Wait? What Winter Break?!
Apparently, there is some kind of "Winter Break" going on in the Premier League? When did that happen? So, the matches in the top division are rather thin on the ground this weekend. Fortunately, there is a full slate of Championship matches happening (no Winter Break there, ha!), including a crucial one for my beloved Leeds United who travel to Forest at 12:30pm EST.
Before then, the Premiership undercard is Everton v. Palace at 7:30am. Join me for all the action today.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 7:20 AM
239 Comments:
Good Morning, Bob. How was your week? Here to join you for the first of two weekends of a thin schedule
The teams out on the pitch as the Zed Cars theme is being played then poor form by NBC going straight to commercials
They're off from a sunny Goodison Park
Morning, MUR - thanks for joining me. Here are the teams on offer this morning.
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne, Walcott, Sigurdsson, Schneiderlin, Bernard, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Subs: Holgate, Baines, Iwobi, Sidibe, Stekelenburg, Davies, Kean.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Tomkins, Cahill, van Aanholt, Ayew, McCarthy, Milivojevic, McArthur, Zaha, Benteke.
Subs: Dann, Meyer, Kouyate, Townsend, Hennessey, Mitchell, Riedewald.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire)
The early Championship match is a Lancashire Derby from the DW as Wigan hosts Preston. Preston will go 6th above Bristol City on goal difference with a win since Bristol City lost 1-3 to Brum yesterday
Cheers, Bob. Glad to enjoy the pleasure of your company
So how did the league pick these four unfortunate teams to play this weekend while the other twelve are enjoying the sunny Costa Brava?
Still smarting from that Wigan win at Elland Road last weekend. I don't really fear either PNE or Bristol City at this point. Forest and Fulham are real threats, though. I wish we still had that ten point pad.
There are two matches tomorrow , so these eight will be on break next weekend . The other half dozen play next weekend with one match Friday, two Saturday, two Sunday, and Chelsea vs United on President's Day. Back to normal in a fortnight
A win at Forest will be a perfect opportunity to widen that gap.
A bit nasty there from McCarthy, diving in on Digne.
If that wasn't McCarthyism then I don't know what is. Lucky not to be sent off for Digne in on that Toffees player
Thanks for the explanation, mate. How's your week been?
The short version of my explanation is that every Prem team is getting a weekend off. it will either be this weekend or next weekend then back to normal in a fortnight
Your welcome . It's been a fairly normal week. My father-in-law keeps us busy , but not as busy as when I was teaching. How was your week?
Preston takes the lead at the DW
Oh - off the post from Van Aanolt.
PVA with a deflected shot off the outside of the post for a second consecutive corner
That doesn't help us at all. PNE are now on 50 points, only five behind us in second. We really need a win against Forest today and definitely can't afford a loss. I'd take four points from the next two away games with Forest and Brentford on Tuesday night.
Play stops as there was a clash of heads between Rich Arlison and Andy Ayew on the Rich N Andy Show. Play resumes as the show must go on.
We still haven't seen our two new Leeds boys yet. I'm hoping that the boss plays Kevin-Jean Augustin, our new loanee from Leipzig, alongside Patrick Bamford today. The more firepower, the better.
GOAL! Lovely strike from Bernard after a great cross from Theo.
1-0 Toffees!
GOAL ! A ST. BERNARD GIVES THE TOFFEES THE LEAD
Siggy played Theo down the right and he put in a great cross that resulted in a fantastic in the upper 90 by the St. Bernard
Now Theo down injured just minutes after assisting with that fantastic cross.
Agreed, Bob. Leeds will need to be at their best at Forest today and will need to be firing on all cylinders today
Just a reminder that there is a big match in the Championship tomorrow as the Evil Lions host the Baggies. I'm sure you will be reluctantly rooting for the Evil Lions tomorrow.
Theo is off injured and has yet to be substituted , so the Toffees are temporarily playing with ten men
Sidibe is on for the injured Theo , so it's back to 11 vs 11.
I'll have to be a temporary Millwall fan, yes.
Shame - Theo was looking sharp for a change today.
The pressure from Everton is practically relentless at this stage, with their visitors severely under the cosh. Palace are not playing with any kind of urgency and are doing little more than hanging, trying to weather the storm at the moment.
Agreed, Bob. I think they will take 1-0 at the half and then make adjustments. . As long as it's 1-0 they will feel they are still in this match.
Prior to this match they mentioned that the Toffees have the second best record in the Prem since Ancelotti took over and that Palace have the worst record during the same matches
Roy Hodgson is a good manager for re-organizing a side during a match. He's a steady hand, which is why he's lasted so long in the job.
Crystal Palace have improved a bit in recent minutes, but still don’t look like scoring.
