It was a day when good runs and bad came to an end, while one player netted his 200th goal and another forgot who he was.
The Championship enjoyed a new name at its summit and some managers reminded their former clubs what they were missing.
Here’s our pick of the things you might have missed from Saturday’s Football League happenings.
Blades carve their way to the top
Leeds United’s recent dip in form has led to a bit of a traffic jam at the head of the Championship and Sheffield United are the latest team to move to the front of the queue.
The first week in October is, many folk in football always tend to suggest, the time of the season to start looking at league tables.
And it makes pretty good reading for the Blades as their fairytale story under Chris Wilder continues.
The job Wilder – an unashamed lifelong United fan – has done at Bramall Lane often flies somewhat under the radar.
But after lifting the Blades out of the League One doldrums, Wilder is now threatening to put together a second straight tilt at the Championship play-offs.
David McGoldrick’s penalty sent United to the summit and made it a miserable return to South Yorkshire for Hull boss Nigel Adkins, which brings us nicely to…
Shout out to my ex
Don’t worry, we’re not getting a Little Mix-ed up – Saturday was very much a day when several EFL managers were reunited with their former loves.
Five games – three in the Championship and two in League Two – featured bosses coming up against their old clubs.
Only one of those – the aforementioned Adkins – suffered defeat on a day when erstwhile managers mostly made a point, or three, against their former sides.
Aitor Karanka proved he’s still really quite the man as, having once took Boro all the way up, he scoffed in the face of the notion that he could never, never bring them down.
A 2-0 win – the first goals Boro have conceded at home in the league this season – gave Karanka some closure, and propelled Forest into the top six.
Steve McClaren’s QPR came from behind to claim a point against his former Derby charges while there were two thrillers in League Two involving ex-gaffers.
Carlisle’s win was a pretty impressive one given they had a player suffering from an apparent identity crisis…
‘Who are ya?’
Now we’ve all seen The Wrong Trousers but there was a possible sequel, The Wrong Shirt, at Boundary Park on Saturday afternoon.
Quite how Carlisle’s veteran midfielder Gary Liddle managed to emerge from the tunnel with the wrong top on is a mystery.
Even more puzzling is that not only did Liddle (who wears number 4 usually) have Tom Parkes’ number 6 jersey on – but defender Parkes was wearing his own shirt too.
As anyone who has ever enjoyed a dressing room tour knows, footballers’ shirts are hung back to front on players’ pegs, with name and number clearly visible to all.
Fortunately, the eagle-eyed fourth official spotted the oversight five minutes into the game, rescuing fans, journalists and most importantly, the referee, from a potentially embarrassing case of mistaken identity.
One would like to hope that the Cumbrians’ travelling contingent broke into a chorus of ‘There’s Only Two Tom Parkes, Two Tom Parkes’ when the error came to light.
Unbeaten two months into the season – and sixth
How can you be unbeaten two months into the season and yet barely scraping into the play-off positions?
When you are draw specialists Forest Green.
Mark Cooper’s side are yet to taste defeat in 90 minutes this season – even their Carabao Cup exit at Wycombe came on penalties – but they are not winning many either.
But they had Newport’s Mickey Demetriou to thank for extending their undefeated sequence as the County man blazed over a second-half penalty.
Rovers – who admittedly hit the woodwork twice in the first half – are now the only unbeaten side in the EFL’s three divisions after League One leaders Portsmouth were stunned 2-0 at home by struggling Gillingham.
And only one team in the EFL remains without a win after Ipswich’s 3-2 Championship triumph at Swansea City and Plymouth’s 1-0 League One win over Wimbledon.
That dubious honour belongs to the side sitting bottom of the entire league, Macclesfield Town, whose 1-0 loss at home to Notts County leaves them five points off safety.
Milestone for ‘The Beast’
There’s not much left to write that hasn’t already been written about Wycombe’s uniquely-built striker Adebayo Akinfenwa.
Actually, here’s something that’s not been written before – the burly forward has now scored 200 career goals.
He reached the landmark with Wanderers’ second goal in the 2-1 League One win over Burton Albion, somewhat overshadowing Joe Jacobson’s opener from the penalty spot on what, coincidentally, was the full-back’s 200th Chairboys appearance.
Also worthy of a scoring shout-out is Charlton’s Lyle Taylor, who has scored twice in two games since dying his hair pink in aid of charity after bagging the opening goal in Athletic’s 2-1 home defeat by Coventry City.
