Arsenal
Compare and contrast: while Manchester United continue to make a mountain out of their post-Fergie transition, ours has been a molehill, so far. It’s been refreshing: fans are actually feeling enthusiastic again. The concern now is whether Emery can maintain the high-energy approach: our defensive issues will become more and more exposed if the squad begins to run out of steam. 8/10
Stars/flops Torreira’s infectious garra charrúa intensity and Guendouzi’s fearless zest have made the difference. Emery is still refusing to bend to anyone who fails to buy into his vision – so will that coax Özil and Ramsey out of their insouciant comfort zones, or are they both just marking time until they leave?
Happy with the manager? We’re very satisfied – despite being forced to wait until the second half to see our most effective XI, and despite a dearth of clean sheets. His lineups so far have been dictated by our porous rearguard, so we can’t truly judge him until he’s had a couple of transfer windows. 8/10
Favourite moment of the 2018 calendar year Either our euphoric derby comeback at the start of the month, the showpiece of Arsène’s last home game, or le Prof’s poignant curtain call at Huddersfield. A heady mix of hugely conflicting emotions.
Bernard Azulay GoonersDiary.co.uk @GoonerN5
Bournemouth
It’s been refreshing to be nearer the top than the bottom of the table. Apart from the defeats to Burnley and Newcastle, we really haven’t got much to complain about. A more than solid 8/10.
Stars/flops David Brooks has been the undoubted star. He really shouldn’t be that good at the age of 21 – he’s been such a positive influence on the way we’re performing. Also key to the success have been Ryan Fraser, Jefferson Lerma and Callum Wilson. On the negative side, Jordon Ibe has been left out of the team – it’s about time he had something to contribute.
Happy with the manager? Eddie has really moved the performances on this season and his recruitment has been good. It is only the games against the top six that he has to get better at. 7/10
Moment of 2018 It’s hard to look past that 3-0 away win at Chelsea in January at the start of the year. We weren’t in a good place in the table but that performance proved to the players they could pick up points in any game when they put everything together. Wilson, Josh King and Junior Stanislas were just on fire that day and Chelsea were blown away. It was also a bit of revenge for being knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the quarter-finals.
Peter Bell AFCBChimes.blogspot.co.uk @CherryChimes.co.uk
Brighton
After a tricky start – especially the awful opening-day defeat at Watford – we’re in a pretty good place. Chris Hughton gave the summer signings time to settle in but now they are making their mark. Chelsea were lucky to hold on to win last Sunday while Florin Andone’s goal against Crystal Palace has to be a contender for goal of the season. 8/10
Stars/flops Andone is a strong and fast back-up to Glenn Murray; Bernardo was outstanding against Chelsea; Yves Bissouma runs rings round opponents, and Martin Montoya and Leon Balogun are rocks. The jury’s still out on Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who was starting to look promising when he got injured. Solly March continues to divide opinion but when he’s on form is a delight to watch while Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy are monsters. Flops? None – though it wouldn’t be a surprise if Jürgen Locadia left in January.
Happy with the manager? He has worked wonders, maintained constant progression and created a tremendous atmosphere in the squad. And he really is the nicest man in football. 9/10
Moment of 2018 Watching Palace being taken apart at the Amex was hilarious. Even Zaha and his theatrics couldn’t stop us. But the best moment has to be the 1-0 win over Man United in early May that meant we stayed up – beautiful.
Steph Fincham Observer reader
Burnley
Given we finished seventh last season, it’s been a disappointment so far – but there have been signs of improvement. It’s not difficult to see what our problem is – just look at the goals against column. We’ve conceded as many this season as we did in the first 36 games last season. We need to get back to being Burnley and making it difficult for opponents. 5/10
Stars/flops There haven’t been any stars, really – though it would be very difficult to criticise Joe Hart despite the number of goals he has conceded. Charlie Taylor is also beginning to establish himself at this level. But others have been way off form – Jack Cork and Chris Wood haven’t reached anything like the levels they did last season.
Happy with the manager? Incredibly there have been some dissenting voices, despite the fact he’s taken us up twice, kept us up twice and taken us into Europe. He’s not getting the 10 out of 10 he’s had in the past but he’s still worth a 7/10. I’m sure he’ll improve on that.
Moment of 2018 For me, Thursday 23 August, when we played our away leg against Olympiakos. I saw the home games in European competition in the 1960s and I’d been to Aberdeen four weeks earlier, but to see us playing away in Europe was something very special – something I’ll always remember.
Tony Scholes UpTheClarets.com @UTCdotcom
Cardiff
The fact that we’re guaranteed not to be bottom at Christmas is a position most Cardiff fans would have taken back in August. Our away form has been disappointing, but the atmosphere at home games has been immense. 7/10
Stars/flops Makeshift striker Callum Paterson is becoming a proper cult hero. He’s all action, looks bad-ass and just loves it. I don’t think he can believe how well he’s doing and the love he’s getting from the stands is crazy. Elsewhere, Victor Camarasa delivers consistent quality, but Ken Zohore, who was expected to be our main threat, has offered nothing. Then there’s Gary Madine. He hasn’t had many chances – but a £6m player should be kicking the manager’s door down to get a start.
Happy with the manager? Overall, yes. Warnock isn’t perfect – he starts away games set up with little hope of winning – but he’s performed a miracle so far to get us where we are and he’ll be our best manager ever if we stay up. Based on the season so far it can only be 7/10, but if we survive, it’ll be a maximum score.
Moment of 2018 When centre-back Sean Morrison ran the length of the field at Hull to score Cardiff’s second in April and all but seal promotion. One of the best feelings I’ve ever had walking away from an away game. We were going up.
