Continuing our delve into past articles written for other publications, today we look at one from a couple of years ago in which we thought Louis van Gaal may have been exaggerating his achievements at Old Trafford.
Most of the article is factual but we are quite pleased with our view on how it would all turn out as it was, in our insignificant opinion, pretty accurate. Anyway, here it is. (more…)
The Champion’s league started life as the European Cup back in 1955. It was originally intended to be a competition featuring the champions of the major European football leagues and ran, in this format, for 37 years.
As a tournament it was very successful and also very simple. Ties were played over two legs, home and away, and the winners progressed to the next round. Nothing too complicated there then. To be in it a team either had to win it or win their domestic league.
Unfortunately, not only was this not complicated enough for UEFA, it also didn’t generate enough money so, in 1992, the Champion’s League was born. (more…)
When Mesut Özil was first recognised as a very good player he was with Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga. He was also part of the successful German national team which beat England in the game where Frank Lampard had a goal disallowed when the referee, in a moment of instant sight loss, decided that the ball, which was two feet over the line, hadn’t crossed the line!
This was in 2010 and, in that same year, Özil agreed a move to Real Madrid.
There was a story at the time that Sir Alex Ferguson went down to London to try and sign him but the deal with Madrid had already been agreed. (more…)
(it won’t be very long before Mr. Roy can say that the result against Iceland wasn’t too bad after all!)
Today we are continuing with the theme we started yesterday when we published an old article we had previously written for another publication.
This time it is the turn of Pundit Arena and a post we wrote just over three years ago. It is only short but is very topical at the moment and we were quite surprised to realise that feelings towards the international break were the same then as they are now.
That being the case, why has nobody bothered to come up with a better solution? Or is it the usual case of, “we don’t really care about the fans or what they think. As long as they keep shelling out a fortune to watch the rubbish served up at international level then we are alright Jack”. (more…)
During the international yawn and, due to the paucity of anything remotely interesting in the football world, we will be publishing some of the articles written, by our goodselves, for other publications.
The reason for this is twofold. One is the lack of anything else worth reading, but the other is to see how accurate, or otherwise, we have been over the years. See what you think and please use the comments section to let us know.
To begin with, here’s an article we wrote back in 2015 which looks at how important Marouane Fellaini was becoming, even then, to Louis van Gaal. It was written just before the Champion’s League qualifier against FC Bruges of Belgium. (more…)
Pep Guardiola has recently said that it is an ambition of his to manage his country. He also stated, in the same interview that the country in question is Spain, not Catalonia, which may not have gained it’s independence by the time Pep is either shown the door at Manchester City or saunters through it voluntarily.
The thing is, it could be a short term ambition and it could also be a reasonably long term ambition such is the insecurity surrounding the career of a top football manager. (more…)
So that’s it then! No more checking through endless channels to see which is showing the game. No more checking social media disgraces Twitter and Facebook to read the views on the match. Life, as we have become accustomed to it, is over.
Well, for two weeks anyway!
Stubborn old man can stash his blazer and his grey jumper and, in exchange, can dig out the long quilt coat he has been trying to make fashionable for years. You know the one, when he puts the hood up he looks remarkably like the Grim Reaper.
Pep and José can look forward to a continuation of the Manchester rain but, after the break, it will be a few degrees colder. (more…)
Tottenham Hotspur
The early game on Saturday featured Huddersfield Town against Tottenham Hotspur. This was the first real test for David Wagner and his newly promoted team. They failed it!
Mind you, Spurs had Harry Kane to thank once again for their margin of victory and one does wonder how many goals this team would score without him.
Yes, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen tend to chip in with a few but Kane outscores everybody by a long way. (more…)
Manchester United turned up at Old Trafford prepared for a stroll in the rain. There was a crowd of more than 75,000 and an air of expectancy that this was a game United could use to reduce the goal difference amassed by Manchester City when they played Palace last week.
After five minutes it looked like they would get their wish as Juan Mata put them in front but in actual fact, the scoreline of 4-0 was a touch flattering and better teams than Palace would certainly have scored a couple of goals against this United side. (more…)
Born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1993, Romelu Menama Lukaku Bolingoli has come a long way in just a few short years, particularly since coming to the Premier League.
In 2011 he signed for Chelsea and, more or less immediately, went on loan to West Bromwich Albion. The following season saw him continue on loan but this time at Everton, the club he eventually signed for in 2014 for what was then the record fee paid by The Toffees of £28 million.
He became one of only five players to score 50 Premier League goals before his 23rd birthday and is only the fourth player to score 80 goals before his 24th. (He is actually the first foreign player to achieve the feat). (more…)
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 