Football365

Ange Postecoglou blamed Will Lankshear’s red card on “overenthusiasm” on a memorable night for the 19-year-old against Galatasaray.

Lankshear became Tottenham’s youngest scorer in a major European competition since Harry Kane scored against Shamrock Rovers in the 2011/12 Europa League.

On a night to remember, the teenager got sent off after receiving two yellow cards, becoming the third youngest player in Europa League history to score and be shown a red card in the same game.

After the 3-2 defeat at Galatasaray, Spurs boss Postecoglou said his red card came from “overenthusiasm” but the youngster will “learn from that”.

“Will took his goal well, he worked hard for the team,” Big Ange said.

“Obviously he hasn’t had a lot of experience at senior football so he would have learnt a lot today.

“The red card, it was a bit of overenthusiasm in that moment to give away a foul, but he’ll learn from that.”

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On putting three teenagers in starting XI, Postecoglou added: “The same with Lucas [Bergvall]. Giving him an understanding of the levels here, it is not easy when you are playing away in Europe.

“You can only allow them to learn that by exposing them to it.

“I thought Archie [Gray] was great. It was a tough game for us defensively at different times but I think we’ll get so much growth out of him because he’s not playing in his position.

“I guess for three teenagers in the starting line-up, I think they’ll learn a lot from it and hopefully it helps with their development.”

It was a chastening evening for Spurs centre-back Radu Dragusin, who was caught out several times in the first half, though he did make a few crucial interventions in the second 45.

While he was to blame for the creation of several Galatasaray scoring opportunities, Dragusin was not solely to blame for the constant bombardment of Fraser Forster’s goal.

After the 36-year-old was forced to make five saves, four of which came from shots inside the penalty area, and Postecoglou believes Gala’s freedom in attack “was self-inflicted”.

“It was self-inflicted,” Postecoglou said. “The moments that stick out to me was giving the ball away.

“In the first half we gave the ball away too much.

“We lacked composure and we allowed Galatasaray to get a foothold in the game and we paid the price for that.”

We don’t do it often, but sometimes it’s nice to be nice. And Nuno Espirito Santo’s comeback arc is nice, isn’t it?

Whatever happens from here with Nottingham Forest – and let’s be entirely honest here it is still quite unlikely to be ‘third place with Chris Wood the second most deadly striker in the league’ – the damage done to his reputation in English football in a few silly months at the country’s silliest football club has been significantly repaired.

And that’s a good and just thing. Nuno was a brilliant manager for a really quite extended period of time at Wolves, whose fans still adore the time they spent together, but the nature of football in this country and human nature in general meant a very real danger that his name here would far more readily bring to mind those miserable weeks at Tottenham.

READ: Spurs, Man City but not Leicester among top 10 Forest-a-like surprise Premier League bolters

A combination of big-club and recency bias and the simple fact that catastrophe so often lives longer in the mind than triumph could have done for him. When he rocked up next in Saudi Arabia the fear was that here was a good manager ruined. Sure, he wasn’t going to go broke, but here was a manager not yet 50 of proven talents apparently heading for the irrelevance of a walk-on part in the unwatched and unloved Cristiano Ronaldo Retirement Tour.

It never felt right, it never felt fair. He clearly wasn’t the right choice for Spurs. It was never going to work even if he’d been their first choice rather than roughly seventh after everyone else had said “LOL no” and Spurs fans themselves had kiboshed the idea of Gennaro ‘Sometimes Maybe Sh*t’ Gattuso.

It wasn’t Nuno’s fault that Spurs made such a complete bollocks of that manager search. And nobody could really blame him for taking a job that could very much have looked to him at that time as a logical next step up the ladder. He would, like so many others before him, soon discover that logic and Tottenham rarely make for easy bedfellows.

He walked into a mess at Spurs, with the protracted Kane-to-City story dominating all other talk. That move never happened, of course, but it clearly affected preparations. Nuno then carelessly won his first three games – including a Kane-less success over City on the opening day – to stumble blindly into the Manager of the Month curse.

That was his one real error at Spurs. Clearly there was no way back from there. As well as a stumbling start to the Europa Conference, Nuno’s Spurs lost five of the next seven league games culminating in a 3-0 El Sackico defeat to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United.

There is no need for hagiography here. Nuno was the wrong man in the wrong job at the wrong time. Those three 1-0 wins that began the season were precisely as illusory as you could imagine three 1-0 wins might be. There was no scandal or unfairness in Spurs realising that error and seeking to make swift amends, but that doesn’t mean the speed with which Antonio Conte was appointed as his replacement the day after his sacking didn’t leave a sour taste.

Nuno was set up to fail at Spurs and duly did. Life being what it is, the almost 200 games’ worth of stellar service to Wolves was in real danger of being lost to the general football fan in the noise of four stupid months at Spurs.

Making that next move to Saudi Arabia quietened the noise but was never going to restore a damaged reputation. For what it’s worth – which is two-fifths of f*** all – Nuno did pretty well with Al-Ittihad. Even won a league title, despite that interesting almost nobody and impressing even fewer.

Nottingham Forest are also a very silly football club, with an owner who is quite possibly a psychopath. Jumping back into the Premier League with yet another very silly club to replace the beloved Steve Cooper and fight a relegation battle was a bold choice from Nuno. Had it gone wrong, it would have surely been his last dance in English football.

It was also a slightly left-field pick for Forest. But hasn’t it turned out marvellously.

We’re loathe to give Forest too much credit. It’s terribly unfair, but just like their many successful player transfers in the last 18 months there’s just too much sense of fluke among the chaos at that club. Of flinging shit at the wall and seeing what sticks, and surprising even themselves when a lot happens to stick in really quite pleasing patterns.

But a club whose last two permanent managerial appointments have been Cooper and Nuno surely can’t quite be as insane as it appears from the outside. Let’s just not look too much further back in that manager appointment history, yeah?

They really have nailed it with Nuno, though, and deserve praise for seeing beyond the bad fit at Spurs and seeing the perfect fit at Wolves, a club he got promoted into the Premier League and then established firmly in the top half. Forest, for all their nonsense, were a lot more Wolves than Spurs.

Having weathered a points deduction to keep them up handily enough, Nuno has kicked Forest on in a way absolutely nobody predicted. He has, in what is still a really short space of time, found order in the chaos of that Forest squad. What had looked like a random hotch-potch selection of players bought primarily because they could be bought has, under Nuno’s careful guidance, turned into one of the most coherent and straightforward teams in the Premier League.

It can sound like damning with faint praise to say Forest are a simple, straightforward team. But simple and straightforward outcomes for a team really just mean that everyone knows exactly what they are supposed to be doing and is capable of doing it. There is an incalculable amount of work that goes into making a football team look like what it’s doing is obvious and straightforward.

If it were actually as obvious and straightforward as Forest make their unapologetically Wood-focused strategy appear, then everyone would do it, wouldn’t they? And they don’t, because it isn’t.

And anyway, making anything look straightforward at Forest is pretty much as impressive as doing it at Spurs.

Spurs were not the one, but in Forest Nuno appears to have found the freak for him and you’d need a heart of stone not to be pleased for him.

