Archive for the ‘Chelsea’ Category

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Manchester United have bought Diogo Dalot from Porto. He is a 19 year-old right wing back who is also comfortable on the left and in midfield so, on this basis and unless he is exceptional, he is one for the future.

It is expected that he will be used to provide cover for the wing back position. He has been at the club for around two minutes and speaks fluent English.

Antonio Valencia is 33. He used to be a half decent winger until he broke his leg and became nervous about taking on defenders. He was, consequently, shifted back into the right wing back position at which he isn’t very good. (more…)

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(Fred, having spotted the cameras, sticks out his tongue and starts doing those keepy-uppy thingummyjigs)

What did we tell you in yesterday’s tittle-tattle? Those of you who actually read it will remember that we pointed out that it was approaching the time when players were going to have to start making the headlines for moving from one club to another instead of managers.

With only Chelsea to decide upon who should occupy their hot seat next season, the news on coaches was always going to become rather thin on the ground eventually and the attention must now, inevitably, turn to the real entertainers.

So here’s what we know so far. (more…)

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It started, more or less, with Unai Emery getting the Arsenal gig. The club wanted somebody who could match, or better, Arséne Wenger’s achievements during his last few years in the job. They certainly got that. Emery is adept at getting his clubs into the top four and has been known to actually win the Europa League on more than one occasion.

Hold on to your hats you Gooners, it’s going to be a roller-coaster ride full of “been there, done that” and dĂ©jĂ  vu. Unai Emery will deliver one of the trophies Wenger failed to deliver but which will it be? Our money’s on Big Vase. (more…)

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José Mourinho wants, at some stage. to manage Portugal. He is quick, however, to point out that the position is still some way in the future as he has more energy for his club job now than ever before.

Pep Guardiola is still young, or so he assures us. This was pointed out by him when stating that he too would quite like to manage at country level in the future. He doesn’t stipulate which country probably because his country, in his own mind, isn’t yet a country.

Never mind, he would probably still have a few options were he to decide to make the move into the semi-retirement home which is international football management. (more…)

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(Raheem works on the theory that, if he goes down BEFORE he is tackled, he will reduce the chances of injury!)

Having had a downwards pointing gun tattooed on his leg which, understandably, raised some questions about his sanity, especially before he gave his reasons, Raheem Sterling then proceeded to shoot himself, metaphorically, in the foot.

The gun, he explained, was in memory of his father who had been shot dead when Raheem was just a child. Now we may be missing something here or it may be that Sterling, as he has intimated, hasn’t yet finished his memorial to his late father but, to our way of thinking, a tattoo of his late parent might have made more sense than one of a gun which is the weapon which killed him. Still, each to his own. (more…)

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Manchester United…..

José Mourinho has to go all out to win either the Premier League title or the Champion’s League or, best case scenario, both! The impression is that another trophy-less season might very well be the end of him and even a Carabao or FA Cup win, in isolation, wouldn’t be enough to save him.

One of his well documented problems is that, if he is not winning trophies, then his style of football alone is not enough to keep him in a job. As everybody is aware, he was sacked by Chelsea when five months into his third season back with them.

His demons begin to surface when he starts losing football matches and he tends to blame the players, physios, scouts and anybody else who isn’t him! (more…)

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Why was José Mourinho attending the international friendly game between Austria and Russia?

Well, obviously, he was there to watch Marko Arnautovic! How do we know? Easy, we read it in the paper, so it must be true.

It did cross our mind that he may have been there swotting up on the Russian team as he has agreed to be a pundit on a Russian TV station for the duration of the World Cup. (more…)

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How can selling Wembley be described as a betrayal? The idiots who massively overspent in building a stadium nobody outside of London really wanted cannot be accused of selling the soul of football, as some people have put it.

Wembley never was and never will be the “soul of football”. That title belongs to grounds such as Old Trafford, Anfield, Goodison Park and Stamford Bridge. In the past it would have included Highbury, Main Road, Roker Park and others too numerous to mention. (more…)

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According to The Guardian Manchester United manager José Mourinho is interested in signing Diogo Dalot of Porto. He has a release clause of €20 million but, reportedly, this has not yet been triggered.

That is, unless you read the Daily Express, who say that United have triggered his release clause which means that he will be signing in the not too distant future.

He is a 19-year old right back who can also play on the left and in midfield. This would be a signing designed to give some competition to Antonio Valencia which, in fairness, shouldn’t be too difficult for anybody half competent in the art of defending! (more…)

hk

(Harry Kane stifles a yawn brought on by the intense tiredness suffered having spent the equivalent of 78 hours, (3.25 days), playing competitive football this season)

Any regular reader of ours will be well aware of our opinions of managers who claim that their players are tired.

You know the ones, they have to play two games in a week and, when they lose one, it’s nearly always down to tiredness. Most of the top Premier League managers will use it as an excuse at least two or three times per season.

They will go whining on about a winter break as though that will suddenly turn their players into world beaters. (more…)