Saturday 26th September
Tottenham Hotspur vs. Manchester City
In the build up to this game Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino went on the record to state that striker Harry Kane’s poor start to this season was down to the fact that he played for the England Under 21s this summer in the European Championship campaign. He obviously didn’t feel that jetting around the other side of the world to play a Malaysian XI in Kuala Lumpur or to play Sydney FC in Australia had any impact at all. It definitely didn’t have anything to do with flying to Colorado to play a MLS All-Stars team and nothing to do with playing Real Madrid and AC Milan in the space of two days in Germany on the Tuesday and Wednesday before their lunchtime kick off in the Premier League away to Manchester United on the Saturday. We can also dismiss the fact that he only scored 4 times in the last 13 games and didn’t look in form in the final weeks of the season. Because that couldn’t be a factor going from one season into another, oh no sir. Yes it most certainly has to come down to playing for the England Under 21s in the competition they went on to win having played oodles of games. What do you mean they got knocked out after just three games in the space of six days? That must be a typo surely? Or mean that Pochettino should go back to conducting his interviews in Spanish rather than trumpeting out of his arse in broken English.
Kane scored 21 goals in the league last season. Of those total goals 13 came against sides who were either relegated or struggled to avoid relegation; Hull City, Burnley, Queens Park Rangers, Aston Villa, Leicester City, Crystal Palace, West Bromwich Albion and Newcastle United. Or to put it another way that’s 62% of his total output of league goals against lesser opposition. Not even a quarter of his total came against what I would rate as decent Premier League opposition having managed 5 goals in 3 games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Could it be, just maybe that he isn’t actually as good as people have made him out to be in the first place. Let’s also not forget that he hasn’t scored at White Hart Lane since March the 21st. Personally for me the fact he hasn’t scored so far this season going into this game is as big an indication of how we like to overhype players in this country as soon as they do something remotely special and praise them like they’re the chosen one. Harry Kane isn’t the chosen one and I’ve said it before and I will say it again now if I was Daniel Levy and Manchester United had genuinely offered £45 million for him I would have snapped their hand off and drove him to Manchester myself.
So is it good management on Pochettino’s part before the game or just getting his excuses in on the basis that he doesn’t expect his forward to find the net again a few days later at home to Manchester City?
Going into the early kick off City have won 8 out of their last 9 against Spurs and in the last four games between the two they’ve scored 16 and conceded just 2. Go back over the last 8 games and City have scored a staggering 27 times, averaging an impressive 3.4 per game against their north London opponents. Despite suffering their first setback to West Ham United at home last Saturday, City have won their last 5 consecutive games on the trot away from home though good news for Spurs is they have conceded in their last three in all competitions having previously only let in 2 goals in 9 games before then.
For Spurs it’s now 1 defeat in 8 games having won 4 and drawn 3 although they remain struggling for goals having found the net only 5 times in 6 league games so far. Whilst City have the best defensive record in the Premier League this season, Spurs have the second best having conceded just 4 times.
Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen makes his first start of the season for Spurs whilst Willy Caballero came in for Joe Hart which basically means that everything I wrote in the build up to this game yesterday can probably now go out of the window alongside my bet on City to win. Oh and no Vincent Kompany either. There’s the lesson in waiting until the line ups are announced. I suspect even Kane can find the net against Willy fucking Caballero.
With Kane and Agüero starting as the lone men up front it’s 18 minutes into the game before the first real chance of note falls to either side as a curled shot by the latter from outside of the box is saved by Hugo Lloris. In the 23rd minute Spurs win a corner but any attacking notions went out of the window as the ball finds its way to Yaya Touré well in his own half. The Ivorian runs like a man on a mission all the way into the Spurs half before playing a beautifully weighted ball from about 30 yards out into the box for Kevin de Bruyne to run onto and the Belgian slots it home low and to the left of Lloris. As counter attacking goals go you won’t see many better examples of how it should be done all season. That was all a little too easy for City.
City should have extended their lead just three minutes after the goal when Raheem Sterling cut in from the left hand side and shot from 18 yards but his effort was tipped around the post by Lloris to keep the score at 1-0.
Five minutes before half time and the ball fell to Kane in a good position but he struggled to really get the ball out from under his feet and his shot was never going to cause Caballero any problems in the City goal. Right on the stroke of half time the ball finds its way out to Kyle Walker on the right hand side who is clearly a yard offside. You can see Caballero raises his arm to indicate the fact but the whistle isn’t blown and the cross finds Son Heung-min who can only direct the ball at the keeper and City try clear their lines but a poor pass out of defence is met by Eric Dier who chances his luck and scores from about 25 yards out as the ball passes everyone low and onto the post before nestling into the net. There was a slight suspicion of offside to the opening goal but that was clearly offside and shouldn’t have counted. The assistant referee has had a proper mare there. As the whistle blows for halftime Martín Demichelis is clearly pointing that out to the referee who doesn’t like the cut of his jib and the Argentinian is booked.
With the second half under way Spurs win a free kick after four minutes as Nicolás Otamendi fouls Kane. The ball is curled into the box where Toby Alderweireld heads in to give the home side the lead. What on earth was Caballero doing there? You are starting to get the feeling that City felt they only had to turn up to win this game. The keeper started to come and ended up like a tourist on the edge of his six yard box just watching the game as a spectacle as the ball hit the back of the net.
On 56 minutes Jesús Navas comes on for Touré in the first change of the game. That looked like an injury there which will be worrying for Manuel Pelligrini with Borussia Mönchengladbach coming up away from home on Wednesday night.
An hour gone Demichelis brings down Erik Lamela and from the resulting free kick Eriksen smacked the post but the ball comes out to Kane who knocks the ball back into an empty net but even then he contrived to miss and it only just goes in. The referee and his assistant have got that one wrong again though because the replays show Kane was offside. That’s Kane’s first goal in 748 for Spurs. All it took was to be offside and for the goal to be wide open.
Slow clap for Mark Clattenburg and his assistants as Spurs have the ball in the back of the net for a fourth time this afternoon on 72 minutes as Son scores but for the first time it’s correctly ruled for offside. Too little too late for City though.
Eleven minutes to go and Spurs score their second valid goal of the game through Lamela. Demichelis and Caballero looked like a modern day Laurel and Hardy trying to defend there. All they needed was a large ladder and a banana skin to have perfected their act. That was woeful defending and that’s an early Christmas present there for the Argentine. That goal sums up City’s afternoon perfectly since the equaliser went in.
