Weekend Notes: "Follow the leader(s)..."
Reacting to the EFL weekend in 5Lights, TopLines and your Letters.
Ali Maxwell
A very good morning. Temperatures in London will reach 28c today despite us being four days into meteorological autumn already. For context, that’s hotter than San Francisco, Mexico City and Addis Ababa.
I’m more of a 22c man myself. But I can’t complain about the prospect of 7 days of sun. I can, however, segué tangentially into the weekend just gone, courtesy of some pathetic fallacy: ooooof the EFL is hotting up.
Was that strung out enough?
As well as a questionably useful weather forecast, coming your way this morning are 5iveLights + Top Lines before you share your thoughts on a Middlesbrough Malaise, going Back to Blackpool, some Pomp and Ceremony and a (Forest) Green and Pleasant Land in our Letters section. Thanks this week to Matt, Fi, Will Richard and Tom Carter for their words.
In a few days’ time, we’ll have Huw Davies on the keyboard for the Midweek Fixture, asking: who’s the best club? Oh, sorry – who’s the best club at developing young talent? And then on Friday, we’ll have The Six Fix as usual.
Weekend Notes is free this week! If you’d like to read more every week, if you’d like to be part of a growing community that cares about high-quality coverage of the EFL, then please consider signing up as a paid subscriber.
Funderland. The Mackems go goal-crazy against Saints.
Andre Dozzell goes full dulce de leche. Smooth. Sweet. Indulgent.
"Caldwell" by name, "Cald-very-well" by reputation - Exeter go top!
Sutton who? Notts County put opening day behind them and lead League Two.
Mellon, baller. A subtly superb goal as Morecambe stun Salford.
Championship
Ali Maxwell
On Saturday lunchtime at a sunny Stadium of Light, it was Sunderland v Southampton: Russell Martin’s Passy Saints against Tony Mowbray’s Strikerless Wonderkids. What happened next may surprise you…
1’ - Trai Hume’s beauty of a cross curls onto the floppy-haired head of Jack Clarke to power home. 1-0.
7’ - Pierre Ekwah fizzes a low strike from range, deflected in off Downes. 2-0.
45’ - A Holgate error presents the ball to Ekwah, who unleashes hell from range. 3-0.
48’ - Bradley Dack’s header is saved well by Bazunu, but Dack’s there to tap home seconds later. Two bites of a delicious cherry. 4-0.
94’ - 16-year-old Chris Rigg is on. 19-year-old Jewison Bennette is on. Jewison Roulette might be a better name. He chucks in three consecutive roulettes to make the crowd go wild, before delivering a cross from deep that is headed home by Rigg. 5-0. And that, my friends, is about as pure as joy gets…
Those with a close eye on performances will have seen an openness to the previously unbeaten Saints in games against Norwich, Argyle and QPR, whereas Sunderland’s points and goals tally hadn’t reflected good performances to start the season. It all came home to roost in the early kick-off.
As for Saturday 3pm…
Bow down to our First International Break League Leaders: Preston North End. A sweet win at the home of Stoke City, with former Manager Alex Neil in the opposition dugout, PNE will top the table for the next 12 days or so - at least!
Brad Potts. Duane Holmes. Will Keane. Those three were involved in both goals: Potts starting attacks, Holmes providing the spark, Keane the finish. 0-0 at half time. 2-0 by the hour mark.
The recipe for early season success? Have the best defence in the division, and finish your chances when they come. Only three teams have taken fewer shots, and only two have had fewer shots on target. But eight goals in five games is more than enough when you keep the opposition to nils and ones.
North End are benefiting from having one of those windows where you add starting-quality players to a solid, settled foundation. Jack Whatmough, Duane Holmes, Mads Frökjaer-Jensen and Will Keane are all thriving, in part due to the stability already provided by a core of players who know the system. Ryan Lowe has ridden out some tough moments as North End boss and deserves to enjoy this.
Preston replace Leicester City at the top. A 0-1 defeat to Hull City ends the EFL’s last remaining 100% record. Liam Rosenior made an interesting tactical decision here: Liam Delap has started each game so far ‘through the middle’, but here Rosenior instructed him to attack the space out on the right side, with Adama Traoré holding a central position, rather than vice versa. It worked a treat. Jean Seri found Delap on the touchline with a big switch and, having cut inside, his left foot shot was deflected into the far corner off Vestergaard.
