Crystal Palace undeniably have some of the Premier League’s most breath-taking attacking talent.
Whether it be Michael Olise’s ability to be the team’s playmaking hub from wide areas, Ebere Eze’s capacity to dance through opposition midfields, or the regularity with which Wilfried Zaha twists the blood of topflight right-backs – Palace are not short of individuals capable of getting fans out of their seats.
But following last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to an Everton side that is noticeably lacking players of a similar creative calibre, Patrick Vieira’s men find themselves marooned in the middle of the league table, closer to the relegation zone than the European places.
More concerningly, Palace have some of the worst underlying attacking numbers in the division so far this season.
A 12th-place finish last term was widely heralded as a successful first campaign in charge for Vieira, but it now appears the former Arsenal favourite is struggling to carry any momentum into his second season. It may even be the case that divisional rivals have worked out his tactical ideas.
Ironically one of their best performances of the season also came on Merseyside. Against Liverpool in the second week of the campaign – admittedly helped by a Darwin Nunez red card for a bizarre headbutt on Joachim Andersen – Palace were defensively sound and caused Jurgen Klopp’s side all manner of problems when counterattacking in the 1-1 draw.
This was most evident when Zaha raced on to an Eze pass before avoiding the looming presence of Virgil van Dijk and perfectly placing a shot beyond Alisson into the net at the Kop End to give Palace the lead.
Whilst that evening was a possible sign that Vieira is capable of imagining and executing game plans that can cause problems for some of the Premier League’s best, it may well be that a lack of flexibility is proving costly against less glamorous opponents.
The three league wins that Palace have collected this season have come against Aston Villa, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers – teams that all currently sit below the Eagles in the table.
Whilst these may appear the sort of wins that successful seasons are built on for clubs like Palace, all have relied on moments of brilliance by their influential attacking midfielders rather than being dominant, convincing displays against some of the early-season strugglers.
As Palace’s start can attest to, great individuals do not necessarily create a great team – although Conor Gallagher did give it a good go last season. The Chelsea loanee ranked highest among Palace midfielders for non-Penalty xG, second in terms of open play passes leading to a goal, and second behind Eze for tackles in the final third.
Whilst summer signing Cheick Doucoure initially seemed as though he would be used as a direct replacement for Gallagher, it has become clear in the opening weeks of the season that he is a very different sort of player.
Whilst Gallagher had 18 touches in the final third per game last season, Doucoure is averaging less than eight. Doucoure is also currently making half of the England international’s 0.44 tackles in the same area of the pitch from 2021/22.
The return to full fitness of Eze has meant that much of the attacking and creative responsibility from midfield now relies on the former QPR man, and the team’s collapse at Goodison Park in the absence of Doucoure is possibly evidence that he has become vital to the team in a different way to Gallagher, yet Palace still feel as though they are stagnating.
“I think performances like we had against Everton keep us grounded. We always talk about what we want to achieve as a team. We have a lot of areas of the game we need to work on and improve.
“I know the players by now and they are players committed to taking the club to the next level through their work every day.
“I believe that we can do much better in the last third. This is one area of the game we need to improve.”
Saturday’s home game against an inconsistent Southampton outfit is possibly a perfect opportunity for Palace and Vieira to pick up the sort of win that proves doubters wrong. Although it would be no great surprise to see one of their eye-catching individualists bail them out once more.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”655″ heading=”Crystal Palace” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”59″ heading=”EPL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>
For casual viewers, the sight of one of Sky’s spider cams swooping down to provide an intimate view of Bukayo Saka readying himself to take a crucial penalty kick could quite understandably engender an unnerving, even nauseating, feeling within.
Those same casuals will be more than aware that just 15 months ago Saka experienced a moment of sporting misfortune that had the potential to derail a career. Survival in the Euro 2020 final on the line. The enormous frame of Gianluigi Donnarumma dives the right way. Penalty saved. A torrent of racial hatred follows online.
A grim feeling of doubt was therefore surely present in the minds of some as the slight figure of Saka, made to look even slighter by the framing of the camera, prepared to find a way past the sizeable Alisson and give Arsenal the lead for a third time on Sunday afternoon against Liverpool.
Saka guided an effort into the bottom left corner of the Brazillian’s goal with both precision and power. Alisson dived the right way, just as Donnarumma did at Wembley, but the conviction with which the ball was struck meant the possibility of a save was never realistic.
That goal sent Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League table.
What those with less investment in the fortunes of the 21-year-old may not have realised is that this was not the first decisive spot-kick that Saka has taken responsibility for since, nor is it even the second.
The successful penalty at the weekend means that he has now scored from the spot against Liverpool, Manchester United, and Chelsea since the Euro 2020 final – all of which came in important games and earned equally important points.
Prowess from 12 yards is not the only art that the Ealing-born attacker appears to have mastered though. His goals per 90, assists per 90, expected goals per 90, key passes per 90 and successful dribbles per 90 so far this season are higher than at any other point in his Arsenal career.
Rather than being inhibited or defined by such a potentially traumatic moment, or understandably allowing performance levels to drop and concentration to drift by trying to force the issue from his mind’s eye, it is now almost as if Saka is using that moment to fuel personal and team success.
He is no longer simply a promising talent nor a symbol of the potential of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, he is now defined by harder, more mature attributes such as the consistency of those curling finishes when coming inside from the flank, and the directness of his ball-carrying when the opportunity presents itself.
Saka’s England redemption may come in earnest in the coming months, but a recent appearance off the bench against Germany in the Nations League was the most forceful claim yet that he should be starting in attack alongside Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane in Qatar.
Introduced in the 66th minute in place of Phil Foden with England two goals down, Saka played a part in both of the goals that dragged Gareth Southgate’s side level in the eventual 3-3 draw.
