All too often the very manager who brought success is the one who makes way at the first bump in the roadThe fact we had entered November and not seen a single manager sacked in the Premier League made for a refreshing change. All too often, dismissals are made in a panic and without the long-term good of the club in question taken into proper consideration. This season it appeared a sense of calm and rational thinking had taken over. All managers seem to have been given time.That was until Wednesday, however, when Fulham sacked Slavisa Jokanovic and immediately announced Claudio Ranieri as his successor. Unfortunately, normal service has been resumed. Related: Fulham appoint Claudio Ranieri as manager after sacking...
Hugo Lloris ends his madcap day on a high, Everton work out how to stop Chelsea and Salomón Rondón proves his worthUnai Emery delivered an overdue update on Danny Welbeck, the Arsenal striker who was stricken against Sporting in the Europa League last Thursday. Welbeck, the manager reported, underwent surgery last Friday to repair his badly broken ankle and he will be out for some time. With Welbeck’s contract due to expire at the end of the season, has he played his final game for the club? Emery had more pressing matters with his strikers against Wolves and he made a tactical change at half‑time, switching from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-1-2 in order to allow Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to come in from...
José Mourinho to antagonise Manchester City, Mark Hughes on the brink and an Everton reunion for Ross BarkleyThe moments Jose Mourinho has cherished most in his career are those when he could thumb his nose at expectation and the established order. Wednesday night’s post-match gurning and chuckling in Turin showed he has lost none of his appetite for personal vindication and vindictiveness. Such occasions were in short supply at cash-rich Chelsea, an Inter Milan dominating Serie A or when managing Real Madrid. And his attempts to paint Manchester United as bedraggled underdogs have usually defied credibility. Sunday at the Etihad, though, is an occasion he can paint himself as a freedom fighter. The Premier League title is all but surrendered...
Woefully leaky Fulham are on course to concede 100 goals, and is it nearly time for Álvaro Morata and Chelsea to part ways?On the eve of the new season Slavisa Jokanovic said Fulham “don’t have to change much but we need to be intelligent. We need to grow up.” Two months down the line and either Jokanovic underestimated how much Fulham needed to adapt to be ready for the Premier League or his players are not being as smart as he had hoped. Whatever the answer, Fulham did not spend more than £100m in the summer to be languishing in the relegation zone with one win from nine games and a defensive record that is in danger of becoming an...
Huddersfield, Newcastle and Cardiff are all without a victory after their first eight games and appear unlikely to reach anywhere near 40 pointsThere is a certain symmetry about the Premier League table at the moment. Three teams at the top are still unbeaten, and already it is being suggested that the title will end up at Manchester City, Chelsea or Liverpool, even though Arsenal should perhaps not be discounted.At the bottom, three teams are without a win after eight games, the first time in the Premier League era that this has happened. Already it is being suggested that Huddersfield, Newcastle and Cardiff are as good as relegated, even if Fulham and Southampton are not exactly accelerating up the table away...