After five wins in the first five games I wrote that the only club for me who could threaten City’s title bid was City themselves and this afternoon they’ve validated that claim. Mark Clattenburg and his officials have had a poor, poor game to boot and once more the calls should go out for the use of TV replays to aid their cause. Pelligrini’s choice to put Caballero in goal also backfired spectacularly and his positioning during that game was so bad that I reckon even I could be in with a shout of making the bench as Hart’s backup for Wednesday night’s game.
Post-game and Kane said in an interview “Maybe I shut up a few people who have been talking over the last few weeks.” I think that’s wishful thinking right there if ever there was any to be had – one goal that was firstly offside and secondly into an open goal is not going to shut your critics up. Thirdly – you nearly missed it! I swear Harry Kane is one of the only people that when he opens his mouth can make David Beckham sound intelligent. You suspect if the dog didn’t have the family brain cell he would have done well to keep his mouth shut and wait until he manages to score from a position that is onside, has a goalkeeper in front of him to actually beat and with a far better strike that that. I’m severely tempted to carry on the minutes since he last scored a goal that was onside.
Manchester United vs. Sunderland
Depending on the result of this game after Manchester City’s loss to Tottenham earlier in the day you could well be looking at the book ends of the Premier League with Sunderland beginning the game still at the bottom of the league and with United who could go top with a win.
United have won 7 of the last 9 games against the Mackam’s but the away sides problems against today’s opponents are long standing with just 1 win in 26 games and whilst they managed to beat them at Old Trafford last season their previous win came way back in 1968.
Whilst United remain unbeaten at home collecting 7 points from a possible 9, Sunderland are still looking for their first win in the league. They make up one of four clubs who are yet to win in the top four divisions of English football this season. In fact three of those four clubs happen to be from the Premier League going into this weekend’s fixtures with Stoke City, Newcastle United and Newport County of League Two making up the rest. For the Mackam’s they’ve now gone nine games without a win (drawing 4, losing 5) and have collected just 1 win in 14 (drawn 6, losing 7). They’ve conceded 13 so far this season which is the most in the Premier League and 10 of those have come in the first half of games. It probably comes as no surprise to learn that they have failed to keep a single clean sheet in league or cup games and were knocked out of the league cup in midweek by United’s rivals City in a 4-1 loss. But as Sunderland fans will point out, at least they did manage a goal against City, although sadly it did come at the point where they were 4-0 down.
If Harry Kane’s goal scoring record going into this round of fixtures was bad then it’s surely worth highlighting Wayne Rooney’s failure in front of goal in recent times in the league though he did at least manage to find the net during the 3-0 League Cup win over Ipswich Town during the week. He starts again today following his return from injury but Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe is on the bench having picked up a strain. One ray of hope and it’s not a very bright one for Sunderland is that Dick Advocaat has only lost 1 game in 9 against a Louis van Gaal managed side but one imagines it’s only a case of 90 minutes away on current form before that becomes 2 in 10.
I’m not sure what it is about first halves at Old Trafford of late but they really should just play 45 minute games as there’s very little to discuss other than a Jeremain Lens effort in the 24th minute as Sunderland manage to contain United until the fourth minute of additional time when a long ball into the box from Danny Blind finds Juan Mata who pulls the ball back across goal for Memphis to tap in from two yards to score his first ever Premier League goal. Hopefully the second half will provide more entertainment than this.
Well if you take out the minutes for the half time break then Sunderland have totally capitulated in the space of three minutes as a strong run into the box by Anthony Martial goes unchecked and his ball is turned into the back of the net off the knee of Wayne Rooney for his first Premier League goal of the season and his second in two games in all competitions. It wasn’t pretty but the quality of the finish or lack of it seems kind of fitting to Sunderland’s season so far. You can’t see Sunderland getting anything from this game now although in fairness you couldn’t really see them getting anything out of it when it kicked off in the first half. It just seems nailed on now. That’s Rooney’s first in the league since he scored against Aston Villa on April the 4th.
Just after the hour mark Patrick van Aanholt has a chance for Sunderland but it’s a tight angle and David de Gea saves with his legs. 66 minutes gone and Memphis is left holding his face in his hands having fired his effort when 1 on 1 with Costel Pantilimon straight at the goalkeeper. It really should have been 3-0 to the home side there.
With twelve to go Mata brings another save from Pantilimon from 18 yards out as his shot was angled to the bottom left of the goal but United are still searching for their third of the game. Finally it comes in the 90th minute as Ashley Young came in from the left wing and his cross deflects off a defender before coming to Mata who swept the ball into the net to complete Sunderland’s misery.
So United go top as Sunderland remain rooted to the bottom of the league. Seven games, two draws, seven defeats, sixteen goals conceded, it doesn’t look good for Sunderland as it stands and it’s West Ham away next for them. That’s quickly followed by an away trip to West Bromwich Albion at which point we can expect Dick Advocaat to walk away in time for a new man to come in for the game against Newcastle United where history will repeat itself again as they finally find a win.
For United that’s just one defeat this season in seven and Vfl Wolfsburg up next who will still be reeling from their midweek nightmare which saw Robert Lewandowski come on as substitute for Bayern Munich and score five goals in just nine minutes. Heck even de Gea managed to keep a clean sheet today so Sunderland must be bad.
Liverpool vs. Aston Villa
If Harry Kane and Wayne Rooney have been struggling individually for goals then Liverpool as a side are suffering an accumulative failure in front of goal having scored just four from their opening six games in the Premier League so far. They go into this game having been taken into extra time League Two side Carlisle United in midweek in the League Cup and only survived a huge cup shock by securing their place in the next round winning on penalties. You have to feel for Carlisle fans who finally looked like they might have something else to be remembered for other than goalkeeper Jimmy Glass’s goal which kept them in the football league way back in 1999. For Villa they will have been buoyed by a narrow 1-0 win over their biggest rivals Birmingham City in the same competition.
All the build up to this game has surrounded manager Brendan Rodgers who sent Gary McAllister out following the Carlisle game to convince the world that the Northern Irishman was happy with an excellent win. I don’t think I have yet used the direct expression that Rodgers is full of shit but I’ve certainly hinted at it in my abject description of him in my writings and summing up so far this season. Had Liverpool fielded a reserve side against a League Two side then you could maybe make excuses for them but apart from Ádám Bogdán coming into the side for Simon Mignolet the other ten players outfield were all recognised names.
Liverpool go into this fixture with no win in 8 league games against Villa since a 1-0 win at Villa Park way back in 2011. For Villa there’s no loss in 4 on their visits to Anfield and only 2 losses in their past 8 trips. However historically Villa have won only 5 of the last 32 away to Liverpool.
