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Premier League Review - Hiddink success can only quicken Mourinho return

Chelsea grind out point ahead of Manchester United

A 0-0 against Watford doesn’t mean a great deal beyond extending Chelsea’s unbeaten run under Guus Hiddink. Diego Costa was back to his provocative self, without actually scoring, and Eden Hazard did little impressive despite his goal at the weekend.

What is interesting is that there is a rumour in Italy that Jose Mourinho has agreed to take charge of Manchester United at the end of the season, and earlier this week Mourinho went out of his way not to deny any connection with United. There are growing rumours that Chelsea’s former manager will soon be Manchester United’s next one. Guus Hiddink’s careful and effective management of Chelsea makes it only more likely that Louis van Gaal’s exit will be expedited.

Manchester United finally score more than once

Congratulations to Manchester United, who must be coming out of a collective bout of amnesia. So that, they must be thinking, is what scoring two goals in a half feels like. So that, Wayne Rooney must be thinking, is what it’s like to pass the ball and for it to find the person you were aiming for. So that, Marouane Fellaini must be thinking, is what it’s like to walk around the pitch without falling over or giving the ball away on every single occasion.

Manchester United deserved their win against Stoke City, and the reason they managed that was because of their unusual effectiveness in front of goal. Not only did they take the chances that presented themselves, first with Jesse Lingard, then with Anthony Martial, they created more than a couple in a game.

Because of United’s awful performance before the transfer window, it makes some kind of sense that the board did not back Louis van Gaal with money - it would be throwing good money after bad, to be managed by worse. But look at the league table now: they should realise that even with Van Gaal in charge, serious investment would have ensured Champions League qualification, at the very least.

Jamie Vardy is the new Luis Suarez, in more ways than one

Luis Suarez showed that you can have a history of racist abuse and still score vital goals for a club on its way to Champions League qualification. He also showed that scoring enough goals will make sure that a club’s fans will either ignore the racism, or go out of their way to celebrate it. So Jamie Vardy has done the same, which makes Leicester’s success largely unenjoyable despite the rest of the squad seeming pleasant enough.

Don’t get it twisted - Manchester City’s owners won’t let Israelis into their country, and Arsenal priced out their local community with absurd ticket prices, so none of the best teams in the country are without their own problems. Chelsea, too, employ John Terry and describe him as a legend, despite him describing Anton Ferdinand as a ******* black ****. There are no heroes in football anymore.

Nevertheless, Vardy’s on-pitch brilliance will have been a reminder to Leicester that they are now in the title race, and their reinforced squad could keep fresh enough for as long as it takes. For Liverpool, they will have seen a gobby, bigoted striker, and probably wish they had their one back from Barcelona. Which is fairly depressing, all told.

Arsenal, oh Arsenal

Congratulations to Arsenal to taking a position of strength and turning it into an emphatic position of Arsenal. Fourth place for them is their comfortably numb. If they fail to advance above third place this season then they should consider it a failure. The lack of competition for places at the top should have seen them in charge of the title race, instead their renewed inconsistency has seen them back to their worst habits. Brittle at the back, unfocused in attack.

It should have been different. Arsene Wenger promised a busy transfer window and delivered a defensive midfielder he is not certain to give much time to this season. This window was the time to take his testes out of the bathtub and embrace the shock of something new. Instead, it is the same as ever. His plums are in stasis. They may still win the league as Leicester and Manchester City are certainly not unbeatable, but it should be far easier than Wenger is making it. Add the goalless draw against Southampton to dropping points against Chelsea and Stoke, and it feels very familiar, despite the claims of fundamental improvement.

As Ronald Koeman reportedly said to Wenger after he had a pop at Lee Mason, after the match, “it’s always the same with you. You had 10 chances to score and couldn’t take any of them, so why have a go at them?” Quite.

Manchester City have their perfect man to launder the reputation of the UAE

Congratulations to Manchester City, they have used the abuse of the citizens of the United Arab Emirates to secure enough petrodollars for Pep Guardiola to join them from the summer. Guardiola, who made his name at Barcelona - more than a club (an exercise in nationalism, too) - and then shilled for the Qatar World Cup campaign, is clearly an incredibly moral man. He will therefore fit right in with Manchester City.

No matter, really. To their fans, or to the wider audience of the Premier League, it is the spectacle and excitement above all else that matters most. Guardiola has created two of the best sides of all time, first at Barcelona and now at Bayern Munich, who could yet win the Champions League in 2016. For their manager, it seems that his sole pursuit is to achieve footballing perfection, and therefore he wants the club with the biggest resources. From that point of view, it’s fair enough - you should ignore the claims that he’s got something to prove by eschewing Manchester United. Maybe he has no time for badly run, badly funded football clubs. He would not be the only one.

Their success against Sunderland might have been expected, but it was not guaranteed. With the Guardiola news now well known, Manuel Pellegrini and City’s fans should be hopeful that his players are committed enough to take advantage of a distinctly uncompetitive Premier League to mark Pellegrini’s exit.