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• Enrique and Andy Carroll set to face old club on Friday
• Defender moved to Anfield from Newcastle in August

The Liverpool full-back José Enrique is hoping for a positive reception from the Newcastle United fans when he makes his first appearance against his old club on Friday.

Enrique moved to Anfield in August for a fee in the region of £6m, calling the transfer “one of the happiest days of my life”, but said he still feels close to the Newcastle crowd.

“I had very good moments there … They have amazing fans, it is an amazing city. I still love Newcastle and will do all my life. But I play for Liverpool now and I want three points because it is important that we get them.

“I hope the fans understand why I moved. I gave everything for Newcastle, I always gave 100% and nobody can say any different. I played in the Championship after they got relegated. I wanted to stay and help because I was part of the reason that we dropped out of the division.

“But an opportunity to play for Liverpool came along and I couldn’t refuse it. We are one of the best teams in Europe. You cannot say no when a team like Liverpool comes for you.”

Enrique said he was impressed by Newcastle’s form so far this season given the number of players they lost in the summer, including the striker Andy Carroll, who could also feature for Liverpool against his old club.

“They sold a lot of players … when you sell a lot of players, normally the team drops a little bit but they are doing really well. Demba Ba has come in and is on fire this season. They are doing really well and I am happy for them.”

Newcastle UnitedLiverpoolguardian.co.uk

Dimitar Berbatov has still got it but Ashley Cole appears to be losing it and Andy Carroll is just unlucky

Berbatov’s still got it

One of the sadnesses of modern football and the prevalence of large squads is the talent that does not get to play. Given the circumstances of his departure, Spurs fans may think Dimitar Berbatov deserves all he gets, but for the rest of us the Bulgarian’s re-emergence is a delight. He is perhaps too much his own man to play regularly at the very highest level, and his lack of pitch-time is presumably the result of his tendency to slow the game down, but he remains one of the few players it is worth focusing on even as the game happens elsewhere.

Berbatov seems somehow engaged in a permanent act of self-irony, as though demonstrating how illogical it is that 75,000 people should turn up to watch 21 other players hurtle around in pursuit of a ball. His shoulders seem hunched in an eternal shrug, his face forever expressing a bewilderment that people should strive so hard for what comes so naturally and easily to him. Would he be a better player if he didn’t have that quality that Walter Smith once euphemistically described as “economy of movement”? Perhaps, but he wouldn’t be the same player, and he wouldn’t be such fun.

Against Fulham last week, he scored a deft spinning backheel, a goal that was quintessential Berbatov in its louche understatement. On Boxing Day, he contrived one goal by leaning into his marker, as though even standing up while scoring were too much of an effort, before adding a second with a magnificently smooth turn before a whipcrack finish with the outside of his right foot. That he completed his hat-trick with a penalty might have seemed banal, had he not left Ali al-Habsi kneeling with a shuffle in his run-up before rolling the ball past him.

Berbatov’s contract expires at the end of the season, and it may be that with Wayne Rooney, Javier Hernández and Danny Welbeck, United decide they don’t need him. If such a decision gets him more game time elsewhere, that may not be a bad thing for the wider world.

Nobody is better at shape than Hodgson

Even watching just the highlights it was beautiful to see: a line of four white shirts then, in front of it, another line of four that expanded and contracted according to the position of the ball, like some mythical monster that always returns to its original form no matter what pieces are hacked off by its opponents. Even Manchester City, with all their buzzing creators and the maverick genius of Mario Balotelli conjured only a handful of half-chances against West Bromwich Albion.

The experience of Liverpool raises questions about how transferable his methods are to a higher level, but Roy Hodgson is the perfect manager for West Brom. At Fulham, players acknowledged that training sessions were repetitive and tedious, featuring constant work on position, often without using the ball. Simon Davies admitted there was some resistance, until they saw the effect on the pitch; as they qualified for the Europa League the fact that training was boring didn’t seem to matter – it was a means to a worthwhile end.

A top-seven finish is probably beyond West Brom this season, but the “shape and discipline” Hodgson praised after the game should be more than enough to ensure they finish comfortably above the relegation scrap.

Carroll is unlucky

Luck is the great unspoken in football, playing a far larger part than is usually admitted. A mathematician at All Souls College, Oxford, calculated that even to cancel out the impact of opponents’ form (ie, it is easier to play a team after they have just lost four games than when they have just won four games), a season would need to be seven times longer than it is at present. One moment of good luck can give a player a surge of confidence, add an extra fraction of determination and decisiveness to his game; one moment of bad luck can have the opposite effect.