Spurs fans say that Spurs deserve loads more credit for moving into seventh, while we also have views on Arsenal and Man Utd.

Send your thoughts on all subjects to theeditor@football365.com

Give some credit to Spurs and ‘elite’ Ange management

Since Matt and the #lads and Sarah at F365 didn’t put Spurs in the winners section once again, instead of moaning about it, here you go:

Winners: Ange Postecoglou and Spurs

After suffering a deeply scarring and morale-sapping loss away to Crystal Palace last Sunday, the stage was set for more pressure to be piled on useless, fat George Michael lookalike Ange Postecoglou and his peak Spursy Spurs side whose form has been more up and down than James Corden’s cholesterol.

Facing them were two potentially season defining games against “top, top quality opposition” (to quote Harry Redknapp) within the space of the week. Lose both, and Spurs would’ve been out of the one competition they can most realistically win, and cut adrift to 4th in the table by 8 points.

First up was an old-fashioned knockout tie under the lights against Manchester City in the League Cup, a game that felt particularly significant for a club embroiled in a existential trophy drought and having come off the back of a quite dreadful performance at Selhurst Park.

Ange duly obliged by selecting his strongest team available, watching his side successfully manage an early 2 goal lead to make it through to the quarter final (despite an early injury to talismanic defender Micky Van De Ven and no Heung Min Son to customary slay City).

But with top table challengers Villa to come just 4 days later, the question come Sunday kick off was: at what cost? Villa had chosen to rest key players midweek (and were duly despatched by a resurgent Palace provided life saving CPR by Dr Tottenham – you’re welcome), and arrived in North London with a fully fit squad and unbeaten away record.

Throw in the momentum of an extraordinarily strong start in the Champions League, victory in their last two visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under Unai Emery, and Spurs’ topsy turvy season so far, you’d be forgiven for thinking the omens didn’t look good for Ange’s Spurs.

This sense that a Villa victory was inevitable given the circumstances was then only heightened in a first half where Spurs looked – unsurprisingly – lethargic and fatigued from Thursday. Then in the 32nd minute, Spurs exhibited a mental fragility which has had the doubters rubbing their hands with glee all season.

A Villa corner, obligingly scored as the result of a defence seemingly incapable of exerting any real protection around a visibly uneasy Vicario, leading to a Keystone Kops style goalmouth scramble with the Italian flapping at the ball, bouncing off a Bentancur’s head back towards the goal line and being tapped home by Morgan Rogers. 1-0 to Unai’s Villa, who appeared to have Spurs’ number. Ignore the fact that was only the 2nd goal Spurs have conceded off a set piece this season: the narrative after last season has already been set.

Football writers around the land sharpened their pencils at half time, duly ready to regurgitate all the same narratives about Ange having no plan B, typical Spursy Spurs, bottling it when it matters.

What followed after half time can only be described as elite management. First, whatever words were said in the changing room, Spurs players came back on the pitch visibily re-energised and focused. A few minutes later, it was 1-1 from a un-defendable cross from captain Son who stopped trying to cut inside like he was doing in the first half and was likely told to be more direct when space opened up.

Second, what then ensued seemed at first to be a nonsensical, potentially suicidal decision from Ange to take off Son and Bentancur, for Richarlison and Bissouma. Less than 15 minutes later, Spurs were 3-1 up, including an assist from Richarlison. The additional fresh legs in midfield and direct physical running down the left bamboozled Villa, allowing Spurs to continue to press high and force turnovers, leading to both the game-defining goals. Scored by a striker willing to cover ever blade of grass for his team and his manager.

Greg Linton

…Long-time reader of at least 20 years. I used to love to pour over the site, the interviews, the articles, the Neville Diaries, Look Alikes. Informative and funny.

The articles and match reports were insightful, articulate, mature. Serious and talented football journalists who could make me laugh.

The quality of writing has sadly dropped significantly, and there is barely an original article or match report worth reading

It’s become a series of knee jerk lists with clear bias and narratives. The fascination with manager sack lists for example is childish at best, malevolent at worst. I honestly think it’s an attempt to create traction to get someone sacked. Gutter journalism to hide a lack of talent.

Not a Spurs fan, but an Australian. Last season Ange was a breath of fresh air. This season he’s lucky to be in a job. Apparently. 9 wins out of 11. 2 big come from behind wins in 3 games. When they lose the other side were excellent, their manager talented, but when Spurs win the focus is on how poor the opponent was, how the manager f***ed up. Zero credit for the Spurs manager or the team. Doesn’t fit the latest narrative.

Two thumping 4-1 wins, one against the darling Villa and much vaunted manager. Neither result got the team or manager in the Winners side of Winners and Losers! Lose and its straight into the Losers and up the sack rankings.

Shockingly poor journalism. There is a clear bias. At least acknowledge that.

Bring back the quality writing and the humour. It used to be an hilarious read. Now it’s “You’ll never guess which 6 Real Madrid players are still playing”. Such a fall from grace.

Lift your game you f**kers.

Fadida, Australia

PS. Apparently you only print what you receive. You’ve received this.

(We did indeed. And we remain amused after decades that people expect Winners and Losers to be a list of the teams that win and lost over the weekend. What you are looking for there is a list of results. We literally described Tottenham as having ‘very possibly the most rounded midfield department the Premier League can currently offer’ – Ed)

Timing is on Tottenham’s side

The history of the Premier League has been littered with fortunate pieces of timing. Alex Ferguson joining Man Utd just before the formation of the Premier League, Abramovic buying Chelsea just as the so called Invincibles were being broken up, Pep joining City after Ferguson retired etc. Each of these convenient pieces of timing led to a period of domination for the clubs in question. I mention this because I feel that timing could be on Spurs’ side over the next five to ten years.

As we all know, Pep’s contract at City is set to expire at the end of the 24/25 season, and he’d only be willing to extend for one extra year if he does stay in at all. So if for some reason City are not relegated from the Premier League over their rampant cheating, their domination is only guaranteed for another season or so, leaving the door open for another club to step in and dominate. Spurs are in a better position than anybody to be that club.

Firstly, we have the infrastructure. The fact that we have the highest matchday revenues in Europe is well documented by now, and the building of the Tottenham Hotspur stadium has guaranteed we will remain a financial powerhouse for the foreseeable future.

Secondly, we have the manager. As I explained in my recent mail, a team does not sit at the top of the XGF table if it isn’t heading in the right direction, and we are playing some of the most exciting football in Europe. The recent wins over City and Villa show we are starting to turn that domination into results.

Thirdly, we have the squad. Romero, Van De Ven, Udogie, Vicario, Bentancur, Kulusevski, Porro are all set to hit their primes in the coming years.

I believe Big Ange and Daniel have spotted this opportunity too, and this is why they’ve invested so heavily in youth. The likes of Johnson, Bergvall, Gray and Oderbert have all been signed with an eye on the future. All highly talented players who will be fully fledged first teamers by the time Pep leaves.