Whilst there can be no denial of the talent of the Manchester City man, Saka’s impact on what was seemingly a desperate situation may indicate that he is less reliant on systems or styles of play to prove effective. Foden has been surrounded by superstars from the very start, Saka has had to drag Arsenal to a level whereby they can attract such players once more. With England patently in a difficult situation before the World Cup even starts, it may be that Saka’s battling qualities are what is required in the desert heat.
With Arteta in the third full season of his project in North London, the team is now at a level befitting Saka’s talent. Martin Odegaard’s ascension to creative focal point has lessened the burden on him to instigate attacks. The continual improvement of the equally impressive Gabriel Martinelli has meant opponents have a goal-scoring threat on either flank to contend with. Gabriel Jesus’s perpetual motion is giving Saka less work to do off the ball as well as opening up more space for him when he does have possession.
Even though Saka’s own trajectory in terms of ability and the influence he has on this Arsenal team seems destined to continue blossoming, it may well be that this, right now, is the best we ever see of him. Development is not linear and form is prone to fluctuation, so embrace what we are seeing of this brilliant young individual now, and don’t forget how he made you feel in this moment.
Bukayo Saka has already achieved so much. Cherish him.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”57″ heading=”Arsenal” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”59″ heading=”EPL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>
A 2-1 win for Queens Park Rangers against Reading on Friday night moved the R’s into third place in the Championship, and provided further proof of the burgeoning managerial talent of Mick Beale.
Despite being without talisman Chris Willock due to injury, the R’s were more than worthy of the victory against an opponent who started the evening a point and a place above them in the league table. The result means that Beale has now won seven of his first 13 games in charge of the west London club, and this was the first occasion that they have managed to collect three points when top-scorer Willock has not been available.
The second part of last season saw QPR collapse. Not in a dramatic way, or one that excites neutrals and delights rivals, but rather a slow disintegration that makes decisions such as handing permanent deals to Stefan Johansen and Charlie Austin, or recruiting Jeff Hendrick in an attempt to salvage hopes of a play-off spot, seem more misguided by the week. The services of the sometimes-loved, always-respected Mark Warburton were dispensed with, and a club that can often appear wed to the bust and boom associated with chaos was left yearning for something new and exciting.
Up stepped Beale, fresh from four years seemingly masterminding Steven Gerrard’s managerial career, thrust along the often-unsuccessful path of transitioning from second in command to chief decision maker at the age of 41. His pedigree as a coach at both youth level and with senior players is hard to question, but, as much as the supposed hustle and bustle of the Championship is overplayed by broadcasters, the fixture scheduling does make it a managerial test unlike any other.
Beale has already fallen victim to the fixture list. After a weekend win at Watford was followed up by a midweek victory against Hull, he stuck with the same starting XI for a third game in a row against Swansea at the start of September. QPR only lost 1-0 that day but were noticeably flat, and their new manager accepted that he was at fault as much as any of the players for not fully considering the physical demands of playing three matches in seven days.
They in fact managed to win three consecutive matches across just six days this week, and although at least a couple of the four personnel changes made for the Reading game were enforced, rotation, particularly in midfield, has proven decisive.
“The rotation in midfield has been really important to keep the freshness. That’s the reason why we are able to score in the last 10 minutes (against Reading), we still had legs on the pitch.
“What we are starting to see at the moment is that if QPR have got the majority of their best players available, then they can compete against the best teams in this league.”
– QPR manager Mick Beale
That defeat in South Wales is the only occasion this season that QPR have been beaten when the influential Willock has played. The club are still very much in a state of rehabilitation after years of ill-judged spending and even worse off-field decision making that characterised Tony Fernandes’ attempts to establish them as Premier League regulars. This has meant that Beale has had to make the most of what he’s got. Unfortunately, what he has had has been severely hampered by persistent injuries to the hamstring of his most influential player.
Willock scored the decisive goal in Tuesday’s 1-0 win at former league leaders Sheffield United before hobbling from the field not long after. Beale revealed post-Reading that his playmaker-cum-top goalscorer should return in three weeks’ time, but victory last night perhaps suggests that this team is not quite as dependent on the Arsenal academy graduate as initially seemed to be the case.
In the absence of Willock, the fluid and dynamic frontline of Ilias Chair and Tyler Roberts had a hulking great 6ft 2in Australian-born Scotsman bludgeoned in between them. Lyndon Dykes’ QPR career has had its moments, but the sense that Beale is building something he will not be a part of has been heightened by the fact that he had not started any games in the four-match unbeaten run leading up to the Reading encounter.
However, Beale found a way to utilise him on Friday night. Dykes was only involved sporadically, but he occupied centre-backs effectively, and he made the most of the game’s decisive moments when they fell his way. A stooping header to level the scores before the interval was executed with the accuracy of a frontman who has been playing often and finding the net regularly. His all-important late penalty displayed a level of composure that belied the fact that it was just his fifth Championship goal this calendar year.
“I’m delighted for him. He carries it (pressure) around his neck more than people realise. I work with the boy every day and he gives us everything he’s got. He knows he’d like to score more, and he knows the fans want him to score more.
“We never nominated a penalty taker. In the moment he picked the ball up and he went and took it. To pick that penalty up and score it late on shows the quality of the man.
“He actually apologised to me on Tuesday for the miss in the second half at Sheffield United. He doesn’t need to! He’s giving me everything.”
– QPR manager Mick Beale
The addition of an old-school target man did not mean that all of Beale’s well-laid tactical plans were put to waste. The opening 25 minutes saw a plethora of positional rotation and aggressive field positioning, leaving Reading with little time nor room to get within sniffing distance of their hosts. With Tim Iroegbunam dropping in at right-back, Ethan Laird was free to gallop into the opposition half. On the other side, Kenneth Paal would usually sit deeper and instead it would be captain Johansen who regularly occupied wide positions.
