Another good weekend for the Reds as our lead at the top was extended by a couple of points when Norwich upset the odds to end Leicester’s long winning run. Norwich could easily have won the game and may feel that a draw was a little harsh on them.
Leicester will probably see it as two points dropped and will feel that they should be beating Norwich. More often than not they would do, but this isn’t a big shock. It’s normal that a team like Leicester will have a few days like this. What isn’t normal is the winning streak they’ve been on. That isn’t a criticism, it’s just a fact.
Leicester are good. Better than most people expected. But they aren’t going to win every game and it was therefore only a matter of time before they dropped some points. Few expected it to be against Norwich but the Canaries have beaten Man City this season so they are dangerous on their day.
For Leicester the setback probably feels bigger than it is because any point dropped now looks like being fatal to any of the chasing pack, but at the beginning of the season the expectation for them was that they might gatecrash the top six. No-one had them in second spot at this stage of the season, so a home draw with Norwich is no big deal. Shit happens, this is completely normal.
Until recently you could have several results like this and still challenge for the title. City averaging 100 points changed that and now we’re picking up the baton to keep that going. Leicester have made a better start than they did when they won the title, but it’s a different ball game these days.
My boy Pukki had missed a glorious chance early on but he made amends soon after when he was sent clear and beat Schmeichel with ease. He’s back among the goals again after a barren spell. I’d love Norwich to fight their way out of it but I don’t hold out much hope. What will probably happen is they’ll win three of their next four and I’ll get suckered in again, telling you all how good they are and how they’ll stay up. Then they’ll lose ten on the bounce and make me look stupid again.
The one area where I rarely end up being wrong though is identifying twats. I’ve got a rare talent for it. I told you last week that I hated Iheanacho more than any other player in the league and the very next game he proved to the world that I’d got it spot on. What a deplorable shitbag he is.
Ricardo and Pukki went in for a thunderous 50-50 and both players were hurt. Norwich put the ball out so Pukki could get treatment (he'd broken his toe), and when the game restarted Ricardo threw it to Iheanacho near the edge of the box. Players from both sides had stopped, expecting him to knock it back to the keeper, but the cunt just started dribbling towards the box and had to be stopped by a foul from a Norwich defender, who was booked.
Todd Cantwell was also booked for grabbing Iheanacho by the collar as he lay on the ground. It’s hard for the ref here as he couldn’t not book those players, but none of it would have happened but for Iheanacho being an unsporting sack of shit. Fuck that guy. Proper cunt.
Credit to Leicester who did not try to score from the free-kick (Maddison passed it back to Krul) and Brendan actually subbed Iheanacho a few minutes later (in the first half). So this wasn’t bad sportsmanship by Leicester, it was just one fucking helmet showing once again what little regard he has for the integrity of the game that has made him a millionaire.
Bizarrely, Match of the Day didn’t address the incident at all and put his early substitution down to him making little impact. I don’t know why they wouldn’t give that scandalous incident the exposure it deserved, but then no-one called him out on his deliberate miss against City last season either.
Leicester equalised when Vardy got across the near post and headed home for what looked like his ninth goal in consecutive games. Turns out it wasn’t on target and it goes down as an own goal by Krul who in trying to make the save actually pushed it into his own net.
Having drawn level I expected Leicester to go on and win and for a while they dominated and had Norwich on the ropes, but the goal didn’t come and Norwich finished the game strongly and probably should have found a winning goal themselves.
Cantwell is a good player but I can’t take to him as he’s just got too much of a “Young Conversative” look about him. Same reason I’ve always disliked Patrick Bamford (although him repeatedly refusing to sign for me on Footy Manager also played a part). I also don’t like Cantwell’s hairband, which just looks like a white shoelace tied around his head. That’s just not acceptable to me. I’m grateful for his contributions against our two main title rivals though.
It wasn’t so long ago that Chelsea were right up there too and almost within touching distance of us. They weren’t close enough to be a genuine concern but it was mildly irritating how they were holding onto our coat tails. The wheels have fallen off Lampard’s bandwagon since and they’ve lost four of their last five now after being turned over by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.
Hell of a result for Eddie Howe considering he was without half a team and they’d lost five in a row. Chelsea actually started brightly but they didn’t take either of the two good chances they created and it proved costly. The longer it stayed goalless the more edgy they looked. Emerson should have headed them in front but he put it straight at the keeper.
Bournemouth started to show some ambition in the closing stages and they got their reward late on in dramatic circumstances when that Dan Gosling jabroni was initially flagged offside when he hooked the ball over the keeper. VAR showed he was at least a yard onside though and the goal was given.