Last time Brendan Rodgers went five games without a win was his first five in charge at the club. Only Newcastle United going into this game have a worst scoring record than Liverpool’s this season and Rodgers side have conceded 7 goals in 3 games. Villa have an unwanted record of their own in the fact that alongside Newcastle they have both lost 16 times so far in this calendar year. There’s also no win in 5 for Villa since their opening day win away to AFC Bournemouth. However they have scored in 8 successive away games.
Last week I accused Rodgers of enjoying role playing with his significant other in the bedroom, this week he strikes me as a man who likes a spot of poker at home with his mates who desperately shuffles the cards when it’s is turn to be dealer in a desperate bid to find a winning hand as he starts with another formation, this time with a 5-3-2. Danny Ings starts in place of Christian Benteke who misses out against his old side through injury. Rudy Gestede, he of the dynamite header fame starts for Villa.
Just one minute in and James Milner fires in from the D on the Villa 18 yard box into the bottom right of the net to score the quickest goal of the Premier League this season. That wasn’t the start that Tim Sherwood will have wanted. It’ll be interesting to see how Villa pick themselves up from this but there’s still 89 minutes to go in this fixture.
9 minutes in and Ings fired over the bar from 18 yards, perhaps this week all the players have been given a licence to shoot on sight after last week’s home game against Norwich where every attempt seemed to fall to Philippe Coutinho.
On 22 minutes Alan Hutton found himself in a great position up the field and he sent over a probing ball into the box and it’s a poor clearance from Emre Can. Gestede picks up the ball and shoots but it’s well wide from 18 yards. Just some signs that Villa can cause the Liverpool back line some problems this afternoon. Much better from the away side.
Into the second half and on 53 minutes Milner tries his luck again from distance but this time his shot is saved by Guzan and eventually the ball finds its way to Nathaniel Clyne at the near post but he fails to finish and it stays 1-0 to Liverpool.
Just before the hour mark and Daniel Sturridge in his second consecutive game starting for Liverpool since coming back from another long term injury reminds us of his class as he finishes a wonderful shot with the outside of his left boot to put Liverpool into a commanding 2-0 lead.
Obviously when I write commanding lead that’s the kiss of death as on 66 minutes Hutton found himself in another great position going forward for Villa and his pass was pulled back all the way to the far post where Gestede was on hand to make the score 2-1. Game on!
Oh fuck you both. I said commanding lead, I said game on and bang Villa lose the ball and after a quick one-two into the box Sturridge makes himself space before placing the ball past Guzan and instantly makes it 3-1 to the home side. This time I’m saying nothing.
Finally I might have made a wise choice as it takes Villa just four minutes to pull the game back again. It’s a wonderful ball into the box from on the goal line by Jordan Amavi designed to be attacked in the air and there’s the man you want on the end of it Gestede to continue his dominance at the top of the headed goals chart in England. I could look up how many that is for him now but I can’t be arsed other than to say it’s quite a few. Rodgers are you taking notes for when Benteke is fit again – these are the types of crosses into the box that both forwards thrive on. It’s not exactly rocket engineering! A quick note to Amavi who has been one of Villa’s brightest points so far this season and if Sherwood can find a balance with him on the left and Hutton on the right supplying balls like that then you can see Villa getting the results they need to keep them up this season. But it’s all still to play for here with 19 minutes of normal time remaining.
For a game that’s had little to it apart from the goals Coutinho nearly makes it 4-2 with a 25 yard free kick that’s saved by Guzan. Despite Villa’s best efforts it still looks like the home side that are likely to score another and the best chance falls to Sturridge with four minutes remaining but it’s saved by Guzan and he leaves the England international with a look on his face that simply says ‘How did that not go in.’
In the end Villa just didn’t have the quality to force anything from this game. Whilst they were ultimately undone by two fines strikes from Milner and Sturridge’s first of his brace they will be kicking themselves at some of their general untidiness when in possession of the ball. For Rodgers this was all about the result for Liverpool or it should have been before he launches into another bullshit PR spin interview after the game. “I am pretty confident that there is a group of people that don’t want me here to be the manager,” he said.
“In all competitions we have lost less games than Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.
“We have lost two games, which is equivalent to Tottenham and Manchester United.”
Seriously Brendan either shut up or if you choose to speak have a few words with yourself or the club psychiatrist because I genuinely think you are border line delusional. Your side have been woeful and abject at best at times during the season so far. You continue to play players out of position and you clearly have no idea what system suits the players best. Yes your side may have created 47 chances against Carlisle United during midweek but that gives your players a ratio of 1 goal every 47 shots which is piss poor. You had an Anfield which was near to silence from the home support and if it wasn’t for the 6,000 away fans having a carnival in the away end you’d probably be hard pressed to have known there was a game taking place if you’d have been walking through Stanley Park. Why not accept some criticism for once and try to take on board what’s being said rather than talk of a conspiracy. Even if you’re right and there is one then maybe ask yourself why, because let’s face it from us looking outside in it isn’t hard to highlight where the majority of the clubs problems are falling right now and the spotlight is firmly in one place – on you!
Southampton vs. Swansea
If recent history is anything to go by then on paper this game doesn’t scream ‘potential classic’ with the last three games between the two being won by the away side 1-0. In all the last seven games between the two have seen a total of just six goals. For the Saints it’s 2 wins in 12 (drawing 4, losing 6). They face a Swansea side who have conceded just 3 goals in their last 5 Premier League games although they have failed to score since their 2-1 win over Manchester United. Ryan Bertrand comes into start for the home side with Ki Sung-yueng starting for the visitors.
Swansea almost put their recent woes in front of goal behind them just 6 minutes into the game as a 25 yard effort by Jonjo Shelvey is met by goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg who parried the ball to the South Korean Ki who knocks his chance well over the bar. Warning signs early on for the Saints there.
On 8 minutes the home team have their best chance of the game so far but Sadio Mané didn’t connect at all well with that chance and his shot rolls past the right hand post. Two minutes later however there’s better news for the home fans as a corner ball is played in from the left and defender Dick Van Dyke, sorry Virgil van Dijk heads the ball into the net easily beating two Swans defenders to the ball. I’m not sure who blew out Swansea’s light since the win over United. Perhaps it was Louis van Gaal slamming the door shut on the way out from the Vetch but whoever it was, someone needs to come up with some magic for the Welsh side and soon. André Ayew, Bafétimbi Gomis and Jefferson Montero (who is sat on the bench today) all started the season in such spectacular form and all three have looked like shades of themselves since that win against United. Better on 22 minutes from the Swans as Ki drives in a shot from 20 yards but they eventually go into halftime still one goal down.
