Premier League Crucible Report Card – Detention | OneFootball

We’ve officially hit the halfway point of the Crucible, that tumultuous and hectic period of the Premier League season between late November and the New Year. The fixtures come fast and furious, with each team facing a minimum of 10 matches within seven weeks. For teams with European or EFL commitments, the number goes even higher.

So we took all the results and assigned grades to each club. Yes, the recently concluded EFL cup ties have been taken into account. Below are all the clubs heading to detention. For them, the Crucible has found them wanting, and they are melting in the heat and pressure.

Tottenham Hotspur

On the plus side, Spurs have two shutout wins by 3-0 scorelines. On the negative side, they conceded 14 goals in their four losses, a dismal 2.6 goals per game. Ouch. If anything can be said about the Spurs’ Thomas Frank era, it’s how eerily reflective it’s been of previous managerial spells. There are moments of brilliance, discipline and resilience punctuated by bouts of torpor, ineptitude and irrationality. In a word: Spursiness.

Leeds United

Leeds are part of the “Crucible-lite” set of teams that only face 10 fixtures with an equal split between home and away. After a rocky start, dropping games to Villa and Man City by a single goal, they’ve righted the ship. They delivered a shocking one-two combination on Chelsea to grab three points, then had two steely come-from-behind draws against Liverpool and Brentford. They’re just above the relegation zone, and if they come out of the Crucible in the same position, will have to look back on December as a success.

West Ham United

It’s not quite as bad as the stats make it out to be for the Hammers. Three draws show that the steel is still in there, and they’ll need it for their next five fixtures. Recent managerial appointment Nuno Espírito Santo looks positively vexed in the technical area every time the cameras find him. You can tell he’s as puzzled at his sides’ poor performance as are the supporters.

Brentford

They’re plucky and put in the effort, but have little reward to show for it. Their sole win came against hapless Burnley; their draw against Leeds. The bright side is their remaining five fixtures are all winnable: Wolves, Bournemouth (H), Spurs (H), Everton, Sunderland (H). It could get better for the Bees.

Bournemouth

The Cherries’ grade reflects just how much of a freefall they’re in. I’m punishing them because the expectations were higher for this side heading into the Crucible. Less than two months ago they sat second in the league; now they’re at thirteenth. It’s frustrating to watch, because they still have resilience (see the nil-nil draw with Chelsea). The creativity and attacking flair are still there too (see the 4-4 draw with Man United). But it’s all disjointed and slapdash, and you’re never sure which Bournemouth side will turn up.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

There really is no such thing as a F+ grade, but if there was, Wolves would get it. They get placed higher than Burnley in this article because they’ve conceded less goals. But they’re really not any better. You can only blame rotten luck, or razor thin offside calls, so many times. It’s just a generic-brand band aid to make your post-game pint wash down easier. If Wolves can actually win one of their next five fixtures, or even draw three of them, they’d jump right up into D- territory.

Burnley

Flat out awful. The only redemption they have is that Wolves have done worse all season long.