6) Manner of Bournemouth’s defeat should give them cause for concern
On Saturday, against the gilded talents that fill the Manchester City XI, Bournemouth failed to do what Watford achieved with ease when also losing at the Etihad Stadium: knock the ball around to obtain some control for passages of the contest. Eddie Howe’s side were felled 5-1 by a City side that can be rampant when pouring forward. In late August the Hornets went down 2-0 in a display marked by pinging passes and clever movement. Each of these clubs were promoted and are separated by only two points – Watford have 10, Bournemouth eight – but the latter should be more concerned. Losing at City’s home is no shame but the manner of a reverse can offer a glimpse of how the vanquished may fare over the 38-match Premier League trial. Newcastle United lost 6-1 at the Etihad in the previous game and are definite relegation candidates. Given their failure to make City at least think a little, Bournemouth would appear likely to get deeper into trouble as the campaign ages.
7) Clattenburg the centre of attention, whether he wants it or not
A curious thing happened just before kick-off at Crystal Palace on Saturday. After announcing the line-ups of both teams the stadium announcer moved on to the match officials. While the names of the fourth officials Oliver Langford, and the assistant referees, Simon Beck and Jake Collin, were greeted with total indifference by the capacity Selhurst Park crowd, a comically loud boo was reserved for the introduction of the man in the middle, Mark Clattenburg. It would prove rather ironic, coming from a crowd who spent much of the second half serenading one of English football’s most controversial but arguably most competent referees with renditions of “It’s not about you”. “I noticed he got booed before the game but I don’t know why,” said Alan Pardew. “I actually asked Keith Millen [his assistant] why did he get booed and it turns out there’s some history there.” Clattenburg does have history with Palace, perhaps most famously for a series of bizarre decisions he made in a game they played against West Brom during Neil Warnock’s reign, after which the referee was punished for travelling alone to an Ed Sheeran gig instead of leaving the ground with his team of match officials, as regulations dictate. More recently, during the reign of Pardew in fact, he incurred the wrath of Palace fans during a match against Hull City last April. On Saturday, he again invoked their displeasure by sending off Dwight Gayle for two yellow cards, the first of which should conceivably have been a red while the second came for a mistimed challenge over which Pardew felt the referee could have shown more leniency. Pardew might have a point, even if Gayle was behaving with the kind of uncharacteristic petulance and aggression that suggested he almost certainly would have walked for some other offence had Clattenburg let him off for that second lunge. But human nature being what it is and Clattenburg being a man who is – fairly or unfairly – renowned for being notoriously, shall we say, pleased with himself, the referee could be forgiven for deciding, even on a subconscious level, not to give any borderline decisions in Palace’s favour as payback for the derision that greeted the announcement of his name. The support at Crystal Palace is among the best in the Premier League when it comes to getting behind their team, but is it entirely fanciful to surmise that on Saturday they may have done their team few favours?
8) Allardyce ups the pressure on himself before Newcastle meeting
On one hand Sam Allardyce, rather cheaply, laid the blame for his team’s defeat at the Hawthorns on the referee, Martin Atkinson; on the other hand he heaped pressure on himself for Sunday’s Wear-Tyne derby. Even amid general woe Sunderland have repeatedly managed to preserve local pride by winning each of the last five meetings with Newcastle and Allardyce says that improbably fine record gives him a lot to live up to. “I’ve got to make sure I keep the reputation of Sunderland up here,” says Allardyce. “The pressure’s on me more than on Steve [McClaren] because we’ve won the last five so I don’t want to be the one that doesn’t win. Particularly with having managed both clubs.”
9) Newcastle offer a fitting tribute to Cassidy
Kath Cassidy was guest of honour at St James’ Park as Newcastle United finally got their act together and beat Norwich City 6-2. It was a thoroughly fitting way to mark the end of her wonderful,52-year career as the club’s tea lady, serving countless managers since 1963. Now, at the age of 88, she is stepping down and was presented with assorted gifts and mementoes by Bob Moncur, the club’s former captain and now a director, before kick-off. It rather served as a reminder that in this increasingly data-driven, statistics-led age the human factor is still the most important thing at a football club. Cassidy will be much missed at Newcastle. She became a real friend to several managers including Alan Pardew and, a few years ago, Graeme Souness. One of the more memorable days of her career involved the aftermath of Kieron Dyer and Lee Bowyer disgracing themselves by fighting on the pitch. Souness had hauled the errant pair up alongside him on the press-room stage and, as Cassidy handed him his cup of tea, she issued Dyer and Bowyer with a look of intense disgust even Sir Alex Ferguson would have been hard pushed to match. Ferguson was one of several rival managers – not to mention past Newcastle players, including Alan Shearer – to send goodwill messages to Kath this week. St James’ Park will not be the same without her.
10) Lanzini has settled well into Bilic’s plans
Slaven Bilic revealed his admiration for Alan Pardew following West Ham’s 3-1 win at Crystal Palace. “Palace are playing as a team,” Bilic said. “They have pace, they are always fighting. They are what a manager wants his team to be.” If those are the qualities to which Bilic aspires then his two-year pursuit to work with Manuel Lanzini is not hard to fathom. The slight Argentine is rarely wasteful in possession – his 88% pass completion in the Premier League this season is West Ham’s highest – and his work ethic was illustrated when he pressured Dejan Lovren into giving up the ball, and eventually a goal, in the 3-0 win at Anfield. Bilic appears to have taken particular care in phasing Lanzini into his new environment. The 22-year-old is on loan from the United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira and the manager gave him only a brief substitute appearance in the opening three league games before a handful of promising 60- to 80-minute run-outs; now he has added a goal and an assist in consecutive 90 minutes. As a 20-year-old handed River Plate’s revered No10 worn by Ariel Ortega and Pablo Aimar Lanzini was always likely to get his opportunity in European football and the early signs suggest he is here to stay.
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