Nine minutes into the second half and Dušan Tadić pops up to score the Saints second although it took a deflection of Ki before going into the net. One for the dubious goals panel to decide me thinks but for now I will give the benefit of the doubt to the midfielder. On current form I can’t see Swansea getting back into this game now. Funny though if it was Leicester playing away at St Mary’s you could imagine them having the drive and energy to still try to get something before the end of the 90 minutes. More teams should take a leaf out of Ranieri’s side’s book.
As it turns out the Swans didn’t have to wait long for the final nail to be delivered in their coffin as Mané made up for his earlier miss to make the score a comfortable 3-0. Ashley Williams made an awful attempted clearance in the heart of the Welsh sides defence and it was all too easy for the Senegalese midfielder who said thank you very much and wasted no time in capitalising on the error.
Seven minutes before the end of time and José Fonte has a rush of blood to the head and fouls Neil Taylor in the penalty area. I have no idea what on earth the Portuguese player was thinking there but it hands the chance for the Icelandic international Gylfi Sigurðsson to prove he’s cool as ice in these situations and he scores from the spot to give the travelling supporters something to cheer about at last. That penalty was as straight down the centre of the goal as they come and you have to wonder how bad that would have looked had the keeper not dived and just stood still, but he didn’t so I will shut up.
Two minutes of normal time remaining and Montero who had come on from the bench provided the cross for Ayew who saw his header saved but even if it had gone it the score line would have been flattering to the visitors who were well beaten again here today by a Saints side that seems to be finding its feet once more under boss Ronald Koeman in recent weeks.
Stoke City vs. AFC Bournemouth
If readers you are reading the gigantic all in one weekend match report you will know that I have mentioned already that Stoke City are one of four clubs in the football league who are yet to have won a game going into this weekend’s round of fixtures alongside Sunderland, Newcastle United and Newport County of League Two. You will also have seen that Sunderland lost to Manchester United and I can add that there was some away day cheer for County who won 1-0 away from home so could Stoke get that particular monkey off their backs against newly promoted AFC Bournemouth.
Stoke have only lost 5 times in 22 matches against their opponents but more importantly have only ever lost once at home against them. Obviously like every Bournemouth fixture in the first half of this season, this is the first time the two clubs have met in the top flight of English football. Of course in the second half of the season the line will switch to ‘this is only the second time these two clubs have met in the top flight of English football.’ I’m waffling, I will try get on with it. But I’m just saying…
This is Stoke’s worst ever start to a Premier League campaign whilst for Bournemouth it’s their best and their worst… OK fine I will shut up and get on with it!
In come Charlie Adam and Philipp Wollscheid for the home side whilst the visitors are unchanged from last weekend’s 2-0 win at home to Sunderland.
8 minutes on the clock and that didn’t look pretty as Callum Wilson turns and twists his right knee. He’s had the magic spray and is back up on his feet looking to run it off but we saw with Sergio Agüero for Manchester City the other day when he took a whack at Crystal Palace that maybe in these types of instances it’s better to get the player off sooner rather than later rather than keep them on the pitch. Yes he will carry the clubs main goal threat this afternoon but it’s better to have him fit and raring to go for several games having not risked it than it is to risk it. We shall see.
Oh no, four minutes later and Wilson has gone down with no one around him. Eddie Howe should have been braver there and taken the player off. Having suffered with dodgy knees for years when I used to play I could tell when he went down a few minutes ago that it didn’t look good. It’s a sad sight to see him stretchered off and worse for Eddie Howe as five of the clubs eight league goals have come from the player. That looks like it will keep him out for a few weeks minimum and he joins long term absentees Tyrone Mings and Max Gradel on the sidelines. The experience and goal scoring ability of Glenn Murray brought in from Crystal Palace on deadline day could prove vital to the south coast club over the forthcoming weeks and now looks a really smart piece of business in the market if it didn’t already do so before today.
Oh dear Bournemouth’s afternoon keeps getting worse as just past the half hour mark Marko Arnautović puts an inch perfect pass through to Jonathan Walters who gives manager Mark Hughes a timely reminder about putting a new contract in front of him to sign as he makes the score 1-0.
One minute to go in normal time in the first half and Marc Pugh finds Lee Tomlin in the box but he’s bottled it and passes the ball to Matt Ritchie when he really should have shot from there having been in the better position. Ritchie’s shot was saved but he could hardly have been expecting the ball from there when the forward should have rifled a shot away and would have probably found the equaliser from that range. I don’t know when his last league goal was but he seems to be missing some much needed confidence in front of goal if that pass was anything to go by.
Nine minutes into additional time in the first half and a Cherries corner is cleared and a swift counter attack ensues which ends with Arnautović not as inch perfect as his cross for the opener and his shot misses the target. At 1-0 the South Coast still have something to fight for and have 45 minutes to get back into this game but they won’t do it if they shoot themselves in the foot like they did just then.
On 76 minutes Ritchie pulls the ball back across the edge of the box for Pugh whose effort comes back to Dan Gosling after a deflection and it’s there – an equaliser for the Cherries. That goal has brought this game to life as four minutes later they go close again as a back heel from Ritchie finds the goal scorer Gosling but his powerful effort is pushed clear by Jack Butland in the Stoke goal. He has been one of the players of this season for me if not THE player of the season so far. The lad who is just 22 years of age is having an outstanding season since he was given the opportunity to become the clubs number one following Asmir Begović’s move to Chelsea in the summer. Stoke really have him to be thankful for, for the umpteenth time this season.
I was going to say Bournemouth will have been kicking themselves if they lose this one from this position but it looks like it’s going to be more heartbreak for Eddie Howe’s men as Glen Johnson sends in a great cross into the Bournemouth box to find Mame Biram Diouf who heads the ball home to give the home side the lead with seven minutes remaining in normal time.
Three minutes left on the clock and all credit to Howe’s side as they haven’t given up fighting for a share of the points. They send a long ball into the box from a free kick and it’s another fantastic save from Butland there one handed. He has surely won his side all three points with that. If ever a save said you’re not getting past me again today that was it. Do you know what I was so excited by that I can’t even tell you who took the strike. If Stoke have any sense they’ll offer him a new contract as soon as possible and stick in a big buyout clause into it to.
So Stoke have won, Newport County have won, can Newcastle find their first win in the late kick off against Chelsea tonight?
Leicester City vs. Arsenal
Six games gone and the home side go into this game as the only unbeaten side in the Premier League following Manchester City’s perhaps surprise loss to West Ham United at home last weekend in the late Saturday teatime kick off. They take on an Arsenal side who they have failed to beat since November 1994 managing just six draws in the meantime but losing eleven in total. Their forward line is bound to give Arsene Wenger’s men a few headaches this afternoon as they go into the game as the league’s joint top goal scorers along with West Ham United. However they are yet to keep a clean sheet though no reports this week over whether Claudio Ranieri has bettered his offer of a tenner or a pizza for every player if they are to achieve that feet today against the Gunners.
