The English Football Thread

[Blue Armour 4,164]

54 minutes ago, Vesper said:

cant see Lamps dishing out a proper hairdryer, lolol

Lot of the top managers can be absolute nutjobs at times. Basically living in the moment, analyzing every second of their teams performance, ready to make changes.

[chelsea_4_eva 1,141]

we're naive, we're turning into... arsenal... 

do we have a player in the squad with grit and shithousery a drogba, a costa we're missing some of that personality

[bluephoenix 1,125]

Lampard needs to get out of the imposter manager phase and start acting like a real manager. Make strong calls, demand more from players. Effing try and find his mojo!

I feel his humility at times could lose his image of being a leader manager maybe?

My oh my how did Southampton pull that victory! They were knocking and getting knocked by liverpool till the end. Maybe our lot should learn a thing or 2 about defending from looking at all the other teams defend.

 

[Blue Armour 4,164]

Start of a Klopp meltdown?

He might be right, but he seems rattled by the way United have been getting penalties in their favor this season.

[Strike 6,961]

Seven points off the top 

[chelsea_4_eva 1,141]

Liverpool realising united gets soft pens when they stopped getting soft pens lol

[Jase 43,479]

6 hours ago, Blue Armour said:

You might be right. Honestly it depends on what Lampard really says in the dressing room, rather than in public.

I remember that Werner in his early season interviews was talking about title challenges and winning the CL with Chelsea. Silva also made comments about coming here to win trophies.

Players like that NEED challenges like that to stay motivated. If behind closed doors, Lampard was maintaining the same pessimistic attitude that he showed outside, then it's little surprise that we are where we are now. 

Lampard has not been showing much positive body language on the pitch these days, so it wouldn't surprise me if that is indeed the case. All too symptomatic.

I also made a comment earlier in Dec about how recent Chelsea teams tend to go into a slump midway though the season if the title challenge becomes unrealistic. We seem to be right on cue.

Players join us because we are a big side that always look to challenge for titles and win trophies. Even Mount was talking about it over a month ago, about how our aim is to be #1 etc.

Would think Lampard's message behind closed doors isn't too dissimilar to what he has been saying in the public. There has been too much self-fulfilling prophecy from Lampard after every bad result. He keeps on saying we are not at Liverpool's or Man City's level and that might be true right now but are the likes of Man United, Leicester, Southampton and Spurs at their level? No but they are much closer to the top than we are and look where United are right now in the table. Can go top of the table with a win next week. Just because we are a work in progress, it doesn't mean we shouldn't embrace the challenge of pushing ourselves beyond the limit or aim as high as possible. Compare and contrast Lampard's approach here to Mourinho's in 2013/14 when we were also at a similar stage of building a new team. 

[Vesper 27,310]

8 hours ago, Strike said:

Seven points off the top 

10 actually, unless you think Burnley will beat Manure (they would be on 36 points after 17 games, we are on 26 after 17 games)

we have 11 points less after 17 games than we did UNDER SARRI, ffs (and I am NO Sarri fangirl, as is well known in these parts)

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 27,310]

David Squires on … football's festive faux pas

Our cartoonist looks back at ill-judged decisions made by footballers, clubs, politicians and more over the Christmas period

https://www.theguardian.com/football/ng-interactive/2021/jan/05/david-squires-on-footballs-festive-faux-pas

[Vesper 27,310]

An apparently Big Club whose lack of success has spawned 1,000 gifs

José Mourinho tries to decide if the 2021 Milk Cup would mean more than the 2008 Italian Supercoppa. Photograph: Ian Walton/AFP/Getty Images

Barry Glendenning  @bglendenning

NO TROPHY FOR OLD MEN Should Tottenham Hotspur win the Milk Cup this season, one suspects José Mourinho will rank the achievement right up there with some of the most mediocre of his glittering managerial career. A four-times winner before it was hijacked by a soft drinks company named after a Filipino water buffalo, one suspects the Tottenham manager would have nothing but sneering contempt for any big name manager heard talking up the importance of winning such a tin-pot competition. Any big name manager, that is, except him. But context is everything and when you’re in charge of an apparently Big Club whose ongoing lack of success has spawned a thousand memes and gifs, any old cup will do. Even one so apparently in need of jazzing up its marketing department attempted to stage a draw in space, before eventually settling for Morrisons in Colindale instead. “I think it’s my biggest game since coming to Spurs,” said Mourinho, ahead of Tuesday’s semi-final against Brentford. “In the perspective of the club chasing silverware for many years I would say so.”

