Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

What Next For The Four Old Men? (Hiddink 69, Wenger 66, Van Gaal 64, Pellegrini 62)

Posted: January 7, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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If we are to believe everything that we read, which we don’t, then all four of the above mentioned managers could be out of their jobs at the end of the season.

Guus Hiddink is an interim manager at Chelsea. He may do very well and be offered the job on a longer term basis. The question is, does he want it? He seems to be quite happy to flit in and out of jobs for short periods of time. He has also expressed a desire to spend more time fishing, which a short term contract would allow him to do at virtually anytime he wished.

Since his unsuccessful flirtations with Russia and the Netherlands national sides, Guus may feel that he is getting a little past it for the big stage. Although international management does not carry the day to day pressures of a domestic team, the whole weight of a country is on the shoulders of the coach when attempting to qualify for a tournament or even win one, so it is no surprise he has not leapt straight back into that side of the game. With Chelsea, he can walk away should he so decide. I think he will. (more…)

Arsenal First, City Second, United & Chelsea Nowhere

Posted: January 6, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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It is certainly a possibility!

With Manchester United under-achieving, Chelsea under the halfway line of the Premier League table and Manchester City under target for the season, it seems for once, that Arsene Wenger has seized the opportunity and that Arsenal could, if they are not very careful, win the Premier League title.

Usually, Arsenal are well off the pace by this stage of the season and have to rely on a very consistent second half to sneak into fourth or third place, thus qualifying for the Champion’s League every year. This time out, they are in danger of qualifying early by actually winning the league. They appear to be the only ones, along with Leicester City, despite one or two dodgy results. The rest seem to be trying their best NOT to win it.

Manchester United, having spent a fortune in the Summer, are not really anywhere near where they need to be. Out of the Champion’s League after the group stage and out of the qualifying positions for next year’s Champion’s League. This situation needs addressing sooner rather than later. Whether that be by buying during this transfer window or, as is rumoured, a change in playing style remains to be seen but something needs to happen at United and quickly. (more…)

Where Next For Pep Guardiola?

Posted: January 5, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Pep responds with a well-known gesture when asked why he would want to coach Manchester City!)

The leading candidates, in no particular order, are:

Chelsea – Guus Hiddink

Having fired Jose Mourinho for being unable to get the same players to do the same things for two years running, Roman Abramovich has appointed Guus Hiddink until the end of the season.

Now, it could be that Guus does very well and gets Chelsea into the top four, wins the FA Cup, the Champions League and becomes fluent in Russian so he can tell Roman all about it. It will matter not a jot should Guardiola decide that his future lies in West London. This being the case, Hiddink will be jettisoned quicker than a human cannonball, allowing him to retire and spend his days fishing in the flatness of Holland.

Guardiola will not, however, decide that his future lies in West London.

Arsenal – Arsene Wenger

Now in his twentieth year at Arsenal, there will be some gooners who are secretly hoping that it is his last. They want him booted upstairs in some kind of director role and they would absolutely love it, Kevin Keegan-style, if he was replaced by Pep Guardiola. (more…)

It Isn’t Easy Being Manchester United

Posted: January 5, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(This is an article I first posted back in August of last year. The reason for republishing this edited version is simple, it is still pretty relevant.)

Well, that ‘s the halfway stage reached with United in fifth place. The expectation after the last spend would have been a little higher, maybe fourth or third, as everybody expected Chelsea and City to be one and two, so a little down on target to date.

Now, all that remains to be done is to strengthen the squad so that the second half of the season culminates in a top four finish.

So let the problems begin. Firstly, everybody who is anybody will be linked with a move to United except the three, now untouchable, at Barcelona, (as eagle-eyed readers will know, since this article, Neymar actually has been linked with United).This, in itself, is a problem. Gone are the days when you merely had to say that you represented Manchester United for the targeted player to immediately pack his bags and instruct his agent to negotiate his departure. (more…)

Manchester United Are Nearly There

Posted: January 4, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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It always seems to me, nowadays anyway, that Manchester United are never far away from having a team to challenge for trophies.

Never mind who is manager, as long as it is somebody with experience of a big club, who knows what he is doing, the manager shouldn’t be the deciding factor on whether or not the club wins trophies, the players should.

When you consider the players they have and the money they have spent the only surprise is that it is taking so long to get things right on the pitch.

Louis van Gaal and the United fans don’t need me to tell them that more goals are required but at least the signs were promising against Swansea, when Martial and Rooney both scored.

I am still not a lover of playing too many people out of position and think that the great teams of the past, not just at United, have usually had specialists in each position.

It does appear though, that United are looking at strikers, centre backs and full backs during this transfer window. That is not to say they will buy all three, but at least they seem to be looking which is an acknowledgement that they know where they can improve. (more…)

What Has Happened To The Traditional Top Four?