For Arsenal this is the second season in succession that they’ve got ten points on the board from the possible eighteen after six games gone. Worrying for Wenger will be the fact that his side have only scored in half of those games so far but he elects to stick with Theo Walcott up front instead of Frenchman Olivier Giroud. Chilean Alexis Sanchez is still looking for his first league goal of the season having returned from South America in the summer a Copa America winner for the first time in his career.
As 4th takes on 5th Mark Albrighton comes into the home side whilst Mathieu Flamini fresh from his brace in the league cup against Spurs makes his first start in the league for 9 months.
Leicester start like a side utterly brimming with confidence and who have no respect for their opponents and on ten minutes Jeff Schlupp fires a shot away inside the Gunners box which is saved by Petr Cech and from the follow up Jamie Vardy hits his shot against the left post from 18 yards after a slight deflection off defender Per Mertesacker. That was a warning for the visitors there.
Just two minutes later and the Foxes launch a huge long ball down the field. Vardy brings it under control with his head and runs on into the box, one touch, two, three, shoots and he scores to make it 1-0 to the Foxes. That’s 4 in 4 for the England international and the King Power has erupted in a wall of noise.
As Arsenal look to find a way back into the game Sanchez combines with Walcott but his shot is easily palmed away by Kasper Schmeichel with sixteen minutes gone. Two minutes later and this game really is end to end as Albrighton sets up Vardy who heads onto the bar but the Gunners go straight up the other end and Walcott uses his pace to leave Huth in his wake and he scores to equalise.
Flamini’s afternoon comes to an early end with just 22 minutes played as he’s replaced by Mikel Arteta. That’s got to be an injury of some sorts surely this early into a game. This game is like ping pong on grass as the ball bounces from one end to another but eventually Arsenal make their possession count as a Héctor Bellerín ball into the box just pings up off a Foxes defender and Sanchez smuggles the ball over the line for his first goal of the season with 33 minutes played..
Into the second half and a very un-Arsenal like goal for the Gunners as Mesut Özil just lofts the ball high in the air with 12 minutes played of the second half and Sanchez heads home to double his tally for the season in the space of just 24 minutes. Whilst you can never totally write the Foxes off this does look like the end of their unbeaten run I’m afraid though you can never say never with this side of late.
Nine minutes left and maybe you can now say never with Leicester as Sanchez pops up to score from 25 yards into the bottom left hand corner. That’s 3 for the afternoon and his first ever hat trick in the Premier League for the Chilean. He’s been knocking on the door all season having had more shots than any other play coming into this game but the floodgates have opened today and he’s filled his boots and I’m throwing as many clichés as I can into this sentence. He’s a little bit special that lad he truly is.
With a minute remaining of normal time Andrej Kramarić sees his shot saved on the line by Cech before the ball is knocked in by Vardy for his second in the game but with the board going up to show 3 additional minutes of injury time even Leicester aren’t going to find another two goals in that short a space of time. However one man who does find the net is substitute Giroud who scores from 10 yards deep, deep into injury time to send another reminder to Wenger that his form is just perfectly fine thank you very much.
Well as entertaining games of football go that was right up there and with seven goals you can fill your boots but I’m still not convinced by Theo Walcott playing in that forward role. Yes he has pace in abundance and that enabled him to get past Huth easily before running on to score. Lewis Hamilton also has pace in abundance but that doesn’t mean he could ever be a forward. Oh and whilst Walcott has pace Huth would probably be outsprinted by John Terry in a race over 100 metres. With Walcott I personally feel he just misses too many opportunities. If you are given five opportunities or more per game to score your one each time then that’s a warning sign that maybe you’re not being played in the right position. So watch him join the list of players I’ve slated this season and go have a blinder next time out.
West Ham United vs. Norwich City
West Ham fans coming to the Boleyn in their last season before the club switches to the Olympic Stadium must be wondering which Hammers side will turn up to the game. The one that has managed loses at home to Leicester City and Bournemouth or the one that has managed to beat Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City on the road already. The thing about such big away wins is that it’s like a magic paint that glosses over the inconsistencies in West Hams play right now. I’ve seen a lot of the Hammers over the past two seasons and think I’ve seen all but three or four games home and away in that time. They’ve been booed off the pitch twice already under Slaven Bilić although both instances came during a poor Europa League run before the Premier League season kicked off. Under Sam Allardyce we heard time after time that his brand of football wasn’t ‘the West Ham way’ but this time last year the football being played was far more entertaining especially at the Boleyn than it has been this time around when Stewart Downing looked in majestic form at the head of a diamond formation. But never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
The Hammers took on City in pre-season and celebrated an easy win but there were warning signs that Nathan Redmond had the key to unlock their defence when he came on a substitute and they’ll be grateful to have seen his name omitted from the starting line-up today as he takes his place on the bench. City have won only one of the last nine league and cup games against West Ham drawing four and losing four. To find their last win at the Boleyn you have to go back all the way to March 1989. 6 of the last 10 games between the two sides have ended in draws. City have scored in 4 of the last 7 games and go into the game buoyed by a 1-1 draw away at Anfield last Sunday.
There were early alarm bells ringing for the home side as Cameron Jerome headed towards goal with just a minute gone but the City forwards header was lacking any real power and was aimed straight at Adrián. Despite winning a couple of corners in the first nine minutes the Hammers showed their defensive frailties once more in front of their own fans when a poor Marc Noble pass squared back for James Tomkins was too far in front of him and as he stretched and missed the ball Robbie Brady latched onto it and runs into the box and scores to give City the lead. That’s karma right there as the Irishman continues to ram my words down my throat having slated him a few weeks back. The goal may have come from a mistake but that’s still a deserved lead from the visitors. I guess we now know which Hammers side has turned up.
Jonny Howson is causing all sorts of problems for West Ham already today and on 18 minutes he chests the ball down but fires his shot over from 16 yards. Whilst sitting back and looking to attack on the counter may work away from home for the Hammers they need to get a grip on this game with the possessions stats currently sat at 38% to 62%. There’s a great bit of skill from Diafra Sakho on 19 minutes as he does a Maradonna drag back in the centre of the field past the Norwich midfield but it comes to nothing. Tomkins shot on 20 minutes sums up West Ham’s afternoon as it flies high over the bar from 30 yards. Deary me. Victor Moses has been kept at bay this game and he really needs to get on the ball more if West Ham are to get anything from this game this afternoon.