José Mourinho typically primed for his 'biggest game' as Spurs manager Read more

The competition that no fans get particularly excited about or even count as a major trophy until their team get within a game or two of winning it, the League Cup is famously the only one Spurs have won in the past 13 years. On a famous day in February 2008, Robbie Keane and Ledley King hoisted the trophy skywards after beating Chelsea in the final. It was a victory of considerable global significance, at least until No Country For Old Men stole its thunder by winning best film at the Oscars a few hours later. While Tottenham haven’t troubled a trophy engraver for well over a decade, their opponents, Brentford, have never actually won a major piece of silverware at all. Indeed, tonight marks the first proper cup semi-final in their 131-year history, even if West Middlesex and London War Cup historians might disagree. “It is a massive game for us,” said their manager, Thomas Frank. “We will do our best to try and attack and take our chances against one of the top teams in the world, who have top players and a top manager.” While Brentford are undeniably good enough to trouble Tottenham, their almost comical failure to somehow avoid promotion to the Premier League last season means their bottle – or specifically lack of it – is likely to be called into question. There are likely to be no shortage of on-brand, low-calorie, fruit-based caffeine drinks delivered to their dressing-room ahead of kick-off – here’s hoping the contents give their players some added zip. LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE Join Paul Doyle at 7.45pm (GMT) for red-hot MBM coverage of Tottenham 3-1 Brentford in the Rumbelows Cup semi-final. QUOTE OF THE DAY “I was hurt when, after giving me just eight minutes in a match, he [Antonio Conte] said I was responsible for everything. What could I have done in eight minutes? But I didn’t make a controversy of it then, and I won’t now either” – new Cagliari loan recruit Radja Nainggolan, not making a controversy of a lack of playing time at Inter by giving his former manager both barrels. RECOMMENDED LISTENING Milan! Madrid! Munich! The latest episode of Football Weekly is a veritable Trans-Europe Express. Listen here.

FIVER LETTERS “Re: Noble Francis’ letter [yesterday’s Fiver]. As a clinical psychologist by trade, I am familiar with allegiances to the most dubious of causes destined for disappointment and failure. Contemporary perspectives use the term cognitive dissonance to describe holding incompatible beliefs (e.g. I want to root for a winner; I root for Arsenal). As I have come to remark to friends, the pain and woe of people who seek goals that are clearly doomed to failure is what keeps me in business” – Paul Benveniste. “Noble Francis’s idea that there must be some sort of help available for Arsenal diehards reminds me of the end of Dante’s Inferno, where the most vile sinners of all are completely trapped in ice. Since there’s no point in trying to talk to them, Dante and Virgil quickly move on. As an Arsenal fan myself, this seems like an apt metaphor” – Edward Dean. “Liverpool and Manchester United are duking it out at the top of the Premier League, we’re about to get a slow-talking Democrat in the White House, and Jimmy Tarbuck is on the telly. We all wanted to escape from 2020, but surely no one asked to be sent back to the seventies?” – Mark McFadden. “Did anyone else notice a decline in VAR delays over the festive break? I suspect that referees don’t enjoy standing in the wintry rain waiting for another bloke to watch telly. That or they got better presents to play with over Christmas than the VAR armpit-line-drawing machine.” – Mike Wilner. “Re: the list of clubs Ralph Hasenhüttl cut his teeth at [yesterday’s Fiver]. SpVgg Unterhaching, VfR Aalen and FC Ingolstadt sound like the noises Jürgen Klopp will have made when he was as sick as a parrot come full time” – Jon Millard. Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day prize is … Paul Benveniste. NEWS, BITS AND BOBS The Premier League has announced that the latest two rounds of Covid-19 testing produced 40 positives. In tests conducted between 28 and 31 December, 28 players and club staff tested positive, with a further 12 in tests carried out between 1 and 3 January. Gareth Southgate believes football remains “in the dark” about the long-term risks of heading the ball and concussions sustained on the pitch. Real Madrid are leading the race to sign Bayern Munich’s David Alaba but Liverpool are rounding the bend and could make a late dash to get his autograph.

