Swede dreams are made of this. Kulusevski central to Spurs' fortunes.

Some thoughts on the weekend….

1.Swede dreams are made of this. Dejan Kulusevski was exceptional at Old Trafford, creating and finishing and relishing a more central role that also allows Ange Postecoglou to accommodate Brennan Johnson on Spurs’ right. Kulusevski’s powerful dribbling and positive passing are enhanced by a hunger to contribute fully out of possession. His work-rate and tactical discipline also permits Postecoglou to take what appears a risk in the centre with only one defensive midfielder in Rodrigo Bentancur. Kulusevski is more than a right-sided No 8, he helps Bentancur out when required, as does James Maddison. The tall Swedish international is obviously very versatile, and eventually went right, offering an out-ball when Postecoglou wanted to stiffen midfield late on with Pape Matar Sarr. Kulusevski’s in form and embodies Tottenham’s adventurous approach under Postecoglou.

Dejan Kulusevski. Photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images

2.Anti-social media. I do a lot on social media so I’m hardly one to discourage its use. But for players it can be a distraction. Rangers fans will tell you that Todd Cantwell is a hugely gifted player but needs to focus fully on football and less on Insta. He needs to be a model professional not come across as a professional model at times. Anyone who watched him break through at Norwich City knows what a talent he is. With respect to Rangers and now Blackburn Rovers, Cantwell should be in the Premier League. He’s 26 now. He was in the England Under-21s squad for the 2021 Euros in Hungary/Slovenia with Marc Guehi, Ben Godfrey, Conor Gallagher, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke and Aaron Ramsdale who have all trained on and gone on to senior honours. Maybe Rovers will be the re-making of him. Cantwell certainly played well coming on at half-time during Saturday’s win over QPR on Saturday.

Thirty miles to the south at the weekend, Brennan Johnson was scoring and assisting for Spurs at Old Trafford. The winger’s certainly thriving since deleting Insta because of the negativity directed at him on the forum. Johnson looks happier, is playing better, unburdened by external noise. Sometimes is it simply healthy just to take time out from the anti-social media.

3.Sky high. Eliciting good answers from players and managers in the immediate emotional aftermath of games is a difficult art but Patrick Davison, Sky Sports touchline reporter, frequently sets the right tone and asks the right question. Davison is a likeable individual anyway, lacking in ego, and players and managers respond positively to that. He has a friendly style that relaxes the principals but also the journalistic edge to eke out the information that fans want to hear. He delivered again at Old Trafford. Davison mixed good cop, bad cop in his questioning of Erik ten Hag, opening with the sensible “bit of heart shown today” followed quickly by “but an awful day”. Rather than bridle, Ten Hag opened up. “We have to be better pressing and better on the ball,” was one reply, pretty damning of much of his players’ work. Davison then had Brennan Johnson relaxed and smiling and speaking well in his interview. Davison varies his approach and it works.

4.Delap of honour. A bit like one of his dad’s throws, Liam Delap is going to go a long way. Nurtured at Manchester City, and having learned on loan at Stoke, Preston and Hull, the 21-year-old now flourishes at Ipswich Town. He led the line well against Aston Villa and scored twice yesterday. Delap’s second showcased all his qualities of speed, strength, a stepover to elude Diego Carlos and emphatic left-footed finish across a world champion goalkeeper in Emi Martinez. Kieran McKenna and Mark Ashton have landed another gem, for an initial £15m, potentially only £20m. Absolute bargain for a Pep pupil. BAt a time when Lee Carsley has voiced his concern about the lack of No 9s emerging, Delap should at some point step up from the England Under-21s to the seniors.

5.Heart in the Dwight place. Dwight McNeil has always played his heart out for Everton, but not always won all the fans over. Even in the first half against Crystal Palace on Saturday, McNeil was getting some stick at Goodison. But his determination was seen with his second-half form and his two goals that brought Everton a much-needed victory. Sean Dyche used McNeil more centrally and it paid off. He has the skill to play as a No 10, playing with his head up and picking out team-mates. He also has the intelligence to time his runs to such good effect. McNeil’s character is beyond question. His partner Megan Sharpley had an operation last Christmas to remove a tumour from an ovary but insisted that Dwight play on. He slept by her hospital bedside and then went to training and carried on playing, fighting for Everton in a difficult season. Admirable person. Megan, too. I met her at an Everton community event and she’s a very charismatic individual. A fortnight ago, she posted a picture of the long scar down her stomach, and wrote, “Every single day I couldn’t be more grateful for this experience we call life. we only have one, so learn to love yourself, be present, live fully and always always be kind.” Well said. Good luck to both Megan and Dwight.

