Gab Sutton's EFL Winners & Losers - December 6-7
The FA Cup was back this weekend for the second round, which meant a reduced EFL fixture schedule for the final time before the rest of the football league enters after Christmas.
Free Bets EFL pundit Gab Sutton looks at the winners & losers across the divisions, with a large focus on the Championship – after League One & League Two had a limited offering on FA Cup weekend.
Winners
Chris Wilder
After Chris Wilder returned to his boyhood club Sheffield United following five straight defeats to start the season, some hoped for an instant turnaround, after the Blade-by-birth led them to last year’s 92-point accumulation, and Play-Off Final defeat to Sunderland.
It didn’t quite pan out that way, with Wilder himself starting with six defeats in nine as issues with summer recruitment came home to roost.
After a goalless draw and encouraging performance against QPR steadied the ship, though, a 3-0 derby-day demolition at Sheffield Wednesday proved the catalyst for United to, seemingly, turn their season around, initiating a four-game winning streak.
And, in Saturday’s 4-0 thumping of Stoke, the S2 outfit looked much more like last season’s side, taking some of the pressure off January when it comes to securing their Championship status.
Marcelino Nunez
“Are we the baddies?” – Marcelino Nunez could easily have suffered from his position in the narrative structure, after crossing enemy lines by leaving Norwich City for historic rivals Ipswich Town this summer.
The villain has thrived in Suffolk, though, grabbing three goals and three assists; an impressive return for someone who’s only started seven of his 15 league appearances since making his £7.5M move to Portman Road.
The Tractor Boys have other options in the number 10 position, with Chuba Akpom and Sammie Szmodicz starting seven games there apiece, but the team collectively has been most effective with Nunez there to offer more linkage to midfield, as opposed to bring the mentality of a second striker as the other two do.
Bagging an assist in the 3-0 victory over runaway leaders Coventry, Nunez was arguably man-of-the-match in what could prove a crucial result.
Bradford
With their promotion rivals out of action on FA Cup weekend, Bradford seized full advantage with a 1-0 victory at strugglers Plymouth Argyle.
The Bantams have responded to a six-game winless streak with back-to-back successes, fully restoring their status as surprise promotion contenders, after coming up from League Two on the final day of last season.
It’s looking like the bar for a top six finish will be around 76 points, in which case Graham Alexander’s side require approximately 42 points from their remaining 28 league matches; in other words, they could win 11, draw nine and lose the other eight – perfectly doable.
The fact that this is even spoken about is testament to the standard of recruitment from Director of Football David Sharpe, who has overseen two excellent summer windows, and Alexander, the club’s greatest manager of their modern history.
Losers
Stoke
Stoke’s sumptuous start to the Championship season was considered somewhat ahead of schedule, for a club so used to underperforming in the bottom half.
Mark Robins is showing serious signs of changing that mentality in the Potteries, but recent form has taken a hit with four defeats in their last five league games, following a 4-0 drubbing by Sheffield United at the weekend.
The Staffordshire outfit remain inside the top six, but they’ll be keen to welcome defenders Ash Phillips and Maksym Talovierov as soon as possible.
West Brom
Having been one of the fittest teams in the Championship under Carlos Corberan, West Brom didn’t do enough to train that particular muscle in the summer, and it’s made them low on endurance.
Other than the exception that was their 3-2 victory over Swansea, in which they turned around a two-goal second-half deficit, the Albion have had a habit of starting games strongly but dropping off slightly in the first half, and then sometimes alarmingly in the second.
That theme continued at QPR on Saturday, in a 3-1 defeat, which means the Baggies haven’t gone more than two games without defeat since August.
It was a tough gig for Ryan Mason, inheriting a club more stable off-the-field under Shilen Patel, but weakened on it, with seven key playing departures in the last three transfer windows, but still questions are asked of the rookie with the team languishing in 16th.
Plymouth
Plymouth Argyle’s relegation rivals were out of league action on FA Cup weekend, but Tom Cleverley’s side were unable to capitalise, losing 1-0 at home to promotion-chasing Bradford.
On paper, the situation is retrievable, with Argyle only one point off safety, with 20th-placed rivals Exeter having serious off-field issues that could lead to a January fire-sale, but one of their other three immediate relegation rivals resurge, the gap is significant.
The Devonians are six points off a group of four teams on 22 points each, from 19th upwards, and bringing that quartet, plus 15th-placed Northampton on 23 points, within touching distance has to be a major priority.
To make matters worse, Argyle’s top goalscorer, and faraway Player of the Season so far, Lorent Tolaj, is banned for two more games after his red card in the 3-0 defeat to Northampton, missing Wycombe away on Tuesday and Rotherham at home on Saturday.
Returning Director of Football Derek Adams has his work cut out finding, and attracting, the right players in January, with the number of incomings possibly limited to two departing on outgoing movement.
In the meantime, Cleverley’s job will be to ensure that come the winter window, they’re in a position in which that business can make a difference.
Gab Sutton delivers weekly football betting tips for Free Bets, highlighting a carefully selected longshot acca while also breaking down the key talking points and major moments from the weekend's action at the start of each new week.
