It's been a good month for...
Sam Allardyce
Big Sam is back in the Premier League and is doing what he does best. Having taken over an Everton team struggling for form and confidence, the former England manager has steered them into the top half of the table. As he is so good at doing, Allardyce instantly tightened up the defence, seeing the Toffees collect 12 points from a possible 21, with four clean sheets from their seven games. He has also made Everton challenge the 'Big Six' again, picking up draws in the Merseyside Derby at Anfield and at home to Chelsea. If he can get a couple of players in during the January transfer window, Everton could be in for a positive 2018.
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Crystal Palace
Roy Hodgson has totally transformed Crystal Palace, who now sit 14th in the table and two points above the relegation zone, which is remarkable when you consider how badly the Eagles were performing when the experienced manager took over. Hodgson has got Palace attacking at speed again, and Andros Townsend and particularly Wilfried Zaha look dangerous every time they bring the ball forward. Indeed, Palace ended Manchester City's amazing eighteen-game winning run in a 0-0 draw at Selhurst Park on New Year's Eve, and could have actually won the game had Ederson not saved Luca Milivojevic's late penalty. If Palace continue in their current vein of form, they will definitely be playing Premier League football again next season.
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Heung-Min Son
Tottenham's South Korean attacker had an outstanding month, registering four goals and four assists in his six Premier League appearances in December. His first goal of the month was the equaliser in Tottenham's 1-1 draw at Watford which earned Spurs a valuable point. He then scored in a 5-1 win over Stoke and a 2-0 win over Brighton, both at Wembley, and ended the month with another strike at home to Southampton on boxing day in a 5-2 victory. Manager Mauricio Pochettino will be thrilled with Son, who is really helping out Harry Kane in the goalscoring department.
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But a bad one for...
Paul Clement
After less than a year in charge, Clement was dismissed by Swansea City on the 20th of December after winning just three league games and with the club rock bottom of the Premier League. I feel a bit sorry for Clement, as his appointment last season kept Swansea in the division, but as we all know football is a results business and there's no doubt Swansea were in dreadful form. Clement's last outing as manager was in a 3-1 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. Swansea actually led 1-0 in that game, but failure to hold onto a lead is what has cost the Swans time and time again this season. Clement was swiftly replaced by former Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvahal, and it will be interesting now to see what he can do with the same group of players.
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West Bromwich Albion
West Brom's appointment of Alan Pardew hasn't had the immediate impact that Baggies' fans will have been hoping for. They are yet to win under Pardew, and currently sit 19th in the table, four points adrift of safety. WBA were involved in three 0-0 draws in December and also drew 1-1 against Arsenal, as well as narrowly losing 2-1 at home to Manchester United. The evidence shows that they are a solid, battling side, but they are light at the top of the pitch and struggle for goals. Pardew will be desperate for funds in January to bring in somebody who knows where the back of the net is, and they have also been linked with a loan move for Liverpool's Danny Ings.
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Watford
The Hornets had a poor month, collecting just 4 points from a possible 21. What makes that stat even more worrying is that on paper, Marco Silva's side had some really nice fixtures. The month started well enough, with a 1-1 draw at home to Tottenham, but then went swiftly downhill with defeats to Burnley, Crystal Palace, Huddersfield and Brighton. They ended that run of four successive defeats with a 2-1 victory over Leicester on Boxing Day, but lost again at the end of the month, 2-1 to struggling Swansea. When you look at those fixtures, they actually performed best against the highest-ranked teams, so Silva may need to knock his players down a peg or too and get them back into the habit of winning those games against the sides they 'should' be beating!
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