David Alaba: a wanted man. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images

A proposed takeover of Wigan has collapsed after claims a Spanish consortium reduced its bid by 50%. “This would result in a 15-point deduction and would effectively relegate the club to League Two,” club administrators said in a statement. Look out Pep! Ole Gunnar Solskjær reckons his Manchester United players will be like turbo-charged Duracell bunnies in the Milk Cup semi-final against City. “We’ve had four days now after Villa so hopefully we’ve got more fresh legs,” he yelped. “We’re going into the game in good form so there’s no excuses.” Bad news for Weird Uncle Fiver’s five-a-side career. And Viking Stavanger forward Even Østensen is doing his bit to STOP FOOTBALL by returning to his old job at a halibut farm. “My motivation was not quite at its peak. This feels natural,” the Norwegian cheered. STILL WANT MORE? Frank Lampard is not on Roman Abramovich’s yacht anymore and can ill afford to sail through Chelsea’s peaks and troughs, warns Jonathan Liew. Richard Foster jumps in his time machine and takes us back to 1942, when Brentford won a Wembley cup final – with help from traffic police. And here’s a piece on why the Bees are more than just a Moneyball operation. Is Shoreditch barista Sergio Ramos taking his magnificent beard and stellar dark arts to PSG or Manchester City? The Rumour Mill doesn’t know, but read it anyway.

‘That’ll be £7.50 please, chief.’ Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Reuters

Liverpool look jaded and their knack-crisis may be catching up with them, reckons that man Jonathan Liew again. Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO! ZAZA 2.0

[Vesper 27,310]

Who will win the most open Premier League title race in years?

https://theathletic.com/2303020/2021/01/05/who-will-win-the-premier-league/

Liverpool have gone three games without a win, Manchester City appear to have rediscovered their spark, Manchester United could go top of the Premier League this month and only seven points separate the top 10.

It is shaping up to be one of the most exciting Premier League title races in years and here our writers give their verdicts on who will win out, who will make up the Champions League places, who will win the Golden Boot and who is heading for relegation.

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Who will win the Premier League?

Oliver Kay: Manchester City. I have been so disappointed by Pep Guardiola’s team so far this season. They have looked lethargic, uninspired, lacking spark. And yet they find themselves just four points behind leaders Liverpool with two games in hand. Their defence has settled down and now it is a question of rediscovering rhythm and fluency elsewhere in the team; the victory at Chelsea was encouraging in that regard.

I don’t think they are anywhere near the level they were when they racked up 100 points and 98 points when winning the title in 2018 and 2019… but they won’t have to be. The required level this season is not going to be anywhere near that, which is why Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and maybe Leicester City should all fancy their chances. So, too, should Liverpool, who, after all, are still top despite their recent stumbles. But it has felt like heavy going for Liverpool since losing Virgil van Dijk to injury and then losing Joe Gomez and Joel Matip. This is their toughest spell in two and a half years. Manchester City seem to have re-emerged from theirs with their hopes still intact.

And I don’t discount Manchester United at all. I would have done a month or two ago, but a) they look much more sure-footed now and the number of points required is not going to be anything like as high in previous seasons. Right now, with momentum growing, they look like a team capable of getting 80-85 points. This season, that might be enough.

Daniel Taylor: It isn’t easy knowing what is troubling Liverpool. But then again, there have been plenty of times over the last few months, and longer, when the same question has been asked of both Manchester clubs, too. It hasn’t made it an orthodox season or one that is easy to understand. Manchester United have, at various times, been in a crisis, scorched in Europe and knocked for six by Spurs, but now look like authentic title challengers. Manchester City have lurched from one extreme to the other. My money, though, is still on Liverpool to come through because we have seen enough of Jurgen Klopp’s team to know they can handle the pressure.

