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West Brom

Also from the weekend earlier this morning was Burnley winning again over the course of this week against another relegation threatened side Luton Town 4-0 who competed in the Premier League last season and was sent straight back to the 2nd tier after they finished 18th/20th.

Yes, the opening goal was a Luton error from their own half but the good news is though that chances were converted into goals on its own as it goes on following a team-effort shift at Turf Moor.

There’s a striker or two sharing the goals actually up front like starting 9 Lyle Foster from South Africa as well as veteran sub Ashley Barnes at the last few mins along with midfield goal scorer who can go a bit further afield by Josh Brownhill. 

They could have made up another one at the last window or have done sooner to avoid just insipid 0-0 draws when Scott Parker used an attacking midfielder 10 in its place. But now Burnley have to kick on from here as long as the defensive record stays intact as well as improving their conversions with 10 games to go – and they’re just three if not five points behind Leeds United towards top spot should they win tomorrow for Round 36 v Portsmouth.

Their next game though will be against Play-Off hopefuls West Brom this Wednesday AM as this will certainly be a bit different indeed especially at the expense of Southampton-owned No.9 Adam Armstrong who has been back scoring goals recently which was a change of fresh air along with a coach he knows pretty thanks to Tony Mowbray.

Glad to hear Tony is back in full health and able to hold a head coaching job again following his bowel cancer diagnosis 12 months ago when his last post was at Birmingham City and had to step back over the next months – unfortunately without him, they were relegated at season’s end. However, BCFC is flying high on top of League One as no doubt they will coming straight back here sooner rather than later by having a real go at being a PL team again thanks to their American Owners Tom Wagner and NFL legend Tom Brady who also owns a minority cut of Legacy Motor Club as well.

Meanwhile, Sheffield United happy to keep 2nd thanks to a 1-0 win over Preston North End at the same time courtesy of Tyrese Campbell where they are also tied on points with Leeds not just for the championship trophy + straight promotion back to the PL ahead of August 2025.

So all in all, still a bit tight; but again, up to Leeds who still hold the cards. Although an upset win by Portsmouth would put both teams back in the running and the 24/25 regular season isn’t over just yet.

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Well, it’s Christmas Day today and Valencia CF has decided to change managers having just swiftly sorted a replacement in Spanish compatriot Carlos Corberan via £2.5 million/€3 milloon compensation from West Brom – something West Ham wouldn’t want to do under their current owners.

This comes not long after their 2-2 all draw v Alaves the other day even though it wasn’t enough to keep Ruben Baraja in the hot seat at least a bit longer when they’re currently four points off to escape the bottom three in 19th. The time is now for Corberan to try keep the once-decorated club in the La Liga top flight as his first game will be the postponed game v Real Madrid next Saturday morning (7am AEDT 4th Jan) at their home Mestalla venue due to the floods that impacted the city two months ago.

Yes, he has yet to have won a trophy as manager before other than U23 level with Leeds United but he has been very established at Championship level for a number of years. He helped Huddersfield Town finish 3rd only to lose in the Play-Off Final two seasons ago v Nottingham Forest before he quit shortly after, as well as the two-legged Play-Off semi off the back of 5th last season at West Brom when they lost to also eventual Play-Off winners this time by Southampton. 

Now he will leave the Black Country club in 7th by just a goal difference shy or two from the Top 6 spots at 35 points that could give West Brom the chance either way back to the Premier League. I know it’s such an incredibly difficult league with the Top 2 being handed automatic and the other being the Play-Off winner but whoever comes in would be at the right time to keep up with the Top 6 ahead of the January winter transfer next month.

And once he arrives at the Mestalla soon enough as said above, sure he will continue to unpack his tactics like his mentor Marcelo Bielsa, who spent some time with him before as assistant coach at Leeds prior to his first top job a few years ago.

We wish him all the best as not only Valencia will get out of this on the field but off the field as well when they will finally be allowed to finish their new half stadium come January 10.

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Both sides may have not been able to get away with it when it comes to scoring goals where shots were flying everywhere that could’ve been 1-0, 1-1 or even 2-1, especially when West Brom played on the home front  at The Hawthorns v Cardiff City. However, at least West Brom and Cardiff settled the score though without a goal following a frustrating and scrappy 0-0 draw at full-time. Cardiff is currently sitting just above the bottom three relegation zone in 20th while West Brom remains within the Top 6 Play-Off places at 5th in the English Championship with 12 weeks in out of a long 46 round season.

First of all, West Brom thought they could’ve done any better when a few shots on goal didn’t quite go towards the net while some have gone outside the crossbar – even though they had 2nd half possession. What could’ve possibly have been if it wasn’t for those three goalkeeper saves by Jak Alnwick from Cardiff? But again, despite yet another draw – West Brom need to re-start winning somewhere as still plenty of time, and their next match will be against Luton on Friday night UK/Saturday morning AEDT.

And as said for Cardiff, yes, they could’ve also done any better had they spent more time when it comes to those conversions within the final attacking third box. Despite not having much ball in the 2nd half, how good was these three saves by the keeper Jak Alnwick?  He was the man who at least frustrated the West Brom attack all afternoon that gave the interim coach Omer Riza something to be content about after recording his yet another undefeated match under his watch. Time will tell if Riza will get the permanent job but lots of first-time managers start there without huge success, so up to Cardiff if they want this to keep on going or hire someone else who may be young but with a bit more experience.

Elsewhere, Sunderland still on a roll currently five points clear in 1st place following a 2-0 win today v Oxford United while Burnley unable to get away with another win thanks to a 0-0 draw v Queens Park Rangers as a few other top teams are circling around them for that 2nd placed automatic Premier League spot – such as Sheffield United (3rd) who def. Stoke 2-0 and Leeds United (4th) who still have a few games in hand despite an also 0-0 draw yesterday v Bristol City.

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