In a quiet news week where most of the headlines have been about English cricketers or rugby players fighting outside pubs and then objecting when they are arrested and charged, it was refreshing to see everybody’s favourite outsiders Burnley sneak past Başakşehir of Turkey with a 1-0 win after extra time at Turf Moor.
The TV companies worldwide had decided that this one wasn’t worth televising which, to an extent, is understandable although BT, with three sports channels, undoubtedly broadcast something far less interesting on at least two of them!
A dire game saw Joe Hart remain unbeaten in the Burnley goal and that is now 300 minutes without conceding which is all of his Burnley career to date.
Jack Cork scored the winner which takes Sean Dyche’s men through to the next round where they will face Olympiakos in the final qualifying tie. What a tournament! IF the Clarets can beat the Greeks then they will have played six games just to be able to play in the main competition and that is actually LESS than some of the others!
Will they win it? Do they want to? Is their squad big enough? The answers to all these questions and more will be provided, at some stage, by the ever-vigilant staff here at WSA.
Our current poll…..
In our latest poll, which is still running should you wish to vote, Maurizio Sarri is the leading answer to the question, “which of the new managers in the EPL will turn out to be the best?”.
By “the best” we don’t necessarily mean the one who finishes highest or the one who wins a trophy or two. We mean the one who, overrall, has the biggest impact on his team.
Wolves and Fulham, for example, have both spent lots of money in an attempt to make staying in the Premier League a little easier. If the managers of those clubs can coax a top ten finish from their team then that would be quite an achievement.
Everton’s boss will be hoping against hope that he wins our poll!
Everton and West Ham begin the season at roughly the same level and have both also spent a lot of cash. Success for them would not necessarily be a top ten finish. Our guess is that, given the size of the clubs and the ambitions of the owners, they will be looking for Europa League qualification this season.
The biggest problem for the aforementioned four clubs may very well be integrating all the new players and getting some coherent performances from them quickly but, after all, isn’t that what the manager is paid to do?
The final two are the London clubs who have both gone, yet again, for foreign coaches and, of the two, Chelsea are the one who seem to have slipped into gear almost immediately.
Granted their opening day win was against Huddersfield who will be among the favourites to be relegated, but it was still a solid perfomance coming, as it did, only a week after having been easily beaten by Manchester City.
On this evidence, Chelsea could make it into the top four but they won’t be challenging for the number one spot. If this is the case then Maurizio Sarri, who is currently leading our poll, would be a very bad choice as winner.
Arsenal’s opening day fixture was also against Manchester City and they were also easily beaten by Pep Guardiola’s team who were, again, very good.
The problem Arsenal will face is that their squad isn’t as good as that of Chelsea so, despite all the hype surrounding their first new manager in 22 years, they will again finish outside of the top four.
As we said, the choice in the poll is yours but try to vote realistically and not just for your team.
And finally…..
Bobby Madley puts in some practice for his upcoming new job as a traffic cop in New York
At the grand old Age of 32, referee Bobby Madley has decided to retire from football. At an age when most players are still donning their boots and not yet thinking seriously about management, when would-be referees are just beginning their course work, he has had enough.
Well, that may not be strictly true as the reason reported for his premature retirement is that he is relocating. Obviously, that being the case, then he must be going abroad as just moving house in England would not necessitate giving up the day job.
We wish him all the best in his new life and that won’t change even when we discover the real reason for his relocation and retirement, (or maybe it will).
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 