Your new team, recently flush with cash, are winless and bottom of the Premier League. You test positive for Covid on the eve of your first match in charge. Your centre back gets sent off eight minutes and 52 seconds into a must-win match against your relegation rivals for hauling Teemu Pukki to the floor. You are EddieHowe and this is your life.
Norwich City’s mini-revival, sparked by the deposed Daniel Farke and continued by his successor Dean Smith, ensured that while only a place above Newcastle in the table, they arrived in the north east three points better off than their hosts. This was a match that neither side could ill afford to lose; and one that Newcastle absolutely had to win.
As Howe took his seat in the home dugout for the first time since his appointment three weeks ago, it felt as though the club’s new era was finally underway. But then no new era can really begin while Ciaran Clark is playing in central defence. Or with seven-goals-in-82-Premier League games Joelinton smashing speculative shots high into the stands from 30 yards out.
When Fabian Schar went to ground clutching his hamstring after 22 minutes, Alan Shearer, part of Amazon Prime’s all-star ensemble for this week’s midweek bonanza of football, uttered knowingly “welcome to Newcastle, Eddie.”
The bulk of Newcastle’s players find themselves in the odd position of playing for a club that has no real use for them beyond the short term. Keep the club in the top-flight and many of them will be rewarded with a place on the transfer list, sacrificed for more high-profile and ultimately, more talented, replacements. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund has grander ambitions than scrapping with Norwich City.
But if Newcastle’s players could be forgiven for feeling uncertain at what the future lies in store for them, they certainly didn’t play like it. This was a spirited, determined display that, while not enough to yield a crucial three points, should at least instil a bit of confidence moving forward. The regret is that they had to play 81 minutes plus eight extra a man light.
There was a split-second as Pukki sought to sprint free of Clark after his attempted clearance had clattered off his chest where the same message seeped into the collective consciousness of every single Newcastle supporter: “Don’t do it, don’t do it…” they urged Clark. Their appeals were in vain. Allan Saint-Maximin stood 50-yards away, turned his head away in disgust as Pukki flopped to the floor from Clark’s tug.
From must win, the game became a must not lose. Newcastle stood firm, restricted Norwich to half-chances and inexplicably took the lead via Callum Wilson’s penalty just past the hour mark, which squirmed agonisingly over the goal-line after Tim Krul had palmed it onto the underside of the crossbar.
At that point, with Norwich labouring, it looked as though they might just pull off the unthinkable. But just as Delia Smith fell asleep in the stands, the visitors roared back into the contest. Pukki smashed in his fifth league goal of the season on the volley to level 11 minutes from time before Martin Dubravka spared Schar’s blushes by denying Pierre Lees-Melou from point-blank range after the Swiss had gifted him a gilt-edged, injury time opportunity.
Within the context of the game, there were positives to be taken. Howe isn’t renowned for extracting defensively dogged displays from his players, but for the most part, this was. Clearly, there is a buy-in from the players. Joelinton, for all his unconvincing attacking qualities, toiled heroically.
But it was a result that pushed Newcastle further away from where they want to be. They are now only the fourth team in Premier League history to go their first 14 games without winning a game; the other three were all relegated. The window for attracting the right calibre of player in January is closing fast.
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Rafa Benitez is confident his job is safe because Everton’s owner Farhad Moshiri has accepted he can’t keep changing managers and the club needs some long-term stability.
The former Liverpool boss goes into the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park under mounting pressure to turn around a dismal run of just one point and three goals from the last six games ahead of a tough December fixture list.
But Benitez says he is in regular dialogue with Moshiri and other members of the club’s hierarchy who realise the last thing they need now is another change of manager – he is the sixth permanent appointment since David Moyes ended his 11-year spell in 2013.
Roberto Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti have all come and gone with no real improvement in the club’s fortunes but Benitez believes the board have seen the error of their ways and will stick with him.
“I am in constant communication with the board and Mr Moshiri so I have this feeling that that they realise that over the years changing managers – even changing the profile of the managers – didn’t work and was not productive.
“He [Moshiri] is clever enough. He realised that maybe it was not the way and he’s trying to find a better way to make sure we are stronger. They [the board] know that we need stability, they know that is really important for changing things in the future and hopefully we can keep this stability.”
Benitez’s hands have been tied in the transfer market by Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations because of the club’s spending in recent seasons with the Spaniard agreeing that much of the £500m outlay has been wasted.
“You can’t blame the owner for spending a lot of money,” he added. “It is just that we have to be sure we do things right in the future and the reason why we can’t spend now is because the Premier League rules don’t allow us to do that.
“Hopefully we can manage in a better way, we can sell some players at a profit and we can use this money to improve the squad and to ensure we are stronger.
“It is important to do the right thing at the right time. You can’t spend money every year so you have to manage. Some clubs have been selling players at the right time and with the money they received they improved the squad.
“That is something we have to learn. The owner is ready to spend money but we can’t spend all the time without bringing money back in. So I think we have to be clever in the future but, at the moment, we have to make sure we can bring the best out of our to the end of the season but at the same time thinking about the long-term future.”
Everton’s slump has coincided with injury absences of several key players but while Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Yerry Mina and Andres Gomez remain out, Abdoulaye Doucoure returned at Brentford on Sunday and Richarlison and Demarai Gray will be back in the starting line-up on Wednesday night.
Despite recent results, Benitez remains convinced that once he has a fully fit squad Everton can still challenge for the top eight and possible European qualification. An unlikely win against an in-form Liverpool team, he says, could prove the turning point in their so far underwhelming season.
“We need a couple of results now to grow in confidence,” he said.
“I will tell you in the middle of the second part of the season how high we can go. I am convinced we can do well and we can be high in the table – when I say high I mean around eighth position – but I will keep my ambition that we can do even better in the future. It is a massive project going forward and I’m sure we will do it but it will take time.”
Everton’s predicted XI vs Liverpool: Pickford; Coleman, Godfrey, Keane, Digne; Townsend, Allan, Delph, Doucoure, Gray; Richarlison.
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Former Liverpool and Arsenal midfielder Ray Kennedy has died at the age of 70.
Kennedy was a three-time European Cup winner, scoring the crucial away goal for the Reds in the 1981 semi-final against Bayern Munich, and lifted the Division One title five times for Liverpool. He also won the league and FA Cup double with Arsenal in 1971.
Having started out as a striker, it was only upon moving to Anfield – signing on the same day that Bill Shankly departed as manager – that he switched position as Shankly’s successor, Bob Paisley, moved him onto the left.
The England international, who made 17 appearances for the Three Lions, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 1984.
In 1991, he sold his medals and memorabilia from his international career to help fund his care, while the two clubs organised a testimonial game.
“The thoughts of everybody at Liverpool FC are with Ray’s family and friends at this sad and difficult time,” Liverpool said in a statement.
John Aldridge, who played for Liverpool between 1987-1989 was among those who paid tribute, writing on Twitter: “Yet another magnificent Ex LFC star has passed away folks. Ray Kennedy what a player and lovely bloke who suffered so much with Parkinson’s disease for most of his life.
“He will definitely never walk alone. RIP Ray YNWA [You’ll Never Walk Alone].”
Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson also offered his sympathies on social media. “More sad news with the passing of Ray,” Thompson wrote. “What a great player and such a wonderful team-mate RIP pal YNWA.”
It’s understood the new interim manager, who will take charge until the end of the season, will not be in the dugout on Thursday night as he awaits a work permit, with Michael Carrick filling in once more.
After the 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, a point stopping a rot of consecutive defeats in the Premier League, Carrick was insistent that Rangnick’s influence has not superceded him just yet, insisting the decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo was his alone.
“That’s not the case, no,” he responded when he was told Gary Neville had suggested that “the incoming manager has picked that team as it’s a huge departure from midweek”.
Carrick said he had simply made “a few tweaks from the other night, to change things up a bit” and he is likely to make more ahead of what’s set to be his final game as temporary head coach.
