The highlight games for this weekend’s action are MANCHESTER UNITED versus EVERTON and WEST HAM versus BRENTFORD. Our feature columnist, John Newsome previews these as well as all game-week 7 matches with his unique and insightful commentary. You can view all previous analysis from John’s regular column here: English Premier League Predictions For Saturday.
Please note all prices quoted below were correct at the time of publication
Game Week-7
Saturday 2nd
MANCHESTER UNITED v EVERTON
BT Sport 12.30 in England.
Over the years, (52 of them!) this EveryTip contributor has often been called boring, plus a few other names, so to continue that trend, John Newsome is going to be boring about Manchester United, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Fred.
Once again, Ole chose the Brazilian, in his starting eleven, against Aston Villa, at Old Trafford, on Saturday and once again, Ole’s Trollies struggled and ended up losing by a 1-0 scoreline. What compounded the defeat, was Bruno Fernandes, missing a last-minute penalty.
The usually composed Portuguese man, who occasionally does the hop, skip and a jump palaver, coolly side-footing the ball in the corner, decided to blast the ball, which went so high, it hit a Boeing 747, taking off from Manchester Airport, bound for Brazil.
The Red, Grey or Pale Blue Devil’s are hoping that Ole puts Fred on the next one. As mentioned on numerous occasions, this is not a personal attack on the Boy from Brazil, it’s just based on years and years of being boring, watching football and also having eyes.
A couple of weeks back, in the last Premier League fixture at Old Trafford, Ole wasn’t sure whether he could choose the enigmatic, erratic Fred, against Newcastle, as the Brazil National team wanted an embargo put on those who wouldn’t join up in the International Break.
As the team is probably picked on a Friday, with Ole choosing his starting eleven before the embargo was lifted, once OGS and the rest of the Premier League, found out that the Brazilians could play, it was too late to change the lineup.
Ole started Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba in the midfield instead of Fred and Scott McTominay, leaving Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo, to all be more fluid, which resulted not only in a victory but a very entertaining game.
After that victory against the Magpies, Manchester United suffered a defeat away in Switzerland in the Champions League when Fred was recalled.
Last week, against West Ham, both Fred and Scott were back. Most will now be shouting, ‘Yes and United beat the Hammers’
Whilst factually correct, it’s forgotten that it was an awful game to watch, with no fluidity and West Ham missed a last-minute penalty that would have earned a draw.
Manchester United, then took on West Ham again, in the Carabao Cup and lost. Now, Ole’s Trollies, have been beaten at Old Trafford, in front of 73,000 of the loyal faithful.
The fixture against Villa kicked-off at 12.30, the reason, as it was assumed by John Newsome, was due to United’s midweek Champions League fixture, however, a good friend of John’s informed the lad that the early kick-off was because the Pop band, The Courteeners, were playing at the other Old Trafford, down the road from the Theatre of Dreams.
Cheers, Ian.
It’s fair to say, that United have had a bad, or at worse, an indifferent week. If United lose against Villarreal on Wednesday, get ready!
Ole has Michael Carrick, Kieran McKenna and Mick Phelan beside him, so the question needs to be asked, is Ole overruling these three, or do these three, also think that the midfield answer is Fred and Scott? If a Numpty from Barnsley can see it, why on earth, can’t any of the four main coaches at Old Trafford see it.
Once again, to reiterate, this is not a personal attack on Fred, the lad seems a likeable guy, probably a good egg in the dressing room and maybe, the designated driver on nights out (drink responsibly!) However, it was stated many times, throughout last season, in this column, that United won’t win anything with Fred.
A lot scoffed at that when Ole’s Wheels reached the Semi-Final of the Carabao Cup, the Quarter-Final of the FA Cup and the Final of the Europa League. Unfortunately, those that did scoff didn’t see United win anything and that will continue this term if Mr Gunnar Solskjaer continues to pick Fred.
The defeat drops Ole’s Loose Wheels down to 4th in the table, with the same 13-points as today’s opponents. As mentioned, Ole’s Trollies face last seasons Europa League Final opponents, Villarreal in midweek before this visit from Rafa’s Toffees.
Despite not having the services of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton managed a victory against Norwich on Saturday by a 2-0 scoreline. As predicted in this EveryTip column last week.
The Toffees are a different team without Richarlison and sometimes struggle as was the case, the week before against Aston Villa but Norwich are the worse team in the Premier League and that’s not an opinion, it’s a fact, based on the Canaries having zero points from 6-fixtures so far.
Andros Townsend converted a 1st-half penalty with Abdoulaye Doucoure adding a 2nd, after the break, to give Rafa Benitez’s Blues the convincing home victory. The win takes Everton up to 5th, with the same 13-points as today’s hosts. Toffee Rafa’s and this morning’s papers.
In last season’s tie at Old Trafford, this fixture took place in February and finished in a Desmond Plus One (sorry!), with Everton gaining a great point from a draw by a 3-3 scoreline.
Goals from Edinson Cavanni and Bruno Fernandes gave United a 2-0 lead at half-time, with Abdoulaye Doucoure and James Rodriguez replying for the Toffees within 7-minutes of the restart.
Scott McTominay scored to once again give Ole’s Wheels the lead until the Sheffield Superstar 2, Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised with a very late goal in the 95th-minute to give both a share of the points.
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Saturday 2nd
BURNLEY v NORWICH
15.00 in England.
Burnley played in a very entertaining game against Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, eventually gaining a point from a draw by a Desmond 2-2 scoreline.
Sean’s Clarets took the lead when the Sheffield Superstar, Jamie Vardy glanced in a superb header to put the away side in front.
Most will now be scratching their heads thinking, ‘When did Jamie Vardy sign for Burnley?’ Fortunately for the Clarets, Jimmy V scored an own goal.
