Will Man City dominate English football?

The return of our beloved Premier League is now just a day away and the question on every football fan’s mind is this: can Man City do it again?

They swept away all that was in their path last season in stunning fashion, dazzling their way to the title whilst becoming the first team to reach 100 points in English top-flight history, as well as winning the league cup.

Are they the best Premier League team ever? Possibly. Pep Guardiola has moulded an outstanding team of pace and quality with strength in depth too, and after winning last season’s title at a canter, finishing 19 points ahead of rivals Manchester United in second place, they can surely do it again. But it may not be as straight-forward as it seems.

Although United have endured a tough pre-season and haven’t made many big signings, Jose Mourinho, Pogba, Alexis Sanchez and co shouldn’t be written off, whilst Chelsea and Arsenal could pose different threats under new bosses Maurizio Sarri and Unai Emery respectively. Mauricio Pochettino has been building a strong side at Tottenham for a while now and they still have Harry Kane, but probably City’s biggest danger to the defence of their crown is Jurgen Klopp’s Champions League finalists, Liverpool.

Salah, Firmino and Mane were all brilliant last season, and the addition of Xherdan Shaqiri provides quality strength in depth.

Large sums of money have been paid to bring midfielders Fabinho and Naby Keita to the club and drastically improve the core of the team, and the impressive Alisson Becker has been brought in from Roma after Loris Karius’ Champions League final nightmare.

Klopp’s men beat City three times in all competitions last season, and those signings should really improve the team, so if anyone is likely to stop Manchester City, it’s Liverpool – but consistency will be key; the Reds never showed enough of it in 2017/18 and neither did any club but City, and it was their relentless winning that brought them the title comfortably last season. Sure, Liverpool can beat anyone on their day, but they’ll have to improve to match Man City’s incredible winning consistency.

Pep’s sides haven’t let up in previous years, not being content with just their first title, so he’ll hope to keep the hunger in his players and the addition of club record £60m Riyad Mahrez should remind the likes of Sterling, Sane and Bernardo Silva that they will have to work for their place.

Two brilliant Sergio Aguero goals saw them ease past Chelsea in the community shield last week, a game that demonstrated their superiority as the 2-0 scoreline really didn’t do their dominance justice, and also a game where 18 year-old Phil Foden showed his talent throughout, most notably with an assist for Aguero’s first goal.

If Foden can break into the first team and get some games under his belt this season, which will be easier said than done with the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva occupying his main position, Pep will have gone some of the way to bringing through young English talent, one of his City tenure’s main criticisms as people suggest that he and City have ‘bought’ success.

But doing what Guardiola has done is not easy, and Man City aren’t the only team in England with pots and pots of money – look at Manchester United last season: on paper, De Gea, Pogba, Lukaku, Martial, Mikhitaryan and Matic could easily have been the core of a title-winning team, but as we know, Jose Mourinho still finished 19 points behind the champions.

Although we have seen some impressive English sides in recent years, it has been a decade since any club managed to win back to back titles – but no one has been as good as Manchester City in that time.

Still with an exceptional squad filled with world-class talent, City will have very high hopes of Champions League success this time out, and should they win the Premier League again, will we be seeing the start of an era of unprecedented domination?

Is it really coming home?

Over the last few weeks, a song released in 1996, social media, and football have combined to give the nation of England the kind of belief that no one would have dreamt of a mere month ago.

The phrase, ‘It’s coming home’, taken from the Lightning Seeds’ ‘Three Lions’, has fast become the most popular phrase in the country, and the Three Lions song, which was first released 22 years ago, has played a massive part in the new found connection between the England first team and their fans.

Jokes and laughs over social media often involving the phrase has helped the nation grow in confidence and togetherness; everyone is behind Gareth Southgate’s men, which seems crazy as it was just two years ago that England suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of Iceland in Euro 2016, a time where the side were undoubtedly a laughing stock. But not anymore.

A deserved late win over Tunisia in the opening match put England on the right track, but it was the impressive 6-1 win over Panama that first established the feel-good factor that has encompassed the nation.

The 1-0 defeat to Belgium did little to dampen the mood as it put England in arguably the easier side of the draw, a side that became even more interesting when both Germany and Spain were knocked out early on.

It was probably the penalty shoot-out win over Colombia that the country first really seemed to believe that football was in with a chance of coming home, and Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Sweden put England into just their third World Cup semi final ever.

