Gab Sutton's EFL Winners & Losers - January 4
Our EFL pundit here at Free Bets, Gab Sutton, runs the rule over Sunday's EFL action as we turn into the New Year.
Winners
Morgan Whittaker
After showing enormous talent at the start of his career with Derby, Lincoln, and Plymouth Argyle in particular, which made him one of the nation’s eight-figure talents, Morgan Whittaker endured a tough start to life at Middlesbrough, with question marks over his attitude and application.
Under Kim Hellberg, however, he’s enjoyed something of a career resurgence, scoring a whopping eight league goals in 12 games, whilst being a highly influential component of Boro’s link-up play.
Star man for the Teessiders in a 4-0 thumping of Southampton, and pouncing with two close-range finishes, Whittaker is now among the Championship’s form players.
Tendayi Darikwa
Darikwa has been a pillar of consistency behind Lincoln City’s promotion bid, but the right-back’s not always associated with racking up the big numbers.
That’s what he did in Sunday's 5-2 thumping of Peterborough, though, grabbing a brace, including a raw piledriver, and an assist for Reeco Hackett, and a cross that led to Freddie Draper’s goal – near enough four goal involvements in one game!
The Zimbabwe international was right at the heart of the Imps’ fine attacking play, and demonstrated incredible stamina at 34 to get up and down – we’d buy his book on dietary tips!
Steve Cotterill
It’s been nearly promotion-winning form for Cheltenham Town, since Steve Cotterill returned to Whaddon Road.
The boyhood Cheltonian won three promotions and an FA Trophy in his first stint with the club, in the late ‘90s and early '00s, before going on to have a respectable managerial career at higher levels, and was regarded by many as the club’s greatest ever manager.
Now, he returns to possibly win that argument outright, inheriting a team that took four points from it’s first 10 games, to take () from the next () – but the slow start means the team is still as low as ().
Nonetheless, a 3-0 victory over Crawley has Robins fans seeing the Play-Offs, while unlikely, to be more plausible than relegation – and after the start they had, that’s quite something.
Losers
Southampton
Tonda Eckert enjoyed an instant impact at Southampton as interim head coach, winning four of his first five games, before extending his record to six victories in seven after being given the job permanently – but it’s gone south since then.
The Saints have taken just three points from six winless encounters, meaning they’ve gone from being one point off the Play-Offs, to eight after a 4-0 tonking at Middlesbrough.
Eckert felt his side were competitive in the first half, but in the second things really unravelled.
Burton
It’s been a streaky season so far for Burton: one win in the first eight games, then six wins in the next, then one in the next – that run across October and November was essential for Gary Bowyer’s side.
The Brewers went into the season two or three players short of where they’d like to be, squad wise, having missed out on key loans at the eleventh hour, so January will be huge for them, and Sporting Director, Richard Dorman.
The East Staffordshire outfit were light on depth for Sunday’s 3-0 defeat at relegation rivals Plymouth Argyle, evidenced by the fact Bowyer made one substitution until the 90th minute, when he brought on four academy graduates – Josh Taroni, Jack Newall, Sulyman Krubally and Zac Scutt.
Crawley
Scott Lindsey cut a frustrated figure after his Crawley side went down 3-0 at Cheltenham, ensuring they stay two points above the drop zone on a weekend in which their relegation rivals were out of action.
The result extended the Red Devils’ winless run to 10 league games, and Lindsey responded to the defeat by suggesting the players aren’t doing enough, and that he feels there’s not much more he can do than he already is.
If the manager who led Town to promotion from this level in 2023-24 is to be backed for the long haul, it may mean a lot of work on the squad across the next two transfer windows – starting with this one, as the Sussex club seeks to secure it’s EFL status.
EFL Betting at Free Bets
Gab Sutton provides weekly football betting tips for Free Bets, featuring a thoroughly researched longshot acca alongside sharp analysis of the key talking points and standout moments from the weekend's action at the start of each new week.