The lad then atoned for the error and scored at the right end before Maxwell Cornet, who was as cool as ice cream, (come on, that deserves a round of applause!) scored Burnley’s 2nd to give the away team a lead at half-time. The original Sheffield Superstar, scored his 3rd of the game, a very unique hat-trick if one can call it that and one will.
With no further goals, both teams earned a well-deserved point, which gives Burnley 2, for the season so far, however, leaves them 19th in the table, or if the glass is half empty, 2nd-bottom. Probably the best team to play, at Turf Moor, when residing in 19th out of 20, is the side sitting in 20th.
Daniel Farke Life’s Norwich, who remain at the foot of the table, with the same points given to the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest, head the long-distance East, to take on Burnley, following the 6th-defeat in succession.
The Canaries and the faithful were over that part of the country on Saturday, with the latest defeat coming against Everton at Goodison Park, by a 2-0 scoreline. Maybe the boys and girls will stay up there for the week, as a sort of stay-cation which is all the rage now following the horrendous Coronavirus pandemic.
Instead of paying a couple of hundred quid to catch a plane over to Spain, watch Only Fools and Horses on a portable telly, loosely fixed to the outside of a bar, get a roast dinner in the Spanish sun, the lads and lasses are staying in Great Britain, paying £2,000 for a caravan in Skegness.
The week usually resembles an episode of Tenko (Google it youths!). There’s a reason those white things with wings were so popular.
There may just come a point when the hierarchy at Carrow Rd, decide that the fortunes of Norwich need to change and the excitable Daniel Farke, could see his tenure at Norwich come to an end.
That said, if Delia Smith and the rest are happy going from the Championship to the Premier League and back again every other year, then Dan the Man may just stay put. Let’s Be Having You!
James from Swinton, nowhere near Carrow Rd, has already had his stay-cation with the lovely Jade. Jim pitched a tent at the side of a street in Sheffield for a week and was inundated with free soup.
The boys 3-footballing loves (yes,3!) had mixed fortunes over the weekend. The little Blunts 1st-love, Barnsley, lost away at Blackpool by a 1-0 score. Marcus Schopp needs to improve, quickly, otherwise, the Austrian will be joining Nuno down the Job Centre.
Jimbo’s new team, Norwich also lost, however, Toyota’s finest mechanic witnessed his beloved Sheffield United get a victory against Derby via a last-minute penalty scored by the Blades legend that is Billy Sharp. Well, a legend when not playing for Leeds United.
Jimbo got a £10 voucher for Curry’s the other day but was confused after ringing the local Tandoori Hut and being informed he couldn’t use the discount.
A quick word on Derby County, the Midlands club, with Wayne Rooney as their manager, have just gone into administration and had 12-points deducted, leaving the Rams, rock bottom of the Championship with minus-2 points, even the UK singers at the Eurovision are laughing at that.
Whilst it’s bad for the none-playing staff at the club who could possibly lose their jobs, the players and Mr Rooney still get paid.
Derby County have gambled Millions in the hope of returning to the Promised Land but have failed miserably and are now in financial trouble. Once a team goes into administration, there is an automatic punishment of a 12-point reduction that is part of the EFL rules.
Derby could also see a further 9-points deducted following an ongoing dispute regarding financial irregularities.
One of the stipulations when running a football club is that no one should spend more than the income, for example, if a club receives £10 Million from the sale of season tickets, they can’t spend more than £10 Million on players wages.
Derby County have paid much more than that in the last few years since dropping out of the Premier League in 2008.
Wayne Rooney was even brought to Derby under suspicious circumstances, with the betting company 32Red, supposedly paying or part-paying Wayne’s enormous salary.
Everyone denied this but a question can be asked, what number did Mr Rooney have on the back of his shirt? Does John Newsome really need to answer that? Of course, it was 32!
Whilst it is sad that some staff will lose their jobs, the players and Wayne Rooney aren’t bothered, they get their dollar, it’s part of the signing on, agreement.
Barnsley FC are struggling at the moment on the pitch, however, off it are financially secure, having the same owners who came up with the MoneyBall strategy that became famous in Major League Baseball.
A word John Newsome has never used before but could become part of the weekly column, is Sabermetric. Sounds like a tiger with a calculator.
Brad Pitt famously played the part of Billy Beane, in MoneyBall, the owner of the baseball team, Oakland Athletics, who developed a strategy, using Sabermetric, of signing players based on age and statistics that produced a winning team, from a low buying price and a huge potential sell-on fee.
Football is a life journey that starts out as a youngster aged 6 or whatever, who goes to the local club with his mum or dad, or both and becomes hypnotised immediately, with the spell never-ending, or being broken, throughout the term of the youths life.
Whether Derby, Barnsley or Manchester United, the youngsters will still keep being introduced and will still become hypnotised for the rest of their lives, not caring whether it’s the Premier League or North East Counties, most not bothering as to how much the star striker gets paid a week.
The faithful and the owners of clubs up and down the country and surrounding areas, will come and go, be born then shuffle off this mortal coil but football will continue, will survive, so always believe in you’re goal!
If anyone wants to know just how much Sport affects the lives of individuals and is so important to everyone, whatever the sport, whether football, cricket, rugby, horse racing, tennis, boxing or golf, just watch Rory McIlroys emotional post-match interview after his singles match in the Ryder Cup.
Owners of football clubs should run their clubs responsibly, the faithful will always return. It means so much to so many. It was just over 2-years ago in September 2019 that Norwich last visited Turf Moor for a Premier League fixture.
In a time before anyone had heard about the horrendous Coronavirus or had ever used the word Furlough, 2, Chris Wood goals early in the 1st-half, gave Burnley the victory by a 2-0 scoreline.
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Saturday 2nd
CHELSEA v SOUTHAMPTON
15.00 in England.