Another factor to consider is our rivals. Arsenal have already peaked under Arteta, and Edu is leaving. They got their timing ever so slightly wrong. Same goes for Liverpool, who unfortunately timed the appointment of Klopp with Pep’s era of dominance with City. Man Utd are the banter club that keeps on giving, and Chelsea remain a mess with FFP punishments surely on the horizon.

Us Spurs fans have waited very patiently for an opportunity like this. Timing might finally be on our side.

Barry Fox

What are Spurs?

Tottenham. What a club, eh?

Thing is, I often get called a Gooner around these parts but genuinely, if anything, when it comes to the elite game in this country I am a North London supporter. Not really of course, that statement is stupid beyond all recognition but the fact is, Spurs are a club I actually love in so many ways – their fans are contradictorily some of the most entitled and self-deprecating all at once, they have often (even at their worst) played entertaining football and (showing a bit of Gooner love here too) they are one half of what I genuinely believe to be, pound-for-pound, the best rivalry in world football.

A derby that always entertains, aggro enough that there’s genuine spice, but not so aggro that lives are in danger. Perfect.

However I am at a loss, where are Tottenham, right now? Really?

In their Sophomore season with Ange Postecoglou, they remain as blissfully inconsistent as they ever have – yet when I watch them, they feel really good. Like, “actually could win a trophy, maybe even two” good? Yet merely a week ago they lost to Palace – a team that hadn’t so much as sniffed three points in 3 months.

I hear the comments on Vicario on Sky Sports, but honestly, that feels like narrative to me and he remains an exciting keeper with a weakness that sometimes gets exposed, just like many keepers in the league, their back 4 have “could individually all play for Champions League contenders” written all over them. When they are on it, they have one of the most resilient AND creative midfields in the league (I’d imagine Liverpool and Arsenal -if not necessarily jealous of the individual players -wouldn’t sniff at their depth in that area) and when Richarlison is the weakest of your forward line, you have a pretty stacked forward line.

Rewind 18 months, and the jury was out on Ange Postecoglou and whether he was the right appointment but would any Spurs fan have sniffed at 6th in November of his 2nd season, with a very real possibility of being in the Champions League conversation come the end of the season – playing exciting football and making a quarter final of a league cup that is genuinely winnable for them?

However, the nagging feeling that they could drop points at home to Ipswich prevails and honestly, that in itself is wonderful… what club in this country could you genuinely not be surprised to see lose to Palace, beat City and Villa in two competitions, then drop points to Ipswich only to go and take something off City?

I can see this Tottenham doing something, y’know… but, much like their cross-town rivals, it requires a spark of resilience and luck to strike at the same time and, you know what, I hope it happens.

Harold Ebenezer Hooler Esq.

(While we’re at it “North London Forever” being sung by your home crowd – when you quite famously haven’t been North London Forever is either blissfully ignorant or a beautiful bit of trolling)

A little Arsenal perspective…

Cards on the table, I’m an Arsenal fan… Sorry…

With that being said:

The Premier League, since it’s inception in the 92-93 season, has been won by a grand total of 11 managers.

Sir Alex Ferguson won 13 of them. Out of 32

So another way of saying it is, “Out of 32 seasons, 19 of them have been won by 10 managers.”

Señor Pep Guardiola won 6 of those.

So another way of saying it is, “Out of 32 seasons, 13 of them have been won by 9 managers.”

Monsieur Arsene Wenger and Senhor José Mourinho each won three of those.

So another way of saying it is, “Out of 32 seasons, 25 of them were won by the 4 best managers the league has ever seen, the other 7 were won by the next 7 best.”

Mourinho and Wenger were, if you like, the most average ‘best managers ever,’ SAF (hugely) and Pep are above average, the rest, Signori Conte, Ancelotti, Ranieri, Herr Klopp, Mr Dalglish and Señores Pellegrini y Mancini are a little below average.

Obviously there are mitigating factors in any emotional argument about who did the best job, but those are the numbers.

Over the last few weeks I’ve heard a lot of mierda being spoken about Señor Mikel Arteta Amatriain. A man less than two years older than me, who’s managed to make Arsenal Arsenal again, in less than 5 years, and keep his first (management) job that whole time.

I manage a burger shop for a mate of mine. It’s a pain in my butt. Like five people in a small tourist town, so much hassle on a daily basis. I could not imagine how much work goes in to managing any professional fútbol club, let alone one the size of Arsenal. The stress any of these guys must go through!

All of this is a long way of saying that I don’t know if Miki is gonna add his name to that pretty prestigious list and become number twelve. Maybe it’s a fight too much for him.

But…

I remember, a few years ago, after 3 games played that season, 0 points and 0 goals for Arsenal, a certain notorious Norf London Gooner saying he hopes Lucas Torreira outlasted Arteta.

I remember, after any semi big game that Arsenal managed to lose, a certain notorious cartoon baby, making semi reasonable points as if he was the first and only person to think them, in the most childish manner possible.

I remember, after utd were linked with Rice, some nameless fan asking if he was really that much better than McTominay.

(I also remember me saying Saka was overrated and would leave Arsenal because ESR would outshine him, none of us are perfect…)

In all that time, AM has transformed Arsenal from a team successively finishing 8th to the most consistent (currently) challenger to the Second Best Manager Our LeagueTM Has Ever Seen.

I don’t care whether he’s the “heir apparent” or Mourinho-lite, I trusted the process in 2021, I think we’re in a much better place now than we were then. Whether or not he ever wins the league, I thank Mikel (and the departing Edu,) for that. The worst you can say is it would be an a lot more attractive place job for top managers if/when he leaves than it was when he took it.

Andy, Guatemala

(Basically, winning the EPL is really tough, especially in the times of Fergie and Pep. Not managing it doesn’t make you shit.)

Are Arsenal fans about to hit reverse?

So if Arsenal fail to beat Chelsea (let alone Forest), and are forced to focus on the much maligned cups this year, just how loud will the reversing beeps on the comments of the last 4 months be?

I say give Arteta an extension. He’s doing a great job.

Badwolf

…Oh dear. It looks like Arsenal are reverting to their post-2004 mean – a top four side that occasionally challenges for the title, may win an FA Cup every so often and is constantly promising jam tomorrow (Wenger’s Youth Project, the Carling Cup wonderkids, the British Core, “wait until FFP kicks in”, “wait until Abramovitch gets bored”, “wait until the stadiums is paid off”, “wait until the next phase” etc, etc, etczzzz).

Just because Arsenal have come close, it doesn’t automatically mean they will go on and win the title this season. Football doesn’t work in a vacuum where you get better and everyone else doesn’t. If it did, Newcastle would have won the league in 1998 and Spurs would have won it 2018.

Matthew

Did Man Utd target a three-at-the-back boss?

I’ve seen conflicting entries to the mailbox over the past week referencing the United’s squad suitability for Amorim’s 3-4-3. We’re either ideally suited or the most 4-2-3-1 team in history. Added to this we’ve had a few interesting takes amounting to ‘only Conte plays three at the back and he’s a dinosaur’.

For what its worth playing with three centre-backs isn’t that uncommon outside of the Premier League.

