1) Flores unruffled as Watford reach new heights
It seemed a little impertinent to gatecrash Watford’s euphoria by mentioning future problems, but inevitably there it was - the question about whether the team might struggle to hold on to talent that has expressed itself so well this season. Quique Sanchez Flores merely arched one of those sophisticated eyebrows and allowed himself half a smile at the thought. “Some players want to leave and I love it because it means they want to improve and it shows they have done something important. I love it,” he said. “If they want to go to big clubs it means we are doing things in the right way.”
Indeed they are. Watford might have looked a long shot for a promising season back in the summer - newly promoted, on their umpteenth manager in a short space of time and with a high turnover of players to gel together. Flores has surely outperformed expectation by overseeing a comfortable Premier League campaign and guiding his team to Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final. Maybe his attitude to any potential vultures reflects that he, as well as his players, are right to have big ambitions. It would be a surprise if other teams did not have a watching brief on Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney, who were both excellent in dismantling Arsenal at the Emirates. "A handful," said Arsene Wenger, somewhat ruefully. Flores wants Watford to rise to the challenge, right now on the pitch with new spark for the remainder of the campaign, and - in terms of the bigger picture - in endeavouring to keep the best of this squad together. "We need to accept this is possible, it's football. When the big teams come in, we are Watford, and we need to be ready for that." Amy Lawrence
2) Martial ensures Manchester United’s season is still alive
Manchester United got out of jail with Anthony Martial's late equaliser against West Ham, and now have another chance to progress to the FA Cup semi-finals and then all the way to a 12th triumph in the competition in May's Wembley showpiece. Arsenal's elimination by Watford means Louis van Gaal's band of strugglers have had one big obstacle removed yet West Ham, under the midweek replay lights at Upton Park for the last time in the Cup, will provide another. But to win any knockout competition the bottom line is that any opposition have to be beaten, and as the replay is after the international break and may be a week or so into next month, Van Gaal may have Wayne Rooney and others back to boost prospects. United appeared to be gone when the excellent Dimitri Payet smacked a 68th-minute 25-yard curler in off David de Gea's left post. But, they are not. In east London in April they now must seize the opportunity to rescue a troubled season. Jamie Jackson
3) Pato’s move to Chelsea looks totally pointless
The individual and collective honours tended to end up at Stamford Bridge last season. They won’t this year, unless Radamel Falcao collects the unofficial award for the worst signing of the season and Alexandre Pato the unwanted tag of the most pointless. The reality is that Chelsea’s season has in effect ended, with virtually no chance of a top-four finish and no further involvement in either the Champions League or the FA Cup, and Pato still has not debuted. Any contribution he makes will be an irrelevant afterthought. Pato at least travelled to Merseyside on Saturday, but the Brazilian was not named in the matchday squad. When Guus Hiddink needed another striker in a desperate search for a goal, he sent John Terry on in attack. It represented another ignominious moment in a career of a player who was tipped for greatness as a teenager, is still only 26 and has not scored a goal for a European club since 2012. In theory, Diego Costa’s suspension for his dismissal at Everton could afford an opportunity. In reality, he is behind Bertrand Traore in the pecking order and, with comparatively little at stake, it makes more sense to pick one who will be at Stamford Bridge next season. Instead, Pato’s time in London questions about who, besides his agent Kia Joorabchian, has really benefited from a spell of expensive inactivity. Richard Jolly
4) Garde’s cryptic answers only add to Villa confusion
It was the last question in Remi Garde’s post-match press conference and seemed a legitimate one to ask in the circumstances. Aston Villa had been beaten 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at home and with the game effectively over as a contest from the 48th minute, when Harry Kane scored his second goal, events off the pitch became more interesting than those taking place on it. Several “Lerner Out” banners were raised during the second half, there was another one bearing the name of Tom Fox, the chief executive officer, and at one stage even the Tottenham supporters started calling for the Villa owner to go (they also later expressed their hope that he would rock up at Arsenal). With stewards under instructions to confiscate the banners, fans arguing the case with them and others turning their anger on the board, it was not exactly the ideal backdrop for a match. Yet anyone who has witnessed Villa’s demise over the last six seasons, but in particular this disastrous campaign, could probably sympathise with how their supporters feel at the sight of their club sitting rock bottom of the league and sliding into the Championship. With all of that in mind, a reporter put it to Garde that the fans are unhappy and clearly want to express themselves - whether through banners that are taken away from them or other means. They explained that matches are their only opportunity to do so, and therefore wondered: did the Villa manager defend their right or believe that they should they be focused on the team?