It is however defensive improvements that have characterised QPR’s recent unbeaten run. They have conceded just twice across the last five games now, and, an accurate Andy Carroll penalty that found the top corner aside, a late Tom Ince free-kick was the only time that Seny Dieng was truly tested at Loftus Road. This recent solidity has been discovered despite four changes of centre-back pairing between games and, as on Friday, shifts to a three-man defence within matches – indicating it is quite possibly the outcome of good coaching rather than good fortune.
That it is not to say that this victory was by any means perfect. When the promising start did not yield an opening goal and the effervescent Laird was forced from the field through injury in the 25th minute and a claim for a stonewall penalty had been ignored, heads did seem to drop somewhat. Iroegbunam, who had a mightily impressive game all-in-all that was capped by winning the late spot-kick, gave the ball away in his own half for the first time on the half hour mark and proceeded to commit to a rash challenge in his penalty area trying to make amends. The force of the contact he made with the trailing leg of Lucas Joao was questionable, but it was undoubtedly an error on behalf of the Aston Villa loanee.
An unconvincing spell at the start of the second period was possibly more tangible evidence that Beale has some way to go before it can be suggested that he has completed football management. A spattering of long throws and set-pieces were either allowed to bounce in the penalty or were cleared unconvincingly, and had Carroll been closer to his sharpest and most disruptive, this could have caused more of a problem.
But QPR won, so those concerns can be magnified and picked apart on another occasion. For now, all concerned can simply marvel. We have reached that point where this story’s protagonist has ascended to the next level of their character progression. Mistakes have been made and learnt from. Obstacles have been placed in the way and avoided. The latest episode of mind-boggling EFL refereeing has been thoroughly watched, ultimately ignored, and deleted from memory until next weekend.
It is early in the season, the squad can hardly afford to suffer any further injuries, but those on the field were assured and confident against Reading throughout. This team and this manager are capable of producing better performances, both are young and still learning so will no doubt produce plenty that are also worse, but the way in which Beale has already made a clear and visible imprint on this team, and also altered and adapted that imprint over the past few weeks, is evidence enough that QPR are travelling in a positive direction.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”2829″ heading=”QPR” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1139″ heading=”Championship” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>Queens Park Rangers welcome Reading to Loftus Road on Friday evening in a meeting of two surprise early-season Championship promotion contenders.
After initially making an underwhelming start to life under new manager Mick Beale, QPR have won five of their last seven league games. This upturn in form means they currently sit fourth in the Championship table, keeping pace with sides like Norwich City, Burnley and Sheffield United – who are all benefitting from parachute payments after spells in the Premier League.
A 1-0 win at Bramall Lane against the Blades on Tuesday night is arguably Rangers result of the season, and was a further sign that Beale is instilling a defensive resolve to match a well-established penchant for attacking verve.
QPR had failed to keep a clean sheet under the management of the former Aston Villa assistant coach until the 2-0 victory against Millwall in the middle of September. Following that shut out, they have conceded just once across three games.
A concern for Beale will be the potential absence of creative midfielder Chris Willock. The Arsenal academy graduate was forced off with a hamstring injury just five minutes after scoring the decisive goal in south Yorkshire, and it is unclear if he will be available for selection on Friday night.
Willock’s strike against Sheffield United was his sixth goal of the season, and he has proven to be vital to QPR’s chances of success this season. The R’s have not won any of the four games that their talisman has been unavailable so far this term, whilst they have only failed to win on two occasions when Willock has started.
Leeds United loanee Tyler Roberts getting off the mark in last weekend’s win at Bristol City may mean that Beale now has something close to a suitable alternative available in attack, but the onus will now be on creative hub Ilias Chair to build on the five assists he has registered this season.
Although Rangers’ new manager has guided them into the play-off places a lot sooner than expected, the success Paul Ince and Reading have enjoyed so far this season has been an even greater surprise for many.
After just about steering the Royals clear of relegation last term, little was expected in the way of progression under Ince. But with seven wins from their first 12 fixtures, the Berkshire club currently sit third in the second-tier table.
Despite being under a soft EFL transfer embargo throughout the summer, a small squad of players appear galvanised by the situation they find themselves in.
Reading’s early success has been anything but dull either. No team in the top half of the Championship has conceded more goals, and runs of victories have been punctuated by heavy defeats to Rotherham United, Sunderland and Sheffield United.
Their 1-1 draw against league leaders Norwich in midweek therefore went against the form book somewhat, as it was the first time Ince’s side have shared the points this season.
Club captain Andy Yiadom missed the meeting with the Canaries after hobbling off against Huddersfield Town last weekend. Ince is also likely to be without both wing-back Baba Rahman and experienced striker Shane Long due to knocks. Liam Moore, Scott Dann and Naby Sarr are all long-term absentees.
Although both QPR and Reading head into Friday night with issues to contend with, a place in the automatic promotions places is up for grabs if either can secure three points. Even at this nascent stage of the season, such a boost could prove to be pivotal by the time the race for the Premier League gets serious in the New Year.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”2829″ heading=”QPR” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1139″ heading=”Championship” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>
It would be fair to say that David Moyes is a manager whose best work has been the product of sticking to what he knows best.
This was most obvious during his 11-year spell in charge of Everton. Budgetary restrictions and the Scotsman’s reliance on a core of reliable, experienced players throughout the squads at his disposal meant Everton were often a predictable side but nonetheless a successful one.
Moyes made Goodison Park one of the least hospitable Premier League grounds for opponents to visit. A tight pitch coupled with an often vociferous atmosphere created an environment in which a physically adept, well-drilled Everton outfit would take points from wealthier, more fashionable opponents and regularly qualified for European football in the process.
