Archive for the ‘European Football’ Category

United And City Go For Different Sizes

Posted: July 10, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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It’s all a question of size. Ask Pep Guardiola about the importance of a player’s height and our guess is that the adage, “a good little ‘un will always beat a good big ‘un“, will be his first response, or the Spanish equivalent at least!

Ask the same question of José Mourinho and the answer may very well be reversed. He has usually built his teams around big centre forwards backed up by relatively big midfielders.

If Manchester United were to field a team of their tallest players right now it would include Marouane Fellaini at 6’4″, Paul Pogba at 6’3″, Romelu Lukaku at 6’3″ and Michael Carrick at 6’1”. (more…)

United Leave Madrid Empty Handed, Yet Again

Posted: July 8, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Transfers
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WSA recently watched a very interesting documentary about how scientists are hoping to work out why certain species of sharks attack human beings and, consequently, put a stop to it.

We have a very much simpler and cost effective way to prevent humans from being attacked by sharks. STAY OUT OF THE WATER! It isn’t the human’s natural habitat anyway and it is only total curiosity which makes them venture into the oceans in the first place.  (more…)

From A Football Point Of View, Lukaku To United Makes More Sense Than Rooney To Everton

Posted: July 7, 2017 in Chelsea, European Football, Everton, Football, Manchester United, Opinion
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WAYNE ROONEY

Forget nostalgia. Forgive any possibly deluded Evertonians who think they are getting a good player. They are not.

The fact of the matter is that Wayne Rooney is now not good enough to get into the Everton side. He may occasionally be OK coming off the bench for the last half hour of games but, as a starter, he has lost it.

Who at Goodison actually wants him back? I can’t imagine that Bill Kenwright would ever sanction the kind of money Rooney is paid, especially as he is now no better than average. (more…)

José Mourinho Appointed By Manchester United Because Of Pep Guardiola? Conspiracy Or Not?

Posted: July 6, 2017 in Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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As conspiracy theories go, it’s not up there with 9/11 or the JFK assassination, but it is still worth throwing in the water to see if it floats.

José Mourinho left Chelsea “by mutual consent” in December, 2015. In January, 2016 it was announced by Manchester City that Pep Guardiola was to be their new manager. Those two seismic events were pretty close in the happening.

In fairness to City, this is where their connection with the conspiracy theory ends because it is highly unlikely that they even knew, let alone cared, who was to follow Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager. (more…)

José 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…)

Would It Be A Disaster If Manchester United Were To Sign No More Players This Summer?

Posted: July 3, 2017 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
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The short answer is yes, it would be and for the following long reasons.

Leaving aside Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is now no longer an option, Manchester United had nobody reaching double figures in the goalscoring charts last season.

That was one of the reasons  United didn’t challenge for the title and, in the end, didn’t even really challenge for the top four. Too many games were drawn at home and the annoying aspect of those draws was that the majority of them were 1-1 results where United had led the games for lengthy periods, with the obvious exception being the Liverpool game where they actually managed to come back and draw in the last minute. (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…)

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