Michael Cox: From August until last night I thought Liverpool, but with Klopp’s side dropping points and Manchester City finally looking like their old selves, Guardiola’s side are favourites. I can’t get my head around a side as limited as Manchester United being in the running, but this is obviously the most open title race since 2015-16, and will certainly produce the weakest winner since Leicester triumphed that season, so we probably need to adjust our perceptions of what constitutes a title-winning side.

Jack Pitt-Brooke: Liverpool. Maybe I am underthinking this but they still look like the best team to me. On their day, there is no one else quite like them, with and without the ball. Obviously, they are going through a rough patch right now, with injuries and fatigue catching up with them, but their underlying performances are not terrible. And they are doing all this while suffering the worst injury crisis of Klopp’s tenure. Their best players will return and, eventually, so will their results.

Tom Worville: Manchester City. They’ve taken a while to get up and running, but the performance against Chelsea showed that, even with a depleted squad, they can still play some of the best attacking football in the league. Kevin De Bruyne as a striker is an enticing prospect — especially given the limited roles played by Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus this season — and they have a nice run of fixtures in which to rack up points before facing Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal in February.

Simon Hughes: Manchester City. They look as strong defensively as they have been since Guardiola took charge and Sunday’s victory over Chelsea reminded of their threat in the attacking third. Aguero’s goal drought cannot continue for much longer surely and if he returns to his best over the next few months ahead of his likely departure from the club, it will give them an edge.

Carl Anka: Manchester City. This is the most open title race since The Last Time Someone Said That, and when that happens one of three things tend to follow: 1) The title race remains open as the traditional superpowers trip over themselves, Spurs hint they may become a superpower before eventually falling away and a thrilling conclusion is met. 2) The superpowers spend a bunch of money/change managers/cover the exhaust valve on their respective Death Stars and it becomes a closed shop again. 3) The same as option one, but the conclusion is Manchester City win. Everyone is having far too much fun about a Liverpool-Manchester United slobberknocker on January 17, they forgot City are now in fifth place, ready to strike and ruin everyone’s fun.

Dominic Fifield: I suspect Liverpool, stung by their recent dip, will recover their poise and rhythm over the second half of the season and ease themselves marginally clear, though both Manchester clubs will push them hard. Whichever club can string together eight or nine successive wins in the last third of the season should prevail, and Klopp’s side may be best placed to do that.

George Caulkin: Predictions are for idiots, particularly in this season in this era in this life. Existence was supposed to be back to normal for Christmas, wasn’t it? Schools were safe to stay open on Monday morning, weren’t they? The Premier League has followed this pandemic’s volatile trend. My answer is Liverpool. Why? Well, that’s what I said at the start of the season and although they don’t have momentum behind them and also have a chasm in the centre of their defence, if 2020 taught me anything it’s that if Liverpool don’t win it, I’ll just refuse to accept the result anyway.

Jack Lang: Manchester City. Clearly, no one would describe this as a vintage Premier League season. All of the contenders for the title have obvious flaws. But City are starting to look ominous, like a killer robot slowly hauling itself from a bullet-strewn warehouse floor. Guardiola appears to have found the right balance at the back, with the Rodri-Gundogan midfield axis providing added cover. That approach has dimmed their attacking vibrancy just a touch, but if you’re keeping clean sheets you can afford to be patient and wait for De Bruyne and the gang to find an opening. They won’t waltz it, but Liverpool and Manchester United will need to find deeper gears if they’re going to stop them.

Stuart James: First things first, it’s good that we have a genuine title race this season. Although the league table currently says otherwise, I’d argue that it comes down to a straight fight between two clubs: Liverpool and Manchester City. It’s extremely hard to call. City seem to have played within themselves for much of this season, yet you do get the sense that Sunday’s win over Chelsea could be a sign of things to come – they are more than capable of winning seven or eight games in a row. So are Liverpool, of course, but I can’t overlook the impact of the injuries to Van Dijk and Gomez in the heart of their defence. In short, City.

