Finally the prem is back, it's been a hard couple of months without the weekly dose of top flight football. So I suppose its time to get down to the opinions and reports straight away.
QPR 0 - 4 Bolton
Well the first 10 minutes seemed to show that everyone's fears about Taarabt not being able to play top level football were not justified. However he seemed to get less and less of the ball as the match went on; I don't think that this was because they were not trying to get him involved, I think it was because he did not try hard enough to charge down players in the middle of the park. I hope he gets out of this habit quickly because there's no doubt in my mind he is a huge talent but I do not think he will. I think that QPR have a good chance this year to stay up but they need to sign a big, strong midfielder as they were constantly being beaten there by the much more physical Bolton team. Overall you have to think that Bolton just have that bit of premier league quality that QPR are lacking, it wasn't just the strength either, there was something Bolton had that QPR just did not. I'm not too sure what that is but I think when they get new owners Warnock has to be given a lot of money to buy some players of higher quality. Good win for Bolton but it was far too easy for them, cannot expect them to keep that up against some teams with more quality. As for QPR, if they do not sign anyone else they will be relegated, if they bring in enough quality then maybe 15th - 16th could be a good guess.
Man of the match - Frabrice Muamba - Managed to deal with anything QPR threw at bolton with relative ease, then quickly started a counter or managed to hold it up for everyone to get into position and he even bagged himself a goal.
Liverpool 1 - 1 Sunderland
Considering the amount of money that Liverpool spent and considering the fact that their signings were all playing this was a very poor result for them. The best player by far on the Liverpool team was Luis Suarez, he was a trouble for Sunderland all day and was the only player that looked like he was actually playing to the best of his ability, even though he did miss a penalty - which I personally think he may have dived a bit for. I thought Charlie Adam and Jordan Henderson were both very poor today, OK Adam set up Suarez's goal but the rest of his set plays were off target most of the game, considering he has such a big target to aim for in Carroll. Sebastian Larsson was a breath of fresh air for Sunderland who looked like a different team every time he got the ball, which was duly rewarded in quite a stunning debut goal. Something that did confuse me is why Dalglish took off Suarez when they really wanted to score and he looked most likely, I think that was a mistake. For Liverpool it is hard not to see them in the top four this year, despite this result, however I do not think they are close enough to the top three to be above fourth place. Sunderland I am not sure about as they can play well and then go on a bad streak for 8 or 9 games, I'd have to see them in the top 10 though.
Man of the match - Tough one this, I'd say it has to either be Wes Brown or Seb Larsson. Brown did keep out pretty much everything from Liverpool and the way he went about it showed good skill as well. Larsson well he played some amazing passes and his goal was a highlight of the opening day.
Newcastle 0 - 0 Arsenal
Put it simply Arsenal missed the passing of Fabregas and the creativity of Nasri, there is no avoiding that. This passing is exactly what Newcastle had from Barton, it was a very brave decision by Pardew to include Barton but in terms of the way they played it paid off. I'm still not too sure what to think of Gervinho, he wasted too many chances on the ball and although he did show creativity it was only in the build up, the final ball was very poor, that's when he actually did produce a final ball. I'm sorry but Wenger can complain about Barton all he wants, Song should have been sent off for stamping on him before and yes Barton should not have pulled Gervinho up but the Ivory Coast international did slap him and that is a straight red in any game. In truth this was quite a poor match with only that incident to liven it up. Newcastle should easily be able to survive this year, being up near the top 10 but I don't think they will make it into that zone unless they bring in a better striker. Arsenal, Arsenal, Arsenal, where do we put you, I have to be honest and say that I do not think they will make the top 4 and unless they sign some replacements for Fabregas and Nasri, I do not think they will get above Spurs, so 6th at the moment.
Man of the match - Tough choice again but I'll have to go with Tim Krul in the Newcastle goal, performed very well when the defence in front of him failed.
Blackburn 1 - 2 Wolves
Not too sure what needs to be written about this game. But for the Blackburn goal all credit has to go to Jason Roberts for his persistence in getting the ball so he could just square it across the face of the goal, shame that the goalkeeper did not do a better job. Fletcher's goal for Wolves was down to the new centre-back pairing in the Blackburn defence, as both centre backs went towards the near post - leaving Salgado to deal with the header - if Samba and Nelsen were playing then you have to feel that Fletcher would not have had that chance. Wolves' second goal was just a simple lack of defence again, two players were on the line in the same place, leaving a big gap in the right side of the goal, which Ward made sure he used fully. Blackburn should be aiming for a top 10 finish but I do not think they will make it, I think they will get around 15th if they are lucky, possibly trying to avoid relegation at the end of the season. I think they will avoid it though, finishing 17th. Wolves are a hard team to guess as they can beat anyone on their day but I think they will be battling for relegation once again, I do think they will survive at 18th but only just.
Man of the match - Mine has to be Roger Johnson, he defended well and he often went into midfield to give his team an advantage.
Wigan 1 - 1 Norwich
Not a bad outing for a newly promoted team, however Wigan are not the same without N'Zogbia, he replaced Valencia when he left and now Martinez needs to find a good replacement for the Frenchman. Most of the players that Norwich have signed seemed to perform quite well today, even though their goal was courtesy of a mistake for Al Habsi. I was very impressed with how well Morrison played when he was forced to supply for Hoolahan, which is never easy for a proper striker. I'd like to think that Moses played very well for Wigan but when he had a chance to score or assist Di Santo if he kept running yet chose to shoot from the halfway line, he lost quite a lot of his rating for me. I am worried about Wigan this year, I like the way they play but without that N'Zogbia style player I think they will be in trouble with relegation, he was the difference for them last year and without him they will go down. I do not hold much hope for Norwich, I feel that without a doubt they will go down at the end of the year.
Man of the match - Hoolahan for me, always on the end of a Norwich cross and causing a lot of trouble for the Wigan defence.
Fulham 0 - 0 Aston Villa
Judging by the scoreline you'd think that the goalkeepers did very well for their respective team. However I think this match was more about wasted opportunities than amazing saves. Given did make a couple of good saves in the 2nd half though but I do think the Fulham players that had the attempts could have done a lot better. Both of these teams should be aiming for Europa League football and you have to think that in theory they have enough quality to reach it, but I think Villa will come up quite short, finishing around 10th. Fulham could reach that spot, I think that they will not but they have a chance.
Man of the match - Given, not because he played particularly well but because he was the best of a bad bunch.
Dan
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