It’s the correct decision but it’s an unsatisfactory way to win the game. Players all standing around waiting to discover their fate. That being said, when the ref gave the goal the Bournemouth players just went charging off to celebrate with the fans anyway, so I don’t think their moment was ruined too much. It was a clever finish too, to give Gosling credit.
Lampard was classy afterwards, refusing to use tiredness as an excuse and acknowledging that they just didn’t play well enough. I don’t want to like him but it’s hard not to. It has been ever since he stopped playing.
Sheffield United won again. It’s mad what they’re doing. The whole ‘overlapping centre-backs’ thing is great, I love it. Their opening goal came when a centre back in the right wing position produced a back heel to find Lundstrom, who crossed for John Fleck to score from close range.
Fleck got the second too, and again it was nice football. I enjoy watching them, there’s something refreshing about what they do and Fleck is a really tidy player in the middle of the park.
Villa should have pulled one back when they were awarded a penalty for handball but Grealish smashed it against the bar. The Blades moved up into 5th spot with that win, although they’ve since been overhauled by Spurs and United. Still, they’re doing great so far. I don’t think they can keep it up but we’ll see.
Southampton were garbage for most of their home loss with West Ham. The Hammers made all the running in the first half and led through Haller. The impressive Antonio thought he’d made it 2-0 but it was ruled out for an accidental handball. Southampton just couldn’t cope with him, he ran them ragged all day.
Southampton eventually started to get a foothold in the game and Ings went close on a couple of occasions but West Ham held on for a deserved three points and Southampton continue to look like a doomed side.
Burnley edged out injury hit Newcastle at Turf Moor. That yard dog Wood got the only goal of the game when he arrived at the back post from a corner. It feels like so many Burnley goals come like that.
Sunday saw Man City cruise to an embarrassingly easy win at the Emirates. City could have scored seven or eight and De Bruyne was given the freedom of the park. Guardiola said afterwards that they played better last week when they lost to United, which was his way of saying that this game was just too easy.
90 seconds was all it took for Arsenal to concede. The white flag waving, weak as piss bastards. They’re an absolute joke. They had almost scored themselves and won a corner. From that corner City scored, but it wasn’t a bang bang bang Redmen style counter. City passed it all around the pitch, backwards and forwards, side to side, it took at least 30 seconds and Arsenal had loads of time to get back and get organised.
Yet they still got done by a typical City run in behind and cut back from the byline. The finish from De Bruyne was stunning, but if Arsenal had anything about them the ball would never have reached him. Kolasinac actually ducked out of the way of it on the line. That’s just so Arsenal. The big goon will take on two knife wielding muggers but he’s scared of a fucking ball.
They got done the same way for the second goal too. De Bruyne to the byline, crossing to the back post, Sterling tap in. How many times have we seen that goal? Every other week it seems.
De Bruyne then found loads of space outside the box and curled in a brilliant left footer from 25 yards. Not a great deal they could do about that, not with ten men anyway. Why ten men? Because Kolasinac went off injured and they took an age to get the sub on, because he had about ten layers of gear on but not his shirt. What the fuck is that about?
Ozil was replaced by a kid I’ve never heard of. Apparently he’d played ten games and scored three goals. Must be the Europa League, that would explain why I’ve never seen him before.
Ozil took an age to leave the field and the fans understandably got a bit annoyed with him and let him hear it. He got to the touchline, took off his gloves and booted them in anger. First time he’s ever showed any sort of passion, the lightweight flakey twat. God I hate this Arsenal squad.
Arsenal being shit doesn’t bother me, in fact I welcome it. It’s the manner of their shitness that offends me though. I get wound up by it. They’re a bunch of fucking shitbags stealing a living. Now they’ve appointed a fella who has never managed before and whose only qualification seems to be that he’s worked with Guardiola. Good luck sorting that out, legohead.
Still, he can’t be any worse than Ljungberg, who was laughing and joking with Guardiola at full time. You just lost 3-0 at home and you’ve got a semi on because you get to share a joke with ‘Pep’ on the touchline. Everyone and everything connected with that club just screams out “LOSERS” these days.
Spurs won at Wolves but no-one can explain how. They got battered. Vertonghen played left back and was given the mother of all chasings by my boy Adama Traore. He’s so dangerous that he was given the Messi treatment by Mourinho, who clearly instructed all of his players to take turns in fouling him. Even Kane dropped back into the left back position to boot him at one point.
Spurs went in front after eight minutes with a brilliant solo effort from Lucas Moura and Wolves then missed chance after chance before eventually Traore lashed one in from 20 yards to equalise. It was all Wolves but Spurs completed an act of daylight robbery when Vertonghen headed in a stoppage time corner. Trademark Mourinho win this one.