Manchester United team news
Harry Maguire will be available for selection, having missed out against Chelsea through suspension due to his red card in the 4-1 defeat to Watford.
That means the England centre-back should return alongside Victor Lindelof, with Eric Bailly making way. Raphael Varane is sidelined with an ongoing hamstring problem.
Paul Pogba, likewise, is out with a thigh injury sustained on international duty in training with France. Luke Shaw is the only other major doubt as he continues to be assessed after suffering a knock to the head in the Manchester derby.
Edinson Cavani, who hasn’t played since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure due to a tendon problem, hinted that he will be back against Arsenal with a post of him celebrating in a United shirt. Mason Greenwood was an unused substitute at Chelsea after his positive Covid test and he should be in the squad again, though with six goals in his previous 15 appearances against Arsenal, Ronaldo is expected to start.
Mikel Arteta could only confirm that the Gunners are waiting on the outcome of a scan. Gabriel Martinelli will be pushing for a start in attack after scoring with one of his first touches following his introduction against the Magpies.
Nuno Tavares impressed at the weekend and could retain his place at left-back ahead of Kieran Tierney.
Granit Xhaka (knee) and Sead Kolasinac (ankle) are both long-term absentees.
The tech giant first muscled in on the Premier League‘s domestic broadcasting package in 2018, joining Sky Sports and BT Sport as official rights holders for three seasons. And in May, they renewed their deal to show 20 games a season until the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
As has been in the case in previous seasons, Amazon will show their 20 games in two 10 match bundles over the Christmas period, starting this week. They will then broadcast the next batch in the run-up to New Year’s Eve with 10 matches taking place between Tuesday 28 December and Thursday 30 December.
With so many games being shown in such a short space of time, Amazon has assembled an all-star cast containing some of the biggest names in English football to bring their coverage to life, from the touchline to the gantry to the studio.
And there are some cracking games to get stuck into each day too, including a massive relegation battle between Newcastle and Norwich on Tuesday and the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday before Manchester United’s clash with Arsenal rounds things off on Thursday evening.
Amazon TV line-ups
(subject to change)
Tuesday 30 November
Newcastle vs Norwich: Simon Thomas, Peter Drury, Alan Shearer, Les Ferdinand, Eni Aluko, Jonathan Josepeh
Leeds vs Crystal Palace: Gabby Logan, Jon Champion, Ally McCoist, Chris Ford, Patrice Evra, Michael Owen, Clinton Morrison
Wednesday 1 December
Aston Villa vs Man City: Darrell Currie, Clive Tyldesley, Andy Townsend, Katie Shanahan, Nigel De Jong, Nedum Onuoha
Southampton vs Leicester: Kelly Somers, Steve Wilson, Sue Smith, Adam Hunt, Neil Lennon, Francis Benali
Watford vs Chelsea: Jim Rosenthal, Connor McNamara, Craig Burley, Jo Ankier, John Barnes, Gianfranco Zola
West Ham vs Brighton: Angus Scott, Robyn Cowan, Matt Upson, Jenny Drummond, Nedum Onuoha, Rob Green
Wolves vs Burnley: Ian Darke, Lucy Ward, Karthi Gnanasegaram, Owen Hargreaves, Matt Holland
Everton vs Liverpool: Gabby Logan, Jon Champion, Ally McCoist, Gabriel Clarke, Thierry Henry, Steve McManaman, Leon Osman
Thursday 2 December
Spurs vs Brentford: Marcus Buckland, Guy Mowbray, Glenn Hoddle, Pien Meulensteen, Gus Poyet, Mark Clattenburg
Man Utd vs Arsenal: Simon Thomas, Peter Drury, Ally McCoist, Gabriel Clarke, Patrice Evra, Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry
Amazon has brought in some of English football’s most recognisable faces – and voices – for this week’s offering.
Match of the Day’s Alan Shearer is on board, as are Thierry Henry and Patrice Evra, with all three scheduled to provide their insight on the mouthwatering match-up at Old Trafford when United host Arsenal.
Both Merseyside clubs will have an ex-player in their corner for the derby too, with ex-Everton midfielder Leon Osman joined by former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman in the studio.
The dulcet tones of Clive Tyldesley, Peter Drury and the one and only Ally McCoist, will be heard from the commentary gantry, while Gabriel Clarke and Vaishali Bhardwaj are among those on touchline reporting duty.
Mark Clattenburg will be on hand to provide a referee’s viewpoint on Tottenham’s game against Brentford.
As for the presenters, Jim Rosenthal, whose broadcasting career spans over four decades, is signed up, as are Gabby Logan, Kelly Somers and Simon Thomas, amongst others.
Here is the full list of presenters, commentators, co-commentators, reporters and pundits working for Amazon this week:
For Andrei Kanchelskis Jr, it was always Everton. As a child he watched his father play for Manchester United, Rangers and Fiorentina too, but it was Goodison where he felt most at home. He watched the team play in the early years of the David Moyes era and something clicked – not the results, but the feel of the place. It got under his skin.
He spoke to Evertonians and heard tales of how fondly they remembered his Dad and an enduring love was established. But it is being tested: “The internal mess, it seems, has set in too deep.”
Farhad Moshiri arrived at Everton in 2016 with a fortune and a dream and neither was a secret. Chairman Bill Kenwright spoke of an immediate “Champions League vision”. Robert Martinez, Everton’s manager at the time, conceded that his job had got harder because expectations had suddenly shifted. On Sunday, as Everton slipped to a fifth defeat in six, played with a front two of Alex Iwobi and Salomon Rondon and were derided by their own supporters after the whistle, part of that dream must have died. If there’s still any left.
The numbers of doom: 15 points off the top four in 2016-17 in Moshiri’s first full season, then 26, 27, 27 and, last season, eight. Success – only eight points! Everton had moved heaven and earth and risked financial sense to get slightly closer to something that still sat uncomfortably out of reach. They didn’t even fly close to the sun before the wax started to melt. From aiming for a trophy, Everton have been plunged back into atrophy.
At the root of Everton’s breaking vision sits a basic, broken sum: there are, at a rough tally, 12 Premier League clubs (each of the so-called “Big Six”, Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, Everton, Leicester City, Wolves) whose owners have either publicly stated or privately harbour Champions League ambitions. It isn’t enough to have money and it isn’t enough to have ambition, not when you have become a waiter for the clubs that sit at the top table rather than a diner at it.
Everton surely had a defined transfer policy once; do they have one now? They acted a bit like a hungry shopper in a higher-end supermarket who gets the bags home and realises that they can’t actually make one coherent meal out of their purchases. Between June 2017 and August 2019, Everton spent around £380m on transfer fees alone. Not all of them failed (Richarlison, Lucas Digne and Jordan Pickford are honourable exceptions), but the general pattern was a little miserable. They have any advantages that Moshiri’s wealth provided.
“Everton are like a vintage sports car,” season ticket holder Matthew Stuart tells i. “A beautiful thing to have, but it needs maintenance and expensive new parts. When something goes wrong and we spend money to fix it, something else goes wrong elsewhere that needs money spent too. We’ve overspent on average players. The players that have worked for us are almost indispensable, but if they are injured then our bench choices are significantly worse.”
Transfer market wastage can quickly become self-fulfilling. The investment puts greater pressure on the manager to improve performance without making their job easier. When the club then makes a change in search of improvement, the new manager brings with him a list of transfer targets that the club, desperate for this to be the one that works out, cedes to. If that cycle is only ever warded off by a sensible structure above the manager, that has been liable to overhaul too. Steve Walsh was Moshiri’s first director of football; he left for Marcel Brands to come in. Both have been the subject of supporter ire given the lurching, reactive, scattergun transfer policy.
During Moshiri’s tenure, he has employed Martinez, Ronald Koeman, Sam Allardyce, Marco Silva, Carlo Ancelotti and Rafael Benitez. Rather than one ethos pervading through the squad, it becomes a tatty patchwork quilt. Everton’s substitutes on Sunday were signed by four different managers. Of the 80 longest-serving first-team players in the Premier League, Seamus Coleman is Everton’s only representative. And for what? Everton have taken between 47 and 61 points in each of their last seven seasons. At best they are treading water.
