The problem with having 38 matchdays is that there isn’t really a clean way to divide the season up into logical segments, besides first half and second half. Ergo, this random assessment of the league after 5 matchdays (well, 5.8 as of this writing). Come on! It’ll be fun!
For my fellow Americans who aren’t incurable Anglophiles like me, a bumper special is basically a big round-up of a certain topic, often timed around the seasons or midway points of… well, whatever topic you’re talking about (in this case, a football season). For example, there was a British pop culture podcast I used to listen to (and might again if I can ever find the time for it!) called The High Low that did seasonal book bumper specials with book recs for the season ahead. It has just occurred to me that this might not be a Brit-specific term, but I’ve only ever heard it in that context.
So this special newsletter edition will be a retrospective on some of the big talking points of the season so far, commentary on notable players & managers, etc. Some of it’s in earnest, but some of it will be tongue-in-cheek (see the last topic).
(I seriously wish I knew who made this meme so I could credit them—it’s awesome)
A disclaimer before I begin: I’m mostly going to ignore Arsenal, if only because it’s hard to be objective about them. Remember how I said I hadn’t bought into the North London rivalry too much yet as an American fan? About that… With every passing matchday, I feel like that’s becoming less and less true. I’m well on my way to disliking them on a tribal level. *shrug* But I will also try not to dwell too much on Tottenham, since y’all already hear enough about them in regular programming 😉.
The League at a Glance
Biggest surprises:
The rise of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. I rarely thought about him last season, but my overall impression was that he seemed like a nice dude but not a huge goal-scoring threat, and definitely not the kind of player who can carry a team (like a Jamie Vardy, for example). Today’s match aside, he’s been incredibly consistent this season, tied with Spurs’ own Son Heung-min for most goals. It’ll be interesting to see if he can maintain his good form across the whole season, or settle back into a more average output. My bet’s on the latter, because he kind of seems like a “confidence player,” much like Dele Alli. Ahem.
Leedsanity! There are only so many hours in the day, so I don’t even attempt to keep up with the Championship, but Leeds’ reputation definitely preceded their re-entry on promotion to the Premier League. We were told to expect some chaos ball, and that’s exactly what we’ve gotten. It’s entertaining, to say the least. And it gives neutrals something to enjoy when our repsective teams are frustrating us. Patrick Bamford could be one to watch this year RE the Golden Boot race.
Aston Villa most improved? Even though Everton’s hot start to the season was also surprising, they at least were mid-table last season. Aston Villa had narrowly avoided relegation (thanks to a ghost goal for Sheffield United in the first game of Project Restart). It still feels a bit flukey, but Villa does deserve some credit for turning things around.
On the other end of the spectrum, Burnley and Sheffield United were pretty decent last season, and are now early candidates for relegation. There were signs of a crack in Sheffield’s facade at the end of last season (remember Chris Wilder’s controversial comments about his squad? Yikes 👀) but they were usually good at eking out “ugly” results. Same for Burnley. And they’re both teams that I think of as some of the more aggressive teams in the league—but right now they don’t seem to have much fight left in them.
Biggest letdowns:
Manchester United’s rollercoaster form is really putting a damper on their presumed status in the title race. They were quite the formidable opponent during the restart, but have gotten off to a bumpy start this season. Some of it might be personnel issues—we all know about Harry Maguire’s Greece saga and red card during the last international break, and then there’s the mystery around Mason Greenwood yo-yoing in and out of the Man U lineup (not to mention his poor behavior during the pre-season international break). Perhaps the most positive news for Man U has come off the pitch, with Marcus Rashford’s political advocacy to end child hunger in Britain gaining him lots of admirers and allies outside of the Man U fanbase.
Chelsea’s flashy transfer window advantage has started to fizzle. As the bevy of attacking players Chelsea signed over the summer adjust to playing in the Premier League (and they undoubtably will score lots of goals for the club by the end of the season), not enough was done to shore up the defensive end. Chelsea is leaking goals left and right (and headed), and although they solved the keeper issue with a new signing to replace Kepa as first keeper, Mendy’s already had a spell of injury. Frank Lampard clearly hasn’t settled on his best XI lineup, and it will probably be a while yet before the team really starts to gel and find a consistent run of form.