Leicester took 21 shots in total and 19 of them were off-target or blocked. From a similar position to Delap’s goal, Abdul Fatawu cut in and hit the post. Jamie Vardy headed wide. But Hull’s defenders kept their shape, made their blocks, and saw out a massive away win.
Cardiff City have now been 2-0 up at Elland Road AND Portman Road, but have one point to show for it. They looked impressive going forward against Ipswich, with vintage Aaron Ramsey™ putting them ahead and Ralls slotting home a second. And then they retreated. And the blue waves rolled in.
Broadhead cut the deficit with a thumping finish, and then it was all about Freddie Ladapo. Partly by design (his equaliser was an instinctive finish into the near post) and partly by luck (his winning goal bounced off his face), Ladapo won the game for Ipswich. 3-2, another topsy-turvy cracker at Portman Road.
Plymouth Argyle 3-0 Blackburn was always likely to be played at high tempo. It didn’t disappoint: 43 shots, the quantity and quality equally shared. Argyle had luck on their side, as Azaz’s heavily deflected strike wrong-footed Aynsley Pears for the opener. And they finished much better— Hardie sliding in for his fourth of the season, and Cundle lobbing Pears for a third. Blackburn may have used up their finishing allotment in the 8-0 win at Harrogate, as Hedges, Szmodics and Travis squandered great opportunities.
Huddersfield Town have their first win of the season, 2-1 victors at West Brom, with former Head Coach Carlos Corberán in the home dugout. Delano Burgzorg smashed home his first goal in English football, the strike too powerful for Alex Palmer.
I’d love a transcript of Neil Warnock’s reaction to West Brom’s equaliser, which came on the break following Town’s own attacking set-piece. Fruity. No matter: the Terriers made the most of some ragged West Brom defending, Jack Rudoni thumping home a half-volley. George was right to suggest Huddersfield’s performances were better than results suggested. In 20 league games since Warnock joined in February, they’ve won more than they’ve lost. They need to build on this.
One of Warnock’s former sides grabbed their first win of the season: Rotherham United 2-1 Norwich City.
Ah. Is the ‘Curse of the NTT20 Monthly Awards’ going to become a thing? Early signs suggest so. We celebrated the August performances of David Wagner, Gabriel Sara and Jon Rowe. But it’s a new month. And maybe September will be all about Rotherham United?
Dexter Lembikisa scored his first senior goal with the strike that we all dream of:
Long throw headed out to the edge of the box. Bouncing ball, begging to be hit. Throw everything at it. Connect well. Top corner. Keeper stood stock still. Reports that Lembikisa shouted ‘HAVE IT!’ as he struck the ball are unconfirmed. The Millers’ second wasn’t bad, either. Good delivery (Cafu), good movement (Hugill), good header (also Hugill). Simple and pleasing. Fassnacht pulled one back, but it was Gute Nacht for Nodge’s unbeaten start.
Andre Dozzell’s goal for Queens Park Rangers is a thing of such beauty that it almost brought me to tears on Sunday morning. Yes, I am an emotional person. And yes, the hangover plays a part. But just watch it. Thank you, Andre. Jack Colback made it back-to-back goals with a smooth connection on the half volley. QPR don’t attack often, but when they do, they look potent: Sinclair Armstrong, Paul Smyth, and Ilias Chair once again doing a lot with a little.
For Middlesbrough, I can save time by copying and pasting last week’s report. And the week before that. And the week before that. Played some decent stuff. Created a few chances. Squandered them. Looked scared and confused when defending. Lost. At some point, they will likely benefit from better finishing and stronger defending, and win football matches. But not yet.
A 2-1 win, from behind, in South Wales, made for a very lively Bristol City away end. City look very comfortable in their skin away from home. They have great pace and energy in the team, which suits a counter-attacking style. In their last two games, Mark Sykes, Sam Bell and Jason Knight in particular have been a constant threat. Sykes was the star here, with a well-taken equaliser and an assist for Bell that combined speed, skill and determination. The positives for Swansea, still waiting for their first win under Mike Duff? Charlie Patino is playing some lovely passes.
