New Prem Season

Looks like it's just you Mango

It's raining in Epping. I'll join in...
Brighton/manure. Easy away win 0-2.
Palace/Everton. Palace are pants. Everton could take the top 6 by surprise this year. Easy away win 0-2.
WBA/chelski. Chelski have loads a money. WBA will be relegated. Easy away win 0-2.
Burnley/Southampton. Burnley sinking, Southampton rising. Easy away win 0-2.

Sunday

Sheff U v Leeds
Wouldn't want to be playing Leeds at the moment, lovely Derby for them but not the atmos. The ground where they won their last league title in 92 I seem to remember. It's good to have them back. I would venture that Wilder is better than a one season wonder but they might struggle with this one.

Tottenham v Newcastle
Magpies shocked Spurs last season in one of Poch's last games, will Bale get a debut? Wouldn't rule out a shock again, Newcastle are a bit difficult to predict.

Man City v Leicester
Yawn, something has to give, likely Leicester's record, be nice if they caught the arrogant City on the hop, but I doubt it. Brendan must know there is a way of beating them at home as Wolves found last season, whether Leicester are capable is another matter but don't they play a similar style? Quick counter attacks.

West Ham v Wolves
I feel another 0-2 here Epping? You would think West Ham would play better at home without their 'world's best' fans, alas it just shows the fans are not the 'world's best' and have no influence good or bad. Moyes will be managing via Zoom. Feel sorry for him, big debate on Talksport in the week on how he has been let down by the board. Sam should still be manager, careful what you wish for. Without the current board where would they be? Great fans..

Monday

Fulham v Villa
Who is the Villa fan in the fixture department? First 3 fixtures could put them in the Champions League places. Prince William? Oh that explains it..

Liverpool v Arsenal
So many classics in this fixture down the years. You will never beat the 4-4 and the tension of the 0-2 'it's up for grabs noowww!' Brian Moore must have ad libbed that, you couldn't forsee it. 8-5 i reckon.

Great weekend last week. Maybe all 0-0 this week, but all of them play 3 at the back nowadays, makes for some great games, most of the keepers are crap especially the expensive ones. Gordon Banks would be spinning..the basics of goalkeeping, keep it out, stop them from scoring, don't give them the ball, use anything to stop them.

Just like SAF had never left. 

Great weekend again, 36 goals in 10 games, no goalless draws, even in the Spurs and Burnley games..

More goals because of the new handball rule, not in the Leicester game, this is the handball rule where you don't have to pick it up to be penalised. Remember last season where too many goals were chalked off due to handball in the build up, they are trying to level it out, but not quite right at the moment I feel.

Leicester
Will the real Leicester City please stand up, this was back to last season, frightening on the counter, great goal by Maddison, but what a masterclass by Jamie Vardy. Show this performance to any young striker plying his trade, as someone who fits the definition of a forward, to cause the opposition defenders problems for the whole game. The defence were terrified of him. Scored 3, earned and scored 2 pens by being quicker and cleverer, outstanding team performance, look what happens when they get a couple of injured players back.

Liverpool
Upped a gear again last night, didn't really put it to bed until late, but would have been a travisty if they hadn't won. TAA on those crosses was electric, what a player he is becoming. Robertson the classic, mess up so I will make up for it, typical of the man. Class from the whole 11, plus the debut from Jota. He had more touches on 10 minutes than Aubameyang did in the whole game didn't he? Mane looked unplayable up to that point, love Klopp for 2nd guessing everyone. They look very good again this season.

Everton
Never a pen in 2 years let alone a million, but they did what all good teams do, won at Palace..

Fair play to them, the dressing room must be buzzing after that win, as that was by far their hardest game so far. Home to Brighton Saturday, every chance of another 3pts but won't be easy.

Aston Villa
Men against boys, see Fulham below. Villa in the Champions League places, 40 years after their last title triumph. I personally think it's 34 pts to go for their target this season, Liverpool at home up next..

Arsenal
Looked better than for the last 5 years last night. Found it difficult to cope with the high press because they would not go plan b when maybe it needed. Frightening on the counter though, should really have equalised in the 2nd half but didn't really deserve a point. They will be up there I reckon, because I feel they have a bit of bite and steel about them, compared to the past, but also a bit more consistency than Man U and City. More resilience.

Crystal Palace
Unlucky to lose, will not be in any trouble this season. They had better think carefully when Roy does pack in, he is the reason they are still in the Prem.

