Blame It On The Glazers
Last night I was so busy that I missed Man United's match at Newcastle. But before the match I found myself asking if I was going to miss the match because I was too busy to watch. Or maybe I was actually deceiving myself by using some insignificant assignment to keep myself from watching the expected beat down awaiting us at St. James' Park. Well, I eventually dozed off while the game was still scoreless and at halftime. When I woke up at about 11:15pm, I was thankful that the scoreline wasn't more than 1-0, and that Gordon and Lascelles delivered vital FPL points.
These days, games between Man United and any top team looks like a forgone conclusion because they never disappoint by getting played off the park like a bunch of Sunday League players finding themselves in the same breathing space with professional athletes. Before the Newcastle match, I read that Ten Hag hasn't won away against a team in the top 9 in the league since he came. Even the mediocre Solksjær managed to do that on a couple of occasions. Of course, the Glazers have to take all the blame for such a terrible run of results as usual.
Anyway, kudos to Newcastle for such a regularly dominant display against Ten Hag's United after the heartbreak they suffered in Paris just three nights before the United game. As for Ten Hag, he's doing just fine. Right? He's incredibly good that he must be absolved of any blame whatsoever.
Make The Bitter Experience Count, Gunners!
Four points atop the table having played one game more and with a winnable fixture against Luton to come, Arsenal are stringing together another audacious assault at Man City's Premier League crown. Last season they led the EPL table for over 200 days but crumbled under pressure when City came calling. Understandably, Arteta's young guns were young, naive and unprepared. However, with that scathing experience they surely learnt a hard lesson. Can Arsenal go one better and claim the trophy this time?
Even as a direct rival, it is hard to deny the progress in Arsenal's game this season. Last season they took everyone by surprise and used that to their advantage - just like De Zerbi's Brighton. This season though, both teams are no longer a surprise package. The fact that Arteta's team continues to grind out results in steely conditions while De Zerbi's Brighton toils under the weight of expectations exemplifies the pedigree of Arteta's boys. If Arsenal keeps their nose ahead into the new year, the disappointment of last season may just serve as the right experience they need to stay at the top and withstand the pressure to the end this time. But before then, they have tough away trips to Villa Park and Anfield to negotiate.
On Match The Toffees
It's not a crime to not like Sean Dyche. In fact, it's very acceptable to detest his brand of football. What will be criminal though, is not to appreciate the fact that Mr. Dyche is a good manager. He knows his strengths and weaknesses; he understands his limitations. Though Everton were docked 10 points for messing with FFP, Sean Dyche's artistry has made sure the Merseyside team are not seen as firm relegation favourites. If it were some privileged dude that goes by the name of Lampard, their relegation will be a done deal by now.
Yay! 🤗
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Hi, yeah Sean Dyche doing some great stuff at these times. Result oriented gaffer.
I don't agree that Arsenal crumbled under pressure. My blogs reveal the real reason.
On Brighton, Wenger taught me that with very young players, inconsistency will creep in even without the player's consent. Brighton drastically reduced the overall age of their squad during the summer, Arsenal didn't. Arsenal kept a virtually all the players, Brighton lost a good portion, include one star called Trossard(more in the link).
. So it's not the weight of expectation truly affecting Brighton, but the burden of adaptation of new players and young players at that.
In any case, the key point remains, Arsenal is coping better than Brighton.
Kudos Newcastle, kudos to Eddie Howe, he surprised me last season, now I expect the things he is doing.
Cheers man, nice write-up.
Well, they actually did.
Brighton added good players, they just couldn't keep up. They've been terrible this season.
Exactly. What Newcastle are doing now is expected. They've been a breath of fresh air.
Never said they added bad players. I never even implied that. Given the reason I gave(which has a key word,"drastic", in it) , it would naturally take time for the team to be truly consistent. I reckon that they are doing great overall, eg navigating a new experience in Europe(they didn't have this last season) excellently.
In that last EPL match versus Chelsea(aha,the team with the highest number of ex-Brighton players), Brighton had 12 FIRST TEAM players injured, yet it was only a 3–2 defeat.
Chelsea is in a similar position as Brighton with a telling number of new additions– howbeit older players than Brighton's. Thus naturally, adaption should be faster for Chelsea, yet they are behind in the log.
I'm enjoying Zerbi's work, it's a philosophy true fellas of the Gunners creed, will always admire, so I made a brief post on him, for a start– post
Cheers bro.
I was actually using Brighton's decline to corroborate how hard it is to stay winning after a brilliantly surprising season. Yes, they sold players but did reasonably well after losing the likes of Trossard and even Maupay. By the way, they've been struggling even before their injuries mounted.
In all, De Zerbi is an excellent coach. He's proved his point and all. However, I'll like to see him in a top 4 team in the next five years. Let's add some tough man management job to his tactical expertise and see if he crumbles or thrives.
Oh I didn't even remember Maupay. So you see that's a lot to leave in thesame period– Caicedo,Sanchez the goalkeeper, Mac Allister,Andy Zeqiri a striker and maybe one or two I may not recall now. So that's their entire midfield engine gone! So within a few months they lost all that, not just Trossard and Maupay.
Even Wenger struggled when players began to leave in quick succession. If in one year, Arsenal lost Saka, Xhaka and Saliba(which is way below the number Brighton lost) and replaced them with MUCH YOUNGER players, bro they would struggle, it's no prophesy it's normal. Liverpool lost first team players(not close to Brighton's number),though majorly through lack of form and you see they replaced them this season and not with teenagers like Brighton.
So if you say Brighton struggled before the injuries, why not? The reason is contained in my very first note. A team had about 30 departures IN A SHORT SPACE OF TIME and they brought in roughly that same number(fringe players are also important),should be close to the relegation zone now and have no business advancing in Europe.🤷♀️
Regards