Retour
Former Peterborough United and Hull City striker - and Final Score pundit - Aaron McLean gives his five takeaways following Saturday's action in the Championship, League One and League Two.
West Ham won their fixture with Swansea City in the Championship, thanks to Divine Mukasa's goal, and have moved to within a point of the Welsh club at the top of the table. They've scored a remarkable 30 goals in their 11 league games.
McLean: "I think it was a huge win for West Ham. Take nothing away from Swansea and I think the start they've had has been incredible, but today was always going to be a real test for them.
"After the demolition of Lincoln in midweek, it was important West Ham backed that up with three points to close the gap to just one point behind Swansea and they did that.
"I think once West Ham go back top of the league, they probably won't come off it again.
"I think the fact that Middlesbrough drew today made it even more of a reason why they needed the three points.
"Jarrod Bowen has got eight goals and keeping him was probably the best thing that could have happened for West Ham.
"There were a lot of questions asked about him and if he had gone to the World Cup, and he was a regular in the England squad, I think maybe it might have been different.
"I think the fact he wasn't selected was a huge reason why he was like, 'No, I'm captain of this football club and and I want to help get them back to the Premier League'."
Portsmouth's Marezi converted a penalty to send Norwich City crashing to a sixth straight loss, leaving them just one point above the relegation zone when their fans had expected them to mount a promotion bid.
McLean: "I've got egg on my face because they were my wild promotion pick so I'm as surprised as anyone that they're doing so badly.
"I thought the job Philippe Clement did when he came in last year was incredible and I really fancied them to kick on this season and not only challenge for the play-offs, but challenge for automatic promotion and be right up there.
"They've just been so disappointing and they look void of any confidence at the moment. I don't know where they go from here.
"With each game they lose, you can see the confidence streaming out of the squad. As soon as they concede a goal, you think 'here we go again'. It's like groundhog day.
"The goalkeeper [Daniel Grimshaw] is under a lot of pressure as well, he's not having the best of seasons. The goals they're conceding, some of those are easily avoidable.
"So, yeah, I think over the next couple of weeks, there are going to be huge questions asked, not only of the goalkeeper, but of Clement.
"It's not so much that they're losing games, I think it's that they're consistently losing. Good teams show they can recover, but at the moment, Norwich don't look like they've got an ounce of recovery in them."
Watford ended a miserable run of four straight losses, which looked like it would cost Alessio Dionisi his job, by winning 2-0 against Charlton and they are now three points above the relegation zone.
McLean: "That was a huge win for Watford against Charlton and they needed that, but I wouldn't say they've turned a corner just yet.
"The timing of the Charlton game was perfect for Watford and it was the right game at the right time.
"Charlton came into that game having not won in seven games. They were understandably low on confidence.
"I think it was just two out-of-form teams up against each other, and fortunately for Watford, they came out on the right side of it.
"That's especially true for the manager, Alessio Dionisi, and he desperately needed that result. I would have feared for him past this weekend if they had lost again, especially given how poorly they played against Cardiff in midweek, when they conceded five.
"I think it is a stepping stone, but I still think that the ownership are going to need a lot of convincing.
"They've shown in the past they're not scared to make changes and Dionisi is going to need a run of results if he's going to remain in his position."
After drawing six of their opening eight League One games, MK Dons finally beat Luton Town 2-1 to get their first league win under manager Paul Warne.
McLean: "It was a brilliant result first and foremost. You know Luton are a team that are expected to be up there challenging.
"Jack Wilshere will be feeling the pressure that they're expected to be challenging for promotion.
"But I think what MK Dons have got on their side is that Paul Warne is a vastly experienced manager at League One level.
"So he knows how to get results. At the moment they're probably not getting the wins he would like, but I think that will change now.
"He took them up from League Two last season and I think he will get them going again. It will take them a little bit of time to get going and to really gel, but I think they'll be fine.
"I think as the season progresses, they'll get stronger. The team will have a lot more cohesion and I expect them to be comfortable at least in mid-table."
Alex Bruce is enduring a tough first job in management and his Rotherham United side have slipped into the bottom two in League Two after losing 2-0 at Fleetwood.
McLean: "I think when you look at Rotherham and Crawley, the other team at the bottom of League Two, they've both got managers who are in charge for the first time.
"That lack of experience in these types of moments is showing. That's not to say that given time they won't be able to come through, but the problem they've got is the average lifespan of a manager in the EFL isn't very long, it's about nine months.
"So I do think they'll both be worried and I don't think either team has the strongest of squads.
"I'd say Rotherham out of the two will be the ones who really need to put a run of form together and move up with the players they've got.
"They were in League One last season and they're underachieving.
"In Alex Bruce's defence, he hasn't been given the money to be able to go and improve the squad, so it's very hard.
"He needs to galvanise the squad, and they need to just grind out a few results. They need to try and get themselves above that line. Today was a bad day, but it's nothing a few good results can't change."
Aaron McLean was speaking to BBC Sport England's David Anderson.