And this season, they are sinking a little below the surface. The limitations of Financial Fair Play rules disallows wanton spending to continue unchecked. Everton have lost a combined £251.7m over the last two fully accounted financial years. This summer, they spent just £2m on new players. Benitez is the latest manager to learn that life at Goodison can drag you down.
Benitez always felt an awkward fit once you viewed his appointment in wider focus. He has his history at Liverpool but he is also a manager whose football is often proudly functional. If that made sense this season at Everton given the limited resources, Benitez has been hampered by injuries to key players (Yerry Mina, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Dominic Calvert-Lewin) but has been unable to make Everton defensively sound. And if Everton aren’t going to go down and aren’t going to finish in the top six, many supporters reason that they might as well try to have a little fun. To them, this feels like the worst of both worlds.
But there is something deeper here than simply an underperforming team waiting for FFP concerns to subside so that they can spend again. Everton really is a grand old club. There is something about Goodison – the wooden seats, the proximity of fans to the pitch, the door at the side of the press room that conjoins you with a mass of supporters on your way to your seat, the friendliness of every single member of staff – that presents an anachronistic view of how football used to be. It got under Kanchelskis’ skin and it gets under yours, even on fleeting visits.
That connection used to be reinforced by the progress of academy graduates into the first team, a seam that extended from Tony Hibbert to Wayne Rooney to Leon Osman to Jack Rodwell to Ross Barkley. Now that connection risks being lost. It’s one thing for your team to play badly, but another entirely to watch highly-paid signings underperform while the likes of Ellis Simms and Lewis Dobbin stay on the bench.
“This local narrative plays into what Everton is as a club,” Kanchelskis Jr tells i. “If you were to put an identity of what it means to be at Everton, rather than the definition of first-team identity, then you would say that it involved local players and staff being dotted around to show the pride of the Liverpool community.”
Moshiri cannot be blamed for wanting to take Everton upwards and away from Goodison to a new stadium that allows for greater matchday revenue; that makes economic sense. But amid the excitement over the move comes a deeper-lying, quasi-existential misgiving. Even while the team is underperforming, the managers keep changing and the money was being spent illogically, there is something inherently, intangibly Everton to rely upon. But what happens when Goodison goes? What are Everton left with then other than a desperation to be bigger and better and a hazardous, hidden path to get there?
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Robert Lewandowski offered a gracious congratulations to Lionel Messi after finishing runner-up to the Paris Saint-Germain forward at the 2021 Ballon d’Or ceremony but his native country’s media were seemingly furious that he was pipped to the award.
After scoring 47 goals in 44 games, the Bayern Munich striker had been the favourite for the 2020 award, which was scrapped due to the impact of Covid on the football calendar. The 33-year-old followed that up with 64 goals in 54 matches this year, winning the Bundesliga, DFL-Supercup and European Golden Shoe.
“Congratulations Leo Messi and Alexia Putellas, winners of the Ballon d’Or 2021,” Lewandowski wrote on Twitter.
“Congratulations also to all nominated players! I won Striker of the Year award and no player can win an individual award without [the] strongest team and loyal fans behind him. Thank you for your support.”
Yet while he did receive recognition from France Football at their annual spectacle with one individual gong, his apparent usurpation for the main prize by Messi – who won the Copa America with Argentina but who has scored just one league goal since leaving Barcelona – has not been universally accepted.
German newspaper Bild described the decision as “scandalous”, adding: “This cannot be true.”
“After this decision, I don’t understand the world anymore,” former Germany midfielder Lothar Matthaus, who won the Ballon d’Or in 1990, told Sky Sports Germany.
“With all due respect to Lionel Messi and all the other great nominated players, nobody deserves it like Lewandowski. France Football didn’t award the prize last year, and if only because of all the titles that Robert has won with Bayern 2020, he is unrivalled not only in the last two years.
“But even if you only take 2021 into account, he was better than the rest. He broke Gerd Müller’s record of the century, is again top of the top scorers list in every competition, and has surpassed everyone nationally and internationally this year as well.”
Bayern’s US account tweeted that Lewandowski was “forever the best in our eyes”.
Jorginho, who finished third, was another player tipped to become just the second player to break Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s duopoly in the last 14 years, with only Luka Modric interrupting their run in 2018. The Chelsea midfielder played a key role in Italy’s triumph at Euro 2020 and won the Champions League under Thomas Tuchel.
Full Ballon d’Or rankings and points
(Premier League players in bold)
1. Lionel Messi (PSG) – 613
2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) – 580
3. Jorginho (Chelsea) – 460
4. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) – 239
5. N’golo Kante (Chelsea) – 186
6. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) – 178
7. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) – 121
8. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) – 73
9. Kylian Mbappe (PSG) – 36
10. Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG) – 36
11. Erling Haaland (Borussia Dortmund) – 33
12. Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea) – 26
13. Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus) – 26
14. Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus) – 18
15. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) – 10
16. Neymar (PSG) – 9
17. Luis Suarez (Atletico Madrid) – 8
18. Simon Kjaer (AC Milan) – 8
19. Mason Mount (Chelsea) – 7
20. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City) – 7
21=. Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) – 6
21=. Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) – 6
23. Harry Kane (Tottenham) – 4
24. Pedri (Barcelona) – 3
25. Phil Foden (Manchester City) – 2
26=. Nicolo Barella (Inter Milan) – 1
26=. Ruben Dias (Manchester City) – 1
26=. Gerard Moreno (Villarreal) – 1
29=. Luka Modric (Real Madrid) – 0
29=. Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) – 0
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Within the whirlwind of responses to my column last week revealing the millions being made every year from fining and charging administrative fees to amateur footballers for yellow and red cards were comments from the refereeing fraternity.
It turns out a great number of people disagree strongly with the concept of fining children playing football, yet I presumed if anyone was going to take exception to the suggestion financial penalties for bookings — or even bookings themselves — be removed from the amateur game, particularly matches involving children, it would be the referees. In fact, the opposite turned out to be true, and revealed another of the game’s mysterious elements that football authorities are reluctant to discuss: why referee body cameras are forbidden.
Where Lee Warren, the former Brentwood Youth AFC secretary of last week’s column, has tried — in vain — to get body cameras introduced by the Essex FA, Ref Support UK has gone even further.
Both Warren, a qualified referee, and Martin Cassidy, the Ref Support UK chief executive and a former FA referee coach, believe body cameras would virtually eradicate attacks, threats and abuse aimed at referees. Why would somebody do it, if they knew every second was being recorded up close?
‘They don’t want cameras – it would stem an income stream’
“It’s a deterrent, it’s an evidence gatherer and it’s a training aid for the referee,” Cassidy said. “None of those you can argue with. “They don’t want cameras for referees because that will stem an income stream for them. It will genuinely stop the abuse and attacks on match officials.”
The exact figure of how much County FAs are raking in from fining amateur footballers is unknown — the FA has not provided one — but a conservative estimate from the Covid-hit 2019-20 season is £8million. Would body cameras hit the bottom line?
It’s a bit like speed cameras: the UK government could create laws banning the manufacture of cars that travel over 70mph, so nobody could break the national speed limit, but it just happens to make HMRC millions in fines each year. In football, it could stop referees receiving broken jaws, eye sockets and noses, but would it solve a particularly lucrative problem?
Ref Support UK has approached FA chief executive Mark Bullingham and asked if the governing body can get to the bottom of why the game’s lawmakers — the International Football Association Board — enshrined it in the laws of the game that cameras are forbidden. “Referees and other ‘on-field’ match officials are prohibited from wearing jewellery or any other electronic equipment, including cameras,” rule 5.5 states.
Bullingham is making inquiries to Ifab as to why this is the case, but it’s unlikely anything will change. A source at Ifab told me that wearing body cameras could cause integrity issues, increase pressure on the referee, there were possible legal and data protection issues and that it would limit the communication between players and match officials. There are no plans in the near future to discuss it.
