Matchday 15 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 15 Round Up



Saturday 6th December


Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal

What a way to start the weekend! Just when Arsenal looked like they were going to stroll away with the title, they were pegged back by a team that started the season looking like a relegation candidate but have now put themselves right into the mix for a top 3 place. Emery has always had the ability to make a team competitive over the course of the season, and, as someone pointed out on the Liverpool site the other day, he does like teams with Villa in their name, having had success with Villareal and Sevilla prior to Aston Villa. Have they got the funds to push on to the next step though and make a title push? As for Arsenal, this is a long season and they were always going to have the odd setback, what they cannot allow to happen is another collapse to hand over the lead to Man City. This has to be the season Arteta pushes them over the line to win or his position would have to be questioned. It was nice to see him being decisive, with a double substitution at half-time, but it still feels like Arteta is the one thing holding them back from running away with the league.

Starmen:
Martinez - as often happens, he raised his game against his former club.
Cash - has improved massively in the last couple of seasons in particular.
Kamara - probably the key player for Villa.
Rice - if there is one player who deserves a league title it is Rice. Saka may be one of their own, but Rice is the heartbeat of the Gunners' team.

Flops:
Onana - his error led to Arsenal's equaliser.
Merino - sometimes Arsenal are able to get away with him up front, but this was not one of those games and it was no surprise he was taken off at half-time. He just does not provide them with a focal point up top.
Eze - the other player hauled off at half-time after being pretty anonymous in the first half.


Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea

The game I would least have expected to end in a bore draw, it must be said. Bournemouth's defence was decimated in the summer and looks extremely fragile, while Chelsea look a disorganised mess at the back a lot of the time. With both sides also having pretty strong attacks, I expected a few goals here. Both sides will probably have been happyish with a tie, as both are not in the best of form right now and just need to get back on track.

Starmen:
Semenyo - coming back into form just as the January window looms - not good timing for the Cherries, who really need to keep hold of him.
Sanchez - deserves credit for the improvement he has made since signing for Chelsea.

Flops:
Evanilson - not looking at his best right now.
Delap - a stop start season has not helped him integrate into the team properly and it looks like they are struggling to figure out how to use him to get the best from him.


Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Brentford

Frank had the edge over his replacement at the Bees, though it was more due to the difference in quality of squads rather than the managers. It was a very much needed victory for Spurs, with Frank desperate to get some results to get the fans onside, as they are really unhappy with his inability to get the players playing for him in any defined style. It is like he is afraid to play his way, knowing that the fans do not want that, but he is unable to set the team out to play any other way. Brentford were always a tough team to beat under Frank, no matter the final score, it was always a hard match, very physical, but under Andrews there are matches were they are a soft touch. This was one of them. They never really hurt Spurs, despite that awful defence.

Starmen:
Simons - still not convinced by him at all, he lacks football intelligence and desire, but he had a good game, scoring one and assisting the other.
Kudus - looked a bit more like the Kudus from the early weeks of the season.

Flops:
Kolo Muani - struggling to fit into this Tottenham side so far.
van den Berg - his error led to one of the goals.
Ajer - they got away with playing him at left-back a few times, but he is clearly no full-back.
Yarmoliuk - works hard but his decision making is appalling.


Manchester City 3-0 Sunderland

I have seen this referred to as the moment the Mackems bubble burst, but I think that is harsh. They were always going to struggle at this point of the season, with games coming thick and fast and no quality to rotate into the team to give players a rest. For me, a team like City will always be a problem for them, because the one thing Guardiola does get from his players is hard work. The basis of Sunderland's success so far has been outworking the opposition and not allowing their quality to come through. That was never going to work against City.

Starmen:
O'Reilly - usually impresses whenever I see him play.
Doku - always a threat.
Cherki - two assists are a good reminder of what he can do.

Flops:
Brobbey - such a drop off in quality from Isidor.
O'Nien - managed to get himself sent off, despite only coming on in the 88th minute.


Newcastle United 2-1 Burnley

This game was pretty much over as a contest when Guimaraes opened the scoring, but Newcastle did not make the most of Burnley going down to ten men at the end of the first half. They were clearly too good for the Clarets to cope with, but they never killed the game off properly. Really though, Burnley's last gasp goal was just a consolation. They look like a team sliding into oblivion fast, only the horror that is Wolves keeping them off the bottom now.

Starmen:
Guimaraes - opened the scoring and is the heartbeat of the Newcastle team.
Gordon - should really have scored more than just the penalty, but he finally showed some threat.

Flops:
Ramsey - did not offer much, even up against ten men.
Burnley midfield - struggled to provide any kind of protection to the defence.
Walker - never looks good when forced to defend under pressure.
Pires - his sending off destroyed any genuine hopes Burnley had.