Leeds United
Cracking win, they seem to have kicked on from last season and have that fight and never say die attitude. Pleased for Bamford who gets a lot of stick, unfairly IMO. Maybe this is his season at last. Some great saves by the keeper at 0-0. The White Rose derby apparently, is that a pub or a derby?? Come off it.

Tottenham Hotspur
I find them a bit boring, but I did say Newcastle might shock them again, should have been out of sight, only have themselves to blame when you leave the opposition with a chance. Then you get a contentious decision. Not a pen for me, but they should have been 3 up by then.

Chelsea
Why does FL get away with that first half. I'm not saying he should be sacked but he has spent a lot of money in the summer to be 3-0 down to WBA at half time, shocking errors, arrogance. They did well to come back. Did not deserve a point IMO, you can't rock up to a Prem ground the way they did and get away with that first half. Good finish by Mount, he just cut the ball a little bit better and it sold the keeper.

Newcastle United
Wanted for Daylight Robbery. Team of foreign Geordies. Last seen laughing til it hurt up the M1. I like this version of Newcastle, Steve Bruce is not getting the credit he deserves, or for that matter that Rafa got by finishing lower. Think on that.

West Ham United
Did not see that coming. Moyesy making subs from home. Great first goal, really quick thinking, the ball wasn't moving. Clever. They will be glad of the win which will boost confidence going forward. Leicester away next.

Brighton n Hove
Want shooting really, classic football to score and then concede, you try to get that through to kids. Looked better than this time last season, will be ok because they play good football and create chances. Maupay got what he deserved because he did a Panenka.

Man City
Ha ha. Loved this. Thought they had won with Mahrez's goal. Not defenders, no strikers, Fernandinho is too old. No Silva, no Kompany, they will still finish top 2 but I enjoyed this immensely.

Man United
Didn't deserve to win, were a bit lucky. The penalty was the right decision, applaud VAR and the Referee for giving it. They were still a bit lucky though. A draw was a fair result.

Southampton
Did what they do best when it mattered, because even at this stage it mattered that they didn't lose again. Hassenhutel was a contender for Manager of the Year for me, turning that round after the 9-0 home defeat.

The Wolves
Bad day at the office, will bounce back. A very Un-Wolves-like performance.

WBA
Need to score 4 to win a match. Shame really because they played really well first half. Will struggle but have had a tough start with fixtures. Saints away next. Robinson looked good.

Burnley
He'll turn it round. Genius football manager. Will bully the points they need, there will be 3 or more worse teams by May (or July..)

Sheffield United
2nd season syndrome. 3 games no goals. Away to Arsenal next. Not looking good. I am not confident. Could really struggle.

Fulham
If Fantasy Football League were still going, imagine Baddiel and Skinner with t-shirts saying Fulham and Brentford on them, turning up to Brentford's next game and saying to the opposition, 'we'll swap if you like'. What a travesty. Brentford are playing Preston, Fulham are losing at home to Villa. Relegate them now. They're nearly as bad as Wycombe.

Great weekend. Roll on Saturday.

Agree they would need to help. They would be calling for it if they were in that position.

Well, Chelsea, Everton, Arsenal, Newcastle, Wolves and Southampton all did their jobs well, as expected...but:

Man.City, Man.Utd, Liverpool and Leicester all messed up big time, throwing this season into disarray indeed.

Never in my lifetime have i seen Liverpool concede 7 goals and many a long year Man.Utd letting in 6.

Liverpool have not conceded 7 or more for 66 years and before Bill Shankley was at the helm.

Man.Utd let in 6 v Man.City 9 years ago and it was 80 years before that the last time conceding 6.

Very exciting times ahead for this totally unpredictable, unbelievable but memorable season.

Matchday 4

Everton
Looking very good. James is a great signing, will draw other high profile players to the club in future. Ancelotti is the key to this run continuing. He has no baggage and tons of pedigree. Can see them beating Liverpool next game, records are there to be broken. People need to lay off Pickford.

The Villa
I don't know who played better, Leicester v Man City, Spurs v Utd or Villa. To be fair, Villa gave the single best performance of any team for months, it was above their normal level and form, that is not to say this is not their new level, they beat the Champions, they created so many chances, made Liverpool look very ordinary. All credit to their English manager, Watkins looks a good player, great debut from Barclay, he got in so many great positions. McGinn, Grealish, Konza, all had great games. Grealish really shone, playing with good players, not carrying the team, we may see the best of him this season. Outstanding performance thoroughly deserved.

Leicester
Oh dear. This is them all over though. Teams should train on stopping a quick free kick, we saw it for Spurs, Soyunco was culpable here, switched off and couldn't get back to properly mark his man. The mark of a great team is consistency. I feel no top 4 finish again for them on this evidence.

