Posts Tagged ‘Champions League’

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
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
0

image

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. (more…)

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
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
1

image

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. (more…)

Manchester United Or City? Jose Mourinho Or Pep Guardiola? Who Will Reign Supreme In Manchester?

Posted: July 21, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

 

image

Next season there will be almost as much interest in who wins the battle of Manchester as there will be in who eventually wins the Premier League. Mainly in Manchester of course, but the battle will still be watched with a certain amount of interest from all places outside of the “M” postal code area.

It is unfortunate that the teams cannot be compared in the Champion’s League due to the shortcomings of each of the previous managers, both of whom underachieved in their final season.

Louis van Gaal underachieved by so much that United haven’t even qualified for the tournament and City will have to play a pre-qualifier, (which they should win), having finished in a lowly fourth position last time out. (more…)

Will Pep Guardiola Be A Success At Manchester City?

Posted: June 28, 2016 in Managers, Manchester City, Opinion
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

image

The jury is out on this one!

There are obvious reasons to expect that Pep will be successful at City, not
least given that he is working with people he knows well at the club. This is an obvious advantage from when he took over at Bayern Munich where he knew nobody really well in the beginning.

He also doesn’t have to win much next season to be rated a success. Manuel Pellegrini left having won only the Capital One Cup in his final year.

At Bayern the odds were against him even replicating what Jupp Heynckes had achieved, never mind bettering it. A treble of the Bundesliga, German Cup and Champion’s League was always going to be a tall order. As it turned out he found winning the Bundesliga and German Cup relatively easy and only the Champion’s League proved elusive. (more…)

When Jose Mourinho Arrives, Woodward Needs To Go!

Posted: May 22, 2016 in Chelsea, Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
0

image

Challenging at the sharp end of the Champion’s League. Challenging for the Premier League title. Mounting serious attempts at both the FA Cup and Capital One Cup.

These are all answers to the question, “Where would you expect Manchester United to be this season?”

These answers would probably have been a lot closer to the truth had Ed Woodward had the courage to sack Louis van Gaal when it became apparent, to everybody except Woodward, that United’s season was actually going nowhere and that a replacement was required.

This became the case reasonably early in the season. United were out of the Capital One Cup almost as soon as entering it and the Premier League challenge was faltering virtually from day one. Elimination from the Champion’s League at the group stage just heaped more humiliation on a once great club.

Now was the time for Ed Woodward to stand up and be counted. To be a hero in the eyes of the United fans he needed to get rid of van Gaal. What he didn’t need to do was dither. Ed had proven himself remarkably good at dithering. (more…)

Arsenal First, City Second, United & Chelsea Nowhere

Posted: January 6, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
0

 

img_1162

It is certainly a possibility!

With Manchester United under-achieving, Chelsea under the halfway line of the Premier League table and Manchester City under target for the season, it seems for once, that Arsene Wenger has seized the opportunity and that Arsenal could, if they are not very careful, win the Premier League title.

Usually, Arsenal are well off the pace by this stage of the season and have to rely on a very consistent second half to sneak into fourth or third place, thus qualifying for the Champion’s League every year. This time out, they are in danger of qualifying early by actually winning the league. They appear to be the only ones, along with Leicester City, despite one or two dodgy results. The rest seem to be trying their best NOT to win it.

Manchester United, having spent a fortune in the Summer, are not really anywhere near where they need to be. Out of the Champion’s League after the group stage and out of the qualifying positions for next year’s Champion’s League. This situation needs addressing sooner rather than later. Whether that be by buying during this transfer window or, as is rumoured, a change in playing style remains to be seen but something needs to happen at United and quickly. (more…)

How Manchester United Can Still Challenge For The Title

Posted: December 22, 2015 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
Tags: , , , , , ,
3

image

If United are to turn their slight improvement from Moyes to van Gaal, domestically anyway, into a title challenging season there is still a way this can be achieved. However, a few things need to be done.

Louis van Gaal needs to go. It is fairly obvious that the players, whilst denying any problems with him, don’t like what he asks them to do on the pitch. It would be a different story if they were winning games and scoring goals, but they are not.

Playing Anthony Martial on the wing, for example, is bad enough, but ordering him to stay there, without the freedom to join the attack in the middle is ridiculous.

Continuously selecting a well below par Wayne Rooney because, “he is my captain and deserves special privileges”, has got to the stage where other teams are hoping this continues because they then play a United side already down to ten men.

These two situations alone prove to me that van Gaal should be in his villa in Portugal. (more…)

United And Louis Draw Lilliput FC

Posted: December 14, 2015 in Football, Louis van Gaal, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion
Tags: , , , , , ,
0

image

(Louis is a little nervous about the welcome to Midgetland!)

Unless I have misread it, Manchester United have drawn Midgetland in the UEFA Cup, (or Europa League if you prefer the official title). This draw being a reward for their decidedly worse than average performances in the Champions League, where they were only able to take one point from the third best team in Holland, and three points from the fifth best team in Germany.

So, expect them to be knocked unconscious, have their extremities tied to the ground with ropes and stakes and then have the king come and see what all the fuss is about, while the players swarm all over them.

In all honesty, if United cannot beat a team whose average height will be in the region of six inches, over two legs then there is no hope for either them or the Iron Tulip who is currently showing signs of rusting and wilting at the same time.

The problem here is that van Gaal has got United into a no-win situation. If they go through to the next round then everyone will say, quite rightly, “Yes, but it was only Midgetland and, after all, they were never going to win.” (more…)

Pellegrini Needs Luck, Van Gaal Needs To Go

Posted: December 12, 2015 in Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

image

Manchester City laboured to a first half lead courtesy of a goal by Wlifried Bony, whose marker Ashley Williams, obviously thought they still both played for the same team when he left him alone in the penalty area to head the opener.

City were missing Vincent Kompany, as usual, Sir Joe Aguero, as usual along with Nasri, Zabaleta and Fernando. Rather than play Kolarov, Pellegrini opted for Sagna on the right and my least favourite player, Gael Clichy, on the left. Clichy cemented his position in my mind as an average player by giving the ball away on at least two occasions and doing absolutely nothing else. Jesus Navas was picked so that Kevin De Bruyne could be reminded of his time at Chelsea. Navas, as is his wont at present, was also very ineffectual.

Swansea were restricted to a couple of first half chances, one of which they should certainly have scored from, but didn’t. So 1-0 to City at half-time.

The second half saw Fabian Delph enter the fray in place of Raheem Sterling. Clichy continued to give the ball away. City chased what appeared to be a much needed second goal as Swansea always looked like they might score. (more…)

Van Gaal Tries To Hide Behind Facts

Posted: December 9, 2015 in Louis van Gaal, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , ,
3

image

(Louis hides behind his folder and hopes nobody will see him)

Louis van Gaal has stated that facts prove the team this year is better than the team last year.

I won’t go down the road of disputing facts, there can only be one winner there. Whether or not they prove that the team is better than last year is debatable, circumstances have certainly been different.

Yes they went further in the Capital One Cup than they did but I would hardly call defeat AT HOME, to a Championship team, an improvement, not when nearly ÂŁ300 million has been spent. Maybe an improvement having spent that amount of money would be winning it!

As they weren’t in the Champions League last year then yes, that has been an improvement, obviously. So lets compare with the year before that. David Moyes took United to the quarter finals having spent about ÂŁ28 million. (more…)

Older Entries
Newer Entries