Chelsea were convincingly beaten by Man City on Saturday, even though the 1-0 away-day scoreline, appears to see it as a closer contest. In the Champions League Final between the two, Thomas Tuchel had the upper hand over Pep Guardiola getting his tactics spot on.
The Blues had beaten City in the previous 3-meetings, one in the FA Cup Semi-Final, one in the Premier League and then the Champions League Final, however, on this occasion, Thomas set up his Engines, all wrong.
For some reason, Chelsea lined up with Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho and N’Golo Kante, 3-defensive minded Midfielders.
Along with those 3-sitting Midfielders, Thomas had 5-Defenders, plus the goalkeeper, meaning Timo Werner and Romelu Lukaku were isolated up top and hardly got a touch.
Man City were simply too good, with constant pressure from pressing the Defenders who had to play out from the back because of the way, Mr Tuchel had set up his team.
City’s backline had Timo and Romelu in their pockets and after a goalless 1st-half, the away team scored after the break and there was simply no way back for Thomas’s Blue Engines, with Pep’s Boys comfortably seeing out the game.
Probably the solace Mr T and the rest of the Chelsea faithful can take from the defeat is that only Man City, out of the Top Four, won, with Liverpool drawing and Manchester United losing.
Jurgen’s Reds sit at the summit of the table, with 14-points, 1 more than all of Man City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and Brighton who all have 13 from the 6-fixtures so far.
Liverpool are now the only team that remain unbeaten from the opening set of fixtures so far. Chelsea head to Italy to take on Juventus in the Champions League before this game against Southampton.
Juve’s last two Serie A fixtures have ended in a 3-2 scoreline in favour of the Old Lady, so there should be goals on offer for the Blues. Southampton also suffered a defeat by a 1-0 scoreline, at home, against Wolves on Saturday.
The first thing to mention regarding the loss is Ralph Hasenhuttl’s attire wasn’t the Peaky Blunders set up, with Wreck-It back to wearing the team training kit.
Someone must have had a word about the clobber, which Ralph had been wearing of late, however, after the defeat, the clothes may just be out on show at Stamford Bridge.
Wolves scored midway through the 2nd-half to earn the away team the victory and leave the Saints, in 16th-place, with 4-points from the 6-fixtures completed, those coming from 4-draws, 2 of those being goalless ones. This suggests that Southampton are struggling to score and the loss of Danny Ings is a major factor.
At Stamford Bridge last term, Chelsea were still named Frank Lampard’s Chelsea, with the fixture taking place almost 12-months ago in mid-October 2020. That game finished in a Desmond Plus One (again, Sorry!).
The Saints, Danny Ings, cancelling out an early Timo Werner double, to take the Blues in at the break with a 2-1 advantage.
In the 2nd-half, Che Adams scored to pull the Southampton level, however, the parity didn’t last long with Kai Havertz scoring immediately after Che’s goal to put Chelsea back in front.
With time running out, it appeared that Frank would get the win over Ralph until Jannik Vestergaard scored in the 92nd-minute to give both teams a share of the points from a draw by a 3-3 scoreline.
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Saturday 2nd
LEEDS UNITED v WATFORD
15.00 in England.
Leeds United drop into the bottom 3 of the Premier League table, following Saturday’s defeat against West Ham at Elland Rd, in front of 34,500 of the fanatical Marching On Together crew. Marcelo’s Whites scored 1st, with Raphinha giving the home side a half-time lead.
Unfortunately, like last season’s fixture against the Hammers, after taking the lead, Leeds then conceded twice to ultimately lose the game by a 2-1 score.
The faithful shouldn’t worry too much as the Whites will come good having had a tough start to this campaign with losses against Liverpool and Manchester United and a draw against Everton, Newcastle and Burnley.
Leeds sit in 18th-place, with 3-points from the 3-draws. This is the last game before the International Break which, no doubt, will see the influential Kalvin Phillips start in at least 1 of the 2-England fixtures, if not both, against Andorra and Hungary.
The lad is definitely fit enough to do that but it could have consequences for his main employers after the break. Marching On Together!
The Hornets earned a point from a draw by a 1-1 scoreline on Saturday, at Vicarage Rd, against Newcastle. The away side took the lead in the 1st-half before the excellent Ismaila Sarr equalised for Watford to earn the point. Xisco’s men sit 12th in the table with 7-points from the opening 6-fixtures of their return to the Promised Land.
Considering the Hornets have the same 7-points as Leicester, it shows that Watford are putting in the graft to do as much as possible to stay away from the relegation zone.
Leeds United replaced Watford for the start of the 2020/21 season, so these two haven’t met for several years, the last time being in February 2015, at Elland Rd, when both teams were in the Championship.
The Hornets under the guidance of Slavisa Jokanivic got the away-day victory against the Whites, who had Neil Redfearn at the helm.
Billy Sharp and Rudolph Austin did give Leeds an early lead with Troy Deeney replying for Watford just before the break. Matej Vydra then scored twice to give the Hornets the victory by a narrow 3-2 scoreline.
A bit of housekeeping regarding the game, the Watford boss on the day Slavisa Jokanovic, is now the boss of Sheffield United, where the Leeds opening goalscorer, Billy Sharp plies his trade.
Billy is a Blades legend, apparently, obviously not whilst playing for the Yorkshire rivals from up the M1.
Liam Cooper is still at the heart of the Whites defence, with his opposite number, Craig Cathcart in the Hornets backline.
A young player who started in midfield for Leeds United on the day was Alex Mowatt, who had just turned 20 at the time, in the same Whites Youth Team as Kalvin Phillips and was seen as a potential superstar, ahead of KP in the pecking order. Unfortunately for Alex, the lads’ initial career didn’t take off and was sold to Barnsley FC in 2016.