But as with most things both in football and in life; familiarity becomes tiresome. Moyes’ departure for Manchester United in 2013 saw Everton attempt to play a more possession-based style of football under replacement Roberto Martinez which brought initial success as the Toffees recorded their highest ever top Premier League points total in 2013/14.
Moyes still tried to stick by what he knew at Old Trafford. Marouane Fellaini followed him along the M62 on deadline day of his first transfer window. Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic were reportedly shown videos of Phil Jagielka defending. And, ultimately, a reactive style of football that made a middleweight like Everton an awkward opponent in league fixtures was incapable of delivering the consistency of results required to compete for honours in multiple competitions at a big-hitter like United.
A subsequent move to La Liga and Real Sociedad was perhaps a sign of Moyes’ willingness to try something new when familiarity failed him, but it was ultimately an unsuccessful 12-month spell in the Basque Country, and preceded a miserable stint at Sunderland that seemed as though it could bring the curtain down on his time in top level management.
During his solitary season at the Stadium of Light, Moyes oversaw just six league wins as Sunderland finished rock-bottom of the table. Although the team played so poorly it was hard to ascertain whether they were attempting to play in a typically Moyesian style or any sort of style at all, players were brought back from Moyes’ past to an almost comical extent.
Adnan Januzaj, who the Scotsman had given a senior debut at Old Trafford, joined on loan, whilst £5.5m was sent the way of United in exchange for Paddy McNair and Donald Love. McNair and Love had been promising reserve team players during Moyes’ time in Manchester, and Januzaj had shown enough in his early career to suggest he could have an impact in the north-east, but the additions who had been with him at Everton made a lot less sense.
The combination of Bryan Oviedo and Darron Gibson were signed for just over £4m. The pair made 107 appearances for the club, played a part in successive relegations and were both allowed to leave for free, with Gibson having his contracted terminated by mutual consent in March 2018 after being found guilty of drink driving.
Victor Anichebe was probably the most successful of the band of former Toffees, scoring three times in 18 appearances, but Steven Pienaar featured sporadically and Joleon Lescott played just twice and hardly looked match-fit in either appearance.
Moyes’ career restoration post-Sunderland deserves immense credit, and is surely the greatest evidence that he has managed to evolve along the lines of modern football management in a way that some of his former contemporaries have not.
Although his success at West Ham cannot be questioned given he has twice steered them clear of relegation in difficult circumstances, and the club are now enjoying a second successive season in Europe, the underwhelming start to the current campaign is fast turning into the first real crossroads moment of Moyes’ tenure in East London.
Following a 1-0 defeat at Goodison before the international break, West Ham find themselves in the Premier League relegation zone having won just one of their opening seven games.
Moyes’ two full seasons in charge at the London Stadium have seen West Ham evolve from a side perennially at risk of relegation despite sizeable investment in the playing squad into a dependable, physical unit, capable of bothering even the strongest of Premier League opponents.
A new-found defensive reliability has been complimented by a direct style of attacking that makes the most of set-piece situations and the aerial presence of the likes of Michail Antonio and Tomas Soucek. An eerily similar approach to the one that delivered so consistently over a decade ago on Merseyside.
Back-to-back top-seven finishes have shown this playing methodology to be effective, yet West Ham have looked unimaginative and predictable in attack so far this term. Whilst last season is still recent enough in the memory for the team’s lack of vibrancy to be put down to the physical toll of a small squad playing 55 matches in 2021-22, the downward trend in terms of performance is becoming worrying.
The current top flight campaign is still in its infancy, and West Ham have already played three of the four sides that are representing the Premier League in the Champions League this season, but the underlying numbers paint a damning picture.
West Ham currently have the second-lowest total in terms of expected goals created from open play, with only newly-promoted Bournemouth currently creating less. Last season, they finished with the eighth-highest total after registering the sixth-highest in 2020/21, whilst also ranking in the top seven for xG generated from set-pieces in both campaigns.
Moyes’ side have remained dangerous from dead ball situations, but they have had less than five shots on target in all of their league games so far this season bar the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest – a side that currently sit a place below them in the table.
Given the consistency that has been present throughout Moyes’ Premier League managerial career, it is perhaps of little surprise that West Ham’s defensive numbers have remained fairly steady throughout the last two successful seasons as well as this difficult start to the current campaign, but the drop off in terms of attack has supporters staring at the wrong end of the league table.
Summer signings Gianluca Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta have not yet had an adequate amount of time to adjust to their new surroundings, Said Benrahama continues to be frustratingly inconsistent in terms of his influence on matches, and with creating chances more of a problem than taking them at the moment, it would seem harsh to lay the blame squarely at the feet of Michail Antonio.
Arguably the same can be said for wide forward Jarod Bowen, but the four-cap England international has been noticeably less effective this season than in any of his previous Premier League campaigns.
Bowen is yet to register either a goal or an assist in the league as of yet, and he has also gone from averaging one shot on target per 90 last season to just 0.14 per 90 this term. In terms of creativity, Bowen’s Expected Assist number has more than halved from the last two campaigns and currently stands at 0.06. The number of successful dribbles he is completing is at the lowest it has been throughout his top-flight career.
Given how early in the season it is, it could well be that the former Hull City wide-man is simply experiencing a dip in form after two consistently good full seasons of Premier League football, but with fatigue noticeably inhibiting West Ham as they looked to compete in the league and in Europe until the closing weeks of the season, Bowen currently looks the most high-profile member of the squad in need of a new lease of life.
Despite his preference for the familiar, Moyes has proven to be capable of change in order to survive. Finding a way to evolve West Ham’s plan of attack could well determine both how successful the east London club are this season and how much longer he has at the top of the managerial game.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”653″ heading=”West Ham United” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”59″ heading=”EPL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>Despite ultimately falling to defeat against promotion-chasing Salford City on Saturday afternoon at the VBS Community Stadium, a determined Sutton United display once again proved that they are on course to make themselves a regular part of the football league furniture.
