1) Barton remains a source of trouble

Newcastle United's encouraging start to the season has been met by much surprise and a huge amount of Andy Carroll-related hype. But somewhat lost in the appreciation of all things Toon has been the resurgence of Joey Barton, whose endeavour and craft from the centre of Newcastle's midfield has been more reminiscent of the man who was once capped by England than the cigar-stubbing, Ousmane Dabo-beating so-and-so that spent 74 days at Strangeways. Or so we thought.

On Wednesday, Barton's Mr Hyde returned during the second half of his team's 2-1 defeat to Blackburn, when he thrust a short-range punch into the chest of Morten Gamst Pedersen. Barton claimed to the referee, Mike Jones, that he had merely pressed his palm into Pedersen's chest but television replays show that his hand was clenched when the blow was struck. Jones missed the incident so it is now up to the Football Association to act. Whatever it decides, it is quite clear that for all the redemptive qualities he has displayed over the past 18 months, Barton remains a source of trouble, for others as well as himself.

2) Holloway has handed the Premier League an almighty dilemma

There were few dissenting voices outside of Molineux when Mick McCarthy was handed a suspended £25,000 fine by the Premier League last season for making 10 changes to his team for their trip to Old Trafford in December. McCarthy, it was deemed, had denied all potential for a genuine contest by leaving most of his first-team players out of the game and it came as little surprise when the second string were beaten 3-0 by Manchester United.

But Wolves warned then that the sanction would have repercussions down the line, turning what appeared to be a straightforward case of unfair advantage into a more complex argument about managers' rights to pick who they want when they want. Well, thanks to Ian Holloway, we are now well and truly down that line.

On Wednesday, the Blackpool manager mimicked McCarthy by making 10 changes for his team's visit to Villa Park. The visitors were expected to subsequently struggle but instead twice equalised before the hosts found a winner in the 89th minute. Afterwards Holloway claimed he would quit if the Premier League fined him for selecting such a different line-up to that which drew with Everton on Saturday and, unlike his counterpart at Wolves, he has not been roundly mocked or criticised for his stance. Blackpool, after all, played well at Villa despite the changes and, with a potentially crucial game at West Ham this weekend, it was perhaps right for their manager to take a long-term view. But the league set a standard with how it dealt with McCarthy and, having confirmed it is investigating the matter, must sanction Holloway for consistency's sake. How he responds could prove pivotal.

3) Big matches can be played at night

Given how often they bang on about their "product" being the most entertaining in the world, it is rather curious that Premier League executives place so many high-profile fixtures in a Saturday lunchtime slot. It is, after all, difficult for even the most vociferous Kopite to care that Manchester United are at Anfield, or for the most partisan Gooner to get excited about a visit from Tottenham, when they are nursing a Friday-night hangover on less than four hours of sleep. The atmosphere suffers and suddenly the Premier League does not appear as heart-thumping as had been advertised.

In fairness, the scheduling of such matches early on a Saturday, or alternatively on a Sunday afternoon, is principally down to police worries about potential crowd trouble, but as Wednesday's Manchester derby showed, it is possible for fans to watch a big game on a midweek evening without being so tanked up on lager that they cannot help but scrap with each other. The game at Eastlands may have been eye-wateringly drab but the atmosphere, as it was when these sides met on a cold Tuesday night in last season's Carling Cup semi-finals, was crackling and, on the whole, trouble-free. Fans prefer it this way, as do players, and no doubt Sky does, too. Maybe it is time for a rethink.

4) Liverpool are not out of the woods

Well that lasted long didn't it? It was perhaps inevitable given the endless turmoil that defined their efforts last season that Liverpool should go from beating Chelsea in such a decisive and energetic manner to barely scraping a draw with Wigan. All looked well for the visitors after Fernando Torres had given them the lead with a fine strike after just eight minutes but then came the uncertainty and lack of vigour that ultimately cost Rafael Benítez his job, and a deserved equaliser from Hugo Rodallega seven minutes into the second half followed.

What was alarming from a Liverpool perspective, and indeed was evident during Sunday's win over the champions, was the team's inability to retain possession. Time after time the ball was passed on to a player in blue and white and, as such, it became near impossible for the Roy Hodgson's men to build momentum. The post-match statistics show that Liverpool had 46.2% possession compared with Wigan's 53.8%, and completed 75.4% of their passes compared with the host's 82.1%. Until those figures are reversed consistently it is hard to see how Hodgson's team will gather enough victories, particularly away from home, to climb back into the top four.

5) This season is shaping up to be the most competitive in a long while

Until Marouane Chamakh scored for a second time against Wolves, it was looking like no Premier League fixture on Wednesday was going to be decided by more than a single goal. Considering there was scope for some thrashings in there, most notably Chelsea v Fulham and Aston Villa v Blackpool, that was something of a surprise and only added to the sense that this season will go down as the tightest since the Premier League was formed in 1992.

Only nine points separate Newcastle in fifth from West Ham in 20th, with six clubs locked on 16 points. The top four looks pretty much established but below that there are likely to be some significant surprises in positions as well as results.