Still learning his trade, Alex struggled to make the grade at Oakwell and was sent out on loan to the League 1 club Oxford, for the 2017/18 campaign.
Young Alex, now aged 23, came back to Barnsley for the start of the 2018/19 season, which had seen the Reds drop into League 1, from the Championship.
At first, the Oakwell faithful, including this EveryTip contributor, had reservations about Mr Mowatt but those reservations were quickly dispelled after the opening few games of the campaign, which saw Alex excel and grow into a great Midfielder for the Super Reds.
Under Daniel Stendel, Barnsley, with Alex Mowatt playing all 46-league games, gained promotion back to the Championship.
Alex, now the Barnsley Captain, then played 44 of the 46-league games in the 2019/20 Championship, which saw the Oakwell outfit narrowly escape relegation on the final day of the season, following a victory against Brentford.
In last season’s brilliant campaign under Valerien Ismail, where Barnsley reached the Play-Off Semi-Final, losing against Swansea over 2-legs, Alex played all 46-fixtures and was superb throughout, scoring some vital goals that took the Reds up the league.
Unfortunately for everyone connected with Barnsley FC, Valerien left the club and moved South to take over the reins of West Brom.
The Double Whammy for the Yorkshire outfit was Mr Ismail, seeing the quality at first hand, took Alex Mowatt with him, which has left a gaping hole in the heart of the Barnsley starting eleven.
Although the loss of Val and Alex, upsets a few of the Reds faithful, it is a testament to the strength of young Alex, who suffered a setback early in his career but proved that hard work and dedication to the cause, can be rewarded.
The Baggies are up near the top of the Championship and hoping for a quick return to the Promised Land, which would see, Mr Mowatt, rightly as a Premium League player.
John Newsome wishes the Doncaster boy well for the future and thanks the lad for his efforts whilst wearing the Reds Shirt. All the best, Alex!
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Saturday 2nd
WOLVES v NEWCASTLE
15.00 in England.
Wolves earned a great away-day victory on Saturday, against Southampton at St Mary’s, with an emotional solitary winning goal scored by Raul Jimenez. After a goalless 1st-half, Raul collected the ball from a brilliant long kick by the Wolves ‘keeper Jose Sa.
After great solo work, Mr Jimenez notched his 1st-goal in nearly a year, a year that the Gold and Black Striker had to overcome a horrendous head injury, following a fractured skull (yes!) in an incident against Arsenal last October. It’s 335-days to be exact since the Mexican’s last goal.
Wearing a tailor-made protective head-band, that was discarded last week, the lad scored to give the travelling faithful a great trip home. It was suggested the headgear should be taken off permanently as it appeared to be affecting Raul but it’s understood that it has to be worn, for insurance purposes.
The goal should reignite the Gold and Blacks who are a better team with a fully fit Raul Jimenez, who before the injury was being considered by the so-called top clubs.
Wolves sit 14th, with 6-points, from 6-fixtures so far. Bruno celebrated with a nice pint of Lager. Newcastle sit in 17th-place, just above the drop-zone, with 3-points following Saturday’s draw against Watford by a 1-1 score.
Sean Longstaff scored a great goal in the 1st-half at Vicarage Rd but the bad dog walker was on show as the Magpies couldn’t hold on to the lead and conceded an equaliser after the break.
It’s been quiet of late at St James Park, which will suit Steve Bruce to enable him to concentrate solely on the football to ensure the Magpies slowly move away from the relegation places.
This fixture at Molineux last term was almost 12-months ago, in mid-October with Jacob Murphy scoring a very late equaliser in the 89th-minute to cancel out an earlier Raul Jimenez opener for the Wolves. Both teams going home with a point apiece, from a 1-1 scoreline.
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**********NEW FEATURE************
Premier League Team of the Week
GOALKEEPER- Aaron Ramsdale – Arsenal
RIGHT BACK- Kyle Walker – Man City
CENTRE BACK- Ethan Pinnock – Brentford
CENTRE BACK- Ruben Diaz – Man City
LEFT BACK- Kieran Tierney – Arsenal
MIDFIELDER- John McGinn – Aston Villa
MIDFIELDER- Ismaila Sarr – Watford
MIDFIELDER- Bernardo Silva – Man City
FORWARD- Jamie Vardy – Leicester
FORWARD- Phil Foden – Man City
FORWARD- Ivan Toney – Brentford
STAR MAN- Bernardo Silva – Man City
Saturday 2nd
BRIGHTON v ARSENAL
Sky Sports 17.30 in England.
The Seagulls had the opportunity to go to the top of the Premier League table on Monday Night Football. All was going to plan with the game against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, heading for a goalless 1st-half, until Leandro Trossard barged into Conor Gallagher, giving the referee no option other than to award a penalty to the Eagles.
Graham Potter’s men left it late, very late to snatch a point from a draw by a 1-1 scoreline. Neal Maupay with the equaliser in the 95th-minute.
The point gained, leaves Brighton in 6th place, with the same 13-points as Everton, Manchester United, Chelsea and Man City.
Despite the possibility of going to the summit for the first time in their Premier League existence, it would have been a travesty as Harry’s Seagulls are nowhere near the standard of Liverpool or Man City.
That’s not to take anything away from Brighton and the start to the season is exceptional for the Seagulls faithful who were out looking for chips outside Selhurst Park on their way back to the South. However, throughout the season, the team will find its level in the Premier League, which will be mid-table at best.
Respect to the Gunners, despite everything in life, it’s always nice to see kindness, Arsenal’s fiercest rivals over the years are Tottenham, yet before the North London Derby, the Emirates paid tribute to the Spurs legend that is Jimmy Greaves. Despite footballing tribalism, there is always room for class and Arsenal always show that.
