Five talking points from the EFL weekend, including Sheffield United’s bounce back
- Gabriel Sutton
- 6 December 2021
From Peterborough’s away struggles to Sheffield United’s back-to-back victories, EFL pundit Gab Sutton has his say on the weekend’s EFL action.
Another thrilling weekend in the EFL is behind us, but what are the main stories and talking points?
Our man, Gab Sutton, walks us through the five biggest stories, including Millwall's unlikely play-off push and an important victory for Accrington Stanley.
Peterborough's away blues continue
If Peterborough United are to avoid relegation from the Championship this season, fixing their away form will be crucial.
The Posh have lost 10 of their 11 league games on the road this season, with no other side losing more than six.
Furthermore, Darren Ferguson's troops have conceded 30 away goals - for context, Bristol City possess the second-worst away defensive record in the division and they have shipped 20.
After a 2-0 loss at Nottingham Forest, fans are questioning whether the players - aside from Ronnie Edwards and Siriki Dembele - are good enough for the level.
The likes of Nathan Thompson, Dan Butler and Jack Taylor, despite having thrived in League One, have spent all their careers to date operating outside the second tier.
"Flipping Heck" - Two in two
There has been some disjointed thinking at Sheffield United.
Firstly, the club appointed a serial promotion winner in Slavisa Jokanovic, then did not give him the players he needed in the summer and sacked the Serb in November.
Jokanovic has been replaced with the Under 23s head coach, Paul Heckingbottom, who has been handed an astonishing five-year contract, with the club looking to develop saleable assets.
The 44-year-old has enjoyed a great start having overseen victories over Bristol City and Cardiff in his first two games in charge.
Millwall four points off the play-offs
Millwall are the Championship's draw specialists.
Gary Rowett's side have scored exactly one goal in 14 of their 21 league games, and conceded exactly one in 13.
They are neither an outstanding defensive side, like they were two seasons ago, but they are certainly not a devastating attacking outfit either - rather, the Lions are ok at both sides of the game.
In other seasons, 'ok' would not be enough to challenge for the play-offs, but this year the standard of challengers besides Fulham, Bournemouth and maybe West Brom is relatively low. With that in mind, the South Bermondsey outfit still have a window to get their act together.
With a 3-1 victory over Birmingham on Saturday, Millwall have lost just one of their last six games and are up to eighth - on course for their joint-highest finish since 2001/02.
Jordan Clark stars for Luton
After a series of games in which Luton had enjoyed the better of the play but let themselves down with their end product, the goals finally rained in at Blackpool.
The Hatters secured an impressive 3-0 victory at Bloomfield Road, with Jordan Clark starring on the right of the front-three in Nathan Jones' 3-4-3 setup.
While at Accrington Stanley, Clark was more of a creative winger who would take on a full-back and cut the ball across, but under Jones' guidance he has acquired more of a goalscoring element to his game.
Luton are missing the Lampard-esque runs of Luke Berry from midfield in an attack that is short on proven Championship quality, so if Clark can continue to chip in that will be key to their chances of sustaining an unlikely play-off tilt.
Stanley thump Fleetwood
Accrington Stanley had endured a poor run of form and performances that left some fearing a plummet into a relegation battle. With that in mind, recent back-to-back victories over Lincoln and Fleetwood are vital for John Coleman's side.
Those wins coincide with the return of striker Colby Bishop, who is not only very hardworking and persistent, but also strong in the air.
Harry Pell - at 6'5" - does not have the agility to press effectively, so the former Colchester midfielder has improved for dropping deeper, where he can use his presence more efficiently.
Pell's change of position also meant the dynamic Ethan Hamilton could take on the left wing-back role. This was excellent news for Sean McConville who at 32 was burdened by the physical demands of that remit but could instead show his quality from a more advanced position.
For anyone who might have dared doubting whether Coleman could re-jig the system to get the best out of this limited group of players, the perfectionistic Liverpudlian has the answers once again.
The game was marred somewhat by appalling behaviour in the town and in the ground from a minority of Fleetwood fans. One hopes that Town chairman Andy Pilley will take action and ensure that Accy do not have to foot the bill for damages to their away toilets.
