Lampard sacking not a surprise
Frank Lampard was sacked by Everton a couple of days after their 2-0 defeat to West Ham leaving the club 19th in the Premier League and only off the bottom on goal difference. With the recent run of results they've had and the form they've been in, it's not a surprise that the club have pulled the trigger on another manager.
After keeping them up last season with a game to spare, some people were expecting Everton to kick on. But they clearly haven't. They've arguably got worse. They lost their best player in Richarlison who they didn't replace and the team overall hasn't improved. They did make some signings in the summer and spend money on those signings but none of them have improved the team.
James Tarkowski and Conor Coady have added some stability to their defence at the times but the defence itself is still making mistakes despite their best efforts. Amadou Onana and Idrissa Gueye haven't improved the midfield due to them being defensive players in that position and that has no doubt contributed to the team not scoring enough goals. Dwight McNeil is yet to score since his arrival for Burnley whilst Neal Maupay was a panic buy in an attempt to get a striker in as cover for Dominic Calvert Lewin.
Lampard will carry the blame for his sides' struggle this season but it's not all his fault though. The club is a mess from the very top and Lampard himself has had to take over a team made up of players bought by previous managers. There is an argument that he could've got something out of the players he had at his disposal but due to the mess the club is in, not everything should be blamed on him.
Arsenal now officially title contenders
Arsenal have shown many signs this season they're title challengers and their win over Man United on Sunday confirmed their status as one. They showed character to come from behind like they have done on plenty occasions this season along with having the mentality to stay in the game after conceding. But the one that confirmed their status as a title challenger was their last minute winner to win the game.
Many title winners of the past have scored last minute winners on more than a few occasions and it's those kind of goals that win teams titles. Man United did it many times under Alex Ferguson and Man City have done it many times under Pep. Both sides had games which were heading for draws but had the character and desire to score a last minute winner to win those games. Those late goals played a huge part in their respective title wins.
Arsenal scoring that late winner on Sunday shows that they have that desire to score a late winner when the game is heading for a draw. They'll have to score many of those kind of goals between now and the end of the season as they're bound to have games where they'll need to rely on a last minute winner to them those games. Especially as the pressure will be building up along with the amount of games. Mikel Arteta will know that and his team scoring that late winner against Man United will give his side confidence that they are capable of scoring those kinds of goals in tough games.
2023 set to be special year for Kane
Harry Kane equalled Jimmy Greaves' goal record at Spurs last night after netting his 266th goal for the club in their 1-0 win at Fulham. With him being joint record goal scorer for England as well as Spurs, 2023 could well be a special year for the man himself.
I have no doubt that he'll break both records by the end of the season as he only needs just one more goal to break both.
He's bound to score many more goals for Spurs this season due to the player he is and the obsession he has with scoring goals. He will break the record if he scores against Preston in the FA Cup this weekend but even if he doesn't score, you'll still expect him to break the record before the season is out because of the quality of player he is.
There might be a lot of pressure on him when he return to England duty in March because of his penalty miss in their World Cup Quarter Final defeat to France. But Kane will still be backing himself to banish those demons because of the type of character he is. He's put that miss firmly behind him since his return to Spurs and his form since then will give him the confidence to move on from it and break Wayne Rooney's record. England's next games are qualifiers for Euro 2024 against Italy and Ukraine. They will be tough games but you would still back Kane to score in either of them because of his knack of scoring goals.
This year could well be a special one for him if he breaks both records which he will at some point.
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