Premier League Rewind: 28th-30th April 2018

Results: Liverpool FC 0-0 Stoke City, Burnley 0-0 Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace 5-0 Leicester City, Huddersfield Town 0-2 Everton, Newcastle United 0-1 West Bromwich Albion, Southampton 2-1 AFC Bournemouth, Swansea City 0-1 Chelsea, West Ham United 1-4 Manchester City, Manchester United 2-1 Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Watford

The 2017-2018 season was drifting towards its conclusion and with the championship already settled in favour of Manchester City, attention was starting to turn towards the bottom of the table. With three games left to play, only AFC Bournemouth and Watford came into the weekend virtually safe in the bottom half of the table. There was still plenty to play for.

West Bromwich Albion still had a mountain to climb but Darren Moore’s side were showing some resolve and steel that had been missing for much of the campaign. Matt Phillips’ goal after 29 minutes steered them to a fantastic 1-0 away victory at Newcastle United. In four games in caretaker charge, Moore had now amassed eight points and kept Albion still with a slender chance of beating the drop. Newcastle remained 10^th but this was their first home loss in 2018.

Time was starting to run out for Stoke City. Paul Lambert had failed to muster a single victory since his first match in-charge and that run increased to 12 games despite a battling 0-0 draw away at Anfield against Liverpool FC. Mohamed Salah missed a great opportunity after just six minutes and a well-drilled Stoke side kept the home side quiet who were in-between their two legs of the UEFA Champions League semi-final against AS Roma.

Southampton had won just one match in the Premier League throughout 2018 but they kept themselves in with a shout of beating the drop after overcoming AFC Bournemouth 2-1 in a tense South Coast Derby. Dusan Tadic’s final parting gift to Southampton fans before his summer departure for Ajax saw the Serbian international score twice to help Mark Hughes to his first victory in the league as Southampton boss. It would ultimately turn out to be an imperative three points for the club.

Going in the wrong direction were Swansea City. The Swans had failed to win a game in the Premier League since early March and that run stretched to five matches after losing 1-0 at home to Chelsea. Cesc Fabregas scored the only goal of the game after just four minutes. It was the Spaniard’s 50^th Premier League goal.

One team who had nothing to worry about now were Crystal Palace. Safety was virtually guaranteed after the Eagles recorded their biggest-ever victory in the Premier League, dismantling Leicester City 5-0. The Foxes had Marc Albrighton sent off in the second half but never looked at the races at Selhurst Park with Wilfried Zaha in scintillating form. Six points clear of safety, Palace were heading towards the comfortable reaches of mid-table.

Before the game at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Arsenal, Arsene Wenger was given a special presentation to celebrate his 22-year stint as Gunners boss pre-match by current Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho and his old adversary, Sir Alex Ferguson. On-the-pitch, Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored on his first visit back to The Theatre of Dreams since his January departure but Arsenal were denied a point by Marouane Fellaini’s stoppage-time header.

A 4-1 win at The London Stadium over West Ham United saw Manchester City achieve another landmark. Thanks to an own goal from Declan Rice, Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering superstars had now achieved the milestone of 100 goals in the season and saw them equal Chelsea’s record of 30 wins in a Premier League season achieved in 2016-2017.

What else happened in April 2018?

• Another of Theresa May’s closest allies in the Conservative government resigns, as Amber Rudd forfeits her position as Home Secretary following the revelations in the Windrush scandal.
• The United States, the United Kingdom and France order the bombing of Syrian military bases, in response to the sarin chemical attack in Douma.
• The Duchess of Cambridge gives birth to a baby boy. Louis Arthur Charles become fifth in-line to the throne.
• 10 people are killed in a vehicle-ramming attack in Toronto, Canada. A 25-year-old suspect is arrested.
• The Gold Coast in Australia hosts the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
• Cinemas open in Saudi Arabia for the first time since 1983.
• Miguel Díaz-Canel is sworn in as President of Cuba. It is the first time in 59 years that the surname Castro hasn’t occupied office in Cuba.

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Shock Results: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Bromwich Albion (November 2017)

Goalscorers: Salomon Rondon 4, Harry Kane 74

Teams:

Tottenham Hotspur: Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies, Kieran Trippier, Davinson Sanchez, Jan Vertonghen (Fernando Llorente 60), Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Harry Winks (Mousa Dembele 61), Harry Kane, Heung-Min Son

West Bromwich Albion: Ben Foster, Kieran Gibbs, Jonny Evans, Ahmed Hegazi, Allan Nyom, Gareth Barry (Claudio Yacob 79), Jake Livermore, Sam Field (James McClean 67), Matt Phillips, Jay Rodriguez (Hal Robson-Kanu 67), Salomon Rondon

Referee: Mike Jones, Attendance: 65,905

11 games without a win in the Premier League, West Bromwich Albion took the bold step to part ways with survival specialist Tony Pulis. Pulis departed with the club just hovering outside the relegation zone. In caretaker charge ahead of a trip to Wembley Stadium was Gary Megson, who was taking charge of his first Premier League match since being sacked as Bolton manager in December 2009.

West Brom were visiting a Tottenham side that were flying in the UEFA Champions League but had won just one of their last three league matches and had been thoroughly outplayed and beaten in the North London Derby a week earlier.

