1) Young for England?
Ashley Young’s last game for England came in September 2013 as a 67th-minute substitute in the goalless World Cup qualifier in Ukraine best remembered for Roy Hodgson praising the “very high quality” of the game and barely even trying to conceal his rage when he was informed that Gary Lineker had described it as “awful.” Since then, Young has dropped out of Hodgson’s thinking without anyone really quibbling with the decision or campaigning on the player’s behalf. Young’s form had not only deteriorated to the point where he was in danger of becoming the player Manchester United’s supporters liked the least, he had also saddled himself with a reputation as one of the Premier League’s more prolific divers. And a player who tries to win penalties with acts of cheating – for that is what it is – cannot expect a great deal of sympathy when his form slumps and other players are brought in to take his place.
To see Young excelling as part of United’s gradual renaissance, culminating in the former Aston Villa player being the outstanding performer in the 4-2 defeat of Manchester City, is therefore one of the more unexpected success stories at Old Trafford this season, especially as it means him keeping the most expensive player in English football, Ángel Di María, out of the team. “He was fantastic,” his manager, Louis van Gaal, said. “He was our best player. I am very happy for him.”
Can he revive his England career? Roy Hodgson was at Old Trafford on Sunday and Young’s chances must have been significantly improved by his contribution, including the equalising goal as well as the crosses for Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling to score. His diving appears to have been curtailed and if he can maintain this level of performance nobody should be too surprised if he comes into Hodgson’s plans for England’s two games in June: the friendly against Republic of Ireland in Dublin and then the Euro 2016 qualifier in Slovenia.
Young, with 30 caps, turns 30 the following month, which is usually the age when insecurity appears in a footballer’s mind. In his case, the future is looking considerably brighter than anyone could possibly have anticipated at the start of the season. Daniel Taylor
• Match report: Manchester United 4-2 Manchester City
• Andy Hunter: five talking points from a dramatic derby
• Jamie Jackson: Young rejuvenation makes life tough for foreign legion
• Michael Cox: Fellaini upstages Milner in battle of unorthodox No10s
2) Have Tottenham had enough of the Europa League grind?
Tottenham are seventh after the 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa and Mauricio Pochettino more or less hoisted the white flag when he was asked about their hopes of finishing in the top four. They are in a battle to qualify for the Europa League now. Yet there is a suspicion that they would not be too worried if they miss out. Nothing against the Europa League, a fine and exciting competition when it gets going, but Tottenham have been looking leggy in recent weeks. The Thursday-Sunday grind has taken a toll on their squad and for a club whose ultimate ambition is to reach the Champions League, it might not be the end of the world if their Thursday nights are a bit freer next season. “It’s not easy,” Pochettino said. “When you are a young squad and you make the biggest effort during the season maybe you arrive, not physically, but mentally in a very difficult moment at the end of the season.” Jacob Steinberg
• Match report: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 Aston Villa
• Sherwood thanks Spurs for chance to manage after Villa win
3) Ospina is Arsenal’s unsung hero
He is South American, enjoyed a fine World Cup, joined Arsenal in the summer and has played a major part in their success this season. It is Alexis Sánchez, but not just him. Arsenal’s record with David Ospina in goal is extraordinary. He has played 12 league games and Arsenal have emerged victorious in 11 of them. If that 92% win rate will prove unsustainable in the long term, the Colombian has certainly justified Arsène Wenger’s decision to promote him ahead of Wojciech Szczesny. Ospina didn’t have much to do in the 1-0 win at Turf Moor on Saturday but when he was required, he showed the sort of conviction that gives defenders confidence in their goalkeeper. An early block from Sam Vokes prevented Burnley from taking the lead. Kieran Trippier’s free-kick was repelled. Ospina’s performance illustrated why Arsenal’s defending has become more authoritative of late. For years, when Szczesny, Lukasz Fabianski and Manuel Almunia were selected, there have been suggestions Arsenal need a new goalkeeper. Now perhaps they don’t. Richard Jolly
