Premier League Nuggets

As the thirtieth Premier League season is over, it is high time for some Nuggets, all 30 of them firstly club-by-club, and then some generic ones.  1. Starting with Arsenal who lost more games (13) than Brighton (11) & Palace (12) but won more (22) than Chelsea (21). 2. Next up it’s Aston Villa –Continue reading “Premier League Nuggets”

The welcome return of the 12th man and home comforts

When Everton squeaked past Chelsea last weekend it provided a huge boost to the Toffees’ chances of survival, something that was celebrated with raucous gusto by the Goodison crowd of over 39,000. The influence exerted by the home supporters that started the night before and reached a climax in the last frenetic minutes of theContinue reading “The welcome return of the 12th man and home comforts”

Own Goal of the season – the Richard Dunne trophy

Stats c/o premierleague.com Inspired by the prospect of the 1,000th Premier League own goal being imminent towards the end of last season I wrote several pieces on football’s brand of self-inflicted wounds. Starting with this one in February https://bit.ly/3dNMEo4, followed by Part two in March https://bit.ly/3cr5Rem and culminating with the finale in April https://bit.ly/3uWihkQ.  HatsContinue reading “Own Goal of the season – the Richard Dunne trophy”

Friday Morning Nuggets – Matchweek 14

In a break with tradition, today’s blog post is a selection of the seven tastiest Nuggets from MW14 as there was a full round of midweek action to delve into. Plus a gentle reminder that you still have time to buy this year’s ‘must have’ Christmas gift for all football fans: the revised edition ofContinue reading “Friday Morning Nuggets – Matchweek 14”

Own Goals Part Three: Richard Dunne the undisputed OG king

This is the third part of the series on own goals and the focus is very much on the doyen of OG, but before honing in on the master of the art, we start with the first outfield player to get in on the act, Manchester City’s Garry Flitcroft.  Just a week after Mark Crossley’sContinue reading “Own Goals Part Three: Richard Dunne the undisputed OG king”

The 2020/21 season and the concertina effect

This is my thirtieth weekly blog post I know, how time flies. Having started back in August we are now entering the final straight so it feels as good a time as any to reflect on what has happened over the last seven months. The 2020/21 season did not begin in August as is theContinue reading “The 2020/21 season and the concertina effect”

Handball law is damaging: “It’s destroying my enjoyment of the game of football,” Roy Hodgson

When Leicester were awarded their third penalty of the match against Manchester City on Sunday it was the 20th spot kick in the 25th Premier League game this season.  If that ratio continues, there will be 304 penalties this season and, considering that the most in a Premier League season to date stands at 106,Continue reading “Handball law is damaging: “It’s destroying my enjoyment of the game of football,” Roy Hodgson”