Posts Tagged ‘Marco Silva’

More On Who Will Challenge The Established Top Six Next Season

Posted: August 2, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United
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For the last few years the top six in England’s Premier League has been very predictable. They may have switched positions at times but it has always been the same six teams.

Last season, Chelsea and Arsenal were the ones to miss out on the Champion’s League places and it is surely no coincidence that both clubs start the coming season with a new man in charge.

Manchester City, in case you were holidaying on Mars, ran away with the title with Manchester United finishing second, a mere 19 points behind. Tottenham were third and Liverpool fourth.

Down in seventh place were Burnley who finished the season nine points behind Arsenal in sixth. (more…)

Up To Now The Headlines Have All Been About Managers Moving But That Is About To Change

Posted: June 6, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Transfers
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It started, more or less, with Unai Emery getting the Arsenal gig. The club wanted somebody who could match, or better, Arséne Wenger’s achievements during his last few years in the job. They certainly got that. Emery is adept at getting his clubs into the top four and has been known to actually win the Europa League on more than one occasion.

Hold on to your hats you Gooners, it’s going to be a roller-coaster ride full of “been there, done that” and déjà vu. Unai Emery will deliver one of the trophies Wenger failed to deliver but which will it be? Our money’s on Big Vase. (more…)

Mourinho Watches A Game, Silva Returns, Pochettino Fancies Madrid And Chelsea Are In Limbo

Posted: June 2, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Football, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur, Transfers
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Why was José Mourinho attending the international friendly game between Austria and Russia?

Well, obviously, he was there to watch Marko Arnautovic! How do we know? Easy, we read it in the paper, so it must be true.

It did cross our mind that he may have been there swotting up on the Russian team as he has agreed to be a pundit on a Russian TV station for the duration of the World Cup. (more…)

Will The Premier League Top Six Contain Any Different Clubs Next Season Or Will The Status Quo Be Maintained?

Posted: May 26, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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It depends. If the question relates to the top six being the same six as usual then there is unlikely to be any difference. If, however, it is questioning whether the finishing order will be the same as this season, then that is more debatable.

On the first point, clubs who would think they may have a chance, however slight, of breaking the hexopoly, include Everton if/when they employ Marco Silva, West Ham United now that they have managed to appoint a top manager and Newcastle if they can get rid of Mike Ashley and replace him with somebody considerably richer.

These are all pretty big “ifs” and, in truth, it is unlikely that any of them will be ready to challenge for the top six places as soon as next season. (more…)

Bits & Pieces: Conte, Wenger, Manchester’s City And United And Everton’s New Manager (Probably)

Posted: May 24, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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The Antonio Conte saga goes on. No decision has yet been announced by either the man himself or Chelsea as to what his immediate future holds. The fact that everybody else already knows doesn’t appear to have occurred to either of the two parties. Or maybe it has and that is why they can’t be bothered announcing anything.

Anyway Conte, when he does leave/get fired in the very near future, won’t be rushing into a new job. He has decided to take a sabbatical at Chelsea’s expense.

This is because, contrary to popular belief, he won’t be swapping jobs with Maurizio Sarri, who may end up at Stamford Bridge but will be replaced by Carlo Ancelotti. No, Conte is more likely to take over Ancelotti’s bar stool for a period so he can see how the land lies. (more…)

Pep Gets A New Contract But United Get Paid More Than City For Last Season!

Posted: May 19, 2018 in Arsenal, Chelsea, Football, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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When Sam Goldwyn was misquoted as having said that “a verbal contract isn’t worth the paper it’s written on” a more accurate misquote would have been that a contract of any description isn’t worth the paper it’s written on.

Whilst that would not be strictly true it is getting to the stage, particularly in professional top flight football, where the necessity of a contract could be called into question.

Over at Manchester City the dastardly deed has been done. Pep Guardiola has signed a contract extension which will keep him at The Etihad until 2021. Unless he leaves before the end of the contract! Or maybe he will fail spectacularly and get fired before the end of the contract! (more…)

Mourinho, Guardiola, Conte, Klopp, Wenger And Pochettino. Why None Of These Should Have Been Contenders For Manager Of The Season

Posted: April 9, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Liverpool, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur
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Watching “The Sunday Supplement” on, believe it or not, Sunday, we here at WSA were dismayed, if not surprised, to hear that all of the journalists on the programme were going to vote for Antonio Conte as their “manager of the season“.

Now we have never thought that football journalists were ever recognised authorities on the machinations of the modern football club or it’s manager, but to vote for Conte shows a staggering lack of knowledge and totally flies in the face of the true definition of the award. Let’s look at the contenders as they were when the season started. This, in itself, got everything off on the wrong foot as the wrong managers were being scrutinised. (more…)

José Mourinho Has Adapted His Style To Suit Manchester United And Is Now The Perfect Fit

Posted: February 18, 2017 in Arsenal, Arsene Wenger, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Jose Mourinho, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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Arséne Wenger and Louis van Gaal have a couple of things in common. Firstly, they are both past the 65 years of age mark. Secondly, they have been unable to adapt themselves to compete in the modern football world.

It is now seven years since van Gaal won La Liga, his last major championship title and a whopping thirteen years since Wenger last won the Premier League. Yes they have both won cups since those days but even a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut and they were both managing historically successful teams at the time. (more…)

The Things We Have To Put Up With To Watch The Beautiful Game

Posted: February 4, 2017 in Arsenal, Chelsea, European Football, Football, Managers, Manchester City, Manchester United, Opinion, Premier League
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As regular readers of these chronicles will be aware, there are several amongst the football fraternity who are, to put it mildly, an irritation. We are not just referring to current players in the previous statement, as there are far more irritating people who have never played the game, who have retired from the game or who have dabbled at it and been no better than average.

There are reporters, presenters and referees. There are “celebrity” fans, another horrible expression suggesting that some people are “celebrated” whilst others are completely ignored throughout their life despite the good they may do. (more…)