None of this appears to have been an issue in rugby union, however, where Ref Cam — a small camera attached to the referee’s shirt — has been used for around a decade. “They do it in other sports,” Cassidy said. “There’s no legal reason you can’t wear a body camera on a football pitch on public land. Even safeguarding doesn’t cover it.”
Cameras are even permitted pitch=side in amateur football. -n fact, many County FAs fully endorse them. Veo has signed deals with several County FAs to provide portable 180-degree 4K cameras to record games.
“Loads of teams are using it to show footage after the game — using it to slag off the referee, look you got this penalty wrong,” Cassidy said. “Why is it OK for the FA and County FAs to do deals with a company for a camera off the pitch, but you can’t use a camera on the pitch?”
The FA insists it is merely following the rules. “Under the current Laws of the Game, which are set out by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), body cameras are not permitted,” a spokesperson said.
Not that the rules stopped the FA when it wanted England to wear poppies on shirts in 2016. The FA contacted Fifa, argued their case that poppies were not a forbidden political statement, were denied permission, then did it anyway, taking the £35,000 fine on the chin.
Moreover, it’s particularly hard to argue against the better protection of referees when children are involved. You can referee from 14 years old — for some it’s a way to earn a few quid and take part in the game. There are thousands of young referees.
Over the weekend, Bridgend Referee Society announced it was withdrawing its referees from Under 15s junior football until “the behaviours and attitudes towards match officials change for the better”.
The society was made aware of a young referee being abused pitch-side, followed to the changing room, threatened, prevented from leaving the ground and then assaulted by parents after a game. Abuse of match officials in junior football from players, coaches and parents has been on the rise in recent months, the society said.
“When I wrote to Mark Bullingham I said it’s deplorable that if a 14-year-old referee gets threatened, abused and sworn at, you make money out of that,” Cassidy said.
“They should not be making money out of the abuse of anyone, but particularly children. When a child gets threatened by an adult coach, that should be a safeguarding issue, not a disciplinary issue they make money out of. They should be able to use body cameras to protect themselves. Even if they do a trial — they’ve even refused to consider a pilot, which is irresponsible.
“When you bring all these little things together you start seeing we’ve got a major problem here. They do not want referees to get on with players, because it benefits them from a business point of view.”
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Dale Vince is used to succeeding when others assume he will fail. He left school at 15, much to the chagrin of his parents who believed he should get a steady job, and has since amassed a fortune of a reported £100m. He had the idea to construct his own wind turbine in 1991; 30 years later his business Ecotricity, the world’s first green electricity company, employs around 850 people.
And in 2010, Vince saved Forest Green Rovers from probable financial apocalypse with a dream to make them the first carbon-neutral club in the world. Within eight years, a club from a village of 6,000 people had been recognised as “the greenest football club on the globe” by the United Nations and Fifa. So yes, Dale Vince tends to get what he wants. Because Dale Vince tends to make it happen himself.
For a while, Forest Green Rovers were treated as something of a novelty. Nobody doubted Vince’s commitment to climate action, but their initiatives were all reported with a slight tinge of derision: the pitch constructed of recycled coffee beans, the vegan menu that supporters initially railed against but now love, the home shirt made using waste coffee grounds and recycled water bottles. They were an interesting story, but only an interesting story. Above them, real football was happening.
That perception has evaporated, partly because football has finally woken up to its responsibility to act in the face of the climate emergency and begun to incrementally follow Forest Green’s lead. But also because this forward-thinking club now has a team created in the same image and is pushing for its highest ever finish. They currently sit top of League Two, seven points clear of the playoff positions with a game in hand.
“There’s no doubt that the better the club performs, the more powerful the message on climate action it stands for can become,” Vince tells i. “We have to be good at both things, and so we give them equal importance. Sustainability and football are like the two legs that we walk on; if either of them are substandard then we limp.
“Because we are a football club first and foremost for most of our supporters, success on the pitch helps remove all doubt that eco-sustainability and football can work together. It strengthens that message, because people used to say that it couldn’t work. If we were in a relegation battle now, people might say ‘But what about the football?’. Now they see them in symbiosis.”
This is a romantic concept, that a club’s ethos in campaigning for a green revolution might actually have helped them perform better on the pitch. But it stands up to scrutiny. At League Two level, far more than in the Premier League, there exists a close connection between all strands of a club – players, managers, supporters, owners, staff – because there are fewer barriers between them.
That only makes the culture of the club more influential. Vince mentions a number of recent interviews in which the club’s players have been asked about the experience of playing for a unique club, and he sees in their answers a genuine buy-in for what the club stands for.
That becomes self-fulfilling: the club has a definite ethos, the players understand that ethos and so know what to expect, all of them are on the same page which allows for greater communication and communal spirit. Ask any manager and they will tell you that a steady club off the pitch makes life far easier for them when dictating what happens on it.
Other multimillionaire owners in the EFL may have spent more haphazardly to accelerate their clubs’ progress through the divisions. They could have been in the Championship by now. But again, Vince believes in a different way. He has been at Forest Green for over 10 years and has appointed only three managers. Sustainability isn’t simply about environmental campaigning; it underpins everything at this club.
“We have an approach to sustainability as a bigger concept,” Vince says. “It’s not just about eco stuff. It’s about the ability to continue to do the same processes year in, year out, which is the proper definition of sustainability. You bring finances, football durability and the environment all under that remit.
“And you get unexpected benefits from taking our stance, not just in terms of the environmental work but from the ethics and equality of our decision-making. The best recent example of that was recruiting Rob Edwards as the new head coach, who was a coach at the Football Association. I don’t think Rob would have left the FA for any other League Two club. I know for a fact that he looked at the club and believed that the one thing he would always get was support.
“Karma is a commonly used term and it can sound a bit hippie or spiritual, but we have a clear ethos about treating people as you want to be treated yourself, with openness and honesty, admitting mistakes and fixing them. Doing that creates enduring friendships. Suddenly people will help you as and when you need it. And the local community invests more of themselves in the club because they see us doing good things with good people.”
Vince’s determination has made a difference to global sport. He helped to establish the agenda for climate action from within the game and believes that elite clubs are now accepting that behavioural change is overdue and urgent. He understands that such change will happen incrementally but is adamant that only a total commitment can work. Later in our interview he comes back to an earlier question to clarify: “I’d really like it if another club dived in like we did.” So far, none have. He insists that we need more rebels and activists.
And so the fight continues: for a safer planet, for a sustainable future and for a football club that aims to incrementally, but unwaveringly, improve. In that context, football can seem a little incongruous, even meaningless, in comparison with the greatest emergency of our age. But that misses the point. For Vince, Forest Green Rovers are a vehicle to greater awareness and a poster club where substantive action dances hand-in-hand with on-pitch success.
“Our overall aim has always been to get to the Championship,” Vince says. “We have got three stars on the backs of our shirts. One of them was coloured in when we reached League Two; the other two are blank and we hope to colour them in in the future. As long as we get there in the right way, incrementally rather than boom and bust, I don’t care how long it takes.”
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As is customary during the festive period, there is a jam-packed schedule of Premier League football in store over the next month, beginning with a full round of fixtures this midweek.
There are a total of eight gameweeks crammed into the calendar from Tuesday 30 November through until New Year’s Day in what often proves to be a pivotal part of the campaign at both ends of the table.
All 10 matches taking place between Tuesday and Thursday this week will be available to watch on Amazon Prime’s streaming service. As part of their existing deal with the Premier League which runs through until the end of the current season, Amazon will show a further 10 matches between Boxing Day and Tuesday 28 December.
Amazon, along with the Premier League’s other UK-based broadcasters Sky Sports and BT Sport, agreed to a three-year renewal deal in May which expires at the end of the 2024-25 season.
There are some interesting match-ups at both ends of the table this week. The coverage bonanza begins with a massive game at the foot of the table when bottom of the table Newcastle host 19th place Norwich City at St James’ Park.
