Archive for the ‘European Football’ Category

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Is José Mourinho just flirting with PSG in order to get some attention from his current employers? It is reported that he has asked for a “massive” pay rise, whatever that is, in order to sign a new and extended contract with United and he could be using the fact that he is still able to command the top jobs in European football as leverage to get it.

He could also be seriously contemplating taking the PSG job, either at the end of this contract or the next one.

United fans need to remember that, for Mourinho, this may be his biggest job to date, but it is still just another in the line of big jobs he has already undertaken and doesn’t necessarily mean he is at the end of his nomadic wanderings. (more…)

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It has been another successful weekend for Manchester.

City, in particular, looked mightily impressive against Stoke and United managed to keep the back door shut against Liverpool.

Despite Mourinho being criticised, totally ridiculously, for Liverpool’s inability to score, a draw is still a good result at Anfield.

Certain pundits, such as the idiot Garth Crooks at the BBC, thought United should have attacked Liverpool and tried to win the game, a tactic which could easily have gone pear-shaped and resulted in the first loss of the season. No, José got it spot on and, had Lukaku not shot straight at Mignolet when clean through, he could have been celebrating another one of his famous smash-and-grab acts. (more…)

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Regular readers could be forgiven for thinking that this has to be the easiest question we have ever posed. Why? Because it has to be the Manchester City midfield based purely on the fact that they have scored more goals than anyone else, and by quite a distance.

Whilst there is an element of truth to this argument, the City midfielders are assisted by the fact that they are currently the best team in the league and also that most of the chances they are creating are being converted into goals, which is a testament to how good their strikers are. (more…)

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In an eagerly anticipated game at Anfield the early Saturday kick-off saw Liverpool face Manchester United. Quite why these games are so eagerly anticipated is beyond the ken of simple folk such as ourselves.

They are often dour affairs with both teams more scared of losing than they are motivated by winning.

At least Liverpool did try to win the game but Manchester United, who had ONE shot on target throughout the ninety minutes, should be kicking themselves for not taking a more attacking approach. (more…)

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In our last article we compared the records of the top six strikers expected to get the goals in the Premier League and today it’s the turn of the players at the other end of the pitch. The ones who are expected, (in some cases it is hope rather than expectation), to save the club from dropping points and occasionally winning them some.

It has been said that a good goalkeeper can be worth up to 15 points per season. This is allowing for the fact that he may be the saviour of the team in many close games where 1-0 or 2-1 for example, remains the score at the end thanks to the keeper, or a draw remains a draw purely because of saves he has made. (more…)

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There are many articles written about the top strikers where they are dissected, compared, praised and criticised in equal measure. Many of the scribes who pen these words of wisdom are trying to convince a footballing public that they have them down to a tee.

They want us to think that they have described them in such depth that we now know everything there is to know about them and can make an informed deduction as to who is the better of them. (more…)

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Now that normal service is about to be resumed in the Premier League, at least for a month until the next set of ridiculous international fixtures are played, the clubs can begin to count the cost of releasing their top players to play in these games.

Sometimes meaningless, sometimes meaningful, it is always a surprise, particularly when the season has already started, to see how willing the teams are to release their players and how inconsiderate the international coaches are. (more…)

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It’s almost back! Like the long awaited return of your favourite TV show, Premier League football will soon be re-appearing at a ground near you. All that remains now is to try and remember what happened in the last episode of the previous series.

Why is it that two weeks seems such a long time when we managed to get through the close season with relatively little difficulty? Well, we’ll tell you why, ‘cos we know. It’s because we are all mentally prepared for a long break in the Summer, but we have difficulty accepting that the new season grinds to a halt almost immediately after it begins. It’s like finally taking delivery of your new car, after waiting for two months, only for it to break down within the first mile. (more…)

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(You want who?!!! You cannot be serious! C’mon give me a break. I got Fellaini and now he’s your favourite player! What more do you want?)

In another article from years gone by we questioned the wisdom of Manchester United in appointing Ed Woodward as the man to deal with transfer business. This was a particularly onerous task at the time as United had just allowed Sir Alex Ferguson to retire and David Gill to leave the club at the same time.

More to the point, we suggested that, after the debacle of that first transfer window, Woodward should have resigned. Here’s what we said back then. (more…)

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The Champion’s league started life as the European Cup back in 1955. It was originally intended to be a competition featuring the champions of the major European football leagues and ran, in this format, for 37 years.

As a tournament it was very successful and also very simple. Ties were played over two legs, home and away, and the winners progressed to the next round. Nothing too complicated there then. To be in it a team either had to win it or win their domestic league.

Unfortunately, not only was this not complicated enough for UEFA, it also didn’t generate enough money so, in 1992, the Champion’s League was born. (more…)