It feels like every week the Championship is chucking up games like Coventry 3-3 Watford. Great finishing, terrible defending. A debut double from Watford #9 Mileta Rajovic. A wonderful penalty save from Daniel Bachmann. A 30-yard free kick from Milan van Ewijk. A solo stunner from Matheus Martins. A comedy own-goal from Wesley Hoedt. A real hoot for the neutral.
Sheffield Wednesday have their first point of the season, picked up at Elland Road, home of Leeds United. Goalkeepers Devis Vásquez and Illan Meslier were the key contributors, both making smart saves from one-on-one situations: Rutter, Summerville and Windass denied.
Birmingham and Millwall absolutely reeked of a 1-1 draw, and if it looks like a 1-1 draw, and smells like a 1-1 draw, it’s probably a 1-1 draw. The details? A Kevin Nisbet free-kick. A Matija Šarkić penalty save from Scott Hogan. More lovely movement and finishing from Jay Stansfield. 1-1.
League One
Ali Maxwell
Exeter City are top of League One! They were the better side at Burton and won 1-0 thanks to Ryan Trevitt. The Brentford loanee added to his high-class highlights reel with a low strike from 20 yards. Exeter’s blueprint is similar to Preston in the Championship: out of possession things are just working. They are giving up so few chances. Aimson, Hartridge, Sweeney and Jules are doing a fantastic job, and when they are breached - Viljami Sinisalo is making big saves. Gary Caldwell is performing miracles. My only hope is that, if points do not continue to flow to this extent, he does not suffer from raised expectations that will be heightened because of his own excellent performances.
Bolton v Derby looked a big one on paper. On the pitch, it was highly eventful. The majority of the major incidents came down to refereeing decisions: one penalty apiece, and a red card for Joe Wildsmith for making a tremendous save… while outside of his box. Derby were likely already feeling a little hard done by, when Dacres-Cogley’s cross took a wicked nick off Tyrese Fornah and looped in to win it for Wanderers. Bolton’s season so far is basically: five strong performances and one freak defeat to Wigan. That’s looking increasingly like the exception to the rule, and they remain the team to beat in what is an incredibly humble opinion of mine.
Stevenage have made their best ever start to a Football League season after six games. They may have lost the war - in the form of the 2022/23 League Two title - to Leyton Orient, but winning this battle will have been sweet and there’s no doubt which of the two clubs looks in better shape this time around. Manchester United loanee Charlie McNeill tucked home a set piece on debut, Dan Sweeney headed home following a corner, and Nick Freeman hit a beauty in off the bar.
There was no love lost between Wellens and Evans last season, and Evans added a classic line into his post-match that he knows will rankle: "We knew we could affect it in certain areas and we did, and with possibly a little bit more care and attention, we could win by more.”
Fans of early-season quirks will be delighted to hear: following a 2-1 win at the Kassam Stadium, Port Vale have now accrued over two points per game so far, and still have a negative goal difference (-3). It’s hard to analyse a game which was so impacted by a red card for violent conduct that the camera was 50 yards away from. Even with Mark Harris, Oxford had been struggling to blow the Vale house down. Without him, Vale became the more likely - scoring from a set piece through Iacovitti, only to concede in injury time to Greg Leigh.
Somehow, there was still time for a) Greg Leigh to be sent off for a second booking. b) Port Vale to work it into the box and win a penalty thanks to a desperate lunge from Fin Stevens. v) England U20 international Alfie Devine to score the penalty to send the away end barmy.
Unbeaten before this match, questions were still being asked. Questions such as: are Portsmouth good? Are they bad? Are they somewhere in between? 0-1 down after 20 minutes to a confident, skilful, energetic Peterborough side, the questions were getting a little more forceful.
What a response. Bishop, Kamara and Poole turned it around for Portsmouth. They began to play with patience, control and quality. With some finesse, and no little speed and strength. A big win, and a performance that has to be the blueprint for this new-look Pompey under Mousinho. The only unbeaten team in League One.
Back-to-back wins have done a lot for Neill Collins and Barnsley. They beat a Cheltenham side that are still yet to score a goal this season. The first half was the best of Cheltenham’s season so far, but still they couldn’t score - Liam Roberts in the Tykes’ net had an absolute stormer. They pushed, and they pushed, and then… they were done on the break. A 4-on-1 for Barnsley, finished coolly by the league’s top scorer Devante Cole. Max Watters sealed it.
