In celebration of Ryan Giggs, Fernando Torres, Robbie Keane, Vito Mannone and the 'Blue Dragon' ...

By Eugene YS Han

HEROES

MANCHESTER CITY
Monday's 3-1 win over West Ham meant City have gotten off to their best start in the top-flight in 48 years. And it's becoming clearer and clearer that Manchester City's strength-in-depth is perhaps the most potent weapon they have. Even without the services of Emmanuel Adebayor, Stephen Ireland and Robinho, Craig Bellamy and Martin Petrov have stepped up to fill their gaps. Carlos Tevez also chipped in to score his first league goals for Manchester City. The match against West Ham also featured the returns of Roque Santa Cruz and Michael Johnson both of whom came on as substitutes. City fans will be thrilled to know that their team will have a relatively easy run in October until their next meeting against another 'Top Four' in Liverpool on 21st November 2009. By then, they should have a full-strength squad to choose from. Forget about the Top Four, City are going to make it the Top Five!

RYAN GIGGS
All's well at Manchester United as they surged to the top of the Barclays Premier League for the first time this season. Stoke were expected to give Sir Alex Ferguson's side a tough game at the Britannia Stadium amid doubts over the reliability of United's goalkeeper Ben Foster. United did struggle but it wasn't in defence they were struggling, it was in attack. Cue the entrance of Ryan Giggs, the veteran winger who will be 36 in November. Replacing the ineffectual Nani in the second-half, the Welshman turned on his radar and created not one but two goals. The first goal was created by Giggs' vision and anticipation as well as selflessness. The second came from yet another sublime free-kick that was virtually indefensible. Giggs practically put the ball on John O'Shea's head. Giggs might have lost his pace but he has reinvented himself. Credit must to go to Sir Alex Ferguson for his ability to preserve Giggs' playing career. Although Ferguson has to re-build his team a few times, Giggs is one of the few players who has survived the culling time-and-time again. All players have a price-tag but Giggs doesn't have one. He's priceless.

VITO MANNONE
Arsenal escaped with three points from Fulham literally by the skin of Vito Mannone's teeth. The 21-year-old Italian goalkeeper made saves after saves to help Arsenal keep another clean sheet. His highlight was a wonder double save in the first-half - the first one a great reaction stop from Andy Johnson while his face stopped Clint Dempsey from putting the rebound in. Mannone's display even drew praise from Arsene Wenger who gave him '10 out of 10'. You have to remember the former Atalanta player is Arsenal's third-choice keeper and this was only his ninth game in any form of first-team football. Thanks to injuries to the first and second-choice goalkeepers, Mannone has risen in profile and if he is given more chances to shine, he could be the find of the season.

FERNANDO TORRES
This lad just loves to play at Anfield doesn't he? Fernando Torres has now scored 33 goals in 34 starts at Anfield and scored his fourth hat-trick of his Liverpool career against a hapless Hull side. Many thought that he might have scored more if he wasn't taken off 22 minutes before the final whistle. But that's irrelevant. What's relevant is how Torres has helped Liverpool restore their confidence and how he has taken the goalscoring responsibilities on his shoulders. His goals against Hull were virtually manufactured by Torres himself. He fashioned his own space and angles. Hull's defenders were totally bamboozled by Torres as the Reds ran riot. It was this type of game that Liverpool dropped points last season and Torres is doing his best to ensure the Reds do not slip up at home again.

ROBBIE KEANE
Tottenham were reeling after two straight league defeats to Manchester United and Chelsea and they needed an immediate response against Burnley. And Robbie Keane responded with a captain's performance. His four-goal blast against the Clarets meant it was the 20th time a player has scored four or more goals in the Premier League. Keane's goalscoring exploits will come as a relief at White Hart Lane with Peter Crouch threatening to usurp his first-team place. But Keane had other ideas. Displaying great confidence, off-the-ball running and technique, Keane proved his quality as one of the top strikers in the country.