Unless you have been on Mars for the past seven days you cannot have failed to have seen the focus on Diego Costa after his tussle with Laurent Koscielny when referee Mike Dean missed his hands in the Arsenal defenders face in the box and Dean is at it again as Steven Whittaker connects with the face of Dimitri Payet on 22 minutes but no foul is given.
What follows is another ten minutes of football where West Ham’s final ball just doesn’t cut the mustard and they’re looking like their own worst enemies. Moses has now switched to the right wing and for the first time in this game Norwich seem to be just sitting off a bit on the ball allowing the home side to come into the game more. On 33 minutes Sakho picks up the ball in the centre circle and passes it out wide to Payet and continues his run into the box where the ball is played back into him and he scores from six yards. I’d like to say that’s been coming but I’d be lying. Perhaps the Hammers can finally wake up today after that goal.
That seems to have done the trick for West Ham as one goal turns the game totally on its head. Manuel Lanzini sends a free kick a yard wide from 35 yards out on 35 minutes and Norwich have a huge let off just three minutes later. John Ruddy came to the edge of the box and misses the ball completely but Sakho hooked his shot over the bar with the goal wide open.
Half time and the sides go in level. Things were getting scrappy in the last ten minutes there and both managers will need to find some words of wisdom during the break. Norwich started much the brighter in the game and just allowed West Ham to gradually get into the game. They need to start the second half in the same manner they started this game and not how they ended it if they’re to take anything back to Norfolk at full time.
Howson once again proves to be head and shoulders above the rest but he should have done better than his tame shot with just a minute gone of the second half. Four minutes into the half and it’s Howson again and this time he does much better as his shot from 20 yards is heading towards the top corner of the net but Adrián tips it wide for a corner with a one handed save. That was one for the cameras from the Spaniard but it looked the business.
54 minutes gone and if the additional time added earlier in this season for drinks breaks because of the heat became a first in English football then there can’t be many instances of additional time having to be added for players having to carry a pigeon off the pitch as Howson scoops up a feathered friend in the middle of the pitch and takes him to safety of the other side of the advertising hoardings.
Cheikhou Kouyaté slices a great opportunity wide with ten minutes gone after a good ball from Moses but that’s the latter’s last involvement in this game as he is replaced by Pedro Obiang. He hasn’t been at the races today but given his lack of game time this season you imagine that his legs are somewhat heavy. Norwich are beginning to sit deeper again and inviting West Ham onto the ball, defending in numbers and looking to hit on the counter attack. Just before the hour mark Sakho produces a lovely piece of skill with four Norwich defenders around him to find Payet but his shot is saved by Ruddy.
Twenty two minutes left in the game and Redmond is warming up on the side lines. Someone stick their leg out and trip him up. No one does and he comes on for Graham Dorrans. That’s certainly a positive move for Norwich given that they’ve been sitting back in this half so far. Alex Neil obviously thinks he can get all three points here this afternoon. Bilić obviously has the same thoughts as he brings Andy Carroll into the action.
Seven minutes to go and wouldn’t you just know it, Redmond scores for Norwich as his shot from 15 yards goes through a crowded box and into the net. The Hammers coaching staff obviously have shorter memories than I have. Can City hold on to win away?
Bilić rolls the dice once more as Noble comes off to make way for Mauro Zárate and it looks like the Hammers will switch to a 4-3-3 for the remainder of this game as they search for an equaliser. For all the glory in beating the likes of Arsenal, City and Liverpool away from home these are the bread and butter games that you have to win in the Premier League and as things stand this will be their third loss at home in four games so far. Just not good enough I’m afraid and the irony is that Norwich have done exactly what brought West Ham their success on the road. They’ve held back and soaked up the pressure admirably and hit the home side on the break.
90 minutes gone now and Norwich have defender Russell Martin to thank there as he clears off the line for Sakho. Four minutes of additional time have been shown and you can expect everything but the kitchen sink to be thrown at the City goal in that time. In the dying embers of the game now and West Ham have won a free kick in a dangerous position. Payet puts the ball into the box and Ruddy drops the ball and it falls against Carroll and spills forward and heartbreak for City as Kouyaté equalises for West Ham. I know parrots get sick but today there will be eleven Canaries on the pitch feeling sick after that late, late hammer blow which sees them leave with just one point. I said it a few weeks back readers that Norwich may well look back come May time and need an added column in the table for games they should have won and they’ve added another here today. You’ve got to feel sorry for the goalkeeper there because in fairness he hasn’t really had a lot to do this afternoon.
Newcastle United vs. Chelsea
Despite José Mourinho’s claims that he likes coming to St James’ Park you have to think otherwise as the history books show the Portuguese manager has never won here in the North East having drawn twice and lost three times. In fact winless Newcastle go into today’s teatime kick off having secured wins in the last three games against Chelsea. You can’t imagine on current form that the Magpies can do it a fourth time but stranger things have happened in football over the years and you cannot discount the psychological edge however slim it may be. Newcastle will also point to the fact that the last six games have been won by whoever was the home side so where’s there’s hope there’s always a way of picking up a positive result.
2015 has been a bad year for not only Manager Steve McLaren in terms of his results for Derby County and Newcastle but moreover for the Magpies having collected just 15 points from a possible 75 in this calendar year. They’ve won just three games, drawn six and lost a staggering 15 times in all. Midweek they slumped to a new low as they lost in the league cup to a Sheffield Wednesday side that made ten changes following their 3-2 home win over Fulham on Saturday. Worse possibly for new boss McLaren is that comparatively after six league games his record is even worse at Newcastle’s than under John Carver’s first six in charge. The latter secured six points from six games winning 1, drawing 3 and losing 2, scoring and conceding 9 goals in the process. McLaren by contrast is still searching for his first win as the Magpies sit second bottom in the table on two points having scored just three goals in total, two of which came in their opening game at home to Southampton.
Chelsea managed their first clean sheet of the season at home to Arsenal last Saturday and go into today’s game with a treble of back to back wins in Europe, the Premier League and the League Cup as they continue to overcome their own comparative bad start to this season. Loïc Rémy the ex-Newcastle Unites forward comes into the side to replace the suspended Diego Costa.
Just before the half hour mark Ayoze Pérez who has gone off the boil somewhat after a good start to his Newcastle career last term fires a shot straight at Asmir Begović. The ball is put back into the box by Daryl Janmaat but Newcastle again see their shot saved. Positive stuff from the home side though and for once the fans have something to cheer about up at St James’.
There’s panic in the ranks on 38 minutes as Chancel Mbemba loses the ball and Cesc Fàbregas rifles in a 30 yard shot which Tim Krul saves. That must have stung his hands there was real venom in that shot. Newcastle just need to keep their composure before half time and not undo all of their good work so far this half.
