Posts Tagged ‘Leicester City’

United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Spurs & Liverpool. Normal Service Will Resume Next Season!

Posted: March 1, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Manchester United: Not too long ago I wrote an article which described how United weren’t too far away from having a team to win the title. I thought, at the time, that they were short of two, maybe three, top players.

I have since revised my opinion. Whilst playing quite well recently they have relied on injuries to force through some of the promising youngsters. This is a sad indictment on the transfer windows where adequate players were not purchased. If van Gaal sees out the final year of his contract then they will again struggle to reach the top four.

If, however, they take the logical option and appoint Mourinho, then I would make them slight favourites to win it.

Manchester City: Should be a lot closer to winning the title than where they are now. Having said that, with the bonus of the Capital One Cup win, they could very easily go on an unbeaten run that still achieves their goal! (more…)

Same Old Arsenal Under Wenger, Different Manchester United Under Van Gaal

Posted: February 28, 2016 in Arsenal, Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Well that was a nice surprise! Arsenal were favourites to win at Old Trafford for the first time in ages and never looked as though they would actually manage it throughout the game.

After the game Graeme Souness, Thierry Henry and David Platt all questioned the commitment and desire of the Arsenal eleven. Arsene Wenger saw nothing wrong with the commitment and desire of the Arsenal eleven, and THAT is the problem!

Wenger thought United had kept breaking up the game with petty fouls although, given that all the experience was with his team you would think that they could have coped. United won this game with an overall possession of 39%.

Arsenal, yet again, proved susceptible to the counter-attack, which was how United had to play due to injury and no adequate replacements ever being bought. In Marcus Rashford though, they seem to have inadvertently found a star for now, never mind the future. His two goals were taken very well and now bring his tally to four in two games. (more…)

Will Arsenal And Spurs Make It A London Double?

Posted: February 17, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Arsenal are, once again, at the stage of the Champion’s League where they normally bid their farewell. Not for no reason is it called the “knockout” stage, because this describes perfectly what invariably happens to the Gunners, they get knocked out.

In fairness, they have been beaten by some very good teams in the past whilst also succumbing to some of the more mediocre ones. There has been more than one occasion on which Arsenal should have stayed in the competition, but didn’t.

Fortunately for Arsenal, Tuesday is one of those games where they cannot be knocked out as it is only the first leg. Unfortunately for Arsenal, it is Barcelona and so, over the two legs, they will almost certainly be departing this years Champion’s League.

The only chance they have of getting through this tie is if Sanchez, Giroud and maybe even Welbeck, all find their shooting boots at some time during the two legs. This also assumes that Messi, Neymar and Suarez leave theirs on the bus!

If the MSN, as they are rather strangely known, turn up in fine form then Arsenal could be embarrassed as they were by Bayern Munich. They do not have a good defence and, similar in some ways to Manchester United, have to rely on having a great goalkeeper to keep them in some games. (more…)

Arsenal & Chelsea’s Twelfth Man, The Referee?

Posted: February 14, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Opinion, Premier League
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What is it about Stamford Bridge and the Emirates? Are referees under instruction that Chelsea and Arsenal are not allowed to lose? Does the game have to go on until they win? It always appears to be so.

In the Sunday game between Arsenal and Leicester, Martin Atkinson had given Leicester a first half penalty for a foul on Jamie Vardy, obviously forgetting that the game was at Arsenal’s home ground and he had just committed a cardinal sin.

Fortunately for Arsenal, he was reminded at half-time, probably by Arsene Wenger, of his obligations to the home team. So, in the second half he set about, not only evening things up, but ensuring that they tilted in Arsenal’s favour.

Firstly he sent off Danny Simpson for a nothing challenge which he deemed as a second yellow card. This, in his eyes, would give Arsenal the advantage numerically and should ensure that they won the game. It did bring about an equaliser through Theo Walcott and, at this stage, a draw would have been a “fair”, if slightly tainted, result.

Martin Atkinson was having none of that though. Having found four minutes of additional time from somewhere only he knew, he actually played an additional five and a half minutes, allowing Arsenal to score the winner. Of course, as soon as Leicester kicked off from the goal, the whistle was blown for full-time. (more…)

Manchester United Going Backwards With Woodward & Van Gaal

Posted: February 2, 2016 in Football, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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(I make no apologies for writing yet another article on the desperate duo responsible for the demise of my football club. My logic is that the more that can be written about how they are destroying the great name of Manchester United, then the more chance that something will be done about it. So here goes.)