A red card for Sutton forward Donovan Wilson midway through the second half preceded Matt Gray’s men surrendering a 1-0 lead as they eventually fell to a late Ryan Watson goal, but the performance of the home side with both 11 and 10 men on the field showcased everything that has made the perennial non-leaguers such a welcome addition to League Two.
Gray, appointed manager of the south London club in May 2019, was in charge of a lower mid-table National League club when the outbreak Covid-19 meant his first full season in management was never played to completion. Against all odds, Sutton romped to the title in the following campaign and secured a promotion that ended a run of 123 years outside of the football league.
2021-22 went better than anyone could have expected. Sutton not only held their own at a level they had never experienced, but went toe-to-toe with clubs with much larger budgets and more illustrious histories, ultimately finishing eighth in the league and reaching the final of the Papa John’s Trophy.
Losing out on the play-offs on the final day of the season just a matter of weeks after falling to an extra-time defeat at Wembley would appear the perfect recipe for a hangover going into a new campaign, and wealthier clubs with greater resources than Sutton have been victims of ‘second season syndrome’ without having achieved half of what Gray and his players did last term.
It can often seem that teasing greatness by falling just short and not quite embracing it as intended can cause it to reject you entirely when you come calling for it once more, but Sutton are not allowing the greatest period in the club’s history to pass by without trying to create a few more memories.
In the summer, Dean Bouzanis, Isaac Olaofe and David Ajiboye all left the club after making 255 appearances between them across the promotion season in the National League and Sutton’s debut campaign in the football league, and the rigours of competing across four competitions have only added to the challenge faced by Gray.
“We had a big turnaround in the summer when we lost Bouzanis, Olaofe and Ajiboye,’ the 41-year-old explained. “(Ben) Goodlife goes and gets injured and is out for six months. Alex Smith got injured this week and is out for three-four months. They are huge players for us.”
However, a direct and aggressive style of play means that they often get the better of opponents with more established names on the team sheet, and against cash-rich Salford on Saturday a barrage of set-pieces and long throws meant the visiting defence were forced to work for their money.
“I’m constantly learning,” admitted Gray when asked about the challenge of competing against established EFL sides like Salford.
“I’m a young manager, I’m a reasonably new manager. Fortunately, this season I am learning all the time and that is helping us to keep getting better.
“If you look at us off the ball tactically today, they (Salford) didn’t pass it out from goal kicks once,” remarked Sutton’s young manager as he assessed his team’s relentless pressing at full-time. “We were all over them until the sending off.”
As much as Sutton had the upper hand throughout the first hour of the game, clear-cut chances were hard to come by for either side. Defender Louis John headed a free-kick across the face of goal after escaping his marker at the back post just before the interval, but stand-in Salford goalkeeper Jacob Chapman was rarely forced to get his gloves dirty.
Arguably more impressively, debutant Lewis Ward in the Sutton goal was equally unworked. Despite Salford fielding an array of talent acquired at no little expense, John marshalled a disciplined Sutton backline that was rarely troubled even after Wilson’s sending off.
Ward is something of a rarity within the Sutton squad. His late summer arrival from Swindon saw him become one of the few players to have been signed by Gray on a permanent deal when under contract at another club. Whilst Salford have spent several million pounds on playing talent since promotion from the National League in 2019, Sutton have relied on free transfers and loan signings long before they won the fifth-tier title two years later.
Gray’s capacity to make the most of these restrictions was displayed in the goal that gave Sutton the lead just after the hour mark. Half-time substitute Enzio Boldewijn – a free singing from National League Notts County in the summer of 2021 – saw a cross blocked before having another go, and on the second occasion he found the perfect delivery for Luton Town loanee Josh Neufville to open the scoring.
With a bumper crowd of 3,404 soon serenading Gray’s charges with a chorus of ‘Sutton’s going up’ and Salford showing few signs of troubling Ward, the U’s looked set to secure a fifth successive home win in a row that would have moved them level on points with the play-off places.
But within five minutes, Donovan Wilson – a striker initially borrowed from Bath City of the National League South in the closing stretch of the promotion season – had gotten into an altercation with Salford’s Theo Vassell that caused the referee’s assistant on the near side to instantly raise his flag.
Referee Robert Lewis brandished a red card and changed the complexion of the game.
Down a man, Sutton’s admirable level of organisation and determination only seemed to increase. Heroic block upon heroic block was performed by Paul, club captain Craig Eastmond came out on top in challenge after challenge, and forward Omar Bugiel found a way to occupy all three Salford centre-backs even without his strike partner.
However, their resistance was eventually broken when some intelligent movement by Salford substitute Odin Bailey was rewarded by a composed Matty Lund finish as red shirts queued up at the back post.
Even the equaliser did little to dampen Sutton spirits or diminish the enthusiasm and industry with which they had approached a hastily re-jigged plan of action devised by Gray and his coaching staff though, and it was only a moment of quality above the level of the game being played that eventually defeated them.
Despite the presence of 6 ft 5 Matt Smith in attack, Salford’s Callum Hendry opted to keep the ball on the floor in the 87th minute and picked out Lund in space ahead of him. The scorer of the equaliser then shifted the ball in the direction of Watson, and even though the midfielder purchased from Tranmere Rovers in January had sparsely been involved up to this crucial point, he accurately swept a shot into the bottom corner beyond the reach of Ward.
Sutton nearly snatched the point that they so richly deserved, and the Gander Green crowd so desperately wanted, in the final minute of second half stoppage-time, but this time Chapman was on hand to brilliantly turn a Kylian Kouassi shot around the post and out of harm’s way.