Megson didn’t tinker much from Pulis’ last team selection, only dropping Grzegorz Krychowiak and Gareth McAuley from the side that lost 4-0 to Chelsea a week earlier. Sam Field and Allan Nyom came into the starting XI. However, it was a former Tottenham player who made a big early contribution for the visitors.

Just four minutes had been played when ex-Tottenham midfielder Jake Livermore won possession in the middle of the park and played through Salomon Rondon. Rondon showed greater strength than Davinson Sanchez, nudging him off a bit too easily and then, he showed great calmness to roll the ball beyond Hugo Lloris. West Brom had a shock lead after just four minutes.

Apart from a 4-1 thrashing of Liverpool FC, Tottenham’s league performances at Wembley had been scratchy. Chelsea had won there, Swansea City and Burnley leaving with draws and West Brom’s defensive effort ensured this would be another frustrating afternoon on their temporary home soil for Mauricio Pochettino. The Londoners enjoyed 73% of possession but they failed to create much in the way of clear-cut opportunities.

Kieran Trippier was causing danger down the right flank but his balls into the box were not finding Harry Kane. West Brom skipper Jonny Evans and his centre-back partner, Ahmed Hegazi were enjoying a great day, keeping Kane and Heung-Min Son relatively quiet. In the second half, Pochettino was forced to change tactic. He took off Jan Vertonghen and Harry Winks, throwing on Mousa Dembele and an extra forward too in the form of Fernando Llorente.

Despite their constant pressure throughout, it looked like Tottenham might not find a way through until the 74^th minute. Dele Alli produced the best ball of the match and Kane finally managed to escape the attentions of Evans to scoop a shot underneath Ben Foster’s legs. It was his 47^th goal for club and country in 2017.

Despite having just six touches in the opposition box all game, West Brom held on for an unlikely but gritty point. However, although they beat Spurs at The Hawthorns in May, they would be relegated. Tottenham finished in the top three for a third successive season.

Iconic Moments: Survival Sunday – Albion escape (May 2005)

On the final day of the 2004-2005 Premier League season, none of the bottom four were guaranteed of avoiding relegation. It was between Norwich City, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion. By the end of the afternoon, one club would be celebrating survival and the other three would be feeling the pain of relegation.

For Norwich, a first away win of the season at Craven Cottage against Fulham would condemn the other three sides regardless of their results. That never looked likely once Brian McBride put the home side ahead in the 10^th minute. The Canaries wilted in the bright west London sunshine, losing 6-0. They were going to be relegated.

At half-time, it was Southampton who were in the box seat. Harry Redknapp’s side had the toughest game against Manchester United but were drawing 1-1. John O’Shea’s own goal had been cancelled out by a fine header from Darren Fletcher. Unfortunately, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s sixth goal of an injury-hit domestic season would mean the Saints’ 13-year Premier League stay would come to an end. It was Redknapp’s first Premier League relegation as a manager.

West Bromwich Albion started the day bottom of the table and only a win would do at home to Portsmouth. Less than a minute after his arrival from the substitute’s bench, Geoff Horsfield volleyed the Baggies into a precious lead. On-loan midfielder Kieran Richardson added a second goal to give West Brom a 2-0 victory. Now, they had to wait and hope Crystal Palace didn’t win at The Valley.

The Eagles trailed at half-time to out-of-form Charlton Athletic but recovered brilliantly in the second half. They were leading with eight minutes left until Jonathan Fortune’s header saw the Addicks level the match and plunge Iain Dowie’s side back into the bottom three. They couldn’t find another goal so the draw wasn’t enough. That meant the party could begin at The Hawthorns. It was West Bromwich Albion who prevailed on ‘Survival Sunday.’

In the process, they’d made their own piece of Premier League history. No side previously had been bottom on Christmas Day and escaped relegation. Albion had just proven it could be done.

Shock Results: Manchester United 0-1 West Bromwich Albion (April 2018)

Goalscorer: Jay Rodriguez 73

Teams:

Manchester United: David de Gea, Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young (Marcus Rashford 75), Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera (Jesse Lingard 45), Paul Pogba (Anthony Martial 58), Juan Mata, Romelu Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez

West Bromwich Albion: Ben Foster, Craig Dawson, Ahmed Hegazi, Kieran Gibbs, Allan Nyom, Chris Brunt (Claudio Yacob 90), Jake Livermore, James McClean, Matt Phillips (Grzegorz Krychowiak 77), Jay Rodriguez, Salomon Rondon (Daniel Sturridge 85)

Referee: Paul Tierney, Attendance: 75,095

Since their Manchester Derby victory at Old Trafford in December 2017, there had been little doubt that Manchester City were going to claim their third Premier League title. However, Jose Mourinho’s men had delayed the inevitable a week earlier, coming from 2-0 down to defeat City 3-2 at The Etihad Stadium.

Pep Guardiola’s side had bounced back less than 24 hours earlier, dismissing Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 at Wembley Stadium. They knew they would become champions if Manchester United failed to beat West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford. The chances of that happening seemed slim. West Brom were bottom of the table, destined for relegation and had won only three league matches all season. The Baggies were now being guided by former player Darren Moore, who had replaced Alan Pardew in the job 13 days earlier.

