s the most inspirational speech in sport?
Sir Alf Ramsey telling England before extra time in the 1966 World Cup Final, “You’ve already won it once, now go out and win it again?”
Jim Telfer’s ‘Everest’ to the 1997 British and Irish Lions?
Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday?
Or could it be Steve Bruce to new signing Yannick Sagbo, while selling him on his bright vision ?
Sagbo revealed to Le Parisien: "He said, ‘You’re not going to be here for life. Work hard for us, and you can go for a slot at a bigger club.’"
Fired up! Ready to go!
Overheard…
This season, we want you to tell us the funniest things you’ve overheard either said or shouted at football.
Tweet your stories using #FootballOH or email steve.anglesey@trinitymirror.com
From @RhysDibble: “I heard someone ask his mate: ‘Would you rather win the lottery or Steve Bruce’s head full of pound coins?’”
From @gtsmale: “Tony Adcock warming up for City, comes on with 20 mins to go. Fan shouts: ‘It’s Adcock’s half hour!’”
From @robbarker1982: “Villa v Chelsea. Long break in play due to injury. Villa fan stands up: ‘Don’t just stand there, practice’!”
From @TopTopPundit: “Steve Cotterill briefly stops writing in his notebook. Fan shouts: ‘What’s wrong? Can’t you spell sh*te?’”
Wicked Whistle
Which former Premier League owner still acts as though he owns his old place?
Having turned up to a pre-season match, he spent ages bending the ear of the new chief exec about his glory days in charge, then necked a glass of wine and a stiff whisky before driving himself home in his Roller.
Rio Ferdinand feels Manchester United are ready to stuff Jose Mourinho’s opening fusillade back down the Chelsea manager’s throat.
Mourinho’s view that neither United nor Manchester City were “terrific” champions over the past two seasons added the first dash of intrigue before next Monday’s grudge match at Old Trafford.
But after playing his part as doubles from Robin van Persie and Danny Welbeck gave David Moyes the perfect start to life at United with , Ferdinand suggested it was time the champions were given some credit.
Ferdinand said: “That was his first soundbite of the season, wasn’t it? I think we expected it.
“A lot of teams vying for the championship are going to be struggling for points at Swansea, so it was a good result.
“I’m looking forward to Chelsea. We are really looking forward to it. Now we can start playing for something.
“We are professional people and want to win. You don’t appreciate it when people don’t put you in the position you should be.
“Being champions you warrant maybe a little bit more but every next person is tipping someone else to win the league and putting us in third or fourth place.
“It seemed people thought we should have come away with zero points and there would have been a lot of noise if we’d lost.
“The vibe all week was people wanted it.
“So it was nice to go there – especially in the gaffer’s first real competitive game – and to win convincingly as we did.”
Ferdinand’s view that it still felt odd to see Moyes occupying the dug-out role synonymous with Sir Alex Ferguson’s was echoed by Michael Carrick.
“It was a bit strange,” said the England midfielder. “But as a team, more than anything, we’re used to playing together. Nothing changes too much.
“We’ve still got the same expectations and pressure that we put on ourselves and it was great to get the first win for the manager on the back of last week. Hopefully that will continue.”
It will if United retain the “clinical” edge identified by Moyes as the dividing factor between them and Michael Laudrup’s men, who never recovered from the two-minute body-blow inflicted by Van Persie and Welbeck.
While will continue to rumble – and two assists in 30 minutes shows his quality is undiminished – Van Persie’s status as the main man at Old Trafford was underlined.
Swansea keeper Michel Vorm, a Holland team-mate, conceded: “The problem with him is you never know what he’s going to do.
“The first goal was a great volley with his right foot, the second an amazing shot with his left.
“Even though you know him well, he’s in the top five players in the world so it’s very hard to stop him.”
Striker Michu added: “He’s a fantastic player and we saw that again unfortunately!”