And there was a first career hat-trick for Birmingham’s Lukas Jutkiewicz as Blues beat Rotherham 3-1 in the Championship. The 29-year-old is up to 79 career goals now – if he follows the fitness regime that has kept Akinfenwa still knocking in the goals at 36, Jutkiewicz should be a shoo-in to reach the 200-goal mark as well…
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho feels his team played with “pride” after overturning a two-goal deficit to beat Newcastle 3-2 but says speculation about his job will continue.
Liverpool versus Manchester City is the game of the weekend, with the Premier League’s top two meeting at Anfield – but how much will the outcome affect the title race?
BBC Sport’s football expert Mark Lawrenson said: “It is in danger of getting a little bit over-hyped, I’m afraid.
“If this is billed as the battle of the champions and all that – in mid-October – then I will smash my telly. There is still such an awfully long way to go.
“Yes, I am looking forward to it, yes they are the best two teams in the league and yes it should be a fantastic game of football, but it is not going to decide the title.”
Lawro is making predictions for all 380 top-flight matches this season, against a variety of guests.
This week’s guest is Radio 1 DJ Chris Stark.
Stark, who co-presents ‘That Peter Crouch podcast’, describes himself as a “massive” Watford fan and says: “I have been for pretty much all my whole life.
“I have got to admit I was a little bit of a Manchester United fan for like the first five years of my life, but I think you just write that off to ignorance don’t you? No offence to United fans.
“I have got too many Watford heroes to mention – at the moment big Troy Deeney is one of them, I just think he is amazing and he has done wonders for Watford.
“He gets written off every season and comes back stronger, so I love Troy.
“From Watford teams gone by, I would say Paul Robinson – because I play left-back myself, even though I am right-footed – and Heidar Helguson, who was brilliant when he was up front for us.
“Then obviously there are legends of Watford’s history, like Graham Taylor, Luther Blissett and John Barnes – the big names.”
Premier League predictions – week 7
Result
Lawro
Chris
FRIDAY
Brighton v West Ham
1-0
2-1
2-1
SATURDAY
Burnley v Huddersfield
1-1
2-1
3-1
Crystal Palace v Wolves
0-1
2-0
2-0
Leicester v Everton
1-2
2-1
1-2
Tottenham v Cardiff
1-0
3-0
0-1
Watford v Bournemouth
0-4
2-1
4-0
Man Utd v Newcastle
3-2
2-0
2-3
SUNDAY
Fulham v Arsenal
x-x
1-1
2-2
Southampton v Chelsea
x-x
2-1
0-3
Liverpool v Man City
x-x
1-1
2-1
A correct result (picking a win, draw or defeat) is worth 10 points. The exact score earns 40 points.
LAWRO’S PREDICTIONS
All kick-offs 15:00 BST unless stated.
FRIDAY
Brighton 1-0 West Ham
Lawro’s prediction: 2-1
Chris’s prediction: This is a tricky one – I am not sure about West Ham at the moment. 2-1
Chris’s prediction: I have a lot of respect for Burnley and Huddersfield, but I love Clarets boss Sean Dyche. Based on that, I am going to go for a Burnley win. 3-1
Chris’s prediction: It is whether I want to go for the safe bet here? It is Tottenham at home, although is it really home yet? Do you know what, I am going to put some faith in Cardiff for this one – let’s be different. 0-1
Chris’s prediction: Ah Watford – my team! I am going to be at this one and I think we are going to keep grinding out the results. 4-0
Chris on where Watford will finish this season: This season is really up for grabs, because we have started so well.
Can we keep this going? There is such an amazing energy at the club at the moment and if we can keep that up then really we can win any game.
We can get a lot of points this season, and the dream would be to finish in a Champions League place. It is achievable, I genuinely think it is.
If we manage it, it would make Watford history, and we would have the best party ever.
We have started well, there is a good feeling around the club, we have got an amazing team and we have got some quality players so why not? Let’s go for it.
Chris’s prediction: Everything about this game makes me think that Manchester United should get the win here, however I just can’t put that much faith in this Manchester United team at the moment. Newcastle could do with a confidence boost and I think they will get it at Old Trafford. 2-3
Ryan Sessegnon clattered the bar for Fulham against Everton last week when the game was goalless.
I just felt if the Cottagers were going to get a positive result at Goodison Park, they had to score first.
Unfortunately for them, they didn’t – and they ended up collapsing a little bit in the end.
I think they might get something out of this game, though. Arsenal are still on a very good run, but they played in Azerbaijan on Thursday while Fulham have had the week off.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Chris’s prediction: I think Fulham can get a couple of goals here, and I am going to put this down as a draw. 2-2
Imagine the mess Southampton would be in if Danny Ings had not been scoring goals for them?
Chelsea have been doing much better, obviously. Their draw with Liverpool was a brilliant game to watch and the Blues played really well.