Phil Buckingham: Manchester City, just. At the risk of getting carried away by their win at Chelsea, there’s clearly something clicking after an uncertain start to the season. City are looking as strong as anyone defensively and the moment they begin to function in attack is the time the rest of the Premier League should worry. The number of games they’ll have in the second half of the season invites some doubt but this, at last, is more like the City of old. Liverpool, for all their current difficulties, will not be far away.

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Who will finish in the top four?

Oliver Kay: Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham.
Last season there was a 33-point gap between first place and third. This season it feels unlikely there will be much of a gap between first and fifth. It’s going to be about consistency, resilience, being able to put a run of wins together. I don’t discount Chelsea or Leicester at all (or Aston Villa or Everton) but right now Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham look most capable of doing that. And all of them should be setting their heights higher.

Daniel Taylor: Liverpool and Manchester City are certainties. Manchester United should be, too — though let’s not get too carried away just yet when we should know by now they still have the ability to go on a bad run. That leaves only one position and Spurs should probably edge out Leicester City and Chelsea.

Michael Cox: Manchester City and Liverpool are nailed on for a top-four finish. Manchester United still seem liable to drop silly points, Tottenham are probably roughly where they should be, Chelsea haven’t been as bad as their recent run makes them look, while Leicester are outperforming their expected goals (xG) by quite a lot, which probably won’t last. Manchester United and Tottenham are probably the most likely to fill the last two spots.

Jack Pitt-Brooke: Manchester City have rediscovered their stability thanks to the Ruben Dias-John Stones partnership, and their 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge was their best performance in years. They will run Liverpool close and if anything will cost them the title, it will be the fitness of Sergio Aguero and the form of Gabriel Jesus. Then Manchester United should come a close third, now that Solksjaer’s light-touch management is getting the best out of his multi-talented front line. Fourth place is harder, but I’d just about bet on Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham to scrape over the line ahead of Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City, as long as Harry Kane and Son Heung-min stay fit.

Tom Worville: Manchester City, for obvious reasons. Liverpool — their struggles in recent weeks are probably overblown, and can consider themselves a little unfortunate. They will slowly get back the likes of Diogo Jota and Gomez, which will no doubt help the team. Manchester United — their recent form looks sustainable, they might finally have found a role for Paul Pogba that brings the best out of him and defensively they’ve improved a lot after a sluggish start to the season. Chelsea — a bit of a toss-up between Chelsea and Villa, but I’ve decided on the former. Similar to Liverpool, have had a bad spell of late but Lampard practically has a fully-fit squad at his disposal. Aston Villa’s underlying numbers paint them as the better side so far, but Chelsea’s strength in depth is far better, and Villa have been lucky to not have to rotate much so far this season. If Lampard does go, I’d expect to see someone with good attacking pedigree replace him.

Simon Hughes: Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United. Though I can understand the economic reasons why it is more difficult for Liverpool to enter the market for a defender, it will cost them. Spurs have the best attack in the country and United will creep through just as they did last season.

Carl Anka: Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Leicester. Liverpool are still A Great Football Team and United possess A Great Collection of Attackers. There’s something about Leicester when they have their tails up that makes me think they’ll squeeze out a Spurs side that still need a handful of players to perform at close to their maximum to take care of tasks.

Dominic Fifield: Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and, if they have learned lessons from last season’s late slump, why not Leicester? They seem to boast greater depth this time around and, if they can become more consistent at home, can steal a march on the rest.

George Caulkin: Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and one other, which will probably be Tottenham. It would be great to see a different name up there, if only for a bit of novelty, although I’m not sure how much most people really care about “the top-four” as an entity, unless you’re in it. I’d still expect the strongest clubs to power through and then they’ll all get together to talk about how much more money they should be making and why it’s terribly unfair that any of the rest get any money at all and then they’ll play each other again and it will be dull.

Jack Lang: Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Leicester. The first three are fairly self-explanatory, and I think the final spot will ultimately be between Tottenham and Leicester. Spurs are great on their day, particularly when Kane and Son are given space, but the supporting cast of attackers has been deeply underwhelming. Leicester have a more convincing midfield and players coming back into form and fitness. They’re third without really having hit top gear, so the omens look positive.