Garde paused and then said: “It’s a tough question. I prefer to live in a world where everybody can say with respect - which is very important and what everybody has to do - but on this occasion I would say as well that nobody has to forget what happened in the past and what has been done in the past by everybody involved in this football club, if you know what I mean.” Whether intentional or not it felt slightly cryptic and nobody in the media room was quite sure what Garde meant, to the point that seagulls and trawlers got mentioned by a few people after the Villa manager had got up from his chair. One thing that just about everyone is agreed on, however, is that Aston Villa Football Club is in one hell of a mess. The news that Brian Little, a respected former Villa manager and player, will be acting as an adviser to the board feels like a step in the right direction, although it was tempting to wonder what was going through his mind as he looked on from the directors’ box. Relegation is inevitable for this famous club. Promotion from the Championship feels anything but. Stuart James
5) Barrow and Gomis could save Swansea’s season
After his goal in Swansea’s defeat at Bournemouth, Modou Barrow became the first Gambian to score in the Premier League, providing his country with an unusual claim to fame as they became the latest of 95 different nationalities to score in England’s top flight since 1992. Barrow was later substituted with cramp but is expected to be fit to face Aston Villa on Saturday. A more important statistic for Swansea now though is ensuring they remain a Premier League club come next season. Gylfi Sigurdsson and Bafetimbi Gomis will prove pivotal to doing just that but Barrow too could yet play a crucial role. Gomis has struck up a good relationship with Barrow, who ran over to celebrate his goal with the striker. “He has been pushing me in training and telling me that with my pace I can beat players,” Barrow said. “I am so quick they cannot catch me so I can finish. He was even pushing me before the game. He was telling me what to do and giving me advice - he is a good friend to me.” Barrow is a quiet individual and wouldn’t say boo to a goose, according to his coach Alan Curtis, but his contribution this season could yet speak volumes. “You’ve almost got to drag a conversation out of him,” Curtis said. “He’s a lovely kid and he works extremely hard and he’s got a real bright future ahead of him.” Ben Fisher
6) Stoke must aim to (just) miss out on Europe
Stoke City’s target for the remainder of this season should be to break their record points tally for the Premier League (54, last year) and finish seventh, assuming that means missing out on the Europa League.
Manchester City’s League Cup triumph means the division’s sixth-placed finishers are likely to qualify for the continent’s booby prize that is the Europa League. Southampton, who finished seventh last season, also edged in. Every club should aspire to progress year on year, and the manner in which Mark Hughes has continued to build on the rock solid foundations put in place by Tony Pulis is admirable. Stokealona played some scintillating stuff before Christmas when Marko Arnautovic, Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri were fit and firing. Even now that exciting trio are contributing more fitfully, the integration of the imposing Giannelli Imbula is promising to make up for last year’s loss of Steven N’Zonzi and, on their day, Stoke are a fine combination of style and substance.
But even after Southampton edged ahead of Stoke in the “bid” for Europa League qualification on Saturday, Hughes was still in good humour. Asked whether he hoped to combine surpassing last season’s points tally with missing out on the burdens that come with bulking up for the Europa League, the Stoke manager refrained from sounding unambitious. “Yes, but we would love the opportunity to see if we could cope,” he said. “This club’s had some great experiences in Europe before and we would love to be able to experience it again. We would not try and not do it because we think it is a little bit of a bind. It is something we would embrace rather than be fearful.” Pulis eventually took a weakened team to Valencia for a Europa League knockout game in February of his penultimate season and was never forgiven by supporters. Building a squad big enough to cope with the increased fixtures, while keeping good players happy with sufficient minutes in the Premier League, is a delicate balancing act for a mid-sized club. If Hughes gets Stoke to 55 points and seventh or eighth this spring, he will have achieved the best result for the club. Peter Lansley
7) Iheanacho deserves to start instead of Bony
Manuel Pellegrini seemed to suggest that his side drew a game they really needed to win against Norwich City because it was just one of those days. If, by that, he meant one of those days where City’s performance makes you question his team selection, gameplan and ability to motivate players, then he was right. Sure, City were weakened by the absence of Yaya Toure - who, despite his flaws, remains a key creator for City - but it is difficult to argue that the manager got the best out of the resources still available to him. Especially when Wilfried Bony started ahead of Kelechi Iheanacho, who has been far sharper than the Ivorian throughout the season, but has only started three times in the Premier League. City should reach the Champions League quarter-final for the first time this season - they go into Tuesday’s home game against Dynamo Kyiv with a 3-1 lead from the first leg - but if they are to compete in the tournament next season, Pellegrini needs to give more opportunities to Iheanacho soon. Next weekend’s Manchester derby would be a good time to start. Louis van Gaal has benefited from picking talented young strikers this season and his team, like West Ham, are well placed to overhaul City in the top four. Paul Doyle
8) Pardew’s double standards take shine off Palace win
“If you think that touch affects the fall and the way he lands, then you really need to be consulted. It’s a worrying issue in the game. He made a big meal of it in my opinion. If it had been us we wouldn’t have got it.”
Alan Pardew's words after Palace's defeat to Liverpool last week, directed at Christian Benteke after the striker won and converted a controversial penalty, could easily have been applied on Friday night to Pardew's own forward, Yannick Bolasie, who went down under the slightest of touches in the 86th minute. Yohan Cabaye scored from the spot, the offender, Reading's Michael Hooper, was sent off, and Palace went on to put their name in the hat for the FA Cup semi-final for the first time since 1995. The truth is that both incidents, concerning Benteke and Bolasie, were probably correctly awarded, but it would have been heartening if Pardew had acknowledged the irony of how his side's first goal came about, and how silly it made last week's comments look. Instead, it was the usual guff: "I haven't seen the penalty again and I am not going to even give it an opinion." How utterly predictable. The former Reading manager is certainly not the only manager guilty of this, but the next time his side are on the end of a contentious decision, it would be refreshing if Pardew didn't attack the officials, and instead accepted it as simply part of the game. You win some, you lose some. Michael Butler
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