Arsenal then showed class on the Emirates pitch, putting in a superb shift and inflicting a defeat on the close rivals from down the road by a 3-1 scoreline.
Bukayo Saka had a great game, setting up Emile Smith-Rowe to score the opening goal, keeping the Spurs Defenders busy for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal and then scoring the 3rd Arsenal goal himself, all before half-time.
Tottenham did pull a goal back in the 2nd-half but Spurs were no match for a much-improved set of Gunner’s, which puts Pep 2s men up to 10th in the table, with 9-points, following 3-successive victories after 3-opening defeats.
What will cheer the Gooners up too, is their idols now sit a place higher than Tottenham who have the same 9-points, that were achieved in the reverse of the way which Arsenal gained theirs. Three opening victories followed by 3-straight defeats.
It was definitely a statement from Mikel Arteta with the best performance in an age, by the Gunners, who for once, don’t have the midweek European fixtures to contend with, which may prove to be pivotal as the season progresses.
Last season’s affair between the two at the Amex, took place between Christmas and New Year, on the 29th of December 2020.
Alexandre Lacazette was introduced in the 66th-minute and immediately made an impact, scoring with his 1st-touch to give Arsenal the away-day victory by a narrow 1-0 score.
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Sunday 3rd
TOTTENHAM v ASTON VILLA
14.00 in England.
After 3-straight wins from the opening set of fixtures, that saw Nuno Espírito Santo, earn the Manager of the Month for August, Tottenham have now lost the last 3-games, the latest being a terrible defeat against Arsenal by a 3-1 scoreline.
Following a horrendous 1st-half performance, that saw Spurs concede 3-times, Nuno changed things around at the break that did see Tottenham win the 2nd-half after Son Heung-Min, pulled a goal back.
However, the damage had already been done, leaving Nuno’s men in 11th-place, with 9-points, the same 9 as Arsenal and Brentford but drop below both of the London rivals due to an inferior goal difference.
In last week’s column, Harry Kane’s performance in recent weeks was highlighted and that didn’t change against Arsenal.
The on-off Transfer saga in the Summer, between Tottenham and Man City, that saw Harry stay at the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium could be harming Captain HK and Spurs.
It was mooted in this column a couple of weeks back, that the deal between the two clubs isn’t dead in the water and could be resurrected in January. However, if Harry doesn’t improve, the £128 Million will have dropped dramatically.
HK is a great player, no doubt about that so there is something wrong at Tottenham and it may just be Nuno that is at fault. There are stats for everything in football even a stat for a stat but 4 of the main statistics of the game are,
1-Shots
2-Chances from open play
3-Shots faced
4-Running Distance Covered.
Tottenham are ranked 20th of the 20, in 1, 2 and 4 and 19th out of the 20, in 3.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs wouldn’t be 20th in those stats and for that matter, neither would Jose Mourinho’s set of Lilywhites.
Spurs have scored 4-goals in 540-minutes of Premier League football, therein lies the problem, with Harry still to find the back of the net.
Tottenham entertain Mura (who?) from the Slovenian Top Division, in the Europa Conference League (no, still no idea what its purpose is?) Mura are currently 5th in the Slovenian Promised Land.
Aston Villa got possibly the result of Game Week-6, going to Old Trafford and getting the victory by a 1-0 score. Kortney Hawes with the solitary winning goal late on in proceedings.
The goal in the 88th-minute wasn’t the end of the drama for young Kortney, who then had a penalty awarded against him for having an arm that couldn’t disappear.
The penalty conceded in the 92nd-minute looked for all-purpose that Villa would come away from Old Trafford with just a point, however, Bruno Fernandes missed the spot-kick, with his shot blasted over the bar and hitting a plane.
The brilliant victory gives Aston Villa 10-points from the 6-games so far and leaves Dean Smith’s Claret and Blues in 8th-place in the Premier League table. It was announced last Sunday, the 19th of September that a great footballing legend had passed away.
Jimmy Greaves deserves a tremendous amount of credit for his career spanning over 20-years with several clubs.
Mr Greaves was admired by all who loved football and transcends club allegiances, with exceptional spells playing for Chelsea, Tottenham and West Ham, as well as a stint in Serie A, playing at the San Siro for the mighty AC Milan.
The spell in Italy was short-lived, with Jimmy quickly returning to London and joining Tottenham.
This being a masterstroke by the legend as instead of going directly across the Capital from Stamford Bridge to White Hart Lane, decided to quell the obvious animosity that would come from the supporters of the two great rivals.
It was at Spurs where Jimmy established himself as a truly exceptional goal scorer, getting 220-League Goals to add to the 124, scored at Stamford Bridge.
Whilst at Tottenham, between 1961 and 1970, Jimmy Greaves was part of the England World Cup Squad that won the Jules Rimet Trophy in July of 1966.
Stories and folklore, surround Mr Greaves participation in the Finals, which culminated in starting in the initial Group Games.
Unfortunately, Jimmy was then injured for the Quarter-Final against Argentina and subsequently missed out on the Semi-Final and ultimately, the Final.
Jimmy Greaves replacement was a certain Geoff Hirst, who kept his place, in the Knockout Stage, for the injured Mr Greaves, leading to Sir Geoff scoring 3-goals in the Final against West Germany, still, the only player ever to score a hat-trick in the Final of a World Cup.
What was different back in 1966, to that of today is, there weren’t any Substitutes, the youngsters may find that hard to believe, with the current European Competitions, now offering up 5-changes per team, per game.
In 1966, FIFA didn’t allow substitutions, with a substitute not being introduced until the World Cup Tournament
of 1970 in Mexico.
It’s more than likely, that if substitutes were allowed, Jimmy Greaves would have seen game-time in the Final, however, there were only eleven that played and only those men that received a World Cup Winners Medal, meaning that Jimmy and the other 10, of the 22-man squad, weren’t initially acknowledged as a World Cup Winner.