Phil Buckingham: If Manchester City and Liverpool look a given, I’ll put Manchester United and Tottenham as the two teams most prominent in the rear-view mirror. Manchester United have fallen into enough troughs to suggest there will be another at some point but they’re clearly improving, even if it won’t be quite enough. Tottenham are in the same bracket; very good at their best but falling short of standards tends to lead to costly slip-ups. Chelsea will come again, be sure of that. Then there’s the supporting cast of Leicester, Southampton and Everton. It could well be as tight as it is now.

Stuart James: Squad depth is always a big factor at the top end of the table and you imagine that will apply this season more than any other. With that in mind, I’m going to rule out a storyline that would appeal to a lot of neutrals — Southampton, Everton or Aston Villa qualifying for the Champions League. Liverpool and Manchester City are nailed on for a top-four finish and it’s also hard to overlook Manchester United, whose charge up the table has reminded everyone that Solskjaer has no shortage of attacking talent (even if the defence needs plenty of work). With Chelsea off the pace, that leaves Leicester and Spurs. Personally, I’d like to see Leicester finish fourth after they ran out of steam last season. But if Kane and Son stay fit, I think Mourinho’s team will pip Leicester to that other place.

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Who will win the golden boot?

Oliver Kay: Mohamed Salah. The data confirms he is getting fewer chances this season, other than penalties (and Liverpool are not getting as many of those as Klopp feels they should). But still, even without having hit top gear, Salah is top of the scoring charts, with 13 goals in 16 appearances. In terms of goalscoring threat, he was quiet in the last three matches, when Liverpool struggled. But he is never quiet for long.

Daniel Taylor: Kane would be the obvious choice if he can remain fit for the rest of the season. The problem is he usually gets an injury to two and the same applies to Son, the player with whom he links up so effectively. On that basis, Salah looks a decent bet to win it for a third time. Yes, Liverpool aren’t having a great time recently. Yet Salah plays for the most attacking team in the country and has shown consistently that he can trouble any defence.

Michael Cox: Bruno Fernandes has a serious claim here, partly because Manchester United’s high rate of winning penalties is no fluke — it’s the consequence of the changed interpretation of laws in the VAR era and their players being wily enough to buy cheap fouls from opponents. He’s also capable of striking from range and pushing into the box to get on the end of crosses. But Salah is the favourite, and we’re probably still underestimating how incredible his performance has been since joining Liverpool — he’s won the Premier League golden boot twice already, and only Alan Shearer and Thierry Henry have won a third.

Jack Pitt-Brooke: Kane is not currently top of the charts but I would expect him to be there by the end of the season. He is playing the best football of his career, not quite as the rampaging No 9 of the mid-2010s but as a more complete player, a deep-lying nine-and-a-half who sets up as many for Son as he scores himself. But he is still just as deadly from 20 yards and impeccable from the penalty spot. I think he can overtake Son and Salah over the back nine this season and finish with the individual awards, too.

Tom Worville: Patrick Bamford. Leeds never stop attacking, irrespective of the scoreline, which will play into Bamford’s favour and has done already given he has the best xG per 90 minutes in the league. His tally hasn’t been boosted as much by penalties, which we have seen with Salah and Jamie Vardy, who have both struggled of late. Son’s 12 goals from an xG of 4.6 indicates that he either won’t keep up his hot finishing streak or he’ll put this prediction in the mud and we’ll have to tear up the models and start again.

Simon Hughes: Son. He’s brilliant. The best forward in the Premier League right now. Right age. Right form. Just about the right momentum for his team, one that is built around his strengths.

Carl Anka: It’s the striker who also takes the penalties. *Looks up current golden boot totals*. Jamie Vardy won it last year so I’ll say… Kane.

Dominic Fifield: If Liverpool are to prosper, then Salah will have to remain prolific.

