Gab Sutton's EFL Winners & Losers - November 22-23
Gab Sutton 
After the thrill of the international break, domestic football returned at the weekend with a full round of matches in the Championship, League One, and League Two.
Free Bets EFL expert Gab Sutton highlights the standout winners and losers from the weekend action.
Winners
Tonda Eckert
It’s three in three for Tonda Eckert as Southampton boss, following Saturday’s 5-1 thumping of Charlton, in which his side were 5-0 up at the Valley in the first half.
There’s an element of variance being on Eckert’s side, given that the Saints had created at a high volume of chances under Will Still, and may have been overdue a game in which the goals flowed – yet there is also a different energy about the team under his guidance.
With incisive, one-touch passing and movement, the south coast outfit carved their opponents open, as Tom Fellows offered width on the right, Finn Azaz was exquisite in the number 10 role, Adam Armstrong looked potent up top, while Caspar Jander performed the box-to-box remit superbly.
Those three wins, combined with the low Play-Off bar, means the upwardly-mobile Saints are only three points off the top six.
Reyes Cleary
Saturday’s 5-0 victory over Luton was a fine team performance from Barnsley, but Reyes Cleary was perhaps the star of the show.
The West Brom recruit made a clever run, and produced a delightful, dinked finish for the opener, showed deceptive skill to outwit Isaiah Jones, then his replacement, Hakeem Odoffin, to set up the second and third respectively.
The 21-year-old was an England Under-19s prospect in 2023, and on this evidence, he has every chance of rekindling some of that potential.
Walsall
Walsall have responded with admirable defiance to missing out on promotion in heart-wrenching fashion last season, as they move into late November top of the league.
The Saddlers had lost three in four, and been unlucky in some of those games not to get something – in fact in almost all their defeats they deserved more – whilst managing to win 10 in 17.
Mat Sadler’s side have added a combination of the fresh legs and minds, with a cavalier mentality, in the likes of Daniel Kanu, Ryan Finnigan and Jid Okeke, as well as adding experience in Aden Flint – who could be the difference.
The Saddlers look less reliant on individuals this season, less prone to losing one key man in January and the whole operation falling down – they look well-placed to last the course.
Losers
Norwich
Norwich got something of a lift during the international fortnight, with the appointment of an experienced European manager in Phillippe Clement but, if there was any doubt that this wouldn’t be an instant transformation, that was made clear in Saturday’s 4-1 drubbing at Birmingham.
Clement said in one of his first interviews that the squad is not where it needs to be fitness wise, so early sessions have been focused around getting everyone in the best possible shape – in both senses of the word – so extra technical and tactical details may move to the back-burner for now.
The Canaries only have a meagre nine points to their name, and are already five points adrift of safety: the idea of going eight adrift by losing at home to Oxford on Tuesday would be unthinkable.
Port Vale
After losing a key bottom-of-the-table clash at home to Plymouth Argyle, Port Vale are, well… bottom of the table.
The Vale are the most creative side in League One according to the numbers, with some data providers at least, although that doesn’t match up with how fans perceive performances – and either way, they’ve been wasteful, with 11 goals scored from an xG For of 27.5 in their first 17 games.
Meanwhile, boss Darren Moore has been doubted on selection, tactics and in-game decision-making, and some are questioning his job security.
The club, internally, might feel as though results will soon marry up with what they see as encouraging performances, but the fanbase don’t share that same confidence.
Shrewsbury
It’s nine defeats from the first 17 league games for Shrewsbury, who find themselves just one point above the drop zone following a 3-1 loss at Fleetwood.
Salop can’t play possession-based football with a back-three of Tom Anderson, Sam Stubbs and Will Boyle, and expect it to work, so they either have to recruit new defenders in January, or revert to a move direct style in the name of pragmatism – possibly some combination of the two.
Michael Appleton might be one of the best developmental coaches at this level, but that doesn’t mean he’s the best League Two manager – especially if he doesn’t have the same high-potential personnel he enjoyed at Oxford and Lincoln.
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.
