Archive for the ‘European Football’ Category

Of The Top Six, Only Manchester United Haven’t Faced A Direct Rival Yet. The Others Have All Faced At Least One With Mixed Results

Posted: September 12, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Manchester United currently sit top of the Premier League after four games. They have won three of them without conceding a goal. The fourth, away at Stoke, was always going to be their toughest game to date and it was the one which ended their 100% record and their non-concession of goals but still saw them remain unbeaten with a 2-2 draw.

They have yet to play one of the recognised top six but will certainly need to improve on their last performance if they wish to maintain their current position. (more…)

Morata Or Lukaku? Who Got The Better Deal, Chelsea Or Manchester United?

Posted: September 11, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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After only four games of the new Premier League season it is, possibly, a little early to be making comparisons between the two summer signings.

Had things worked out the way most people expected them to we would now be writing this article about Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku and Manchester United’s Alvaro Morata but, in one of those ubiquitous twists of fate United, with a little help from super agent Paul Pogba and an initial fee of £75 million, secured the signing of Lukaku who just happened to be on holiday in Los Angeles with Pogba at the time of his signing. (more…)

City And United Remain Unbeaten After The International Yawn

Posted: September 10, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Having seen the Premier League season rudely interrupted when only three games into it’s new beginning, normal service was resumed on Saturday morning with the first game of the day.

This pitched Manchester City against their newly nominated “bogey team” Liverpool at The Etihad.

A win for City would maintain their unbeaten record and take their points tally up to ten. A win for Liverpool would do exactly the same, so a draw was the sensible, even-money bet. (more…)

Why The Transfer Window Closing Earlier Is Bad For English Football

Posted: September 9, 2017 in Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
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As usual there has been a knee-jerk reaction by the FA. This time it is to complaints from some Premier League clubs that the transfer window stayed open for too long.

The fact that the window was still open after the season started meant that squads couldn’t be finalised and players were still on the move, sometimes after having played a game for their previous club as in the case of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who played against Liverpool in one game and then for them in the next. (more…)

Six New Signings To Watch This Season

Posted: September 8, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Alexandre Lacazette – Arsenal

A £52.7 million signing from Lyon, Lacazette scored with his first attempt at goal in his Arsenal debut. Shortly afterwards he was, totally inexplicably, dropped for the game against Liverpool where Wenger, in a moment brought on by ever-increasing bouts of insanity, preferred Danny Welbeck up front.

Arsenal, unsurprisingly, lost the game heavily and question marks have been raised again, and very early, about the role of the manager in this loss.

Why spend all that money on a player then drop him to the bench for the first “big” test? (more…)

Who Is The Best All-Round Manager In The Premier League Top Six?

Posted: September 7, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Mourinho, Guardiola, Conte and Klopp all have it, Pochettino is not far behind and Wenger never had it.

What are we talking about? Well, there probably isn’t one word for it. We are talking about charisma, je ne sais quoi, magnetism, talent, personality, winning mentality and other attributes we can’t even think of at this moment! If there is ONE word which encompasses all of these then please let us know.

Remember, we are not judging the most successful manager here, or the one with the best results on the pitch. This is just a bit of fun to see which one of them is the most complete. (more…)

Why Manchester United And Manchester City Are Finding It Easier To Sign Players Than Arsenal And Chelsea

Posted: September 6, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
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We have always said that the “London” thing is overrated and used as an excuse far too often, usually by the press when they haven’t got the true answer as to why a player, such as Eden Hazard for example, chooses Chelsea over United or City.

The fact is that he didn’t.

At the time Hazard moved to Stamford Bridge, Chelsea were competing on all levels and were in the process of rebuilding having just won the Champions League. Manchester City had been favourites to sign him but grew frustrated at the protracted negotiations and ended up walking away. (more…)

Will Antoine Griezmann Miss Out On A Move To Manchester United In January? Meanwhile, The Inquest Begins At Stamford Bridge

Posted: September 5, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
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Having initially chosen to stay with Atlético Madrid through a warped sense of loyalty, many people are of the opinion that Antoine Griezmann will move to Manchester United in the January transfer window.

Those opinions will have been strengthened by the recent news that his buy-out clause has been halved to €100 million. This is because, in January, Atlético Madrid will be able to buy players again and will also be in a position to be able to replace Griezmann.

There is no guarantee, however that the player will sign for Manchester United because, by then, Mourinho or his underworked and overpaid scouts, may have identified an alternative. (more…)

Which Wide Player Will Manchester United Be Buying In January?

Posted: September 4, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
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One of two things can happen to United’s form between now and January. It can remain consistent whereby they stay at the top of the table, or it can tail off from the blistering start they have made and see them in one of the lower top four places.

If the former happens, then don’t expect a player to be signed in January unless Mourinho can get exactly who he wants. If it is the latter, then rigorous attempts will probably be made to fill the position he feels he has missed out on this time.

If Dithering Ed Woodward had gone the extra mile and signed Ivan Perisić, as he did with every other player he has bought to date, then there would, we assume, be no need to bring in a player in January. As he didn’t go the extra mile will this see José turn back to one of the original favourites in Antoine Griezmann? (more…)

Player Power Fails Spectacularly But Has It Changed Anything At All?

Posted: September 3, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
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(The players may wear the shirts but the owners and chairmen are proving, for the moment at least, that THEY wear the trousers!)

Riyad Mahrez, Alexis Sánchez, Virgil van Dijk and Philippe Coutinho. All players who, in order to try and force a move away from their clubs, handed in a transfer request.

Also all world class players who would be welcome in most teams so why is it that, as the transfer window slid shut on Thursday night, they all remained at their clubs.

There are a few reasons but the overriding feeling is one that player power has been defeated, on this occasion at least. (more…)

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