3 Up, 3 Down: Featuring Everton and Stoke stars

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Down: Mike Phelan

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After finally being awarded the managerial job at Hull City on a permanent basis, Mike Phelan felt the true harshness of management with a 6-1 humbling on the south coast.

Admitting he got the tactics wrong after the game, Phelan’s Hull were ripped open again and again, taking their goals conceded tally to 17 in their last four Premier League matches.

Their good start has given them a good platform of points to build on, but they are now six games without a win, and Phelan needs to turn things around quickly or they will soon be in deep trouble.

Down: Daniel Amartey

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Nobody expected Leicester to repeat their title triumph of last term, but their decline on the road has been staggeringly bad.

One key factor for this is the loss of N’Golo Kante, who has been replaced in the team by 21-year-old Ghanaian Daniel Amartey. Amartey is not Kante, and shouldn’t have be expected to be, but his deficiencies in trying to play the same role are the main reason for Leicester’s sudden whipping boy status on the road.

Nampalys Mendy was bought as the player to replace Kante directly, and is injured, but without anyone of that style, Ranieri should change the system, otherwise Amartey will be hung out to dry every week.

Down: Sergio Aguero & Kevin de Bruyne

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Such is the quality of these two individuals, it is rare that they ever do anything deserving of real criticism. Even the best players in the world miss the odd penalty, though, and De Bruyne and Aguero joined that club on Saturday.

Although they shouldn’t be blamed for City’s failure to win the game, you would expect one of the two best players in the Premier League to produce better penalties than they managed. Both were easily savable by Stekelenberg, who didn’t have to work anywhere near as hard as he should have to make his pair of saves.

City have now missed half of their penalties this season. They must do better.

Featured Image: All rights reserved by Serg Hoholok