The wide-eyed hope of August feels like a long time ago. So too does the slight concern of September and the mild panic of October.
As the Premier League sets up camp for a long winter ahead, November brings with it sheer desperation for its winless clubs.
Never before in the history of the top flight have three teams failed to register a victory in the opening 10 games of a campaign.
For game 10, The Athletic went to Southampton, Ipswich Town and Wolverhampton Wanderers (combined matches 27, combined victories zero) to assess the respective moods of a trio of teams in dire need of three points, all facing fellow strugglers at home.
What followed was drama, relief, frustration and pain…
Shredded nerves but a landmark moment for Martin
Following a football team through relegation form is complicated; you only had to listen to the gurgles and growls of St Mary’s on Saturday to understand just what a run of poor results can do to those who have signed up for life.
A tetchy 1-0 win for Southampton over Everton was not just a huge deal for the team — it was also Russell Martin’s first win as a Premier League manager. While he was able to conjure three rally cries of relief from his fans at full time — pumping his fists Jurgen Klopp-style towards the Chapel Stand — his side had produced yet another display that brought out the full range of emotions from the crowd.
More than anything else, there were nerves. Martin’s approach is not for the faint-hearted, and as Southampton invited their opponents to chase them up the pitch with the aim of playing through the pressure, there were audible groans and grumbles as early passes from defence were, temptingly for Everton, played side-to-side. The visitors’ Idrissa Gueye nicked the ball on nine minutes — the 64th time Southampton have lost the ball in their own defensive third this season — to a collective cry of despair, while a backwards pass from Adam Armstrong shortly after half-time actually prompted boos from a set of supporters who are running out of fingernails to bite.
Sean Dyche’s visitors could not take advantage of the unease, and if anything, their direct, uncompromising approach only compounded the feeling that this was a trap-door scrap. For 60 minutes, it was a contest strewn with errors — poor first touches, overhit passes and baffling decisions on the break — as Everton’s desire to get the ball forward quickly proved equally as frustrating as Southampton’s tendency to keep turning back.
The pace quickened as full time loomed, and a spike in urgency from the home side — in part inspired by the introduction of Tyler Dibling — allowed the variance of football to take control. Aaron Ramsdale’s stunning save to deny Michael Keane from point-blank range drew a gasp of disbelief, while Beto’s face-plant on to the crossbar received a similar reaction.
Twenty-five seconds later, Armstrong ended Southampton’s 22-game winless run in the English top flight with a sweeping finish, and there can’t have been too many decibels in it as VAR came to their rescue moments later, disallowing an equaliser for a marginal offside.
For all of the uncertainty, Martin deserves credit for sticking to his beliefs. There was a collection of incisive moves throughout the game — particularly when they were able to find Adam Lallana or Joe Aribo between the lines — while the winning goal, as the manager was quick to point out, came after his team took the ball down after that Beto chance rather than hoofing it away. “We won today because we stayed brave,” he beamed after the game, vindicated at last.
This is only one victory, and Martin’s Southampton are going to continue to test patience, but it’s a result that will calm a lot of shredded nerves.
Thom Harris
Ipswich and McKenna’s battle to show they belong
“It’s win or nothing today,” one Ipswich Town fan says outside Portman Road, speaking in a tone that quite clearly conveys he is fearing the worst.
“Today will be the marker of how good the rest of the weekend is,” another says to his pal.
“Yeah, last weekend was completely ruined,” his friend replies. Ah, football.
Ipswich’s heartbreaking stoppage-time defeat at Brentford a week earlier — in a game that they had led 2-0 — compounded their winless start to the campaign.
Despite this, there is still buoyancy and a freshness about Premier League life at Portman Road, a traditional, pleasingly bowl-less stadium that gladly pays homage to legends of the club and indeed the sport: Sir Bobby Robson, Sir Alf Ramsey, Ed Sheeran…
So prominent is the ginger pop star, with his face plastered around the stadium, his songs played before kick-off, his name being an almost permanent fixture on digital advertising boards and the name of his tour being the main sponsor on Ipswich’s shirts, this is basically Ed Sheeran FC. You don’t get that with Black Sabbath at Villa Park.
It’s a rowdy, cajoling and resolute atmosphere. Leicester have some serious chutzpah through Stephy Mavididi, Abdul Fatawu and Facundo Buonanotte and their approach play, movement and dribbling is superior to Ipswich’s, but the Foxes have constant brain fades, be it horrible mis-kicks, dozy playing out or passes to empty space.
Ipswich aren’t great and rely on crosses, set pieces and long shots in the main, but they are incredibly committed; Leif Davis meekly loses the ball, but sprints 40 yards to win it back and everyone claps heartily. It’s that kind of stuff.
