Dean Smith sacked by Villa. 3-1 losses at the Emirates have now claimed Lampard, Nuno and Dean Smith. All similar type performances in which the writing was on the wall.
Managerial tenures tend to be decided against rivals. Writing was on the wall for Lampard and Nuno when they lost at the Emirates and for OGS now he's lost to City. I felt Villa would struggle to recover from that collapse to Wolves and they have (meanwhile Wolves have gone from strength to strength).
Wolves started the season playing well, but not getting results. They lost to Leicester, us and Utd in the first three matches, but had chances to win them all. Once their strikers got up to speed they were going to cause people problems. Villa spent the Grealish money on three players this summer and it hasn't worked out. Watkins and Ings don't complement each other and Buendia and Bailey haven't hit the ground running. Does feel a bit harsh on Smith, but 5 consecutive losses is fatal for most managers now.
As much as I'm not keen on stats xG is generally a good barometer of team performance over a longer period. Wolves and Palace were battering teams earlier on and not getting the points they deserved. OTOH United and Tottenham (under Nuno) were winning games against the run of play which simply isn't sustainable. Chelsea relying on defenders as the main source of goal threat and clean sheets is also why we'll fall short of City and Liverpool IMO.
Arsenal failing to give the ball back after the ball's played out for an injury? please log in to view this image
No sympathy from me. They were fouling us non-stop throughout the entire game. I also think both Sissoko and Rose should have been off well before they were even cautioned (I don't even think Rose was booked for any of his blatant fouls, including the forearm smash on Lacazette). Not because they used to play for you, but because they made a series of fouls stopping us transitioning and Friend kept letting them get away with it .
West Ham are a real problem. They’ve been exceptional against Liverpool and are currently 3-1 up. Exploited Liverpool’s high line and taken advantage of the gaps left on the flanks when TAA/Robertson push high. The combination of speed, power and technical security between Antonio, Bowen and Benrahma is causing all sorts of issues. They’ve been defensively resolute as well. Every time I expect them to drop points, they keep winning (and winning well).
Yeah Moyes has to be the early frontrunner for manager of the season. West Ham look very, very good, it's no longer a patch of good form which is what I was initially hoping at times last season. They're legitimately a good team now, players have been well coached and clearly believe in the process. Bought well too, Soucek has been one of the best midfielders in the Prem since his arrival and Zouma's had a decent impact. Pool pull one back as I type this though, lol.
Obviously haven't seen it, but Arteta's a pupil of the Pep school of tactical fouling. How many of your cautions were for that?