Even though the afternoon ended with a particularly gut-wrenching form of defeat, the way in which Gray and his players conducted themselves post-match was telling. Every squad member was more than happy to sign autographs and take pictures with a reasonably-sized classroom’s worth of mascots, and their manager had few complaints about their application within the 90 minutes as well.
“We were absolutely outstanding,” Gray remarked in his post-match interviews. “We were superb both with and without the ball, and then the red card changed the game.
“We’ve got seven injuries at the moment so our squad is already a little bit thin, but our team today, I was proud of every single one of them,” he added.
“They (Salford) were the league favourites at the start of the season and have one of the biggest budgets in the league, and we have one of the smallest. But our work-rate, our energy and the way that we have coached them with and without the ball, our organisation and our pressing meant they didn’t play any football today because we got right after them.
“I’m disappointed not to keep the unbeaten home record going and we haven’t got the results away from home that we’ve deserved, so we are sitting mid-table. Am I pleased? No not really because I think we could have quite a few more points on the board.
“There’s a hell of a lot more to come from us.”
With such determination emanating from their innovative and tactically astute manager, it is hardly a surprise that the mood around Sutton seems set to remain buoyant for as long as Gray is steering the ship.
Even if difficulty lies ahead, as it surely does for a club of Sutton’s size regularly competing against opponents with the finances of Salford or the stature of Bradford City, Gray has shown, and continues to show, he is more than capable of helping this current group of players to respond when setbacks occur.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”3056″ heading=”League Two” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>
Sutton United will welcome Salford City to Gander Green Lane on Saturday in a League Two encounter between two sides with similar ambitions but very different means of achieving them.
Sutton finished just a place and a point outside of the play-off places in what was their first ever football league campaign last season, and despite losing several important players over the summer, a strong start to the current campaign means they sit just two points outside of the top seven at this early stage.
Having achieved an unthinkable promotion from the National League in 2021 thanks to the careful stewardship of long-time chairman Bruce Elliott and the coaching capabilities of now much sought-after manager Matt Gray, the Us have shown few signs that they are happy to settle for survival in the fourth tier.
A quick adjustment to life in League Two last term saw Gray’s side reach the final of the Papa John’s Trophy at Wembley as well as take their push for successive promotions until the final day of the regular season, but the financial reality of competing in the EFL meant key players soon caught the eye of clubs further up the food chain.
Goalkeeper Dean Bouzanis departed for Reading after keeping 17 clean sheets and the club were unable to retain the services of promising Millwall loanee Isaac Olaofe. In addition winger David Ajiboye, who scored eight goals last season and assisted a further five, departed and signed for Peterborough United.
With ground improvements, including the replacement of the artificial 3G pitch at Gander Green Lane, taking a large chunk out of last season’s budget, Gray has had to make do with a raft of loan signings and free transfers as he aims to keep the club on the positive trajectory it has been on since his promotion to first-team manager in May 2019.
But with the U’s currently unbeaten at home so far this season as some of the previously less-heralded members of Gray’s squad have used the summer departures as their opportunity to impress, there are few signs of Sutton starting to regress any time soon.
Although Salford sit just three points above their weekend opponents in the nascent League Two table, their ascension to the football league had little of the same glamour associated with it.
Thanks to the financial backing of a series of former Manchester United players and Singaporean businessman Peter Lim, the Ammies reached League Two for the very first time in 2019 on the back of four promotions in the space of five seasons.
Their willingness to spend heavily and rapidly churn through managers has won them few friends either in non-league nor during the four-year stint they have enjoyed in the EFL, but with former United academy coach Neil Wood now in charge of a squad that is seemingly as well-balanced as it is talented, Salford have made their best ever start to a fourth-tier season.
Three wins from their opening four fixtures saw Wood’s side top the League Two table in mid-August, but Salford have won just once in the league since the departure of top scorer Brandon Thomas-Asante who left for West Brom at the end of the transfer window. Finding a way to replace the forward’s goals looks vital if a push for promotion is to be maintained.
Sutton and Salford served up two goalless draws in their first ever meetings in the football league last season, and with both clubs acutely aware of how fine the margins can be between success and failure in the EFL even at this early stage, Saturday’s game is sure to be just as tightly-contested.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”609″ heading=”EFL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”3056″ heading=”League Two” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>
Most of Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer business during the summer months made a great deal of sense.
Fraser Forster is a dependable back-up goalkeeper with Premier League experience. The loan acquisition of Clement Lenglet provides a low-cost alternative to Ben Davies as a left-footed, left-sided central defender.
Yves Bissouma has been one of the English top flight’s outstanding midfielders over the past few seasons. Ivan Perišić is familiar with head coach Antonio Conte’s methods and flexible enough to be used in various roles in the Italians favoured tactical systems.
However, the £52m signing of Richarlison from Everton was a move that did not obviously follow the process of squad building pursued by managing director of football Fabio Paratici since Conte was convinced to move to North London in November of last year.
Although the Brazilian was probably Everton’s standout performer last season as he helped Frank Lampard’s side avoid relegation in the final week of the season, he still only scored 10 league goals. The 25-year-old’s most prolific campaign at Goodison Park saw him find the net on 13 occasions.
There was therefore some surprise that a club that is usually somewhat frugal in the transfer market was willing to pay such a fee for a player that did not obviously command a starting place in their team.
The standing within the squad of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son, combined with the form of Dejan Kulusevski since the Swedish international signed in January, meant they were firmly established as Conte’s preferred attacking trio in his 3-4-3 formation.
Previous attempts to provide an alternative to Kane have been cut-price solutions such as Vincent Janssen, Fernando Llorente and Carlos Vinicius, and none of them came close to replicating the England captain’s role in the side when he was unavailable.
