(Even when younger Rooney could often be found snoring away during a game when overcome by tiredness!)
Somehow, I get the impression that Wayne Rooney doesn’t think he needs a rest. It wasn’t that many years ago that he was saying he would play football every day if he could.
That was the child within him speaking of course as anyone who can remember playing those games in the park will testify. (more…)
In the not too distant past, José Mourinho would have poured scorn on this competition. He always saw it as a tournament for losers, as a punishment for not being good enough in your own league and, therefore, confined to the basement of European football to compete with teams whose names are difficult to pronounce from countries which are difficult to find.
This was a view shared, strangely enough, by his great friend and hero Sir Alex Ferguson whose own journey into the Europa League was a one-time experience and very short-lived. (more…)
Manchester City have once again been told that they are in the “Group of Death”. This should come as no surprise to either the supporters or to anybody connected with the club. Manchester City always get drawn in the “Group of Death”.
The problem here is the inferiority complex which could develop through this attitude. Why is this the toughest group from which to qualify just because it contains Barcelona? Over two games I would expect City to take at least one point from Messi and co. This leaves Borussia Mönchengladbach and Celtic. From these four games I would expect at least eight points which would give them a total of nine, more than likely enough to see them through in second place. (more…)
It means, quite simply, that for the first time this season, Manchester United and Chelsea have failed to win a game whilst Manchester City march on unbeaten and undrawn, (is that a word?). This in turn, in the grand scheme of things, means absolutely nothing!
No doubt the press will be rattling on about how Manchester City are the best team in the league and how they will win it at a canter. Also about how José Mourinho needs to sort out the Manchester United problems and how Antonio Conte will have to tighten up the Chelsea defence. (more…)
The first thing we learnt was that José Mourinho, by his own admission, started with the wrong selection of at least two players.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan had been sent home from the Armenian squad due to an injury picked up in their first game. It was patently obvious that the derby game against Manchester City was too soon after the injury and that he hadn’t recovered sufficiently to be effective. This was shown in his sluggish first half performance which resulted in him being replaced for the second half. (more…)
So that’s it then. It’s all over until the next time and people are beginning to wonder what all the fuss was about.
At this stage it is probably worth mentioning that, in order to make sense, this article is better when read after the previous one which can be found here.
The draw was the widely predicted result and so it came as a surprise when City emerged victorious. This situation, though, is hardly critical for United at this early stage of the season. (more…)
Will there be a feast of goals? Will there be any goals? How many players will still be on the pitch by the end of the game? How many managers will still be pitch-side by the end of the game? Which team’s fans will be leaving early? Who will have a great game and who won’t?
As per usual the derby game, like a lot of less well publicised games, throws up a lot of questions. By the end of today’s game we will have the answers to all of the above. It is far more interesting, however, to speculate as to what those answers may be before the game than it is to pretend that we knew those answers after the game. (more…)
It is highly unlikely that this one game will decide who wins the Premier League. It is also highly unlikely that the fate of either manager will be decided by the result of this one game. So why all the hype? Well, one reason is because Sky Sports have found out when and where the game is to be played.
Despite the two clubs trying to keep the timing and whereabouts of the match a closely guarded secret shared only between a few million fans and the two teams, it was discovered that a mole had leaked the information to Sky. The mole has since been bodily removed from Manchester and sentenced to support Arsenal for the rest of his miserable life. (more…)
Manchester City, played three, won three. Manchester United, played three, won three. Chelsea, played three, won three. Arsenal, played three, won one, drawn one, lost one.
So why have the new kids on the block started so well and yet Arsenal, with their wily old manager, have started off in what has become their usual manner? (more…)
Yes folks, it’s that time of the season again. Football journalists have barely had time to get settled back into their routine when the Premier League fixture list throws up a big game.
Starved of meaningful matches to report on and, shock horror, having to give Sam Allardyce a reasonable press because England won, in a competitive game, away from home, it is time to return to what they do worst. (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 