In terms of recent success we can look to Germany as Alonso guided Leverkusen to an invincible season and Bundesliga title using a 3-4-3 strategy very similar to what Amorim has been playing at Sporting. Beyond those who explicitly play three centre backs many teams use similar strategies whilst attacking. It’s fairly routine to see a team playing a back four push one full back high and keep one back, or both fullbacks high with a deep sitting mid to support the centre backs, both of which effectively create similar structures in possession.

What now seems possible is that this formation, or rather the strategy and philosophy behind it, are what United have targeted in their manager search, not Amorim specifically. It’s been widely reported how United made discreet enquiries with other managers since the INEOS takeover.

As mentioned above Alonso plays three at the back but turned United down seemingly waiting for Ancelotti or Pep to move on, Tuchel too turned United down and has had success in this formation. The long time bookies’ favourite for the United job Gareth Southgate had a great time with England in a more conservative 3-4-3 which was in part orchestrated by Dan Ashworth who seems quite enamoured with this style of play. This isn’t a coincidence, they have been looking for a certain style of play instead of a certain type of man.

This is a positive approach and something which United have sorely lacked. Having a club centric ethos is much better than the pillar to post method of getting whoever is available and restructuring the club around them. The primary reason for United’s wasteful spending over the last ten years was the ignorant belief that a manager knows best and success is achieved by giving that manager whatever they want. Choosing a playing style that will remain consistent then recruiting players and coaches who fit saves so much upheaval and allows the long term stability necessary to achieve long term success.

If Amorim is the one to achieve that success remains to be seen but his successor will likely be quite similar in style and any players signed for Ruben will have to be dynamic enough to be effective for his replacement.

Dave, Manchester

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Amorim BS already

There’s already a fair bit of BS being written about United under Amorim and he doesn’t even start for a week. Allow me to retort:

Bruno Fernandes – the man most people like to accuse – was in the upper echelons of Premier League players in terms of distance covered last season.

Dalot is also a fairly athletic player.

Luke Shaw’s problem is not that he doesn’t run but that he’s physically incapable of it usually because he’s injured. I’ll give you Rashford and United were very mid-table for distance covered last season. But Burnley and Everton were near the top of that table so it’s not as simple as saying United will need to run more to move up the table. Can’t hurt though.

Instead I think the focus should be on defensive discipline. Rashford probably can run and will likely try harder for the new manager. But is he disciplined enough to do what the manager wants? And Bruno runs around a lot but is he an effective presser?

He may well have some input but he doesn’t have a veto or the final say. And a manager with such a reputation for improving players should not be relying on bringing in those players to new clubs. See how Arne Slit has Liverpool playing his style of football without signing additional players or bringing in any of his former players. Pep didn’t raid Bayern or Barca when he went to City. If United do sign Sporting players then they must fit the club’s future and not just Amorim’s.

Nottingham Forest find themselves third in the Premier League table after 10 games having already secured a win at Anfield while suffering only a City-and-Liverpool-matching solitary defeat of their own in racking up 19 points.

It all gives the league a pleasingly mid-90s vibe and suggests maybe Yer Da was right to stubbornly keep Forest in his ‘ideal proper Premier League line-up’ all through those long, difficult wilderness years. He’s still wrong about Sheffield Wednesday, though.

Makes you think, though, doesn’t it? What other teams have found themselves in an unexpectedly lofty position after 10 games of a Premier League season? Here are 10 of the very best.

After 10 games: 3rd, 19 points

Always worth remembering that the Big Six is a relatively recent phenomenon even by Premier League timeframes. Back in the distant, misty, far-off time of 2002/03, Spurs were actual for-real rubbish instead of the slightly more rarefied rubbish we’ve come to know and love over the last decade or so.

At that time, Spurs had never finished higher than seventh in the Premier League and hadn’t even managed that for seven years. Their most recent seasons had ended in 10th, 14th, 11th, 10th, 12th and ninth. They were proper mid-table slop.

In truth, the cracks appeared as early as game five because Spurs gonna Spurs. Having picked up 10 points from the first four games, Spurs were 2-0 up at Fulham midway through the second half and on course to really make a statement. Twenty-five minutes later they had, with Spursy inevitability, lost 3-2. But they still rallied to win three of their next five games and sit in what was then an incongruously lofty third spot.

What happened next? The team that had finished 10th, 14th, 11th, 10th, 12th and ninth in its previous six seasons reverted entirely to type and slumped back to a 10th-place finish which was at the time very much where they belonged. They won only three Premier League games after January.

After 10 games: 2nd, 22 points

Southampton were at this time one of the most consistently fascinating teams in English football, with interesting coaches highlighting the talents of an array of exciting footballers only most of whom would end up at Liverpool.

Having finished a highly respectable eighth in 2013/14 it was perhaps not a total surprise to seem them start the 2014/15 season in such fine style, but they had lost Mauricio Pochettino to Spurs after just that one full season as manager as well as Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Luke Shaw and Calum Chambers.

A bit of transition under new manager Ronald Koeman appeared the best that could realistically be expected, especially after defeat on the opening day at Liverpool. Yet their only other defeat in the opening 12 games would come – gallingly, admittedly – at Pochettino’s Spurs.

In all, the Saints won eight of their first 11 games – taking a particular liking to visitors from the north east; Newcastle were beaten 4-0 and Sunderland 8-0 to leave Southampton behind only eventual champions Chelsea at the 10-game stage.

What happened next? Four straight defeats in late November and early December ended any unlikely title talk, but they didn’t disappear altogether.

A festive run of five wins in six lifted them briefly back to third and while the second half of the season proved tougher than the first they held on for a seventh-place finish and with it European football.

After 10 games: 3rd, 20 points

Of course, we all know who the surprise package were in that memorable 2015/16 season. It was of course… wait, what? West Ham? Yes, West Ham. Pay attention. In a way it’s strangely fitting that the most off-kilter Premier League season doesn’t even throw up the obvious 10-game bolter.

Leicester at that time were merely fifth, with Spurs, the other team in that infamous two-horse race, a couple of points behind them in sixth. Man City and Arsenal were at that time the really quite dreary leaders on 22 points apiece with West Ham – fresh from a 12th-place finish the season before – the team at that time appearing best placed to do something improbable just two points behind.

Change was in the air at West Ham. Slaven Bilic had replaced Sam Allardyce in the dug-out, Mark Noble had completed the most seamless of captaincy transitions from Kevin Nolan, while it was the final ever season at what everyone agreed we would all weirdly pretend they had always been known as the Boleyn Ground.

The Hammers notched some significant scalps in those early games, with wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Newcastle, Man City and Chelsea as well as defeats to Bournemouth and – more portentously than might have been imagined when it happened on August 15 – Leicester.

What happened next? West Ham won none of their next eight games, slipping from a high of second all the way down to tenth and out of the weirdest title race in modern history.

They lost only two of those eight games – at Watford and Spurs – but a run of three straight goalless draws in December was undeniably a bit of a buzzkill.

And it would be draws that cost them in the end. Fourteen of them in all meaning the Hammers could rally as high as only seventh despite losing only eight games all season. That was fewer defeats than City, United and Southampton directly above them in a Premier League table that had weirdness from top to bottom; Chelsea were famously tenth, Newcastle and Aston Villa were relegated.