It was only as recent as 2009, that the remaining eleven members of the England World Cup Squad of 1966, were awarded a Winners Medal and rightly so. Below is a list of the Top Ten All-Time Leading England Goal Scorers.
At number 4, is Jimmy Greaves, scoring 44-goals for England in just 57-appearances.
Look at the list, the players on it, the goals scored and the Caps that the others got and that indicates the phenomenal goal scorer that Mr Greaves was.
1-Wayne Rooney-120 England Caps-53-Goals
2-Sir Bobby Charlton-106 England Caps-49-Goals
3-Gary Lineker-80 England Caps-48-Goals
4-Jimmy Greaves-57 England Caps-44-Goals
5-Harry Kane-64 England Caps-41-Goals
6-Michael Owen-89 England Caps-40-Goals
7-Nat Lofthouse-33 England Caps-30-Goals
8-Alan Shearer-63 England Caps-30-Goals
9-Tom Finney-76 England Caps-30-Goals
10-Frank Lampard-106 England Caps-29-Goals
After retiring from football, Jimmy Greaves went into the TV world as a pundit and commentator. Currently, on a Saturday morning, throughout the football season, Sky show and have shown an excellent light-entertainment programme called Soccer AM.
The programme has been running for over 25-years. The older listeners, of a certain era, such as John Newsome, will remember a great Saturday Morning light-entertainment programme on ITV, called Saint and Greavsie.
Programmes like Soccer AM are built from the foundations of Saint and Greavsie, with even the great Peter Kay and Paddy McGuinness, offering up the catchphrase, ‘Easy Peasy, Saint and Greavsie’
The Saint part of the show was the Liverpool legend that is Ian St John. Ian, unfortunately, passed away in March of this year too, the heroes of Saturday morning TV for a generation, Saint and Greavsie, both passing away in 2021.
Whilst very sad, it is fitting and feels like Jimmy Greaves wanted to reform the famous partnership in heaven, offering up the wit and general foresight to the others that have sadly lost their lives over the past few years. When Mr St John died, back in March, John Newsome recounted an old story that is worth revisiting and no apologies are made for doing so.
‘As a football fan of a certain age, growing up in the 1970s, it was a privilege to watch several players that were classed as ‘Mavericks’, Stan Bowles, Alan Hudson, Tony Currie, George Best and a Yorkshire legend, that is Frank Worthington.
Frank was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire back in November 1948 and started his maverick footballing career a couple of miles down the M62 in Huddersfield.
As well as the Terriers, Big Frank played for Leicester, Bolton and Birmingham, plus a sabbatical in the USA in the old North American Soccer League, for Philadelphia Fury and Tampa Bay Rowdies.
The Major League Soccer or MLS where David Beckham has just set up his Inter Miami team has seen several players such as Robbie Keane, Bradley Wright-Phillips, Liam Ridgewell, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney and of course Becks himself, cross the pond to play and is quite a well known set up now.
Before the MLS, there was the North American Soccer League, NASL, set up in the late 1960s and was a forerunner to the league that is in its current format.
Several old-timers ended their careers playing for clubs such as the New York Cosmos, Toronto Blizzards, Philadelphia Fury, Tampa Bay Rowdies, Seattle Sounders, Vancouver Whitecaps, Fort Lauderdale Strikers or Los Angeles Aztecs.
The old-timers being Pele, Carlos Alberto, Alan Ball, Sir Gordon Banks, Sir Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller, Roberto Bettega, Johan Neeskins, Johan Cruff, Kazimierz Deyna, Eusebio, Frank Worthington, Peter Lorimer and George Best.
All great players but unfortunately, all past their sell-by date. Most headed to the NASL at the end of their careers to get a fist full of dollars and rightly so.
As a youngster and football fanatic, it was great to watch snippets of the NASL, shown on a Saturday on World of Sport or Saint and Greavsie.
One of the innovations that seemed to pass everyone by but was quite fun, was, instead of having a penalty shootout that is common today, the Yanks introduced a 35-yard one-on-one, where the player got the chance to dribble the ball, starting 35-yards out and had 5-seconds to try and beat the goalkeeper who could come out and try and stop the player.
As a 10-year old, this was brilliant. The Yanks didn’t like draws!
Ian St John and Jimmy Greaves, aka Saint and Greavsie, once got the former President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, to do the 1991/92 Rumbelows League Cup Quarter-Final draw.
After Jimmy Greaves had drawn out Leeds United, old Donald drew out Manchester United, however, the future President didn’t have a clue to the significance of the tie between the 2-clubs.
The Red Devil’s went on to win the Cup with all the players receiving a colour TV instead of a medal, however, had to give them all back 12-months later as they were only rented. Obviously, President Trump, living nowhere near Old Trafford, is a Manchester United fan, standard.
It’s worth checking YouTube to see old goals scored by Mr Worthington, especially the one against Ipswich and whilst there, look at George Best’s goal, playing for the San Jose Earthquakes against Fort Lauderdale.
Whilst the Lauderdale players were probably McDonald’s employees or FedEx Drivers, the goal is still up there with the best from George who was way past his peak.
After the goal, instead of celebrating, all George wanted to do was berate the referee who had allowed a Lauderdale goal to stand when it clearly shouldn’t have, George wasn’t happy.’
Easy, Peasy, Saint and Greavsie! Rest in Peace Legends.
At the Chas and Dave Memorial Stadium back in May, this was the penultimate fixture of the 2020/21 campaign, which saw Dean Smith’s Villa get the away-day victory over Ryan Mason’s Spurs, by a 2-1 scoreline. All 3-goals were scored in the 1st-half.
