Good old Arsene. He never lets you down. Well, not very often anyway. OK, quite a few times in recent years. But give the guy a break, after all he keeps having to play teams like Bayern Munich in the Champion’s League. Quite why this appears to faze both him and his players so much is a mystery. He can come up with tactics to beat the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea in knockout tournaments, he just can’t seem to do it when it’s a foreign team, (or Manchester United in Europe). (more…)
So it’s nearly all over. On Wednesday night the fat lady will sing, at least as far as any English interest in Europe is concerned. To continue the mixed metaphors from the previous article, then is the time that José Mourinho will find out if the straws at which he has been grasping can be pulled through the silver lining he has decided the Europa League to be, or if they will get stuck in the cloud.
The result was fitting, if not entirely fair. City, to be honest, were the better team on the night and certainly looked the more likely winners. However theirs is a problem similar to that of Manchester United in that they don’t turn enough chances into goals.
It could be argued that Manchester United deserved the point if only for their stout defending, no mean achievement given that three of their four first choice centre backs are out injured. (more…)
It is now Wednesday, 26th May. Manchester City are two points behind Liverpool with two games in hand and an inferior goal difference.
Manchester United are three points behind Liverpool with two games in hand and a vastly inferior goal difference.
The upshot of all this is the following: If Thursday’s derby game is a draw, both Manchester clubs gain a point on Liverpool and both will overtake Liverpool should they win their other game in hand. (more…)
Watching “The Sunday Supplement” on, believe it or not, Sunday, we here at WSA were dismayed, if not surprised, to hear that all of the journalists on the programme were going to vote for Antonio Conte as their “manager of the season“.
Now we have never thought that football journalists were ever recognised authorities on the machinations of the modern football club or it’s manager, but to vote for Conte shows a staggering lack of knowledge and totally flies in the face of the true definition of the award. Let’s look at the contenders as they were when the season started. This, in itself, got everything off on the wrong foot as the wrong managers were being scrutinised. (more…)
It’s official! Arsenal are no longer a selling club. Having seen the likes of Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy, Emmanuel Adebayor, Robin van Persie and even Mikel Arteta head to Manchester, Arsene Wenger has now drawn a line under this whole sorry episode in the history of the Gunners.
Never again will Arsenal refuse to pay the going rate for a player, no longer will salary be an issue when talking to the world’s elite. Arsenal have come of age. They are now happily settled into the Emirates and, apart from not being very successful, they have no real worries, not of the fiscal kind anyway. (more…)
Eden Hazard is wanted by Real Madrid. Big deal. Real Madrid, like many other big clubs, has a scouting network which only seems capable of finding world class players after they have become world class.
Whether or not Hazard wants to go to Madrid is, to an extent, irrelevant. Usually when Real want a player they get that player. If Hazard does opt for the riches in Spain it should be seen as a cop out by the Chelsea fans. (more…)
Let’s just assume for a minute that Manchester City win the FA Cup and finish in the top four. Certainly one of the two is a probability whilst the other is only a possibility.
Let’s also assume that Manchester United win the Europa League and finish in the top four. At present these are both just possibilities but, remember, they have already won the EFL Cup.
Given these two scenarios, who would be thought to have been the more successful? United or City? José Mourinho or Pep Guardiola? (more…)
Take it from us folks. We here at WSA are in the know. We didn’t get where we are today, (which is absolutely nowhere), by not knowing a thing or two about football.
We have it on very good authority that Liverpool and Arsenal will miss out on a top four place. Which authority would that be then? You may well ask.
Well, in the case of Arsenal, the authority is Arséne Wenger himself. In an obvious attempt to undermine his teams already rock-bottom confidence, he is about to announce that he is staying on for another year. He feels that, without Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Özil, the backing of the fans and Champion’s League football, he will be able to attract sufficient quality players to the Emirates to enable a quick return to the top four, after which he can vacate his position with his head held high. (more…)
Maybe the manager’s expectations weren’t too high. Maybe the fan’s expectations WERE too high. Either way, for Pep Guardiola or José Mourinho, if the season was to end now, then it hasn’t been that bad.
City would qualify for the Champion’s League through their Premier League position and United would qualify for the Europa League because of their EFL Cup triumph and their position in the Premier League. This may not be exactly how the supporters envisaged it at the start of the campaign but it would still represent a decent season for the two. (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 