Would Charlton Athletic be playing with a new lease of life after the departure of Dean Holden? Not on this evidence - the body language and intensity looked terrible to start the game, and Jayden Stockley’s goal for Fleetwood was as simple as they come. Thankfully, a bit of quality got them going. A perfect Chem Campbell pass to match a well-time Alfie May run. 1-1. May scored the winner from the spot after Blackett-Taylor was felled, and was particularly pleased to have scored past young Stephen McMullan.
An important victory to placate a tetchy fanbase. When we next see Charlton in league action, it’ll be a new look Addicks: they should have a new manager, Miles Leaburn could be ready to start, and their four Deadline Day additions will be eligible to play.
Bad news for Scott Brown. Despite a competitive performance, this defeat saw him sacked by Fleetwood. New deal in July, sacked in early September. Despite an impressive debut campaign last season, five straight league defeats seems to have spooked those in charge.
Wycombe have racked up ten points from their last four league games after that worrying start to the campaign. Richard Keogh just wanted it more to put them 1-0 up early away at Northampton. As you’d expect, Cobblers put pressure on Wycombe for the remainder of the game, but in the main they coped. Sam Hoskins had two good chances but - unusually - didn’t take them.
That sound? That’s Tangerine relief at Bloomfield Road. Because Blackpool had dominated Wigan Athletic. They had played good stuff and scored their first goal in six games; lovely movement and an instinctive finish from the wily Jordan Rhodes, last seen at this level in 2011/12, scoring 35 goals for Huddersfield! They conceded an equaliser in the 89th minute, because of course they did. Neil Critchley would have been bracing himself for a torrent of moaning. But no! A good run from Virtue, a ball flashed across the face, and Kenny Dougall scores the winner. His brace in the Play-Off Final 2021 gave Neil Critchley his best moment in management so far. His goal here certainly buys his manager a little more breathing space.
Carlisle United have their first win of the season! They made most of the running against Shrewsbury, for whom only Daniel Udoh looked remotely threatening, but even so it took an own goal from Tom Bayliss to put them ahead. Joe Garner garnished the victory in injury time. Callum Guy celebrated his Man of the Match award with the customary fistful of penne.
Bristol Rovers and Lincoln City played out a fairly tame game and shared a goal apiece, Grant heading home a corner in injury time for the Gas after Adam Jackson had scored for Lincoln. The Imps are unbeaten since Opening Day.
League Two
Huw Davies
More than half of the matches in League Two had a binary scoreline, and I’m sorry to tell you that none of them finished 11-10. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t drama, not to mention plenty of goals elsewhere.
Notts County scored three of them as they ascended to the summit. Accrington’s Josh Andrews had cancelled out Dan ‘The Demon’ Crowley’s excellent header with one of his own, and almost scored again from a defensive lapse, before County tired of such japery and got themselves together. And, as the casting director for Home Alone 2 asked aloud, who else could it be but Macaulay? Hal Robson-Langstaff produced a gorgeous Cruyff turn and even gorgeous-er finish, then doubled his tally neatly from Matthew Palmer’s tidy through ball.
But Performance of the Week arguably went to Crewe, for their second half in the 3-1 win over MK Dons. His team trailing at half-time, Lee Bell threw on Shilow Tracey and the winger was key to a superb attacking display, full of smart link-ups, which must now be the Bell-wether for future Crewe performances. Conor Thomas produced an excellent finish, Courtney Baker-Richardson and Chris Long were rewarded for their own efforts with a goal apiece, and MK folded under the pressure.
Gillingham aren’t having things all their own way any more and lost 2-0 at Grimsby. Neil Harris won’t have liked his team conceding from a corner, but when the header is that good, there’s not much you can do – a fantastic diving, glancing flick from in front of the near post by Niall Maher, whose head bandage apparently gives him superpowers. Nor will Harris have liked Shadrach Ogie giving the ball away cheaply, allowing Gavan ‘is this definitely the right spelling?’ Holohan to wrap up the win.
