Is Paul Pogba Really THAT Expensive Nowadays, Especially For Manchester United?

Posted: August 3, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The straightforward, down-to-earth answer to the above question is: Yes, he is ridiculously expensive and nobody should be spending that amount of money on one player. As JĂĽrgen Klopp mentioned, at least three top class players could be brought in to strengthen a team for that sort of money. Also, the knock-on effect for other clubs is frightening, particularly the smaller clubs.

The true answer is: No, United will recover the money in a relatively short space of time, effectively meaning that he will have cost nothing. In fact, I read a short while ago that advance orders for Pogba shirts totalled somewhere in the region of ÂŁ72 million, so not much more is required to achieve a complete refund! Read the rest of this entry »

Jose Mourinho Is Already A Changed Man Since Joining Manchester United

Posted: August 2, 2016 in European Football, Football, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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He has already said it. If we concentrate solely on each other in this league, then somebody else will win it. It was OK in Spain as there were only usually two clubs competing for the title, so it was good to have some mind games. These are the words, more or less, of Jose Mourinho shortly after taking over at Manchester United.

Who he is trying to convince is rather a mystery. Is it the fans? I doubt it. Most fans will tell you that they love a few mind games. United supporters were always in their element when Fergie was giving it large about some manager or another.

Also, in the not too distant past, Jose himself was known for having a slight dig at opposing managers. Spats with Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez readily come to mind. Read the rest of this entry »

Manchester United, Manchester City And Five Others Who Think They Can Win The Premier League

Posted: August 1, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Everton, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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The Guardian calls them the “Magnificent Seven”, (that’s quite original for the Guardian!). These are the seven teams they reckon have a realistic chance of winning the Premier League title. They even have a natty little video to demonstrate which teams they are referring to. Have a look here, it’s quite good.

Now, even more realistically, which of the following managers will lift the trophy next May?

Arsene Wenger:

There isn’t much to say about Wenger that hasn’t already been said in his long time at Arsenal. There does seem to be some truth in the rumour that he is happy to finish in the top three, top four at a push, so that qualification for the Champion’s League is assured each year. This keeps the board happy but leaves the fans frustrated. Because this attitude seems to prevail at the Emirates, they will not win the title and may even struggle for top four this time out. Read the rest of this entry »

Jose Mourinho Sees Defensive Frailties Again As Manchester United Win In Sweden

Posted: July 31, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The result may have been a resounding 5-2 victory for United but Jose Mourinho should be more concerned about the two than he should be happy about the five.

Both the Galatasaray goals came in the first half when the two central defenders were Eric Bailly and Daley Blind. Both goals were very preventable, one coming from a set piece which resulted in a free header from five yards out while the second was well worked although the defensive tackles were conspicuous by their absence, allowing Bruma a free shot from the edge of the area.

However, in fairness to the first half defensive partnership, the fact that United did not concede in the second half, with a different pairing, was more down to their consistent attacks and greater possession than to any good defensive work. Read the rest of this entry »

Manchester United And Chelsea Prove That Not All Players Crave The Champion’s League, (Not Immediately Anyway)

Posted: July 30, 2016 in Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur
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So, failing to qualify for the Champion’s League is not the disaster that all the “experts” predicted it would be. In fact it appears to have had little or no impact on the two main “failures” in England. These are the two teams who contested the final only eight years ago in Moscow! The ability of Manchester United and Chelsea to sign top players and managers does not appear to have been diminished at all.

It is probably true to say that a prolonged absence from the competition would begin to have a negative effect at some stage as a considerable amount of money can be made by appearing in Europe’s top competition. The loss of this money over a sustained period would prove harmful to the clubs trying to attract the best players and, by doing so, make qualifying again the following year a more difficult proposition. In this respect it is a vicious circle. Read the rest of this entry »

Europe’s Top Table Is A Lot Bigger Than It Used To Be!

Posted: July 29, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Everton, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Tottenham Hotspur
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In the not too distant past the top clubs in Europe were the ones with the most money. This, to an extent, is still true today but the main difference is that a lot more clubs have the most money than previously.

Thinking back fifteen or twenty years ago there were the usual suspects in Real Madrid and Barcelona from Spain. Bayern Munich, at the time, were usually Germany’s sole representatives in the latter stages of any competition. Arsenal and Manchester United used to fight for the Premier League in England and the Milan clubs and Juventus usually offered Italian resistance. Read the rest of this entry »

Mourinho And Guardiola Will Start The New Season At United And City With Little Match Preparation

Posted: July 28, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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This should not come as a major surprise to supporters of the two clubs. If they both stick to their original schedule Manchester United will have played five “warm-up” games and City three.

United will have faced Wigan Athletic, Borussia Dortmund, Galatasaray, Everton and Leicester City.

City will have played Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal.

In the past United have been known to organise another friendly prior to the start of the season, usually in the week leading up to the Community Shield. Given that their derby in China was cancelled they may still choose to fit in another game before the big kick off. It seems that United’s players have not yet reached the required level of fitness demanded by a Premier League title contender. Read the rest of this entry »

The Difference Between Manchester United And AFC Bournemouth Is A Little Less Than It Used To Be

Posted: July 27, 2016 in European Football, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Bournemouth through the ages)

Having been promoted to the Premier League for the start of last season Bournemouth, who are sponsored by the Mansion Group, the company also responsible for the sponsorship of Crystal Palace football team and many other brands and boasting, as part of it’s large group, Mansion Casino, began as though they yearned for a return to the shallower water that is the Championship.

However, their manager Eddie Howe, was having none of it. He managed to turn things around and they finished their first ever season in the top flight with a very creditable 16th place, (any finish above 18th in your first season is creditable).

Buoyed by this relative success they set their sights on a pre-season tour to the USA in another diversion from the norm. Read the rest of this entry »

Jose Mourinho’s Need For A Centre Half At Manchester United Is Greater Than That Of Pep Guardiola At Manchester City

Posted: July 26, 2016 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Looking at the genuine first team choices available to the two managers it is Manchester United who need the likes of Raphael Varane, John Stones or Leonardo Bonucci, more than Manchester City.

Pep can boast the services of Vincent Kompany, Eliaquim Mangala, Nicolas Otamendi and Jason Denayer, all of whom are current picks for their national squads. These, if no further signings are made, would probably be the four centre backs in the squad for next season.

Unfortunately, for City and Kompany, he is very injury prone and unless he can overcome this problem then a new signing will have to be made.

Mangala has never really found the form that convinced City to buy him and has been inconsistent to say the least. He did, however, seem to be coming into a bit of form towards the end of last season. Read the rest of this entry »

Mourinho And Guardiola Learn Nothing From Pointless China Trip

Posted: July 25, 2016 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(The Jose Mourinho stall at Beijing market proves popular with the locals)

Manchester United and Manchester City flew to China. The idea being that they could take part in the International Champions Cup which would include two games each, one against each other and the remaining one against Borussia Dortmund.

In an eventful week for United they started by being hammered 4-1 by Dortmund before then taking two planes to fly to Beijing, one of which had to make an emergency landing in Tianjin due to bad weather. Quite why the weather was perfectly OK for the other plane to fly the remaining 66 miles or so to Beijing is anybody’s guess, but there you have it.

Next up in the comedy of errors was a Jose Mourinho press conference being held in the open air. This was because the room to be used was deemed as too hot. Obviously, in a massive modern stadium, air conditioning had not been considered necessary. What was ironic was that Pep Guardiola had given his press conference in the same room earlier in the day although, in fairness, he did sweat a lot. Read the rest of this entry »

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