10 Things We Learned From The English Premier League Football Weekend (15-17 September 2017)

9. It's Not Looking Good For Crystal Palace...

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring their fourth goal
Scott Heppell/AP

...at all.

Frank De Boer toppled John Carver as the worst manager in Premier League history (statistically, that dishonour goes to Paul Jewell, but he never had the neck-throttling gall to suggest he was the greatest coach in the division, nor the sad desperation to stake a full-time claim to a horrific caretaker reign).

As neatly symbolised in the header image, replacement Roy Hodgson is sipping from a particularly poisoned chalice. There's some quality within the Crystal Palace ranks. The injured Wilfried Zaha showed glimpses of elusive consistency as last season drew to a close. Yohan Cabaye possesses a nous and reading of the game impervious to his advancing years. An in-form Mamadou Sakho is a sentient rock. But this is a thin squad absolutely bereft of confidence and depth. Palace somehow regressed from their positioning as the worst starters in Premier League history; conceding early goals is the signpost of a fear-stricken side, and in a league marked by and marketed with unpredictability, Steven Davis' 6th minute decider was as inevitable as a terrible Paul Merson take.

Palace's next three league fixtures - Manchester City (A), Manchester United (A), Chelsea (H) - read as Harold Camping's deranged scribblings. For those with a tendency for schadenfreude, it was grimly funny to note that Palace showed so much more against Burnley than they did here.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and surefire Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!