Liverpool and Tottenham are entertaining but incomplete, United have as goalkeeper touched with genius on the bench and more
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1) Work in progress x 2
So much to admire during Wednesday's Tottenham-Liverpool match, yet in a way that added frustration to an at-times thrilling match. Both teams showed lots of qualities yet also betrayed deficiencies that must exasperate their managers: you were left with the impression that with a sprinkling of new players – and Liverpool need more than Spurs – each could be a genuinely excellent team. Brendan Rodgers has shown enough to prove he deserves generous backing in January; Spurs need to show enough to convince Gareth Bale to resist the offers that he will inevitably get. Paul Doyle
2) De Gea v Lindegaard
It might be slightly perverse to question what David de Gea is doing sitting on Manchester United's bench after Anders Lindegaard kept a clean sheet in the 1-0 win over West Ham but let's do it anyway. What is David de Gea doing sitting on Manchester United's bench? De Gea certainly has his faults – especially his ability to deal with crosses – but he pulls off saves that other goalkeepers can only dream of making and has kept United in matches on his own at times this season. Although Lindegaard made a good stop to deny Carlton Cole, he was not overworked by West Ham, whose best efforts mostly went high or wide. The Dane is a good goalkeeper but De Gea is a special one. Jacob Steinberg
3) Pardew needs reinforcements
Mike Ashley needs to speculate to accumulate in January. Alan Pardew remains a fine manager and Newcastle's strongest XI is still very good indeed but their lack of strength in depth has been cruelly exposed by the Europa League, injuries and suspensions. Wednesday night's defeat at Stoke was their fourth in a row and it should serve to highlight the owner's mistake in not allowing his manager to strengthen last summer. A centre half, a right-back, a striker and arguably another midfielder are all needed. Will anyone suitable be available in January though and, if so, will Ashley be prepared to spend? Louise Taylor
4) Berbatov sparkles again for Fulham
A goalless draw that merely increases the sense of anguish at Stamford Bridge might have drawn the focus, but the only endearing memories from this west London derby were actually sparked by Fulham forwards. Dimitar Berbatov glided through this contest with all that classy elegance of old, Martin Jol describing him as "unplayable" and even Rafael Benítez conceding his brilliance. Fulham pulled off a coup in securing him in August as Mousa Dembélé and Clint Dempsey bade farewell. Their gain is the rest of the division's considerable loss. Then there was Kerim Frei, under-used on loan at Cardiff but restored to fitness and back tormenting Chelsea leggy full-backs with his scuttling energy and direct running late on. The Turkey international will surely re-establish himself in the months ahead, and Fulham can prosper this term with the pair in the ranks. Dominic Fifield
5) Benteke looks like a bargain
After so much talk about Darren Bent in the last few days, I thought I'd change the subject … to another Aston Villa centre forward – Christian Benteke. There was a feeling among some that Villa may have paid over the odds for Benteke when they signed the 21-year-old Belgium international for £7m from Genk on deadline day, but the early signs are that the fee represents decent value for money. He has not exactly been prolific – three goals in 11 Premier League appearances is nothing to get carried away with, even if his towering header against Reading on Tuesday night was as impressive as it was crucial, but Benteke's contribution exceeds putting the ball in the back of net. Superb in the air, full of aggressive running and not afraid to put himself about, Benteke is the focal point of Villa's attack and provides a constant outlet. Heaven help Villa if he gets injured. Stuart James
6) Laudrup enjoys the laid-back life
Spare a thought for football managers. They have to look after a squad of 25 players without showing any preferential treatment to their best goalscorer (ask Paul Lambert); they have to win trophies and in a style that pleases their boss (ask Roberto Di Matteo); and they are lined up for the sack by their own fans before they have even managed a game (ask Rafa Benítez).While not dealing with angry fans, players, bosses and journalists, they have to win some football matches. You would think that those few hours a week when their teams take to the field come as a welcome relief. Not so says Michael Laudrup: "It is not often as a manager you can sit and enjoy your team playing. Always during a game there are moments when there are things to improve."
