Posts Tagged ‘Chelsea’

Louis Van Gaal Has Yet Another Two Games At Manchester United!

Posted: January 12, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Louis van Gaal, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Louis reacts to being told, again, that he only has two games to save his job!)

Yes, it’s true folks! Louis van Gaal, manager of Manchester United, will become Louis van Gaal, ex-manager of Manchester United, if they fail to win one of their next two games.

Excuse me while I fetch the salt and indulge in a large pinch. Words that immediately spring to mind include, “here we go again”, “heard it all before last month” and “it must be true it is, after all, Fleet Street’s finest”.

So now we are supposed to believe that Ed Woodward who, not so long ago would have found it hugely embarrassing to sack van Gaal due to the fact that he championed the appointment, is now ready to do so. Has he finally worked out that keeping van Gaal in charge is more embarrassing than sacking him? Maybe, maybe not.

If he has then how come it didn’t happen the last time we were led down the gard…….sorry, led to believe that he only had two games to save his job?

If I remember rightly and/or my research is correct, during December it was reported that if he failed against either Stoke away on Boxing Day, or Chelsea at home, then he would be fired. He lost against Stoke and drew with Chelsea. Now, I don’t claim to be Pythagoras or any other mathematician of note but, to me, one point from a possible six does not represent good value. So if the great British press were right, why were they wrong? (more…)

Manchester United Flatter To Deceive

Posted: January 2, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The transfer window has been open for two whole days and Manchester United still haven’t bought a striker! Is it not obvious to van Gaal that goals win games and decent strikers score goals?

So to the home game against Swansea where Laborious Louis had the chance to improve upon the Chelsea performance by winning.

Yet again United’s team selection was a sign of things to come.

Inexplicably, Wayne Rooney had been named as the man-of-the-match in the previous game against Chelsea. He hadn’t scored, as usual, so I guess he got it because he managed to raise his game from rubbish to average.

Van Gaal must have been sufficiently impressed because he decided his misfiring captain should remain at centre forward despite lacking the obvious requirement of goals.

As is the norm nowadays, van Gaal put his top scorer on the wing thereby limiting any chances he would have of increasing his tally. He played Ashley Young as a wing back, again. He played Daley Blind as a wing back, again. I get the impression that, if he got the chance to manage Barcelona again, he would play Messi, Neymar and Suarez as the back three. (more…)

Is The Real Liverpool FC About To Re-appear?

Posted: December 30, 2015 in Football, Liverpool, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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When I think back to the great Liverpool teams of the past, I think of Ian St. John, Ian Callaghan, Emlyn Hughes, Tommy Smith, Ron Yeats, Roger Hunt, Kevin Keegan and John Toshack, Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish, Ray Clemence, Graeme Souness, Alan Hansen and even Bruce Grobbelaar. As you will notice I have recorded these as I remember them rather than in any chronological order.

When I think back to the recent Liverpool teams, the players that spring to mind are Steven Gerrard, Luis Suarez and maybe Robbie Fowler. Of all the ones mentioned, Suarez showed absolutely no loyalty to the cause whatsoever. It can be argued that, as a Uruguayan, he would always feel more at home in Spain and he already had connections with the city of Barcelona if not the club, so it was rather ordained that he would end up there.

The point being that over a thirty year period from the late sixties until the late nineties, all the memorable players were around in the sixties and seventies. What has happened since?

No other team in England was as successful as Liverpool. In Europe, Liverpool are still the most successful English team but have failed to qualify for the top European competition in eight of the last ten years since winning it in 2005. (more…)

Arsenal Implosion Still Pending!

Posted: December 30, 2015 in Arsenal, Football, Opinion, Premier League
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And what’s more folks, it may not happen at all!

Alright, one or two little sticks of dynamite have been set off lately, but they have barely caused a ripple on the perfect surface of The Emirates. A 4-0 defeat to a Southampton team, who can’t beat anybody else, can be laughed off particularly when it is followed by a 2-0 win in the very next game, over a Bournemouth team who aren’t losing at present. Wait a minute! Isn’t that the topsy-turvy Arsenal of old?

Usually, when Arsenal lost a game in the past, particularly by an embarrassing scoreline, it signalled the end of any title challenge. This season they seem to be getting it more right than wrong.

To begin with, they had a good start to the campaign, apart from losing their first home game, which is becoming an annual occurrence.

At one stage, Arsenal were saving their worst form for the cup competitions. (more…)

Louis Van Gaal At The Last Chance Saloon?

Posted: December 28, 2015 in Football, Louis van Gaal, Managers, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(Louis isn’t too sure about the hangover cure given to him by Jose Mourinho!)

Rumour has it that, if Manchester United do not beat Chelsea, then Louis van Gaal will be fired. “Rumour,” of course, being a pseudonym of the press.

To put this into perspective. The team in sixth position in the Premier League is at home and need to beat the team in fifteenth position in the Premier League in order for the manager to keep his job. So if United win, van Gaal is suddenly brilliant and can stay in charge. If United lose, van Gaal is rubbish and has to do one.