Andy Carroll may be struggling at Liverpool, but there have been signs he is not far off a return to form. Against Manchester City, he was denied a winner only by a superlative save from Joe Hart. On Monday, it was Blackburn’s Mark Bunn who denied him, plunging to his right and slightly backwards to shovel Carroll’s effort wide, a save so remarkable that Blackburn’s players congratulated him almost as though it had been a goal. Carroll did nothing wrong with either the attempt against City or against Blackburn: but for the misfortune of finding two goalkeepers in exceptional form, he would perhaps be being hailed as the man who found two late winners.

On the other hand, he also put a good headed chance just wide a few minutes before Bunn’s save; but then had he scored against City, had he had that extra surge of self-belief, he may have found the extra inch in his leap that would have guided that on target and Bunn’s late save would have been an irrelevance.

The danger is that he comes to believe – as Fernando Torres perhaps has – that he is doomed and nothing will ever work again; but if he keeps meeting crosses like that, the goals will come eventually. Not every goalkeeper can save their best to deny him.

Sunderland’s Curse of the Carrot-Tops may be over

Most Sundays, David Corner goes for a drink with the friend he shares a taxi business with in Sunderland. At least twice each Sunday afternoon, his friend reckons, somebody will come up to him and say, “Yer should’ve just put it out, Davie lad.” Corner now works for Durham police. A couple of years ago, he was called to a disturbance in Seaham where a man was going berserk with an ornamental sword. All attempts to reason with him failed until he caught sight of Corner’s flaming ginger hair. “Are yiz … are yiz Davie Corner?” he asked disbelievingly. Corner confirmed he was. The man dropped the sword and offered his hands to be cuffed. “Yer’ve not had much luck, son,” he said. “So I’ll give yer this ‘un. But, Davie lad, why didn’t yer just put it out?”

Whatever he does for the rest of his life, Corner will always be remembered on Wearside as the 18-year-old defender who tried to shepherd a through-ball out for a goal-kick in the 1985 League Cup final, only to have the ball nicked off him by John Deehan. His cross was half blocked and fell for Mick Channon, whose shot was deflected in off the chest of Gordon Chisolm, the only goal in Norwich’s 1-0 win.

Corner hung around for 33 league starts before carving out a reasonable career at a lower level with Darlington and Gateshead, but he stands as the apogee of the curse of the carrot-tops. Since the departure of Micky Horswill for Manchester City in 1974, terrace wisdom has doubted that any ginger-haired player will ever play well for Sunderland: Corner is part of a dread tradition that includes Ian Wallace, Steve Whitworth, Tommy Lynch, Nigel Saddington, Gary Ogilvie, Chris Lumsdon and Paul McShane.

Perhaps, though, that is beginning to change. The Newcastle game and the last-minute gift to Wigan aside, Wes Brown has been commanding, classy and solid at centre-back, while Jack Colback, who scored his first goal for the club against Everton on Boxing Day – albeit with the help of a significant deflection off Sylvain Distin – is calm and composed in possession.

It may be that he, David Vaughan and Lee Cattermole are too similar – tidy rather than explosive or imaginative – to be truly effective together, but Colback is further evidence of a productive academy. Jordan Henderson and Martyn Waghorn have already brought the club £19m in transfer fees, while the centre-forward Ryan Noble, the midfield creator Billy Knott and the left-back Blair Adams were all part of England’s squad for the Under-20 World Cup last summer.

Cole may be on the wane

Amid all the discussions of what’s gone wrong for Chelsea this season, all the talk of high lines and the suitability of André Villas-Boas’s approach, one component of an unusually rickety back four has escaped the worst blame. That’s particularly odd, because in recent years Ashley Cole has had an awful press, at least for his off-field behaviour and his attitude to referees. On-field, though, the perception seems to be that Cole remains a certainty to start both for Chelsea and for England.

In fairness, he probably is still England’s best left-back, but the days when he was one of the top two or three full-backs in the world have gone. It was noticeable against Arsenal how much space he gave Theo Walcott – a function of the lack of protection offered by a midfield that pressed high and, presumably, of his concern about Walcott’s pace. In days gone by, Cole was as quick as anybody, but at 31 he is perhaps just starting to feel the debilitating effects of age. That’s natural, of course, and plenty of players before him have managed to adapt their games to their physical limitations.