Without doubt, the tournament has already been a success, but with Croatia the only thing standing between England and the final, the belief that Southgate’s men could go all the way has never been stronger.

Although Croatia are a very good side, with the likes of Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic amongst their ranks, England have shown enough so far to suggest that they are in with more than a reasonable chance.

Encouragingly, 8 of England’s 11 goals in the tournament have come from set pieces, which means that they will always be a threat, even if playing badly, one free-kick or corner could give them the edge, especially with the likes of John Stones, Harry Maguire and Harry Kane lurking.

Also, whilst much of his work has gone unnoticed and he has been one of the few players to be subjected to criticism in the tournament, Raheem Sterling has caused problems for defences throughout the entire campaign, and although he is yet to be clinical in front of goal, his time could well be soon.

Another key aspect of England’s World Cup campaign to mention is Gareth Southgate, the man who has kept things simple, worked hard, and won the nation’s hearts.

He has clearly paid particular attention to set pieces, which has paid dividends so far, and he’s managed to avoid any major problems or controversy at all, a feat that should not be taken lightly.

It’s hard to choose between Croatia and England, a semi-final that really could go either way, and the winner will meet France on Sunday in Moscow. Is it really coming home?

 

Germany crash out of World Cup!

The thrilling first stage of the 2018 World Cup ended with Japan qualifying due to having fewer yellow cards than Senegal, Lionel Messi finally arriving in Russia, and Germany’s shock exit in their 2-0 defeat to South Korea.

Surprisingly, many teams who won the World Cup failed to get out of the group stage four years later in recent times such as Spain and Italy, and Germany have now joined this unexpected list.

They were, perhaps, the least likely of these teams to fall in the group stage four years on as the core of their 2014 winning side remains in the squad today, with players such as Manuel Neuer, Jerome Boateng, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller still key men for the team.

However, between two poor defeats, a narrow last-gasp victory over Sweden was not enough for the Germans, who ended up finishing bottom of their group in Russia.

Whilst their backline, which includes Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels in front of Manuel Neuer, seemed extremely strong on paper, they failed to keep a single clean sheet and looked disjointed throughout.

In addition, Timo Werner of RB Leipzig was trusted as Germany’s number 9 after a very impressive season in the Bundesliga, but the young striker never seemed goal hungry and his movement played into the defence’s hands as he failed to score in all three games.

This incredibly poor campaign could have knock-on effects too; the generation of youngsters who missed the success of 2014 may lack inspiration, and the Bundesliga could also suffer a hangover as a result of Germany’s disastrous tournament.

Elsewhere in the tournament, Argentina turned their campaign around with a hard-fought win over Nigeria that saw them scrape through.

After a very poor start to the tournament where they were outclassed by Croatia and Lionel Messi failed to spark, it was Messi’s unbelievable goal that broke the deadlock against the Nigerians, but they needed a late winner from Marcos Rojo to qualify for the knockout stage after Victor Moses had levelled from the spot.

It was Ever Banega’s first start of the competition that appeared to be the key to unlocking Messi, as Banega consistently found Messi and other forwards with direct passes, something that Argentina had lacked in their opening two games where they had repeatedly passed the ball sideways. Banega’s brilliant pass set up Messi, who pretended to come short for the ball before darting in behind the defence and controlling the ball at top speed before blasting the ball into the top corner.

Finishing second in the group has punished them with a round of 16 against France, although Les Bleus, who may have topped their group, have failed to dazzle so far in Russia.

On paper, France’s squad is far stronger than Argentina’s and they should be favourites, but it could depend on whether or not Messi is unleashed as he was against Nigeria or if he is contained like in their games against Iceland and Croatia.

So far in the competition, no teams have been outstanding, as Spain rode their luck on their way to reaching the knockout stage and France, as we know, did not impress.

However, the three most promising teams so far have probably been Brazil, Belgium and England, yes, England.

After a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their opening game, Brazil won their remaining two games to top the group and they appear to have been improving throughout their campaign.

Phillipe Coutinho has been their star man so far, whilst Neymar has threatened to light up the tournament at times.

Tite’s side sailed through qualification for this year’s finals and at the moment they have given enough evidence to suggest that they are one of the most likely teams to come out on top on July 15th.

As for Belgium, they won all three of their games in the group stage, overcoming Panama and Tunisia with ease before beating England 1-0 to top the group.