For what it’s worth, though, some fans seem sick to the Gills of Neil Harris already. Did those four consecutive 1-0 wins to start the season set unlikely standards? Even allowing for game state, in defending leads, having the fewest shots in the league isn’t going to please sections of the fanbase. An interesting few weeks ahead.
Mansfield welcomed their largest crowd for nearly 20 years and played out a goalless draw against Bradford. We’ll see how many of those 8,500 come back. It wasn’t the classic we expected – even one of the game’s three shots ‘on target’ was going wide – but maybe we should’ve seen an even contest coming: Nigel Clough and Mark Hughes faced each other fourteen times as players and won six games apiece. And, more relevantly, Mansfield have Rhys Oates out for around three months (plus Stephen Quinn for the same) and are looking for out-of-contract strikers. They could stop playing Jordan Bowery in defence, perhaps. A good point for Sparky’s Bantams, anyhow.
Similar vibes in Doncaster 0-0 Swindon: the Robins hit Crawley for six last week (fair enough, Zak’s not much of a bowler), but couldn’t break down Donny here despite having an extra man for half of the game. Doncaster’s Tommy Rowe was sent off for a real foot-in-mouth moment – his foot, George McEachran’s mouth – and the red card was inevitable. So was Swindon’s winner, surely… or not. Even with a numerical advantage against bottom-of-the-league opponents, they created just 0.52 xG in the entire game. A missed opportunity for Michael Flynn & Co.
Some credit is due to Grant McCann in the other dugout, of course, though not for his comments afterwards. Rowe’s challenge was an accident but he was nonetheless apologetic and seemingly accepted his fate. His manager, however, “felt the game was ruined by the decision”, lamenting that “it was going to be a really good game”. To which referee Ed Duckworth could reasonably ask, “Eh?” and, “Did you see the first half?”
Over in South Wales, a lively 2-2 draw with Wimbledon saw Newport’s Will Evans join Swindon’s Jake Young atop the goalscoring charts. Well, chart. Why do we say scoring charts, plural? They’re generally in agreement with each other.
First, Wimbledon’s James Tilley provided a pair of precise finishes to take him to six league goals, making this the standalone highest-scoring season in his career already. It could’ve been so different if the visitors had kept the score to 2-0 at half-time, but Evans tapped home a cute Aaron Wildig cross to give Newport momentum heading into, then out of, the break. Wimbledon keeper Alex Bass, who’d wandered into No Man’s Land for the first goal, decided to keep going until he was in the enemy trenches, allowing Omar Bogle to gleefully lob him for the equaliser.
Goals aplenty in Stockport, too: three for them, three for Crawley. There aren’t many more satisfying stories of a game than 1-0, 2-0, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 3-3 – especially if you’re Crawley.
Dave Challinor will feel immensely frustrated, not least because it’s rare to concede three goals from an xG totalling half of one (however that would work). Stockport’s defending was a little slapdash, even so. For one thing, Fraser Horsfall is enough of a unit to hold his own at a defensive set-piece, instead of being held off by Laurence ‘please stop calling me Harry’s brother’ Maguire, who happens to be Harry’s brother. At least Isaac Olaofe saved a point late on, with Crawley keeper Corey Addai once again questionable.
The League Two table is still in its infancy, bawling about having to go to school, but it’s still strange to see Stockport and Salford both in the bottom eight. You watch the goals that gave Stockport a 2-0 lead and wonder how they’re down there: Louie Barry firing in a tremendous finish after good work from Nick Powell, then a delightful dink by substitute Antoni Sarcevic. A corner may soon be turned.
Things look worse at Salford, especially following a 1-0 defeat at Morecambe, where Derek Adams so enjoys bloodying rich noses. The ages of Morecambe’s starting midfield and attack were 18, 19, 19, 20, 21 and… 31. You have to ruin things, don’t you, Yann Songo’o? Pick of the bunch: 18-year-old Adam Mayor, who set up Michael Mellon and almost repeated the trick with Jordan Slew.
Mellon’s goal featured some lovely poacher’s play. Biding his time while the ball was out wide, the No.9 then made a sudden dart behind the retreating Ryan Watson and produced an exquisite finish. Nine, dart, finish. Salford enjoyed it so much that they tried to score the exact same goal later on, only for Stuart Moore to save well from Matt Smith at close range.
