Matchday 21 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 21 Round Up



Tuesday 6th January


West Ham United 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Even when returning to his old club, where he had been pretty much kicked out in disgrace, Nuno could not find it within himself to go and attack a team that looked in trouble. Instead it was the same old and that completely let Dyche's Forest team off the hook. The Hammers are simply not capable of playing a defensive game with the players they have, it just exposes their weaknesses. Forest may have been lacking in confidence and there for the taking after 4 defeats in a row in the Premier League, but we will never know as West Ham were not going to try and take them! Forest have been struggling to get goals, but they were given an open invite by West Ham and were happy to take it.

Starmen:
Dominguez - scored a goal and looked very good, though his place will be under threat now Sangare has returned from AFCON.
Anderson - looks to be returning to some form.
Williams - always gives 100% but does need someone to get on the end of his crosses.

Flops:
Todibo - not a game he will remember fondly.
Paqueta - sometimes you wonder if he just cannot be bothered.
Hutchinson - hit and miss so far this season.



Wednesday 7th January


Bournemouth 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur

A rare thing when Frank is involved, a good, exciting football match. He does not like good football and that is going to be his undoing at Spurs, with the fans already turning on him (they joined in the Villa fans chants that Frank is a Gooner during their FA Cup defeat at the weekend). The problem is that Frank has been too indecisive to go all in with his chosen style and is trying to find a middle ground between his shithousery style and the good, attacking football that the fans crave. He has ended up with a mess all of his own making and worse results than Postecoglou managed. Even against a team that is so weak as the current Cherries side, Spurs could not get a victory. Iraola, on the other hand, has his style, the players are well-drilled and they keep with it even when results are turning against them.

Starmen:
Semenyo - his final game for Bournemouth and he left them with a last gasp 90+4th minute winner! Not many better ways to go.
Evanilson - a real handful for any defence, particularly one as poor as Spurs' is.
Tel - first time I can remember him playing well.

Flops:
Jimenez - Bournemouth desperately need a proper right-back. They have been making do with midfielders, the over-the-hill Smith and now Jimenez, but none look good enough.
Scott/Cook - the centre of the Cherries midfield is a real weak link, lacking in any real bite.
Muani - is yet to show anything.
Simons - got an assist but still looks a long way off being a good player.
Bergvall - woefully unsuited to this set up.
Porro - technically sound but mentally brainless.
van de Ven - very quick but not a very good defender. He needs to learn positional sense.
Vicario - incredibly inconsistent keeper.


Brentford 3-0 Sunderland

Brentford's bullying tactics paid off against a Sunderland side who looked flat, tired even, and badly missed Sadiki's energy and drive in the centre of midfield. The biggest difference though was simply Thiago, having a striker in form instead of a forward who has a very poor goalscoring record in Brobbey changes everything. Thiago is flying high, his confidence is massive and he gave the Mackems defence a torrid time. Brobbey works hard, uses his power and pace well, but his shooting is nervous and he tends to take an extra touch or two because of his lack of confidence, giving defenders time to get a foot in or across to block.

Starmen:
Kelleher - the Irish keeper has always done well against penalties and saved le Fee's penalty.
Schade - his pace gave Sunderland a lot of problems.
Thiago - the big Brazilian is on fire at the moment and notched another two goals.

Flops:
le Fee - terrible penalty.
Rigg - does not look ready for the step up from the Championship.
Geertruida - he looked like a defender out of place in midfield.
Alderete - has been excellent all season, but had an off day.
Hume - gives his all, but he is not a good left-back. His versatility is counting against him at times.


Crystal Palace 0-0 Aston Villa

It is hard to understand why Glasner is so highly rated, even putting aside his tendency to throw tantrums and make ridiculous demands beyond the financial scope of the clubs he is in charge of - potentially damaging to the clubs in fact - and then move when those demands are not met. His football is terrible to watch, just another Moyes/Nuno type, who will have his team sit deep and defend for 90 minutes. His inability to manage a squad is being shown up at the moment as well, with form crashing and burning and the club dropping down the Premier League table like a stone. Just one substitution in the 90th minute at this time of year, with the team looking tired, is not what is needed at this time of year with the games coming so thick and fast. Villa will be extremely disappointed to have failed to pick up three points, though losing their keeper at half-time would have been a worry, with Bizot having shown already that he is not a Premier League level keeper right now.

