Consistency is the word being used in this week's blog. We will start with Arsenal player Declan Rice who was sent off for the first time in his career at the weekend when the Gunners hosted Brighton at the Emirates. Referee Chris Kavanagh has come under intense pressure that he got it wrong, especially from Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta. However Kavanagh made the correct decision and the rule of kicking a ball which causes a delay was one of the subjects highlighted by the FA prior to the season kicking off. Arteta and many others may have been more confused by three separate incidents happening in a matter of seconds. First Rice was involved in a skirmish with Brighton's Joel Veltman, then a free kick was awarded, Veltman took this super quick, the ball touched Rice, Rice nudged the ball out and Veltman going for the ball kicked Rice, and then Rice who had gone down from the kick was sent off. All of this happened in under ten seconds, so for Kavanagh to make these quick decisions, he actually did a good job. However of course Rice was on a yellow card already and we have seen time and again when players are on a yellow a referee may be lenient and may only bring out a second yellow if the incident justifies it. On a different day it is possible that Rice would not have been sent off, however by the letter of the football rules Rice was correctly given his marching orders. Consistency though is what is ultimately lacking. In the same game earlier on Brighton's Joao Pedro kicked the ball away and received no punishment. There was also an incident ironically a few seasons ago when Kavanagh failed to book Rice when at West Ham for kicking the ball away, so while the referee got a decision correct more consistency is needed.
Everton and Nottingham Forest may be taking a closer look at the developing story which has seen Leicester escape a points penalty. Both Everton and Forest ended up with a combined 12 point fine last season due to FFP rules and Leicester seemed to be heading the same way but an independent board has cleared the Foxes of any wrongdoing. Part of this is because they were relegated and so payments and spending were affected. The FA have said that they are disappointed by the outcome although if a team are relegated during this period of FFP would it not have been obvious to the FA that this may affect the final outcome? Leicester themselves have come out and said that they hope this can be a victory not just for them but for other clubs too. Would it then not be possible for Everton and Forest to recoup their lost points from last season? Perhaps it should do but in reality perhaps that is quite a stretch. Everton especially could do with 8 points back after starting the season in nightmare fashion. That nightmare looked to have come to an end when they faced Bournemouth at home and were two goals up as we reached the 87th minute. The game incredibly finished 3-2 to Bournemouth with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford having a nightmare. Indeed Pickford who has arguably kept the Toffees up through two very difficult seasons has been poor this season, but the club will believe that he will come good again. For now Everton are bottom of the table with no points after three games.
To be relegated: Leicester 1.30, Southampton 1.57, Ipswich 1.80, Everton 2.75, Wolves 3.75
Erling Haaland is the type of player where you simply lose words over his goal scoring abilities. The Manchester City forward has already scored two hat tricks this season and has 11 of them for City alone in just two years. Haaland's latest hat trick came against West Ham away as the champions won 3-1. Haaland is an oddity in some respects because he seems to do very little during a game but then in seconds determines what will be the outcome. Take the West Ham game where he was almost invisible in the second half but scored the only goal of that half. His goals seem to be getting better on the eye too which is a worry for everyone, his 2nd and 3rd goals against the Hammers were simply fantastic and it would not be a surprise to see him net his 100th goal for City in all competitions by the end of this month.
It's international break time and of course the new Champions League will begin this month. For the internationals England will be involved in two Nations League games when they take on Republic of Ireland and Finland. The game against the Irish is on Saturday and this will be England interim manager Lee Carsley's first match in charge of the senior squad. His task will be trying to prove to the FA that he is the man for the job. Although Carsley was born in England he played for the Republic of Ireland and so the irony that his first game in charge is against them can not go unnoticed. The FA has confirmed that he will take charge of the first six Nations League games but have given no guarantees that his job will become full time. Let's look then at the managers in contention for the England post.
Next England manager: Lee Carsley 3.00, Pep Guardiola 5.00, Eddie Howe 5.00, Mauricio Pochettino 6.00, Graham Potter 6.00
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