Okay a 4-4 game was highly entertaining and just chaotic. If you were a neutral inside Old Trafford or just watching on television you would have loved it. On Monday evening we witnessed Manchester United play Bournemouth where United had taken 1-0 lead and were pegged back. They went into the first half 2-1 up but seven minutes into the second half were 3-2 down. But United roared back to 3-3 and then had the audacity to go 4-3 up. However Bournemouth were not done and made it 4-4 soon after. It was a game that could have ended 7-7 it was a stunner.
However in the cold light of day it was another game that Ruben Amorim who has a 38% win rate with the club did not win. It was another two points dropped at home and another 'oh I see Manchester United are not taking forward steps under Amorim yet'. For Bournemouth who had been experiencing the worst form of their season the belief has surely returned, they never gave up evidently and are really a fine team on their day. As for Manchester United the feeling of chaos should be attributed to a club who have the infrastructure, history and have spent hundreds of millions not to be seen as a long running gag story. Just when you think the boat is being stabilised they lose or make heavy weather of a fixture they should be winning. They are still tangled in a web within a web. It could of course be argued that with 19 points from their last ten games is a good return but where is the consistency and that will be the ongoing question of a team who can look very exciting but still look lost in Amorim's own personal sea.
Like a million managers before him Thomas Frank is really struggling at Tottenham. The German swapped hero status at Brentford for European football with a London glamour club but it doesn't appear to be working out for him. Tottenham are in 11th place and are on course to finish the season with under 55 points. This would of course be an improvement over Ange Postecoglou's disastrous season of 17th place but we doubt Frank is going to deliver European glory in the meantime. Also it should be noted that Ange's season was seen as a strict one off nightmare and not to be the norm for such a club. Tottenham have won just 11 points from their last ten games and lost 50% of their matches in that time. Perhaps the real worry though lies at home where only 8 points of their 22 have been won. There have been three defeats in their last five home games and with 10 goals scored only Burnley and Wolves have poorer records. To underline the clubs pain their nemesis Arsenal has scored double the amount of goals at home and they do not even have a target centre forward. The pressure is on Frank then and we have seen this situation countless times . The fear at the worst end of the spectrum is that he has the rest of the year to get it right and if poor form continues, who knows how the hierarchy will react?
Tottenham's next five fixtures could be pivotal, let's look at who they will play. First up is a home game against Liverpool and while the Reds have struggled this season they will be a dangerous outfit to play. Next Spurs travel to Crystal Palace who rarely lose at home overall and that looks like being another tough fixture. New Year's Day will see Thomas Frank returning to his old club Brentford. Now it was only recently that Tottenham eased to a home win over the Bees but one can see a sting in the tail on their travels. Sunderland at home follows and then it's another daunting trip to Bournemouth. To note just after those games it is the FA Cup and Tottenham are at home and face a very tricky test against Aston Villa. So from those league games we estimate that Frank's side could come away with 4 points, possibly five at a push and that may well spell the end for Frank. On the flip side perhaps the club will take a different route just like Manchester United and give their manager time which could be the smart choice in Frank's case.
Next Premier League manager to be sacked: Thomas Frank at 4.00
While Frank is indeed the favourite to be the next manager receiving his P45 it's important to look at the price which feels very open for now and a far way from the usual odds on pricing. Still expect that to drop if our result predictions come true.
Liverpool have been in the news which has mostly been in the form of Mohamed Salah which we covered last week. Salah was dropped for Europe but did return as a substitute at home to Brighton in a 2-0 victory at the weekend. Salah unexpectedly came on very early given that Joe Gomez had to come off injured and got a fair run out and while he didn't score he did set up one of the goals. After the game all eyes were on him largely because he now disappears over to Africa for the cup of nations tournament for a month. After the fall out it has been suggested that the Brighton game was his final one but perhaps that isn't the case. At this point in time despite football having many twists and turns it wouldn't be a huge surprise if he was to play out the remainder of the season although this is surely his last with them. The Reds have also been in the headlines for their baffling form where at times it felt like they were going for a new record as the worst reigning champions. And yet despite all the defeats and dropped points Liverpool beat Real Madrid and are the only side to have beaten Aston Villa in 11 games. On this blog a few weeks ago we declared that Liverpool's chances of defending their league title was over, but is it? This has been a curious season and if you take out Aston Villa's fantastic run every other side has struggled with real consistency. It is why 9th to 4th is separated by just four points and why two wins if you are in 15th could spiral you up to 8th. As for Liverpool they are evidently trailing league leaders Arsenal by 10 points so yes another title seems out of reach but if we consider that one side in Arsenal have been very solid and Liverpool have had a crisis then three games to get right back into the mix with 22 remaining doesn't seem at all that bad. No one is really thinking a title tilt but despite the Reds poor showing it is well possible that they will finish in a Champions League place. Despite Liverpool losing 45% of their games this season they are only 2 points shy of Champions League qualification, there we have it.
Liverpool odds:
To win the league at 26.00
To finish in the top two at 7.50
To finish in the top four at 1.57
To finish in the top five at 1.30
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