Posted: January 3, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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To supporters of other clubs, what I mean by the “traditional top four” is the four clubs who have finished in those positions the most times in the recent past.

To try and appear unbiased I will take them in alphabetical order:

Arsenal

They have obviously decided that they need to reverse the usual pattern of their season. This was only evident when they lost their first home game. Arsene quickly realised that the season would be the same as any other if he didn’t do something.

So they started winning regularly, something the Gooners fans don’t normally experience until after the Christmas period. By this time, Arsenal have usually left it too late to win the title.

This has proven so successful that Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Leicester City in second. They are still in the Champion’s League, just, thanks to an epic display against Olympiacos in the final group game. (more…)

Will Guus Hiddink Steady The Ship At Chelsea?

Posted: January 3, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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The first impression is that he will. Already Jon Obi Mikel has spoken of a more united dressing room since Mourinho went. There are rumours that Eden Hazard is also happier although he actually improved considerably when Jose first returned. Still, that relationship also seemed to have turned sour.

Michael Emenalo, Chelsea’s technical director cited “palpable discord” between the players and Mourinho as the main reason for his sacking but then rather contradicted this by saying that the players had followed instructions, given by Mourinho,to the letter.

This was clearly an attempt to absolve any of the players of any blame in the same way as a military officer will be blamed for the failings of his troops and morale will be increased, (hopefully).

The problem with this is that outside observers point out that the players followed his instructions to the letter last season and won the title. So, either Jose got it completely wrong by changing his instructions to the team this season, or it is a little more smoke blown over the situation. One has to assume that, had the players been following his instructions to the letter, then Chelsea would not be in the mess they are in at present. (more…)

Do Manchester City Need A New Left Back?

Posted: January 2, 2016 in Football, Manchester City, Opinion, Premier League
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Is Manuel Pellegrini ever going to realise what a liability Aleksandr Kolarov is to the team?

He is so lazy it is unbelievable. I don’t mean lazy in that he doesn’t run around or chase the ball, he does all that. The problem is when he has the ball or is attempting to win it.

He will invariably play a lazy pass straight at an opponent as though he expects the ball to magically pass through him. He does occasionally play decent passes in behind the defence or put in a decent cross or crack in a fierce free-kick but I am not sure that the positives outweigh the negatives with this guy.

Take the goal he scored for Watford today from a corner. Apart from being in danger of conceding a penalty by having both his arms around a Watford striker, he then deliberately flicked the ball with his head. He didn’t need to, Joe Hart had it covered and would either have caught it or punched it out. The flick from Kolarov took it past him and into the net.

Whilst I am sure that these mistakes affect him, he certainly does not give the appearance that they do. He appears not to care, but I am sure he does.

The main problem, for me, is that he never seems to learn and Pellegrini keeps picking him. Now, the argument may be that City don’t have a left back better than Kolarov, which is true if Clichy is the only back up. (more…)

Manchester United Flatter To Deceive

Posted: January 2, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The transfer window has been open for two whole days and Manchester United still haven’t bought a striker! Is it not obvious to van Gaal that goals win games and decent strikers score goals?

So to the home game against Swansea where Laborious Louis had the chance to improve upon the Chelsea performance by winning.

Yet again United’s team selection was a sign of things to come.

Inexplicably, Wayne Rooney had been named as the man-of-the-match in the previous game against Chelsea. He hadn’t scored, as usual, so I guess he got it because he managed to raise his game from rubbish to average.

Van Gaal must have been sufficiently impressed because he decided his misfiring captain should remain at centre forward despite lacking the obvious requirement of goals.

As is the norm nowadays, van Gaal put his top scorer on the wing thereby limiting any chances he would have of increasing his tally. He played Ashley Young as a wing back, again. He played Daley Blind as a wing back, again. I get the impression that, if he got the chance to manage Barcelona again, he would play Messi, Neymar and Suarez as the back three. (more…)

What Next For Jose Mourinho?

Posted: January 1, 2016 in Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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(Jose tells the team how many players he wants on the bus!)

If it is true that Jose Mourinho wants to stay in England as a manager, he may have to set his sights a little lower than he is used to.

It would appear that his first choice of club would be Manchester United, but the noises coming from Old Trafford are not encouraging for him. If we are to believe the press then Louis van Gaal had to win one of his last two games to keep his job. He failed to do so but remains in situ at United. This says one of two things. Either the press were wrong, (perish the thought!), or United don’t have a successor lined up. If the latter is the case, then Mourinho is not in the running for the job.

Further, more recent rumblings, supposedly emanating from Old Trafford, suggest that the players would like Diego Simeone from Atletico Madrid. I am not aware that Simeone has been consulted on this matter but I suggest it may be a job he could summon up some interest in, despite his lack of English. In actual fact, having no command of English never appeared to be a problem for the likes of Mauricio Pochettino or Harry Redknapp. (more…)

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