Following on from yesterday’s piece about what we have learned regarding the four teams from last season’s top six, here is our assessment of the other two who played today.

As is always the case, any of these articles should he taken with a pinch of salt as many freak results can be thrown up on opening day and teams who look like world-beaters at the start of the season can end up being relegated.

There is also the possibility that clubs will add players to their ranks as the transfer window doesn’t close for almost another three weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

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Arsenal can’t defend, Liverpool can’t defend, Chelsea play better when down to nine men and Manchester City find it difficult against a ten man defence.

You may be forgiven for thinking that the top clubs, having had a two and a half months break from competitive football, time to work on their style of play and money to buy new players where needed, would return to Premier League action with all guns blazing.

If Friday’s game was supposed to be an example of that then Arsenal didn’t stick to the script. They did, however, manage to achieve something which has been rare in the last few years. They won their first home game. They were lucky to do so as it would have been no surprise had their woeful defending resulted in more than the three goals they conceded. Read the rest of this entry »

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Danny Rose

As a Yorkshireman, Danny Rose has expressed a desire to play “up north” again at some stage of his career. He cites the fact that he could see his mother more often, which is nice.

Having noticed that Pep Guardiola has already bought all the full backs he is likely to need for the foreseeable future, he has expressed a wish to go to Manchester United or Chelsea.

Now Geography was never our strong subject but, and we have checked this with Google, Chelsea is not “up north“. So either Danny is worse at Geography than we are, or he is just using these two clubs as an example of the calibre of team he feels should buy him. Read the rest of this entry »

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Cristiano Ronaldo went to Real Madrid from Manchester United for a world record transfer fee. He was followed, not too long afterwards, by Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur also for a world record transfer fee.

What did the two clubs do with all this money? Well, one wasted it and the other doesn’t know where it is! As yet, nobody has spent it wisely.

Who, for example, is in the current Manchester United team and was bought with the Ronaldo money? Who is in the current Tottenham team and was bought with the Bale money? Read the rest of this entry »

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We here at WSA accept that highly paid football managers such as Arséne Wenger and José Mourinho, and highly paid ex-playing pundits such as Paul Scholes, Steve McManaman and Steven Gerrard, will be deemed to know more about the beautiful game than we do.

After sitting and watching Manchester United lose to Real Madrid, a game in which Madrid, as well as scoring two goals also hit the woodwork twice it was interesting, to say the least, to hear both pundits and manager praising the United performance. Read the rest of this entry »

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The European Super Cup

So the European Community Shield Super Cup was played tonight between Manchester United and Real Madrid and everyone had a jolly day, (and night), in Skopje, Macedonia. Or, as it is more romantically known, FYROM.

Other than the obvious enjoyment of even more travelling and another meaningless game coming just three days before the start of the new season, what is the point of this fixture? Even United and Real Madrid fans will be struggling to remember it a year or two from now. Read the rest of this entry »

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There are dark horses in most competitions. They are called dark horses because you don’t see them coming. They slip into the lead or one of the first three places almost unnoticed and, occasionally, go on to win the race.

This season will not see a dark horse slipping into the top six, never mind the top three.

The top three are already nailed on and, coincidentally enough, also happen to be the three who have spent the most money. But does this actually mean anything? Is it possible to buy the Premier League title? The short answer is; No, it isn’t, but it IS possible to buy the players who will win you the Premier League title. Read the rest of this entry »

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We can’t help but notice that old ArsĂ©ne, you know the one, French geezer who has had Arsenal in reverse gear for the last few seasons, is slowly losing the plot and has, once again, returned to his obsession with all things Manchester United.

Having decided to award himself a new two year contract when most people wanted him awarded a gold watch and a handshake he has now decided that, from his newly acquired, (and very temporary), position of strength he will make silly comments which will probably come back to bite him. Nothing new there then. Read the rest of this entry »

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Ah, the wonderful art of mathematics! Or should that be the wonderful science of mathematics?

Whichever it is, next season will see the Premier League’s top teams set about proving what every five year old already knows, that eight into four does not go. Higher up the title-chasing ladder and Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United will prove that three into one does not go either.

In other words it is widely expected that the title will be a three horse race but the top four will be an eight horse race. Read the rest of this entry »

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Due to a shortage of actual, interesting transfers, Sky Sports News are treating the transfer of Neymar from Barcelona to PSG as though it was important to anybody not from one of the three locations directly affected. It isn’t, but we will now devote almost an entire article to that very subject.

Yes, there is a knock-on effect with the fee that PSG are paying for someone generally  regarded as being only the THIRD best player in the world because it will certainly drive up the fees for average players. But that alone does not make this particular transfer any more interesting to the average fan.

The average fan does not really care about how much a player is bought or sold for, he/she just cares about whether or not they can play football. Read the rest of this entry »