Laudrup was speaking after Swansea's 3-1 win over West Brom, a match that went against type for the winning manager. For the first half at least, Laudrup sat back and enjoyed the game as if he was one of the fans in the stands: "I don't recall the last time I just enjoyed a game like this," he said. "It was a fantastic first half. It was the best I have seen this season and for a long time. All 11 players played one-two touch football and everything was so good. It was great for me to see the players at their best." Paul Campbell
7) Keeping up with Adkins is tough
There was no denying Nigel Adkins' frustration with Paulo Gazzaniga following the Argentinian's failure to keep out Robert Snodgrass's relatively tame free-kick during Southampton's 1-1 draw with Norwich at St Mary's. "It was a bad mistake and he [Gazzaniga] knows he should have saved it," said the Southampton manager, and one can only wonder if he is set to change his goalkeeper yet again. Gazzaniga is the third keeper Adkins has used this season, with Kelvin Davis and Artur Boruc having also been deployed in that position. Davis has started on five occasions in all competitions, Boruc twice and Gazzaniga 10 times, with the later having also kept the club's one and only league clean sheet this campaign in last Sunday's 2-0 victory over Newcastle. He is the man in possession but may now find himself relegated to the bench following his costly error against the Canaries.
Goalkeeper has clearly proved to be a problematic position for Adkins, and while he has defended his changes by claiming it has had the benefit of keeping the three contenders on their toes, the lack of a clear No1 cannot be good for team harmony, particularly given Southampton's problems in defence – they have conceded 31 goals in 14 fixtures, making them the Premier League's most porous team. As a former goalkeeper himself, Adkins surely knows how destabilising it can be for a player in such an exposed position not to have the full backing of his manager, and so, for Southampton's sake, Gazzaniga surely deserves at least one more chance to prove his worth. Sachin Nakrani
8) Mancini can't keep all his strikers happy
"No, no, Mario won't be going anywhere in January," Roberto Mancini said. "He's a top striker and he's important to us." Words are cheap but the Manchester City manager demonstrated his faith in his misfiring striker at Wigan by leaving him on the pitch long enough to score his first Premier League goal of the season. Neither Balotelli nor Sergio Agüero had looked in sparkling form for the first hour, and when the latter was withdrawn with game still scoreless Carlos Tevez and Edin Djeko remained on the bench and Aleksandar Kolarov was sent on. That was quite cool on Mancini's part but he had already made the crucial change, introducing James Milner for the labouring Javi García. Within a matter of minutes Balotelli had opened the scoring leaving Milner to supply the coup de grace. All appears rosy in the City garden apart from Tevez and Dzeko becoming marginalised again. Mancini is bound to have at least one unhappy striker to face down in January. Paul Wilson
9) Who wouldn't want Leighton Baines?
Manchester United for Leighton Baines was a story that made sense, ran all summer but lacked one important ingredient – contact between Manchester United and Everton and/or Baines. That hasn't stopped the link resurfacing ahead of the January window and, given the England international started the season in superb form and has improved, it would be more of a surprise if Sir Alex Ferguson and others were not interested in the Everton defender. Only Chelsea have a left-back to rival Baines in the Premier League and he could be off at the end of the season. Baines was again outstanding in the draw with Arsenal, defensively and as an integral part of the Everton attack. He also played the last 15 minutes with a hamstring strain and will be a major loss for David Moyes if, as expected, he misses the trip to Manchester City on Saturday. Andy Hunter
10) O'Neill needs to look beyond first-choice XI
Has the time come for Martin O'Neill to start rotating his squad? Sunderland's manager likes to place his trust in a small corps of players and field them whenever possible but, after two wins in the last 21 Premier League games, it is maybe time for O'Neill to offer sidelined individuals such as Fraizer Campbell, Connor Wickham, Louis Saha and David Vaughan a chance. The disappointing home 0-0 draw with QPR was blemished by a horrible lack of midfield creativity and, by way of exacerbating Wearside woes, Lee Cattermole could be out until February after sustaining suspected medial ligament damage to a knee. If this is the case the Northern Irishman could do worse than recall David Meyler from a loan stint at Hull. Before he suffered horrific knee injuries of his own Meyler was regarded as arguably the club's brightest central midfield prospect. Louise Taylor
Read more... Premier League: 10 talking points from the midweek action
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