Matchday 13 - Quick Round Up

Match Day 13 Round Up



Saturday 29th November


Brentford 3-1 Burnley

The Clarets are really beginning to sink badly, as Parker's overly cautious tactics hinder their chances of picking up results, added to the lack of squad depth. They are being found badly lacking and look like a team destined for the drop. It is hard to pick out anything positive for them in this game, against a defensively weak Brentford. It was the one time that you would have thought Burnley should have gone for the throat and tried to win, the Bees main weakness is their disorganised defending, which relies on just having lots of bodies back. They do have the big plus of the extra leadership in midfield of Henderson, who is fast becoming key to them in an area of the pitch that was looking weak ahead of this season.

Starmen:
Henderson - he got an assist, but his main contribution is leadership on the pitch. Despite not being the captain, he is very much a leader out there and has been a major asset for them.
Ouattara - I am not a big fan of him as a player, his end product is usually very lacking, but he did manage to get a goal in this game and played well.
Thiago - not just a big bruiser, he can also score goals and is the only player other than Haaland to have scored double figures in the Premier League this season.
Florentino - a real bright spot for Burnley, breaks up play well.

Flops:
Parker - they have no chance of staying up by playing for a draw every week, he has to show more ambition.
Cullen - normally a very solid performer, but he struggled with his passing against Brentford. Undoubtedly his poor performance was in part due to the tactics meaning there were few options for him to pick out though.


Manchester City 3-2 Leeds United

This was a game that Farke came out with his usual caution and it meant that Citeh pretty much had the game wrapped up at half-time with a 2-0 lead. A couple of half-time subs and a complete change in attitude saw Man City given a real fright as Leeds pulled it back to 2-2, only to lose to a late goal, when it could so easily have been Leeds that got the three. What it did show is how much difference bravery can make, as Leeds were dead and buried in the first half. Unfortunately, I doubt Farke will take a lesson from this, he never learnt the lesson from his time at Norwich City, so I doubt he will do so now. City made the mistake of thinking it was won in the first half and relaxed, then they really struggled to raise their game once Leeds turned it around. It is very difficult to do that and I would expect Guardiola will use this as a reminder over the rest of the season, if the blue half of Manchester gets in the same position at half-time.

Starmen:
Reijnders - a top class midfielder who has been very comfortable in the Prem since joining City in the summer.
Foden - got two goals to rescue the result.
Nmecha - looks to be Leeds best striker by a significant margin and they look much better with him spearing their attack.

Flops:
Silva - I am not sure if age is catching up to him or it is just a dip in form.
Nunes - his inexperience at full-back was shown up in this game.
James - still looks like a player not quite good enough for the Prem.


Sunderland 3-2 Bournemouth

The Mackems are becoming a fearsome prospect at home in the Stadium of Light, with the vociferous backing they get from the crowd helping fuel their high-octane style of play. They may not be the greatest in terms of individual quality, but they are a much better unit in terms of team play. Their opponents are really showing the perils of completely dismantling your defence in the summer, with the rebuild leaving them lacking in quality. There are only so many unearthed gems to find and they need to keep searching and improve the quality of centre-backs at the club. They also badly need Semenyo to refind his early season form.

Starmen:
Xhaka - how much more does he have left in the tank at his age?
Le Fee - a goal and an assist in a match in which he finally got to play in his favoured position.

Flops:
Talbi - the winger is really struggling to get up to speed in the Premier League and his error led to one of the goals conceded.
Mukiele - his error led to the other goal.
Scott - lacks the physicality to cope with Sunderland's smothering midfield play.
Smith - like the entire Bournemouth backline, the club desperately needs an upgrade in his position.
Semenyo - is so far off the level of the early weeks of the season. Is the transfer speculation affecting him? Perhaps he is just not quite fully fit after his injury, but whatever it is, the Cherries need it to be sorted as they lack a cutting edge without him firing.
Cook - his red card ended their faint hopes of snatching a draw.


Everton 1-4 Newcastle United

The major limitations of Moyes' approach were massively exposed by Newcastle, who are just able to outmatch the Toffees easily in physicality. Despite having the flair of the likes of Ndiaye available to him, Moyes is still over reliant on stubborn defending and physicality to get results. Without Gueye in the heart of things, it was always a battle weighted heavily in favour of the Toon, which led to a routine victory for them.