Mourinho’s side should have been full of confidence after their Derby heroics eight days previously but as the rain started to fall at The Theatre of Dreams, they put in a tepid first half display that was systematic to some of their performances in the top head-to-head matches. Paul Pogba, who had been behind the caviller fightback at Eastlands, was completely anonymous against the bottom club and sacrificed for Anthony Martial after 58 minutes. The home side simply couldn’t get themselves going.

In fact, it was the visitors who created the best opening of the first half. Jake Livermore broke through but was denied by smart goalkeeping from the ever-reliable David de Gea. De Gea would be outdone though by his opposite number. Ben Foster pulled off one of the saves of the season midway through the second half, flying to his left-hand side to push away a powerful Romelu Lukaku header.

As the game wore on, West Brom simply grew in confidence and with 17 minutes left, they took the lead from their classic route of scoring; via a set-piece delivery. Chris Brunt’s delivery wasn’t cleared by the home defenders and Jay Rodriguez was in the right place to tuck the ball into the back of De Gea’s net from close-range.

Foster made another important save from Lukaku shortly afterwards and although they enjoyed 70% possession, West Brom matched United’s total for shots on-target. They fully merited this victory. Paul Tierney’s full-time whistle confirmed Manchester City officially as Premier League champions and they would finish a massive 19 points clear at the end of the season.

Although they would eventually experience the inevitability of relegation, West Brom finished their season in great form, beating Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in the run-in. That form was enough for Moore, who played 104 times for the club during a five-season spell to land the job in late May on a permanent basis.

Iconic Moments: A Premier League record for Barry (September 2017)

It was a tough season for everyone connected with West Bromwich Albion but whilst it ended in relegation, Gareth Barry did claim a Premier League record. When he lined up for the Baggies in the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in September 2017, he made his 633^rd top-flight appearance. This made him the highest appearance maker in Premier League history, succeeding Manchester United legend and current manager of Wales, Ryan Giggs.

The midfielder made his Premier League debut aged just 17 in May 1998 at Hillsborough, playing for Aston Villa against Sheffield Wednesday. He joined Manchester City in 2009 and three years later, won the Premier League title. After a four-year spell on Merseyside with Everton, Barry moved to West Brom in mid-August 2017 and helped himself to a goal later in the season in a home loss to Manchester United.

The ex-England international won’t add to his tally this season after extending his contract to stay at The Hawthorns. His aim this season will be to try and get WBA back to the top-flight at the first attempt. However, his current tally of 653 appearances is likely to stand for many years to come.

 

Great Goals: Sofiane Boufal – SOUTHAMPTON vs. West Bromwich Albion (October 2017)

In his two seasons with Southampton, Sofiane Boufal has only shown flashes of the promise he demonstrated whilst playing in France. The Moroccan though did produce this exceptional piece of solo brilliance in a fairly sterile game against West Bromwich Albion.

The game on the south coast looked like it was petering out towards a pretty ordinary 0-0 draw when Boufal took centre stage in the 85^th minute. The tricky winger, who had only arrived into the contest as a substitute four minutes earlier, he twisted past Allan Nyom in his own half before using his speed to leave Jake Livermore trailing in his wake. As Boufal continued his surge towards goal, he bamboozled past Craig Dawson. Desperate to keep up having been the first man beaten, Nyom ran into Dawson and both hit the turf. Gareth McAuley was the next defender who backed off and was beaten and lastly, goalkeeper Ben Foster couldn’t stop his neatly-placed effort into the bottom corner.

It was a goal fitting to win a tight match between two sides who would ultimately spend the majority of the campaign at the wrong end of the table. It didn’t sparkle Boufal’s season into life though. He was left out of Morocco’s squad for the 2018 World Cup finals and was recently excluded from the Saints’ pre-season tour of China by new manager Mark Hughes. His future at the club looks bleak.

However, this tremendous solo goal was voted by fans as the Carling Goal of the Season for the 2017-2018 campaign.

Premier League Files: Ronnie Wallwork

Premier League Career: Manchester United (1997-2001), West Bromwich Albion (2002-2003, 2004-2006)

Ronnie Wallwork is one of the fortunate players to have a Premier League title winners’ medal to his name. He made 12 appearances in the 2000-2001 season which meant he qualified for a medal as Manchester United cantered to their seventh league championship in nine seasons.

Having been capped four times by England’s Under-20 side in 1997, Wallwork was a player who did have the potential to go further but his career would take a dramatic fall from grace.

A lifelong Manchester United supporter, he joined the club as a trainee in July 1994 and signed professional forms less than a year later. He helped the Red Devils win the FA Youth Cup in 1995 and in 1996, was voted the club’s Young Player of the Year. Things were looking good for further progression.

By the start of the 1997-1998 season, Ronnie was a regular in the reserve teams at Old Trafford but needed to make a first-team breakthrough. He got his first experience of Premier League football in October 1997, replacing Gary Pallister as a 64^th minute substitute in United’s 7-0 thumping of Barnsley. To further advance his education, he had loan spells over the next 18 months at Carlisle United, Stockport County and Manchester United’s feeder Belgian side, Royal Antwerp. It was whilst he was in Belgium that his first sign of a short temper became known.