Everton 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Dyche's return to his previous club turned into a disaster, not helped by an early own goal from one of Forest's better players, Milenkovic in the 2nd minute. Forest were well beaten, even Barry managed to score, something that seemed unlikely to happen previously. The Toffees are in good form now, this being their 4th win in 6 games, moving themselves into a top half position and looking like a team going the right way this season. Forest had looked to be moving clear of the drop zone before this defeat, they will be looking forward to getting some players back from injury to fill out their team with a little more quality. They looked to badly miss Murillo in particular.

Starmen:
Dewsbury-Hall - gave the Everton midfield a much more balanced and creative look by moving him deeper. He works hard but lacks the eye for a pass to play as a 10.
Ndiaye - a player of real quality, week in, week out.

Flops:
Hutchinson - has been doing fairly well but had a poor game, not helped by his error leading to Everton's second.
Ndoye - I really do not see what he offers.
Gibbs-White - this season he has had very few good moments, even less in this game!


Leeds United 3-3 Liverpool

Leeds were a mixed bag, failed to offer anything in this game right up until they got a penalty they were just incredibly passive and barely attempted to attack. Then the penalty roused the crowd, which in turn revved up the players and they fought back to level it, twice. Really impressive desire and energy at the end, but you have to wonder where it was in the first 70 minutes. It was a stroll for Liverpool up until Konate's idiocy. Once again Liverpool were the masters of their own downfall, only to be followed up by Salah's outburst to the press. There are so many problems with Liverpool, Slot is not helping himself with his handling of the season, after such a stellar first year. The constant choice to sit back and try and defend, the moment the team takes the lead, is just crazy when you are still picking the liability that is Konate in defence. The plan should revolve around keeping the ball as far away as possible from him!

Starmen:
Stach - was Leeds standout performer.
Tanaka - came off the bench to liven the whole team up with his energy and enthusiasm. A real livewire who is also a very good player.
Ekitike - scored two, the first down to his alertness to pick up on an error at the back.
Szoboszlai - once again Liverpool's best player and scored to give them back the lead.

Flops:
Rodon - has been good this season, but his loose pass led to the first Liverpool goal.
Slot - trying to defend a lead with this team in this form was not the right choice.
Konate - I have no words that do not involve foul language for him right now!



Sunday 7th December

Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 West Ham United

A result that has done little for either team, with both really needing the win to keep their momentum up. Brighton did keep going to score their late equaliser, but in a season this tight, dropping points against teams they are expected to beat will cost them. West Ham need wins in the position they are in, to get a bit of breathing room, and they were very close to picking up one here. Once again though, a cautious approach led to dropping points when in a good position. They should still have enough to get clear, but Sunderland's incredible start has made it a lot more difficult.

Starmen:
Rutter - rescued a point with his late goal.
Bowen - by some distance the Hammers best player, if not the greatest captain.
Fernandes - Paqueta is seen by many as the creative player in the midfield, but he is beginning to take on more of that mantle.

Flops:
Minteh - woeful decision making. Lots of pace, but not so much intelligence.
Diouf - good going forward, but his inability to defend is an issue.


Fulham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Fulham are so inconsistent, lacking squad depth after a poor summer transfer window, and it looks like that will cost them the services of Marco Silva, who is out of contract next summer. The lack of options is really making it difficult for him to keep Fulham competitive, something which will have been rammed home by a defeat to fellow Londoners Palace. Palace have a similar financial capacity, but they are much stronger right now having done much better business. Yet, despite them being in a better position, they still look like they will lose their manager in the summer as well.

Starmen:
Pino - when on it, he is a very exciting player to watch.
Wharton - needs better players around him.

Flops:
Kevin - clearly has talent but right now he is struggling to establish himself.
Castagne - out of position on the left and it showed.



Monday 8th December

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-4 Manchester United

The first half was actually a good, close contest. Everything changed for the second half, Man Utd were better and Wolves absolutely threw it away. It was one of the worst team performances I have ever seen, from almost certainly the worst Premier League team ever. Wolves were absolutely diabolically bad. Man Utd were the better team, but they were not having to work for it. If Edwards saves this Wolves team from the drop, it will be among the biggest football miracles of all time. As for United, with their complete lack of flexibility they are very up and down, depending on whether the opposition suits their style or not. The scoreline did not flatter them, but they were not at their best, it was just like Wolves gave up.

Starmen:
Cunha - ignored the boos to be a big part of United's victory.
Fernandes - two goals and an assist. He may not be a well liked character, outside of Man Utd fans, but he is a very good player.

Flops:
Andre - looked a bit out of sorts without Gomes alongside him.
Johnstone - one of the worst goalkeeping performances of all time, he was at fault for at least 2 goals. Abysmal keeper at this level.
Larsen - just looked like he could not be bothered.

Written by Tris Burke December 12 2025 11:52:40