Starmen:
Guimaraes - had a field day in midfield up against a much weaker Everton midfield.
Thiaw - two goals for the centre-back, who has quickly become the lynchpin of the Toon's defensive unit.
Miley - a goal and an assist.
Woltemade - a lovely finish by Woltemessi.

Flops:
Iroegbunam - Gueye's replacement had a poor day.
Pickford - his mentality is always suspect and it often shows in big games, playing against the team he grew up hating it was exposed again as he made a mistake.
Grealish - seems to be reverting back to the anonymity of his time at Man City, probably due to getting to know all the drinking hotspots. Even on the international breaks his first thought is to go out on the lash to the point he has to be taken home passed out, while on holiday in Dubai. When will the penny drop that a career is short and he can do all the partying he wants once it is over without it effecting anything?
Barry/Beto - it really makes no difference which one starts and which comes off the bench, neither of them are offering anything right now in this tactical set up. They are completely unsuited to it. Moyes is setting up like he has a prime Drogba up there and these two are anything but a prime Drogba.


Tottenham Hotspur 1-2 Fulham

Thomas Frank and Spurs has to be the worst marriage since Oj Simpson and Nicole Brown, the two are just utterly unsuited. The combination is becoming more and more disastrous by the game. He must be heading close to the exit door there, with his inability to win the fans over and lack of strength to get the team playing his way. Fulham are still the same as ever under Silva, can be brilliant and terrible in equal measures within the same match and you just never know what you will get.

Starmen:
Kudus - pretty much the only bright spot this season, though his form had dipped markedly after a good start.
Wilson - if only he would put the graft in, he would be so much better as a player, but that laziness has held him back. He does always have the capability to pop up with a goal though, such as in this match.
Tete - the other Fulham goalscorer.

Flops:
Vicario - seems to have reverted to the dodgy keeper of last season. His form is so up and down it makes him extremely unreliable.
Udogie - I am not sure if he is not fully fit yet or just is not trying.
Richarlison - he is just not good enough at anything other than throwing tantrums.



Sunday 30th November


Crystal Palace 1-2 Manchester United

Palace have become incredibly inconsistent, their last six games read: DLWDWL. In part their lack of real quality squad depth is holding them back, but you do have to wonder about Glasner's tactics, which are negative. In fact they are very similar to a modernised Moyes - defend deep and hit on the counter. When up against a team which plays the same formation, but with better quality players and less negativity, they are always going to struggle. It was simply more ambition and better quality that won the day for Man Utd, as they keep themselves in touch of the top 4/5 battle, despite being stretched by injuries at the moment. They are certainly moving in the right direction this season. Though they will need to ensure they do not allow so many shots from a better quality team, as you cannot expect every team to miss that many times!

Starmen:
Henderson - pushing a case to be England's number 1 this season.
Mateta - despite the stats I have looked at stating he had no shots on target, the big man scored Palace's goal from the penalty spot.
Zirkzee - really needed a goal and got one.
Mount - back from injury and scoring.
Fernandes - he may not be most opposition fans' favourite, but he is still a quality player and picked up a couple of assists.

Flops:
Nketiah - never really fills you with confidence that he will score.
Devenny - really struggled after coming on, in just 6 minutes he managed to misplace 4 passes. He only attempted 5.
Mbeumo - a poor game, unusually for him. He was very loose with possession, turning the ball over far too much.


West Ham United 0-2 Liverpool

An absolutely abysmal, ridiculously passive performance from the Hammers, who just rolled over to have their tummy tickled for 90 minutes. It was shockingly bad and made it so easy for Liverpool, even before Paqueta decided he wanted to sit out the next few games to avoid injury before he leaves in January. That was the most embarrassing sending off I have ever seen, even though the first yellow was very soft. Not just because of his clear intention to get himself sent off, but because of the reaction of his teammates, who pretty much just left him to it, like they just could not have cared less. I would have expected one of them to drag him away from the ref by the throat if need be. It just showed the huge problems they have at West Ham, with an overly cautious manager and a team of players that are not playing for the badge at all. They need major surgery - starting at the top with the porn baron Sullivan - who is the biggest problem of all, despite being so small. Hard to judge Liverpool on this, they did look better, but it was not a game that gave them even the slightest test at all.

Starmen:
Wirtz - head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch.
Gomez - a good performance from right-back.

