GW10: The Gaffer's Verdict

Right, GW10. Mixed bag, son, mixed bag.

Let's start with the good stuff before I have to look in the mirror. Liverpool 2-1 Brighton. Called it, banked it, no fuss. Anyone watching Brighton lately knew they'd turn up at Anfield and have a proper go. Plucky little outfit, them. But Liverpool at home, with that front line clicking? One-nil down at half time was always going to wake them up. I had the score nailed before kick-off and I'll take a bow for that one. Same story with Fulham 2-1 Brentford. West London derby, Marco Silva's lot have got a bit about them at the Cottage, and Brentford away from the Gtech is a different animal. Toney-less Bees, predictable Fulham edge. Money in the bank. And Ipswich-Leicester finishing 1-1? Two strugglers cancelling each other out is the easiest read in the game. Both nervous, both leaky, both desperate. Score draw written on the wall in marker pen.

Now the bad. And there's a bit of it, I'll be straight with you. The worst miss? Spurs 4-1 Villa. I had a 2-2 down, sat there thinking Villa would nick a goal late and Ange's mob would do their usual mental thing at the back, but Tottenham turned up like men possessed and battered them, and Villa just never showed up.

“The weeks you feel certain are the weeks the game humbles you.”

Bournemouth holding City to a 2-1? Didn't see that coming, though Iraola's Cherries are the real deal and I should've sniffed it. Newcastle nicking Arsenal at St James'? Annoying, because I fancied the Gunners and got the result wrong way round. United-Chelsea was a coin flip and the coin landed on its edge. That's football, innit.

Overall? Seventeen points. Not a disaster, not a victory parade either. Three bullseyes and a partial on Forest keeps the lights on, but six blanks is six too many. The thing that grinds my gears is the misses were mostly the games I felt strongest about. Arsenal, City, Spurs draw, all confident calls, all in the bin. The weeks you feel certain are the weeks the game humbles you. Lesson noted, moving on.

Next week I'm backing my gut harder and trusting the underdogs more. The Prem's gone mental this season and the script's being torn up weekly. Adapt or die, son.