By Bulldog Drummond
Of course Manchester City losing four games in a row was unexpected, but it had to happen sooner or later because even with all the much-acclaimed skills of their manager and the vast amount of money that they have had at their disposal over time, blips (as we have called them when considering Arsenal) can happen. The clubs that win trophies rarely keep the blips to zero, but generally keep the number of them down, and as in the case with ManC split them between competitions, helps enormously.
Here’s the ManC run that the media has suddenly realised has happened….
| Date | Game | Res | Score | Competition |
| 30 Oct | Tottenham Hotspur v MancC | L | 2-1 | League Cup |
| 02 Nov | AFC Bournemouth v ManC | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 05 Nov | Sporting Clube v ManCty | L | 4-1 | Chams League |
| 09 Nov | Brighton and Hove v ManC | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
Of course it doesn’t help us in the league table except that we can say that a win today would leave us just two points behind ManC. But then Liverpool are still marching on.
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | GA | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 11 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 28 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 11 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 23 |
| 3 | Nottingham Forest | 10 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 19 |
| 4 | Brighton and Hove Albion | 11 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 15 | 4 | 19 |
| 5 | Chelsea | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 20 | 12 | 8 | 18 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 18 |
The big fuss about Arsenal, as we have noted, is about two wins, one draw and three defeats in the last six, with a goal difference of six to Arsenal and six to the opposition, which said like that doesn’t really sound too bad. The problem is that two of those defeats have been in the League – and that has got everyone excited, although we did lose five games across the whole of last season.
The simple reality is that all teams get blips – runs of unexpected draws and loses, and the media love to focus on them, without much reference to what is going on elsewhere. It’s a bit like the scandal over Arsena’s three red cards which was ceaselessly debated without any reference to any other aspect of Arsenal’s defending or fouling – such as the number of yellow cards the club got. And yet if only one of those red cards was dodgy (which it certainly was – just think how many players you have seen this season kick the ball back four yards at a free kick as the defence moves backwards) then there is no story.
As we can see from the table below Chelsea are putting in fewer tackles than Arsenal (according to the referees of course) while Tottenham (uncriticised by the media) are tackling to their hearts’ content.
But the three clubs are not that far apart when it comes to the number of fouls committed. There is however a fair difference between the three clubs in the number of yellows they pick up for their fouls, as there is the for the number of yellow cards picked up for all reasons together.
In fact Chelsea, as they have been in other seasons are charging ahead in the yellow card market. This season they and Southampton are right out on their own for cards for all sorts of reasons, Chelsea for example having picked up twice as many cards as Everton or Brentford.
This issue with Chelsea and yellow cards is of course not commented upon by the media but it has been going on for a while Last season for example Chelsea got 105 yellows (Arsenal got 62).
Here’s the table that we regularly produce before a match – this time we’ve included Tottenham as well. And this season we can see Chelsea have made a deliberate attempt to cut the number of tackles they make. In fact only Manchester City make a lower number of tackles. But still, their foul level is higher than that of Arsenal and Tottenham. Chelsea are in fact 8th in the fouling league – yet they are once more top of the yellow card chart, just as they have been for a while.
So what are all these other offences that Chelsea are committing that gives them all these cards? I really don’t know since I don’t watch them. Maybe you can tell me. Or maybe we will see today…
| Tackles | Fouls | Yellows from fouls | All yellows | |
| Arsenal | 175 | 119 | 15 | 24 |
| Chelsea | 158 | 129 | 21 | 38 |
| Tottenham | 193 | 120 | 19 | 25 |
Liverpool are still marching on, with help from referees, like Taylor securing a point for them against Arsenal and the referee yesterday not giving Villa a penalty, which even Michael Owen has said was clear-cut.