In an already tumultous season due to the packed schedule and COVID-19 complications, VAR continues to cast a pall over the game we know and love. Some of the most egregious decisions have involved the controversial handball rule (which is now being applied more leniently, though too late for many clubs to see justice) (yes I am still bitter), though there have also been plenty of poor red card decsions (and non-decisions—I’m looking at you, Maguire headlock on Azpilicueta) and offsides drama. And to think, I was feeling more positive about VAR after some decent decisions on matchday 1, with the new trend of refs actually going to the video monitor… alas.
Best new signings:
Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Sergio Reguilón for Tottenham (and Gareth Bale once he kicks into final gear!)
James Rodríguez at Everton
Edouard Mendy at Chelsea (honorable mention to the German duo, Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, whom I genuinely think will come good)
Special Topics
Let’s talk managers. While some managers are getting much-deserved praise for transforming their squads’ performances over last season (Dean Smith, Carlo Ancelotti, and David Moyes to an extent), others are in the hot seat for under-performing expectations (Ole Gunnar Solskjær and Frank Lampard, and one could argue Pep Guardiolo and Mikel Arteta). Then there’s Marcelo Bielsa, whose Leeds team is one anyone would be feeling trepidation to face. My personal bet for who will be the first to be fired? Hate to say it, but it’s Solskjær. It has more to do with the sheer scope of Man U’s legacy and the pressure to uphold it than it has to do with his actual management skills. Someone has to be the sacrificial lamb, and after the Mourinho era, I doubt the board/ownership want to foist that burden onto any of the players, even if there are obvious candidates—Pogba for his impossible-to-live-up-to reputation, Maguire for his hotheadedness, and Greenwood for his youthful folly. Elsewhere, it could easily be Scott Parker at last-place Fulham, though I can’t imagine there are many available managers who would be willing to take on that sinking ship.
It might feel too early to make strong predictions about the title race, but if I had to make a guess how it will all go down at the end of the season, this would be my power rankings for top 10, with Spurs at the top because you’ve gotta believe!
Tottenham
Liverpool
Chelsea
Everton
Manchester City
Manchester United
Leicester City
Arsenal
Wolverhampton
Leeds United
It’s definitely a lot different from the current table. I do think things are going to even out and some of the teams that have been unusually good will settle back into mid-table, while some traditional top teams that have been underperforming will figure things out, at least to some degree. Wolves are a team that really puzzle me, because I always think they should be doing better than they are. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish higher than I have them here in 9th, perhaps swapping places with Leicester if Vardy hits a rough patch. And frankly, if Aubameyang doesn’t find his form soon, I could easily see Arsenal imploding. Man City is probably my most controversial placement, but really, y’all. Something is not right at that club this season! There’s still the winter transfer window left to shake everything up though, for all the clubs.
I considered doing some player rankings as well, but even though I’ve been trying to watch as many matches as possible (even if they’re just on in the background while I work), I don’t think I’ve watched closely enough to go that deep. We’ll see after matchweek 10! My main point of interest in terms of players is the race for Golden Boot and Playmaker. In my heart of hearts, I am hoping for Sonny to win Golden Boot and Kane to get Playmaker. Before you get onto me about this scenario, remember that Kane has won Golden Boot before and it would be a huge thrill for Sonny, and a real power move on KDB for Kane to get Playmaker. *evil cackle*
One last special topic, promotion/relegation. Disregarding the current table standings, it seems like a no-brainer that Fulham will definitely be heading back to the Championship next season, and West Bromwich will probably be in the same boat. Leeds are feisty enough to avoid the relegation scrap, so who will be the other teams in the danger zone? It might be easier to say who seems likely to do just enough to stay safe. I think Brighton will have a better season this year and get enough scrappy results to coast into mid-table. West Ham are also looking stronger this season, especially when it comes to the grit and mentality it takes to, well, upset a better team like Tottenham. Burnley and Sheffield are obviously having some early causes for concern, and I haven’t been very convinced by Newcastle, either. Time will tell! I am trying to keep at least somewhat of an eye on the Championship table this year, especially to see how our loaned out players are doing (cheers to Oliver Skipp for taking Norwich by storm!).
