Five of the big six return to Champion’s League action this week with all of them in a good position to qualify.
The only ones not in a good position to progress to the next phase of this season’s competition are Arsenal, mainly because they are not in it.
They are, however, in a good spot in the Europa League, a competition in which they find themselves competing for the first time in 137 years. (more…)
Back in 2003, when stubborn old man was quite a good manager, his team managed to go through an entire season without losing a single game in the Premier League.
Back in the 1880’s, when stubborn old man was just a small garçon in Strasbourg, Preston North End managed to go through an entire season without losing a single game in both the league and the cup. In doing so they were, and still are, the only one of the seven double winners to achieve the task without losing a game. They also won the cup without conceding a goal.
There is a slight chance that the Arsenal achievement could be matched by Manchester City this season. There is a much slighter chance that the Preston achievement could be matched but City’s defence probably isn’t good enough for that one. (more…)
The early kick-off this week saw the meeting of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
Much had been made of the fact that Harry Kane would miss the game through injury but very little had been said about United being without Pogba, Fellaini, Rojo and Carrick which, collectively, is surely a bigger miss than just one player!
The game itself was a forgettable affair with United in particular guilty of their usual ineptness in possession and displaying their regular propensity for giving the ball back to the opposition far too easily. (more…)
It’s a bit of a rhetorical question as it is a situation unlikely to happen to ALL of them, and certainly not at the same time, but we like to speculate and it is quite interesting to debate which one would suffer the most.
The obvious caveat here is that it depends upon the games the player in question is likely to miss. Will they be title deciders against big clubs or just end of the season run-outs with little or no meaning?
So we have assumed that, when they lose the player in question, all six have a run of games identical in importance to each other. See if you agree with our choices. (more…)
The stand-out game of this weekend’s Premier League fixtures is undoubtedly the one at Old Trafford between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Mauricio Pochettino will be hoping that his team can bounce back, a little like West Ham did in the second half of their mid-week game, by taking something positive from Manchester.
He will also want to prove that Tottenham are not the “Harry Kane” team, as Pep Guardiola described them. Although meant as a compliment to Kane, it was wrongly taken as a slight against the team as a whole yet Spurs did little to prove that they can win without Kane, by losing without Kane, at home, to West Ham. (more…)
What are we talking about, you may well ask? Why, the Carabao Cup, of course.
Fresh from progressing into the next round, José Mourinho has decided, once again, that this is a competition to be taken seriously.
His shoulders are occasionally adorned by a white angel or a red devil, depending upon his mood. This time the angel, (responsible for the “serial winner” side of his personality), got there before the devil, (responsible for the “serial moaner” side of his personality). (more…)
José Mourinho will take his Manchester United team down to Swansea in an attempt to qualify for the next round of the Carabao Cup.
It isn’t a competition which is among his two top priorities but, suddenly, this game has become quite important, to Mourinho, the players and the fans.
This is because had United attacked Liverpool, at Anfield, just over a week ago, it is entirely possible they would have left with all three points. (more…)
José Mourinho has decided that the loss against Huddersfield Town was entirely the fault of his players. He is right, to an extent, in that it is they who take to the pitch and, therefore, they who have the major say in how the game is going to be played and whether or not they will win.
He is also right if they fail to carry out his instructions and leave the field having lost the game.
He is wrong to think that, by publicly blaming the players, it makes him in some way safer in his job. (more…)
Is anybody going to challenge Manchester City for the title this season?
Arsenal and Liverpool have already proven themselves far too inconsistent and may even struggle to get into the top four. As they both play on Sunday we may get an idea if they have managed to improve on their recent form.
Arsenal appear to have the easier game as they are going to Goodison Park to play a totally out of form Everton, while Liverpool travel to White Hart Wembley to play Tottenham who, if they can ever work out how to play there, could be considered serious challengers themselves! (more…)
Unless you have a different idea to the rest of us on how the game of football should be played, it is difficult to disagree that Manchester City are the form team at the moment. Not only that but, when in full flow, they are without doubt the most attractive of the top teams to watch.
But who comes next? Forget parking the bus, forget different tactics and formations for different games. Who, when in full flow and playing all-out attacking football, is next in the list of “must watch” teams? (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 