Meanwhile, United were looking to build on impressive wins over Spurs and Man City as they took on Everton at Old Trafford. Would we see the swashbuckling side who dazzled at the Etihad, or the bunch of slapdicks that drew at home to Villa? Yeah, it was the latter.
I did say this last week. United have the speed and skill to look good when they’ve got space to counter attack (i.e. against the better sides), but put them up against an opponent that they’re expected to beat and it’s a whole different ball game. They just don’t have the creativity in midfield or from the full backs.
Everton were riddled with injuries and had that Mason Holgate chump playing in midfield. They went ahead with a Lindelof own goal but there’s no way that should have stood as Calvert-Lewin (who seems to have decided in the last couple of weeks that he wants to be just like his new boss) had his arm in the face of De Gea. 99 times out of a 100 that is given as a foul on the keeper, but VAR let it stand.
United eventually equalised through substitute Mason Greenwood, but all anyone seemed to want to talk about afterwards was how Big Dunc had humiliated Moise Kean by bringing him on and then taking him off. I don’t think he did anything wrong, other than the way he blanked the kid as he walked past him. He could have given him a hug, after all he's not much older than a ballboy.
Ferguson obviously sent him on with instructions on what he wanted from him, and bringing him off just tells me that he didn’t think he was doing what was required. He’s trying to get a result, he’s not there to worry about the ego of a teenager who has done fuck all since signing and whose arl fella has gone public on what a mistake it was joining Everton.
Being subbed as a sub is embarrassing of course, but what’s even worse is being replaced by Oumar Niasse. Who even knew he was still there? Fucking hell. Next week they’ll be wheeling out Mickel Madar and Arouna Kone.
The Blues have definitely rallied under Ferguson but their hopes of breaking their trophy drought are hanging by the slimmest of threads now after they were knocked out of the League Cup in the most agonising way possible. Trailing 2-0 at home to Leicester they rallied late and managed to equalise in stoppage time, sparking wild scenes of celebration with Big Dunc throwing his jacket off, running up the touchline and hugging ballboys again.
It went to pens, and Pickford saved one before busting out the Pardew dance. Then they lost. As Everton as it gets. What an utterly miserable existence they have, it’s just one punch in the face after another. The saddest thing is they’ll have now convinced themselves it’s about to change because they’ve managed to land Ancelotti. I almost feel bad for them. Almost.
Here’s what will happen. They’ll beat Arsenal this weekend in Ferguson’s last game and then in a couple of months when things are back to being shit they’ll all be wondering why they didn’t just let him have the job permanently. He might eventually get it when they send Carlo and his crazy rogue eyebrow packing, but that severance deal is going to make the Koeman and Silva ones look like loose change.
Finally on this, I’d heard some murmurings about Leicester fans taunting Everton by singing about Boris Johnson ‘stopping their benefits’ so I had a look on Twitter afterwards and the Blues were fucking steaming about it. Tweet after tweet referencing Leicester fans as being the worst in the country (a bold statement when Chelsea, Villa, Wolves and Newcastle are still in existence). Some of them were even saying they’d rather see us win the league than them. Jesus, they must have been bad!
It’s easy to forget sometimes that despite our differences we do have much in common with the Blues, particularly when it comes to politics and also how the rest of the country takes the piss out of scousers. No doubt we’ll also be subjected to the distasteful shite dressed up as banter that Everton had thrown at them by Leicester (especially if our fans keep singing about hating Tories). Every shitty little smalltime set of ‘banter merchants’ up and down the country will be taunting us with chants about Boris Johnson now, especially from the Midlands down.
The likes of Newcastle and the Manchester clubs won’t go that far, they’ll just continue with the ‘feed the scousers’ ‘sign on’ and ‘Liverpool slums’ shite instead, which is essentially the same fucking thing when it comes down to it. This fucking country.
Other than that minority of gobshite Leicester fans going home happy, that result was the perfect outcome for us though as it means two more games for Leicester in January which ought to slow them down a little. Two Manc derbies that month is also good for us.
Brendan’s a fucking case though isn’t he? He fielded a reserve side against Real Madrid in the Champions League because he wanted to keep our players fresh for a weekend game with Chelsea, but here he is sending out Jamie Vardy and James Maddison to run around for two fucking hours in a league cup tie a few days before they play Man City. What’s up with that?
Not sure who I want to win that game yet. Logically a Leicester win is best because it would pretty much be the final nail in Man City’s coffin. A Man City win though would keep our lead at the top at ten points with a game in hand. I suppose a draw is the best outcome but I’ll take positives from whatever happens.
I won’t be watching though as it’s on at the same time that we’re trying to become World Champs.
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