Week 13 of the English Premier League explodes like a landmine after Newcastle secured a third consecutive league win with a victory over bumbling Burnley at Turfmoor.
Last season, when Everton was playing managerial musical chairs, the hairless hero, Sean Dyche, frequently popped up in the Next Manager to Leave His Post odds.
He’s there again…for different reasons.
Dyche is now 16/1 to be the next manager to lose his position after his Burnley team failed to win for the sixth successive Premier League game, losing to Newcastle 2-1 in front of their frustrated home fans. The team who finished seventh, and qualified for the Europa League last term, now sit one point above the drop zone, having lost eight of their opening 13 fixtures.
But there’s hope.
Newcastle didn’t win a single game in their opening ten fixtures, claiming three points from a potential 30, and after the beating Burnley, they have now strung together a run of three consecutive victories that have pushed them into mid-table.
Newcastle knew they needed a bright start if they were to have any chance of securing a first away win of the season, and that’s what they got. Only four minutes registered on the clock when Mohamed Diamé saw his fierce shot deflect for a corner off the head of Ben Mee. Burnley cleared their lines, but Federico Fernández wasn’t closed down, and his weak shot tumbled past Joe Hart off the outstretched foot of Mee.
Burnley controlled the football in the early stages of the match, but looked nervous, and gave away the ball as often as the women selling meat pies at the half time break. Then in the 23rd minute, Matt Richie floated a peach of a ball into the Burnley box, and Ciaran Clark popped up at the near post to loop his header over the former England shot-stopper.
Newcastle had only scored three away goals in five games.
Now, they had two.
The goal did seem to inject a smidgen of paperboy enthusiasm around the Burnley ranks, and they got their reward for their best spell of the match when Sam Vokes connected with a Ben Mee diagonal to head home from 17-yards.
Yes, 17-yards!
It was the second longest headed goal in Premier League history (Jamie Vardy once scored from 18-yards).
Burnley had further chances in the second half most notably through Robbie Brady, Chris Wood, and Vokes, as did Newcastle who saw Joselu come off the bench to strike the post, and then Richie somehow missing from two yards out.
It was Newcastle’s first top-flight victory over Burnley since 1975.
Fixtures in Full
West Ham 0 v 4 Man City
Everton 1 v 0 Cardiff
Brighton 1 v 1 Leicester
Man Utd 0 v 0 Crystal Palace
Watford 0 v 3 Liverpool
Fulham 3 v 2 Southampton
Spurs 3 v 1 Chelsea
Bournemouth 1 v 2 Arsenal
Wolves 0 v 2 Huddersfield
Burnley 1 v 2 Newcastle
Premier League Table
1. Man City – 35 points
2. Liverpool – 33
3. Spurs -30
4. Chelsea – 28
5. Arsenal – 27
6. Everton – 22
7. Man Utd – 21
8. Bournemouth – 20
9. Watford – 20
10. Leicester – 18
11. Wolves – 16
12. Brighton – 15
13. Newcastle – 12
14. West Ham – 12
15. Huddersfield – 10
16. Crystal Palace – 9
17. Burnley – 9
18. Southampton – 8
19. Cardiff – 8
20. Fulham – 8
Odds
To Win
Man City 2/9
Liverpool 4/1
Top 4 Finish
Man City 1/1000
Liverpool 1/66
Chelsea 1/3
Spurs 1/3
Arsenal 7/4
Man Utd 4/1
Relegated
Cardiff 4/11
Huddersfield 5/6
Burnley 4/5
Fulham 5/6
Southampton 13/5
Newcastle 7/2
Crystal Palace 11/2
Top Scorer
Sergio Aguero 5/2 (8 goals)
Harry Kane 11/4 (7 goals)
Mohamed Salah 5/1 (7 goals)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 7/1 (8 goals)
Next Manager to Leave
Mark Hughes 1/2
Jose Mourinho 10/1
Roy Hodgson 12/1
Neil Warnock 12/1
Sean Dyche 16/1
