What we learned this weekend: Why Liverpool's SAS could teach Van Persie and Rooney a thing or two

Ralph Ellis runs you through what we learned from the weekend's football... with some star turns and a look through the leagues, too. This week includes RVP and Rooney's strike partnership, Roy Hodgson's goalkeeping conundrum, Asmir Begovic's freak goal and how former Everton youngster Steven Schumacher is rebuilding his career in League Two.

 

1. Roy Hodgson could find both his top goalkeepers on the bench for their clubs during the countdown to the World Cup in the New Year.

Joe Hart’s problems have been well documented but the England manager’s favoured second choice Ben Foster has no guarantees of getting back into West Bromwich Albion’s first team.

Foster, 30, is expected to be fit in four weeks after a foot operation but stand-in Boaz Myhill has been in exceptional form, and boss Steve Clarke is refusing to discuss what happens next other than to confirm that he wants competition for every place in his team.





Since Welsh international Myhill stepped up Albion have lost just two of eight games, and the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace was his third clean sheet.

Out in the cold: Joe Hart was dropped for Manchester City's clash with Norwich

Crocked: West Brom keeper Ben Foster has been sidelined since August

2. On the subject of Hart, he must have sat on the bench watching Manchester City’s seven-goal romp over Norwich thinking it would have been just the match to start repairing his confidence.

Costel Pantillimon, who learned the day before that he’d been dropped from Romania’s World Cup play-off squad, had just one save to make – and that a long distance effort from Anthony Pilkington from nearly 28 yards out.

Norwich managed only two other efforts off target – and the 26-year-old touched the ball just 27 times in 90 minutes. Manuel Pellegrini could have got somebody out of the crowd to play in goal.

Wielding the axe: Mauel Pelligrini replaced Hart with Costel Pantillimon

3. Sunderland fans will still shudder at the memory of their horror Premier League season in 2005-6 when they finished with a then record low of just 15 points.

The bad news is that after defeat at Hull they have a point less from the first ten games than Mick McCarthy’s side managed that year, and two less goals as well.

Both the Black Cats and Crystal Palace are even below the ten-game mark of six points that Derby had achieved when they set the current record for the worst season with just 11 points in 2007-8.

In trouble: Lee Cattermole was sent-off as Sunderland finished with nine men in Saturday's defeat at Hull, while skipper John O'Shea is dejected as the Black Cats lose again

Work to do: Gus Poyet's side have managed just four points from 10 games

4. Nottingham Forest manager Billy Davies is in danger of getting the “tinkerman” nickname that was once bestowed on Chelsea’s boss Claudio Ranieri.

Forest’s early charge in the Championship has now stumbled through a run of just three wins in 11 games and a home defeat by Blackpool leaves them in danger of dropping out of the play-off places.

During that spell the abrasive Forest boss has never picked the same side for two games in a row.

Tinkerman: Billy Davies has chopped and changed his Forest side

5. Cardiff manager Malky Mackay played in Old Firm clashes for Celtic so he understands the importance of local passion when it comes to winning derby matches.

He hadn’t picked Craig Bellamy, who grew up in the Welsh capital supporting the Bluebirds, in his starting side since September 22 – but put the 34-year-old back in the side against Swansea.

The adrenalin helped Bellamy produce a starring show, inspiring the team after a lifeless first half before his pinpoint corner supplied Steven Caulker with the chance for the winning goal.

Passion: Craig Bellamy was restored to the side for Cardiff's clash with Swansea

Bragging rights: Cardiff City players celebrate Steven Caulker's winner against rivals Swansea

6. Wayne Rooney’s front pairing with Robin Van Persie is developing as an equal partnership after they both played a part in goals for each other at Fulham.

In five games Rooney has found his Dutch team mate 16 times, and received the ball from him 17.

Liverpool’s SAS duo work even more closely together. In the same number of matches Daniel Sturridge has supplied 29 passes to Luis Suarez with some 22 in return.

On target: Manchester United strike duo Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney were both on the scoresheet against Fulham

7. Match of the Day not surprisingly pointed out that goalkeeper Asmir Begovic is now joint leading scorer for Stoke.

Even more worrying for manager Mark Hughes when he goes through the stats of the draw with Southampton, however, is that his goalkeeper’s punt the length of the field was one attempt at goal more than managed by centre forward Peter Crouch.

In fact Austrian midfielder Marko Arnautovic was the only Stoke player apart from Begovic to make Southampton goalkeeper Artur Boruc do any work.

Full back Erik Pieters, incidentally, is officially credited in the Premier League stats with an “assist” for rolling the ball back to Begovic to thump clear for his goal.

Bolt from the blue: Keeper Asmir Begovic is congratulated by team-mate Ryan Shawcross after scoring Stoke's opener with just 13 seconds on the clock

8. Eddie Howe’s return to Bournemouth last season was a spectacular success, sparking a turnaround in fortune that ended up with them winning promotion.

They began this season with some of that momentum still rolling, but reality of having to punch above the weight of the small south coast club is beginning to catch up.

The 2-0 defeat by Bolton was the first time Howe’s side have failed to score in a home match since February, and their record of just one win in the last seven matches is beginning to look worrying.

Sticky spell: Eddie Howe's Bournemouth have won just once in seven games

9. Wolves manager Kenny Jackett inherited a handful of players who might have thought they were too good for the Championship, let alone League One.
 

But he has slowly got them to knuckle down, and Jamie O’Hara’s return to first team action in the 2-0 win over Stevenage, combined with Kevin Doyle’s goal, was another sign of his progress.

Molineux’s fallen giants can go level on points with leaders Leyton Orient if they win their game in hand at Carlisle on Tuesday night – although they need a 5-0 win to overtake the London club.

Back in the fold: Jamie O'Hara has been restored to the Wolves first-team squad

10. Big things were forecast for Everton youngster Steven Schumacher when he captained England’s Under 19 side at around the time a kid called Wayne Rooney was also emerging through the Goodison ranks.

Sadly it never happened for him and he left without playing a first team game – but has still had a decent career.
 

Now aged 29, the abrasive midfielder led Bury to promotion in 2011, and could be in for another taste of success after his hat-trick against Newport took Fleetwood two points clear at the top of League Two.

Spot on: Steven Schumacher sets Fleetwood Town on their way to victory against Newport County