I still think Maurizio Sarri’s side can look vulnerable, though, particularly away from home.
I am not convinced by Antonio Rudiger or David Luiz at the back because they just strike me as a pair who might have one or two off days.
I know Saints have not won at home yet, and the Blues have not lost away but I think we will see that run of results reverse on Sunday, and I suspect Ings is going to play a big part.
Manchester City were so dominant last season because they had long spells where they were near their peak.
In contrast, I don’t think either of these teams are playing near their best level yet.
But from my memory of winning the league myself with Liverpool, that does not matter – you just try to win games, regardless of how well you are playing.
And both teams just seem to keep on doing that. They are still getting results in the Premier League despite their players not really hitting their stride individually or collectively.
People are seeing City and Liverpool both being in quite average form as being a negative issue but, if you look at it another way, then they are both near the top of the table and they haven’t even started playing the way they can.
Lawro’s prediction: 1-1
Chris’s prediction: This is the big one. I really think anything could happen at this game but it is at Anfield so I am going to give Liverpool the benefit of the doubt. 2-1
Lawro got eight correct results, including six perfect scores, from 10 matches for a total of 260 points – not only his highest score of the season, but also his best of all-time.
He beat comedian Karl Pilkington, who got six correct results, with one exact score, for a total of 90 points.
Total scores after week 7
Lawro
690
Guests
550
Lawro v Guests
P7
W3
D1
L3
+/- DENOTE POSITION DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAWRO’S TABLE AND ACTUAL POSITION
POS
TEAM
P
W
D
L
PTS
+/-
=1
Man City
7
7
0
0
21
0
=1
Man Utd
7
7
0
0
21
+9
3
Chelsea
7
4
2
1
14
0
4
Liverpool
7
3
4
0
13
-2
=5
Arsenal
7
4
0
3
12
0
=5
Everton
7
4
0
3
12
+6
=5
Tottenham
7
3
3
1
12
-1
8
Leicester
7
3
2
2
11
0
=9
Bournemouth
7
2
4
1
10
-2
=9
Crystal Palace
7
3
1
3
10
+4
11
Burnley
7
2
3
2
9
+1
=12
Fulham
7
2
1
4
7
+5
=12
Southampton
7
2
1
4
7
+4
=12
West Ham
7
2
1
4
7
+2
=15
Newcastle
7
1
3
3
6
+3
=15
Watford
7
2
0
5
6
-9
=15
Wolves
7
2
0
5
6
-6
18
Brighton
7
1
2
4
5
-3
19
Cardiff
7
0
4
3
4
0
20
Huddersfield
7
0
1
6
1
0
GUEST LEADERBOARD 2018-19
SCORE
GUEST LEADERBOARD
120
Joe Thomas
99
Lawro (average after seven weeks)
90
Karl Pilkington
80
Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Greg James, Mark Wahlberg
Dates: 6-7 October Venue: Emirates Arena, Glasgow Coverage: Online and connected TVs Sunday 10:30-14:30 BST & 15:00-17:00 BST
Great Britain won two gold medals on the opening day of the European Judo Open in Glasgow.
Alexander Short, 21, threw for Ippon to beat Spaniard Adrian Nieto Chinarro in the -66kg competition.
Fellow Scot Josie Steele then claimed her first European gold, the 18-year-old defeating Automne Pavia of France in the -57kg category.
“It hasn’t really sunk in at the moment but it’s amazing to be finally on top of the podium at an event,” she said.
“I just took each fight as it came, I had no expectations whatsoever which I think is one of the reasons I did so well today.”
Steele, from Inverness, started her day with a solid win over Austria’s Asimina Theodorakis, a waza-ari proving decisive.
She then saw off dangerous Portuguese judoka Wilsa Gomes in the quarter-finals with an ippon, before prevailing in an-all British contest with Malin Wilson in the semi-final.
The duo – who train together regularly – cancelled each other out for long periods before Steele threw Wilson for waza-ari and finished the contest in osaekomi to set up her final with Pavia, who beat another Briton, Lele Nairne, in the bronze-medal matches.
Earlier, Edinburgh’s Short, 21, won his first international medal after a lung-bursting path to the final.
After quick wins over Frenchman Alister Ward and Belgian Senne Wyns, Short endured a nine-minute quarter-final against Lithuanian Andrej Klokov before his semi-final with Belgian Kenneth Van Gansbeke also went to golden score before Short threw his opponent for waza-ari.
In contrast, he took just 44 seconds to throw Chinarro for ippon in the final.
“I can’t believe it. It’s a really, really good feeling,” Short said. “I wasn’t really expecting it today. It’s nice to have something to show for all the hard work I’ve been putting in.”