West Ham in seventh doesn’t seem that incongruous in comparison, but they certainly played their part in contributing to the season’s overall bizarro world vibe.

After 10 games: 3rd, 22 points

Another one that requires us to forget current Premier League realities and cast our minds back to a dim and distant past. At the start of 2011 were within a handful of years either way of painful relegations, in 2009 and again in 2016. In the two seasons either side of 2011/12 they finished 12th and 16th. The current iteration of Newcastle may not quite be the one either the fans or new owners quite had in mind a couple of years ago, but it’s still a world away from one of which nothing much was expected at all in just their second season post-promotion.

Yet there they were, riding high in the top three and unbeaten after six wins and four draws in their first 10 games having won only two of their last 10 the previous season.

What happened next? As seems to be the case with a lot of these, it quickly went quite badly wrong before a significant rally. A run of four defeats in six winless games sent them tumbling down to seventh, but they would sink no lower.

They made a weird start to 2012 in which they picked up four wins in six games while losing the other two 5-2 and 5-0 at Fulham and Spurs, but with January signing Papiss Cisse making a fine start to life on Tyneside they won seven out of eight to remain right in the Champions League equation. The other game in that run was, of course, a 4-0 defeat at Wigan.

They finished fifth in the end, four points behind Spurs who were themselves memorably booted out of the Champions League by the antics of sixth-placed Chelsea.

After 10 games: 2nd, 22 points

Charlton in the mid-noughties were a solid-enough mid-table team under Alan Curbishley and had finished 11th the previous season so this wasn’t entirely out of the blue but nobody was seriously predicting this kind of caper from them.

Darren Bent, plucked from Championship Ipswich, was the catalyst, scoring five goals in his first four Premier League games for the Addicks, all of which ended in victory.

What happened next? A rapid falling off, alas. The seven wins in those giddy first 10 games would end up accounting for more than half Charlton’s season-long total as they failed in the end to match even the previous season’s 11th place, fading all the way to 13th in what would prove to be Curbishley’s final season at The Valley.

After 10 games: 4th, 22 points

What would now constitute a worrying start for the perennial champions was barely 15 years ago the stuff of dreams. City had finished 15th and 14th in the two previous seasons but started the 2007/08 campaign brilliantly under new owner Thaksin Shinawatra and manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

They were top of the table after a matchday-three Manchester derby win and recovered from a pair of 1-0 defeats at Arsenal and Blackburn to win four of the next five and clamber back into the top four.

What happened next? The very next game was a 6-0 defeat at Chelsea, but the true tailing off came in the new year. After beating Newcastle on January 2, City managed only four more wins in their remaining 17 games. Defeats in their last three games of the season – culminating in an 8-1 humbling at Middlesbrough – left City down in ninth when the music stopped.

It is a league table that now looks like something from an entirely different world, with the old Big Four duly filling the top four spots but City below Everton, Blackburn and Portsmouth with Spurs two places further back.

READ: Celebrating Sven-Goran Eriksson and the greatest football quote ever

After 10 games: 4th, 19 points

The 2003/04 season was Birmingham’s second in the Premier League, with consolidation the name of the game after a late rally had lifted them clear of relegation trouble and up to 13th in the end. The seven wins Birmingham managed in their final 11 games of 2002/03 proved a decent guide for what would transpire at the start of the following season.

Braced for another relegation battle, Steve Bruce’s side instead put paid to such talk almost instantly. They beat Tottenham on the opening day and by the end of September were proudly unbeaten with four wins and a couple of draws from their opening six games. An understandable if heavy defeat at Old Trafford put paid to the unbeaten start but draws against Chelsea and Villa steadied the ship before another win over Bolton.

What happened next? Birmingham lost four of the next five to drop out of the top four and back into mid-table. A chastening 4-1 defeat at Spurs in January 2004 was a sixth defeat in nine and dropped them all the way down to 10th.

They rallied again after that, though, embarking on an eight-match unbeaten run that lifted them all the way back to fifth by March only to run out of steam altogether on the final straight. They didn’t win a single game in April or May and duly finished the year where they had started it back in 10th.

After 10 games: 4th, 20 points

Sunderland’s previous attempt at Premier League football had ended in relegation in 1997 despite meeting the accepted 40-point target for survival. The following season they contrived not to get promoted despite mustering 90 points and decided it was then best to take no chances at all and duly racked up 105 points in 1998/99 to make damn sure of promotion.

It was a mightily impressive effort, but it was still very much not one expected to translate so instantly to top-flight success. But this was a Sunderland side powered by what remains the go-to example of the unstoppable powers of a big man-little man strike duo.

Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn led Premier League defences a merry dance and despite losing two of their first four games, Sunderland were by the end of October nicely settled in the top three after a run of seven wins and two draws in nine games. Phillips at this point had 13 goals and Quinn five.

What happened next? A torrid start to 2000 halted all talk of Sunderland doing something truly remarkable. They didn’t win a game between Christmas and late March, but a late rally saw them claim seventh place, while Phillip’s 30-goal haul snagged the Golden Boot.

After 10 games: 2nd, 24 points

Forest themselves have been here before. After finishing bottom of the first Premier League table in 92/93 – Brian Clough’s final season – a Stan Collymore-inspired Forest side had bounced straight back up under Frank Clark and continued that bounce with seven wins and three draws in their first 10 games back in the top flight.

A pair of 4-1 wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Tottenham were the highlights, with Collymore once again to the fore and ably assisted by your Lars Bohinens, Bryan Roys and Ian Woans as well as the odd typically thunderous Stuart Pearce penalty for good measure.

What happened next? A couple of bad runs did for them as title contenders, the first a run of four defeats in five in October and November and then five defeats in eight in the new year.

But while they weren’t part of the Man United-Blackburn title tangle they finished even stronger than they’d started, winning nine and drawing two of their final 11 games to clamber back up to third in the final reckoning.

After 10 games: 1st, 23 points

Perhaps the very finest surprise start still comes from the Premier League’s first ever season. Having finished just two places and three points above the relegation zone in the final year before football was officially invented, Norwich set about the Premier League with great zest.

There wasn’t even a late rally in 91/92 to use as hindsight fuel here; they lost nine of their last 11 games in the old Division One and then sold striker Robert Fleck to Chelsea in the summer. Yet the Premier League was very much to their liking under new manager Mike Walker.

Fleck’s replacement Mark Robins made an instant impact in a stunning 4-2 win at Arsenal on the opening day, and August brought further successes against Chelsea, Crystal Palace and Forest. September brought three further wins and a draw at Coventry to lift a team tipped for relegation to the summit.

Game 11 brought a 7-1 thrashing at Blackburn, but we don’t have to talk about that now.

What happened next? Despite that thrashing being soon followed by a 4-1 mauling at Liverpool, Norwich played their part in what was for some time a three-way title fight against Manchester United and Villa. They ultimately faded to a still-impressive third, with that propensity for the defeats they did suffer being hefty ones resulting in them doing so with a negative goal difference, which is weirdly impressive in its own way.

According to reports, Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a ‘surprise transfer’ as they are ‘targeting’ a raid on arch-rivals Arsenal.