And finally, the team most in need of a Ted Lasso appointment: Fulham
The best B-team and a Europa League win against LASK
Like I’ve said, until we get into the knockout stage there’s a 0% chance I’m going to know anything about our opponents in this competition, so let’s just focus on what I do know about: Spurs.
You could argue that we put out the B-team for Thursday’s match. Or maybe something like the A-Team 2.0. Either way, there was a lot of squad rotation going on, in a good way. Because we actually have the depth now! This victory against LASK took away any lingering doubt I had that we can make deep runs in all our competitions this season.
Joe Hart excelled in goal, largely responsible for our first clean sheet of the season! The defense looked a lot better today too (weaker competition notwithstanding), and Ben Davies playing at left center-back was a big part of that success. I personally would like to see him stay in that position, at least until Dier is back to full fitness and presumably back into the center-back partnership. But then again, perhaps this could be a chance for Dier to play further forward like he used to. It should also be mentioned that Davies was captain for the match, and it’s great to see him taking on more leadership with the club. We also saw the first start for Carlos Vinícius, and it was a very promising debut. All he was missing was a goal (and he had chances—just needed a bit of finishing), ending the match with two assists and showing that he’s already integrating into the team. Gareth Bale also got some quality minutes in, and while he’s still looking for that extra bit of pace, he’s had some bright moments and I’m starting to get really, really excited for the Son-Kane-Bale front line. They’re going to be (more) lethal!
And speaking of Kane, that was perhaps the best part of the LASK match—he didn’t have to play a single minute! Being the fierce competitor that he is, he didn’t look super thrilled to be resting, but it’s going to be a long season. Patience, Harry.
A few more stray observations:
-Højbjerg was a total warrior, putting in a bold performance even after suffering a cut near his eye and getting a full head bandage before he could carry on.
-Son is just incapable of not scoring, it would appear. Long may that continue!
-It’s great to see Moura finding some consistent form this season, and taking Vinícius under his wing.
-I was thinking today about how impressive our transfer window really was, when you consider that besides Bale and perhaps Vinícius (he was joint top-scorer in Portugal’s Primeira Liga last season), none of our signings were what you would call “flashy” or “marquee” signings. We made smart transfers of some under-the-radar players that have fit right into the squad and filled in those missing links across the lineup. And on that note, I’m looking forward to seeing what Joe Rodon can do at center-back soon.
-This wasn’t even our strongest performance, and we still cruised to a win. Fine by me!
A tussle at Turf Moor
I know I say this most games, but I really do have a good feeling about tomorrow’s match. Burnley are quite depleted at the moment with some key injuries (captain Ben Mee included), and have only collected one point so far in the league (to be fair, they do have a game in hand). Burnley only have three goals in their first four matches, and looking at their squad, it’s always hard to see where goals are going to come from. This is going to be the game where Hugo finally gets his first clean sheet, I’m sure of it. And as for our lineup, I would like to see Davies in the center-back partnership again, and I think Bale should start and get another 60-70 minutes under his belt. I daresay he might even get a goal! And Kane will definitely start. We can feel safe favoring a stronger lineup for our PL matches right now since the Europa League competition is not giving us any real trouble.
My score prediction: 3-0 (5-0 if Kane and Son eat their Wheaties)
I had intended to share my views on the rumored European Super League that’s been making waves across social media, but this has gotten long enough already (nobody ever called me succinct—I prefer passionate), so I’ll save it for next time, or maybe a Twitter thread if things get too dull against Royal Antwerp on Thursday.
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