Archive for the ‘Chelsea’ Category

JosĂ© Mourinho & Antonio Conte Appear To Be The Unhappiest Of Managers

Posted: July 5, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Transfers
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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

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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…)

How Much Would The Manchester United Players Who Won The European Cup In 1968 Be Worth Now?

Posted: July 4, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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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…)

The Transfer Merry-Go-Round Is Only Just Beginning

Posted: July 1, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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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…)

Which Teams Are Best Placed To Win The Champion’s League Next Season?

Posted: June 30, 2017 in Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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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…)

Realistically, Who Can Win The Premier League Title Next Season?

Posted: June 29, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur
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The short answer to the above question is: anybody can win it. You only have to look at the achievements of Claudio Ranieri and Leicester City the season before last for proof of that particular pudding.

The more reasonable and logical answer is that the winners will, more than likely, come from one of the current big six with dark horses for a top six finish being West Ham United, Everton or even Newcastle United, rather than a lower ranked team pulling off a major shock.

The main contenders are shaping up as follows:- (more…)

Why Manchester United Do Not Have The Best Record When It Comes To Signing New Players

Posted: June 28, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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In fact, they have missed out on more of their preferred targets than they have actually signed.

A lot of this has only been happening in the last few years as other clubs, around Europe in general and the Premier League in particular, have grown thanks to the amount of TV money now on offer.

Twenty or so years ago, the main competitors when United were interested in buying a player would be Liverpool, maybe Arsenal and that would be just about it from the Premier League. At that stage players were not moving around Europe as much so no interest would be expressed from the likes of Real Madrid or Barcelona. (more…)

The Players Manchester United Will Probably Buy In This Transfer Window

Posted: June 27, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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If Manchester United were to sell the seven players we have suggested they sell, the benefits would be immediate. (If you are wondering which seven we are going on about then read here, and here)

Space would be freed up in the squad to allow for three or four additions to fit seamlessly into the club.

Money would be freed up in the form of salaries saved to be able to pay more to better players.

Whilst we accept that money isn’t usually the deciding factor when a top player makes a move, it doesn’t do any harm to offer him more than any of the other suitors! (more…)

Four More Potential Signings For Manchester United

Posted: June 24, 2017 in Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Transfers
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A couple of days ago we looked at three strikers who may, or may not, be of interest to José Mourinho. Now we will look at four more players who would operate in defence or behind the strikers, either in the full back position or in a defensive or an attacking midfield role. In our modest opinion any of the four would be a sound purchase for United. If they could get more than one, then better still.

So to the first one, which has a reasonable chance of happening: (more…)

Ed Woodward Still Needs To Prove He Is Up For The Job

Posted: June 23, 2017 in Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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In the dim and distant past Manchester United had relatively few problems in enticing players to sign for them.

Pre-Fergie it was the lure of the name. It also helped that, in 1968, they had become the first English club to win the European Cup, although Sir Matt Busby made relatively few signings after that famous night at Wembley, a fact which was a constant source of annoyance to George Best.

Best expected the team to grow and prosper from that night on. Instead, Busby stuck with the older players and United won nothing of note again until the FA Cup defeat of Liverpool in 1977. (more…)

JosĂ© Mourinho Has A Few Options In The Transfer Market

Posted: June 22, 2017 in Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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We mere mortals can only speculate on what it must be like to have several million pounds available to spend. There is, however, a limit on how much of these several millions can actually be spent due to something called Financial Fair Play.

This was all the rage just a few short years ago and was tested out on Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain. Both of these clubs benefitted through being purchased by Middle-Eastern billionaires who immediately went about spending some of their wealth on improving the teams. (more…)

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