PREMIER LEAGUE TAKEAWAYS: Alex Crook on Palmer, Man Utd Crisis & Crystal Palace

Star Sports football ambassador ALEX CROOK is back with his weekend takeaways from the weekend just gone of Premier League action…

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🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 PALMER PROVES TUCHEL RIGHT

Cole Palmer being left out was the big talking point from Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad announcement.

Having been snubbed for the World Cup squad, Palmer looked nailed on for a call-up after an impressive start to the season.

But Tuchel opted instead for the out of sorts Morgan Gibbs-White, citing the Chelsea star’s no-show for the October camp as the main reason.

Watching Palmer’s uninspiring performance in Chelsea’s limp 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, the German will feel fully vindicated in his decision.

One strong penalty appeal aside, Palmer was largely anonymous and will need to do a lot more to win back his England place.

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🔴 CARRICK HAS TO DROP DALOT THE DISASTER

Sunday’s bonkers 4-4 draw between crisis club Manchester United and Aston Villa feels like a bit of a daze.

As a United fan, I cannot work out if I am furious with the slapstick defending that gifted four goals or revelling in the comeback that left my talkSPORT colleague Gabby Agbonlahor stunned.

Either way, Diogo Dalot has to be dropped.

That the Portuguese international has played more games for United than the great Eric Cantona is a mark of how far the club has fallen.

Dalot had a stinker against Roma in mid-week and somehow managed to play even worse against Villa. Sticking with him will cost Michael Carrick his job.

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🦅 CAN FRANK SAVE PALACE?

As predicted in this column a couple of weeks ago Pierre Sage will be the first managerial casualty of the season.

It’s been clear for some time the Crystal Palace players are noy buying into Sage’s ideas and they are leaking goals for fun.

Chairman Steve Parish has no choice but to pull the trigger just 16 games into the Frenchman’s tenure.

Thomas Frank is the clear favourite to replace Sage having been overlooked when Palace were seeking a successor to FA Cup winning Oliver Glasner in the summer.

But Frank is a project manager and failed at Tottenham so it remains to be seen if he can be the firefighter type boss Palace need to avoid relegation.

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CRYSTAL PALACE TO BE RELEGATED – currently at ? with starsports.bet

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🔵 BARRY KANE FIRES TOFEES TO DIZZY HEIGHTS

This is the part where I may have to make a grovelling apology.

I have been pretty scathing of Thierno Barry, even nicknaming him and former Everton teammate Beto the ‘Chuckle Brothers.’

But Barry is silencing me and all his other critics with an incredible scoring spree that has propelled Everton into the top five.

He scored another brace in Friday’s impressive comeback win at home to Coventry so maybe it’s no longer a case of Barry Chuckle but Barry Kane.

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⚽️ BRIGHTON HAVING THEIR OWN GOAL OF THE SEASON COMP

Brighton continue to ride the crest of a beach wave.

The Seagulls are now Arsenal’s nearest challengers at the top of the table after a routine 2-0 win at home to ten-man Brentford.

The highlight was Diego Gomez’s stunning long range thunderbolt to open the scoring.

The Paraguayan has already won the Match of the Day Goal of the Month competition for his October strike against Crystal Palace.

Teammate Lewis Dunk’s rocket shot at Coventry also scooped the Premier League Goal of the Month gong in September.

If Gomez triumphs again this month, then Brighton may as well have a goal of the season comp all by themselves.

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BRIGHTON TO FINISH IN THE TOP-FOUR – currently at ? with starsports.bet

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