George Caulkin: Why are you asking me all these questions? How can I possibly know? Salah. Liverpool have mustered more shots, more goals and more passes than any another team in the Premier League, while only Leicester and Manchester United have more victories. Salah is already top of the scoring charts with 13 and although he has just gone three games without a goal, wobbling along with the rest of his team-mates, he is in the best company to build on the foundations he has already laid. Only Bamford and Kane have had more efforts on goal. This is pure statistical analysis.

Jack Lang: Salah. Liverpool haven’t been brilliant recently, and nor has he. But it’s hard to look past a forward who takes so many shots, is on penalties, and plays for a team that dominates possession to the degree that Klopp’s side do. He has already scored 13 times and it is surely only a matter of time before he scores a hat-trick and goes on one of his manic scoring runs.

Phil Buckingham: Another open contest but Salah gets the cautious nod. He doesn’t really do droughts and so long as he’s fit, there’s no reason to believe he won’t get 25 or more goals by May. Is anyone else capable of that? You wouldn’t rule out Son, Vardy or Kane. Fernandes is another up there in the rankings but surely a midfielder can’t win the golden boot…

Stuart James: A penalty taker. In fact, when I interviewed Bamford in December, I asked him why he wasn’t taking them at Leeds given the number that’s being awarded this season — it’s good to see he listened and that he’s now taken over spot-kick duties. If Son did the same at Spurs (that’s never going to happen), I’d back him to win the golden boot this season. So, in my eyes, it probably comes down to one of Salah, Vardy or Kane (his assist record this season, by the way, is outstanding). Salah gets the nod on the basis that Liverpool are the most free-scoring team.

Who will be relegated?

Oliver Kay: Sheffield United, West Bromwich Albion and Fulham. The first two look close to certainties at the moment. I do expect Sheffield United to improve — they’re a better team than results suggests — but they’ve left themselves with so much to do. West Brom looks like a survival mission too far for Sam Allardyce. There’s a temptation to wonder if Crystal Palace or Newcastle might get sucked into trouble, but they and Burnley have more know-how and resilience than the teams below them. So that leaves Fulham and Brighton to battle for the final place. Fulham have been more impressive over the past couple of months, but Brighton might be stronger over the long run.

Daniel Taylor: Apart from Sheffield United, you mean? Chris Wilder’s team haven’t won a match yet and, barring something improbable, there hasn’t really been a flicker of evidence they are capable of a feat of escapology. West Brom are the interesting one now Sam Allardyce is in charge and, plainly, something is going to have to change if they are to get out of the bottom three. Fulham have taken the different approach of sticking with the manager, Scott Parker, who took them up. It might be that neither approach works. On the evidence so far, these are the three worst teams in the league.

Michael Cox: Six sides are seriously involved. Sheffield United will get better, but they’re 12 points adrift already. They’re down. West Brom will probably improve under Allardyce, but his call for a COVID-19-enforced break suggests he’s terrified how little time he has on the training to get the side organised. Fulham have already improved significantly, and four straight draws suggest they’re not far away from getting things right. Brighton are underperforming their xG numbers to a staggering extent and their results will surely improve. I always trust Sean Dyche to get Burnley out of trouble, although if there was a fallout with the new owners and a new manager arrived, I’d worry for them. Newcastle have been flattered by their results but they do have points on the board and probably only need another five wins. Boringly, it’s probably the current bottom three.

Jack Pitt-Brooke: One of the stories of the second half of the season will be whether Sheffield United can avoid being the Premier League’s first-ever single-digit point team. With two points from 17 games, they are on course to smash the record. They’re projected to earn four or five points. I think they’re better than Derby County’s legendary 11-point gang from 2008, but not good enough to make up the deficit to stay up. Going down with them, I fear Allardyce has too much to do at West Brom to turn things around. And then one out of Brighton and Fulham, I’d probably say Fulham, just about, because of their lack of experience, but at the same time, they’ve got good enough players to get out of it.

