Ratings review returns to find that patience is wearing thin among many disgruntled supporters.
Chris Burton finds that patience is wearing thin among many disgruntled supporters.
Any top-flight manager worth his salt will be quick to reel off clichéd spiel about how silverware is not handed out in November should any caffeine-fuelled hack have the nerve to question quite how he plans to keep afloat an ailing club which is in serious danger of succumbing to a Titanic-esque plunge into oblivion.
That, though, is their job. To live a completely blinkered existence in which they refuse to acknowledge that a run of 10 games without a win is not title-winning form, or fail to comprehend that supporters are unwilling to spend their hard-earned cash on the constant dross which is churned out by their chosen troops week after week.
Without wishing to name names, I am sure that are there are a few high-profile managers who could easily be placed into that unwanted bracket at present.
I do not want sound like some demonic doom-monger who believes that anything less than maximum points every weekend should result in a flurry of P45s be hastily despatched, but there comes a point in every supporter's life when enough is enough.
Managers are, unfortunately for them, prime candidates for terrace abuse once a season begins to disintegrate before your eyes and it becomes painfully apparent that those child-like pre-season dreams you harboured of seeing your club rip up the form book and march into the top four were, perhaps, slightly exaggerated after all.
All of sudden 17th spot in the Premier League table represents the height of your expectations and you begin to question why you continue to waste your weekends clinging to the mistaken belief that things can only get better.
They will not, and having spent the afternoon barracking the ineptitude of the ringer who continues to lead your club towards the depths of despair, you return home to vent your spleen on those charged with generating performances on the field.
Skysports.com's interactive ratings system allows you to be as ruthless as you want, without having to look those you are undermining in the eye, as you callously award them a pitiful mark of two, or worse, following another abject display.
Wrath
With that in mind, and to mix things up a bit, we will start this week's review by shaming those who incurred the wrath of aforementioned supporters, and helped push their underperforming manager closer to the exit door.
The club which epitomises the frustrations of expectant fans more than any other at present is unquestionably Arsenal.
If the noises coming out of Emirates Stadium before a ball was kicked this season were to be believed, then the Gunners should be 13 games into a procession towards Premier League glory by now. They are, of course, not.
Another humbling over the weekend, this time by European-chasing Aston Villa, saw the likes of William Gallas and Denilson handed scores of 3.6 and 3.9 respectively - hardly the makings of title contenders.
It is, however, insipid Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner who walks away with this week's wooden spoon, with the lanky Scandinavian picking up less then impressive ratings of four and 2.8 from reporter and supporters.
The performances of this shambolic trio are almost enough to make Heurelho Gomes look like a world-beater. I must reiterate 'almost', as the Brazilian continues to make goalkeeping look about as difficult as brain surgery.
The hapless Tottenham shot-stopper was up to his old antics once again on Saturday, flapping around Craven Cottage as he helped gift-wrap a 2-1 success for Fulham - and condemn Harry Redknapp to his first defeat in the White Hart Lane hot-seat.
Credibility
Gomes, though, was by no means alone in seeing his credibility slip through his fingertips.
With a whole host of players scoring under four this weekend it appears fruitless to name them all, but a special mention must go to Blackburn who saw no less than seven men fall head first in that category. (Having pleaded for patience from the Ewood Park board this week, perhaps Rovers boss Paul Ince realises his troubled side are sending him dangerously close to the abyss highlighted at the outset of this article.)
But, for every villain there must be a hero and this week sees an unprecedented two-way tie at the top of our leaderboard.
Manchester United's Portuguese talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was back to his superlative best against Stoke on Saturday, earning ratings of eight and 8.4, sending out a timely reminder to those who have questioned whether his superpowers are on the wane. But he is not our winner.
His cross-city rival Stephen Ireland bagged a brace to helped Manchester City take a point from a difficult trip to Hull, but the Irishman was only rewarded with a score of 8.3 from the Blues faithful and also falls just short
It is, therefore, Brede Hangeland and Gabriel Agbonlahor who are this week's top-flight swots and are awarded gold stars, or more precisely a rating of 8.6, all around.
Fulham centre-half Hangeland was a colossus during the Cottagers' victory over Spurs, while Aston Villa striker Agbonlahor was at his jet-heeled best to help see off Arsenal and earn himself a spot in Fabio Capello's England squad.
Speaking of the Three Lions, and with an eagerly-anticipated clash with old foes Germany to come on Wednesday, it is worth pointing out at this stage that shock call-up Michael Mancienne was awarded an average score of 8.3 following an impressive performance for Wolves at Southampton on Saturday. Just thought you might like to know.