What a totally ridiculous state of affairs! Is Ed Woodward trying to make it easy for van Gaal to stay, by picking a lowly placed team in a home game and telling him he has to beat that team? Or is he trying to make it easier to sack him by saying, “if you can’t beat them then there is no hope?”

I have never been a believer in heaping pressure on a manager by giving ultimatums. How can that help? Most managers will tell you they are not bothered by pressure and that they thrive on it. Well, they are and they don’t! (more…)

United, City: Which Manager Is Going Where?

Posted: December 20, 2015 in Football, Managers, Opinion
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Carlo Ancelotti is going to Bayern Munich where, after succeeding as usual, he will be fired as usual. He will probably win the treble but, because he is cursed, he will still be fired.

At two of his previous clubs he has a record which most managers would be proud to have. He was fired from his job as Chelsea manager having won the League and FA Cup double and, at Real Madrid, he was fired having won the Champion’s League. So he could be considered either a trifle unlucky or a loser for only winning the top trophies and none of the lesser ones.

Sympathy is not a feeling too much in evidence when it comes to highly paid football managers losing their job. Particularly when you consider that the top ones will almost certainly walk straight into another one.

So what will be the chain of events this time, I don’t hear you ask? (more…)

Arsenal’s Waiting Game

Posted: December 16, 2015 in Arsenal, Football, Opinion, Premier League
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Arsenal sit near the top of the Premier League waiting. Waiting for other teams. Waiting and watching to see if the other teams will do something positive or negative, or will things stay as they are until the end of the season?

The first thing that they need to happen is for Leicester City to start flagging. To sell a player or two in January, and pick up an injury or two anytime. The fact that Leicester don’t have a big squad full of quality players could be their undoing. If it is, Arsenal are ready and waiting.

Another positive for Arsenal would be Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany remaining injured. That isn’t going to happen as they are both nearing fitness, but that is a state of affairs which is usually very temporary. It would also appear that City will have more Champions League games to manoeuvre as they should expect to beat Dynamo Kyiv. Arsenal will surely be free of any European hindrances after two games against Barcelona.

So, from these two clubs who would be seen as direct competitors, Arsenal are looking for some failings and, in the case of Leicester, a loss of form. City just need to carry on being inconsistent. If they do, Arsenal are waiting. (more…)

Everton, City, United, Arsenal & Liverpool Opinion

Posted: December 13, 2015 in Football, Opinion, Premier League
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Starting with the early kick-off on Saturday, Everton should have been out of site by half-time in their game against Norwich , but a combination of bad luck and bad finishing ended up costing them two points.

Everything looked rosy when Romelu Lukaku gave them the lead and Norwich, at this stage, hadn’t really turned up. But, as is often the case when chances are missed, Norwich equalised through Wes Hoolahan and the result was a stalemate leaving Roberto Martinez frustrated and Alex Neil feeling like James Coburn in “The Great Escape”.

Next up was Manchester City who kicked off at the regulation time of 3:00 pm which is unusual in itself. City took the lead in the first half through Wilfried Bony but never really threatened again until they scored their second goal after 91 minutes. Before that Swansea had equalised and had also had a couple of chances to take the lead. (more…)

King Klopp Of The Kop

Posted: December 10, 2015 in Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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Since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, the Premier League has been crying out for a larger than life person to replace him.

Not necessarily another dour Scot from Glasgow, after all, England’s top division has probably seen more than enough of them. The likes of Bill Shankly, Matt Busby, Billy McNeill, Tommy Docherty, Kenny Dalglish, Alex McLeish and now Alex Neil to name but a few of the more successful ones, have all managed clubs in the English league.

No, what was required was a character the stellar opposite. Somebody with loads of personality, lots of get-up-and-go, a witty riposte and a sharp tongue when required. Could these traits possibly be Germanic?

It’s very doubtful as we all know the Germans! Basically, they are Glaswegians with a strange accent, dour and uncompromising, get on with the job very successfully and with the minimum of fuss. But wait! There is one who fits the bill, one who has just taken over at Liverpool and is throwing his heart and soul into learning scouse. Jurgen Klopp is what everybody has been waiting for. (more…)

Jose Mourinho To Manchester United?

Posted: November 11, 2015 in Football, Jose Mourinho, Managers, Opinion, Premier League
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(A cheerful looking Mourinho reacts positively to the news that Real Madrid would quite like him back)

Someone, somewhere, started a rumour. The rumour spread and began to take some shape. The rumour was now being believed and seen as possibly true. The rumour then becomes a story in the national press, who don’t really care whether or not there is any truth in it, as long as somebody buys the paper.

Here is the national press not really caring.

When I read the story originally my first reaction was to check the date. Satisfied that I hadn’t been asleep for five months and it wasn’t April 1st, I looked for proof that I wasn’t hallucinating. No, no sign of any strange coloured mushrooms or green tobacco anywhere. There were the usual empty bottles, but not enough to send me this far over the edge. Therefore, I must be sober, (or as sober as anyone can be nowadays), and what I am reading must have some substance, however tenuous, or it couldn’t be printed.

So Jose Mourinho has an agreement to take over at Manchester United when Louis van Gaal rides off with his damsel into the sunset of the Algarve in 2017. (more…)

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