Norwich’s recent good form means that Newcastle are the only top-flight team still searching for their first victory of the season and the wealthiest club in the world risk getting cut adrift from safety before being able to make any signings in January unless results improve.
On Wednesday, Leicester travel to the scene of their biggest-ever Premier League victory when they play Southampton at St Mary’s, two seasons on from their 9-0 victory. The top three sides in the division are all away from home, meanwhile, with league leaders Chelsea facing Watford, Manchester City travelling to a resurgent Aston Villa and Liverpool making the short trip to Goodison Park to take on struggling Everton.
Liverpool have looked in ominous form of late, racking up consecutive 4-0 victories against Arsenal and Southampton ahead of the Merseyside derby. Everton, in contrast, are on a wretched run having failed to win any of their last seven league matches, losing five of their last six. However, the Toffees won the last meeting between the clubs, beating Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield in February.
Then on Thursday, a well-rested Spurs entertain Brentford at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, before the Ralf Rangnick era at Manchester United gets underway with Arsenal providing the opposition. The 63-year-old was confirmed as United’s interim coach until June on Monday and will take on a two-year consultancy role from the end of the campaign.
Every match is available to stream on Amazon Prime on a variety of devices including TV’s, mobiles or tablets, games consoles and more. An Amazon Prime membership costs £7.99 a month or £79 for a year, while those without a membership can sign up for a 30-day free trial to take advantage of the live football coming up over the next few weeks.
This week’s Premier League fixture list in full
Tuesday 30 November
Newcastle vs Norwich (7.30pm kick-off)
Leeds vs Crystal Palace (8.15pm)
Wednesday 1 December
Southampton vs Leicester (7.30pm)
Watford vs Chelsea (7.30pm)
West Ham vs Brighton (7.30pm)
Wolves vs Burnley (7.30pm)
Aston Villa vs Man City (8.15pm)
Everton vs Liverpool (8.15pm)
Thursday 2 December
Tottenham vs Brentford (7.30pm)
Man Utd vs Arsenal (8.15pm)
There will be plenty of famous faces on show as part of the coverage including Match of the Day regular and Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer, former Manchester United captain Patrice Evra and Arsenal’s all-time record goalscorer Thierry Henry.
Everybody’s favourite commentary team Jon Champion and Ally McCoist will be in the gantry, as will the unmistakeable Clive Tyldesley. Simon Thomas and Gabby Logan are part of the presenting team while ex-Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg will be on hand to provide insight on any major refereeing or VAR-related decisions.
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Just like the snow over Turf Moor on Sunday, Premier League matches are coming thick and fast with eight rounds of matches scheduled to take place over the next five weeks.
Just over 48 hours on from Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher’s slanging match which brought the curtain down on the Fantasy Premier League weekend, another one is upon us with 10 games squeezed into the calendar between Tuesday and Thursday. Every match will be broadcast live on Amazon Prime.
The transfer deadline for Gameweek 14 is at 6pm on Tuesday so make sure your team is settled in advance to avoid disappointment when the relegation six-pointer between Newcastle and Norwich gets underway.
The runaway three at the top of the table are all playing away this midweek with Chelsea up against Watford, Manchester City facing Steven Gerrard’s buoyant Aston Villa and Liverpool taking the short trip to Goodison Park for the Merseyside derby against a crisis-hit Everton. Ralf Rangnick’s first assignment as Manchester United boss, meanwhile, is against Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Our Gameweek 13 selections finished with a final score of 51 points, which was comfortably above the weekly average of 44. Tripling up on Liverpool assets was a sound call given they thrashed Southampton 4-0, although the coin toss between Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota landed the way of the Portuguese. Differential picks Jose Sa and Josh King were the stars of the side, scoring 10 and six points respectively.
For the stats buffs out there, Mo Salah once again broke his own record for being the most captained player in FPL history with a staggering 4.8m managers handing him the armband for Gameweek 13. Although Salah continues to tick along nicely, the explosive form of his teammates Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jota, allied to Harry Kane’s rest at the weekend, could provide fresh impetus to the captaincy debate.
Get involved
If you’re interested in joining the i readers league on Fantasy Premier League for the 2021-22 campaign, enter this code when prompted on the website: t96gm9. You can also sign up to i‘s dedicated fantasy football newsletter to receive tips, injury updates and more each week throughout the season.
Here is this week’s team which is valued at £83m exactly. Keep your eyes peeled for another tips article and newsletter on Friday morning in time for Gameweek 15 which begins on Saturday.
Jose Sa (Wolves)
Jose Sa retains his place in the starting line-up off the back of a 10 point return in Gameweek 13 which took him to level with Alisson in second place in the top-scoring goalkeeper charts. As mentioned in last week’s tips, Sa frequently makes three saves or more per match which means that even if he concedes a goal, he will earn an additional save point. Sa will be hoping to keep his third consecutive clean sheet against Burnley, who rank fourth-bottom for expected goals away from home.
Despite earning just one point during Chelsea’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday, Reece James is currently the second-most bought player of Gameweek 14. Were it not for Jorginho’s catastrophic error, James’ run of returns may well have continued given United registered only one other shot on target, besides Jadon Sancho’s goal. Over the past five gameweeks, James has averaged 10.8 points per game and he can capitalise against a Watford side that has the worst expected goals against tally at home in the league.
With Thomas Tuchel admitting that Ben Chilwell will miss the entirety of the Christmas period, if not longer due to an ACL injury, Marcos Alonso should see plenty of game time. Alonso’s stats across the season aren’t quite as eye-catching as Chilwell’s, but they are certainly promising enough to pick him alongside James in a Chelsea defensive double-up. Compared to all defenders, Alonso ranks fifth for shots per game (with 1.57), third for chances created (2) and sixth for total points (5.86), according to Fantasy Football Fix.
Second only to James for FPL points over the past four gameweeks, Trent Alexander-Arnold helped himself to nine more on Saturday by providing his seventh assist of the campaign. Although his price has risen by £0.4m since the opening day, Alexander-Arnold remains a bargain for what he offers. Only Bruno Fernandes (who costs £3.7m more) has created more chances; only Mo Salah (who is £5.1m more) has created more big chances; only Joao Cancelo has had more shots among defenders. Expect his price tag to go up next season.
Could Jurgen Klopp give Mo Salah a breather in the Merseyside derby? He did so in a midweek meeting between the city neighbours in December 2019 and it worked out rather well as Liverpool ran out comfortable 5-2 winners. The Egyptian has played a lot of football this term, completing 90 minutes in all 13 of Liverpool’s league games. On the flip side, Klopp may wish to get as much out of Salah as he can with next month’s Africa Cup of Nations looming . If he does play, you would back him to score well against an Everton side bereft of momentum.
The only viable Leeds option this season has been Raphinha (£6.7m), as reflected by his 53 FPL points which are 15 more than anyone else in Marcelo Bielsa’s squad. However, Daniel James is emerging as an intriguing out-of-position differential ahead of this week’s match with Crystal Palace. The Welshman has been utilised as a central striker recently and has fired off 16 shots over the past four gameweeks, a total higher than any other midfielder. Palace, meanwhile, have shipped five goals in their last two games.
Last week, i‘s Daniel Storey wrote that James Maddison’s goal against Legia Warsaw in the Europa League could act as a springboard for the playmaker to discover his top form. Sure enough, a few days later, Maddison was instrumental in Leicester’s 4-2 win over Watford, scoring the opener himself before assisting both of Jamie Vardy’s efforts. Maddison will be hoping that his purple patch continues against Southampton at St Mary’s.
With Roberto Firmino sidelined due to a hamstring injury, Diogo Jota is making the most of his extended run as Liverpool’s No 9. A well-taken goal in the 4-0 trouncing of Arsenal in Gameweek 12 was followed up by a couple of predatory finishes in the thrashing of Southampton by the same scoreline on Saturday. If anything, he might have been disappointed to have not walked off with the match ball after firing off seven shots and having three big chances in the game, both of which were gameweek leading totals.
