Although a top three finish would have virtually the same outcome as winning the Europa League in that they would both mean automatic qualification for next season’s Champion’s League, the more prestigious of the two is the higher finish in the Premier League.
Fourth place, of course, would mean a chance to compete for the Champion’s League through the qualifiers, which is by no means a guarantee of participation in the competition proper. (more…)
(Thanks to sportingintelligence for the graphic)
Whenever anything relating to Manchester United is published it is big news. Maybe not to everybody in the world but there are many who hang onto every word, written or spoken, about the reds.
There is talk of the stadium capacity being increased to around 80,000 in the near future and it will be full for almost every home game.
Do United do anything differently to the other top teams? They spend some of their close season touring far away places in order to give some of their fans the chance to see the players, (not to mention increasing the fanbase to make more money)! (more…)
Rewind to a time not much more than twelve months ago. Stood on the touchline at the Kingpower Stadium was a manager whose team looked bereft of ideas, short of a leader and heading in one direction only, downwards.
José Mourinho, when interviewed after that 2-1 loss to Leicester City, unashamedly blamed his players for not following orders. This despite the fact that, as he well knows, the ultimate responsibility lies with the person who picks those players.
Roman Abramovich obviously concurred with the opinion that the manager was at fault and Mourinho was out of work. (more…)
Ronald Koeman must resign himself to the fact that a challenge to break into the top six will probably have to wait until next season. Some wise spending in the Summer transfer window and his astute management should see a more concerted effort from Everton next time out.
He will certainly be expected to improve upon the finishes of Roberto Martinez and David Moyes as he has a sizeable amount of cash available thanks to the new owner, Farhad Moshiri. (more…)
As regular readers of these chronicles will be aware, there are several amongst the football fraternity who are, to put it mildly, an irritation. We are not just referring to current players in the previous statement, as there are far more irritating people who have never played the game, who have retired from the game or who have dabbled at it and been no better than average.
There are reporters, presenters and referees. There are “celebrity” fans, another horrible expression suggesting that some people are “celebrated” whilst others are completely ignored throughout their life despite the good they may do. (more…)
Premier League title winning is something Jose Mourinho knows all about. It is also something Sir Alex Ferguson knows all about. The common denominator between the two is Manchester United. So how come one of the most expensive squads in the world is struggling to get into the top four?
The answer to the question is very simple even if the solution to the problem isn’t quite so straightforward. They are struggling due to an inability to score goals.
This inability has resulted in too many drawn games which should have been comfortable victories. (more…)
Back in 1974 the Conservative government of the day was brought down by the miners. They went on a three day week and brought the country to it’s knees. It was the last time we saw Ted Heath, dubbed by Mike Yarwood as “that pompous Popeye with the performing shoulders“, as Prime Minister.
The Labour government who were returned at the following election were not popular among the majority of the rich. Then again a Labour government is never popular among the majority of the rich, who see their sole purpose in life as hanging on to their money, making even more of it and not caring who suffers in the process. As long as there are enough poor people to fund the national health and pay taxes through smoking Woodbines and drinking beer, then it’s a case of “I’m alright Jack, stuff you“! (more…)
The top six were all in FA Cup action this weekend. They all fielded “weakened” teams which, however it is viewed, means that the FA Cup is now regarded as being on a par with the EFL Cup. They are both competitions clubs would like to win but, if they don’t, then it’s no big deal and some of the fringe players and youngsters have had a run-out.
One manager was quoted as saying that, “we don’t have a weakened team we have an alternative team“. This should be true, especially when you consider the size and quality of the squads belonging to the top six, but it was said tongue-in-cheek. (more…)
Bastian Schweinsteiger has managed to work his way back as far as the bench. Morgan Schneiderlin and Memphis Depay also reached that lofty height and Matteo Darmian has had a reasonable run in the first team, just not in his favoured position. That his best role has been filled by a winger who can’t defend says a lot about Darmian’s future in Mourinho’s team.
Marcos Rojo is almost a regular and Daley Blind flits in and out depending upon the opposition. Luke Shaw is yet to fully recover mentally from his injury and only time will tell if he is going to fulfill his potential and whether or not that will be at United. (more…)
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Well, almost. Mourinho is certainly more like Ferguson than Moyes or van Gaal were. Even taking into account that Moyes is from Glasgow he had little else in common with Ferguson.
Some of the press have been reporting an interview given by Lord Ferg to BBC Sport during which he mentioned how Mourinho has now calmed down on the touchline, pointing out that it was his Latin temperament which was to blame for the occasional outbursts. (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 