The concern from Monday’s game, though, was the half-hearted leg-wag Cole offered as Bryan Ruiz turned past him to cross for Clint Dempsey’s equaliser for Fulham. It was the challenge of a man who was either exhausted, or didn’t much care, either of which explanations is a worry for both Chelsea and England.

Premier League 2011-12Manchester UnitedRoy HodgsonWest BromAndy CarrollLiverpoolSunderlandAshley ColePremier LeagueChelseaJonathan Wilsonguardian.co.uk

Part one of the Observer fans’ network’s review of the 2011-12 season so far

ARSENAL: 6/10

Bernard Azulay, GoonersDiary.blogspot.com It feels as if the mettle we’ve displayed in our recent run of form was forged in the debacle of the opening weeks of our campaign, when we struggled to cope with the departures of Fábregas and Nasri, together with the absence of Vermaelen and Wilshere. We may remain only one hamstring away from disaster in respect of Van Persie but, no matter where we end up, most Gooners see plenty of reason for optimism in the burgeoning spirit within this squad – something that had been missing for far too long.

Star man Obviously Van Persie, but with plenty of kudos to the unstinting commitment of others such as Koscielny.

The flops Chamakh, a mysteriously pale shadow of the striker who first arrived at the club, and Arshavin, who appears as if he can’t wait to escape.

The gaffer: Arsène Wenger, 7/10 While Wenger’s desire to cling on to our star players was perfectly understandable, the fact that he was forced into the equivalent of Supermarket Sweep in the final few hours of the transfer window felt like a failure on his part. Nevertheless, all credit must go to Le Gaffer for silencing the critics who were far too quick to sound our death knell.

Who should he sign? Although our recent injury crisis at full-back has exposed a disconcerting lack of depth in the squad, we are desperate for some replacement firepower up front. Albeit somewhat erratic, Podolski is not cup-tied in Europe and may be best suited to adapt to the Premier League.

ASTON VILLA: 4/10

Jonathan Pritchard, Observer reader It has all been so grimly predictable: beating the rubbish, losing to the quality, the massive anti-McLeish tidal wave when we play badly … You could read our season like a book. And not a very good book. We are all craving something sublime or ridiculous to lift the general malaise: football surely isn’t supposed to be this humdrum? It feels like death by a thousand Blackburns right now.

Star man Gabby Agbonlahor has been easily our best player: we’ve scored 18, he’s scored five and assisted eight, and the buzz around the ground when he gets the ball has returned.

The flops Controversially, I’d aim the most criticism at Bent and his inability to do anything but goal-hang. Five tap-ins and absolutely nothing else is what he’s contributed in 14 games. I’d sell him.

The gaffer: Alex McLeish, 4//10 I don’t blame him as much as most. He’d been stripped of his two most creative players before he arrived and the gamble on N’Zogbia has failed. We play dour football, but doesn’t everyone apart from the billionaires? I’m not sure anyone could make a silk purse out of this sow’s ear of a squad. Villa fans need to stop being so parochial with the “Bluenose” stuff: he’s our manager, so we may as well get behind him.

Who should he sign? Bobby Zamora.

BLACKBURN: 0/10

Marcus Tattersall, Blogs.soccernet.com/blackburnrovers A farcical, tragi-comedy that should have the theme tune of The Benny Hill Show playing in the background. Nothing surprises any more about a club that have undergone a character assassination, from being a model of calm respectability under the guidance of John Williams to a dysfunctional shambles that epitomises Venky’s. Contrary to popular belief, the supporters have been magnificent but the daily rumour mill has taken its toll and the majority have never felt as disillusioned and distanced from the club. The authorities have driven a divide between supporters through mixed messages and spin, and the club are in danger of imploding and losing a generation of fans.

Star man Samba is still dancing and the Yak has had a good appetite.

The flops Radosav Petrovic resembles a deer in headlights every time he plays.

The gaffer: Steve Kean 1/10 The greatest spin doctor since Alastair Campbell. If Kean were captain of the Titanic he would tell the passengers it had hit ice to help keep the drinks chilled. The only positive is we score more goals but if we can’t keep the ball it counts for nothing.

Who should he sign? An experienced chairman or chief executive who could command the respect and trust of the fans is priority.

BOLTON: 3/10

Shaun O’Gara, Supporters’ Club The season started well with a 4-0 win at QPR but it has been downhill ever since in a disastrous run. Rock bottom of the league, nine points from 15 games – in fact since our semi-final defeat to Stoke last April we have played 21 Premier League games with only four wins and 17 defeats. A dramatic improvement is needed or we’ll be relegated by New Year.