The team with the worst defensive record at home meets the team with the worst attacking record away when 20th placed Newcastle host 19th placed Norwich in a massive game at St James’ Park. Whereas the Toon Army are yet to experience much of a new manager bounce under Eddie Howe, the Canaries have taken four points from Dean Smith’s opening two matches in charge. As ever, Teemu Pukki will be Norwich’s chief attacking threat as his four goals represent 57 per cent of his side’s overall total this season.
Tottenham will have to play the fixture at a later date anyway, but perhaps Sunday’s snow day at Turf Moor came at an opportune time for Antonio Conte given the calamity that preceded it in Slovenia. Rather than face a bruising Burnley in blizzard conditions, Spurs’ players had the weekend off and, as a result, more time on the training pitch with their new boss on Monday. Unthinkable as it sounds, Harry Kane is on course to score a grand total of three Premier League goals this season at his current rate. Surely he has to start scoring soon…
Allan Saint-Maximin was well marshalled by Takehiro Tomiyasu last weekend, but his lively display in Howe’s first match in charge of Newcastle could bode well for the visit of Norwich. Saint-Maximin had the joint-most attempts on goal (with seven) in his team’s 3-3 draw with Brentford in Gameweek 12, scoring with one of them to secure a valuable point. Just as Newcastle have conceded the most goals at home this term, Norwich have conceded the most away from home. A goal bonanza awaits in the north east.
If there’s one thing that’s bound to get football fans riled up this season it is the perpetual conversation about Cristiano Ronaldo.
Supporters of Manchester United have been enchanted at times by the 36-year-old’s return to the club, where he boasts 10 goals for the season already and has rekindled that impish wonder he had in front of goal a decade ago under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Those who back rival clubs will probably point and smirk at United’s disastrous start to the season, claiming the results are proof that the veteran isn’t pulling his weight elsewhere on the field.
A goalscoring machine or a defensive liability, whichever side of the argument you stand on, you will probably not defend your position quite as vehemently as Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher on Sunday evening.
Bickering in the Sky Sports studio following United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, in which Ronaldo was left on the bench by interim boss Michael Carrick, Keane and Carragher went over the same old tiresome ground.
“He hasn’t pressed for four, five or six years. I said that when he came back,” said Keane, defending the accusation that United invite pressure onto themselves when the spearhead of the attack doesn’t have the legs to chase down opposition defenders.
“Ronaldo is not going to fix Manchester United’s problems, but you don’t bring Ronaldo back to United to sit on the bench. Of course he’s not going to start every game but this is Chelsea away. There’s going to be counter attacking.”
Carragher hit back, pulling out another tired line of the Ronaldo debate: “Why did Manchester United sign Ronaldo? They signed him to stop him going to Manchester City. There was no plan to sign him, they signed him at the last minute.”
The former Liverpool defender then said: “I’m not criticising Ronaldo as a player. What can he do at nearly 37, he’s a phenomenon in terms of goals.
“But I mentioned in midweek with Lionel Messi. PSG have signed Messi, United have signed Ronaldo – two of the greatest players of this generation, of all time.
“Are Manchester United closer to the league title right now than they were last season? No. Are PSG closer to the Champions League with Messi in the team? No. We talk about goalscorers… but it’s a team game.”
You don't want to miss this… ????????
Things got VERY heated between @Carra23 and Roy Keane as they discussed Cristiano Ronaldo's role at Man Utd ???? pic.twitter.com/kTOVv8OYZl
Stuck in the middle was ex-Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – a man who twice won the Premier League Golden Boot in his days as a professional footballer. Neither ex-midfielder Keane nor former centre-back Carragher asked his opinion.
Carragher went on the attack once more: “If you finish second last year and sign a 36-year-old, it’s not to win the league in three or four years. It’s to win it right now. If you sign a four-time Champions League winner, it’s to win right now.”
The accusation being that Ronaldo isn’t the answer between a top-four United and a title-winning United.
But this is where the two men, orbiting around the same point, finally began to fall in on each other.
“He’s not come back to win the league,” said an exasperated Keane. “He’s come back to help them win a trophy. [Jose] Mourinho came here and won a few trophies. When you won trophies were you not buzzing at that? Manchester United are a cup team.”
Carragher goaded back: “Is that where Manchester United have gone? Targeting cups?”
To which Keane conceded: “Absolutely. That’s where they are as a club. Look at the team, look at the results. Look at the last two or three years. They’re not going to win the league in the next two or three years, I’ll tell you that now.”
Keane and Carragher had an intense debate while Hasselbaink watched on (Photo: Sky Sports)
And with that Carragher thought he had his man. “So what have you signed him for then, at nearly 37, if they’re not going to win anything in the next two or three years?” he asked. “Start getting Greenwood on the pitch. Start getting Sancho on the pitch. You’re not going to win the league right now.”
Which was exactly Keane’s point. Ronaldo, for all the hype this summer, wasn’t signed to win United the title. Both he and Carragher know this – and, we can assume, so does Hasselbaink, although he wasn’t asked.
Carragher’s mistake was in assuming Keane is happy with United being, as he says, a “cup team”. Of course the former captain isn’t, but he has accepted their fate.
When reality has bitten as hard as it has at Old Trafford over the past decade since Ferguson’s exit, admitting your team’s limitations isn’t particularly shocking.
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Manchester City and Liverpool march on, while there are signs of new life at Aston Villa and Norwich City. And why on earth was Graham Potter booed by his own supporters?
A regulation win to quickly avert any sense of emotional damage caused by the heavy defeat at Anfield. That matters when you have a young squad; the only disadvantage of bringing through youth en masse is that they can lack a little mettle when things go wrong. Mikel Arteta will be keen to point out that the Liverpool loss was just one defeat; it’s still true that no team in the Premier League have taken more points over their last 10 matches.
And it’s worth reflecting again on the age profile of this new starting XI. Arteta again picked the youngest team in the Premier League this weekend – he now accounts for the top ten. Only two players within it were older than 24 (Thomas Partey at 28 and captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 32). Nine of their 14 league goals this season have been scored by players aged 23 or under. Of their eight most regular starters this season, Ben White is the second oldest having turned 24 last month.
The standout statistic is this: The XI that started against Newcastle on Sunday was Arsenal’s youngest in the Premier League since the 1-0 home win over Manchester United in May 2011. That is why we are patient with them during defeats and so upbeat about their progress after ostensibly simple home victories.
Aston Villa
You only need to look at the results in Aston Villa’s two matches under Steven Gerrard to understand that he has had a positive effect on the club. Villa have now won consecutive league games for only the third time in 2021. Against Brighton, they hung on in the match and then took advantage in the final 10 minutes. Against Palace, they did the damage in the first half and then hung on at the end.
The obvious difference lies in their defensive stability. In Dean Smith’s final eight league games in charge, Villa allowed their opponents to take shots at a rate of 14.6 per match. They have allowed Brighton and Palace, two progressive, surprisingly overachieving teams this season, to take six and eight shots respectively.
That comes from a vast improvement from individuals who were struggling during Smith’s last months. Tyrone Mings looks like the rock at the heart of the defence again. Marvellous Nakamba looks like a midfielder reborn, winning possession but also starting quick attacks with penetrative forward passes. Jacob Ramsey is kicking on again and, at the opposite end of his career, Ashley Young was brilliant as a left-sided attacker.
Fixtures against Manchester City, Leicester City and Liverpool in the next fortnight will test Gerrard’s mettle in different circumstances, but this has been a dream start to managerial life in England. The decision to sack Smith looks inspired.
Brentford
You can’t blame Thomas Frank for enjoying that. Before the 1-0 win on Sunday, Brentford’s manager was at pains to point out that his team had just been promoted and Everton were aiming for European football. Perhaps he was trying to instil some resolve into his players, a prove-them-wrong attitude to bruise the noses of supposedly bigger clubs as they had done so well against Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal.
