1) Palace must stick to the Pulis blueprint

Amid all the gnashing of teeth at Tony Pulis’s untimely departure it should be recognised that Crystal Palace are a stronger team and more experienced squad now than they were a year ago. Admittedly any side can appear rudderless without a manager but that situation will be addressed in the days ahead and, in terms of their first team, there is a unity and strength at Palace retained from Pulis’s short tenure that the new man must surely seek to harness.

The goalkeeper Julián Speroni, who has endured a relegation and an administration over a decade at the club, recognises as much. “Tony was very good for us and we learned a lot with him,” he said. “We’re sad to see him go this way but the players have learned a lot from last season. We’re going to carry on stronger for that. The education he gave us will make us stronger. We need to be clever and learn from everything he did with us. We’re not going to lose that resilience we had last season. The spirit of this team is something I’ve never seen before. We can overcome anything. I guarantee that is going to continue. Whoever comes in is going to know he has a lot of quality and spirit to work with.”

The test will be whether the new appointment is willing to tap into the current squad’s strengths in the same way Pulis did so successfully. Is Tim Sherwood, or Malky Mackay, able to coax the same defensive solidity from this group? And, from that base, is either willing to promote the same counterattacking style that seemed so comfortable under the former manager and hoisted a committed squad into mid-table? At this stage there is no time – nor sense – in ripping up the formula and starting again. This squad knows its strengths. Palace must find a manager who is eager to use the tools immediately at his disposal, with the odd addition to be made in what remains of the transfer window, rather than be seduced into appointing a figure promising the slick, attacking football he had instigated elsewhere. Dominic Fifield

• Arsenal 2-1 Crystal Palace

• Parish denies transfer row with Pulis

2) City well set for title defence

Sergio Agüero, David Silva, Vincent Kompany, Aleksandar Kolarov and Samir Nasri have all signed new contracts to commit themselves to Manchester City and ensure the nucleus of the team is there to stay. Edin Dzeko should be next, according to Manuel Pellegrini, and this was a performance that demonstrated why the champions see him as a considerable part of their plans.

One thing that has not come out until now: Dzeko was the first player Pellegrini rang when he took the City job last summer. Roberto Mancini had wanted City to sign Edinson Cavani and Pellegrini was asked whether he wanted the club to pursue the deal. He abandoned it immediately, telling the people above him that he thought Dzeko was the more effective striker, with a proven record in the Premier League.

At times Dzeko has had to linger on the edges more than he would have liked and last season, in a particularly listless display at home to Stoke City, it was reaching the point that he was starting to grate on the crowd’s nerves. Yet Dzeko played a key point in their title run-in and he continued where he left off against Newcastle. “For me, Edin was the best player of the game,” Pellegrini said. “He won a lot of aerial duels, he’s a very good team player. It’s not strange for me to see him play like that. He finished last season playing very well. He has grown. I’m very happy for him – and that’s why he’s renewing his contract. He has a very important duty in our team. I don’t think it’s 100% finished but, yes, he will renew his contract. He’s a very important player for us.”

Dzeko’s contribution to David Silva’s goal was the game’s outstanding moment and a clear sign the Bosnian is playing with confidence. His problem sometimes is that he can drift in and out of matches but with Dzeko looking this impressive, Agüero still devastating even when not fully fit, Stevan Jovetic bright and Álvaro Negredo to come back from injury, City certainly have the firepower to sustain a strong defence of the title. Daniel Taylor

• Newcastle United 0-2 Manchester City

• Michael Cox: Evolution not revolution for City

• Pellegrini delighted with winning start

3) Pearson needs Leicester’s owners to play the long game

Nigel Pearson, after seeing his side earn a decent point at home to Everton, said that whoever was putting about the story that Leicester’s Thai owner (deep breath) Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha intended to spend £180m to ensure the team stay in the Premier League “needs to buy a new calculator”. But after Leicester have been away from the top table for a decade the intentions of the duty free magnate described as an avid polo player are intriguing. Pearson appears to enjoy a healthy working relationship with the King Power group and has so far been well backed in the transfer market. More arrivals are expected before the end of the month, with the former Argentina midfielder Esteban Cambiasso top of the manager’s wish-list. Should things start to go wrong, however, there must be a chance that the owner gets itchy feet. Leicester’s pre-season tour to Thailand in the summer was front-page news in Srivaddhanaprabha’s home country now they have finally reached the big time and he will not need to be told what the impact of instant relegation would be in marketing terms. Pearson desperately needs his team to hit the ground running. And, unlike Vincent Tan at Cardiff last season, hope the owner plays the long game. Ed Aarons

