As the end of the 2017/18 Premier League season draws to a close find out my 'winners' and 'losers' for April.
It's been a good month for...
Pep Guardiola
Manchester City might have lost the Manchester Derby in April but that defeat merely delayed City's inevitable Premier League triumph by another week. 3-1 away victories at both Everton and Tottenham were enough to secure Guardiola his first Premier League trophy and City rounded off the month with a 5-0 demolition of Swansea at the Etihad and an equally comfortable 4-1 success at West Ham. City have blown the rest of the league away this season and as good as the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, David Silva, Raheem Sterling and co. have been the credit largely has to go to Pep. He got his style, system and signings spot on and it will take something very special to prevent his side making it back-to-back titles in 2018/19.
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Chelsea
It has been a largely disappointing season for the Blues but a strong April showing means they go into the final month of the campaign with a slim chance of qualifying for the top four, despite it being out of their own hands. It was two wins and a draw out of four for Antonio Conte's team but it should have really been three out of four, Javier Hernandez scoring a late goal for West Ham in a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge at the start of the month. Chelsea had previously lost 3-1 at home to Tottenham before making amends with an Olivier Giroud-inspired 3-2 win at Southampton and a 1-0 victory at Swansea. It will be interesting to see if Conte is still in charge at the start of 2018/19, but if they do manage to make the Champions League and win the FA Cup you wouldn't bet against it.
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Darren Moore
West Brom's caretaker manager had an unbelievable month! Filling in following Alan Pardew's departure, Moore is unbeaten and has even lifted the Baggies off the foot of the table at the time of writing. He oversaw a 1-1 home draw with Swansea, an incredible 1-0 win at Manchester United, a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at the Hawthorns and a 1-0 win at Newcastle in April. Unfortunately for him and his players, those results weren't enough to prevent relegation to the Championship, but he has already collected more points than Pardew managed and looks to have the players on side. If he gets the job permanently we could see West Brom bouncing straight back up to the Premier League next year.
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But a bad one for...
Alan Pardew
As mentioned above, Pardew's sacking has led to a huge upsurge in form at West Brom. The journeyed manager had an awful few months at the Hawthorns, taking just eight points from a possible 54 and effectively leading the Baggiest towards their relegation fate. Pardew was brought in to keep WBA up, and his record will surely put other struggling teams off appointing him in future. Maybe a Championship side will come calling for Pardew but it's been a disaster of a year for him.
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Arsenal
It may be a little harsh to put the Gunners in here this month but they are still the only side in the entire football league without an away point in 2018 after 2-1 defeats at Newcastle and Manchester United. They did win their other three matches in April, at home to Stoke (3-0), Southampton (3-2) and West Ham (4-1), but it wasn't enough to see the club announce the fact that Arsene Wenger will be leaving Arsenal at the end of the season after a 22-year spell. Lots of Arsenal fans were happy with the news but I can now see there being a transitional period at the Emirates and wouldn't be surprised if they endured another tough season in 2018/19. As for Arsene Wenger; he will be greatly missed by the Premier League.
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West Ham
The Hammers are still not mathematically safe after failing to win a single match in April. The month started promisingly in that 1-1 draw at Chelsea, but a 1-1 home draw at Stoke in their next match was then followed by 4-1 drubbings at Arsenal and at home to Manchester City. Admittedly they have played three of the big boys but it was far too easy for Arsenal and City and that is what worries me with West Ham. The new stadium shouldn't be an excuse anymore but it just doesn't intimidate the opposition like Upton Park used to. The Hammers should be fine but it has still been a frustrating campaign for them.
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Here are my 'winners' and 'losers' for March after another eventful Premier League month.
It's been a good month for...
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola's table-topping Citizens won all three of their league games in March and could wrap up the title in their next game against bitter rivals Manchester United. If they were to win that game it would be the earliest the Premier League has ever been won which would be an amazing achievement by what has been an amazing City team this season. They were at their usual brilliant best as they enjoyed a 1-0 home victory over Chelsea and away wins over Stoke (0-2) and Everton (1-3) in March and it is only a matter of time until they become Premier League champions for the third time.
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Mohamed Salah
Liverpool's Egyptian King put himself firmly in the Golden Boot driving seat in March alongside Harry Kane's absence through injury. He started the month with a goal in the Reds' 2-0 home win over Newcastle and was at his scintillating best in their 5-0 hammering of Watford at Anfield, scoring four and creating the other. Salah now tops the scoring chart with 29 goals from 31 games, five ahead of Tottenham's Kane. He is Liverpool's talisman and his goals have given Jurgen Klopp's side a very strong chance of finishing in the top four this campaign.
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Manchester United
Jose Mourinho's Red Devils picked up maximum points (9) in March to all but secure a Champions League place next season. At the time of writing United are twelve points clear of 5th-placed Chelsea with seven games remaining and are also favourites to finish runners-up this season thanks to their March performances, which included a 3-2 victory at Crystal Palace in a game that they were trailing 2-0, a fine 2-1 win over rivals Liverpool in which the outstanding Marcus Rashford scored twice and a routine 2-0 triumph at home to Swansea. Although it will be devastating to see neighbours City lift the title it is clear to see that Guardiola's men have been in a league of their own this season and United have been by far and away the 'best of the rest.'
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But a bad one for...
Mauricio Pellegrino
Southampton sacked the Argentine on March 12th with the club just a place and a point above the relegation zone at the time of his sacking. Pellegrino won just five of his thirty league games as manager and was dismissed after a run of just one win in seventeen matches. It makes Southampton's decision to sack now-Leicester City manager Claude Puel last season crazy, after an 8th-placed finish and an appearance in the EFL Cup final. They have now replaced Pellegrino with Mark Hughes but sit in the bottom three at the time of writing with a very real chance of playing Championship football next season for the first time since 2012.
