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. Read the rest of this entry »
José Mourinho and the Manchester United supporters will hope it was just a blip, just one of those things. Losing to City was inexcusable but not a major shock. Feyenoord was a bad performance, which can happen. The Watford loss was the worrying one.
This was a game from which United would have been expecting three points, at worst one point, but they ended the day with none. The trip home would have been very quiet. Read the rest of this entry »
Why is it that a new manager coming into a club can often achieve excellent results with exactly the same players who were responsible for the previous manager being fired?
On the flip side of that, why is it that a new manager coming into a club can often achieve nothing with the same players or even after adding a few of his own?
The answers to these questions are not as complicated as you might think. Read the rest of this entry »
The majority finally got what they have wanted for a while. Dress it up however you like but Wayne Rooney was dropped through lack of form. He wasn’t injured, he wasn’t suspended, he was just dropped.
He was, however, on the bench which must have been in deference to his seniority and longevity becasue his recent performances haven’t even merited a place there! Read the rest of this entry »
(Wayne Rooney looks over his shoulder only to find that the manager insists on him playing!)
Recently, one or two football players have remarked that they have “nothing to prove”. They say this as though they have reached a pinnacle and will never drop their standards below this optimum level.
Marouane Fellaini was one of the ones to speak out and that, frankly, was laughable. Now it’s the turn of Wayne Rooney again. Yes, again! It seems that Wayne likes to tell everybody how good he really is on a fairly regular basis. Read the rest of this entry »
The biggest hurdle standing between José Mourinho and a first Premier League title with Manchester United is the quality of his squad. Despite the additions of Paul Pogba, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mikhitaryan and old man Ibrahimović there are still far too many players who would not get into some of the other top teams.
Starting at the back and the addition of Eric Bailly does not make the United defence watertight. Shaw is fine and will improve with age whereas the other full back position is a problem. Read the rest of this entry »
If Jose Mourinho’s quest while in charge of Manchester United is to continue with the style and selection so detested under Louis van Gaal, then he is going the right way about it. Unfortunately, his tenure will have a similar ending if he carries on in this vein.
With  Ibrahimovich on the bench, Pogba and Bailly rested, and Mhkitaryan injured this even had the look of a van Gaal team! Read the rest of this entry »
The same may possibly be said about Antonio Conte but, as yet, we don’t know enough about him or his motives to put forward a case one way or the other.
Other older managers such as Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Bobby Robson and even, to a lesser extent, Manuel Pelligrini, Louis van Gaal and Claudio Ranieri took jobs at clubs where there was a challenge. Read the rest of this entry »
After three games the top three in the Premier League had an air of predictability about it. José Mourinho had taken over at Manchester United, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Antonio Conte at Chelsea. All three, at this stage, had 100% records.
Arsene Wenger soldiered on at Arsenal starting with his annual first game of the season loss at home. JĂĽrgen Klopp continued in his manic way while, over the park, Ronald Koeman quietly got on with things leaving the other “bigger name” managers at the “bigger clubs” to hog the limelight. Read the rest of this entry »
Despite blaming bad luck and referees for United’s poor displays while losing the last three games, JosĂ© Mourinho needs to be given time to sort out the problems at Old Trafford.
He has brought in four players who will all prove to be value for money but, at the moment, they are trying to fit into an average team. Read the rest of this entry »
WHY SAY ANYTHING? 