Premier League Weekly | Latest News & Stories – Sep. 27, 2021
The last couple of days were pretty interesting in the Premier League and lower leagues in England. Another round of fixtures is behind us and the 3rd round of the Carabao Cup. Some managers are under fire, the odds for the first sacking in the season changed after weekend results, and one club comes through the most challenging time in modern history.
Nuno vs. Ole – Who Will Be Sacked First?
Tottenham Hotspur has started the season with three wins and three clean sheets. It was a dream start for Nuno Espirito Santo, who won the Manager of the Month award for August. But, only a couple of weeks later, the Portuguese manager is a big favorite for “the next manager to be sacked.” Odds dropped after Tottenham again failed to win, for the third time in a row on Sunday at Emirates against Arsenal, so now most online betting sites give 4.50 odds for him to be the next manager who will be without a job. The odds on Steve Bruce are the same.
The Spurs have three crucial games ahead: Aston Villa, Newcastle, and West Ham. If Nuno doesn’t win a minimum of two games, we don’t see how he can save his job. Maybe that game at St. James Park will be “fight for the job” between Nuno and Steve.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is in a slightly better situation than Nuno. Red Devils fans don’t like him, and they want another manager to lead their club. Manchester doesn’t have a trophy from May 2017. They lost to West Ham United during midweek, and they are now out of the Carabao Cup. Ole changed a lot in starting XI, like David Moyes on the other side, but to lose against West Ham reserves is inadmissible. In particular, that Carabao Cup was one of the very few competitions where United could win a trophy this season. Let’s be realistic: Who thinks that they can win the Champions League or Premier League? The odds on Ole to be sacked are now 14.00. Last week they were at 40.00.
No More Betting Brands on The Shirts?
The British Government is set to ban gambling companies from being front-of-shirt sponsors from the following season. The Government is trying to change the betting law, which will not allow foreign betting companies to advertise on English football club’s shirts.
Currently, nine of twenty clubs in the Premier League have a betting company for their main sponsor and six clubs from the Championship. Those deals are worth combining for about 100 million pounds.
Bolton Wanderers, a club from League One, the third tier of English football, announced that they would not sign a new deal with the betting company in the future.
Gloomy Days at Pride Park
Derby County comes through probably the most challenging period in its history. Because of the financial crises, they went into administration last week, and the English Football League deducted 12 points. They felt in the last place on the table with -2 points, nine points from the safety.
During the last season, two potential buys fall through. The first offer was from the brother of Manchester City’s owner, but he didn’t send financial guarantees to EFL, and in spring, Spaniard Erik Alonso tried to buy the club. Still, he also didn’t send financial guarantees right on time. Derby County owner Mel Morris says that the club constantly loses about 1 – 1.5 million pounds per month because of the coronavirus.
Derby played in the Premier League in the 2007/08 season. Since then, they have been in the Championship and constantly try to return to the English top-tier league. Unfortunately, they lost in a play-off a couple of times, and in the last two years situation has been very bad around the club. Last season, with Wayne Rooney as manager, they luckily escaped relegation into League One in the last round. This season Rooney has a much more difficult job to do that again.
Draw for Carabao Cup 4th Round
During the last week, teams played 3rd round of the Carabao Cup. The only team from “the big six” who didn’t win was Manchester United, who lost to West Ham United at Old Trafford. Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal managed to win easily against Wycombe, Norwich, and Wimbledon. Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur only managed to win their games after a penalty shootout against Aston Villa and Wolves.
In the last 16 of the competition are 12 teams from the Premier League, three from the Championship, and only one from the League One – Sunderland. Results of the draw:
Chelsea – Southampton
Arsenal – Leeds United
QPR – Sunderland
Stoke City – Brentford
West Ham United – Manchester City
Leicester City – Brighton & Hove Albion
Burnley – Tottenham Hotspur
Preston North End – Liverpoo
