Matchday 12 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 12 Round Up



Saturday 22nd November


Burnley 0-2 Chelsea

While Burnley looked toothless and lacked a cutting edge up front, they will certainly have reason to feel hard done by at the hands of an extremely weak referee. A handball by Chalobah could (should?) have been a penalty, no idea why it was not given, then the ludicrous situation with Badiashile which could have been a penalty or, at the very least, a second yellow for Badiashile. The referee booked him for a clear foul at a corner, but decided not to award a penalty as he said the ball was not in play, only for Badiashile to commit the exact same foul on the retake. It was embarrassing to see the referee so clearly bottle the decision. However, on the overall play, Burnley deserved nothing from the game, despite starting well, they just do not have the quality at this level. Chelsea did not play particularly well, but, those refereeing decisions aside, always looked comfortable and their quality stood out, especially when they were able to bring on a top class talent in Estevao off the bench.

Starmen:
Esteve - had a good showing, with decent quality on the ball as well as defending well.
Santos - his performance meant that Chelsea not just did not miss Caicedo, but he actually has shown that there is pressure for the place. He was excellent at breaking up the play, as well as making a few blocks.

Flops:
Hartman - his lack of quality on the ball let the Clarets down repeatedly.
Delap - looks a long way off the player he was last season. It looked like a lack of sharpness as he did not make the runs in behind that made him such a threat.
Badiashile - idiotic defending at corners which should have seen him sent off after he was brought on as a sub. No idea why he thought he could get away with it, but somehow he did.


Fulham 1-0 Sunderland

A tough match for Fulham, it took a late goal from Jimenez to finally get them the win. The most obvious thing to take from the match is that it looks like both are in a false position in the Premier League at the moment, but Fulham have definitely been weakened by the lack of transfer activity in the summer. They are some way short of pushing for Europe again. Sunderland are giving everyone a good game and running themselves into the ground, but I do fear they will struggle badly over the Christmas period, without the strength in depth to rotate. Their sheer graft is going to give them the best possible chance to stay up, but they still lack options to bring off the bench.

Starmen:
Jimenez - popped up just when they needed him to. He still is not at the level he was before his head injury, but at least he looks like a genuine goal threat once more.
Roefs - he had a busy day with Fulham having 24 shots in total, though only 6 hit the target.

Flop:
Wilson - needs to work harder, especially against a team like the Mackems.


Liverpool 0-3 Nottingham Forest

Before I point out just how bad Liverpool were, again, credit should be given to Forest, who completely out-played Liverpool for most of the match. The opening half hour, when it was looking like a decent match, they defended well when needed and always looked likely to score when they had possession. After they did score, they could have racked up much more but they were content to play within themselves and pick Liverpool off when chances came. They will certainly be rightly aggrieved at their second goal being disallowed for a non-existent handball. It could not have been more clear and obvious the ball hit well above the sleeve line, it was a terrible decision to disallow it. And Forest would have fully deserved to win by the bigger margin as well, they were excellent and looked much more like the team that challenged for the Champions League last season. As for Liverpool, their form is disastrous, the tactics are abysmal and the lack of fitness and effort from the players is a real issue, which leaves Slot looking like a manager fighting for his job. One thing that stood out for me in recent weeks is the passive way of playing, the lack of effort to make passing angles to play out from the back. I watched Blackburn Rovers beat Preston North End and the difference was stark. When they were trying to play out from the back and their goalkeeper was under pressure, one of the centre-backs made a 30 yard sprint wide into space to give him an option to pass to. Contrast that with van Dijk and Konate's static displays, which have seen van Dijk marked out of games. Until the team starts to put in the hard yards to create the spaces, they will struggle.

Starmen:
Jesus - fully deserved a goal for his performance and effort, such a shame for him that it was wrongly chalked off.
Gibbs-White - finally woke up to the season starting!
Anderson - an outstanding performance by an outstanding player. Forest need to hold onto him and build their team around him.
Murillo - he has the talent to shine for Brazil in the summer. A fantastic player.
I could really add any amount of Forest players here, but those four just stood out the most for me.

