Archive for the ‘Manchester City’ Category

More Football Snippets: Including The World Cup Begins, London Bias From The FA Is Now Beyond A Joke And Anthony Martial Is Not For Sale!

Posted: June 15, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, The World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
Tags: , , , ,
0

russia

After all the pomp and circumstance, 2018’s ethics World Cup finally got underway when the hosts met Saudi Arabia in the opening game.

The enigma that is Russia, not only as a football team, but as a country, continues to confound the logic of most sane people. How can a land boasting a population of around 145 million and with such a long history of playing football, a country whose population loves the game, unlike the early days in America, be so poor at actually playing it?

They are currently ranked 70th in the world, only three places above Saudi Arabia! On that basis the result of the opening game was really quite a surprise, particularly when taking into account the fact that the hosts had lost their previous seven. So a 5-0 win was a most welcome start for them. (more…)

More Transfer Bits & Pieces: Including Hearsay, Guesswork And Some Facts!

Posted: June 14, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
Tags: , , , ,
0

bl

Having already signed Stephan Lichtsteiner on a free transfer Arsenal are now close to finalising deals for both Sokratis Papastathopoulos and, as we mentioned yesterday, Lucas Torreira.

Next up will probably be a goalkeeper to replace Petr Cech who will be 36 next month.

The favourite is the German, Bernd Leno, of Bayer Leverkusen. He will cost around £20 million and would be available as soon as required as he has been left out of the Germany World Cup squad, an indicator of the market in which Arsenal are now forced to conduct business. (more…)

More Transfer Bits & Pieces: Including Anybody Who Is Anybody And Many Bodies Who Aren’t!

Posted: June 13, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
Tags: , , , ,
1

rands

Apparently Mo Salah has no intention of leaving Liverpool for Real Madrid this summer. Liverpool fans would like to think that this was never his intention but it is being reported that his failed foul on Sergio Ramos, which resulted in Salah himself being injured, has put him off going to the Spanish capital and he is awaiting an apology from Ramos, who hasn’t been in touch since the game.

Call us sceptical if you wish, but we think Salah could be waiting a long time for his apology.

The other interesting aspect of this tale is that Barcelona have supposedly expressed an interest in the player and, although he has said he will not be leaving Liverpool for Madrid, he has not said the same about Barcelona. (more…)

More Transfer Titbits From Some Of Europe’s Bigger Clubs

Posted: June 12, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
Tags: , , , ,
0

cr

Where does all that money keep coming from? Reports from Madrid are now suggesting that Real are prepared to offer Cristiano Ronaldo £28.5 million per year to stay at the club, something which he was probably always intending to do but we all know how he likes to play his little games at the end of every season.

He is actually reaching the stage of his career where he has to be careful with his annual shenanigans because, at 33 and getting older, there will come a time when he will pretend to throw his toys out of the pram and Real Madrid will run a truck over them! (more…)

More Bits & Pieces: England’s Dream, China Still Calling And A Knighthood For The Wrong Man

Posted: June 11, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
Tags: , , ,
2

england

According to the headline of an article in The Guardian, Gareth Southgate wants “young, hungry England to dream of winning the World Cup”

Well, we have news for you Gareth, they do! The problem is that dreams, particularly that one, rarely come true!

In fairness, the reporter actually quotes Southgate as saying he has no problem with the players believing they can win the World Cup, which is slightly different and just goes to show that members of the press often submit articles which then have the headline added or edited by somebody else. (more…)

Bits & Pieces: A Winter Break, Kane Pockets A Pay Rise, Neville Is Winning And The Injuries Are Mounting

Posted: June 10, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, The World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
Tags: , , ,
0

wb

At last! The Premier League is getting a winter break! Starting in 2019 there will be a ten day hiatus in proceedings in February.

The idea is that this break will help England to better compete in future World Cups and European Championships, (better players would be a much bigger help).

Without wishing to be killjoys on this subject we recently noted that the English players in Russia for this World Cup will have spent less minutes on a football pitch than ANY other nation, including the ones who had a break! (more…)

England Still Think Big, How The Top Six Intend To Get Richer And West Ham May Sign A Very Expensive Player!

Posted: June 9, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, The World Cup, Tottenham Hotspur
Tags: , , ,
0

ewc

So that’s the end of the meaningless friendlies for the time being. There now follows what, for England at least, will probably be a meaningless tournament. Having beaten Nigeria and Costa Rica both by a scoreline of 2-0 England still haven’t quite grasped the point of these friendly/warm-up matches.

The Germans have them down to a fine art. They spend most of their time outside of tournaments being rubbish. Joachim Löw has drilled it into his players that they must give the impression, to every other coach, that they are now reasonably easy to beat. They must play as though the days when they used to win everything are long gone and the team is now going through a transition which they may or may not come out of positively. (more…)

Where Manchester United Will Strengthen And Pellegrini Already Has Doubts

Posted: June 8, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
Tags: , , ,
0

av

Manchester United have bought Diogo Dalot from Porto. He is a 19 year-old right wing back who is also comfortable on the left and in midfield so, on this basis and unless he is exceptional, he is one for the future.

It is expected that he will be used to provide cover for the wing back position. He has been at the club for around two minutes and speaks fluent English.

Antonio Valencia is 33. He used to be a half decent winger until he broke his leg and became nervous about taking on defenders. He was, consequently, shifted back into the right wing back position at which he isn’t very good. (more…)

Bits & Pieces: Featuring – Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool And West Ham With A Little Yaya Touré And Sergio Ramos Thrown In For Good Measure!

Posted: June 7, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers, West Ham United
Tags: , , , ,
0

fred

(Fred, having spotted the cameras, sticks out his tongue and starts doing those keepy-uppy thingummyjigs)

What did we tell you in yesterday’s tittle-tattle? Those of you who actually read it will remember that we pointed out that it was approaching the time when players were going to have to start making the headlines for moving from one club to another instead of managers.

With only Chelsea to decide upon who should occupy their hot seat next season, the news on coaches was always going to become rather thin on the ground eventually and the attention must now, inevitably, turn to the real entertainers.

So here’s what we know so far. (more…)

Up To Now The Headlines Have All Been About Managers Moving But That Is About To Change

Posted: June 6, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
Tags: , , , ,
2

ue

It started, more or less, with Unai Emery getting the Arsenal gig. The club wanted somebody who could match, or better, Arséne Wenger’s achievements during his last few years in the job. They certainly got that. Emery is adept at getting his clubs into the top four and has been known to actually win the Europa League on more than one occasion.

Hold on to your hats you Gooners, it’s going to be a roller-coaster ride full of “been there, done that” and déjà vu. Unai Emery will deliver one of the trophies Wenger failed to deliver but which will it be? Our money’s on Big Vase. (more…)

Older Entries
Newer Entries