Steven Bergwijn got the opener for Tottenham before his mate Sergio Reguilon scored the 2nd. Unfortunately for the 10,000 home fans, who were allowed in for the first time, since the start of the pandemic, Sergio scored an own goal, meaning an equaliser for Villa. Ollie Watkins then scored to give Aston Villa a half-time lead.
With no further goals in the 2nd-half, Villa got the win against a rudderless set of Spurs.
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Sunday 3rd
CRYSTAL PALACE v LEICESTER
14.00 in England.
Crystal Palace thought they had got the better of Brighton on Monday Night Football, almost getting the victory, then preventing the South Coast club from going to the summit of the Premier League table.
The second part happened but Patrick Vieira’s men were denied the win when the Seagulls equalised in the 95th-minute.
The M23 Derby was heading for a goalless half-time break until Conor Gallagher headed into the box and was barged over to earn a penalty.
Wilfried Zaha rarely misses from the spot and coolly converted to give the home side the lead. With time running out, the unfortunate Eagle Ultras saw their beloved idols concede a late equaliser.
Crystal Palace stay 15th, with 6-points but are ruing conceding the last-minute goal. Leicester have had an indifferent start to this new campaign, the latest result being a draw by a Desmond 2-2 scoreline against Burnley on Saturday.
The Sheffield Superstar Jamie Vardy scored 3-times, however, the 1st-being an own-goal with a superb header into his own net past a hapless, helpless Kasper Schmeichel.
Jimmy V then scored twice in the Burnley goals, the 2nd being a late equaliser after the Clarets had scored a 2nd-themselves to give both teams a share of the points.
A unique hat-trick that Jamie would prefer not to have on his record. The point gives the Foxes 7 from the 6-fixtures and leaves them 13th in the table.
A certain Scottish crooner, wearing his Burnley shirt with ‘Stewart’ and ‘76’ on the back was content that Leicester hadn’t won but then got annoyed when his beloved Green and White Hoops failed to win themselves earning a point from a draw against Dundee United (who?) by a 1-1 scoreline.
Celtics arch-rivals, Rangers got the victory, beating the other Dundee (who?) by a single goal that took Steven Gerrard’s Blues to the top of the SPL (Scottish Pub League) and left Lennon the pooch hiding in the back yard on Sunday afternoon.
As Sir Roderick was pouring Penny and himself a comforting glass of wine following the weekend’s football, Lennon could be heard in the garden, chewing his bone, humming the legendary tune, ‘He’s Celtic, United but Brendan has decided that Leicester is the best place to be’ Woof Woof!
Leicester face Legia Warsaw away in Poland on Thursday night, in the Europa League.
As with the Brighton v Arsenal fixture from last season, this game at Selhurst Park was also played between Christmas and the New Year on the 28th of December 2020.
The Foxes did have a chance to devour the Eagles when awarded an early penalty. Unfortunately, with Jamie Vardy not being on the pitch, it was left to Kelechi Iheanacho to take the kick and the lad promptly missed.
Wilfried Zaha then scored for the Palace, midway through the 2nd-half with Leicester’s Harvey Barnes, equalising late on to give both a share of the points from a draw by a 1-1 scoreline. Brendan’s not so Wonderful’s ruing the missed penalty.
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Sunday 3rd
WEST HAM v BRENTFORD
14.00 in England.
West Ham repeated last season’s result against Leeds United at Elland Rd, getting the same great away day victory by a 2-1 scoreline. Like last year, the Hammers conceded first then scored twice, the 1st, being an own goal by the Leeds Defender Junior Firpo.
The excellent Michail Antonio, back in the starting eleven, following the one-game ban, notched the winner in the 90th-minute.
Before this victory at Elland Rd, the Hammers had taken on Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup, progressing to the 4th-round with a victory against Ole’s Trollies.
The win against Leeds gives David Moyes Boys 11-points and leaves West Ham in 7th in the Premier League table.
The Hammers host Rapid Vienna in the Europa League at the London Stadium on Thursday, prior to the visit of Brentford.
Along with Aston Villa, Brentford arguably got one of the results of the weekend, gaining a point from an entertaining draw against Liverpool by a 3-3 scoreline.
Ethan Pinnock opened the scoring for the Bees midway through the 1st-half, getting on the end of a flick by Ivan Toney.
Liverpool then equalised to take both teams in level at the break. Jurgen’s Reds took the lead early in the 2nd-half, however, Vitaly Janelt immediately replied for Thomas’s Bees.
Liverpool hit back straight away, once again taking the lead before Yoane Wissa, who had only just come on as a substitute, scored Brentford’s 3rd, to give both teams a share of the points.
A great game for an early Saturday evening TV audience. The point lifts Brentford to 9th in the table with 9-points from the 6-fixtures played.
The same 9-points as the London rivals, Arsenal and Tottenham. Two wins and 3-draws, which is more than satisfactory for a team that has never played in the Premier League.
In last week’s column, it was detailed how Ivan Toney had a loan spell at Barnsley back in 2015/16.
Ethan Pinnock was also at Barnsley on a permanent deal, before Brentford came calling in 2019 and took the lad to Griffin Park where the Defender helped Brentford to the Promised Land.
Barnsley brought Ethan in from Forest Green, at the beginning of the 2017/18 season, who at the time, were in the Conference.
In Mr Pinnock’s first season at Oakwell, Barnsley were relegated to League 1, with EP being in and out of the team throughout the disappointing campaign.
However, in League 1, Ethan excelled and helped Barnsley achieve automatic promotion back to the Championship, winning the clubs Player of the Year and being included in the PFA’s League 1, Team of the Season.
Although Ethan was back in the Championship, it wasn’t with Barnsley, as before the 2019/20 campaign started, Brentford came and took the London lad back home.
It was documented in this EveryTip column, a couple of years back, that one of the so-called big clubs wouldn’t go far wrong in signing Ethan Pinnock.
