GOALS, GLORIOUS, GOALS
JOHN LYONS LOOKS AT THE RECENT PREMIER LEAGUE GOAL BLITZ - AND THE REASONS BEHIND IT ...
Premier League goes crazy
IF YOU love your football laced with goals, and plenty of them, then you would have been in heaven before the international break. It seemed as though the Premier League had gone crazy. On the weekend of September 19 and 20, Everton and Tottenham beat West Brom and Southampton 5-2 respectively, while Leeds edged out Fulham 4-3 and Leicester triumphed 4-2 against Burnley.
The following week Brendan Rodgers’ Foxes were at it again, Leicester thumping Pep Guardiola’s shell-shocked Manchester City 5-2 at the Etihad. West Brom and Chelsea played out a 3-3 thriller, while West Ham hammered Wolves 4-0 and Manchester United triumphed 3-2 against Brighton at the death.
The next week got even more bizarre. After Everton saw off Brighton 4-2 and Chelsea routed Crystal Palace 4-0 on the Saturday, there were two of the most remarkable scorelines in Premier League history the following day.
Admittedly, Manchester United had only ten men for more than an hour against Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, but there was still no excuse for them to crumble to an embarrassing 6-1 defeat on
Old Trafford turf.
If that was a shock as Spurs’ Son Heung-min and Harry Kane ran amok, then what followed was even more hard to believe – and still is.
Dean Smith’s Aston Villa went out and pulverised Premier League champions Aston Villa 7-2 with £28m capture Ollie Watkins hitting a hat-trick and man-ofthe-moment Jack Grealish helping himself to a double.
Villa could have scored even more as they sliced through the Reds with embarrassing ease. On the touchline, gobsmacked Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp decided the best policy was simply to
With nets bulging all over the place, it was a shame the international break came along to halt the momentum.
But it also gave everyone – from goalkeepers with dodgy backs, dumbstruck happening. Was a shortened pre-season part of the problem? Were defenders simply not up to speed? Or was it because of a lack of atmosphere caused by fans not being present?
It might have been a combination of those factors – and more. Yet the absence of supporters is one that is particularly interesting to think about.
Some have said that it’s easier for strikers because there is no baying crowd to put them off. It appears more like training and it’s therefore simpler just to do what you do in practice and stick the ball away.
Perhaps some forwards feel happier not having their own fans there? They may feel there is less pressure on them in the stadium (though there are millions watching on TV).
What about defenders? In his guest column in our sister publication The Football League Paper, former Leeds and Preston boss Simon Grayson made some interesting observations.
“I think we’re seeing a dip in focus and concentration,” he explained. “Just look at all the errors Liverpool made in losing 7-2 to Aston Villa. There’s no way that would happen in front of a full house. You’d act more quickly and with more desire.
“I’m not saying players aren’t putting their bodies on the line. But if you’re playing in front of 40,000 people, the adrenaline surging through your body is amazing.
“You’ll stretch that extra yard to make a that’s not a conscious decision – it’s a reaction to external stimulus and the adrenaline it creates. With nobody watching, it must be almost impossible to achieve that kind of single-minded focus.”
So, while supporters remain locked out of grounds, the suggestion is that we may continue to witness goal bonanzas.
One of the fascinating things to see when fans eventually do go back and create that matchday atmosphere we all know and love is whether defenders will up their game and the goal average will fall. Or is the genie out of the bottle?