Is this another no-lose game in Louis van Gaal’s match-by-match scenario? I’ve lost track! Stoke aren’t a team I would choose for a must-win game but, as Louis doesn’t appear to have to be a beggar, then he must be able to choose the games for which he comes under the mildest possible scrutiny.

What I do know is that while all this messing around has been going on with van Gaal, who should have been sacked weeks ago, Manchester City have agreed the departure of a better manager than he is and the arrival of a much better manager than he is.

This all leaves Ed Woodward as the chief Ostrich with his head so deep in the sand that only his feet can be seen sticking out. (more…)

Louis Van Gaal & Arsene Wenger Need A Win

Posted: January 16, 2016 in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Football, Louis van Gaal, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Louis van Gaal and Arsene Wenger need Sunday to be a good day. They need it for different reasons, but need it they do.

With Manchester City and Tottenham winning on Saturday and Leicester drawing, Arsenal will need at least a point from Stoke City at The Britannia Stadium to return to the summit.

They currently sit third, one point behind the leaders Leicester and level on points with City. Although their goal difference is inferior to City’s it is superior to Leicester’s so they would go top with a draw. Obviously it would be better from an Arsenal point of view if they could get all three points, that way they could at least put a little daylight between themselves and the pursuers.

A loss to Stoke would not be disastrous, however it would encourage Tottenham Hotspur who are currently only four points behind them in fourth place.

For Manchester United only a win will lift them above West Ham into fifth place. More importantly it would keep them within two points of Tottenham. What they certainly don’t need to be doing is allowing a gap to develop between fourth place and the rest. (more…)

No Game For Old Men?

Posted: January 11, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion
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It is certainly looking that way.

Look at the top teams in Europe outside of the Premier League. Real Madrid now have Zinedine Zidane who, at 43, has just taken over the managerial role. They are, arguably, the biggest team in the world. Whether or not he is successful remains to be seen but it appears that Madrid have taken a leaf from Barcelona’s book by promoting from within.

Luis Enrique is the man in charge of Barcelona. At 45, he is already very successful and, with the team he currently manages, there is no reason to think that the success will dry up anytime soon.

There are now three teams in Spain of course, the third being Atletico Madrid, managed by 45 year-old Diego Simeone. Since his appointment Atletico have seriously challenged the dominance of the big two in a similar way to when a young Alex Ferguson was given the job of breaking the Celtic/Rangers monopoly when he was appointed as manager of Aberdeen. He also got the United job at 45 and the rest is history. (more…)

What Manchester United Need In The Second Half Of The Season

Posted: January 8, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Firstly, from this transfer window, I am pretty certain that most United fans would like them to buy a striker. Edinson Cavani seems to have gone off the map so the best bet at present looks like being Romelu Lukaku. Having scored 14 goals in 16 games, he could be just what the Reds need to mount a serious challenge.

With Phil Jones once again injured, a decent centre back could well be in order. Last window all the talk was of Mats Hummels and now that has gone very quiet. I am not sure why as the first half of the season has only reinforced the need for a new centre back. Also required is cover in the full back positions but, I feel reasonably sure, that the majority of United fans would be happy with one or two signings.

Lastly, they need to win more consistently and maybe a couple of new faces would help them to do that.

Now, what do they need from the others?

Well, they need Arsenal to be a little more inconsistent. The Gunners have done very well over the first half of the season and have only had a couple of blips, surprising everbody in the process, especially Arsene Wenger. United need them to have more blips. (more…)

Arsenal First, City Second, United & Chelsea Nowhere

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

What Has Happened To The Traditional Top Four?

Posted: January 3, 2016 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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To supporters of other clubs, what I mean by the “traditional top four” is the four clubs who have finished in those positions the most times in the recent past.

To try and appear unbiased I will take them in alphabetical order:

Arsenal

They have obviously decided that they need to reverse the usual pattern of their season. This was only evident when they lost their first home game. Arsene quickly realised that the season would be the same as any other if he didn’t do something.

So they started winning regularly, something the Gooners fans don’t normally experience until after the Christmas period. By this time, Arsenal have usually left it too late to win the title.

This has proven so successful that Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League, two points ahead of Leicester City in second. They are still in the Champion’s League, just, thanks to an epic display against Olympiacos in the final group game. (more…)

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