Archive for the ‘Premier League’ Category

If you were this man,

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Would you be happy to see your goalscoring records taken from you by this man?

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No? I didn’t think so. There is an injustice about the whole thing which makes it seem so totally surreal.

One of the two is about to celebrate 60 years since making his Manchester United debut, the other one isn’t. One is universally liked and respected, the other one isn’t.

Sir Bobby, of course, was and will be the first to congratulate Rooney both for the England record he has already achieved and the Manchester United one which, if he continues to be as bad as he has been for the last few years, he may not achieve. We live in hope! Privately, I would be very surprised if Charlton is happy with this situation. (more…)

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Despite sitting at the top of the Premier League Table Manchester City, as Pep Giardiola has already intimated, can improve and, as their recent performance against Tottenham Hotspur suggests, they can improve quite a lot.

Kevin De Bruyne has, in a remarkably short space of time, become almost indispensable to the team. City win far more games when he is playing than when he isn’t meaning that, although they have a deep squad, the strength is not necessarily there yet and their dependence upon one player is worrying for the fans. (more…)

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The weekend turned out to be a good one if you are from certain areas of London or Liverpool. Chelsea managed to overcome Hull City at the KC Stadium, while Tottenham Hotspur ended Manchester City’s 100% record.

Liverpool played badly, according to JĂĽrgen Klopp, but still managed to beat Swansea at The Liberty Stadium. (more…)

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This is an argument that has been around for the last few years. Chelsea and Liverpool should have a better chance of challenging for the Premier League title because they are not involved in any form of European competition.

When Liverpool ruled Europe during the 1970’s and early 1980’s, not playing in Europe didn’t seem to be much of an advantage to the other clubs then, and there were more of them as European competition didn’t admit nearly as many teams as it does now! (more…)

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The good news from the first game of the day was that Wayne Rooney remained on the bench. The bad news was the number of chances United failed to convert. At half-time, instead of being 3-0 up and virtually out of sight, it was 0-0 and Stoke remained hopeful of taking something from the game.

All the experts who say that, as long as the chances are being created then the goals will come, are only ever proved correct when the goals come! In the case of Manchester United and the first half of this game, the goals did not come. (more…)

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He was blamed, initially, for the appointment of David Moyes.

The story put out by the press at the time was that Moyes was invited to the house of Alex Ferguson where, no doubt over a glass of something either red or whisky coloured, he was invited to take over as manager of Manchester United. (more…)

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How consistent is José Mourinho? More to the point, how consistent can he become?

The general impression is that manager of Manchester United is one of the jobs he has always wanted. Depending upon which is your rag of choice, when he was overlooked by United in favour of David Moyes, he either cried, along with a few million fans, or he wasn’t bothered because he had already decided to go back to Chelsea. (more…)

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1. Finish in the top four at least

If, by the end of this season, Manchester United have finished in the top four then this would have to be perceived as more successful than last season.

Failure to even get in a position where pre-qualification was necessary for the Champion’s League was the final nail in the coffin of Louis Van Gaal. The previous couple of nails had been the boring football and the fact that his popularity with the fans had sunk lower than a snake’s belly. (more…)

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To answer this question in an honest manner it is necessary to understand the pressures under which the manager of a top Premier League club operates.

The first thing to appreciate is that JosĂ© Mourinho will be judged on what he wins, not who he brings through from the youth team. This means that, in order to stay in the job long enough to blood potential first team players, he needs to be filling the trophy cabinet on a reasonably regular basis. (more…)

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Not to mention Everton, the dark horses, so I won’t. Mention them, that is.

After only six games of the new season the great British press, the fourth estate, the paragons of virtue, trust and truthfulness, have decided who is going to win the title, who is going to get relegated and which managers are going to be sacked before and after Christmas. (more…)