The very capable Davis kerpows an exceptional first-time volley into the corner and the win is on. The place goes berserk. Amazement and delirium. A guy proudly shows off his extraordinarily good CHOOSE LEIF T-shirt. Yes, life is good. So is Leif.
But then Kalvin Phillips leaves his studs on Ricardo Pereira, earns a second yellow card and everything unravels.
Ipswich screamed blue murder that they should have had a penalty seconds earlier when Fatawu barged Conor Chaplin to the floor. It’s a fair shout, but they let it all go to their heads, lose any semblance of composure, concede a 94th-minute equaliser to Jordan Ayew and then bleat about the referee, both from the stands and the press conference room, when really they should have just seen out the game.
“S*** referee, s*** referee,” they bellow from all four sides of the ground, as well as “Premier League, corrupt as f***,” although to be honest the level of corruption required to keep Leicester up and send Ipswich down feels very niche.
Still, after an even contest overall and a 1-1 draw, it was good to see the two managers give similar assessments on how it played out…
Kieran McKenna: “We were the better team with 11 vs 11.”
Steve Cooper: “We were the team creating the real chances in the game.”
McKenna: “I think it’s a clear penalty.”
Cooper: “I didn’t see it.”
McKenna’s closing thoughts sum up where Ipswich are now: “They (the fans) see the effort being put in, they’re proud of how the team are going about their business. The main frustration is at decisions. I don’t think anyone’s particularly enjoying that experience.”
Ipswich have not yet shown they belong at this level, but have done enough to suggest they can stay for another season. They just need to grow up. Preferably quite quickly.
“Found my heart and broke it here,” Sheeran warbles as the desperately frustrated home fans trudge out of the stadium. Not now, Ed.
Tim Spiers
Molineux or Alton Towers? A rollercoaster at Wolves
After 60 minutes, Gary O’Neil didn’t “know what he was doing” with his side 1-0 down. His decision to take Pablo Sarabia off was cheered, but taking Tommy Doyle off had the opposite reaction, with boos audible. Cue the chants.
Twelve minutes later, O’Neil knew everything as he was being hugged by Joao Gomes as Wolves led 2-1 after a quickfire double. Football, eh? It never fails to surprise.
This wasn’t Molineux — this was Alton Towers. A rollercoaster ride of the finest quality. The highs, the lows, the thrills, the spills — just a proper good game of football.
Tension inside the stadium had been building all afternoon with results coming in from elsewhere and this game kicking off at 5.30pm. “That makes this one even bigger today,” says one Wolves fan.
A discussion between a group of Crystal Palace supporters was more buoyant than you might expect for a side with only one win from their first nine Premier League games, but back-to-back victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa (the latter in the Carabao Cup) had brightened the mood. “He has to stay,” one says on Oliver Glasner.
In the ground, there was no fast pass for this ride. The first half was like being in a queue for Nemesis. You could sense a moment was coming, but just as you got close a corner was turned and the seemingly never-ending wait continued.
Both sides were full of energy, contesting a hard-fought back-and-forth transitional battle between both boxes. Palace were direct, Wolves fans wanted their team to be, disgruntled with every backwards pass, enthused by every forward one.
The quality around both boxes was non-existent. Moments of promise faded as quickly as they came. Just before half-time, Palace defender Trevoh Chalobah missed his kick from two yards out with the goal gaping, and then got in the way of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s goal-bound follow-up. Just after the break, Dean Henderson didn’t bother with normal goalkeeping, saving Sarabia’s effort with his face, probably to wake himself up after not having a shot on target against him in the first half.
Then Chalobah fired into an open goal on the hour mark after a mix-up between Jose Sa and Jorgen Strand Larsen and everything went berserk — although the away side, or specifically Ismaila Sarr, should have put the game out of sight.
Wolves fans’ anger could be suppressed no longer. They did not hold their feelings back and they got the response they needed: two goals in five minutes.
But if the home side’s strength was punishing Palace in transition for their goals, their weakness was balls into the box, Marc Guehi tapping in a Daniel Munoz cross to level the score on 77 minutes.
The game was never going to end without drama, and when Mateta scored in added time, Palace manager Glasner set off down the touchline as if he’d entered the Olympic 100m final.
He might have been closing in on a world record too if Anthony Taylor’s whistle hadn’t sounded. The Crystal Palace manager stopped, nearly ending up on the floor as he slipped, with the goal ruled out for a foul by Munoz on Sa.
In the end O’Neil was neither hero nor zero and Glasner didn’t pull a hamstring. Both managers were “proud” of their players for their respective comebacks. A point gained, yes, but their situations remain the same.
Andy Jones
(Top photos: Getty Images)
