Hull manager Steve Bruce said no one wanted to be the first club to lose to Burnley, but his team were as we finally got that first win to close the gap between us and the clubs just above us,
We've still lost less than anyone else but at least the monkey is off the back. I have to thank Burnley_Lad2006 on the message board who alerted me to the fact that we were the only team currently in the bottom half to win.
I got home from our win and was ready to watch Man City beat QPR by at least three goals that would also see us off the bottom of the league. It didn't quite happen and, in the end, I was relieved to see Sergio Aguero twice equalise to prevent QPR claiming all three points.
I was doubly pleased from a personal point of view. Aguero was my fantasy league captain this week so give my struggling line up a boost, but I also have to say well done to Charlie Austin who is very much back in the goals.
I have to say I was a bit surprised to see the England calls but why not? Charlie just seems to take the steps up in leagues whilst continuing to score goals. He might need to curb his celebrations though. He has a dodgy knee and it might not be the best idea for his team mates to jump on that shoulder of his. At least the three stone overweight Adel Taraabt wasn't one of those players.
There might not be a zero in anyone's win column but there is in the defeats column. Chelsea continued their brilliant start to the season with a 2-1 win at Liverpool and it has left pundits talking about the potential of them going all season without defeat. Be very warned Chelsea; we are still to visit Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea have a four point lead at the top with Southampton second. Man City are now a massive eight points behind and such is Chelsea's start that they are already 12 points clear of Arsenal in fifth place.
I watched Arsenal opt not to win again on Sunday at Swansea. They seem to be the best at going in front and then throwing it away. It makes you think what might have happened the week before had they not got that second against us.
There were no big wins over the weekend. No eights or anything like that, in fact no one won or lost by more than two goals and only 21 goals were scored in the ten games with Shane Long, who got both Southampton goals against Leicester, the only player other than Aguero to score twice.
If goals were in short supply then cards weren't. It was a seasonal high with 53 cards in the ten games, a ridiculously high figure boosted by the performances of the attention seeking Mark Clattenburg and the pompous Phil Dowd who drew 10-10.
Back on the subject of goals and Sunderland's in their 1-1 home draw against Everton provided a bit of history. It was the 23,000th goal scored since the introduction of the Premier League.
And Burnley created a record of their own too. The 1-0 win saw us record our fourth clean sheet, beating the three we kept in 2009/10. We are certainly behind that 2009/10 season in points unfortunately. Five years ago we also beat Hull at home in our 11th game. It took us to 15 points and tenth in the table. We did only win one of the next 22 though, at home to West Ham.
The Results | |
Saturday 8th November | |
BURNLEY 1 HULL 0 | QPR 2 MANCHESTER CITY 2 |
LIVERPOOL 1 CHELSEA 2 | SOUTHAMPTON 2 LEICESTER 0 |
MANCHESTER UNITED 1 CRYSTAL PALACE 0 | WEST HAM 0 ASTON VILLA 0 |
Sunday 9th November | |
SUNDERLAND 1 EVERTON 1 | SWANSEA 2 ARSENAL 1 |
TOTTENHAM 1 STOKE 2 | WEST BROM 0 NEWCASTLE 2 |
The Stats | |
Biggest Win | NEWCASTLE 2-0 v WEST BROM (away) SOUTHAMPTON 2-0 v LEICESTER (home) |
Total Goals Scored | 21 (11 home - 10 away) |
Player Scoring Most Goals |
2 - SERGIO AGUERO, MANCHESTER CITY (v QPR) |
Highest Attendance | 75,325 - MANCHESTER UNITED v CRYSTAL PALACE |
Lowest Attendance | 16,998 - BURNLEY v HULL |
Total Yellow Cards | 52 |
Total Red Cards | 1 |
Most Cards in a Game | BURNLEY v HULL (10Y) Ref: MARK CLATTENBURG SWANSEA v ARSENAL (10Y) Ref: PHIL DOWD |
Leading Goalscorers (League Only) | |
12 | SERGIO AGUERO (MANCHESTER CITY) - includes 2 penalties |
10 | DIEGO COSTA (CHELSEA) |
8 | ALEXIS SANCHEZ (ARSENAL) |
7 | SAIDO BERAHINO (WEST BROM) - includes 3 penalties |
6 | CHARLIE AUSTIN (QPR) NACAR CHADLI (TOTTENHAM) GRAZIANO PELLE (SOUTHAMPTON) |
5 | DIAFRA SAKHO (WEST HAM) LEONARDO ULLOA (LEICESTER) - includes 1 penalty |
4 | WIFRIED BONY (SWANSEA) - includes 1 penalty PAPISS CISSE (NEWCASTLE) MOHAMED DIAME (HULL) STEVEN FLETCHER (SUNDERLAND) NIKICA JELAVIC (HULL) ROMELU LUKAKU (EVERTON) STEVEN NAISMITH (EVERTON) |
Hat Tricks | |
Date | Player & Game |
13/09/14 | 3: DIEGO COSTA - CHELSEA v SWANSEA (home) |
18/10/14 | 4: SERGIO AGUERO - MANCHESTER CITY v TOTTENHAM (home) |
Disciplinary Record (League and Cup) | |||||||||
Club | Y | R | Y | R | Club | Y | R | Y | R |
League | Total | League | Total | ||||||
ARSENAL | 29 | 0 | 31 | 0 | MANCHESTER UNITED | 20 | 3 | 22 | 3 |
ASTON VILLA | 22 | 1 | 22 | 1 | NEWCASTLE | 21 | 1 | 24 | 2 |
BURNLEY | 23 | 0 | 23 | 0 | QPR | 14 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
CHELSEA | 26 | 2 | 26 | 2 | SOUTHAMPTON | 14 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
CRYSTAL PALACE | 20 | 3 | 20 | 3 | STOKE | 25 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
EVERTON | 20 | 0 | 21 | 0 | SUNDERLAND | 25 | 0 | 29 | 0 |
HULL | 22 | 1 | 23 | 1 | SWANSEA | 24 | 3 | 27 | 3 |
LEICESTER | 15 | 0 | 16 | 0 | TOTTENHAM | 21 | 3 | 21 | 3 |
LIVERPOOL | 24 | 0 | 25 | 0 | WEST BROM | 19 | 0 | 20 | 0 |
MANCHESTER CITY | 26 | 1 | 27 | 1 | WEST HAM | 21 | 1 | 21 | 1 |
The Next Fixtures | |
Saturday 22nd November | |
ARSENAL v MANCHESTER UNITED (17:30) | MANCHESTER CITY v SWANSEA |
CHELSEA v WEST BROM | NEWCASTLE v QPR |
EVERTON v WEST HAM | STOKE v BURNLEY |
LEICESTER v SUNDERLAND | |
Sunday 23rd November | |
CRYSTAL PALACE v LIVERPOOL (13:30) | HULL v TOTTENHAM (16:00) |
Monday 24th November | |
ASTON VILLA v SOUTHAMPTON (20:00) |