Tom Worville: Sheffield United. I expect them to bounce back a little — scoring 6 goals from an xG of 14.4 is astounding — but it’s probably going to be too late to prevent relegation. West Brom. Big Sam probably won’t get the reinforcements he needs in January and will struggle to improve a side that currently — in terms of xG for and against — is one of the worst in the Premier League in recent years. Newcastle — they have been the third-worst side in the Premier League by xG difference since the start of November. The only thing staving off relegation is that they have enough points in the bank and can eke out a few more to outrun Fulham, Brighton and Burnley, who are all playing better than results suggest.

Simon Hughes: Sheffield United, Fulham, West Brom. Wilder’s team have too much to do. Fulham do not have enough Premier League standard players and neither do West Brom.

Carl Anka: Sheffield United are done for. West Brom don’t have the squad or the time for Allardyce to get his methods across. I maintain that Brighton are in the, “No, really they’re good” ghost zone that spreadsheet nerds argue with their parental figures about, so while Fulham have been improving at a decent clip, I think the current bottom three will be the teams to go down.

Dominic Fifield: Sheffield United already look doomed and even replicating last season’s form would not be enough to save them, while Allardyce would need a huge transfer budget in January for West Brom to be competitive. Given how volatile this season has been, no one currently in the bottom half will feel entirely safe as they scramble towards 35 points, particularly if Fulham can turn solid draws into wins. At present, the onus is on them to maintain their improvement and drag Brighton or Burnley beneath the cut-off.

George Caulkin: Ah, thank you, my natural domain: wasteland. Sheffield United are gone, one of the most startling season-to-season declines in the Premier League’s history. Teams expend so much energy and build so much momentum getting up and staying up and it’s as if adrenaline has deserted them. Shame. Theirs is a great story. West Brom will go and so will Allardyce’s record of never being relegated in the top flight. Sometimes you can just be the wrong manager at the wrong club at the wrong time. And then A.N. Other. I’ll say Fulham, as they’re in possession. Newcastle will stay up in 15th place and Robbie Savage and Chris Sutton will kindly tell their fans what a brilliant achievement that is.

Jack Lang: Sheffield United, West Brom, Fulham. I don’t think Sheffield United are a terrible side, but you cannot give the team in 17th a 12-point headstart and expect to stay in the division. I thought West Brom’s decision to appoint Allardyce was a decent one, but the last couple of games have really underlined the size of his task. It’s a Championship squad in all but name. I expect them to put up a fight but can’t see them escaping the drop.

The final spot is a tough one to call. Burnley have improved and will be fine. Newcastle will grimly scrape together enough points. It will likely boil down to Brighton or Fulham, and although the former have been deeply unconvincing, they should have enough talent to start picking up wins at some stage. Fulham have tightened up at the back but I don’t see who is going to fire them to safety.

Phil Buckingham: It’s hard to see beyond the current bottom three. Sheffield United are as good as gone and it’ll be hard for Sam Allardyce, savvy as he is, to mask West Brom’s lack of Premier League quality. Fulham look the most likely club to escape the relegation zone given the way they’ve at least become hard to beat but Brighton and Burnley, clubs that have been through all this before, look better equipped over a long run of games. Above that, there’s only Newcastle capable of being sucked in.

Stuart James: Sheffield United are surely doomed. Without a victory on the board, they are already 12 points adrift and the season is not even at the halfway stage. Maybe the most optimistic Sheffield United supporter will cling to that as a reason for hope — there are enough games remaining to turn things around. Realistically, though, that isn’t going to happen. West Brom have relegation written all over them, too. The final place is less clear cut. Burnley, with games in hand and a better defensive record than the top three, look a fairly safe bet to pull clear. I wouldn’t say the same about Brighton — two wins from 17 is troubling. Ultimately, though, it is hard to see Fulham capitalising on the weaknesses of those above them. In other words, the bottom three now will be the bottom three when the season ends.

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2020-21 English Carabao Cup, Semifinals

Tottenham Hotspur           
Brentford                            

http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2021/capital-one-cup-tottenham-hotspur-vs-brentford-s1/

https://www.totalsportek.com/arsenal-streams/

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already 1 nil

Sissoko header

 

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Spuds COVID Party Tonight

sung along to this little ditty

 

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Brentford came pretty close to an equalizer - love them to do this

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Only one goal in it atm - next goal is crucial