Zaha goes down in the box under the challenge from Pickford. And again! VAR to check those now.
I'm off to fix my brekkies ahead of the break.
It would have been harsh on the Toffees as Zaha went down easily. No Penalty given, which was the right decision.
Cheers, mate.. Enjoy and look forward to chatting during the second half.
A trio of stoppage time minutes
The Toffees are deservedly one up at the half and it really could have been much more.
Peep! A fairly forgettable half is put out of its misery, the only moments of quality having been Bernard’s sweet volley on 18 minutes and Everton substitute Djibril Sidibe having to return to the dressing room because he had forgotten to put on one of his socks.
Everton get us underway at Goodison for the second half.
The contest between Wilfried Zaha and Seamus Coleman seems key to this second half.
I'm back for the second half. Just fed Sunshine and will walk Sparky at the end of this match
GOAL! Benteke (yes, Benteke!) equalizes for Palace!
GOAL !!! BA COLLECTOR'S ITEM AS BENETEKE SCORES A RARE GOAL TO TIE IT UP.
Dear oh dear - that's a real howler from Pickford. Let the ball run under his body. Let's hope he doesn't do that in an England shirt this summer.
A long goal kick from Pickford was cleared back on and Benteke headed it on to Zaha , who played through Beneteke . Poor by Pickford as he allowed a soft shot from Beneteke to go through his legs
It was Palace's first shot on target and Beneteke had scored once in his last 38 matches. It's not a return to Goodison for Beneteke, but it's a return to Merseyside, so he will be delighted
Preston now two up at the DW
GOAL !!! RICH ARLISON GIVES THE TOFFEES A 2-1 LEAD AFTER BEING UNDER THE COSH. A LONG CLEARANCE WAS HEADED ON BY CALVERT-LEWIN AND RICH ARLISON SCORED WITH A WELL PLACED SHOT PAST GUAITA.
Uncle Woy and his Palace players will be reeling after a whipped in corner bounced off Beneteke's chest and came off the bar from about two yards out a minute before the Toffees scored. either side could have had a 2-1 lead
OH!!! Desmond nearly made an entrance as a close range header from Beneteke was pushed away by Pickford
Richarlison hushes up his critics in the Everton faithful with that strike.
Looks like PNE have it in the bag.
Josh Windass gives Not a Big Club the lead at Barnsley. Bob will not be pleased.
Beneteke will be regretting his two misses as Palace could have easily been leading.
Oh - Siggy is nearly in there again. Well stopped.
Not pleased one bit. They need to stop.
OH!!! a fantastic acrobatic save by Guaita from Siggy as he showed great foot work to get past several players off a pass from Rich Arlison
Tom Davies on for St,Bernard , who is dog walked off the pitch after scoring in the first half
A sad end to the match for Bernard then. He scored a corker early on and is now subbed for Davies.
Wigan has pulled it back to 1-2 vs Preston.
It looks as if we got about a foot and a half of the white stuff overnight so I'll be shoveling after this match. Might take me an hour or so to clear it.
Wahay! Nice one, Wigan. Let's have another one.
Uncle Woy, like a lot of people in the 50s , has had more than enough of McCarthyism , and makes an attacking switch as Max Meyer is on for him
Bob will be pleased that Barnsley has tied it up vs Not a Big Club
Nice historical reference, mate!
That's marvelous news - well done, Barnsley!
Let's have a Wigan equalizer now, too.
The Coyote is on for Joe Ward as Uncle Woy feels that's the best way to lure Desmond
Cheers, Bob. Thought you would like that political statement
Benteke with another chance there. Should have put it on target.
Ancelotti shutting up shop, as Mason Holgate is on for Siggy as he aims to close out the 2-1 lead
GOAL !!!! THE TOFFEES HAS A HEADER FROM A CORNER CRASH OFF THE BAR AND CALVERT-LEWIN EASILY TAPS IN THE REBOUND
Just over by Calvert-Lewin from the edge of the box
It must have taken a deflection as it's a Toffees corner
A trio of stoppage time minutes as Jerry Minor heads well wide from the corner
OH!!!! Guaita does well, to parry away shot from Rich Arlison from just outside the box then from the same position as the tap in Calvert-Lewin blasts well over
It's 1-1 at the half between Barnsley and Not a Big Club
The Toffees have defeated Palace 3-1
That's it - Ancelotti has won another one for Everton and they're now well ensconced in the top half. Palace remain marooned on 30 points, only six above the drop zone. They'll probably be safe under Woy but they'll have to sweat.
I'm off to do some digging duty. Wish me luck!
The next match is not until 11:30 due to the unusual schedule. The only action at 10 will be on Soccer Saturday
Good luck, mate. Off to walk Sparky before the late one at 12:30 P.M.
