Bulut fired, Bolton firing, a bit on biting in PNE vs Blackburn, plus Matt Watts on Pèlach and Walters.
Bulut fired, Bolton firing, a bit on biting in PNE vs Blackburn, plus Matt Watts on Pèlach and Walters.
23 September 2024 | Weekend Notes brings you the biggest stories, stats and insights from the EFL weekend.
● BIG STORIES ● CHEAT SHEET ● 5IVELIGHTS ● THE VIEW FROM ● FANTASY FOOTBALL ● WATCHING BRIEF ●
Assumption is the mother of all…
…You know the rest. This weekend feels like the first of the season where some clubs with wayward early form were able to dig in and lift off from the footholes. It’s been too early to assume too much. The pendulum is swinging and there’s plenty of time for momentum to build — we haven’t even had a mid-week league fixture yet!
Huge thanks to Ali, Matt and Huw for doing the legwork on this latest episode of Weekend Notes.
🚨 Big Stories
A selection of decisive moments from across the EFL.
🔫 Bulut fired — When you’re in the Last Chance Saloon with Leeds inviting you to a duel, the last thing you need is an early red card. Joel Bagan’s 23rd-minute dismissal made Cardiff’s 2-0 defeat as inevitable as Erol Bulut’s own dismissal in the aftermath, his Bluebirds having taken just three shots while the gaffer drew supporters’ ire for remaining seated during a minute’s applause for Cardiff and Leeds hero Sol Bamba, who passed away recently. Bulut’s been fired – time to reload the chamber.
⛹️♂️ Bolton bounce back — A much-needed win came by the kind of margin that should bring some renewed confidence to Bolton, who hadn’t scored in their three League One home games before this. With Dion Charles scoring a hat-trick in a first-half blitz that took the game away from Reading, it ended 5-2: the same result as the last time Bolton played the Royals.
🎆 Ooohs and ahhs for O’s — Leyton Orient have won back-to-back games for the first time since February, courtesy of an impressive 4-1 victory away at Stockport County. Their hosts had won their last seven league games at Edgeley Park, keeping a clean sheet in six of them – this was very much not that.
🃏 The game’s Rigged — Sunderland saw off Middlesbrough 1-0 in the Tees-Wear Derby thanks to the smoothest of finishes from their teenage heart-throb, Chris Rigg. It means they’ve made their best-ever start to a second-tier campaign, while stuttering Boro were once again left to rue missed chances: Tommy Conway’s unmarked close-range header against the crossbar was just the latest reason they’ve scored only 6 goals from 11 xG this season.
🔝 Barrow lead League Two — It may be too early for league tables — just ask George — but Barrow have quietly, tidily made the early running. In their latest victory, they eased past Newport in a 2-0 win where, once again, centre-back Theo Vassell found the net. Some start he’s having: that’s three for the season already.
🐍 Manning drives the snakes out of Bristol — Many an inflatable snake was joyfully waved in the away end when Ruben Rodrigues gave Oxford the lead at Liam Manning’s Bristol City – but the U’s ex had the last laugh, as his side came back to win 2-1. The key moment? Oxford’s Mark Harris, scorer of 4 goals from 1.26 xG this season, chalking one up for variance by missing a 0.94 xG chance at 1-0, only for Sinclair Armstrong to equalise a minute later. In subsequently conceding the penalty for Bristol City’s winner, Harris compounded his misery and Manning’s relief.
🖼️ Four in a row for CreWWWWe — A fourth consecutive league win for Alex has made the picture look a lot prettier than it was. In their latest victory, over Harrogate, Jack Lankester nabbed a goal and an assist in a single game for the first time in his career.
🍽️ Handbags and small plates at Preston — In a derby between Preston and Blackburn that lacked quality, an ill-tempered affair descended into a smorgasbord of red and yellow. Nine bookings shared. Two reds given. One bite taken. A chunky fine awaits?
📊 Monday Morning Cheat Sheet
From the WhatsApp group to the watercooler: stats to keep you ahead of the game.
🟩 The EFL’s unbeaten teams: WBA, Sheffield United, Blackburn, Birmingham.
🟥 The EFL’s winless teams: Cardiff, Portsmouth, Burton, Cambridge, Accrington, Morecambe (who play Fleetwood on Monday night)
💾 Binary Babes — teams yet to concede more than one goal in a league game: WBA, Burnley, Swansea, Barrow, Chesterfield, Gillingham, Walsall.
🥇 Ahead Again — Sunderland are the only team in the EFL to have scored first in every league game.
👃 Bogey Team: Swansea are unbeaten in 18 games against Coventry, who last beat them in 1981.
🥅 BTTS Beauties: QPR are the only side to have scored and conceded in each of their games in the Championship this season.