Loanee James Connolly, who’d arrived from Bristol Rovers only a day earlier, impressed as Morecambe kept their sheet clean. Oh, and Salford’s Matty Lund was sent off for his role in a slightly homoerotic brawl that saw Jacob Bedeau and Luke Bolton embrace as if star-crossed lovers.
Among the weekend’s other four 1-0 scorelines (ych a fi), Barrow’s win at Harrogate was settled by one moment of quality: Kian Spence’s thunderbolt. Walsall 1-0 Colchester was settled by two: Isaac Hutchinson’s long-range strike and Owen Evans’ stellar save at the other end (he then made one for the cameras, or possibly Rob Page, given that the four goalkeepers called up by Wales’ manager this week have made a single appearance between them this season). For Colchester, there’s no shame in this defeat. For Harrogate, who saw Jack Muldoon’s poor penalty effectively caught by Paul Farman, it’s a huge stroke of luck that they’ll have Luke Armstong for at least another four months.
That’s because Wrexham missed out on Armstrong’s signature, which apparently wasn’t quite completed when the Transfer Deadline Day doomsday clock hit 23:00:00. They weren’t allowed to sign Luke Arms, so the deal collapsed. It’s good news for Wrexham striker Sam Dalby; the bad news is that he’s continuing to struggle. In their 1-0 victory at Tranmere, he missed from six yards out, depriving Elliot Lee a chance to do the same – not what Phil Parkinson wanted, after whatever paperwork paper jam meant that Dalby’s replacement remains a Harrogate player.
But Wrexham had 17 corners and were always going to score from one of them. Aaron Hayden’s drive-by header secured the win and his 20th goal for Wrexham, in just over two years and only 79 appearances. That’s a one-in-four record for the defender, who has eight goals in his last 15 league games either side of promotion. Silly numbers. Tranmere weren’t good, yet nearly stole a point at the end from a sneaky low corner.
And do we have permission to worry about Sutton? That’s five straight defeats since their opening-day blitzing of Notts County. Harvey Bunkey’s winner for visiting Forest Green owed a lot to Sutton goalkeeper Jack Rose going down slower than the Titanic, but it’s an important win for FGR, whose seven points have all come on the road. Sadly, they’ve a run of home games coming up. Now’s the time to make a fortress of… Nailsworth. It could happen.
Middlesbrough Malaise (Matt)
Feeling pretty dismal as a Boro fan tonight. Just seems as though there are so many parallels with the start of last season under Wilder - we look alright in games, concede first (absolute thunderbolt from the QPR lad today), miss a host of chances and lose. Surely we'll start scoring from these chances soon, so not so worried about that going forward. But the defending in transition really worries me - teams just seem to walk through our midfield, and also get so much joy in the channels behind our fullbacks. Lots of soul-searching tonight! Good result for QPR who looked limited but organised
Back to Blackpool (Fi)
That’s the Neil Critchley football that we’ve been waiting for. Best 90 minutes of the season so far from The Seasiders. CJ Hamilton absolutely tore Wigan apart, Jordan Rhodes (guarantees goals dontcha know) has football intelligence that’s a class above. And Jimmy Husband remains player of the season so far. Much needed positivity going into a two week break.
Pomp and Ceremony (Will Richards)
After two 0-0 draws in a row and middling performances all season so far, Mousinho felt under a little bit of pressure at 1-0 down at home to Posh today. To come back and win 3-1 felt quite big, and the second half performance was our best showing in ages - maybe of the whole Mous era - led by the immense Regan Poole. Christian Saydee is already a firm fan favourite too, just so strong in holding off challenges and bringing others into play. Things are looking up, especially if Joe Morrell can change his all-too-familiar habit of picking up silly second yellows.
A green and pleasant land (Tom Carter)
Feeling pretty good. I think a few pundits have been a little harsh on FGR so far. Most games have been close - but we're starting to see more cohesion amongst the squad. I think with the late business, there's not many squads in L2 more capable than FGR. Once the likes of Dabo, Garrick, Lavinier, Jones are back from injury, we'll be a powerful side. Deeney & Taylor are getting more minutes each week, convinced they'll score goals once match sharp. Inniss & Welch have formed a solid partnership, Daniels is the exact GK we've been missing in recent years.
Thanks for reading, and… Go well!