It has been common knowledge for a while now that Belgium have some top players in their squad but just need to perform well as a team, so this start has been extremely promising.

England also impressed in the group stage, especially in the 6-1 victory over Panama, but it is still difficult to tell if they will be a strong contender for the trophy.

Gareth Southgate’s men face Colombia in the round of 16 in what is possibly the hardest game of the round to predict.

Both sides managed 6 points in the group stage, and both have showed a relatively secure defence and a threatening attack, so Tuesday’s match at the Otkrytie Arena could be special.

Another team that must be mentioned is Croatia, who dazzled on the way to winning all three of their games, most notably in their 3-0 destruction of Argentina.

As we expected Luka Modric has been outstanding so far, whilst the likes of Ivan Perisic, Ante Rebic and Ivan Rakitic have showed that Croatia are a force to be reckoned with, and potentially a dark horse at this tournament.

World Cup Matchday 1 review: Why Spain can win

6 days, 16 matches and 38 goals since Russia kicked off the 2018 World Cup in Moscow last Thursday, and this edition’s festival of fun has got off to an extremely promising start.

Not many would have foreseen the host nation’s exhilarating start at the Luzhniki stadium last week, and albeit against relatively weak opposition in the form of Saudi Arabia, their impressive 5-0 victory was a pleasant surprise for many neutrals who may have expected a cagey, tense opener.

Notching two goals and an assist, CSKA Moscow’s Aleksandr Golovin was a constant thorn in Saudi Arabia’s side as he provided two pinpoint crosses for Russia’s first and third goals before adding a delightful free-kick in the 94th minute to crown an excellent performance.

The 22 year-old is the subject of interest from numerous Premier League clubs this summer, but for now he will hope to steal the headlines and guide his country through their group.

Another star of the opening game was Villarreal winger Denis Cheryshev. Following Alan Dzagoev’s injury, Cheryshev was introduced as a first half substitute, and his pace immediately caused Saudi Arabia problems down the left-hand side.

Just before half time, his audacious flick to evade two defenders before lashing the ball into the top corner gave Russia breathing space, and his outside of the foot curler in the closing stages was another beautiful goal.

Whilst Dzagoev was no doubt an important player for the Russians, his injury may prove to be a blessing in disguise as Cheryshev’s pace and skill make them far more threatening when going forward.

A day later, two dramatic late goals gave Uruguay and Iran wins over Egypt and Morocco respectively before the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi hosted the most intriguing fixture that the group stage draw produced.

Euro 2016 winners Portugal faced Spain in an encounter that many hoped would be a thriller – and it didn’t disappoint. That game had it all.

A hat-trick from one of the world’s best in Cristiano Ronaldo, a goal of the tournament contender from Nacho, late drama, controversy, and overall, exciting football.

Spain had sacked their manager, Julen Lopetegui, just two days before their campaign began, after Lopetegui joined Real Madrid without consulting the national side.

Whilst it may seem ridiculous that Lopetegui didn’t notify his current employers of the fact that he would be taking on a new job, it was even more ridiculous that the decision was taken to sack him so soon before the World Cup, especially as key players such as Sergio Ramos and Andres Iniesta pleaded with the Spain president to keep Lopetegui in his job.

Nevertheless, former Real Madrid centre-back Fernando Hierro has taken the reigns, and after two days of pure chaos, their tournament couldn’t have begun any worse when Cristiano Ronaldo was tripped in the penalty area and struck home to give Portugal the lead inside just four minutes.

The impressive Diego Costa then struck back for Spain, before a shock error from the usually outstanding David De Gea gifted Portugal the lead again when he allowed Ronaldo’s shot to slip through his fingers.

Costa fired them level once more in the second half before Nacho’s outrageous strike put them 3-2 ahead, but in the 88th minute, that man Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed his hat-trick with a stunning free-kick.

Whilst a draw in their opening game was not what the Spaniards would have hoped for, their performance was more than promising.

Defensively, the three goals they conceded did not point to any ongoing problems that could potentially resurface; a penalty was needlessly given away, their goalkeeper uncharacteristically made a huge mistake and they conceded a stunning free-kick. These are not long term problems, and assuming that De Gea is back to his best for the remainder of the tournament, with Ramos and Pique in front of him, Spain’s defence should not be a worry. And neither should their attack be.

In Diego Costa, they have a man who provides them with a different way of scoring goals.

