Saturday 30th September, 5:30pm
Spurs @ 19/10
Draw @ 3/1
Liverpool @ 6/5
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Though the above, titular phrase is often attributed to the poet Philip Larkin; the origins of this witty distillation of what constitutes a good story go back much further than Hull’s most celebrated librarian.
Whenever the genesis occurred, it began a lineage that leads us right up to this Saturday’s round of Premier League fixtures; where the action – divided up into three distinct sections, as it is – seems to fit the template perfectly.
What kind of overarching story will Gameweek 7 ultimately unveil for us? A farcical comedy? A torturous, blood-soaked tragedy? Or, perhaps even more traumatising, a series of children’s books ‘written’ by Frank Lampard.
In Aston Villa v Brighton at 12:30pm we have a potentially very solid beginning. Two ambitious teams helmed by proven, quality managers. But two teams who also suffered defeats in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
A question that will hover over all of this Saturday’s games is: What did the Carabao Cup results really mean? Could a win in that competition be used as a morale booster? Many managers will no doubt attempt to do that.
But can you really attach much weight to a victory if your opponent has essentially decided to bin off the tournament and give a good chunk of the Under 16s team a run out? Any morale generated would be merely an evanescent, diaphanous fog – you didn’t actually play well, it’s just that your opponent wasn’t trying…or that it was way past their bed-time.
Given that Aston Villa and Brighton already have more important, more illustrious European fixtures to look forward to, perhaps it was their intention to lose? That, however, is unlikely to be the case on Saturday…
A beginning, then, that poses a number of intriguing questions, as well as – one hopes – some auspicious, easy-on-the-eye footballing action.
Our muddle arrives in the form of an unusually large quantity of 3pm kick-offs. A dangerously over-stuffed bacon bap jammed-full of the things. Half a dozen matches; which, if that wasn’t appetising enough, just happen to involve all of the Premier League’s current bottom six.
A bottom six that still includes Everton; who, despite picking up a precious three points last weekend, as well as a win in midweek, are close to getting caught up in a muddle of a financial nature too. The club are said to have more multi-million pound loans than they have points on the board – a precarious situation that could also lead to their new Bramley-Moore Dock stadium development being consumed by a complex whirlpool of debts and repayments.
Is a home tie against Luton Town the perfect fixture for Everton to help provide some distraction and ease some pressure?
‘Wow them in the end, and you’ve got a hit.’ And for our ending this Saturday we have the biggest game of the weekend – hopefully full of wow-factor, a fixture that should hit hard: Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool at 5:30pm.
After a low-key pre-season, characterised by transfer window usurpations, the usual frothing confidence emanating from Anfield was curiously absent. If Liverpool fans didn’t think they were going to be serious contenders in 23/24, then who else would?
But now with five league wins on the bounce – including victories over Newcastle, Aston Villa and West Ham – that old confidence and self-belief is starting to emerge. New players are beginning to show exactly why they were brought in – there was absolutely nothing evanescent about Dominik Szoboszlai’s Wednesday night Carabao Cup howitzer; a strike so pure and true it would still be travelling today had it not found the net.
How good exactly are Liverpool? What are the limits of their potential? And are they genuine title contenders? A clash with a buzzing Spurs could provide some answers to these questions…as well as a satisfying end to our compelling Saturday story…
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