Flops:
Slot - once again his tactics failed miserably and his constant attempts to fix the problems caused by a weak midfield getting bullied by emptying the midfield and playing the best of them in defence is a disaster.
Konate - fell apart after a poor error in the first half. Why anyone above League 2 level would be interested in signing him after this season is a bit of a mystery!
van Dijk - his leadership is showing no signs of doing anything. There is no drive coming from him.
Mac Allister - he is being exposed as a weak, slow midfielder with no protection alongside him.
Isak - so far off match sharpness, it is embarrassing. He should be nowhere near the starting line up until his fitness and sharpness improves. I know he was unable to do a proper pre-season, but a professional athlete should still have themselves somewhere close to full fitness on their own, without needing all the coaching staff. The fact he is so far off it is extremely worrying.


Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham United

What looked like a routine victory for the Hammers was transformed after Nuno decided to take off Wilson and replace him with the lumbering midfielder Soucek. The Cherries are a team that keep fighting and once West Ham decided to sit back and defend their lead, it gave them hope. In the end, West Ham will probably just be glad that they managed to hold onto a point. Bournemouth have done well to remain competitive despite the summer sales, but their lack of quality at the back is being exposed now. Iraola's positive substitutions rescued a point, but they really need to strengthen in January.

Starmen:
Unal - with Semenyo missing through injury, they needed someone to provide the goal threat and the Turk popped up to grab the vital equaliser.
Wilson - scored twice and was causing so many problems right up until Nuno decided to shut up shop and take him off.
Areola - can be prone to an error but he was excellent in this game.

Flops:
Diakite - looks out of his depth in the Premier League at times.
Nuno Espirito Santo - threw away two points by trying to sit on a two goal lead.
Kilman - silly penalty to give away.


Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Brentford

Every time I watch Brentford, they look disorganised at the back and reliant on bodies throwing themselves in the way of shots. That is simply unsustainable in the long term and it is little surprise that they conceded two. The surprise to me is any game where they manage to keep clean sheets. Brighton do not look at the same level as they have been in recent seasons, but still had enough to snatch a win, though they have a missed Bees penalty to thank for that.

Starmen:
Welbeck - the veteran forward is in great form right now.
Thiago - scored one penalty and missed one, but his overall play is key to the way Brentford are set up to play.

Flops:
Baleba - has all the transfer speculation turned his head? There is certainly something not right with him so far this season, even allowing for his late return after injury.
Schade - he has been a big part of the success the Bees have had this season but he was weak when he had a chance to cause BHA problems, choosing to look for a penalty.


Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Crystal Palace

Despite the arrival of new manager Rob Edwards, nothing has really changed for Wolves. They are still lacking in quality and it is going to take him time to get them turned round and heading in the right direction. Facing a well organised defensive side like Palace was far too big a task for them so soon after Edwards arrived. Palace are now in a position to challenge regularly for European qualification and were just too good for a very poor Wolves side.

Starmen:
Krejci - Wolves stand out player, they will need to convert his loan from Girona into a permanent deal.
Munoz - his driving runs are key to the way Palace play and he scores goals from wing-back.
Pino - scored an excellent goal to kill the game.

Flops:
Munetsi - I am really not sure what he offers or what position he plays. He just seems to be on the pitch to, well mostly to lose the ball it seems.
Arokodare - did not do enough to earn a place. The effort seems entirely lacking.
Toti - how is this man captain? There is no leadership coming from him and so many errors.
Arias - came with a big reputation but so far has shown nothing at all.


Newcastle United 2-1 Manchester City

It was clear watching this game that Newcastle's biggest problem is a lack of motivation in a lot of games. When it is a big game under the lights, their players always turn up and cause so many problems for the opposition. When that does not happen, with a tactical plan based on pure physicality, they struggle. Howe is clearly unable to get the players up and at it, that is why it only happens in games that the players are up for anyway. City look like a team in transition, they are better than last season, but still a work in progress, with a lack of knowhow for what to do when their plan is not working. They looked to Foden in this game, and he let them down badly, offering little.

Starmen:
Joelinton - having a player like him, who would probably only get a yellow card if he decapitated someone, is so useful when you play a game based on organised thuggery. He was able to just kick the opposition into submission.
Thiaw - has been excellent this season so far.
Barnes - two goals for the winger were the difference.
Tonali - ran the midfield.

Flops:
Guardiola - got it all wrong and was too slow to make the right change, bringing on Reijnders, who immediately improved City, only in the 77th minute, when the game had been crying out for him from the start.
Cherki - he is not doing enough on the ball and even less off it.
Silva - looked too old and slow against Newcastle.
Foden - had plenty of chances to offer something, but he failed to show even a modicum of creativity.


