Posts Tagged ‘Germany’

Only Three More Big Cup Finals Until The New Season! (Four If You Count The Europa League)

Posted: May 9, 2018 in Arsenal, Champions League, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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The domestic season isn’t over yet for Chelsea or Manchester United. The European season isn’t over yet for Real Madrid and Liverpool. So some fans still have celebrations in waiting and some have disappointment around the corner.

Both of the aforementioned seasons are over for Arsenal and they will hope for better next time out with their new manager who, hopefully for them, will have more of a clue about winning in Europe than Stubborn Old Man appeared to, despite his twenty-odd attempts! (more…)

Poor Gareth Is Finding Out What Everybody Else Has Known About England For 51 Years

Posted: June 14, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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Unless England get another chance to play every game at Wembley, which nowadays certainly wouldn’t guarantee them anything, they will be nowhere near winning another World Cup.

Considering that they haven’t come close to winning anything in all that time, this is a very sad indictment of the nation who like to keep reminding the world that they invented football. (more…)

Is The Premier League Really So Open This Season?

Posted: October 18, 2016 in Arsenal, European Football, Everton, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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(Yet again Ronald Koeman has donned his Claudio Ranieri mask in order to slip under the radar!)

If you believe everything that you read, then yes, the Premier League is very open this season. The fact of the matter is though, that it isn’t really.

What do we mean by “open” anyway? There are twenty teams in the division. For the title race to be wide open, (as in “that result has blown the title race wide open“, a frequently heard phrase), then every one of the twenty needs to be in with a chance of winning it. (more…)

Great Expectations? Maybe Not This Time England, But Who Knows?

Posted: October 8, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, England, Football, International Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, The World Cup
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Having spent most of my working life scraping a living in the sales industry I have met, over the years, my fair share of blindly optimistic people. It helps, apparently, to think that something will go well even when, to the unbiased observer, it obviously will not.

I have nothing against optimism and positive mental attitude but, as with most things, there is a time and a place. (more…)

Manchester United, Manchester City And Chelsea Are Too Close To Call

Posted: August 31, 2016 in Chelsea, European Football, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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The battle for control of Manchester between the two clubs also looks set to be the battle for the Premier League title. At present, the only other team who may be a threat to that dominance is Chelsea, one of those teams from down South.

With newly appointed Antonio Conte in charge and having won three out of three, they are the only club going toe to toe with United and City in the early stages. (more…)

Gary Neville, Jurgen Klopp, FIFA & Louis Van Gaal

Posted: December 3, 2015 in Football, Managers, Opinion, Premier League, Spain
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(Louis schools Gary in the art of good management, just in case he ever gets a manager’s job!)

It’s been a funny old week and it’s still only Thursday.

Gary Neville has upped sticks and done one to Valencia, where he will continue to speak a lot but, hopefully at some stage, in fluent faultless Mancunian Spanish.

He will learn to enjoy paella in the home of paella and he will become a connoisseur of fine wine. If he has any time left after all this, he will pop in to the Mestalla to see how little brother is getting on with the football team.

He will lead Valencia to La Liga title in his first and only season and will be given the freedom of Valencia for his efforts.

He will then return to take charge of England after the Euros, whence he will
successfully qualify for and win the 2018 World Cup, wherever it may be. On his return to English soil he will be met at the airport by the Queen who will knight him on the spot. (more…)

England And The Meaningful Friendly

Posted: November 18, 2015 in England, Football, International Football, Opinion
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This was going to be titled, ‘England and the Meaningless Friendlies, (part III).’

As anybody who follows these inane waffles will know, I have already written and published the first two parts, which question the value of these games.

However, this was not a meaningless friendly. This was one of the most meaningful friendlies played in a very long time.

It was a friendly football match that actually meant something for all the wrong reasons. It was right that it was played. Any act designed to terrorise, kill and maim people is sick enough in its own right but, to then cede more to the perpetrators by cancelling a sporting event which had been planned for a while, somehow makes it even worse, if that is at all possible. (more…)

England And The Meaningless Friendlies, (Part II)

Posted: November 14, 2015 in England, Football, International Football
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Loyal followers of these chronicles will be aware that, in the very recent past, I wrote about the folly of meaningless international friendly matches, particularly at a time when the Premier League table is starting to take on a meaningful shape.

For any loyal followers who just happened to miss the first part, here it is.

I also wrote about it back in August of 2014, for Pundit Arena, if anyone is interested, here that is as well.

My doubt about these games is focused on what purpose they actually serve. Other than teaching uninformed coaches things about their team blatantly obvious to everybody else, and running the risk of injuring players who may be vital to their club’s title challenge, what is the aim? (more…)

Club Versus Country

Posted: October 27, 2015 in Football, International Football, Opinion
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There seems to be more international football matches nowadays than ever before. To me it is an irritant rather than something to look forward to. Here is what I thought about it a just over a year ago.

The football season just starts and we need a break for internationals. We get a month or so further down the line and we need another break for internationals. Some of them are qualifiers, meaningless or otherwise, some of them are just friendlies, meaningless friendlies. (more…)