After Antwerp lost a match to La Louviere which ended their hopes of promotion, Wallwork grabbed referee Amand Ancion by the throat. In the same incident, fellow United youth player and Antwerp colleague, Danny Higginbotham insulted the official. The Belgian FA took a dim view to both actions. Higginbotham was banned from football for a year whilst unbelievably; Wallwork was banned from playing in all FIFA-affiliated nations for life!  Antwerp secretary Rene Snelders was quoted as saying: “This is the equivalent of the death penalty.”

Whilst both actions were unacceptable, the sentencing was exceptionally harsh and after numerous appeals, both sentences were dropped down in length with Wallwork’s final penalty being a 12-month ban from all competitions in Belgium. After this messy incident, he got back to business with his parent club and made a breakthrough in the 1999-2000 season. Used largely as a defensive midfielder, he made seven appearances in the Premier League, just missing out on a title winners’ medal. The following season, he achieved the magical number required to get recognised for medals, finishing with 12 appearances but they were to be his last Premier League efforts. The signings of Juan Sebastian Veron and Laurent Blanc pushed Wallwork further down the pecking order and in the summer of 2002, he was released by his boyhood club.

In July 2002, he moved to West Bromwich Albion, becoming Gary Megson’s first signing after promotion to the Premier League. Sir Alex Ferguson had given his own high recommendation, saying Wallwork was the “best Bosman of the summer.” He played in 27 of Albion’s 38 Premier League matches in 2002-2003 which was a tough year personally for him after his mother passed away at the start of 2003. West Brom were relegated and after falling out of favour under Megson when the club were back in the First Division, he was loaned out to Bradford City in January 2004.

Bryan Robson was the Bradford manager at the time and he managed to add a few more goals to Wallwork’s game by playing him further forward in midfield. A broken toe sustained against Rotherham United cut short this period in Yorkshire but a four-goal return from seven appearances was impressive stats. So, when Robson succeeded Megson as West Brom manager in November 2004 with the club back in the top-flight, you could imagine Ronnie’s delight. He became an integral part of the team and started every single match from December onwards. In January 2005, he scored his first Albion goal to wrap up a 2-0 home victory over Manchester City which was Robson’s first victory as Baggies boss.

On the final day of the season, West Brom beat Portsmouth and with results going their way, they became the first club in Premier League history to be bottom at Christmas and still avoid relegation. He won Player of the Season recognition for his efforts and extended his contract in the process. There would be no happy ending though.

He played 31 games in the following season but West Brom were relegated for a second time in his stint with the Black Country club and he would be frozen out of proceedings when Robson left his position as manager. After surviving a stabbing incident at a Manchester nightclub in November 2006 which left him with wounds to his back, hand and stomach, he wound down his professional career with spells at Barnsley, Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday.

Wallwork’s fall from grace was complete in 2011 when he was charged with concealing criminal property in connection with offences relating to stolen cars. He was jailed for 15 months in December 2011 after pleading guilty to three counts of handling stolen cars.

It was an unsavoury end to a controversial career where a player never quite fulfilled his potential talent.

Premier League Files: Danny Dichio

Premier League Career: Queens Park Rangers (1994-1996), Sunderland (1999-2001), West Bromwich Albion (2002-2003)

Currently in Canada as Head Coach of the Toronto FC Academy Under-19 side, Danny Dichio’s best Premier League spell came at his first club Queens Park Rangers. In total, he featured in 93 matches between 1994 and 2003, scoring 19 goals for Rangers, alongside spells at Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion.

Born in the Hammersmith area of London to an Italian father and English mother, Dichio made his breakthrough at Loftus Road by signing professional forms in May 1993. 15 months later, he made his Premier League debut off the bench in a home game with Aston Villa. It was a memorable moment for Dichio and a game he will never forget. He scored the second goal in QPR’s 2-0 victory – the penultimate home match in-charge for Gerry Francis before his resignation.

Dichio made eight further appearances after his debut bow in the 1994-1995 season but it was the departure of Les Ferdinand in the close season to Newcastle United that gave him his major first-team breakthrough. He forged a strike partnership with Kevin Gallen and ended up with decent figures of 10 goals in 29 appearances. This included a run of six goals in four games early in the campaign, with braces in matches against Leeds United and Newcastle United.

However, QPR were relegated in 1996 to the First Division and Dichio left for pastures new, moving into Serie A for spells with Sampdoria and on-loan to Lecce. In 1998, he returned to English shores with Sunderland, who were in the First Division at the time of his arrival. His time on Wearside would be difficult. Although the Black Cats won promotion and backed this up with consecutive seventh-place finishes in the Premier League, Dichio struggled to make an impact. Only considered a back-up option to the formidable partnership of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, he would score just once across two Premier League seasons.

Next stop was West Bromwich Albion which is where Dichio spent the 2001-2002 season on-loan. He scored on his debut away at Sheffield Wednesday and in November 2001, West Brom paid Sunderland £1.25 million to make the move permanent. The Baggies came up as runners-up in the First Division, which allowed Danny to have another go at the top-flight. He seemed happier at The Hawthorns and finished as the club’s joint-top scorer in the league, netting five goals along with fellow forward Scott Dobie. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent West Brom being relegated.