🧶 Like a fine Twine: Bristol City’s Scott Twine created seven chances against Oxford, taking him to 16 for the season – no player has created more in the Championship in 2024/25 without registering an assist (16).
▶️ Not Off The Mark: Mark Robinson is winless in his last 26 EFL league matches as a head coach, straddling spells with Wimbledon and Burton Albion.
⚠️ Burgled: Nathan Jones suffered his first home league defeat in charge of Charlton, thanks to Steve Bruce’s bouncing Tangerines smashing and then grabbing.
🎯 On Target: Colchester have taken 44 shots on target – 7 more than any other club in the EFL.
💤 Tired legs, late losses: Port Vale’s two late goals mean Accrington have now conceded six goals in the last 15 minutes of games, scoring none in that period.
⏱️ Late risers caught napping — Since keeping a clean sheet against Stoke on August 17, Watford have played four league matches and conceded in the first five minutes of all of them (Derby on 2’, Sheffield United on 2’, Coventry on 4’ and now Norwich on 3’).
🎦 5ivelights
In no particular order, a collection of our favourite goals or clips from across the 72.
A special place in Helik… oh dear.
Score once, celebrate twice — Ramazani scores and Gnonto flips out.
For a second week running, Barry Bannan bangs one home with top technique.
Hamer and Tongs — Gustavo bags his fourth of the season from range.
Super-sub Sarmiento strikes an equaliser.
The View From…
It was a night of firsts at the Bet 365 Stadium. Narcís Pèlach’s first game in charge of Stoke became Tim Walter’s first win in charge of Hull.
The first half belonged to Pèlach and the Potters. A goal to the good thanks to a Ben Wilmot header, Stoke dominated the opening 45 minutes. If the impressive Million Manhoef had been a bit more clinical in the final third, the home side could have been two or three up at the break.
However, an inspired change from Walter flipped the game on its head. The half-time introduction of Liam Millar and the increased influence of Kasey Palmer made Hull a different proposition entirely. All of a sudden, the left-hand side of the Tigers’ attack was positively purring: the visitors went from being 1-0 down after 62 minutes to 3-1 up after 79 minutes. Had Chicho’s charges been mauled by the Tigers? To some extent, yes. They had been put under significant pressure, but their capitulation after conceding the first goal will have no doubt alarmed their new boss.
At the sixth time of asking, Walter had his first win. Five Championship clubs began the season with new men in the dugout; four were in the Championship last time out. Prior to the weekend, Sunderland, Norwich, Hull and Plymouth had six wins from 20 league games between them – and four of those victories belonged to Sunderland. Régis Le Bris, Johannes Hoff Thorup and Tim Walter have all had to cope with losing key players, as well as adapting to English football and the beast that is the Championship. Wayne Rooney is no stranger to England’s second tier but his time at Birmingham was nothing short of disastrous, and he was facing up to life at Plymouth without the talismanic Michael Cooper between the sticks.
In terms of upheaval, though, no one had experienced more than Walter. Over the summer, 23 players left Humberside and 16 came in. Hull had seen their top eight goal scorers from the 2023/24 season, who scored 57 goals in all competitions between them, all leave the building. Of the 16 new faces, only seven of them had any real Championship experience. Tasked with playing more exciting football than Liam Rosenior while also picking up a similar number of points, Walter’s new-look Tigers started the season slowly – and that’s hardly surprising.
Narcís Pèlach will, too, have to wait for his first victory. While the timing and circumstances may be different, ‘Chicho’ will also have to adapt to a new club and get his ideas across to a different set of players, while picking up points in this brute of a division.
If Rome wasn’t built in a day, why should Hull or Stoke be any different?
🏆 Fantasy Football
Go head-to-head against team NTT20 in our EFL Fantasy Football league
We’ve struggled to put a marker down this season. The managerial chop and change is no excuse. This week, Sam’s gone at it like this: pick a player under 0.1% ownership* (Harry Souttar – how?) and build the rest around in-form teams and players. It can be a simple game.
*as per self-imposed NTT20 rules
Finally, a haul that puts us right up there for the game week total: fifth overall, no less! There’s a long climb ahead. But we’re going to have a good crack at it. Well done to When Jattaday Comes for most points this week, and to the NTT20 League Leader, Red Bull Molivia.
📺 Watching Brief
Upcoming live EFL games
Monday 23 September 2024
20:00 Fleetwood vs Morecambe
Friday 27 September 2024
20:00 Plymouth Argyle vs Luton
Saturday 28 September 2024
12:30 Blackburn vs QPR
12:30 Crawley vs Bolton
12:30 Derby vs Norwich
12:30 Harrogate vs Bradford City
12:30 Reading vs Huddersfield
12:30 Sheffield Wednesday vs West Bromwich Albion
12:30 Walsall vs Colchester United
19:45 Barnsley vs Stockport
Sun 29 September 2024
15:00 Swansea vs Bristol City