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Stoke
The Potters failed to win a league game in March and are slipping ever close to the Championship. A 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City can be forgiven, but Paul Lambert's side are struggling to beat the kind of teams they should be beating if they want to stay in the top flight, and that was clear last month as they drew 0-0 at fellow strugglers Southampton and lost 2-1 at home to Everton. Everton are a decent side but that was just their second away success of the season and really sums up Stoke's miserable campaign - usually so good at home, they have struggled to pick up vital points at the Bet365 Stadium this season and could have no complaints if they were relegated this year.
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Huddersfield
Another side hoping to avoid the drop, Huddersfield failed to record a league victory in March and are in real trouble of an immediate return to the second-tier. A 2-0 defeat at Wembley against Tottenham was no real surprise, but failure to beat any of Swansea (0-0), Crystal Palace (0-2) and Newcastle (0-1) will be massively frustrating for David Wagner. They are three points above the relegation zone at present but have played a game more than some of their survival rivals and in my opinion are in big trouble.
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After another eventful month in the Premier League, here are my 'Winners' and 'Losers' for January.
It's been a good month for...
Carlos Carvalhal
Carlos Carvalhal has had a great start to life as Swansea City manager. At the time of writing he has guided the Welsh club out of the relegation zone after a great run of form; they had been rock bottom of the Premier League at the time of his appointment. Carvalhal has already won the same number of league games as predecessor Paul Clement managed in the first half of the campaign (3) and picked up two of those in January, against Liverpool and Arsenal no less. Both of those victories came at the Liberty Stadium, 1-0 against the Reds and 3-1 against the Gunners, and if the Swans can keep up that sort of form at home and pick up the occasional away result they should be playing top-flight football again next season.
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Jordon Ibe
The Bournemouth winger may finally be proving why Eddie Howe spent £15 million on him in 2016. Ibe had a cracking January, finally registering his first Cherries goal with the winner in a 2-1 home victory over Arsenal. Ibe also supplied an assist in a 2-2 draw at Brighton earlier in the month, and more recently in an astonishing 3-0 victory at Chelsea. Ibe will be hoping to continue in this vein for the remainder of the season in order to finally fulfill his undoubted potential.
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Manchester United
Jose Mourinho's men have been quietly going about their business, and also did fantastically well to bring in Alexis Sanchez in January under the noses of rivals City. United took nine points from a possible twelve and were disappointing only in a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham. That aside, they've been playing some decent football and picked up good wins away at both Everton and Burnley, which are traditionally tough places to go and play. In any other season United would be right up there, but it looks as though they are still on course for a second-placed finish.
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But a bad one for...
Mark Hughes
The Welshman was dismissed as manager of Stoke City on the 6th January, following a run of five defeats in seven Premier League games. It marked the end of four-and-a-half years in charge of the Potters, with Paul Lambert the man chosen to take over at the helm. Hughes left with Stoke sitting inside the drop zone, which is unfamiliar territory for them. An ageing squad and a lack of goals were problems for Hughes, but the clincher was that they had the worst defensive record at the time of his sacking. Hughes had a decent spell at the Bet365 Stadium, however, and I'm sure it won't be long until he's back in management.
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Huddersfield
The Terriers lost all four league games in January, by a combined score of 12-1. A 3-0 home loss to Liverpool is understandable, but if you want to stay in the Premier League you need to be winning matches against the likes of Leicester, West Ham and Stoke and David Wagner's men just didn't turn up. They don't look as solid as they have done in previous months and have also found goals hard to come by. They bought in Alex Pritchard from Norwich during the transfer window, and Wagner will be hoping that he can provide some much needed creativity.
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Marco Silva
The Portuguese manager lost his job at Vicarage Road, having won just one of eleven Premier League matches. Watford's chiefs blamed Everton for the demise of the gaffer, with the Toffees declaring public interest in Silva following Ronald Koeman's dismissal in October. Silva appeared to have made his interest in the job known, having refused to declare his long-term future to the Hornets, and they have struggled ever since. In the long run I think that Watford will suffer more than Silva, and maybe he will get his chance at Goodison Park in the summer.
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The hectic Premier League festive period has come to an end! Read on to find out my 'Winners' and Losers' for December.
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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As we approach the halfway stage of the 2017/18 Premier League season it's time for my November roundup. Here are my 'Winners' and 'Losers' for the month.
It's been a good month for...
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool's Egyptian forward is surely the Player of the Month for November. Salah scored in each of the Reds' four league games, helping them take ten points from a possible twelve. He scored braces against West Ham, Southampton and Stoke, and scored Liverpool's goal in a 1-1 draw against his former employers, Chelsea. Salah is currently the league's top scorer with twelve goals, which is mightily impressive when he is more of a winger than a striker. With two more goals than nearest challenger Harry Kane, Jürgen Klopp will know that he has a real gem on his hands.
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But a bad one for...
Slaven Bilic
The Croation was sacked by West Ham in early November after winning just two league games in 2017/18. He departed with the Hammers in 18th following a 4-1 home defeat by Liverpool, which was a second successive home defeat by three goals. I feel a bit sorry for Bilic, as I feel that the move to the London Stadium has been a disaster for West Ham, and he led them to a 7th-placed finish in his first season in charge, and the Irons' last at Upton Park. Bilic will surely feel even harder done by to be replaced by David Moyes, who was Sunderland manager as they finished rock-bottom of the Premier League and were relegated to the Championship last season.
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Another eventful month in the Premier League has passed. Find my 'Winners' and 'Losers' for October below...
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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