He moved his family upto the Midlands to join him but was loaned out to Derby County in October 2003 and by the end of the season, was back in London playing for Millwall. Suspension ruled him out of the 2004 FA Cup final. After three further seasons at second-tier level with the Lions and Preston North End, Dichio left the English game completely in 2007 to join newly-created MLS franchise, Toronto FC.

He scored 14 goals over the course of the next three seasons, including the club’s first-ever goal in the MLS. After retirement, he went into coaching with Toronto and is looking after their academy. He combines this with an analyst role on MLS and some Premier League matches for Fox Soccer News.

Premier League Files: Jonas Olsson

Premier League Career: West Bromwich Albion (2008-2017)

Having appeared 245 times for West Bromwich Albion, Jonas Olsson returned home to Sweden in 2017 to conclude his career with Djurgardens IF. It is a career that has seen Olsson experience the pain of relegation in his first Premier League season to becoming a stable figure as the Albion became a regular figure in the Premier League fixture schedules. He also won 25 caps for Sweden and was part of their squad at the 2012 European Championships.

Olsson made his debut in professional football in 2003. Growing up, he followed the career closely of his future international colleague and fellow defender, Olof Mellberg. Mellberg would become a popular figure at Aston Villa – a long-time Midlands rival of West Brom. Olsson developed his reputation as a tough-tackling defender during three seasons in the Dutch league with NEC Nijmegen.

Several Premier League clubs had been scouting Olsson and he was linked with moves to Bolton Wanderers, Everton and Newcastle United. However, it was West Brom who got his signature on a contract in August 2008, paying a mere £800,000 for his services. He made his debut in a 3-2 home win over West Ham United a month later and soon afterwards, had his first Baggies’ goal with a typical header from a set-piece enough to beat Middlesbrough at The Riverside Stadium. He added another goal in a home win over Sunderland towards the end of the campaign and played well individually throughout the season. However, West Brom were always fighting a losing relegation battle under their manager, Tony Mowbray and their demise to the Championship was confirmed by a defeat at home to Liverpool FC on the penultimate weekend of the season.

Rather than be tempted to quit The Hawthorns for another top-flight experience, Jonas stayed firmly loyal to the club. His family had settled in the area and to prove this, he signed a four-year contract extension in September 2009. He helped the club win instant promotion back to the Premier League in 2009-2010 with four goals, including a double in a win over Doncaster Rovers. West Brom were now a much more stubborn force on their return and Olsson would then feature in the next seven Premier League campaigns. He figured regularly for all West Brom’s Premier League managers including rookie boss Steve Clarke and the experienced Tony Pulis.

Olsson formed a combative and strong partnership at centre-back with Gareth McAuley when the experienced Northern Ireland international joined from Ipswich Town on a free transfer in 2011. Together, they became two of the most feared defensive players in attacking set-pieces. In fact, in only one full campaign did Olsson fail to score during his Premier League career (2012-2013).

With stiffer competition for places in the West Brom line-up in 2016-2017, Olsson and the club agreed to terminate his contract in March 2017. He’d made just seven appearances in one of the club’s most successful Premier League campaigns and this freed him up to join Djurgardens IF back in Sweden. This meant he linked up with fellow ex-Premier League players and compatriots Andreas Isaksson and Kim Kallstrom.

He has already featured 22 times for Djurgardens IF as he winds down an impressive career. Olsson has stated that once he is done with his professional football career, he wants to qualify as a lawyer and work within the sphere of human rights. He has plans in place to be successful after he hangs his footballing boots up. Jonas Olsson is one of West Bromwich Albion’s greatest-ever Premier League players.

Premier League Rewind: 21st-23rd November 2015

Results: Watford 1-2 Manchester United, Chelsea 1-0 Norwich City, Everton 4-0 Aston Villa, Newcastle United 0-3 Leicester City, Southampton 0-1 Stoke City, Swansea City 2-2 AFC Bournemouth, West Bromwich Albion 2-1 Arsenal, Manchester City 1-4 Liverpool FC, Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 West Ham United, Crystal Palace 0-1 Sunderland

In a season where many surprises were being produced, this was evident on the 21^st-23^rd November 2015 Premier League weekend. The league leaders were Arsenal going into the weekend but by the end of it, 5000-1 title outside shots Leicester City were sitting top of the pile.

Leicester travelled to Tyneside to face Newcastle United, with Jamie Vardy eyeing up a Premier League record. Midway through the first half, Vardy broke clear to open the scoring and therefore, register a goal for the 10^th successive Premier League match. This equalled the long-time record, set by Manchester United’s Ruud van Nistelrooy back in 2003. Further goals from fellow forwards Shinji Okazaki and Leonardo Ulloa ensured Leicester won 3-0 and recorded a fourth successive victory in the process.

Arsenal still could have been top of the table but they endured another difficult away afternoon at The Hawthorns. After taking the lead against West Bromwich Albion, their day fell apart. James Morrison levelled the scores in the 35^th minute and five minutes later, club captain Mikel Arteta put the ball into his own net. Arsenal still had an opportunity to equalise in the last 10 minutes, only for Santi Cazorla to slip over and balloon his penalty kick into orbit. The 2-1 victory was West Brom’s third in their last five games.