• Match report: Burnley 0-1 Arsenal
• Wenger glad Arsenal do not face ‘nightmare’ post-season tour
• Ashley Barnes: ‘I found Mourinho’s criticism of me funny’
4) Chelsea’s togetherness helps them tough it out
José Mourinho offered a snapshot in how his Chelsea players had bought into the collective mentality that is required to become the Premier League champions. Some of the post-match focus, after the streaky 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers, was on the goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, by dint of his match-changing save from Matt Phillips. Mourinho said with a smile that he had told Courtois that he owed him a couple of points, after his error at Hull City and how he had been beaten from 66 yards by Stoke City’s Charlie Adam. Yet Mourinho wanted to highlight somebody else – the back-up goalkeeper, Petr Cech. “Cech’s attitude is amazing,” Mourinho said. “Before the game, he was telling the captain to choose a certain end, if he won the toss because, at 1.30pm, a certain goal is better to play in because of the sun. He was not playing but he was thinking of Courtois.” David Hytner
• Match report: QPR 0-1 Chelsea
• Costa out for Chelsea until May at earliest, says Mourinho
• Chelsea make £4m bid to sign Japan forward Muto in summer
• QPR’s Phillips: from forgotten man to assist-maker extraordinaire
5) Pardew’s tactical acumen enabled Bolasie to terrorise Sunderland
Alan Pardew showed off his true managerial ability while exacting brutal revenge on Sunderland for the four straight defeats he suffered against the Wearsiders as Newcastle United manager. Granted it helped Palace’s cause that Lee Cattermole picked up a silly first-half booking for pulling back Yannick Bolasie and thereafter needed to watch his step. Yet if Pardew must have been delighted to see Dick Advocaat subsequently replace an alarmingly frustrated Cattermole – Sunderland’s key player – with Liam Bridcutt, his tactics already looked near perfect. With Palace’s defence cleverly isolating Jermain Defoe, their pace enabled them to persistently undo Sunderland on the counterattack, with the excellent Bolasie – the scorer of a fabulous hat-trick – in particular constantly pulling Advocaat’s backline out of shape courtesy of his intelligent movement. Even so Patrick Van Aanholt had been doing well for Sunderland in the first half. Spotting this problem, Pardew clearly instructed Wilfried Zaha to make life difficult for the home left-back after the interval and such advice appeared to work a treat. Van Aanholt is the only Sunderland defender blessed with speed but, under increasing pressure, he was no longer available to help out the less-than-pace-suffused John O’Shea and Santiago Vergini. Palace’s ruthlessly efficient targeting of that pair soon saw them fall apart in the face of Bolasie and company as their manager’s game plan paid increasing dividends. Certainly the near anonymous Jack Rodwell and Jordi Gómez found themselves thoroughly out-manoeuvred by much intelligent central midfield pressing on the part of James McArthur and Mile Jedinak. Pardew is rarely shy about talking about himself up but when he claimed the 1-4 scoreline flattered Sunderland he was not exaggerating. Louise Taylor
• Match report: Sunderland 1-4 Crystal Palace
• Sean Ingle: Pardew deserves credit, and not just for Palace revival
6) West Brom’s replica kit was fitting tribute to The King
In remembrance of Jeff Astle – The King to Baggies fans – West Brom were kitted out in specially commissioned replicas of their 1968 FA Cup final shirts against Leicester, with the starting side refreshingly numbered 2-11 – Boaz Myhill wore a plain green shirt without a number. Saido Berahino was given No9, Astle’s number, by Tony Pulis as a reward for the young striker’s impressive run of form. “He has been so good for us this season and we had a little chat beforehand about it,” the manager said. Few could dispute it was a nice touch but why Darren Fletcher wore No11 in centre midfield was anybody’s guess. Alan Smith
7) Has Hull’s “new assistant manager bounce” worn off?