Thanks, mate - I'm back for a check on the scores. Brentford are 1-0 up over Boro.
Stoke are 1-0 up over Charlton.
And Derby are 0-1 up away to Swansea.
Brentford now in third, and only two points shy of us in second. That can not stand.
Agreed, Bob. It's important for Leeds to get a result today.
Into the second half now. Blackburn still holding Fulham to 0-0. Brentford still 1-0 up. Derby still 0-1 up. and Stoke now 2-1 up over Charlton.
Brentford have been pegged back to 2-2 now.
Sadly, Fulham are now 0-1 up.
Well, it hasn't been a good day of results for Leeds.
PNE have run out 1-2 winners.
Fulham have ended 0-1 winners.
Brentford have squeaked out a 3-2 win over Boro
It all puts pressure on us to do well today. Come on, you Leeds!
So, here's the line-up for today's match:
Kiko, Ayling, White, Coop, Stu Dallas, Ali, Klich, Harrison, Helder, Pablo, Patrick.
Subs - Meslier, Struijk, Shackleton, Berardi, Stevens, Roberts, Augustin.
So, no changes to the starting XI, despite the protestations of former legend Danny Mills on Twitter this week. But Jean-Kevin Augustin is named to the bench. No room for new boy Ian Poveda.
Still waiting for the coverage to start on the Plus.
Blimey - we're only hanging on to second place now on goal difference from Fulham.
Teams in the tunnel now.
Not sure why we couldn't have worn our traditional white today - we're in light blue instead. Forest in their usual red clobber. And we're ready to go.
Patrick gets us started. I'm hoping for a quick start.
I'm back from a trip to the bog and ready for the bog match from the City Ground
That Alioski battle with Joe Lolley will be an important one today.
Welcome back, mate!
I agree. No reason not to wear all white. That's and odd decision.
Ceers, Bob.
COME ON LEEDS! MOT!
Oh - Stu had a chance to whip one in but he overcooked it.
Slow start to this one, with both sides feeling each other out.
Lolley ran the ball out but for some reason the lineman missed it.
Oh - Helder nearly played the ball in nicely to Patrick. He might have given that a welly though.
We're playing some good stuff now, while Forest are just lumping it around.
Both sides with very similar playing styles basically cancelling each other out
Silva has a go from distance but Kiko does well to collect on the bounce.
Long range effort from Thiago Silva straight to Casilla.
Ali with a lunge on Matty Cash, but escapes a booking
Forest have a corner now. Mark 'em up!
Forest appeal for a penalty. Nothing doing.
And then Kiko produces a fine save to turn a shot around.
Casilla does well to turn around a long range effort from Thiago Silva after a corner was cleared. Casilla punches away the next corner
Kiko punches the corner away and we break again.
ON NBC is the Seagulls vs the Hornets in a key relegation six Pointer in the Prem . Still 0-0
Ali goes in again and the ref is giving him a bollocking now.
There's a nice cut and thrust now to the match. Come on!
Pablo is caught late and it sets up a nice chance to swing in a free kick now.
Decent cross over there from Harrison but it's cleared out.
At present, we're tied for first on points with just one goal between us and WBA. Of course the Baggies play Millwall tomorrow.
GOAL !!! DOUCOURRE GIVES THE HORNETS THE LEAD AT THE SEAGULLS IN THAT KEY RELEGATION SIX POINTER. AARON MOOY LOST THE BALL TO CAPOUE AROUND THE HALFWAY LINE, THEN DOUCOURRE WENT ON A LONG SOLO RUN BEFORE SCORING A CURLER IN THE UPPER 90 FROM THE EDGE OF THE BOX
So far Gianni has done a nice job shutting down the dangerous Lolley.
The Hornets move out of the drop zone, and are replaced by Villa. The South Coast Clubs Seagulls and Cherries are ahead of the Hornets on goal difference and all are one point ahead of Villa , who are in the last drop zone spot
Helder and Pablo combine to win us a corner as Lolley is struggling now.
Figuereiro is winning all the headers in the middle. Not sure that long crosses are going to work for us today.
Oh - great cross over but for some reason Patrick elected to nod down rather than at goal. Should have been 0-1.
Oh - another great move there ending with Ali shooting just wide.
Just wide by Ali from just outside the box on Leeds best attack of the match. Leeds have a corner as it must have taken a deflection. Ali well wide off the corner
The corner comes in and it's popped out from the keeper to Ali who balloons it well over.
Half an hour in and I'm reasonably pleased with the way that we're playing, patiently building it from the back. We just need a killer touch up front.
BUGGER! FOREST TAKE THE LEAD . SORRY, BOB
Bollocks! Forest take the lead through Sami Ameobi, beating Kiko at the near post.