Starmen:
Wharton - keeps Palace's team ticking over on the ball.
Cash - has been very good for Villa this season.
Konsa - very solid centre-back, whose presence gives Cash a lot more freedom to get forward.

Flops:
Johnson - a strange buy, lightweight and lacking in football intelligence. Yes he is quick, but he is lazy and he is very one-dimensional.
Mateta - lacked good service.
Sancho - once again he is failing to produce when given the chance to show what he can do.


Everton 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers

The story of this game is the stupidity of the Everton players getting themselves sent off. To be fair, Keane was more silly, pulling the hair like that, but Grealish was just petulant. But then this is a player who was too 'ill' to play a game over Xmas, funnily enough just after a drunken night out. You can see why Citeh look so much better without a bad influence like him at the club. Wolves will be gutted they were unable to take advantage, they look like they are improving under Edwards and will make a fight of trying to stay up, at least. A few weeks back, they were the worst team I have ever seen in the Premier League, but Edwards has turned them around. Unfortunately for Wolves, it is probably just too late to save them.

Starmen:
Garner - the class of Everton's team right now.
Gomes - has grown since Andre lost his place through suspension. With a more attacking pair in midfield, it has freed him up to play his game, rather than having him and Andre tripping over each other. They were just too similar.

Flops:
Grealish - an idiotic sending off from a player who has faded badly after a good start with the Toffees.
Tchatchoua - he looks a very poor signing.


Fulham 2-1 Chelsea

Another match with indiscipline costing a team, this time it was Chelsea, as I am sure you all expected, with them having the worst disciplinary record in the Premier League. They really need to sort it out, though it is difficult for an interim coach to do anything about it, the new man will have to clamp down on it as it is costing them points. Fulham are moving up the table to a comfortable midtable position, but look short of making a genuine challenge for European football.

Starmen:
Berge - revelled in the space in midfield.
Jimenez - scored a goal, which he has deserved for his hard work.
Delap - best I have seen him play.

Flops:
Castagne - with Chelsea down to ten, the wing-backs should have been able to offer far more.
Cucurella - he does have a petulant streak, usually he is able to get away with a lot but this time around he got what he deserved. It is, along with playacting, his biggest weakness and could do with being clamped down on as he is such an excellent player that losing him to suspension is costly.


Manchester City 1-1 Brighton & Hove Albion

An extremely disappointing performance by Citeh, who you would normally expect to raise their game and place pressure on Arsenal at the top. Instead, like last season, they are faltering when it matters, something completely out of character for a Pep side. However, there is still a long way to go before the title is decided and they have the quality to go on a run at any time. Brighton did not really play particularly well, they wasted a fair few chances but they were always dangerous on the counter. They do look a long way off the team they have been in recent years, other than Mitoma, who they have missed badly while he was out injured.

Starmen:
Alleyne - the youngster looks a real prospect, calm on the ball and quick.
Doku - some of his runs are mesmerising, but the constant rotation has affected him and his end product has slipped from the early season.
Mitoma - probably should have scored another goal, he was a massive threat and worked very hard for the team as well.

Flops:
Gomez - offered very little.
Ayari - despite getting an assist, he was very poor.


Newcastle United 4-3 Leeds United

A crazy game and for once the Toon won a game which finished 4-3! They do seem to be finally getting some form back, after a terrible run and are now back in a position they would have expected to occupy in the league table. I am not sure they will have expected to find a winner in the 11th minute of added on time though. Earlier in the season, these kind of results were going against them. Leeds, on the other hand, are in a tough run, having played some of the stronger teams in the division in recent weeks but have managed to pick up some unexpected points and kept themselves clear of the relegation places. The big thing is that they have been competitive in every game, something which helps keep confidence high.