From the United point of view, though, Welbeck’s brace completed with an impudent piece of brilliance after substitute Wilfried Bony had pulled one back could have even more significance.
The England man doubled last season’s Premier League tally in the space of 90 minutes and Moyes said: “We wanted him to get in more goalscoring positions.
“His first was a tap-in, the sort of goal I like, and the next was the sort of finish of someone with confidence and who’d scored 20 in the Premier League.
“That’s what we’re going to try and encourage him and we’re going to do everything we can to make it happen.”
Carrick added: “When you train with Danny you appreciate what he gives us. Last season he didn’t get the tally of goals he hoped for and people were expecting but his performances overall were really appreciated by us all.
“He is a big player and his second just shows his belief and confidence in front of goal. He’s a real threat.”
As football fans, we are all fatalists… even during the good times. Waiting, always waiting, for that moment of spectacular payback.
Breaking news: it’s not just us.
Players too, share the same sense of creeping dread, the same notion of morbid inevitability bad things will ultimately happen.
Liverpool’s new signing Simon Mignolet certainly does.
With , creating enough chances to have won 10 games but failing to take all but one, he and the rest of his team-mates knew exactly what was coming next.
“There is an unwritten law in football that if you play well and don’t take your chances, there will be chances for the opposition,” he said with a wry smile afterwards.
“I was thinking that, the longer the game went on. I had a feeling they would equalise in the last minute, really.”
Except that Mignolet rewrote that particular script, of course. In quite the most unbelievable fashion.
So often, have dominated, created chances, but watched with a sense of resignation as the opposition keeper has produced yet another man-of-the-match performance.
So, with only a slim lead offered by Daniel Sturridge, and Asmir Begovic in world-class form between the posts for Stoke, the fatalist in every Red emerged…
The final minute.
Payback.
A soft free-kick gifted by sub Raheem Sterling, the usual efficient Stoke delivery and a moment of chaos as Daniel Agger handled.
Dropped points again.
The usual inquest.
Immediate pressure.
Except that maybe this is a different Liverpool, with a new story?
With a new keeper, who wrote a different ending, with a fantastic double-save from Jon Walters’ spot-kick.
Mignolet said: “It was the debut that you dream of. I had hoped to do something like that, but you never really think you will. Saving a penalty in the last minute, on your first game for Liverpool…”
The word he was looking for in the uncompleted sentence was ‘wow’.
Not only because it makes the giant Belgian an instant hero, but because it changes the complexion of Liverpool’s campaign.
They were a team weighed down by the burden of , distracted by the sorry saga, and facing his inevitable departure.
Yet the way he paraded around the pitch on Saturday in Liverpool kit, suggested he’s staying.
Most importantly of all, they played some awesome football.
That is all encouraging for the Reds, but less so if they had only got a disappointing draw at the end of it.
As Mignolet himself said afterwards, his save changed the whole feel of the new season.
“It can have a damaging effect if you play well and don’t win. We can now go to the next game being relaxed that we can do the same things we have done, rather than feeling anxious that we have to win,” he said.
“It does change things.
“This time we won and that hasn’t happened too often for Liverpool on the opening day of the season in recent years. This is very important to set our season off.”
With the confirmed talent of Suarez and perhaps Willian to add to , then maybe Liverpool’s aim of a top-four finish is not so fanciful after all.
Stoke can have no complaints, even if they would have had a precious point had not Walters again chosen to put his spot-kick in his well-known preferred area.
The striker has to change up or change out.
They would have lost heavily but for the expertise of Begovic, and Stoke fans will no doubt get that fatalist feeling as the transfer window prepares to slam shut, with sides such as Arsenal still looking for a keeper.
So far, though, there has been nothing, and the Bosnian insists he will be happy to stay.
“My future’s here. You never know what comes up and nothing did,” he explained.
“The club wanted me to stay and there was no other thought. I have worked hard in pre-season and am looking forward to another campaign here.”
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