Manchester City were seen as the title favourites by many and were unbeaten in two months when they entertained a Liverpool FC side that were still finding their feet under Jurgen Klopp. Klopp had only recorded one victory from his first four league matches. However, his side were about to put on a blistering attacking display at The Etihad Stadium. Philippe Coutinho, Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino were in sparkling form. Both Brazilians scored and Martin Skrtel hammered home a fourth goal in the second half. Liverpool won 4-1 to move into ninth place in the table. It was a Saturday evening for City to forget and particularly for Raheem Sterling, who was facing his old employers for the first time since his summer move.

Defeats for City and Arsenal meant Manchester United quietly crept into second position with a 2-1 victory at Watford. Memphis Depay gave them an early lead but Troy Deeney’s late spot-kick looked to have rescued a point for the Hertfordshire side. That was until a late winner for the Red Devils with Deeney scoring an unfortunate own goal. It would be their final league victory of 2015 as a dire December would follow for manager Louis van Gaal.

Tottenham Hotspur extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches with a resounding 4-1 victory over London rivals West Ham United, who were missing their influential playmaker Dimitri Payet due to injury. Harry Kane scored twice for the home side. At the wrong end of the table, Aston Villa’s crushing 4-0 defeat to Everton left them bottom with just five points and five points adrift of safety. Sunderland climbed above AFC Bournemouth after a Jermain Defoe goal was enough to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 on the Monday Night Football at Selhurst Park.

What else happened in November 2015?

• The world is left appalled by a string of terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday 13th November. The Bataclan concert hall, bars/restaurants and the Stade de France are all targeted. 130 people are killed.
• In tennis, Great Britain wins the Davis Cup for the first time since 1936 after defeating Belgium in the final.
• Storm Abigail is the first storm to be officially named by the Met Office. It leaves 20,000 people without power and much disruption to many travel services.
• Alton Towers confirms that human error was the cause behind The Smiler rollercoaster crash in June that seriously injured five people.
• ITV confirms it will air The Voice UK and The Voice Kids from 2017, poaching it from the BBC.
• Children in Need raises over £37 million, which is a new record. It is the first time since its launch in 1980 that the legendary Sir Terry Wogan is unable to fulfil presenter duties following a back operation.
• Turkey shoots down a Russian fighter jet in the first case of a NATO member destroying a Russian aircraft since the 1950s.

Shock Results: Charlton Athletic 1-4 West Bromwich Albion (March 2005)

Goalscorers: Geoff Horsfield 9, Jonatan Johansson 24, Rob Earnshaw 73, 84, 90 PEN

Teams:

Charlton Athletic: Dean Kiely, Talal El Karkouri (SENT OFF), Mark Fish, Hermann Hreidarsson, Luke Young, Paul Konchesky, Jerome Thomas, Danny Murphy (Dennis Rommedahl 77), Matt Holland, Jonatan Johansson (Jason Euell 70), Shaun Bartlett (Bryan Hughes 82)

West Bromwich Albion: Russell Hoult, Martin Albrechtsen, Neil Clement, Thomas Gaardsoe (Darren Moore 22), Paul Robinson, Kieran Richardson (Rob Earnshaw 64), Ronnie Wallwork, Jonathan Greening, Zoltan Gera (Richard Chaplow 86), Geoff Horsfield, Kevin Campbell

Referee: Mark Halsey, Attendance: 27,104

Bottom of the league going into this clash at The Valley, time was starting to run out for Bryan Robson and West Bromwich Albion. They’d won just two matches under his reign and were winless away from The Hawthorns. They were facing a Charlton side that were in seventh place and leading the race for the final UEFA Cup qualifying spot.

West Brom were boosted from a 2-0 victory a fortnight earlier at home to Birmingham City and they made a flying start off the back of this win. Nine minutes had been played when Zoltan Gera picked out Geoff Horsfield. Horsfield headed home from close-range with Charlton defenders looking rather static.

This sloppy start was not expected by the home team but it aroused Alan Curbishley’s side from their slumbers. Replacing Dennis Rommedahl in the starting XI, Jonatan Johansson had a point to prove and he delivered with the equaliser. Having just flashed a shot narrowly wide moments earlier, he was played through by Jerome Thomas and made the most of a fortunate bounce off the advancing goalkeeper Russell Hoult to guide the ball into an empty net.

The outcome of the game changed in the 29^th minute when referee Mark Halsey flashed out his red card at Charlton defender Talal El Karkouri. El Karkouri’s feet left the ground in a nasty challenge on Gera. Albion players were livid with the tackle, surrounding the Moroccan international who was quite rightly sent off by Halsey. Despite the deficit of playing a man light, Charlton nearly led before the interval. Darren Moore, who had come on for the injured Thomas Gaardsoe had to clear a goal-line effort from Hermann Hreidarsson.

With 25 minutes left to play, Robson elected to switch to a 4-3-3 formation, sacrificing Kieran Richardson for Rob Earnshaw. The Welshman would have a sensational outcome on the match. Nine minutes after his arrival, he gave the visitors the lead. Paul Robinson had acres of space and produced a delightful cross to the back post. Horsfield won the header against Paul Konchesky and Earnshaw was in the right place to guide the ball past Dean Kiely.