Sunday 23rd November

Leeds United 1-2 Aston Villa

This was a match of two halves, in all the meanings of the old cliche. Leeds battered Villa for the first 45 minutes, but could only score one and that required an error from Martinez. Emery made decisive changes at half time and Villa's quality showed through and they were able to win, despite never being anywhere near the best. It was all about the quality of players, with Farke's 'attacking' options being the likes of Calvert-Lewin, who is not exactly a goal machine on his best days. What it did highlight was how much Farke's tactics away from home have hindered Leeds' hopes of avoiding relegation. This was a match where Leeds can consider themselves unlucky to lose, with a battling performance that gave Villa no end of trouble. Away trips tend to be totally different for the Yorkshire men, who sit back and take a beating. If they approached them in this vein, they would at least give themselves hope!

Starmen:
Bogle - he is a threat when he drives forward down the flank, but also defends well.
Rodon - he is the rock that their defence is built on.
Longstaff - looking like a good signing.
Rogers - does not get involved enough in the game, but when he does get involved it is normally decisive, as his two goals showed.
Kamara - he was key to Villa's ability to hold on.
Malen - his introduction at half-time changed the match.

Flops:
Okafor - just seems to run into whoever is in front of him and lose the ball most of the time.
Watkins - works hard but his confidence is in the gutter right now.


Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Has there been a manager more unsuited to a team than Thomas Frank is to Spurs? They are in an utter mess and nothing he does seems to help. His pragmatic, defend, time waste and play for set pieces approach might have a chance if they had any players who are capable of playing that way. Especially the physicality it requires, Spurs are a weak wet wipe of a team when it comes to physicality, other than Palhinha. Arsenal were able to roll over them without breaking sweat. It was an embarrassingly one sided game for a derby game, with a clear gulf between the two sides. Spurs are playing like a team that would lose to the training dummies in training matches.

Starmen:
Eze - has to be in here with a hat-trick! Is he the missing piece they needed? That little bit of flair that gives them something different at the attacking end of the pitch?
Rice - he is a class act, off the pitch as well. One of those players that could pretty much walk into any team in the world.
Palhinha - the only Spurs player who showed any kind of spine. You can tell he is on loan!

Flops:
Zubimendi - probably harsh, but his mistake did give Spurs hope.
Frank - he just does not have a clue how to utilise the squad he has been given. It just feels like an arranged marriage that is going badly wrong and will soon end in divorce.
Danso - all over the place.
Romero - he is so wild and rash that he hands opportunities to the opposition constantly.
Udogie - I do not think he was fully fit, either that or he just was not trying.
Kudus - completely anonymous.


Monday 24th November

Manchester United 0-1 Everton

Possibly the surprise result of the weekend, for a number of reasons, including Moyes' lack of ambition and the bizarre red card to Gueye for slapping his team-mate Keane in the face. Though, on reflection, like the Forest win over Liverpool, it is not really that surprising when you have seen the way the teams are performing recently. While Everton are not great, they are a much better team than last season and perfectly suited to a backs-to-the-wall defensive performance, with the excellent Ndiaye to give them a constant threat. Added to that, Man Utd are incredibly unsuited to playing against a team that plays like that, with Amorim's refusal to deviate from his system. It does seem to me that United are no better in real terms than last season, they just have a few higher quality attackers to pick up the goals this time around. It must be said, they did badly miss Cunha, who has been key to them this season in my opinion. Without his maverick ability to produce something from nothing, similar to Ndiaye for Everton, Man Utd really have no way of breaking down these kind of packed defences. Just passing the ball slowly from side to side was never going to cut it.

Starmen:
Ndiaye - he has been probably the best right winger in the Prem this season and this was another excellent performance.
Dewsbury-Hall - it was a great performance from him, he worked hard and scored the only goal.
O'Brien - came on for the injured Coleman very early and then had a field day with most of United's crosses put into his area and every opponent around him being a good 5 inches or more shorter than him!

Flops:
Amorim - his refusal to alter his tactics were once again at fault for the result.
Dorgu - he offers nothing in the final third, with a horrible first touch that shows no signs of improving and a delivery from wide areas with his left foot that makes you question if he is not actually right-footed really.
Gueye - I do not understand what got him so riled up in the first place. Yes Keane made a mistake, but surely he is used to that by now?

Written by Tris Burke November 26 2025 06:09:02