Archive for the ‘Football’ Category

When Football And Medicine Don’t Mix

Posted: August 12, 2015 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Opinion
Tags: , , , , ,
2

image

When a footballer is genuinely injured he is usually substituted and the game continues with eleven against eleven. When a footballer feigns injury he is usually booked and the game continues with eleven against eleven, (assuming the referee or linesman spots the deception). In between these two extremes is the “ouch, that hurt!” type of injury.

This is a minor injury which is not serious enough to warrant a substitution. It may not even require any attention from the physio but this one is the difficult one to call. If the player is more seriously injured than at first thought, the physio will be in trouble for not immediately attending. If the physio attends and the injury is not serious then the club may suffer as the player will need to leave the pitch until allowed back on by the referee.

All the annoyance and confusion caused by Eden Hazard going down injured against Swansea City towards the end of the game at Stamford Bridge can be summed up in five words. The law is an ass. (more…)

The Scout

Posted: August 11, 2015 in Football
Tags: , ,
4

image

Speaking entirely as a novice I am caused occasional frustration when I see the top clubs spending millions on players.

You would think that, as the richest teams in Europe, the top clubs would have the top scouts. If that is the case where are the unknown players? We see the occasional kid being signed at fifteen or sixteen, only to go out on loan for the next three years, then usually get sold as he wasn’t quite good enough for the first team. Scouts obviously attend the youth matches because they need players for their own youth teams but, as has been said a lot lately, where are these players coming through?

Good scouting is more evident from about 8th or 9th place down in the Premier league. It seems that every club from there downwards has a decent scouting system and can bring players through themselves. (more…)

Angel Sneaks Off To Paris

Posted: August 7, 2015 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion
Tags: , , , ,
1

image

It seems that, whenever Angel Di Maria does anything controversial, it always involves a third party and it is usually their fault.

When he left Real Madrid he felt the need to make excuses so he wouldn’t be globally detested by the supporters of los Blancos. He had been there for four years so the fans, by this time, would know whether they thought he was good, bad or just plain ugly.

This is a sentence from his open letter to them;
‘Unfortunately, I have to go but I want to make clear that this was never my desire.’ (more…)

It Isn’t Easy Being Manchester United

Posted: August 4, 2015 in Manchester United
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

image

(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, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich

Posted: July 29, 2015 in European Football, Football, Opinion
Tags: , , ,
15

image

Why do top players, when given the chance to sign for one of the top clubs, invariably choose Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich? Even Manchester United rarely get a look-in if one of these three is involved.

It’s too simplistic to say they are the best teams in Europe. In the last ten years only Barcelona have enjoyed relative success in the Champions league, having won it four times. Real Madrid, Manchester United and Bayern Munich have each won it once in the same period.

Of the leagues in which they play only the Premier League can be said to be contested by more than two or three teams. (more…)

This Is Goodbye, Not Just Adios

Posted: July 26, 2015 in Manchester United
Tags: , , , ,
5

image

Just before this time last year I was imploring Manchester United not to buy Angel Di Maria. I was reading every newspaper online as well as all the other publications I could find that were headlining that United were interested. I posted my disagreement on every one of them where comments were allowed.

I based my opposition to his purchase on a couple of things. Firstly, I live in Spain so I had seen quite a lot of him. Real Madrid, as you can imagine, is quite a popular team over here. What I had seen was nothing more than average. I had seen him cut in from the right and score a couple of decent goals with his left foot and had seen a couple of decent dribbles where he had actually beaten a player or two then put a decent cross in. Nothing to show me, (or any watching United scouts I would have thought), that he was world class and worth a fee in the region of £60 million. (more…)

Newer Entries