• Leicester City 2-2 Everton

• Pearson has lifted Leicester’s Eriksson-era blues

4) Van Gaal needs to sit down with Woodward … quickly

Alan Shearer started it on Match of the Day on Saturday evening, or rather he jumped on a bandwagon that was already rolling. United need three or four major new signings, and quick. Yet Ed Woodward does not appear to do quick and, without Champions League football this season, United are not best placed to attract the very best players from around Europe. One imagines Louis van Gaal will now be in earnest discussion with his chief executive about which players might be available – Daley Blind would have no difficulty finding a place in the present team – because United need some sort of capture as a public relations exercise, to prevent another season being undermined by negative grumbling about indecisiveness over transfers. The feelgood factor induced by Van Gaal’s arrival is over already, Ander Herrera was as underwhelming on debut as Juan Mata in his preferred No10 role, Luke Shaw is injured and the manager had a rethink about his new formation 45 minutes into the season. Not a great start, in other words, and what happens in the next two weeks could be crucial. Van Gaal has been around big clubs long enough to know how they work. Without results no manager is bulletproof. Paul Wilson

• Manchester United 1- 2 Swansea City

• Van Gaal concedes he needs ‘better players’

• Paul Wilson: new boss, same as the old?

• Daniel Taylor: Van Gaal and Koeman need help from above

Louis van Gaal bemoans Manchester United’s ‘very disappointing’ defeat. Guardian

5) Monk proves his doubters wrong

Amid all the criticism for Manchester United, there has been little room to give Swansea the praise they deserve. When Garry Monk was appointed Michael Laudrup’s successor, he appeared a short-term solution from a club with no real options. Last season he struggled, too, and at times seemed out of his depth while players came to terms with the fact that he was no longer a team-mate but now the boss. Chico Flores, a player whom Monk has his issues with, and Pablo Hernández have been shipped out along with much of the Spanish contingent at the club, and Monk has streamlined his players into a streetwise gang. They counterattacked with purpose against Manchester United and expertly picked holes in Van Gaal’s 3-4-3 formation, while they had the experience to keep their heads up even after Wayne Rooney’s equaliser. Monk told the press that nobody had given Swansea a chance before the match. Perhaps they will now? Tom Bryant

• Monk: many people expect me to fail at Swansea

• In pictures: best images from Old Trafford

6) Liverpool’s problem on opening day was not in attack

Brendan Rodgers reiterated his wish for a new striker after Liverpool’s laboured win over Southampton and, while there are allowances on the first day of a post-World Cup Premier League season, the modest performance was not the result of a team finding its way without Luis Suárez. Southampton’s midfield three of Morgan Schneiderlin, Victor Wanyama and Steven Davis controlled much of the contest with Liverpool’s trio of Jordan Henderson, Steven Gerrard and Lucas Leiva imbalanced. That could have been corrected with Emre Can on the left of the Liverpool captain but the £9.85m signing from Bayer Leverkusen was left on the bench as Rodgers started with Lucas in that position before replacing the Brazilian with Joe Allen. As he said afterwards, work in progress, but it is not all about the new striker for Liverpool. Andy Hunter

• Liverpool 2-1 Southampton

• In pictures – the best images from Anfield

• Lovren: ‘I never expected I would be somebody’

• Koeman sees bright future for Southampton despite sales

Brendan Rodgers happy with Liverpool’s workmanlike win. Guardian

7) West Ham need more variety

The margins were fine at Upton Park on Saturday and, if Mark Noble had scored his penalty in the first half, then West Ham probably would have won and Sam Allardyce would not have found himself answering questions about his job security. Noble missed, however, and so the spotlight fell on West Ham’s failure to make the most of their one-man advantage against Tottenham. True, West Ham missed chances and they have strikers to come in. Yet the lack of variety in their play, the insistence on crossing from deep positions, was alarming and suggested that little has been learnt from last season’s attacking struggles. It was too predictable and Tottenham knew what was coming. That was obvious a few minutes into the second half, yet Allardyce did nothing to try to change the game, when perhaps introducing a creator like Mauro Zárate might have opened Tottenham up. Instead Zárate stayed on the bench, which makes one wonder why West Ham bothered signing him. The shackles still need a bit of loosening. Jacob Steinberg

• West Ham 0-1 Tottenham

• Louise Taylor: who will win the sack race?