Sol Campbell became a Judas at Spurs when he left the North London club for Arsenal, but there wouldn’t be the same level of reaction if Gunners goalkeeper Karl Hein made a similar jump.

The 22-year-old joined Arsenal in 2018 and his only senior appearance for the Premier League giants came in the Carabao Cup.

The 34-cap Estonia international had a loan spell at Reading in the Championship during the 2021/22 campaign and he’s spending the 2024/25 campaign with La Liga outfit Real Valladolid.

Hein has made a positive start to the new season as he’s started Real Valladolid’s first eleven La Liga matches and his performances have not gone unnoticed.

A report from Football Insider claims Spurs are ‘considering a surprise transfer no one saw coming’ as they are targeting Hein.

READ: Big Weekend: Manchester United, Martin, Wood and the battle for fourth between Spurs and Villa

The report explains why Hein would be ‘tempted’ to leave Arsenal for arch-rivals Tottenham.

‘The interest has come as a shock that no one saw coming, but they could tempt him to move across North London.

‘The goalkeeper has less than a year left on his contract with the Gunners and will be free to explore options over a move abroad from January.

‘While Spurs won’t be able to take advantage of that situation until 2025, the goalkeeper would be able to run down his deal before moving on a free transfer.’

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‘This has led to growing interest in his signature as they search for a capable backup for Guglielmo Vicario, who remains the first-choice option under Ange Postecoglou.

‘Hein will have the final say over his future at Arsenal and remains in control of his contract situation, and it is still possible that he could commit his future to the club. However, he remains the third-choice option at the Emirates behind David Raya and on-loan Norberto Neto, which is why he was allowed to go and spend the season in Spain.

‘At Spurs, he is expected to jump ahead of current number two and former England international Fraser Forster as the 36-year-old’s contract is also set to expire next summer.’

Ahead of Tottenham’s home game against Aston Villa on Sunday, head coach Ange Postecoglou confirmed one Spurs star will be out until the “after the international break”.

“Micky is the main one (injury worry),” the Tottenham head coach told reporters on Friday.

“He has strained a hamstring but it is not too serious. After the international break for him.

“He is disappointed obviously and was looking forward to the game.

“Certainly not a bad one like the last one.

“He will work hard and the international break is an extra two weeks so hopefully he does not miss much.”

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has ruled out defender Micky van de Ven until after the international break.

Van de Ven only lasted 14 minutes against Manchester City in his side’s 2-1 Carabao Cup victory on Wednesday and Postecoglou has confirmed he has a hamstring injury that will see him miss Sunday’s match against Aston Villa.

“Micky is the main one (injury worry),” the Tottenham head coach told reporters on Friday.

“He has strained a hamstring but it is not too serious. After the international break for him.

“He is disappointed obviously and was looking forward to the game.

“Certainly not a bad one like the last one.

“He will work hard and the international break is an extra two weeks so hopefully he does not miss much.”

This is the third hamstring injury for Van de Ven since he joined the club last summer.

The Netherlands international will likely be replaced at centre-back by Radu Dragusin.

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Postecoglou added that Cristian Romero and Timo Werner have knocks, while captain Heung-min Son will play against Villa if he “gets through” Saturday’s training session.

“The other one was Romero andWerner but they still have a chance for the weekend,” he said.

“Sonny trained today and if he gets through tomorrow should be okay.”

Meanwhile, former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has predicted Postecoglou’s men to beat Villa 2-1 on Sunday.

“What a Sunday we’ve got, and it starts with what should be a great game,” Redknapp said.

“I know Manchester City made a few changes but boy that was a big win for Spurs during the week. I thought they were really poor away at [Crystal] Palace last week, so it was important they bounced back so soon.

“Villa have now drawn three of their last four in the league and last week’s draw to Bournemouth must have been a tough one to take. It looks like it will be a really close race for the top four this season, they can’t afford too many dropped points.

“Spurs are a bit hit and miss on the road but at home, they tend to create and score plenty. I’m going for a 2-1 Spurs win but I’m not feeling too confident!”

Timo Werner’s first goal in 18 matches helped Tottenham knock Manchester City out of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win after a pulsating fourth-round tie.

Werner set Spurs on course for victory when he rifled home in the fifth minute, which was followed by a superb curled strike from Pape Sarr midway through the first half.

City responded with a Matheus Nunes goal on the stroke of half-time but after Pep Guardiola decided against bringing on Erling Haaland, Tottenham held on for a crucial win which sent them into the quarter-finals and helped push them a step closer to ending a 16-year trophy drought.

It was not a solely positive night for Ange Postecoglou after he lost Micky van de Ven to injury and City winger Savinho left the pitch on a stretcher as the packed fixture schedule hit home for both managers.

Guardiola had stated last month that City would not waste any energy on this competition, but named a stronger than expected team with only two inexperienced younger players included in Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee.

It was a similar story for Postecoglou, although one of the five players he recalled after the 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace immediately justified his selection.

Werner returned in place of 17-year-old Mikey Moore and ended his goal drought which stretched back to March early on.

Spurs played out from the back impressively before Archie Gray found Brennan Johnson, who flicked into the path of Dejan Kulusevski and he produced a perfectly-weighted cross for Werner to slam home from 14 yards.

Tottenham’s momentum was checked when Van de Ven felt his hamstring after a tackle on Savinho and looked distraught as he walked off to be replaced by Destiny Udogie.

After City youngster O’Reilly needed treatment soon after, the hosts almost grabbed a second from a short corner but Kulusevski ballooned his effort over.

It should have been a warning sign for the visitors, but it was not heeded and Spurs made it 2-0 through Sarr in the 25th minute.

Werner and Kulusevski combined from a short corner before the latter rolled into the path of Sarr, who produced a sublime curled effort from 25 yards that beat Stefan Ortega and nestled into the bottom corner.

City produced a response with a free-kick from Ilkay Gundogan sent over before a dangerous Nunes cross evaded Phil Foden.

The chances kept on coming with a Savinho effort curled wide and Foden directed another free-kick off target before the deficit was reduced.

Savinho got to the byline and crossed in for Nunes to side-foot home at the back post in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time.

Guardiola followed up the goal with the introduction of Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic at half-time.

Postecoglou also brought on Yves Bissouma before he made the surprise decision to replace stand-in-captain Cristian Romero, who had been excellent.

Tottenham could have restored their two-goal advantage by this point after Werner raced half the length of the pitch only to fire inches wide not long after Johnson tested Ortega with a stinging effort.

Ortega was required again when Johnson played in Kulusevski, but his low strike was pushed out before the injury curse struck again.

Firstly, Savinho went down – moments after Bernardo Silva had been brought on – and had to leave on a stretcher, which was soon followed by Werner being forced to limp out of the action.

The next opportunity went to City, but substitute Jacob Wright curled wide with 21 minutes left before Guardiola turned to Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, which meant Haaland would not be introduced.

Haaland-less City still pushed for a leveller and almost forced penalties in the 89th minute when Guglielmo Vicario failed to claim a corner, but O’Reilly’s shot on the turn was brilliantly booted wide by Bissouma on the line to hand the visitors a first defeat of the season.