After Steve Bruce hired Mike Phelan to help him in early February, Hull drew with Manchester City and then beat Aston Villa and Queens Park Rangers. It looked like they were heading in the right direction. But they have not won a match since then and are now deep in peril with fearsome assignments ahead. Of all the teams still threatened by relegation, Hull have the most daunting set of fixtures, with four of their six remaining matches against teams in the top seven. They have yet to beat a team in the top half this season. Goalkeeper Steve Harper, who started against Southampton as one of several changes made by a management team desperately seeking solutions, believes the Phelangood factor is still strong. “The training has been good and since Mike has come in, the tempo has gone up and been good,” said Harper. “Work has been put in on the training ground, credit to the gaffer, Mike and the staff, we went back to a four [in defence, against Southampton] which gave us a better attacking threat. We just need to start taking the chances that we create.” Bruce reckons that two, or maybe three, victories will see his team to safety, but can they get that many from matches against Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Arsenal, Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United? Paul Doyle
8) Cork could provide the fizz at base of England’s midfield diamond
Garry Monk has done impressive business in his two transfer windows as Swansea manager, but Jack Cork is shaping up to be his most stellar acquisition. Since Cork’s £3m arrival from Southampton, Monk has been able to shift Swansea from their familiar 4-2-3-1 set-up to a midfield diamond with minimum disruption. Cork sits at the base of that diamond, offering an effective shield for his back four, breaking up play and distributing effectively. The 25-year-old is not flash but he is already an integral element at Swansea. With England well on course to qualify for Euro 2016, surely Roy Hodgson could do worse than assess Cork’s credentials before the finals come round. Andrew Gwilym
• Match report: Swansea City 1-1 Everton
• Everton set to make Manchester United’s Cleverley a summer target
• Swansea’s Naughton ruled out for season with ankle-ligament injury
9) West Ham should stick with Allardyce, for one more year
The West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, may have described Marko Arnautovic’s injury-time equaliser as “the ultimate blow”, but the soon-to-be-out-of-contract 60-year-old knows he is already on the ropes in east London and before the match spoke to the press as though he was a dead-man walking. Rafa Benítez, also out of contract at Napoli where he has just rejected a three-year extension, was reportedly spotted at the club’s training ground last week, along with former Everton and Manchester United (and current part-time Derby County) coach Steve Round, and the Spaniard now looks certain to land the job. However encouraging this campaign may have been, West Ham’s first priority next season will be to ensure that they are a Premier League club when they make the move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016. However accomplished his CV is, appointing Benítez would be a gamble. West Ham are a club with well-known long-term aspirations but until they get to Stratford, they might be better placed to play it safe and stick with Allardyce in the short-term, if only for one more year. Allardyce has been cast aside before, most notably when he was foolishly sacked by Blackburn Rovers in 2010. It proved to be a poor decision. Michael Butler
• Match report: West Ham 1-1 Stoke City
• Allardyce says he doesn’t know if he’ll be at West Ham next season
10) Benteke revival proof Sherwood’s simple psychology works
If he decides the heat of Premier League management is too much or his win ratios start to slip, Tim Sherwood could set up some sort of consultancy business reinvigorating the careers of struggling wayward, but ultimately talented, strikers. Last season at Spurs he brought Emmanuel Adebayor in from an André Villas-Boas decreed exile and the forward bagged 14 goals in the second half of the campaign, and now Christian Benteke, who before Sherwood’s arrival had scored just three goals in 18 appearances, but since his record is now eight in nine. Benteke’s revival could also be down to a general improvement in Villa’s form, which of course couldn’t get much worse than under the desperate Paul Lambert, while he spent the early weeks of the season recovering from injury, but there’s something else too, and the Belgian looks revitalised. Sherwood’s approach with Adebayor was to make him “feel like he was the main man”, while it’s been similar with Benteke. “I’ve had chats with him, told him what I think of him, and how everyone in Europe seemed to want him a year ago, and that doesn’t just vanish,” Sherwood said on Saturday. It is, of course, easy to be sniffy about Sherwood and his methods because they appear to be quite simplistic, but why over-complicate matters? This relatively basic psychology and man-management clearly works – for how long remains to be seen, but at the moment Benteke, with Sherwood’s help, looks as if he’s firing his club to safety. Nick Miller
• Match report: Tottenham 0-1 Aston Villa
• Sherwood thanks Spurs for chance to manage after Villa win
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