Chris Burton takes a look at the winners and losers from the latest round of Premier League action.
Chris Burton takes a look at the winners and losers from the latest round of Premier League action
With the dust still settling on a miserable night for Liverpool at Anfield on Monday, the knives are already out for Reds boss Rafa Benitez.
Football is, to state the obvious, a results driven business, and two defeats in three outings does not bode well for the men from Merseyside.
However, a sense of perspective is required by those already writing off Liverpool's title challenge and calling for Benitez's head on a stick.
Yes, performances from Steven Gerrard and his team-mates are not up to scratch at the moment - they do not need to be told that.
But they will improve, as certain as night follows day. A side which pushed Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo et al, all the way last term does not become a bad team overnight.
Patience is the order of the day, as a quick glance at the track record of champions gone by suggests an electric start is no guarantee of success. In fact, a mediocre opening often results in a thrilling climax. It's a marathon not a sprint after all, don't count your chickens before they have hatched, cliche of your choice, blah, blah, blah.
In an effort to try and steer away from the sense of doom and gloom which is already threatening to envelop certain clubs this season, this week's ratings review will instead focus on the positive aspects from another enthralling round of Premier League fixtures.
We could spend all day dissecting the failings of a Liverpool side lacking creativity in the middle of the park, or a Portsmouth team bereft of ideas at the back.
But we would all feel slightly more sombre at the end of this article than we were when we started, and that appears to be missing the point.
This then will be a celebration of those who shone over the last few days, with the hope that a sense of optimism will spring eternal in the hearts of those already penning their team's obituary before we have even entered September.
We will, of course, have to mention certain individuals who did not quite hit the heights this weekend, but let us not allow ourselves to dwell too long on the mediocrity of those who really should know better.
Having decided to toast those who excelled on their latest outing, we need to set a benchmark for what represents a successful showing.
High standards
Normally anything over seven would be regarded as a positive afternoon/evening's work.
We, though, will set our standards slightly higher than that and lay down a marker which dictates than anything less than an average rating of eight is not sparkling enough to make our galaxy of stars.
Having set the parameters, and having already ranted about events at Anfield, Aston Villa's night to remember on Merseyside seems like a sensible place to start.
Brad Friedel, back on his old stomping ground, put in a characteristically commanding performance between the sticks for the Villans, and was awarded seven and 8.6 by reporter and supporters respectively, while defensive lynchpin
Curtis Davies also shone as he gained markings of eight and 8.3.
Good, very good in fact, but not good enough.
Others to fall into that category include Tottenham's
Aaron Lennon (nine & 8.1), who tormented West Ham on Sunday, and Sunderland's
Lorik Cana (seven & 8.2), who led by example in the Black Cats' come-from-behind success over Blackburn.
Unsurprisingly, after cruising to a 4-1 victory on home soil, Arsenal can also boast a representative in this week's hit parade.
Abou Diaby, much maligned by certain members of the
skysports.com team - who will remain nameless - following his announcement on Arsene Wenger's team sheet on Saturday, bagged a brace against Pompey at Emirates Stadium and racked up thoroughly-deserved ratings of eight and 8.4.
Andre Bikey has adapted to life at Burnley with consummate ease, and has helped the Clarets to back-to-back victories over Manchester United and Everton as Own Coyle's men revel under the top-flight spotlight, and he scored nine and 8.0 after an eye-catching display against the Toffees.
Didier Drogba is likely to be a regular name on the ratings winners' list this term, and the Chelsea man continued his bright start to the season against Fulham at the weekend by inspiring a 2-0 victory and picking up ratings of nine and 8.6.
Wayne Rooney also enjoyed a memorable weekend, helping Manchester United hammer Wigan 5-0 at the DW Stadium.
Top gong
The England ace scored nine and 9.0 on the interactive scale, while he was ably assisted by
Dimitar Berbatov (eight & 8.4) and
Nemanja Vidic (eight and 8.0).
Rooney, though, falls narrowly short of taking the top gong, with this week's winner coming from an unlikely source.
Few would have known much about
Kamel Ghilas when Hull City dipped into the transfer market this summer to snatch him away from Celta Vigo.
The Algerian has made an eye-catching start to life in England, though, and helped himself to a match-winning goal on Saturday as the Tigers saw off Bolton at the KC Stadium.
For that alone he deserves his nine and 9.1 ratings, while an outstanding all-round showing suggests there could be even more to come from the African ace once he is given more time to find his feet.
That then completes our look at the Premier League winners, so we all know what is coming next.
Anyone care to fathom a guess as to who finished bottom of the pile this week? In keeping with this week's theme I will give you a clue and reveal that he plays for Liverpool.
That's right, anyone whose blood is now boiling just at the thought of
Lucas Leiva's ineptitude give yourself a well-earned break, count to ten and try to think of a happy place.
Quite how the Brazilian continues to make Benitez's starting XI is beyond most of us, and how he can boast three international caps to his name is beyond logic and does not even bear thinking about.
Needless to say Lucas was at his comedic best on Monday as he bagged an own goal to set Villa on their way to three points, and he generally flitted around the Anfield pitch doing little to influence proceedings.
He, therefore, takes the wooden spoon, earning a rather generous four from our scribe and a slightly less generous 2.6 from irate Reds supporters.
Having vowed not to dwell too long on the negative aspects of this week's fixture list, I think it is best we wrap things up there before we all start to let Lucas' nightmare overshadow the dream-like showings of Rooney, Drogba, Ghilas and co.