And it worked. Frank’s strategy wasn’t particularly pretty. He instructed his players to sit deep and cede possession to Everton, backing themselves to thwart an under-strength front four. His theory was that either his team could hit Everton on the break (which they often did in the first half) and take advantage of any mistake (like Andros Townsend kicking someone in the face in his own penalty area).
Brentford were probably guilty of being too defensive in the second half. Everton are low on confidence but were allowed to apply pressure and had four chances in the last 15 minutes. But that is exactly why Frank celebrated so raucously at full-time. The winless streak is over. In a tight midtable, Brentford are suddenly four points off sixth.
Brighton
Firstly, the caveats: 1) It can be frustrating watching your team fail to score, particularly when that has long been the biggest barrier against them fulfilling their potential. 2) Brighton are on a sticky run, without a win in eight league games. 3) It may just have been a minority amongst Brighton’s home support, picked up by the microphones behind the dugouts.
But dear me, if you are booing the most progressive manager in your club’s history then you probably need to check your privilege. I’m generally against telling supporters what to do (they pay the money and that gives them the power to react in any way they see fit, as long as it isn’t abusive), but to give Graham Potter grief when Brighton sit eighth in the Premier League, ahead of Manchester United, is pretty damning on the entitlement and impatience of the modern football supporter. And for clarity, that isn’t just the case at the Amex Stadium.
Most stupidly, it seems to have really annoyed Potter. “The fans are entitled to their opinions but I disagree with them,” he said after the game. “You have to understand the game, who we played and what we did. We are sitting eighth in the Premier League but maybe I need a history lesson on this club.”
At a time when Potter is in demand – there are supporters of several higher-profile clubs than Brighton who would love him to manage their team – it’s pretty foolish to risk burning your bridges with him. I fully understand the short-term frustrations (Potter probably feels the same), but booing the team and/or manager given where your club has come from is spectacularly short-sighted.
Burnley
Sean?
Do you wanna build a snowman?
C’mon, let’s go and play.
I never see you anymore.
Come out the door.
It’s like you’ve gone away.
But Thomas Tuchel will not be too annoyed. Firstly, this was a team that contained several players who would not get into his best XI: Timo Werner, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Hakim Ziyech. Each of those was guilty to a greater or lesser extent, but in combination they tended to move the ball a little too slowly and so allowed Manchester United’s uber-defensive system to keep them at bay. When chances did come their way, Werner was guilty of snatching at them. Nothing changes there.
And Chelsea did dominate the game. They had so, so many corners. They had 24 shots to United’s three and two of those three came from sloppy mistakes. Jorginho should have headed or volleyed the ball rather than trying to control it with two players rushing at him. Edouard Mendy’s sloppy pass would have cost Chelsea if it hadn’t led to Fred being asked to chip with his weaker foot.
Finally, this represents an improvement for Chelsea. In their previous four home games against Big Six teams under Tuchel, they had failed to score a single goal. On recent occasions that they had fallen 1-0 down, they had proved themselves incapable of getting back into the match. On both those points they had an answer. And if Antonio Rudiger scuffs that last-second volley rather than middling it, they might be celebrating a win.
Crystal Palace
The worst performance of the Patrick Vieira era, and one with all the hallmarks of where he must improve. Palace have been poor from set pieces and conceded the opening goal from a corner. James Tomkins made a mistake in attempting to win a header when Cheikhou Kouyate was already in position; that left Matt Targett alone at the back post. They have also tended to enjoy extended periods of possession without converting that into sufficient chances – 63 per cent of the ball and seven shots (their first on target not until the 80th minute) on Saturday.
But the standout issue against Villa was a lack of dynamism in central midfield. Luka Milivojevic has been a brilliant servant to Palace, but you do wonder whether he now has the pace to play in a central midfield pairing. You can understand why Vieira wanted to get Conor Gallagher higher up the pitch and play Michael Olise and Wilf Zaha as wingers, but Villa were able to consistently dispossess Palace in midfield and create dangerous attacks with Milivojevic unable to stem the tide. The loss of James McArthur has caused a huge headache.
McArthur is reportedly not going to be back until the new year, so Vieira must find a solution. He is either going to have to change the team’s shape to give them more steel in midfield, or perhaps give summer signing Will Hughes a chance instead of Milivojevic.
Everton
We might just be entering the final weeks of Rafael Benitez’s ill-fated tenure. This was an appointment that never seemed to fit right and produced only a brief honeymoon spell. Everton look broken and Benitez looks unable to fix them with the component parts he has at his disposal.
Everton’s front four on Sunday consisted of Alex Iwobi, Andros Townsend, Anthony Gordon and Salomon Rondon. Without being unnecessarily harsh to any or all of them, it’s fair to say that when Farhad Moshiri’s purchase of the club was ratified in March 2016, he might have had a slightly different vision of where the club would be five-and-a-half years later.
This is not on Benitez, but his best trait as a manager is making a team solid and he is hardly managed to do that at Goodison. They have kept two clean sheets in their last 10 games in all competitions (against Norwich and a rotten Tottenham). They don’t create enough chances because they don’t have the players and they don’t finish them because their only good striker (Dominic Calvert-Lewin) is injured. But they must be wondering whether it is worth rolling the dice again.
Leeds United
Officially getting worried on Leeds’ behalf now. Marcelo Bielsa spoke before the game to admit that his club were not getting value for money from him this season, but precious little changed and Leeds were highly fortunate to take a point back north. That is the only crumb of comfort.
Injuries are clearly still an issue. But they are only without Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford from the certain starters, which doesn’t fully explain the lack of energy and haphazard passing that repeatedly got Leeds into trouble on Saturday. Any hope that Bamford’s return will spark a return to form is mitigated by the news that his recovery has been delayed.
The players who are starting are struggling badly. Jack Harrison’s form from last season has dropped off a cliff, Rodrigo hasn’t really worked out yet and even Raphinha struggled to influence the tempo of the game against Brighton. Illan Meslier is the only Leeds player currently performing at his peak and it’s a good job too.
And then there’s Bielsa’s tweaking. Kalvin Phillips started at centre-back and struggled there. Diego Llorente started at right-back and the same is true. Dan James was signed as a right winger and now finds himself playing as a lone striker – he lacks most of the attributes you’d want from that role. Junior Firpo was brought in for Pascal Struijk but has been a disaster so far in the Premier League. There is serious work to do in January because, so far this season, it’s hard to believe Leeds finished ninth last year.
Leicester City
On Thursday evening, when Leicester beat Legia Warsaw in the Europa League, I wrote a piece in which I wondered whether James Maddison’s first home goal since February might ignite him into a period of good form. Maddison is a confidence player; as soon as something comes off he begins to demand the ball more often. He also stops trying too hard to make things happen.
Three days later, Maddison played a starring role and received his second standing ovation in two games. He was gifted his goal thanks to some William Troost-Ekong nonsense, but twice set up Jamie Vardy to take the game beyond Watford. Brendan Rodgers will be delighted to see his two most prominent attacking players linking together again.
But neither will Rodgers be convinced that his side have turned a corner. Watford’s expected goals figure (2.91 according to fbref.com) was the seventh highest of any away team in the Premier League this season and the highest by any losing team in the Premier League since July 2020. The team that created lots of chances and wasted them on that occasion? Watford.
Liverpool
There will be weekends after which we need to frown and scowl about Liverpool conceding chances and failing to defend with the same authority as their 2019-20 pomp. There may be times when we conclude that their central midfield suffers so much in the absence of Fabinho that we must wrap him in cotton wool and store him deep inside a cupboard at Anfield. We may opine that the Africa Cup of Nations may ultimately decide the potential of this Liverpool team to win the title.
But there are other weekends when we should avoid all analysis and just bask in the brilliance and beauty of Liverpool as an attacking force. It says as much about their title challengers sharing their goals around the pitch and the underachievement of Manchester United, but three of the top four goalscorers in the Premier League all play for Liverpool. That is extraordinary.
