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Yeah not bad. Not great, bit boring, but not bad. The second half was a real chore to watch and we were hanging on for a long spell there, but a win is a win and getting them away from home is rarely easy. Especially when you’re playing the way we are at the moment. It’s not clicking but it is functioning well enough to beat the bottom half dregs we’ve faced so far, so I’m not complaining. Well not too much anyway. Slot said afterwards he was pleased with the first hour because we controlled the game well. He didn’t like that we failed to get the second goal that would have killed it, which is fair, but I’d suggest that we didn’t really show enough urgency to get that second goal. I agree we controlled it. I agree we should have done better with some good chances, but I don’t think we created enough considering how in control we were. Maybe if Jota doesn’t waste two great chances it opens up even more and we run out comfortable winners by three or four, but he did waste those chances and it almost cost us. When you let an opponent hang around, you know that eventually they always have a spell in the game or at the very least they’ll get a really good chance. Palace had several good chances and for 15 minutes they were all over us before Slot made some subs and we calmed it down again to see it out. So it’s mostly positive, especially as its a 12.30 away game after a midweek European fixture. These games can easily go badly so any time you get three points it’s to be celebrated. We’re not really passing the eye test at the moment but does it matter? It feels like it might, and it could catch up with us against better opposition, but maybe better opposition is what we need to raise our own game? We’ll find out soon enough.

Monday Sep 30: Had the radio on today in the car and understandably it was dominated by how fucking shit United are. It’s not a new thing, they’ve been shit for ages, but it’s still always going to be big for media outlets as its basically gold for them. United being shit is great for business as not only are they getting angry United fans listening and calling in, you’re also getting fans of everyone else loving the fact that United are shit and their fans are angry. This was hilarious because Jim White was doing his usual overly dramatic schtick. Callers are ringing in blaming Ten Hag, the Glazers, ‘Sir Jim’ and Ineos etc and then here comes Martin Keown out of nowhere with this absolute belter: “I look at Ruud Van Nistelrooy and wonder what he is doing. Is he helping his manager or trying to take his job”. Seriously, that’s so fucking good. Absolute next level pettiness and world class grudge holding and I’m right here for it. Too many old football feuds have been resolved and everyone is just too friendly these days. Keane and Vieira, Neville and Carra, Keane and Schmeichel… then you’ve got Keown putting the blame on Van Nistelrooy for the complete mess United are in. He’s only been there a few months! I love that, all these years later and Keown still won’t let the beef go. Good for him I say. I thought this was interesting from Virgil on Konate’s fitness today: “He is a fantastic player who still can be better. As you saw, he is important with the goal, he is defensively solid, a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded, but obviously the qualities he has are outstanding in my opinion. He is learning, growing, getting better and looking after himself much better in order to be ready every three days as that's what asked.” Looking after himself much better? What does that mean I wonder? More gym work? Better diet? I was under the impression that this kind of thing was no longer left to the players and they just did and ate what they are told. It’s interesting though as Ibou is playing twice a week now whereas Klopp never really had that luxury. Not good news for Quansah though.

Not the most interesting of weekends really. It almost was, as at one point both City and Arsenal were losing, but we all knew how those movies were going to end. I didn’t get my hopes up even for a second. That being said, City should have lost at home to Fulham, who apparently gave them all they could handle. The reason City didn’t lose was because Adama Traore missed three one v ones. I fast forwarded through the MOTD highlights of this because, well you know, fuck Man City, but I did see the analysis from Shearer which focused mostly on all the chances Fulham created and missed. Mostly, but not exclusively, Traore. It’s easy to get pissed off about him but it goes with the territory, this is what he’s done his entire career and he’s pushing 30 now so its not going to change. Bottom line, if he could finish those chances he wouldn’t be playing for Fulham, he’d be at Real Madrid. Because other than end product he’s fucking incredible. He gave Walker a five yard start and absolutely fucking rinsed him. I suspect it’s because Walker is finally starting to slow down a bit, but it was still eye opening seeing what Traore did to him. I love that because you know it will absolutely haunt Walker as that’s the one thing he’s always been able to hang his hat on, and now that air of invincibility to speed has gone. As I say though, I never got my hopes up when I heard that Fulham were leading and it was even less so when I heard Southampton had gone ahead at Arsenal. Fulham did have an outside chance of extending their lead and then maybe holding on, but Southampton scored way too early and were always going to get rolled over because they're terrible. They took the lead through Archer and it wasn’t completely against the run of play either as they’d gone close just before. Then they got caught trying to play out and Havertz lashed in the equaliser. I’m saying nothing as I’m boring myself with this shit. It’s Burnley all over again and I’m doing another whole season of pointing out their stupidity. Martinelli tapped in to make it 2-1 but Dibling saw a shot deflected onto the post by Raya. He looks really good that kid. Southampton hit the bar from the resulting corner too, but then more kamikaze play by Southampton in their own box presented Saka with the third.

Not a bad weekend but it was close to being a great one. City dropped two points and Arsenal needed a late, late show to avoid the same fate. Everton were losing at one point too before turning it around for their first win, so this could have been one hell of a weekend. United lost too, but that almost goes without saying these days. I’ll get to them in a bit. For now I’ll start with City’s trip to Newcastle. Last week I broke my own rule and watched the highlights of their game with Arsenal. I’ve done the same this week too, but only because they didn’t win. I had a feeling they would drop points and I expected them to lose. I think I wrote it in here last week, or it may have been a post on the forum. I thought they were vulnerable after the Rodri injury and Newcastle is a tough place to go. City were lucky to win there last season and they needed a De Bruyne worldie to do it if I remember rightly. He wasn’t in the line up for this and neither was Foden. RoboJack was playing though and he created the opening goal for Gvardiol, who took it really well. Why RoboJack I hear you ask? Because Guardiola has turned him into his little pet robot now by coaching all of the individuality out of him. As great a coach as he is, you have to wonder why would spend £100m on a player like that and then stop him from doing all the things that actually made him a £100m player. No wonder Cole Palmer wanted to get away from the fucking bald weirdo. If he’d stayed there he’d be stuck out wide playing backwards passes all season. The best thing he ever did was get away from that flair draining, obsessive bore. Gordon won a penalty by going around Ederson and then hitting the deck. Usually I’d be slating him, but this wasn’t as blatant as the shit he normally pulls and I don’t think he does anything wrong. You can argue he leaves his foot in to make sure there’s contact with the keeper, but why should he hurdle over him? He’s gone past Ederson who has come flying out at his feet. Any forward who doesn’t do what Gordon did there is an idiot. Don’t think that this is me going all soft on him just because I found out he’s a Red and he desperately wanted to come here. That ship has probably sailed now so I’ll have no qualms calling him out when it’s justified, but as I say, I’d want my forward doing exactly what he did there. He sent Ederson the wrong way from the spot to make it 1-1 and that’s how it finished. I didn’t like the little love in between Howe and Guardiola afterwards. Howe is holding the back of his head and pulling him in while whispering sweet nothings in his ear, and all I could think is that he’s sympathising with him over the cheating ways of his owners, the fucking snivelling little Saudi shill.