Are they even supposed to be accurate? If they were always correct then they wouldn’t really be rumours, they would be facts.
The following is a list of players Manchester United were/are going to buy according to various publications both dubious and reputable.
Manchester United have won the Premier League title thirteen times. Chelsea have won it five times and Manchester City have won it twice.
Sandwiched in between City and Chelsea is Arsenal, who have won it three times, but that was back in the days when they were quite good, days which are unlikely to return as long as they, and their manager, continue to stick their heads in the sand in the forlorn belief that he will be able to compete with the new kids on the block at any time soon.
Their riches also do not amount to as much as any of the “big three” which means that they will either always be picking up players unwanted by the others, or scouting very good players for themselves, as they used to do very successfully. (more…)
At the end of this current transfer window the top six Premier League clubs, (seven, if you include Everton), will have spent millions of pounds improving their squads to have another tilt at winning the title next season.
For five of the top six Champion’s League football also beckons so they need the depth of squad to be able to juggle this with their other commitments.
Arsenal and Everton will compete in the Europa League so it is fair to say that their quality and quantity will also be tested.
The big question is: Will an English club win the Champion’s League next season? (more…)
Here we take a look at the transfer dealings of two London clubs, the two from Manchester and the two Merseyside teams.
CHELSEA
Chelsea have signed Antonio Rüdiger. He is a centre back and there was, as far as we know, no competition for his signature.
Chelsea have not signed Romelu Lukaku because they had competition from a bigger club. They may not sign Timoue Bakayoko because that same bigger club is now expressing an interest in the player. (more…)
It’s all a question of size. Ask Pep Guardiola about the importance of a player’s height and our guess is that the adage, “a good little ‘un will always beat a good big ‘un“, will be his first response, or the Spanish equivalent at least!
Ask the same question of José Mourinho and the answer may very well be reversed. He has usually built his teams around big centre forwards backed up by relatively big midfielders.
If Manchester United were to field a team of their tallest players right now it would include Marouane Fellaini at 6’4″, Paul Pogba at 6’3″, Romelu Lukaku at 6’3″ and Michael Carrick at 6’1”. (more…)
WSA recently watched a very interesting documentary about how scientists are hoping to work out why certain species of sharks attack human beings and, consequently, put a stop to it.
We have a very much simpler and cost effective way to prevent humans from being attacked by sharks. STAY OUT OF THE WATER! It isn’t the human’s natural habitat anyway and it is only total curiosity which makes them venture into the oceans in the first place. (more…)
If we look at the top clubs, the happiness of the individual managers is easy to gauge. The teams who are signing players have happy coaches and the ones who are struggling to get deals over the line don’t, yes it’s that simple!
Here’s how it breaks down.
CHELSEA
The only player through the door so far has been Willy Caballero. Brought in on a free transfer as a number two to Thibault Courtois, he was previously number two, (before becoming number one), to “Butterfingers” Bravo at Manchester City. This signing has not yet seen an increase in the sale of season tickets. (more…)
These are the kind of questions often asked but seldom answered. Usually, the query will just invoke a smile, a shrug of the shoulders and any one of several quick retorts from, “priceless” to “nobody has enough money to buy them“.
In actual fact, there weren’t many members of that team who would be worth a fortune nowadays. Let’s take a look and a few educated guesses:
1. Alex Stepney – Goalkeeper. Arrived at United from Chelsea in 1967 to replace Harry Gregg, who was to retire through injury. Although capable of spectacular saves and a very reliable goalkeeper he was around during a golden age for English goalkeepers, hence he was only capped once for England. (more…)
That’s it! The transfer window is now officially open! Better than Christmas Day for a five year old. Better than your thirteenth birthday when you said “hello” to your teen years and much better than your eighteenth birthday when everything that used to be fun because it was illegal is now extremely boring and mundane.
So begins two months of anticipation, interspersed with long periods of frustration and boredom when, even though the window has been flung wide open, nothing happens at your club. (more…)
Here, admittedly before many transfers have been completed, we take a look at who will be among the favourites for the Champion’s League next season.
From Real Madrid through to Manchester United, managers at the top European clubs will be under pressure to deliver silverware at the highest level. They will be expected to mount a domestic title challenge and the elite few will also be expected to mount a challenge for Europe’s top prize.
They could be viewed as a European top six and we fully expect the following clubs to at least reach the quarter finals of the competition: (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 