8) Keeping Rémy is key to QPR’s hopes

Whatever flaws Liverpool medics felt they detected in Loïc Rémy were not apparent against Hull, nor when the Frenchman scored 14 goals in 26 matches for Newcastle last season. The collapse of his move to Liverpool could be the break that saves Queens Park Rangers’ season. With his speed, trickery and sharpness, he is a class above any other forward at Loftus Road and, even though Harry Redknapp says he intends signing another striker this week, without Rémy QPR would look nigh-on doomed. There is a buy-out clause in the striker’s contract – around £8.5m for a Champions League club, a different price for a non-Champions League club – and Manchester City are the only squad in England who do not look as if they could do with Rémy, medical permitting. Roll up your car window, Harry. Paul Doyle

• QPR 0-1 Hull City

• QPR have learned lessons from relegation

• Redknapp: Rémy ‘too decent’ to leave in late deal

Loïc Rémy, right, looked sharp against Hull and could be vital to QPR’s survival hopes. Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters Photograph: DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS

9) Keane can help restore fire to Villa bellies

Aston Villa have bagged some relatively high-profile signings this summer and, if Joe Cole, Kieran Richardson and Philippe Senderos perform at their best, and Carlos Sánchez can adapt quickly to English football after impressing for Colombia in the World Cup, then with Christian Benteke to come back from injury in October, they may just be comfortable this season as the search for new owners is stepped up. But just as important as the new players might be the addition of Roy Keane in the dugout. Rarely can an assistant manager have had his name chanted as Keane’s was at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday as Villa deservedly won 1-0 thanks to a wholehearted and disciplined performance. It is ironic as Villa seek to stop the rot that started with Martin O’Neill’s departure four years ago, two of his protégés are leading the challenge: Paul Lambert, his captain at Celtic, and Keane, now his assistant with Ireland.

Lambert seems to be troubled by very little ego so will not mind if Keane’s name is chanted as long as Villa are winning. He paid full tribute to his new right-hand man’s pedigree after a victory that bore many of the hallmarks that made Keane the warrior he was as a player. “He’s been brilliant for us,” Lambert said. “Anybody who’s seen him play a game of football knows how much he wants to win. The game’s all about winning; the more games you win, the better you become.”

Referees will not give 50/50 decisions against Villa lightly. Every one that went Stoke’s way on Saturday – and there were a few 40/60s as well – Lambert, no shrinking violet himself, and Keane were out into their technical area (what a misnomer that is, by the way – it is more a shouting cage), asking Anthony Taylor to think carefully about repeating such folly. Then the fourth official would get a glare for good measure on their way back.

Keane seems to be the kind of character who can help return fire to Villa’s bellies. And surely, working alongside O’Neill for a while now, on the TV gantry then the international arena, he will have learned when to bark and when to bite his tongue compared with the young manager who promised so much at Sunderland before failing at Ipswich Town. No one will bully Villa lightly. Their players made sure of that on the field and Keane followed suit from the touchline. When Mark Hughes attempted to shout Weimann to get off the field more quickly as the Villa matchwinner was substituted, Keane simply laughed at his former Manchester United team-mate. You can imagine him asking whether Hughes would have hurried off if he was winning. When the Stoke manager was asked what their banter had entailed, Hughes replied: “I was having a go at his player, not at Roy – I’m not that daft!” Villa fans will take pride from this refusal to lie down without a fight and it could come in handy in the challenging months ahead in what is certain to be a transitional season. Peter Lansley

• Stoke City 0-1 Aston Villa

• In pictures: the Premier League’s opening day

10) Poyet’s Sunderland pay for ‘soft’ penalty

Gus Poyet could scarcely contain his frustration over referee Neil Swarbrick’s decision to award West Bromwich Albion a penalty despite minimal contact. Even Alan Irvine admitted it was “soft”. Coming just before half-time, it changed the course of the game. Brendan McLoughlin

• West Brom 2-2 Sunderland

• All the weekend’s results at a glance