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

5. "The Best League In The World..."

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring their fourth goal
Dave Thompson/PA Wire

Not every Premier League fixture is 90 minutes of thrilling escapism from the working week. Some Premier League fixtures are West Bromwich Albion vs. West Ham United.

A tedious game for the neutral, only West Ham fans could have gleaned some enjoyment from it. Winston Reid's last ditch, double-block defending stood in stark contrast to the aching chasm that was their back line against Newcastle on Bank Holiday weekend. Besides that, he and his colleagues had very little to do because West Brom proved themselves a resistible attacking force. When their askew crosses did land, impotent headers floated across the face of goal. West Ham were unlucky; in one of few refereeing errors committed over the weekend, Ben Foster somehow escaped a red card for his lunatic lunge on Hernández. They also struck the bar with a stunning long-range effort. West Brom came closer to the corner flag.

About the only newsworthy headline emerging from the match is the stay of Slaven Bilić's execution. So, perhaps Newcastle fans, terrified of a possible Benítez migration of East London, also enjoyed the result, if not the game, which was as dull as top flight football gets. Bilić isn't getting sacked after an away draw.

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 current Undisputed WWE 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!