With six minutes remaining, it was game over. Gera produced his second assist of the afternoon, with a neatly-threaded pass into Earnshaw’s path. He exposed the Charlton high offside line and commandingly beat Kiely to make it 3-1. However, there was one more moment of joy for the Albion supporters. In stoppage-time, Richard Chaplow was scythed down on his Premier League debut by Bryan Hughes. Halsey awarded a penalty and Earnshaw dispatched it effectively, to make it 10 Premier League goals for the season. It also meant he became the first player to score a hat-trick in all of England’s top four divisions, the FA Cup, the League Cup and at international level for Wales. It started West Brom’s amazing escape act, as they survived on the final day of the season.

Seasonal Records: 2004-2005

For all the statistical fans out there, here are some of the season’s records from the 2004-2005 Premier League campaign. It was a season to remember for Chelsea as the Blues won their first Premier League title, 50 years on from their last top-flight success, losing just one match all season.

FINAL TABLE

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	PTS
1	Chelsea	38	29	8	1	72	15	+57	95
2	Arsenal	38	25	8	5	87	36	+51	83
3	Manchester United	38	22	11	5	58	26	+32	77
4	Everton	38	18	7	13	45	46	-1	61
5	Liverpool FC	38	17	7	14	52	41	+11	58
6	Bolton Wanderers	38	16	10	12	49	44	+5	58
7	Middlesbrough	38	14	13	11	53	46	+7	55
8	Manchester City	38	13	13	12	47	39	+8	52
9	Tottenham Hotspur	38	14	10	14	47	41	+6	52
10	Aston Villa	38	12	11	15	45	52	-7	47
11	Charlton Athletic	38	12	10	16	42	58	-16	46
12	Birmingham City	38	11	12	15	40	46	-6	45
13	Fulham	38	12	8	18	52	60	-8	44
14	Newcastle United	38	10	14	14	47	57	-10	44
15	Blackburn Rovers	38	9	15	14	32	43	-11	42
16	Portsmouth	38	10	9	19	43	59	-16	39
17	West Bromwich Albion	38	6	16	16	36	61	-25	34
18	Crystal Palace	38	7	12	19	41	62	-21	33
19	Norwich City	38	7	12	19	42	77	-35	33
20	Southampton	38	6	14	18	45	66	-21	32

 

THE BASIC STATS

Goals Scored	975
European qualifiers	Chelsea (UEFA Champions League) Arsenal (UEFA Champions League) Manchester United (UEFA Champions League) Everton (UEFA Champions League) Liverpool FC (UEFA Champions League) Bolton Wanderers (UEFA Cup) Middlesbrough (UEFA Cup) Newcastle United (UEFA Intertoto Cup)
Longest winning run	8 games (Chelsea)
Longest unbeaten run	29 games (Chelsea)
Longest winless run	15 games (West Bromwich Albion)
Longest losing run	6 games (Bolton Wanderers & Tottenham Hotspur)
Highest attendance	67,989 (Manchester United vs. Portsmouth)
Lowest attendance	16,180 (Fulham vs. West Bromwich Albion)

 

AWARDS

PFA Players’ Player of the Year	John Terry (Chelsea)
PFA Young Player of the Year	Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
Football Writers’ Award	Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
PFA Team of the Year	Petr Cech, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Gary Neville, John Terry, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Arjen Robben, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Thierry Henry, Andy Johnson
Manager of the Year	Jose Mourinho (Chelsea)
Premier League Goal of the Season	Wayne Rooney (MANCHESTER UNITED vs. Newcastle United)

 

HAT-TRICK HEROES

Player	Teams	Score	Date
Yakubu	Portsmouth vs. Fulham	4-3	30th August 2004
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Blackburn Rovers vs. Middlesbrough	0-4	16th October 2004
Eidur Gudjohnsen	Chelsea vs. Blackburn Rovers	4-0	23rd October 2004
Milan Baros	Liverpool FC vs. Crystal Palace	3-2	13th November 2004
Jermain Defoe	Tottenham Hotspur vs. Southampton	5-1	18th December 2004
Thierry Henry	Arsenal vs. Portsmouth	3-0	5th March 2005
Rob Earnshaw	Charlton Athletic vs. West Bromwich Albion	1-4	19th March 2005
Thierry Henry	Arsenal vs. Norwich City	4-1	2nd April 2005

 

TOP SCORERS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Goals
1	Thierry Henry	Arsenal	25
2	Andy Johnson	Crystal Palace	21
3	Robert Pires	Arsenal	14
4=	Frank Lampard	Chelsea	13
4=	Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink	Middlesbrough	13
4=	Jermain Defoe	Tottenham Hotspur	13
4=	Yakubu	Portsmouth	13
8=	Eidur Gudjohnsen	Chelsea	12
8=	Andy Cole	Fulham	12
8=	Peter Crouch	Southampton	12
11=	Wayne Rooney	Manchester United	11
11=	Tim Cahill	Everton	11
11=	Shaun Wright-Phillips	Manchester City	11
11=	Robbie Keane	Tottenham Hotspur	11
11=	Rob Earnshaw	West Bromwich Albion	11
16=	Didier Drogba	Chelsea	10
16=	Freddie Ljungberg	Arsenal	10
16=	Robbie Fowler	Manchester City	10
16=	Emile Heskey	Birmingham City	10
16=	Kevin Phillips	Southampton	10
21=	Jose Antonio Reyes	Arsenal	9
21=	Paul Scholes	Manchester United	9
21=	Milan Baros	Liverpool FC	9
21=	El-Hadji Diouf	Bolton Wanderers	9
21=	Paul Dickov	Blackburn Rovers	9