Flops:
Paqueta - Imbecile. There is no other word for him. It is no wonder he was investigated over gambling irregularities when he does things like that, it is difficult to think of another explanation for what he did.
The rest of the Hammers team - hopeless. A complete lack of effort and desire.
Mac Allister - his diving antics are cringeworthy. Running at someone's shoulder, after taking a couple of looks to make sure you were going to hit it, and then throwing yourself to the ground and rolling around is just pathetic. Worse is when the ball gently hits him in the back, while he is already playacting over another pretend injury, he proceeds to act like he was shot by a sniper with a high-powered rifle! The rest of his game is not much better, he is too slow, too weak and too busy looking for opportunities to throw himself to the ground to make a proper challenge.


Aston Villa 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves looked a lot better and there are signs that Edwards is slowly turning the Titanic around before it hits the iceberg. But, there is a severe lack of quality in the final third without Cunha. No matter how well they play, they are still struggling with a lack of creativity and that maverick ability to pull something out of nothing is a huge miss. Villa, on the other hand, are on the up and have moved themselves into the top four as their team is in good form, even if the football has not been spectacular. But they do keep on winning and winning.

Starmen:
Kamara - known for breaking up play rather than goal scoring, but his goal made the difference.
McGinn - lacks pace to hit on the break, but still has a quality left foot.
Tielemans - his return from injury has come at a good time for Villa.
Martinez - has been a bit error-prone lately, but back to his best against Wolves.
Andre - breaks up play well.

Flops:
Rogers - one of those games where he struggled to produce. He really needs to get involved more on days like this, he will not always be able to produce a moment of magic, but he can always work harder to help his team.
Larsen - while the service was not great, he is not doing enough to help his teammates out.
Arias - struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
Wolfe - has not impressed so far.


Nottingham Forest 0-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Losing Murillo to injury in midweek, in what was a stroll in the park for Forest against Malmo, has hurt them badly. His replacement Morato is a major step down in quality. Dyche needs to sort out the team's inconsistency before they get cut adrift of the midtable pack. Perhaps just a lack of rotation, leaving players a bit leggy and lacking freshness is the issue, as Dyche prefers not to change much. BHA have looked very up and down this season, looking a lot less strong than previous years but they have been able to get goals and so keep themselves in the battle for European places. Even with Baleba struggling to refind his form after injury, the Seagulls are able to pick up results, though they do look very open at the back. Dunk looks particularly shakey under pressure, particularly up against pace, something Forest failed to exploit at all. Before this match, I thought the two teams were in false positions, with Forest better than it suggested and Brighton worse, but this match made it look like their positions are genuine relative to each other.

Starmen:
De Cuyper - scored the opening goal and generally performed well.
Anderson - the hype around him will continue to grow while he puts in performances of this level.

Flops:
Morato - the step down in ability between him and Murillo is always going to put a focus on his performances. Unfortunately, his error led to a goal.
Ndoye - lacks skill and a little in pace. He does seem to be a bit of a nothing player, with little to recommend him in the role he plays.


Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

It once again feels like Arteta's caution has caused Arsenal to drop points, rather than them being held to a draw by ten-man Chelsea. Maybe I am being harsh, but for a team with such quality, their actual football level is not good. It feels like watching Sam Allardyce fighting to avoid relegation, but with much better players than he usually had. It is effective, but you just feel there is so much more there if only Arteta would let them off the leash. In fact, it really feels like the only thing that is stopping them running away with the Premier League is him. Chelsea looked the better team for large periods, the sending off of Caicedo did not even stop them taking the lead. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if they had managed to keep eleven on the pitch. Maresca does need to take a look at their disciplinary record, suspensions could play a key role in the battle at the top this season. Arsenal, on the other hand, have spent heavily like Chelsea in recent years, but they have built a much stronger squad doing so and even missing their first choice pairing at centre-back does not really affect them.

Starmen:
Chalobah - despite Maresca's best efforts to get rid, he is still there and is becoming a key defender for Chelsea in the absence of Colwill.
James - midfield may not be where he made his name, but it might be helping him stay fit playing in there as the distance covered tends to be less.
Merino - Arsenal's scorer is not a natural striker, but their style of play allows him to be effective in that role.
Saka - surprisingly, this was his first assist in the Premier League this season.

Flops:
Caicedo - in the role he plays, he is always running the risk of picking up cards.
Neto - needs to produce more in games like this.
Eze - after his performance last weekend, it was always likely that he would look poor by comparison.
Zubimendi - too lightweight in games like this.

Written by Tris Burke December 03 2025 08:41:10