Both Mauricio Pochettino and José Mourinho attempted to use Son as a centre-forward rather than turn to one of Kane’s understudies during their tenures as manager.
Richarlison has plenty of experience playing either as a partner to a traditional centre-forward such as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and was also used as more of a wide forward during his early years in England, but the success of the established front three towards the end of last season meant it was little surprise that the new arrival started the season on the bench.
But with Son struggling to hit the heights that he reached in the final months of last season and Conte forced to navigate a fatigue-inducing condensed fixture list ahead of the winter World Cup in Qatar, Richarlison has quickly established himself as more than a reserve.
His respectable if unspectacular goal tallies at Everton are a reason why there was some consternation at the size of the fee Spurs were willing to pay to acquire his services, yet there are other aspects of his game that are comparable with European football’s most effective forwards.
Across the past 12 months, Richarlison ranks in the 93rd percentile for pressures among forwards in the ‘Big Five’ leagues across Europe as well as being in the 95th percentile for interceptions, the 96th percentile for tackles, and the 98th percentile for blocks.
It is this industry and endeavour, along with a touch of devilment, that has endeared him so greatly to Spurs fans in his opening weeks in Lillywhite.
His introduction during the second game of the season at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea was not match-defining in itself, but in providing Kane with a more natural partner in attack he played a role in allowing Spurs to bypass the Chelsea press in midfield and get a foothold in a match that Spurs had been distinctly second best in.
A fortnight later, Richarlison helped to kill off a dogged Nottingham Forest side at the City Ground, as just seven minutes after being brought on he produced a glorious, outside-of-the-boot cross for Kane to head home a match-clinching second goal in the 81st minute.
These contributions as a substitute earned a first start in the 2-1 win against Fulham at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last weekend. Across the 90 minutes, Richarlison won more duels than any other player on the field, completed the second-most tackles and key passes, and was only denied a first Spurs goal in second-half injury-time after a VAR review judged the Brazilian to be offside in the build-up.
That performance ensured that Richarlison remained in the starting line-up for Wednesday’s Champions League Group Stage opener against Marseille in North London – his first ever appearance in the competition.
Despite Tottenham enduring a largely frustrating evening, their summer signing ultimately decided the game with two headers in the final 15 minutes to secure a 2-0 win. They were the home side’s only two shots on target on the night.
The 36-cap Brazilian international was visibly overcome with emotion as he celebrated pitch-side with his parents at full-time, and even though his decisive impact on such a prominent stage caps a formidable rise from a childhood of desperately trying to avoid crime and poverty, he is only just getting started at his new club.
Despite his limited time on the pitch, Richarlison is producing more shots and more key passes per 90 than both Son and Kulusevski, whilst also averaging more successful dribbles and shot creating actions from open play than any player in the Tottenham squad so far this season.
He is already making it difficult for Conte to leave him on the bench, and should he continue to contribute so successfully with such regularity, Richarlison will prove to be far more than a spare man for Spurs this season.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”79″ heading=”Tottenham Hotspur” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”59″ heading=”EPL” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>Just over an hour into an enthusiastic Championship tussle between Millwall and Cardiff City on Saturday afternoon, Lions’ manager Gary Rowett decided it was time for a change.
Tyler Burey, Benik Afobe and Scott Malone were all summoned from the bench in one foul swoop, and within 60 seconds Burey won a corner that Malone planted on to the head of earlier substitute Charlie Creswell and Millwall led a game for the first time in almost 400 minutes of football.
With the London club winless in four matches, and without a goal in three, ahead of their meeting with former favourite Steve Morison and his Bluebirds side in southeast London, supporters at the Den have been looking for something a bit different.
It has been relatively easy to know what to expect from Rowett’s Millwall across the three years he has spent at the club. They will be direct when in possession, organised yet aggressive out of it and a constant threat from set-pieces. Their 23 goals from dead-ball situations since the start of last season is the most of any team in the second tier.
It can often feel as though Rowett’s methods are symbiotic with the very nature of Millwall as a football club. The moniker ‘no one likes us, we don’t care’ is now associated with a collection of clubs but none more so than Millwall, and they have been successful playing a brand of football that is in your face and battle ready.
However, this season has started slowly. Despite a typically-Rowett Millwall opening day win against Stoke courtesy of two goals from corners, and a galvanising come-from-behind bullying of Coventry a fortnight later, Millwall lacked both imagination and inspiration in defeats to Norwich, Reading and Burnley over the previous 15 days.
Those defeats have contributed to a feeling that everything about this current Millwall side has become slightly stale. Centre-back Jake Cooper has struggled to reach his imperious best. Changes to the composition of the midfield have done little to provide a spark. And with Afobe without a goal since the final home game of last season, questions have been asked about what he is actually contributing to the team.
There was a palpable level of frustration around the Den early in the second half on Saturday as an enthusiastic first 45 minutes from Millwall was not rewarded with a goal and Cardiff’s patient passing began to take hold.
Morison and Cardiff have welcomed change since he replaced Mick McCarthy as manager in October 2021. After guiding the team to Championship survival playing a more expansive brand of football last season, a summer overhaul of the squad has allowed him to truly alter the way in which Cardiff operate on the field.
With 14 players departing and 17 being brought in, Cardiff have gone from averaging the sixth fewest 10+ pass sequences of any team in the Championship in the 2020/21 season to one that is firmly in the top ten for the statistic so far this term.
Against Millwall, summer arrival Ryan Allsop was a composed presence in goal as he regularly ignored the hostility of the opposition press to begin attacks. Perry Ng, formerly a flying full-back has been converted into a central defender in order to facilitate passing moves that start from the back. A midfield trio of Ryan Wintle and new signings Andy Rinomhota and Romaine Sawyers look far more comfortable in possession than they do scrapping for second balls.