BIGGEST VICTORIES

Arsenal 7-0 Everton	11th May 2005
Fulham 6-0 Norwich City	15th May 2005
West Bromwich Albion 0-5 Liverpool FC	26th December 2004
Arsenal 5-1 Crystal Palace	14th February 2005
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Aston Villa	1st May 2005
Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Southampton	18th December 2004
Charlton Athletic 0-4 Chelsea	27th November 2004
Arsenal 4-0 Charlton Athletic	2nd October 2004
Charlton Athletic 0-4 Manchester United	1st May 2005
Everton 4-0 Crystal Palace	10th April 2005

 

HIGHEST SCORING GAMES

No of Goals	Teams	Date
9	Tottenham Hotspur 4-5 Arsenal	13th November 2004
8	Arsenal 5-3 Middlesbrough	22nd August 2004
8	Norwich City 4-4 Middlesbrough	22nd January 2005
7	Arsenal 7-0 Everton	11th May 2005
7	Manchester United 5-2 Crystal Palace	18th December 2004
7	Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 Everton	1st January 2005
7	Newcastle United 4-3 Manchester City	24th October 2004
7	Portsmouth 4-3 Fulham	30th August 2004
7	Southampton 4-3 Norwich City	30th April 2005
6	Fulham 6-0 Norwich City	15th May 2005
6	Arsenal 5-1 Crystal Palace	14th February 2005
6	Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Aston Villa	1st May 2005
6	Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Southampton	18th December 2004
6	Arsenal 2-4 Manchester United	1st February 2005
6	Fulham 2-4 Liverpool FC	16th October 2004
6	Aston Villa 4-2 Newcastle United	28th August 2004
6	Portsmouth 4-2 Charlton Athletic	9th April 2005
6	Blackburn Rovers 3-3 Birmingham City	21st November 2004
6	Southampton 3-3 Fulham	5th January 2005
6	Crystal Palace 3-3 Norwich City	16th April 2005

 

YOUNGEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
James Vaughan	Everton 4-0 Crystal Palace	16 years, 8 months, 27 days	10th April 2005
Cesc Fabregas	Everton 1-4 Arsenal	17 years, 3 months, 11 days	15th August 2004
Philip Ifil	Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Liverpool FC	17 years, 8 months, 27 days	14th August 2004
Anthony Grant	Manchester United 1-3 Chelsea	17 years, 11 months, 6 days	10th May 2005
Nedum Onuoha	Manchester City 1-1 Norwich City	17 years, 11 months, 20 days	1st November 2004
Matthew Bates	Middlesbrough 3-2 Manchester City	17 years, 11 months, 26 days	6th December 2004
Leon Best	Southampton 1-2 Newcastle United	18 years	19th September 2004
Ricardo Vaz Te	Bolton Wanderers 1-2 Aston Villa	18 years, 1 month, 13 days	13th November 2004
Tom Soares	Aston Villa 1-1 Crystal Palace	18 years, 2 months, 15 days	25th September 2004
Martin Cranie	Southampton 0-0 Charlton Athletic	18 years, 3 months	26th December 2004

 

OLDEST PLAYERS USED

Player	Teams	Age at the time	Date
Kevin Poole	Bolton Wanderers 1-1 West Bromwich Albion	41 years, 5 months, 11 days	1st January 2005
Nigel Martyn	Everton 2-0 Newcastle United	38 years, 8 months, 26 days	7th May 2005
Colin Cooper	Middlesbrough 4-0 West Bromwich Albion	38 years, 1 month, 26 days	23rd April 2005
Les Ferdinand	Bolton Wanderers 0-1 Blackburn Rovers	38 years, 10 days	28th December 2004
Fernando Hierro	Bolton Wanderers 3-2 Everton	37 years, 1 month, 22 days	15th May 2005
Craig Short	Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Fulham	36 years, 10 months, 12 days	7th May 2005
Youri Djorkaeff	Chelsea 4-0 Blackburn Rovers	36 years, 7 months, 14 days	23rd October 2004
Graeme Le Saux	Southampton 1-2 Manchester United	36 years, 6 months, 28 days	15th May 2005
Dennis Bergkamp	Birmingham City 2-1 Arsenal	36 years, 5 days	15th May 2005
Shaka Hislop	Portsmouth 0-1 Blackburn Rovers	35 years, 10 months, 24 days	15th January 2005

 

CLEAN SHEETS

Position	Player	Teams	No of Clean Sheets
1	Petr Cech	Chelsea	24
2=	Roy Carroll	Manchester United	15
2=	Brad Friedel	Blackburn Rovers	15
4	Nigel Martyn	Everton	14
5=	Paul Robinson	Tottenham Hotspur	12
5=	Dean Kiely	Charlton Athletic	12
7=	Jens Lehmann	Arsenal	11
7=	David James	Manchester City	11
7=	Thomas Sorensen	Aston Villa	11
10	Gabor Kiraly	Crystal Palace	10