Star man There’s been so many inconsistent performances and so many players who are not performing, but Klasnic’s seven goals are one plus.

The flops Reo Coker and Pratley in midfield have both disappointed. Eagles has been inconsistent. Ngog is still finding his feet, only one goal so far, and Boyata in defence looks like he’d rather be somewhere else – probably back at City.

The gaffer: Owen Coyle 4/10 This time last season he’d just won the manager of the month award and we were playing free-flowing, attractive football. Now we’re unable to string two passes together, have forgotten how to defend and confidence is at an all-time low. Owen’s managerial reputation has taken a battering. The slump in form since the FA Cup defeat to Stoke is alarming – it’s as if the players’ belief in the manager and what he is trying to do evaporated in that moment as up to then things were on an upward spiral we were in the top 10 most of last season and in the FA Cup semi final for only the second time in 50 years. Owen Coyle is certainly enduring his most difficult time in management – he’s had terrible bad luck in that injuries have robbed him of key players – Stuart Holden, last season’s player of the year and the heartbeat of the side being the biggest blow. All our problems seemed to start with his injury last March, both him and Chung Yong Lee, the previous year’s winner, are both out for most of the season. In fact, 11 players are currently on the injured list, four with broken legs! We lost 20 goals in Elmander and Sturridge which we haven’t replaced. He’s been hampered by a lack of money to spend. The replacements look short on quality at Premier League level..

Who should he sign? We desperately need some steel and creativity in midfield. Presuming Gary Cahill is sold then a centre-half, as well as two full‑backs and a striker. In fact, we need to strengthen everywhere.

CHELSEA: 7/10

Trizia Fiorellino, ChelseaSupportersGroup.net We started well, flopped badly and have picked up dramatically. Given we have some new players and a new manager trying to impose a new style on the old guard, I am more than happy with our current lofty position. Annoyed to have lost to some average sides but there will always be those that capitalise when another team are undergoing a significant change – they were lucky to play us at a vulnerable time.

Star man Romeu has been a revelation and has made us a more difficult team to break down, but Mata has shone. He instantly makes us look more inventive. Leaving confused opposition players in his wake, he provides excellent service to our strikers. Whisper this – he may be better than Zola.

The flops Malouda – we all know what he’s capable of, but all we invariably get now is him losing the ball, bottling tackles and putting in poor crosses.

The gaffer: André Villas-Boas 7/10 I like the way he conducts himself, especially the digs at Gary Neville and the media – we need a manager who sticks up for us. We are finally beginning to see the emergence of his first team and it doesn’t look bad at all. He is not afraid to make controversial decisions and give him a couple more of his own signings and I think we could be on to something.

Who should he sign? With the exits of Anelka and Alex, and the Africa Cup of Nations to consider, we really could do with a striker and a central defender – but January is not the best time to do it, especially as our contract negotiations seem to go on for ever.

EVERTON: 6/10

Steve Jones, BlueKipper.com The season has been very frustrating for Evertonians so far. With Beckford and Yakubu leaving for financial reasons, and Arteta to play in the Champions league, it left us with very few attacking options. We’ve suffered because they haven’t been replaced. David Moyes has had to use young players like Rodwell, Vellios, Barkley and McAleny, who have all had some great moments but have also shown us that they need to learn a bit more before they can be given a run in the team.

Star man Leighton Baines. He has shown yet again why he is the best attacking full‑back in the Premier League.

The flops A lot was expected from Louis Saha, but two goals so far is a poor return.

The gaffer: David Moyes 6/10 I think Moyesy is great for Everton, but he has slipped below his high standards this season so far.

Who should he sign? We desperately need an experienced striker for a couple of million. Unfortunately, I don’t know one.

FULHAM: 6/10

David Lloyd, TOOFIF.co.uk Largely frustrating so far. We’ve got a better squad than last year, have greater strength in depth and yet have struggled to find any consistency as lineups and tactics have been chopped and changed. Backstage bickering hasn’t helped the cause, neither has an over-cautious, at times negative approach. In among it all there’s a good team trying to get out, but the key question is can Martin Jol settle on his best lineup and tactics?

Star man Ruiz and Dembélé are getting better by the week, while Murphy remains hugely effective, but it’s hard to look beyond Hangeland.

The flops Zamora has blown hot and cold while John Arne Riise has improved recently after a run of stodgy