After surviving the early Millwall onslaught, Cardiff found their rhythm. An intricate move saw Jadon Philogene flash a header just past the post. Allsop was instigating attacks with his ability to keep the ball under pressure. Sheyi Ojo somehow hit the woodwork from point-blank range moments before half-time.
Once new signing Callum Robinson had been introduced at the interval and fellow substitute Mark Harris had struck a post with a rasping effort not long after, it was the side from South Wales that appeared to be in the ascendency.
Then Rowett made his changes.
He had already tried to be different. It was not the case that it took the Millwall boss until an hour into Saturday’s game for him to realise that change might bring about an upturn in fortunes.
In the midweek defeat at Burnley, a midfielder was removed from the engine room in his favoured 5-3-2 formation to allow an extra forward player to be introduced in the shape of club-record signing Zian Flemming, and on Saturday, deadline day addition Callum Styles was thrown straight into the starting line-up.
Styles played a significant role in an energetic start to the game for the home side in which he and fellow wing-back Jamie Shackleton found plenty of joy in wide areas. For all Millwall’s vibrancy they still lacked the requisite composure to capitalise on their bright beginning, and Cardiff’s new playing methodology started to dominate.
But with Styles shifted into midfield to accommodate Malone on the left, and Flemming supported by the direct running and sheer physicality of Burey and Afobe in attack, it was Millwall and their raft of substitutes who made the breakthrough.
After the game, Rowett said that his changes had ‘maintained the energy in the game’ rather than altering it entirely, but the fact that his substitutes played such significant roles in the game’s defining moments means their impact is hard to understate.
Cresswell’s opening goal from Malone’s delivery possibly arrived too quickly to be able to credit the influence of the substitutions, but the involvement of the replacements is undeniable.
This new version of Cardiff had looked vulnerable from set-pieces for much of the afternoon, and once the Leeds United loanee had powered home his header from the corner, the control that they had begun to enjoy dissipated rapidly.
The ‘fresh legs’ that Rowett pinpointed post-match started to find spaces to venture into as the visitors wilted, and, fittingly, it was Afobe who benefitted from a Niels Nkonkou lapse in concentration to escape down the right and latch on to a long ball from Cresswell before cutting inside and delightfully clipping a shot over Allsop and into the net.
As Morison stood on the touchline in the final, academic moments of the contest, he was ironically serenaded by those that used to cheer him on such a regular basis, the frustration of the past two weeks melting away simultaneously. A clear indication that for as much as the action on the pitch may be in a state of flux, some things about Millwall will never change.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”2825″ heading=”Millwall” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1139″ heading=”Championship” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>
So often when Millwall needed a lift at any point in the decade between 2009 and 2019 it would be Steve Morison that they would turn to. Now, he arrives at the Den in the away dugout as an opposing manager looking to claim three points.
Across three spells at the Den, the centre-forward made over 300 appearances and scored 92 goals including 23 strikes in his debut season and a League One play-off final winner in 2017. But he was equally capable of galvanising both team-mates and supporters with tireless hold-up play and by battling ferociously with opposition defenders.
He returns to southeast London with Millwall once again in need of inspiration just seven games in to the current Championship season, however on this occasion Morison will be hoping his former employers’ frustration lasts until at least the final whistle on Saturday.
Morison, now manager of Cardiff City, make his second return to the Den after retiring as a player with Millwall on a run of four games without a win. With the team having failed to score in the last three of those matches, pressure is building on Lions’ boss Gary Rowett to ensure that optimism generated by a positive summer does not dissipate entirely.
Zian Flemming was one of the greatest sources of transfer window excitement for Millwall supporters over the off-season, and although his first start for the club ended in defeat at Burnley in midweek, both those in the stands and his manager will be hoping that he can prove to be the difference-maker the side have been lacking in the wake of Jed Wallace’s departure for West Brom.
Fleming scored 24 goals and registered 11 assists across two seasons in the Dutch Eredivisie with Fortuna Sittard, and although his impact since arriving at the Den for a reported £2.25m has been limited by injury, plenty of excitement still surrounds the 24-year-old.
Deadline day signing Callum Styles will also be available for selection after completing a late loan move from Barnsley on Thursday evening, and with Mason Bennett the only long-term injury absentee, Rowett has a strong squad at his disposal as he looks to get Millwall’s season back on track.
Cardiff were also handed a boost on the final day of the transfer window as they completed the permanent signing of Callum Robinson from West Brom. The Republic of Ireland international became the Bluebirds’ 17th signing of the summer as Morison looks to enact a stylistic overhaul of the playing squad in what is his first full season in charge of the club.
Their form so far has been steady if not spectacular, with impressive performances and victories against Norwich City and Birmingham City punctuated by underwhelming displays such as their 2-0 defeat to fierce rivals Bristol City a fortnight ago.
The general consensus, until the arrival of Robinson, had been that for all new arrivals in the Welsh capital, Cardiff still lacked firepower upfront, and the early season struggles of former Crawley Town frontman Max Watters did little to dispel such suggestions.
However, Robinson hit double figures for goals in two of his three full seasons at Preston North End, and still provided 16 goal contributions in a West Brom side that largely underwhelmed last term, meaning he could be the man to provide a clinical edge to the patient passing approach his new manager has tried to introduce.
Following their difficult recent run, the onus will be on Millwall to take the initiative against an opponent they have lost to just once since December 2012. Although it could well be that their former frontman and his brand new centre-forward make it another afternoon to forget in what is fast threatening to become an underwhelming season.
Follow us on Twitter @ProstInt
[columns]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”2825″ heading=”Millwall” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[column size=”1/2″][blog type=”timeline” posts=”10″ cats=”1139″ heading=”Championship” heading_type=”timeline” /][/column]
[/columns]
]]>