LEE CHUNG-YONG
Lee Chung-Yong is the pride of Asia after his late strike gave Bolton all three points at Birmingham. After neatly controlling a rebound, the 21-year-old showed great composure in front of goal to flick the ball over Sebastian Larsson and guide the ball coolly home with just four minutes remaining. Lee's poise earned praise from Bolton boss Gary Megson whose side enjoyed their second successive win away from home. As a result, the Trotters are flying up the table - thanks to the 'Blue Dragon'.

ZEROES

CHELSEA
Just how will Carlo Ancelotti handle the first mini-crisis of his Stamford Bridge career? Chelsea's loss at Wigan were exacerbated by the loss of first-choice goalkeeper Petr Cech through suspension as well as emphatic wins by their nearest rivals, Man United, Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal. What really sets the alarm bells ringing is Chelsea's habit of only starting to play after conceding the first goal. And what will worry Chelsea fans is how Ancelotti admitting he doesn't have a clue as to why Chelsea lost. Perhaps it's a bit of mind games or perhaps he really doesn't know. But the Italian cannot hide behind the fact that Chelsea's players didn't seem to be up for the fight at the DW stadium. He also can't escape the fact that this was the same Wigan side that were crushed 5-0 by Man United, 4-0 by Arsenal and erm ... 4-1 by Blackpool (in the League Cup but anyway ...). Chelsea have to pick themselves up and they will have to do it fast. In-form Liverpool are next in the league.

NANI
Hailed as the heir apparent of Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani's recent displays seem to indicate he is but a poor clone of CR7 CR9. Given a first-team berth at Stoke, Nani failed to make his mark and was replaced by Ryan Giggs after just 55 minutes. The Portuguese has himself to blame for the early substitution, as his selfishness in front of goal infuriated the United fans (and Wayne Rooney as well). His unwillingness to pass made it easy for Stoke to surround defenders around him and crowd him out. It was no surprise that United manager Ferguson took him out. The real surprise is how Nani revealed that he phones Cristiano Ronaldo to talk about his problems. Nani should know better than ask the king of selfishness about improving his team play. Perhaps he should just knock on the door of 35-year-old Ryan Giggs to learn a thing or two about teamwork? He can also help the club save some money by knocking back on those overseas phone bills!

SAF
We are not talking about Sir Alex Ferguson but about Sulaiman Al Fahim. The Portsmouth owner got off on the wrong foot after he canceled a meeting with the fans 24 hours before the agreed time. He had explained that he didn't want the meeting to overshadow Portsmouth's preparations with Everton. But by postponing the meeting on the eve of Pompey's league game, isn't he courting even more unwanted attention? The last thing a new football owner wants is to piss off the club's supporters.

SOL CAMPBELL
Who said being a professional footballer was glamourous? Sol Campbell epitomises almost everything that could go wrong in a footballer's career. Campbell created headlines after he decided to pack up his bags at Notts County after just one game. Was it really because he was not given what was promised? Or did he cave in under the pressure to perform? It wasn't the first time the giant defender walked out of a club in his career. On February 2006 during Arsenal's game against West Ham, Campbell was substituted at half-time at home with the Gunners 2-0 down. The defender left the ground immediately and it was later revealed that the Englishman was not contactable for several days. He eventually returned but that turned out to be his last season with Arsenal. And after this latest episode, it would take a brave club to sign him.

HULL CITY
When clubs collect a sequence of defeats, the manager will always be the first to be under pressure. Portsmouth are in trouble after they became the worst starters in Premier League's history. But at least, Paul Hart can take solace in his players' performances. They tried their best for 90 minutes against Everton but the result didn't go their way. As for Hull, it was markedly different. Against Liverpool, Hull simply gave up after they went behind for the second time in the match. The second-half was so full of amateur mistakes in defence, it was a minor miracle Hull only conceded six goals. Phil Brown may have been backed by the Hull's board but his collection of journeymen is not doing him any favours. It's only two months into the season, but the knives are out at the KC Stadium.

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