Premier League winners and losers covers Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, Crystal Palace and Arsenal but the bulk of it goes to Erik ten Hag and Man Utd.

Premier League winners

Erling Haaland

It’s almost as though scoring normal goals is getting too easy for Haaland and he’s resorting to a kind of acrobat-poacher act simply to entertain himself.

In midweek, we saw the Norwegian scoring cyborg contort himself like a circus performer in a taekwondo tournament to bag a volley against Sparta Prague in the Champions League.

Against Southampton on Saturday, it was a similar story. This time Haaland set himself the task of tapping home while jumping backwards, legs a-straddle, and using his studs to direct the ball. Easy money.

Tune in next week to see Erling the Incredible plunder a hat-trick while wrapped in a straitjacket and suspended above a tank of piranhas.

Manchester City

Haaland’s unconventional effort was the only goal in an unusually laboured victory for City at the Etihad, but while Pep Guardiola’s men never quite found top gear, it was an incredibly satisfactory weekend for the reigning champions.

Sunday’s 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool allowed City to hang on to the top spot their Southampton win had given them a day earlier. Plus Aston Villa, currently fourth, unexpectedly dropped points at home to Bournemouth.

And as if their city-wide supremacy needed any reinforcement, United’s loss to West Ham means City are already a whopping 12 points up on their managerless neighbours.

Cole Palmer

Sky Sports’ commentary team were at pains to remind us what a brilliant footballer Palmer is throughout Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday. But yeah, they’re not wrong.

Palmer’s 47th-minute winner means – with five goals and seven assists – he’s been directly involved in more Premier League goals this season than any player, including Haaland.

In fact, the ex-City star has registered more goal involvements than any Premier League player since the start of last season. And the lovely, raking pass from deep inside his own half he played to launch the attack that led to Nicolas Jackson’s opener doesn’t count towards any of that.

As iconic as he is laconic.

Chelsea

Listen, we all had a great time poking fun at Chelsea and Todd Boehly as they were spending recklessly while performing shambolically on the pitch – “billion-pound bottle jobs” and all that.

But the time is fast approaching when we will have to reconcile with the fact that Chelsea are actually quite good.

Their 2-1 loss to Liverpool last week is their only defeat in 10 games. After edging out Newcastle at Stamford Bridge on Sunday – with a little help from Alexander Isak, who elected not to square the ball to give Joelinton a tap-in in the 75th minute – the Blues are up to fifth.

They’re not on the level of the league’s title contenders yet, but in Enzo Maresca they seem to have stumbled upon an employee with a cohesive plan, something that has been a rarity at the club for a couple of years now.

Don’t cry because Chelsea’s banter era is over. Smile because it happened.

Nottingham flipping Forest

A 3-1 Friday night win away to Leicester shot Nottingham Forest into the upper echelons of the table and results over the rest of the weekend conspired to keep them there.

Forest are up to seventh, above the likes of Tottenham, Newcastle and Man Utd, level on points with Brighton and only one behind Chelsea. And it doesn’t flatter them. They boast the third-best defensive record in the league after nine games and have lost just once.

If Forest’s form sticks, Nuno Espirito Santo will have to be in Manager of the Year conversations.

Chris Wood

On the whole, Forest don’t score a lot of goals (just 11 from nine games). But Chris Wood does.

A brace against Leicester took the Forest centre-forward’s tally for the season to seven. He’s already halfway to matching his haul for the whole of the 2023-24 campaign, which in itself equalled his career-best top-flight return.

Liverpool

Not winners in a literal sense, but a point away at Arsenal is a point well earned. Outplayed in the first half, Arne Slot’s side adjusted and took control in the second. By the time their 81st-minute equaliser arrived, it was merited.

Furthermore, Liverpool are buoyed by the continued stellar form of Mohamed Salah, who tucked away his sixth league goal for the season. His contract situation evidently isn’t a distraction.

Likewise Trent Alexander-Arnold, who showed his unique technical quality with a lovely ball into the inside-right channel in the build-up to Salah’s late equaliser. If they can tune out all the Madrid talk, Liverpool fans can content themselves with the knowledge they still have the most gifted right-back in the world. For now.

And in collecting Alexander-Arnold’s measured pass and laying on Salah’s strike, the oft-maligned Darwin Nunez showed uncharacteristic composure.

They’ve lost their place at the Premier League summit, but there are plenty of positives for Liverpool.

Crystal Palace

Oliver Glasner’s honeymoon period at Selhurst Park did not extend into the new season. The Austrian coach was a revelation upon taking over from Roy Hodgson last term. But after going winless through the first eight games of 2024-25, Palace might have wondered whether they should’ve taken the £15million Bayern Munich reportedly offered for the manager this past summer. Some of us are old enough to remember when they sacked Frank de Boer for a barren streak half as long.

But at last Palace have their first win of the season and it was an impressive scalp, knocking off Spurs 1-0 thanks to Jean-Philippe Mateta’s fifth goal of the season.

“It helps all of us if we play in that way,” Glasner said post-match. “We are a very good team and it is very difficult to beat us. Getting this response in this game helps us.”

West Ham

Another side in desperate need of a win and who found one against ‘Big Six’ (albeit 14th-placed) opposition this weekend.

After spending over £120 million in the summer, two wins from West Ham’s first eight league fixtures had brought new manager Julen Lopetegui under fire.

The Hammers rode their luck against the Red Devils. They could have been three or four goals down by half-time if not for the away side’s profligate finishing. And the foul that gave them a stoppage-time penalty was as soft as they come.

But their second-half performance showed an adaptability and endeavour too seldom spotted so far this season at the London Stadium.

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Evan Ferguson

It wasn’t so long ago that Ferguson was tipped to be the next mega-money Brighton export, valued upwards of £100million.

A 33-game goal drought is a fine way to silence such talk. But the Irish striker tucked away a tidy finish in the Seagulls’ 2-2 draw with Wolves on Saturday to put an end to his scoreless streak.

He’s still only 20, and he’s still very good.

Wolves

Ferguson’s strike put Wolves 2-0 down with just five minutes to play at the Amex. Still seeking their first win of the season, it looked as though Gary O’Neil was about to oversee his final moments in charge of the Black Country side.

But Wolves rallied and, thanks to goals from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha, pulled out a miraculous late comeback. It wasn’t the win they crave, but it will have felt like one.

Premier League losers

Erik ten Hag

Ten Hag said last week that he “totally ignores” United’s 3-0 loss to Spurs from a few weeks ago because his side were reduced to 10 men while 1-0 down, a sending-off of Bruno Fernandes that was later judged to have been incorrect.

It was a strange admission from the under-pressure manager – Man Utd played pitifully at Old Trafford before and after that red card.

And before Man Utd made the decision they should have done in the summer, Ten Hag would likely have compartmentalised Sunday’s loss to West Ham in similar fashion. Man Utd created enough chances to have been out of sight by half-time. And the Hammers’ stoppage-time winner was the result of a dubious VAR penalty given against Matthijs de Ligt.

