Spurs Are Spursy Again, and Other Observations

 The ugly away kit was justly punished in a fashion that is just so Tottenham.

The North Londoners were all over the Seagulls in the first half and Brighton were lucky not to be further behind than 0-2.  The second half was a very different story.  Ange Postecoglu has never heard of adjusting tactics for game state.  His Spurs are told to play the same way every game, all game, whatever the score.  So they kept their high defensive line rather than sitting back to protect their lead, and this naivete was punished severely.  The 3-2 scoreline at full time was no more than Brighton deserved--or Tottenham.

The PL's top three all won, albeit with some difficulty.  Man U held Villa to a scoreless draw, which may have given ten Hag another few weeks of employment.  United has some great attacking players (who are poorly coached), but their back line is ravaged by injury and, to put it unkindly, with age.  I don't know what happened to Marcus Rashford.  I still like him, but Man U seems to have sucked all the joy out of his life.  

Here's the current table, just seven games in:

I don't believe that Palace will finish near the relegation zone, and I don't think Manchester United will finish in the bottom half.  Fulham and Brighton are doing better than I expected, though I'm happy for the ex-gunners on those teams.  Wolves are a shocking last place.  Can they turn it around?  Southampton is, I think, a sure bet for bottom three.  Whether Ipswich and Leicester join them in going back down to the Championship after one season is an open question, with Everton, Palace, and Wolves all doing so poorly.  There are no surprises at the top of the table.  I expect a more wide-open race for the title this time, though if any team has a chance of running away with it, I think it's Arsenal.  City has lost Rodri for the season and they may fade, even with their cyborg goalscorer.  Liverpool has had a kind schedule to date.  By March, I may be backtracking on these predictions, but my crystal ball has Everton, Leicester, and Southampton going down, Arsenal winning the league, and Liverpool, City, and Villa rounding out the top four. Chelsea 5th, which may be good enough for Champions' League.