Branislav Ivanović and Kurt Zouma will have been left pointing the blame at one another as three minutes before half time neither man puts a challenge on the young Spanish striker Pérez and he controls his excitement at being given the key to the freedom of Chelsea’s penalty area and slots the ball home to give Newcastle the lead. It’s unbelievable to think that the London sides defence looks so inept compared to this time last year. I wonder what John Terry makes of that one as he looks on from the side lines.
Half time and it’s 1-0 to the Magpies and on balance you have to say that they deserve their lead as well. Can Steve McLaren add his name to the list of Graeme Souness, Glenn Roeder and Alan Pardew as managers of Newcastle to have beaten Mourinho. There’s a long way to go in this game yet but you never know.
Hold the front page, cometh the hour, cometh the man as Georginio Wijnaldum heads in to make the score Newcastle 2 Chelsea 0 after 60 minutes. Well, well, well what have Chelsea got in their locker now if anything at all? Half an hour left on the board for last season’s title winners to try muster something from this game and for McLaren’s men to hold on or even find a third. Do you go for the jugular at this stage or try to see the game out from here?
BANG 79 minutes and that’s a terrific goal from the little Brazilian Ramires from 20 yards out. Eden Hazard played the ball through into the centre and he has hammered that shot past Krul with a strike of real quality there. You just cannot afford to give any of these Chelsea players time on the ball like that in front of goal. We saw that at the start of the month against Everton when Nemanja Matić pinged one in like he was on the training pitch with no one picking him up. For all their problems this season let’s not forget this is a Chelsea team that has within it some real top quality players.
Seven minutes to go and Pedro finds himself one on one with Krul after a great ball from Fàbregas but the Spaniard fires his shot over. Newcastle are starting to wobble at the back now. This is where McLaren needs his leaders on the pitch to stand up and be counted and marshal the backline for the remaining few minutes.
The site of McLaren on the touchline with his head bowed and the look of despair and agony says it all as a crossed free kick into the box from Willian finds its way into the back of the net. Krul looks like he was unsighted by Ramires who jumped to try and get a touch on the ball. Oh Newcastle hearts will have been broken there and that was similar to Oscars goal in the opening game of their season against Swansea City where the ball just came into the box and no one managed to get another touch on it. That was lucky for Chelsea but equally as unlucky for Newcastle. When you’re down the bottom of the league sometimes you just cannot get the rub of the green. Can Chelsea find a winner now?
Two minutes to go and Newcastle give away another free kick which is taken once more by Willian and this time he finds the head of Ramires. The two have combined superbly this second half but it’s saved by a grateful Tim Krul.
In the end it’s hope and despair all rolled into one for McLaren’s side as they finish the game with a point. A superb come back from Chelsea to claim a draw but with the quality they have in their side they would have been expecting to be travelling back to London with all three points. Rémy has had a stinker today against his former employers. The point is not enough to take Newcastle out of the bottom three as they go into next weekend still searching for their first win of the season.
Sunday 27th September
Watford vs. Crystal Palace
A rarity for Sunday football this with only one game this afternoon ahead of a busy week of European football for the English sides still involved in the Champions League and Europa League. This is the first time the two clubs have met in the Premier League. Watford will be looking to improve on a home record that has seen them collect just one win in 9 at home to Palace drawing 3 and losing 5. They go into today’s game winning two on the spin and are yet to concede a goal at home so far in this campaign. Palace’s away record under Alan Pardew is well documented having won eight of eleven games but they are yet to draw a single game so don’t expect them to start today – it’s all or nothing it seems away from Selhurst Park. Palace have yet to keep a clean sheet in eight league and cup games but will have been buoyed by the hat trick from Marcus Gayle in the 4-1 League Cup win over Charlton Athletic last time out and he starts today’s game.
Palace come into the all London affair off the back of defeats to Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur and on paper this game has only slightly more glamour than Brentford vs. Leyton Orient but you never know it might surprise us all. The last time the two sides met was in the Play Off final in 2013 which saw Ian Holloway and Gianfranco Zola in the respective dugouts leading their sides. Quique Sánchez Flores is now Watford’s fifth manager since then following on from Giuseppe Sannino, Óscar García Junyent, Billy McKinlay and Slaviša Jokanović. Since Holloway’s departure at Palace they have seen Keith Millen take on the caretaker role three times with Tony Pulis, Neil Warnock and latterly Alan Pardew filling the Managers position on a more permanent basis. Both clubs could do with a period of sustained stability under their present managers one feels.
Watford remain unchanged from last week’s 2-1 victory away to Newcastle United. Yannick Bolasie starts for Palace having signed a new contract with the club during the week to ward off any potential suitors for the young forward during the next couple of transfer windows. Wayne Hennessey comes in to start in goal for the away side.
Straight from the kick off Bolasie goes on the attack and you get the feeling it could be a long afternoon for Watford’s defence if he’s in this sort of mood. He’s definitely one of those players that you don’t know what to expect from him when he’s on the ball and you suspect that half the time that the player himself isn’t ever entirely sure either. The move comes to nothing though but the early warning signs are there that he’s up for the game at least.
Twelve minutes in and Allan Nyom is punished for a foul on Bakary Sako. From the resulting Yohan Cabaye free kick Brede Hangeland heads the ball from four yards out but it’s straight at Heurelho Gomes who in fairness won’t have known an awful lot about that save as the ball came straight at him. Anywhere else and Palace would have been celebrating an early lead. That’s a real let off for the Hornets there.
Well I said this wasn’t a glamour game on paper and apart from Hangeland’s header there wasn’t an awful lot to write home about in the first half. I’m still clinging to the fact that a Palace away game should result in some sort of win for one of the two teams so let’s see if either can draw first blood in the second half.
Two minutes in and Palace’s Joe Ledley fouls Almen Abdi. From the resulting free kick José Jurado bends the ball around the Eagles wall and smacks the bar. Better from the Hornets. They may be the smaller of the two creatures but they’re flying higher in the second half so far and I’m still trotting out the clichés. Nine minutes in and Abdi is causing Pardew’s men all sorts of problems already this half as he shoots from 25 yards but Hennessey gets down well to that one to keep the scores level at 0-0.