But ignoring this one would have been to ignore the recurrence of an all-too-common pattern among United’s performances over the last 18 months. How many fans, after seeing their team fail to capitalise on their first-half dominance, had a sinking feeling that the Red Devils would lose their grip on the game thereafter and slip to another sub-par result?

And on the subject of United’s wastefulness in front of goal: it would be easy to give the manager a pass for that – he can’t put the ball in the net for them.

Man Utd have scored just eight league goals from chances worth an xG of 14.6 so far this season. That’s the biggest such discrepancy in the Premier League. And no team in the top flight has missed more ‘big chances’ (22).

So their bad form under the departed Dutchman was, largely, just bad luck, right?

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Mr Two Trophies might have you believe so. But Man Utd have also benefitted from more ‘luck’ in front of their own goal than any other side. The shots they have conceded this season have been worth 17.52xG, yet they have shipped only 11 goals.

And of all those big chances they have squandered, Marcus Rashford – the only player in the squad who’s ever scored 30 goals in a season – is responsible for just one; Rasmus Hojlund, their £72million striker, has also missed only one big chance.

Conversely, Alejandro Garnacho has missed seven. Fernandes has missed five. Diogo Dalot has missed three and centre-back Lisandro Martinez has missed two.

So Ten Hag seemingly crafted a system that leaked chances at one end and created plenty at the other, but just not for the players most capable of taking them. His sacking was inevitable.

Diogo Dalot

Could’ve spared his manager for another week or so if he’d not blazed over an open goal.

The ageing process

Father Time is being dealt a rare L this season by Danny Welbeck. The Brighton striker notched his sixth league goal of the campaign in Brighton’s 2-2 draw with Wolves.

After just nine games, the former Arsenal and England striker has not only equalled his best-ever return for the Seagulls but also his best since the 2013-14 season. When he was playing for Man Utd. Who were the reigning Premier League champions. And managed by David Moyes.

Tottenham

They can’t help themselves, can they? Smash Man Utd, lose the next game to Brighton. Batter West Ham, lose a week later to Palace. Spurs are almost always entertaining, often thrilling and sometimes magnificent. But are they good? Who the f**k knows.

Arsenal

Arsenal looked very much like title contenders for most of their eventual draw with Liverpool. And while their concession of a late equaliser was a sickener for the Gunners, a point against such high-level opposition while missing your best creative midfielder (Martin Odegaard) and defender (William Saliba) is a solid-enough outcome.

What is most disappointing for Mikel Arteta’s side, though, is that Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber both added their names to Arsenal’s injury list, forced off in the 54th and 76th minute, respectively.

After a trip to Preston in the EFL Cup, Arsenal’s fixture list reads Newcastle (A), Inter (A) and Chelsea (A). Now is not the best time to shed players.

Alexander Isak

Square it, FFS!

Only Leicester have more than one player in the worst XI of the Premier League weekend, so there is room for representatives from Man Utd and Spurs.

The XI is based on WhoScored ratings so blame the algorithms.

GOALKEEPER: Jose Sa (Wolves)

“The arrival of Sam definitely sparked something in Jose. I saw a difference in training. I saw a difference in his level of work,” said Gary O’Neil, who might have wished to see a difference in Sa’s kicking prompted by the £10m summer signing of Johnstone. It was a truly dreadful mistake and credit to Wolves for recovering from it.

RIGHT-BACK: Harry Clarke (Ipswich)

Oh, mate. Only the second player to score an own goal, concede a penalty and be sent off in the same Premier League game, on his full debut in the competition no less. Never go full Jan ‘9-0’ Bednarek.

CENTRE-BACK: Wout Faes (Leicester)

That’s the Wout Faes we know. He looked worryingly competent for a while, good even, but Chris Wood made him look an absolute fool at the City Ground.

CENTRE-BACK: Matthijs de Ligt (Manchester United)

The latest victim of a conspiracy apparently designed to keep *checks notes* Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United down in 14th. Did not make a single tackle against West Ham. Not one deemed legitimate by Michael Oliver and friends, anyway.

LEFT-BACK: Ryan Manning (Southampton)

Might have feared for his professional future when given the nod as left-back at the Etihad but did actually fare relatively well, albeit without making the sort of defensive actions that nerds and boffins love.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Christian Norgaard (Brentford)

There were hilarious gaps in the Brentford midfield against Ipswich and it feels like the captain probably should have been at least trying to fill some of them. Mind you, he gave it a go against Conor Chaplin after half an hour and was beaten in the build-up to Ipswich’s second goal.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD: Dejan Kulusevski (Tottenham)

His one shot-creating action against Crystal Palace was a pass for James Maddison to shoot from 33 yards for 0.02 xG. Both players were taken off in a triple substitution about seven minutes later so Ange Postecoglou obviously didn’t think much of it.

RIGHT WING: Jack Harrison (Everton)

There is not a lot of love in the Everton fanbase for Harrison, who has almost completed a full year without a Premier League assist while scoring twice in that time. He was the first player Sean Dyche took off against Fulham, having completed none of his two take-on attempts and just over half his passes.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD: Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

That was not really the game for fleet-footed dribbling, as his substitution before the hour suggested.

LEFT WING: Stephy Mavididi (Leicester)

Entirely shackled by Ola Aina, the Leicester winger offered precious little in defence or attack and picked up a booking for his troubles.

STRIKER: Enes Unal (Bournemouth)

A first start of the season ended with him being taken off in the 64th minute for Evanilson who scored the stoppage-time equaliser. The bloke is massive so did win a load of headers but struggled to trouble the Villa defence.

The desire from Tottenham to land Liam Delap points to the desire to sell one of their own strikers, as ex-Spurs scout Bryan King feels they won’t get him “unless” they sell a player in his position.

Tottenham are one of the Premier League big boys most impressed with Delap during his first proper Premier League season. The forward played twice for Manchester City in short cameos in recent seasons, before heading to Ipswich in the summer.

There, he has bagged five league goals in nine games – including a late equaliser in a 4-3 loss against Brentford, before he almost equalised again when hitting the post – and reports suggest Tottenham are keen on him, with Delap’s value now at £33million.

Former Spurs scout King feels that move won’t happen unless a striker is sold by the club, though.

“They’ve just signed a striker from Bournemouth [Dominic Solanke] for £60million-plus,” King told Tottenham News.

“You’ve got Richarlison and Solanke. You wouldn’t be looking to bring in another striker until at least next summer unless someone left Spurs in January.”

Solanke, having only been signed in the summer, is unlikely to be sold, but Richarlison, who has struggled to prove his worth after a £60million move in 2022, has been the subject of multiple reports on Spurs getting rid already.

As such, if Delap is to be pursued, Richarlison is likely the man to make way.

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King feels Ipswich are unlikely to want to let Delap go until at least the summer, though, given he is their top scorer this term and could help them to avoid relegation – they have been hovering around the drop zone.

“However, then it depends on if Ipswich Town are willing to sell him. I think they’re going to have problems in the Premier League,” King said.

“Therefore, the one guy scoring your goals, why would you want to sell him? That would be bad business, in a season where they’re trying to survive.”

Whether or not the former Manchester City academy player gets a big move remains to be seen, but continuing to bang in goals can’t hurt his chances.