Five folk who didn’t cover themselves in glory during today’s Premier League action.
Another Saturday of thrilling Premier League action is now over, with the biggest games of the day having seen Liverpool edge to a vital victory over West Bromwich Albion and Manchester City’s late rally take them past Aston Villa.
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It wasn’t all good however – these five enjoyed a less than distinguished afternoon:
Rickie Lambert (Liverpool)
Given a surprise start by Brendan Rodgers, with Mario Balotelli dropped to the bench, there was no doubting Rickie Lambert’s desire to succeed and his work rate, but the three excellent chances that were squandered by the England striker are unlikely to get him a more regular berth in the team, whilst his lack of pace is really exposed in a Liverpool side that want to play quickly.
Frazier Campbell (Crystal Palace)
On his return to former club Hull City, striker Frazier Campbell was given the job of leading the line for Crystal Palace by Neil Warnock, but Campbell led the trend of profligacy that ran through a Palace team who may well feel that they should’ve come away with something from the KC Stadium. Indeed, Warnock may well see Marouane Chamakh or Dwight Gayle as a better option next time around.
Nigel Pearson (Leicester City)
The Leicester City boss is generally one of the most gracious and reasonable in the Premier League – so it was a surprise to hear him bemoaning Burnley’s defensive performance at the King Power Stadium today and denying that Sean Dyche’s side deserved their late equaliser. In reality, the Clarets controlled long periods of the second half and thoroughly deserved Ross Wallace’s fine leveler.
Michael Oliver
Referee Michael Oliver didn’t have a distinguished afternoon as he took charge of the Premier League clash between Liverpool and West Bromwich Albion at Anfield, awarding a frankly absurd penalty when Dejan Lovren brought down Saido Berahino a good two yards outside the penalty area. Berahino stepped up to took the spot kick away and, had it denied Liverpool a crucial three points, Oliver would have had plenty of questions to answer.
Alan Pardew
Alan Pardew reiterated his desire to cling on to the Newcastle United job after they drew 2-2 at Swansea City, but the Magpies’ winless run is getting out of hand and a fortuitous point in South Wales did little to convince fans that Pardew is capable of turning it around. Newcastle were stodgy, one-paced and largely outplayed by a more inventive home side – Pardew cannot rely on Papiss Cisse’s finish ability bailing him out every week.