Wey Eye Man

Drab draw means more worries for Toon

Last weekend saw the Toon entertain Swansea in a relegation six-pointer that we hoped would go a long way towards securing our Premier League safety. Wrong. Another disappointing performance with too many missed chances, we definitely have to improve our attacking output if we are going to stand a chance of staying up this season. We have been fortunate that there have been some worse teams than us so far this season but last weekend brought better results for those teams around us.

Bournemouth, West Ham, West Brom and Crystal Palace all took advantage of our dropped points and won, leaving us in 15th place, which doesn’t sound so bad until you realise we are only 3 points above the relegation zone. Oh, and we’ve got Man City this weekend, just what we need.

The Invincibles are no more

Hurrah, somebody finally beat Man City! Liverpool hung on for a nervy 4-3 win to ensure that Arsenal are still the only team to go a full Premier League season unbeaten. Finally, a game was all that is was talked up to be. Pundits were eulogising all week about how exciting it would be and it lived up to and probably exceeded all expectations. At 4-1 Liverpool were cruising, only for City to claw their way back to 4-3 with a couple of minutes left to leave Liverpool fans to sweat out the final minutes chewing their fingernails to pieces.

It will be interesting to see how this will change the dynamic of the title race, although the likelihood is that it won’t change anything, City have had this title wrapped up for a long time and defeat will only make them want to prove a point in their next game. I feel sorry for the team that has to face them next as they’re in for a hiding. Oh dear, it’s us.

Conte vs Mourinho

The recent Conte/Mourinho press conferences have seen the most trash talk since the David Haye vs Tony Bellew boxing bout last year. Mourinho called out Conte as a match-fixer, and a ‘clown’. Conte responded by saying that Mourinho is a ‘little man’ and a ‘fake’. The rivalry between the two managers is adding an extra dimension to the battle for second place behind Man City this season, with Chelsea winless since the mind-games began. This is leading up to a showdown at Old Trafford in February, when each will try and get the better of the other, on the football field at least.

Am I the only one that would love to see them sort out their differences in a full-on boxing match? That’s something I would pay to watch on Box Office. We may get to see it for free on the touchline depending on how the game in February turns out.