Match Week 10 Recap

EPL Match Week 10 - CleanSheet Recap

In Today’s CleanSheet:

• Headlines 📌

• Current Situation📈📉

• Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥- Man United

• Off Island 🏝️ - Ballon d’Or

• Best Bets 💰

Headlines 📌

• Best Result of Match Week 10. 2-2 Wolves v Newcastle. Yes, a DRAW for the best result. This was a “proper” match. Great flowing, nonstop action - back and forth - with both teams attacking. Some observations:

  • Wolves Well Positioned. Wolves took a “step back” this year in terms of spending and saw their manager leave 5 days before match 1. Since then, they’ve hired what seems to be a great fit at manager with Gary O’Neil and have far exceeded expectations on the pitch. The goal this year was to not get relegated and position for European spots in the future. So far, so good for the Wanderers.

  • Leveling Off. Newcastle shot up the table last year in what even Magpie fans would describe as ahead of schedule. Combine that with a route of Villa in week 1 and some great home performances in the Champions League and many have upped their expectations for the season in the North. But a mid-week loss at home to Dortmund and draw on the road to Wolves is tempering those expectations. All still points up but will more than likely take some time to get used to the Champions League schedule demand as well as being the hunted as opposed to the hunter in most matches.

  • Callum Wilson. Scored both goals for Newcastle and now sits 3^rd in goals in the PL.

  • Goal(s) of the Match. Wolves tie it at 1 with a great header (X) from Lemina OR was it Hee-Chan’s brilliant strike (X).

  • Controversial Penalty. There was drama with this questionable penalty call (YT first 30s, 5 min for full sequence). Here is Wolves manager Gary O’Neil’s reaction. (2 min article).

  • 7 Come 11. Wolves and Magpies have now Drawn 7 of last 11 matches.

  • Wanna Bet. Post match interview for Wolves. 7 company logo placements. 5 are betting companies! Link (X).

  • Wanna Bet II. In Match Ad Placement, all betting companies. Link (X).

  • Shite. In the CS’s opinion, the best term to describe Newcastle’s away kit against Wolves. The kelly green with the big yellow noon patch, “shite”. Newcastle is just not the same when veering from the black and white color pallet. Enjoy the pre match walk out at the Molineaux. (X 50s)

• Crown Brentford’s Ass! (Click for a great perspective - X 10s) in honor of Denny Green (wiki) as Kings of West London.

Check out this Brentford overview at the CleanSheet.

• City Own Manchester. And the rest of the soccer world. 3-0 win over United. City played a lineup with 6 new starters from their previous match. It didn’t matter. United is lost right now, without identity.

  • Man U always brings about the passion of the sport. The history rich club is not used to the struggles over the past 7-10 years and continuing to finish behind City only make it that much worse. See Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥 section for more.

  • 2m30s of highlights (YT)

• Own Goal. As a defender, there are times to play the ball back to the keeper and times not to. And there are ways to do it and ways not to. This would be a GREAT example (YT 60s) of when not to and how not to. AND - it cost Villa a CleanSheet!

• Biggest Disappointment. It’s no longer a disappointment to Chelsea or Man United fans when they lose so this week's BD goes to West Ham. After a fast start to the season the Hammers have now lost 3 consecutive matches, this time at home to a relegation contender in Everton 0-1.

• Yet to Lose. Tottenham, Arsenal.

• Still Winless. Sheffield United is the remaining winless team after Bournemouth’s win over Burnley.

Current Situation 📈📉

Clean Sheets Counter

Goal Keepers CAN SCORE TOO! (X 10s). But he still didn’t keep a Clean Sheet.

Hot Topic 🔥🔥🔥

Manchester United.

Top 3, if not THE TOP supported club in all of soccer. A Global brand valued at over $5.5B (sportico). The Red Devils have more supporter clubs around the world than any other team. Their stadium, Old Trafford (77,000 capacity), is a combination of history, charm and modern amenities - think Lambeau Field, Fenway Park or Wrigley Field.

There are many names you may recognize - David “bend it like” Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Sir Bobby Charlton and Sir Alex Ferguson are on the short list.

There are countless documentaries about the club.

• Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In

• Recently released Beckham on Netflix

• The Impossible Dream - follows MU winning the Treble in 1999.

According to soccernoise.com the fan base sits somewhere around 1.6B fans globally. Like the Cowboys and Yankees, it’s quite possible most of you reading the CleanSheet either are rooting for or against Man United. It’s not a team people are indifferent towards.

Malcolm Glazer bought into MU in 2003 at 15%, to 30% in 2004 and then 57% and again to 75% in 2005. He took MU off the London Stock Exchange and his ownership to 98%. The final purchase price of the club totaled over $1B. Much of the money came from loans with an annual payment of over $75M per year. This level of debt did not sit well with the MU fanbase. A group of wealthy MU fans, “The Red Knights” put in a $1.2B offer for the club declined by Glazer. In 2012, Glazer IPOd the club on the NYSE at $14/share. Today it trades around $23/share. In 2021, Joel Glazer, Chairman, played a major role in the creation of a Super Leage. When the Super League fell apart, Glazer apologized to the fans and said, “he got it wrong”. There continues to be distrust from the fanbase on ownership.

Why focus on Man United now? The season hangs in the balance.

• United have LOST 6 of 8 home matches.

• Sit 8th in the Table - 5 wins 5 losses.

• Have lost 2 Champions League matches against teams they should beat.

• There is no identity to the makeup of the club. No style of play to associate with.

• City, United’s rival, is 4 miles away and owning the narrative.

• Here is a more detailed analysis (3 min read) of what ten Hag got wrong in this weekend's Derby.

It's been years since MU have won a trophy, they’ve gone thru EIGHT Managers since Sir Alex retired in 2013. David Moyes, Ryan Giggs, Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjear, Michael Carrik, Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag. Those 8 managers combined for 1 FA Cup, 1 Europa League, and 0 Premier Leagues.

The 2022/23 season provided some hope for the trajectory of United under ten Hag when they finished 3^rd in the PL and made the finals of the FA Cup. The expectation is to win Cups, not just compete for them. And there is MAJOR CONCERN on the direction, or lack thereof, this season.

Off Island 🏝️

The Ballon d’Or is presented each year to the best soccer player in the world. Messi just won his 8^th on Monday night. Christiano Rinaldo has won the second most with 5. Messi won his first in 2009. Argentina’s win in the World Cup most likely secured his 8^th. Erling Haaland (Man City) and Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) were also finalists.

Best Bets 💰

Good week up $178….Big Cat Karma continues? Will keep posting Big Cat picks as long as we continue to have up weeks. @MenInBlazers @BarstoolBigCat (X) - Looks like Big Cat is a Swansea fan.

CS GuestPicker

Ryan has set the bar for our Guest Pickers….$48 lost on an 0-2 weekend. Best of luck to our future CS GuestPickers! Reply to this email if you would like to get on the guest picker list.