So is their current attacking pomp. Liverpool have now scored two or more goals in 17 consecutive matches in all competitions, a new English football record. Mohamed Salah has eased off slightly – two goals in his last six games – but there’s always someone else to rush in. Diogo Jota has three goals in his last two matches and looks completely at home in this front three.
Given Afcon is looming (and the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 is worth keeping in our minds here), Jota is potentially the defining player in Liverpool’s season. If he can stay in top form, and potentially be rested a little, until Christmas, he will carry the hopes of this Liverpool attack on his shoulders.
Manchester City
It is amazing how easily Manchester City seem to share their goals around the team. They haven’t been on sparkling goalscoring form this season (27 in 13 league games is below their usual recent rate), but it’s the sheer variety that impresses. Pep Guardiola was happy for Sergio Aguero to leave because a) he thought he might land Harry Kane and b) Aguero’s fitness hadn’t been dependable for some time. He must be mighty impressed at the manner in which others have stepped up.
Of those 27 goals in the league, no player has more than four. No striker has more than two, and even then Gabriel Jesus has played mostly as a right-sided forward. Nine different players have scored between two and four league goals this season and their last nine league goals have been scored by eight different players. With nine players also providing between two and six assists and nominal defender Joao Cancelo top of that list, is the next age of Guardiola’s City a perfecting of Total Football principles?
A vast improvement upon their recent performances against title challengers. Michael Carrick picked a team to sit deep, soak up pressure and avoid being out of the game at half-time, and that is exactly what they did. David de Gea made an excellent stop with his feet from Callum Hudson-Odoi in the opening few minutes, but that was his most difficult save of the afternoon. United needed to stop the rot and plenty of away supporters travelled down to London fearing another collapse.
And there were some excellent individual displays. Scott McTominay has always given his all and merits being a key member of the first-team squad under caretaker, interim or permanent manager. Aside from his weak chip, Fred was excellent in midfield and Nemanja Matic looked more comfortable in possession than he has of late. Alex Telles did pretty well to cope with the overlapping threat of Reece James.
But this type of display is not sustainable. Bruno Fernandes looks increasingly frustrated at having to play as an extra defensive midfielder and headed straight down the tunnel at full-time, Cristiano Ronaldo will not be on the bench every week and who knows if they can commit to the press with him in the team. Jadon Sancho scored the goal brilliantly, but United didn’t actually create a single chance of their own making.
United played like a newly-promoted club, with four defenders and three defensive midfielders. They rode their luck, enjoyed a break after an opposition mistake and ground out a draw. But they were also booked for time-wasting at 1-1 when they had a free-kick and a chance to send the ball long into the box. For a team who came into the season as predicted title challengers, that’s a fascinating mindset. In the short-term it made sense. But something’s got to give.
Newcastle United
It’s a point made in this piece, but Eddie Howe’s biggest task until January is to try and find a balance that makes Newcastle harder to beat but without becoming bogged down in a certain way of playing.
In their last two games, we have seen both sides of their style: chaos against Brentford when they were determined to attack, resilience against Arsenal which they were unable to alter after falling behind. Their survival from relegation depends on what happens before January, not during it.
Nobody is going to claim that Norwich are suddenly perfect, that they won’t go down or won’t crumple against better opposition. And Dean Smith has been fortunate to have two home games to start; four of Norwich’s next six are away from home and the other two are against Aston Villa and Manchester United, both of whom will also have new managers looking for, or in the midst of, a bounce.
But there is certainly a change of mood at Carrow Road. Against Southampton we saw a better attacking showing, scoring twice but allowing the visitors to have 17 shots. Against Wolves, Norwich were far better in defence (five shots faced with a total expected goals figure of 0.3) but wasteful in attack. They had 14 shots and clearly deserved to win the match, but only four of those shots were on target and Jose Sa was brilliant for Wolves.
But don’t listen to me about the difference Smith has made; listen to Billy Gilmour instead, now in the fold after failing to kick on under Daniel Farke: “He’s come in and been ruthless with us, how we train, the intensity, in the games you can see there’s a massive difference, it feels like it as well.
“There’s a real buzz about the place and wanting to do well. He’s just come in and said we need to be more aggressive. You can see that we’re playing higher up and more aggressively, attacking a lot more and getting after teams.”
Southampton
Just when you think Ralph Hasenhuttl has found a semi-permanent solution to Southampton’s ills (this time by being far more safety-first), back they come to drag themselves down again. There was hardly any surprise in them losing heavily at Anfield, but it comes off the back of a painful defeat at Carrow Road. Their next four league games are against teams above them in the league but ones in which Southampton might consider themselves able to cause an upset (Leicester, Brighton, Arsenal, Crystal Palace).
But one thing must change: Hasenhuttl has completely lost hold of is Southampton’s poor away form. In 2021, they have played 18 away league games and won only twice (against Sheffield United and Watford). They have conceded 48 goals in those games and scored only 13.
That’s odd because, before this year, their away form was Southampton’s strongest suit. How has a team gone from losing only three away games in a calendar year (2020) to winning only two?
Tottenham
Where is Harry, he’s long gone?
Where is Dele, he’s taken her along?
But they haven’t put their mittens on
And there’s fifteen feet of pure white snow?
Where is Tanguy, where is Son?
Where is Eric, now it’s getting dark?
Oh, where is Skippy, they are all out back?
Under fifteen feet of pure white snow
This is quickly becoming an utterly ludicrous season, but one that Watford supporters are becoming used to. Their team performs exceptionally one week, achieving what from the outside seems like a breakout victory to build on, and then they lose all momentum in a wave of defensive incompetence. It’s fun for the neutrals; maybe not for them.
Watford have ceded 127 shots in their eight league games. That run includes a 4-1 victory over Manchester United during which they only allowed nine shots. They went from having 11 shots in two combined games against Leicester City and Leeds to having 20 shots against Everton the very next game. They have conceded four or more in a match twice and scored four or more in a match twice. They have had four excellent league wins this season and have followed each of them up with defeats against Brighton (2-0), Stoke City (3-1), Southampton (1-0) and Leicester (4-2).
Watford are a bonkers team, which makes them hard to judge on a weekly basis and hard to like as a nervous supporter. But it also makes them wonderfully good fun.
West Ham
If you are a West Ham supporter who braved the freezing weather to go to Manchester on Sunday afternoon, I salute you. West Ham have lost 10 of their last 11 games against Manchester City, conceding 30 goals in those games. And if there is one weakness of David Moyes’ management (and it doesn’t help that he has managed non-elite teams for most of his career – make your jokes about his Manchester United team now) it is that he has a wretched away record against Big Six teams.
Last season, Moyes’ West Ham took a single point from their six away league games against Big Six teams, their improbable 3-3 comeback draw against Tottenham. The season before that, he took one point from a possible 15 in those games having joined in December 2019. This season, they are one loss from one. Look forward to Arsenal away on 15 December.
Wolves
You do feel as if we are about to learn an awful lot about Bruno Lage’s Wolves over the next six weeks. There’s no doubt whatsoever that Lage deserves huge credit for how quickly he has settled in. It isn’t easy taking over from a manager who had become so synonymous with a club’s re-rise to prominence. Nuno Espirito Santo’s tenure tailed off, but this was still his team playing his football. To have Wolves sixth in the table at the end of November deserves huge praise.
And yet still some fans are unhappy – see the Brighton section for my thoughts on that. The critics point to performances such as the 0-0 at Carrow Road (and the 2-0 defeat at Selhurst Park and 2-0 home loss to Brentford) and say that Lage hasn’t really got a grip on what he wants his team to be. Again, that strikes as pretty unfair given how long he’s been in the job.
But Wolves certainly face a tricky run. Between now and 3 January they must play Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United and they are only six points above Southampton in 16th. Nuno’s best moments at Molineux came on these occasions: they took 10 points from 12 against Chelsea and Arsenal last season and did the double over Manchester City in 2019-20. Inspire something similar and Lage will prove those who refuse to believe in his competence spectacularly wrong.
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/2ZB0rty
