It's been a good month for...
Leroy Sane
Sane enjoyed an explosive October in the Premier League, scoring and assisting a goal in each of his three league appearances. His excellent play and often telepathic relationship with the likes of Kevin de Bruyne helped Manchester City to three wins from three, most notably a 7-2 home victory over Stoke City. City also beat Burnley 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium and won 3-2 at West Brom. If German international Sane can keep up his explosive form, Pep Guardiola's side could be well on their way to the Premier League title by Christmas.
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Crystal Palace
It may be a surprise to see the Premier League's bottom side featuring in the 'Winners' section, but there is no doubt that Roy Hodgson's appointment has seen a definite upswing in Palace's performance levels. They picked up their first win of the season on October 14th against none other than last season's champions, Chelsea, and that 2-1 triumph was fully deserved. Wilfried Zaha looks to be back to his best and added to his goal against Chelsea with a 97th-minute equaliser against West Ham. Palace should definitely take confidence from their October results, and will be hoping to close the gap in November.
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Brighton
Brighton enjoyed an unbeaten October, and were unlucky not to take more than the five points that they managed from their three games. A 90th-minute Wayne Rooney penalty denied them victory at home to Everton in a 1-1 draw, but that did nothing to dent the Seagulls' confidence. Instead, they won 3-0 at West Ham in their very next game, with Glenn Murray bagging a brace. Murray then rescued a point with an equaliser against Southampton in another 1-1 draw. Chris Hughton's men have enjoyed a solid start to their debut Premier League campaign and long may it continue.
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But a bad one for...
Ronald Koeman
Ronald Koeman was sacked sixteen months into his job as Everton manager after a dismal start to the 2017/18 season. He departed Goodison Park with the club in the bottom three and having collected just two wins from their first ten games. For me, Koeman was dismissed too early, but the failure to replace Romelu Lukaku was a crime and too many average players arrived over the summer for far too much money. A 5-2 home defeat to Arsenal was the Dutchman's final game in charge of the Toffees.
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Watford
Despite the fact that Watford beat Arsenal 2-1 in their first match in October, I was unimpressed with their inability to finish a game when they played Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Admittedly there aren't many tougher places to play at in the Premier League, but Watford had them on the ropes and led 2-1 up until the 71st-minute. It should have been 4-1 by then, but a failure to convert key chances came back to haunt them and they ended up conceding three goals in the final nineteen minutes to lose 4-2. They then lost their next game 1-0 at home to a Stoke side who have struggled for goals. It's interesting that Watford have lost both of their games since Troy Deeney accused Arsenal of lacking 'cojones,' and now the Watford skipper will miss the next three matches due to a violent conduct charge following an incident with Joe Allen.
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Craig Shakespeare
Another sacked Premier League manager unfortunately makes the 'Losers' list this month, and again I find this a little harsh. Craig Shakespeare kept then reigning champions Leicester City in the Premier League last season following the sacking of Claudio Ranieri, but was relieved of his duties on October 17th. Admittedly Leicester had won just one of their eight league matches under Shakespeare, but they had also faced Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool in those opening eight and faced a kinder round of fixtures. Shakespeare was sacked after a 1-1 home draw with West Brom, and I also think it's harsh to sack any manager after a game that wasn't actually lost. I was impressed by Shakespeare during his short stint as a Premier League manager and hope to see him at a new club soon.
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