Starmen:
Joelinton - a brute of a player, but very effective in midfield. Scored as well, which is something he struggled to do when playing up front.
Barnes - two goals, despite starting on the right rather than his favoured left wing role.
Aaronson - has been a revelation in recent weeks. Has gone from being a figure of hate amongst the Leeds faithful to a cult hero. His two goals and work ethic will have gone a long way towards getting him forgiveness for his attempts to jump ship when Leeds were relegated last time.
Calvert-Lewin - another goal and an assist, he is shining under Farke currently.

Flops:
Pope - has not long returned to fitness, looked rusty.
Thiaw - he has been excellent for Newcastle this season but had an error strewn match.
Rodon - normally so reliable in defence for Leeds.


Burnley 2-2 Manchester United

A strange game which saw the Clarets pretty much playing the Amorim system, while Man Utd, under interim boss Darren Fletcher, switched to a back four. Even more strange was the sight of Sesko scoring a brace, something he had not even threatened to do under Amorim. The result was similar to those Amorim had produced though, with an own goal helping Burnley to a result that had not seemed likely ahead of kick off. It was a result that really helped neither team in terms of the league, but will have given Burnley a boost to confidence.

Starmen:
Fernandes - he may be opposing fans player of choice to hate, but he is also one of the better players in the game when playing an attacking midfield role.
Sesko - scored two and looked dangerous.
Dorgu - looked terrible as a wing-back, but now he is playing an attacking midfield role he suddenly seems a decent player.

Flops:
Walker - I am not sure why he is still getting games, he looks shot at this level.
Mejbri - looked like he was trying too hard against his former team.



Thursday 8th January

Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool

An extremely disappointing match to watch, as the two teams seemed content with a draw and for long periods it felt like they were just playing out time with virtually no intent to attack. That makes sense for Arsenal, who only needed a point to maintain their lead, but if Liverpool had any ambition of catching up to the top three they failed to show it. It says a lot that the only real points of interest were down to just two or three incidents. It was very much a match of two halves, as the old cliche goes, with Arsenal dominant in the first half but then sat back for the second half and Liverpool dominated. The difference really was that Arsenal looked like they could get in and score in the first half, but in the second Liverpool never really even looked like they could score. That is why it was so disappointing as Arsenal were so happy to just sit in and protect the point, when it could have ended up costing them once again. In fact, it really should have when Wirtz was clearly fouled in the box and should have got a penalty in my opinion. I should also point out that Saka was lucky to escape a red card, yet somehow did not even get a yellow for kicking Kerkez waist high when the ball was on the ground. It was a petulant kick out, which has somehow received no coverage, even though it was far more of a red card than the incident with Martinelli and Bradley. Martinelli was just stupid, though he could not have complained if he got two yellows, as he deliberately bounced the ball on Bradley as he laid on the floor before proceeding to try to push him off with his knee and then drag him off the pitch when that did not work. Yes, it was nasty, and extremely stupid as it was obvious Bradley was genuinely hurt, but it is not worthy of the outcry in my opinion. I actually agreed with Slot, this kind of thing is a consequence of the constant playacting by players in the modern era. My gripe with that incident was how slow Bradley's teammates were to get over there and protect him after seeing Martinelli bounce the ball off him. The Brazilian should not have even been given the opportunity to try and push Bradley. Overall, Arsenal were the better side, but failed to make their dominance pay in the first half and then Arteta's natural caution kicked in.

Starmen:
Rice - he is having a superlative season.
Gravenberch - he is not having the best of seasons but he played really well against Arsenal.

Flops:
Lewis-Skelly - he has not looked the same player this season. Lack of minutes have not helped him, but he looks a shadow of the player he was last season.
Gyokeres - he does get very little service, but he is not exactly helping himself to score by dropping off and not busting a gut to get on the end of anything.

Written by Tris Burke January 13 2026 17:25:29