On the hour mark Palace have a great chance when Gayle is played through by Sako with a wonderful probing ball into the box but the ex-Peterborough striker sees his shot hit the bar. Twenty minutes to go and substitute Wilfred Zaha is brought down by Nyom right on the edge of his own 18 yard area but his foot was just inside and referee Anthony Taylor points to the spot. He’s got that decision right but what a stupid challenge from the Cameroonian defender, he’s let his team mates down there I feel. Seems that despite Gayle scoring twice from the penalty spot in midweek the Frenchman Cabaye isn’t as confident about his kicking abilities and nominates himself to strike this. He makes a good decision as well as he sweeps it home to the left and whilst Gomes guessed the right way he didn’t get anywhere near that. That’s the first goal Watford have conceded at home in the league all season. You’ve got to say that Taylor was in an excellent position to spot the foul just inside the box there. Given how much I slate referee’s it’s only ever fair to highlight when they’ve made good calls in games and this was definitely one of those times even if the Watford fans don’t agree.
Twelve minutes to go and you see why Cabaye may have chosen to step up and take that penalty when Gayle puts his next chance just past the post. It really hasn’t been his day today so far. Six minutes to go and it’s Gayle again who just misses. Perhaps he used all his luck up for the week with the three against Charlton Athletic. In the end however it didn’t matter as Pardew’s men defeat Watford for their first loss at home since their promotion to the Premier League. Palace record their first clean sheet in all competitions and keep up their away record of having only ever won or lost under Alan Pardew on the road.
I mentioned Brentford earlier in jest. Just on a side issue as I type these notes up 24 hours later and the Bee’s have already parted company with Marinus Dijkhuizen who took over from Mark Warburton who guided the club into the Championship Play Offs last season. Meanwhile Warburton sees his Glasgow Rangers side win their eighth consecutive game to lead the Scottish Championship by 9 points with a goal difference of plus 24. Not hard to see that Brentford owner Matthew Benham has shot himself in the foot there getting rid of the ex-City trader. Still you can imagine he will get zero sympathy for changing his approach to how the club is run.
Monday 28th September
West Bromwich Albion vs. Everton
Recent history between the two clubs suggests this contest will be a tight fought one after the last four meetings ended in a draw. The Baggies have recorded just a solitary win in the last four at the Hawthorns against Everton drawing 1 and losing 2. Couple this with the fact that they are also yet to win at home this season in their first three games and it hardly looks set to be a classic. Only Newcastle have scored fewer goals this season than the Baggies so far.
Everton will be looking to get past a Baggies defence which have kept 14 clean sheets since Pulis took charge back in January, more than any other side in the top flight during the same period. If they keep Everton at bay today it will be their fourth consecutive clean sheet in the league though they did concede three away to Norwich City in the league cup during the week as they crashed out of the competition.
Everton find themselves unbeaten away from home in league and cup this season having played five games away from Goodison so far. Their defence has proved as mean as the home sides in recent games to boot and have kept three successive shut outs in their last three away games in the league. However things aren’t happening as they would like at the other end of the pitch having not scored in three out of their last four games. They could do with a decent result here tonight though as their next three league games come against Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal.
What can you say about the first half of this game. To be honest I was almost in a near coma like state it was that dull. On 28 minutes Ross Barkley stuck in his audition tape for miss of the season having been played in with a superb ball right into the heart of the Baggies penalty area but he fails to even connect as he swung his left peg at the ball. It was humorous for those not affiliated to the blue half of Merseyside if nothing else.
Five minutes before half time and the comedy errors continued but this time at the back for the visitors as they twice lost the ball in their own half and James Morrison rolled the ball perfectly into the penalty area for Sadio Berahino to shoot and his shot took a slight deflection off goalkeeper Tim Howards foot as it bounced up into the net to give the Baggies the lead and the England international his second goal in as many games. If he carries on scoring at this rate you suspect that even the most hardened of Baggies fans will forgive his behaviour on transfer deadline day. One thing is for sure the second half surely cannot be any worse than the first.
Sensing the smell of blood West Brom go close again two minutes into the second half as another decent ball to the edge of the box from Morrison finds James McLean but the Irishman fails to connect properly with his shot and it just flies into the crowd. Had that been on target into the top left hand corner I don’t think Howard would have gotten anywhere near it in fairness. It’s a fine line between success and failure some days.
It appears we have a game on our hands finally as seven minutes in the ball finds its way to Darren Fletcher who is unmarked at the far post but his header is erm, what’s the best way of putting this? Quite frankly crap but unlike Barkley in the first half at least he managed to get something on it. It’s no surprise to see him take his anger out on the grass there before getting back to his feet. However the Baggies did somehow manage to get a corner from it. Luckily this time it falls to Craig Dawson and he makes no mistake as the Baggies double their lead from the defenders header. The last time the Baggies scored twice at home they eventually lost to Chelsea 3-2.
Everton didn’t waste any time at all getting back into this game as three minutes later as Gerard Deulofeu finds himself in acres of space and too much time on his hands. He had time to pour himself a cup of tea have a nice bite of cake and still send in a great ball into the area which was plum for the Belgian Romelu Lukaku to power home a header into the back of the net. Ten minutes of the second half has already provided far more entertainment than all of the first half combined. Game on.
Twenty minutes to go and James McCarthy appears to have forgotten to tie his boot laces as he goes over in the box. He wasn’t fooling anyone there let alone referee Robert Madley who rightly books the Evertonian for simulation. I do think that for offenses like that football should take the lead from rugby and sin bin players for a period of time in a bid to eradicate it from the game.
Sixteen minutes remain as Everton’s goal scorer turns provider for Arouna Koné as his cleverly disguised pass is met in the on the edge of the 18 yard box and the Ivorian plays himself into position before knocking the ball into the net from close range to bring the scores level. He looked offside to me looking at the replays. The Baggies will feel more than a little hard done by there you feel.
Seven minutes left on the clock and it’s Deulofeu who finds Lukaku in the box again and despite his first touch being as heavy as a spanner he chases down the ball as it goes back towards the far post from where he was originally stood and he bundles it home to give his side the lead for the first time tonight. It wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination but they all count at the end of the day. Replays suggest that he handled the ball in the build up to that goal as well. Not that I think he did it deliberately but it lead to the chance on goal. The Baggies have been fitted up like a kipper here and this is almost as bad as the Tottenham vs. Manchester City game on Saturday in terms of the decisions the officials have gotten wrong for the goals which stood.
The Baggies bring Rickie Lambert on, a self-confessed Liverpool fan and he misses a glorious chance with three minutes remaining to draw the two side’s level. You don’t have to be a very good lip reader to know that he knows he should have done better with that effort. In the end West Brom come away with nothing in a game they should have gone onto get at least a point from if not all three. With every round of games that passes you have to wonder why in the richest league in the world we have to suffer the incorrect decisions of referees and their assistants time and time again, week in, week out when television replays could be used as they are in a huge number of other sports now to help the officials.
Two nil & we f**ked it up 