Is time running out for Redknapp? Talking points ahead of this weekend’s BPL

Five things to consider ahead of this weekend’s Premier League action.

What a week it has been. A new England captain in Wayne Rooney. A new British record transfer fee for Angel Di Maria at a whopping £59.7 million. Six Premier League clubs knocked out of the Capital One Cup including one of the all-time upsets. The Champions League and Europa League draws. With all that to contend with, football is well and truly back.

So here are a few pointers ahead of Saturday’s third round of matches as we take another big fix of Premier League action before we go into cold storage for two weeks.

Can Rooney save both club and country?

IT has been quite a few weeks for Wayne Rooney on a personal note. He has received two of the biggest accolades in English football having been named captain of both Manchester United and England. Yet, he could be forgiven for bemoaning his bad luck, for he has been handed the roles at the worst point for both institutions in many years. United have yet to win a league game, were humiliated by League One MK Dons in the Capital One Cup and are frantically scouring Europe to sign players. It’s so different to the United under Sir Alex Ferguson it’s frightening. With England, he takes the armband immediately after the worst performance in a major tournament for 26 years. 26th out of 32 World Cup nations, eliminated after only two matches. From that low ebb, Rooney has to drag his country up and try to restore some pride. But before he heads off for a friendly against Norway and a Euro 2016 qualifier away to Switzerland, he must lead United to a desperately needed win at Burnley.

Would City have been successful if Hughes had stayed?

It’s nearly five years since Mark Hughes was unceremoniously sacked as Manchester City manager despite only losing two out of 17 games at the start of the 2009/10 season. Since his departure, City have won two Premier Leagues, the FA Cup, League Cup and Community Shield, delivered by his two successors, Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini. Hughes will forever argue that he wasn’t given the time to see the job through and back up the Abu Dhabi millions with silverware. He would point to signing Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta to state his own case. Detractors would put forward Roque Santa Cruz and Wayne Bridge. Would Hughes have been able to persuade Yaya Toure and David Silva to come in 2010 without Champions League football on the horizon? What we do know is that Hughes has done well at Blackburn, Fulham and now Stoke where expectations have been moderate and he has been able to work diligently and methodically. At City and then QPR where they were chasing success quickly, it did not work. What is certain is that tomorrow’s clash between City and Stoke will be Hughes’ seventh game against his former club and he is still to taste victory.

Can Warnock quite believe his luck?

The answer must surely be no. When Neil Warnock parted company with Leeds in March 2013, his days as a football manager looked over. He had singularly failed to inspire the fallen Yorkshire giants and he looked to have reached the end of his shelf life. Since then, Warnock has appeared on TV, on radio and with a regular newspaper column. He had even rejected the chance to get back into management at Sheffield Wednesday and most recently, Huddersfield Town. So, when it was announced on Wednesday that he was the chosen one for Crystal Palace, jaws dropped. Fire fighting in the Championship or the glitz and glamour of the Premier League? It’s a complete no-brainer! Now all Warnock has to do is assemble a squad in two days, keep a team in the Premier League for the first time and prove he still has the fire in his belly at 65. Getting Palace’s first points of the season at Newcastle would be a good start.

Is time running out for Redknapp?

The third game of the season seems ludicrously early to ask such a question, but the home game against Sunderland might provide a few clues. QPR were lucky to get promoted last season from the Championship and have offered no hint so far of Premier League form. No goals, no points and now a League Cup exit to League Two Burton Albion. Redknapp has drafted in Chilean pair, Mauricio Isla and Eduardo Vargas and he needs them to spark the rest of the squad into life. There is no doubt Harry’s phone will be ringing off the hook in the next few days as he looks to bolster his ranks, but you just wonder if this will be the last time he’s involved in the transfer window. Especially with a figure like Tony Pulis out of work, and the perfect man for a survival scrap.

Should the high-flying Swans be on Hodgson’s radar?

Swansea are the surprise team matching the early pace set by Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea. What’s more, they have three English players at the heart of their good start, who could claim to be unlucky to miss out on an England call-up. Before you start thinking I’ve gone crazy, the trio – Nathan Dyer, Wayne Routledge and Jonjo Shelvey – are not the best players in the Premier League but if the alternatives are Fabian Delph and Jack Colback, then surely every Englishman in the top flight has a chance. England boss Roy Hodgson admitted he was impressed by Delph and Colback in a 0-0 draw between Aston Villa and Newcastle last Saturday. Was that really more noteworthy than the Swans’ performances in winning and deserving to win at Manchester United on the opening day a match that Hodgson also attended? But there is still hope another good show in the home game against West Brom and a few drop-outs on Sunday or Monday and any one of the Swans could be winging it to Wembley.