6.Beadle’s about. James Beadle continues to make a name for himself on loan at Sheffield Wednesday from Brighton (and with a nod to the great development work done at Charlton). One save from West Brom’s Karlan Grant in Saturday’s win showed the tall Londoner’s ability. Beadle was arguably at fault for West Brom’s second, Alex Mowatt’s mishit shot which bounced over him, but it was actually a really difficult save to have made, especially as the keeper had defenders in front of him blocking his vision. Beadle’s young, only 20, he’s learning, and needs to work on commanding his goal better at opposition corners. But the potential is very clear. Beadle’s already trained with Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope and Dean Henderson at St George’s Park and his progress is being monitored closely by England seniors.

7.Erik the unready. “We are all in one boat together,” the Manchester United manager said of his relationship with the club’s leadership. But is it a lifeboat? Is it a sinking boat? Ten Hag’s not a bad manager, but he’s certainly a struggling one, a very unconvincing one. It’s now not about convincing the doubting fans or the media but in striking a positive, defiant note and convincing the players. Because they look riddled with doubt about themselves, about the tactics and about the manager. All the talk about regime change is inevitable after surrenders like yesterday’s to Spurs but who? Thomas Tuchel is good and available but comes with baggage. Would the fans want Gareth Southgate? Would Ruud van Nistelrooy take it as United’s latest caretaker? If so, he would become United’s ninth man in charge, temporary or “permanent”, in the 11 years since Sir Alex Ferguson left. Along with other former players who have been in charge, Ryan Giggs, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick, United are building quite the five-a-side team.

8.Cole-fired Chelsea. Lee Carsley names his latest England squad at 2pm on Thursday and Cole Palmer will inevitably be included and the caretaker will inevitably be asked whether Palmer will start at No 10 against Greece and Finland. I did a Chelsea fans’ simulcast on Friday night and the hundreds on stream were adamant that Palmer should be England’s No 10. He certainly confirmed his many strengths, including timing of runs and finishing, with his 20-minute four-goal salvo against Brighton. But, I argued, England have other options to consider at No 10 including Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden while Jack Grealish did well in the role in Dublin last month. Palmer is the most in form at the moment, and certainly deserves an opportunity there, even if from the bench. Bellingham has to start and it is whether his phenomenal game would be impacted if withdrawn alongside Declan Rice. At least, Carsley can simply celebrate he has so many outstanding candidates there. And he knows if he picks Palmer, a player he knows well from the Under-21s, that he will deliver. Nothing seems to faze Palmer.

9.Rosenior service. What a good job Liam Rosenior has done so far at Strasbourg. They have lost only once in their six games under Rosenior this season, and that was an exciting 4-3 defeat at Lyon. Yesterday, Strasbourg defeated Marseille 1-0. Rosenior deserves this opportunity to demonstrate his abilities, having never been fully backed at Derby or Hull. Chelsea’s co-owner Todd Boehly rightly gets plenty of criticism but his BlueCo consortium own Strasbourg and have appointed well with Rosenior.

10.Useful Eustace. John Eustace was poorly treated by Birmingham who moved him out and parachuted Wayne Rooney in. He’s doing wonders at Blackburn Rovers, has lost only six of his 26 games, and now has his team a point off the top of the Championship. Eustace has coped so far with the loss of the prolific Sammy Szmodics to Ipswich. He showed his man-management qualities with the sensitive way he handled Owen Beck’s dismissal in the Derby with Preston. Eustace praised Beck’s impact since joining on loan from Liverpool and talked about he will learn from the red card. Let’s hope owners Venky’s appreciate their head coach and give Eustace some funds to invest in the squad in January. Promotion would be a great way to celebrate Rovers’ 150 years.

Enjoy the week…