A lot laughed back then, with a few comments of, ‘Ethan who?’
Not many are laughing now that the boy has gone from the Conference to the Promised Land in the space of 5-years. Both Ivan and Ethan are remembered fondly at Oakwell and the Barnsley Girls and Boys wish them both well for the future. All the best young Ethan!
It was April 1993, almost 29-years ago, that Brentford made the short journey over London to take on West Ham. That fixture was played at the iconic Boleyn Ground or as it was more commonly known as Upton Park.
The ground was referred to as Upton Park due to the nearby Tube Station but the official title had the name of Henry the 8th’s, 2nd of 6-wives, Anne Boleyn. Well, that’s the myth anyway.
Six wives? Wow, the lad must have liked Wedding cake!
The starting eleven for West Ham was Ludek Miklosko in goal, Steve Potts, Tim Breacker, Julian Dicks, Tony Gale, Martin Allen, Peter Butler, Kevin Keen, Mark Robson, Trevor Morley and David Speedie.
Brentford’s 11-men were, Graham Benstead, Brian Statham, Keith Millen, Billy Manuel, Chris Hughton, Mickey Bennett, Joe Allon, Simon Ratcliffe, Neil Smilie, Gary Blissett and Marcus Gayle.
The Hammers got the victory over the Bees by a convincing 4-0 scoreline, with goals from Peter Butler, Kevin Keen, Trevor Morley and Martin Allen.
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Sunday 3rd
LIVERPOOL v MAN CITY
Sky Sports 16.30
The game of the weekend sees these two heavyweights finish the football before the next International Break.
With Liverpool not kicking off their Game Week-6 fixture until 17.30 on Saturday, Jurgen Klopp and the rest of the Liverpool fraternity could find out how Chelsea, Man City and Manchester United had got on.
Having witnessed Man City beat Chelsea, then Aston Villa get the victory against Manchester United, Liverpool were sat at the summit of the Premier League table without kicking a ball.
Most then thought, ‘Well Liverpool will surely beat Brentford’ However, although this column did correctly predict that Liverpool would score 3-goals, what John Newsome forgot to predict was that Brentford would spoil the Reds party and score 3-themselves.
Having fallen behind midway through the 1st-half, Diogo Jota headed home a superb cross from Jordan Henderson that was pinpoint accurate.
Mo Salah then scored Liverpool’s 2nd, early after the break, which kick-started a bizarre 15-minutes of goal scoring action. Brentford immediately replied before Curtis Jones put the Reds back in front. The Bees once again equalised and with no further goals, the game finished in a Desmond Plus One, 3-3 scoreline.
As Liverpool were already at the top of the table, it would have been assumed that Jurgen’s Reds would go 3-points ahead of Man City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and Brighton who joined the others on 13-points, however, with only gaining 1-point, it gives the Anfield Rappers 14, from the opening 6-fixtures, just a point more than the other five teams.
Mo Salah joins Michail Antonio and Jamie Vardy at the top of the goal-scoring charts with 5-goals so far.
Liverpool head to Portugal on Tuesday to face Porto in the Champions League. Pep Guardiola exacted revenge on Thomas Tuchel in the early Saturday afternoon kick-off at Stamford Bridge.
Thomas and Chelsea had got the better of Pep’s High Flying City, in the previous 3-fixtures, 1 in the Premier League, 1 in the FA Cup Semi-Final and of course the Champions League Final in Porto, where Pep was out-tacticked.
This time, Mr Guardiola got the tactics spot on, with Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva all playing pivotal roles in high pressing the Chelsea Defenders and Midfielders, which made the covering of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, by City’s Defenders, quite comfortable.
Gabriel Jesus eventually made the hard work pay off, scoring the solitary winning goal, just after the half-time cup of tea and although the scoreline was only 1-0, Man City were head and shoulders above Chelsea on the day.
Phil Foden is an exceptionally talented footballer in possession of the ball but works extremely hard pressing the opposition that makes Pep’s tactical instructions work.
It’s ok for Mr Guardiola to set up his team in the way he does but the players have to do what is instructed otherwise the tactics are futile.
If Phil and the rest don’t press the Chelsea backline then the other components don’t fit into place. It looks simple afterwards but it takes a great amount of training throughout the week to get the play right on the day.
For example, Chelsea had Marcos Alonso as the Left Back, the City players knew that when Marcos had the ball, once, the players hunted him down, the only thing he could do was kick the ball long, down the line, to Timo or Romelu who had 4-City Defenders on them immediately, one being Kyle Walker, so even if there was a possibility of Timo and Romelu running clear, Kyle would win in a foot race.
Pep Guardiola set up his City boys perfectly with the only possible downside to the day, not scoring more goals. The 3-points took City up to 2nd, above their Stamford Bridge hosts with the same 13-points, however with a 1 goal-difference advantage.
Peps High Flying Blues are a point behind today’s opponents, who sit clear at the summit with 14-points, from the 6-fixtures completed.
Man City face Paris Saint-Germain in the French Capital on Tuesday, in their European adventure, before this exciting trip to Anfield.
At Anfield last season, City were the dominant team, gaining a convincing away-day victory over Liverpool by a 4-1 scoreline.
The score could have been more if Ilkay Gundogan (tra-la-la-la-lar!) hadn’t missed a penalty just before half-time.
That miss kept the score goalless at the break, however, Ilkay redeemed himself, soon after the restart, giving City a lead.
Liverpool were then awarded a penalty themselves, with Mo Salah doing better than Mr Gundogan and putting the scores level.
However, that just inspired Pep’s Blues who took the game away from Jurgen’s Reds, with Ilkay getting City and his 2nd and Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden completing the scoring, to give City the win, on their way to regaining the Premier League title from Liverpool.
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