Michael Morris CardiffCity-mad.co.uk @cardiffcitymad
Chelsea
It’s a 7.5/10 so far – a half point deducted for that performance at Wembley last month. Expectations were up in the air at the start of the season, given another managerial change and the way things were left at the end of last term. But between his smoke breaks, Sarri has conveyed plenty of good ideas, and the players have adapted. To get through all competitions without a defeat until the end of November is impressive – and we’ll learn from that Leicester result. A cup run and a top-four finish will feel like job done.
Stars/flops Eden Hazard has played a part in nearly 60% of all our goals, and has already notched up more goals and assists than in the whole of last season. As for flops – Álvaro Morata may score more than Olivier Giroud, but doesn’t appear to contribute as much to the team as a whole. He could be heading to the end of his time in London – but will anyone notice when he goes?
Happy with the manager? Smoky Joe’s making sweeping changes in style, so we should know more by the end of this season if he has the players and the tactical nous to really pull it off. 7/10
Moment of 2018 N’Golo Kanté accepting a fan’s invitation for dinner. Oh, and the joy on his face when he was out riding a bicycle with the French team in the summer. The nicest man in football.
Trizia Fiorellino ChelseaSupportersGroup.net
Crystal Palace
Apart from a couple of real low moments, we haven’t played that badly this season – but the stats don’t lie. That result at City was stunning, but otherwise we’ve had just a handful of wins, while defeats to sides such as Southampton, Brighton, Wolves and Watford just aren’t acceptable for a club with such a high wage bill. 5/10
Stars/flops Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been outstanding: he tops virtually every defensive stat category. It’s remarkable to think he’s just 21 and has made only 23 league appearances. The flops have been up front. Signing Jordan Ayew on loan really hasn’t worked out – he should definitely be sent back to Swansea – while Alexander Sørloth looks out of his depth.
Happy with the manager? With the players we have we should be higher. Hodgson’s inflexibility over his subs has melted, but that softening has too often been replaced with a rigid 4-4-2 formation featuring no strikers. It’s no coincidence that we shone at City when he switched to a 4-5-1. 5/10
Moment of 2018 Besides the Etihad, of course, a personal one: I was lucky enough to be at England’s World Cup quarter-final against Sweden. The way the team dominated made it a stress-free, properly joyful experience.
Chris Waters PalaceTrust.org.uk @Clapham_Grand
Everton
Compared with last season’s dross, Marco Silva’s brand of football has been a proper breath of fresh air. The tactical approach, together with the sound recruitment strategy overseen by Marcel Brands, means the club really is moving forward now. We’re not the finished article by any means, but at least we now have some momentum – and we have an identity again. 7/10
Stars/flops Richarlison has been a huge factor in what we’ve achieved so far – but the outstanding talent for me is André Gomes, on loan from Barcelona. He’s so cool under pressure, has two great feet and fantastic vision to pick out a pass. Signing him on a permanent basis would be a huge statement of intent.
Happy with the manager? He’s overseen a rapid and, so far, successful transition to a new attacking playing style – so it’s a case of so far, so good. The positive way the players seem to have responded to his ideas and philosophy says a lot about his quality as a manager. It’ll be interesting to see what he manages to achieve, with Brands, in the transfer window – we do need another option up front. 7/10
Moment of 2018 Richarlison doing the pigeon dance when he scores.
Steve Jones @BlueKippercom
Fulham
Am I pleased? Not exactly. 2/10
Stars/flops It’s fair to say that the latter have outweighed the former. Our summer spree left us with a group of individuals, not a team. Calum Chambers has blossomed in his new defensive midfield role, Ryan Sessegnon continues to impress, Tom Cairney has his moments and Big Mitro will score if given service. At the other end, Sergio Rico has done well behind a porous back line – but otherwise the list of flops is, alas, a lengthy one. A couple of decent results could still change things, though.
Happy with the manager? It’ll have to be a 6/10 for now, while we see how things develop. We remain extremely grateful to Slavisa Jokanovic for steering us to promotion, and very upset that he was sacked – but something probably did have to give. Only time will tell if Claudio Ranieri can get us out of this mess.
Moment of 2018 Our play-off win at Wembley. The explosion of noise from the “white wall” at the end was extraordinary. That glorious feeling of total unity and solidarity doesn’t come around too often – and, as we’ve seen since, is all too easy to squander. Oh, and a personal moment for me – the publication of There’s Only One F In Fulham, a book on our rollercoaster journey over the last 30 years!
David Lloyd Toofif.co.uk
Huddersfield
Our season so far has to be viewed through a prism of overachievement – we really are punching above our weight to be in this division at all. However, there is still a slight air of frustration as our performances haven’t brought the points they should have done – and that’s mainly down to poor finishing. 6/10
Stars/flops Aaron Mooy has been the undoubted star – he’s really been taking his performances to the next level. Unfortunately he’s now heading off with Australia for the Asia Cup which could have a big negative impact on our performances. The biggest flop for me has been Steve Mounié, who’s been busy aiming to beat Ade Akinbiyi’s goal drought record of 1,500 minutes. Mounié has more red cards than goals this season – appalling for a striker.
Happy with the manager? By and large Wagner has done well, though there are questions over his game management. His negativity cost us points in home games against Cardiff and Brighton. He must do more to get us scoring. 6/10
Moment of 2018 Was hearing the former Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal describing how he built a team on a shoestring budget at Hillsborough. It actually made me laugh out loud. If £40m is a shoestring budget in the Championship then I’m a unicorn.
John McNamara TerrierBlog.co.uk @TerrierBlog