The dangerous Ribeiro put through Sammy Ameobi , who beat Casilla at his near post. Forest won the ball back in the Leeds half after they lost possession.
COME ON LEEDS ! MOT! YOU WILL COME BACK!
I want to see Augustin on pronto. It's clear that Patrick isn't feeling it.
Agreed. How can he not be up for one of Leeds's most important matches in years? He should be shipped off to the likes of Tranny.
Stu Dallas dives in and he picks up a yellow card.
Now it's a dangerous free kick chance for Forest.
Free kick was well overcooked thankfully.
Dallas booked for bringing down Ameobi just outside the Leeds box
Nice ball back from Harrison to Ali there who is finding space on the edge of the box. His effort was neither shot nor cross in the end.
Good lord, now Kiko has thrown one straight out to an attacker. Fortunately, he picks out the wrong ball.
Nearly half-time now. We'll need something quite a bit better in the second half to pull this one out.
Thiago Silva picks up a yellow now for a hack on Klich.
We've played all of the free kicks short so far.
Matty Cash has to pay a fine with a booking for a foul that was more than a mere Klich
Pablo weaved his way through a crowd but his eventual shot was shut down.
One minute of stoppage to play - just about enough time to spring one more attack.
And that's that. We troop in a goal down. We need a huge comeback in the second half. I want some changes.
Forest one up at the half vs Leeds as are the Hornets at the Seagulls
I thought it must be a Milk Cup weekend. My lot are faffing about in Dubai and getting photographed in bizarrely high buildings or up against a sand-dune.
And then I get back from the errands and I see that you lot have allowed this Leeds match to slip away before half time. I can't leave you for a second, can I? Right, it's Leeds time, MOT, give em' 'El! C'mon, Leeds!
Second half about to start up again. I don't see any changes yet.
The second half is underway from the City Ground.
Cheers, Gooner - we need all the support we can get. MOT!
COME ON LEEDS! SCORE AND OFTEN!
Good Afternoon, Gooner. How have you been?
Forest have an early free kick now. I'm betting they won't play it short.
Bielsa did not make any changes. Bob will not be pleased
Same old, Al-Prez, you and yours?
Not pleased at all. I want to see the new boy have a run out.
Same here . Thank you for asking, Gooner
Plenty of time left but we need to take the chances that we make.
Oh - the goal was gaping for Grabban there but he hit Kiko who was on the ground.
PHEW! Joe Lolly went on a long run on the counter, went past two Leeds players then Casilla did well to prevent Forest Grabban second goal with a great save
Bit of a let-off for us there. Forest have had less possession but they've attacked with purpose when they've had the chance.
Ali with a stupid foul there - picks up a yellow and now we have to defend a dangerous free kick.
Ali booked for cumulative infractions. Mini Cooper being "driven" crazy by that
Oh - the shot is pushed away by Kiko - great save!
Amoebi forces another corner and all of this just eats up our time.
Finally a sub is coming but it's Tyler Roberts for some reason. What's going on with Jean-Kevin?!
Oh - nice shot on the volley from Dallas but it comes back off Patrick!
Every time a Brazilian teacher calls on Thiago Silva in her class, several necks must snap to attention.
Pablo comes off after a poor outing for him. Replaced by Tyler Roberts.
Not sure why Hernandez came off. He's had an off bday , but so have some other players
True enough. Plenty of Freds about as well these days.
I wonder if there are some fitness issues with Jean Kevin
Must be - it's all really head-scratching.
Helder at least forces a corner for us. We need a break here.
Helder Costa wins a Leeds corner
Cleared away by the first man
Decent ball in but Patrick pushes off on his marker.
LOL, Steve and Bob.
Sloppy defending nearly let Forest in again.
Another big shout for a pen - referee lets us off. Seen them given.
PHEW! I thought Forest were about to Cash in on a penalty decision after Ali appeared to bring down Matty
Alioski pulls his man back again - he's got to mind his p's and q's now. I'd have him off now.
Ali has already been booked. A second booking after pulling back a Forest player. Ali needs to be replaced before Leeds go down a player
The goalscorer Ameobi comes off.
Still 25 minutes left - plenty of time but we need one back soon.
Helder wins yet another corner. Need to make it count!
Helder Costa wins a corner off of Ben Watson
The short routine doesn't work - again.
Finally - we're going to see two changes including the debut for Jean-Kevin. Patrick coming off. Shackleton on for Alioski. Like for like there.
The final rolls of the dice from Bielsa. Bob should be pleased with both changes/. Jean-Kevin for Bamford and Jamie Shackleton.
Twenty minutes for the new boy to make a difference.
You called for Jean- Kevin to come on for Bamford and I called for Ali to be subbed., We should be managing this Leeds side
Free kick chance now, given up by Ben White who gets a card as well for his trouble.
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