Arsenal
In the end a bit lucky to get a point. Luiz should be sent off first half for the pull back on Berge. Two great goals, lovely deft training ground header from Saka, Pepe finally looks worth his fee with that goal. Could have been 2-2 though.

Liverpool
Hmm. Even at 5-2 I think they thought, like I did, there might be a draw in this game, this was the problem. Sometimes you have to shut up shop and skulk home. The keeper made a horrible mistake early on, this set the tone. Villa exploited the weaknesses of Van Dijk and Gomez brilliantly, attacked down Liverpool's right, interesting that Trent has escaped criticism from pundits, did the simple things well and quickly. Could have been 2-1 up before Villa's 2nd goal, all credit to Villa. Could still have lost with Allison and Mane, too many players started both halves slowly. Not good enough for Champions. Need 3 0-0's in a row to recover from this. Strangely they weren't as bad as Man U, but everything Villa touched went in. 2 good finishes from Salah, Jota looks a player.

Tottingham
Amazing. Take a bow. The sending off made no difference. I feel Spurs let them off a proper hiding 2nd half. This guy who made a comment about Kane in the week is solely responsible for 13 goals in 2 games. If they can keep Kane fit they stand a chance of winning the title playing like that. I fear their squad may be their undoing ultimately. They cut Utd open especially down the right time after time. Utd were bad, worse than Liverpool, but Spurs were excellent. Lamela should be booked for me, and I believe he was. Son is still very underrated, I think teams underestimate his pace. Great goals from him. Outstanding.

FL's Chelsea
Normal service resumed, this result surprised me, then again Kepa is not in goal. Pleased for Chilwell, shame about what happened afterwards. Very naive of him and Tammy. Great headers from Zouma, he's a real threat in the opposition box. Not a day for Abraham to remember, trying to take the penalty off Jorginho.

Leeds
Well done. Great result. Looked ominous to begin with but they grew into the game and deserved the equaliser. Could have nicked it but a draw was probably right. Their high energy will cause massive problems for most teams.

Newcastle
Bruce is not getting enough credit. Saint-Maximin is a great player, what a great goal and assist, made a real difference. They have a great chance to establish themselves again as a decent upper mid table Prem team again instead of flirting with relegation as they have done for so many years. Deserved victory.

West Ham
Feared for them after 2 games. This was amazing. Antonio is suddenly producing consistency, what a great goal he scored, brilliant awareness and a good header. They look like a team as well. Noble is probably eating a bit of humble pie now. Didn't start either. That goal from Fornals is such a difficult skill, he made it look easy. Superb skill. Excellent.

Southampton
2 good goals. The 2nd a rarity from Romeu and a great volley. Some really good goals this weekend. Saints have too many good Prem players to be in any trouble.

Palace
Shame they couldn't score early like at Old Trafford which seems now to have been the key to that victory and this defeat. Would have been very different.

Wolves
Made heavy weather of Fulham, a bit fortunate to get all 3pts imo.

Man City
Not as bad a result as the media suggests, because everyone thinks Liverpool are not going to drop points. That ship has now sailed. This could prove to be a very decent point come May (or July)..

Brighton
Not enough to compete with the Everton train at the moment. Need to watch how many goals they ship, 7 in 2 games, still it's better than 7 in 1 game..
Must be kicking themselves about not getting at least a point v Utd.

Man U
The sending off made no difference. Maguire is a problem when everyone thought it was Lindelof. 4 headers before Shaw tried to shield the ball in his own 6yd box, kids football. The 2nd goal is just as bad, De Gea got his angles all wrong if you watch the replay. Fernandez went proper missing after his goal in the first minute. Not a player you want in this situation. Pogba too, such indiscipline. What was Bailly doing passing to a player marked by 2 people on the edge of his own box. We are seeing the best of attacking football but the worst of the art of defending. No centre back signing. Can they go down? Lucky to beat Brighton remember.

WBA
Need to get a point or more away to Southampton if you're looking to stay up. Looks ominous already.

Burnley.
Not a good performance. Great goal by Westwood. Need a win desperately.

Sheff Utd
Much better, great goal, but still on nil poi.

Fulham
Again much better, felt sorry for them, defended for their lives, some great blocking. If you stop them from shooting they can't score, Liverpool take note. Great move for their late chance. Poor finish. Good reaction to the Villa game.

The last 0-0 draw was Brighton v Newcastle on matchday 37 last season on 20th july. What a great season so far. Shame there is a break. Loving the Prem.
No handball pens this week..

Everton look like they did the best business on deadline day.