Usually, Spain rely on beautiful passing moves to carve chances open, but Costa gives the side another dimension, as demonstrated with his first goal, a goal that Spain would never have scored before he was in the team.

Sergio Busquets picked the ball up midway inside his own half and immediately got his head up and looked for Costa over the top. The striker shrugged off Pepe before bullying the other Portugal defenders and typically lashing the ball into the corner. Classic Costa.

Add this to the brilliance of Isco, Iniesta and David Silva, who can pick almost any defence apart with their skill and vision, along with the pace of Iago Aspas and the threat of Marco Asensio from the bench, and Spain look capable of scoring freely at this tournament.

Despite their managerial mayhem prior to the tournament, Lopetegui has laid the foundations of a potential winning side, so there’s no reason why they can’t go all the way.

And, even though they only picked up a point, Spain arguably looked the most impressive side in the competition thus far – other big names such as France, Germany, Argentina and Brazil all struggled, and despite their undoubted quality, none of those sides seemed to gel in their openers.

France relied on a strange own-goal to overcome Australia in a 2-1 victory, and it remains to be seen whether or not Didier Deschamps can get the best out of his talented squad, especially when it comes to players like Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele, who both have unquestionable talent but both endured a season of inconsistent performances for their clubs.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Germany’s 1-0 defeat to Mexico as the world champions couldn’t find a way past a good-looking Mexican side.

Hirving Lozano, who looks a real talent, gave Mexico the lead in the first half, and the often cool and collected Germans were unable to claw it back and ended up slumping to a loss.

The Germans should still be a strong force this year though; they always are – but is this one tournament too many for Joachim Low?

Lionel Messi and co. were also extremely underwhelming as Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw with a resolute Iceland side that successfully nullified the threat of the little number 10.

Tightly marked for 90 minutes, Messi struggled to find space at all and was unable to weave his magic.

He had a shot from just outside the area which curled narrowly wide, but his clearest chance came from the spot as he was gifted the opportunity to put his team 2-1 in front.

Messi’s penalty record has been poor in recent years and his penalty on the day was even poorer as the Icelandic goalkeeper Halldorsson comfortably pushed it away.

Argentina face Croatia on Thursday facing problems that have stayed with them throughout Messi’s entire international career – how do you get the best out of him?

For now, it seems unlikely that they ever will, but it will be intriguing to see if he can pull a rabbit out of the hat and turn Argentina into contenders – at the moment, they are far from challenging for the trophy.

Brazil were the final ‘big’ team that failed to perform. They were by no means awful in their 1-1 draw with Switzerland, but they lacked a cutting edge. Still, with Willian, Jesus, Coutinho and Neymar about this should not be a problem, and they are still among the favourites.

Finally, regarding England, Gareth Southgate’s side deservedly claimed a 2-1 win over Tunisia courtesy of a brace from Harry Kane, and although they had to wait until stoppage time to get the winning goal, Southgate’s men were the superior side.

Not only should England have been awarded two clear penalties, they spurned countless opportunities through Jesse Lingard and John Stones.

Defensively, England weren’t really tested and only gave away a goal because of Kyle Walker’s careless foul, so it is still unknown as to whether or not their new-look defence can keep out the top teams, but going forward, England show promise.

As we know, Harry Kane is a hugely important player for the team and his goals could prove pivotal if England are to go deep into the tournament, whilst pace will not be an issue with Raheem Sterling, Jamie Vardy and Marcus Rashford in the squad.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s cameo appearance was also promising, so going forward England could be a threatening team.

Each team has only played one game so far and it is extremely hard to tell who will be lifiting the trophy in Moscow on the 15th July, but Spain could be the real deal – or will football be coming home?

 

 

Footballmagic Player of the Year 2017: Cristiano Ronaldo

It is unquestionably common knowledge that in football, the game’s elite have, down the years, consistently stepped up to the plate in the most important matches. It is also common knowledge that Cristiano Ronaldo is no exception; goals in the 2008 and 2014 champions league finals, the winning goal in the Copa Del Rey in 2011 and countless other goals when his teams have needed him most.

In 2017, he took stepping up to the plate to a whole new level.

Zinedine Zidane had gone where no other manager could, and he had rested Ronaldo repeatedly throughout the season. It was a bold move; Ronaldo doesn’t like being on the bench, but it turned out to be genius. When in other seasons Cristiano had appeared to be unfit towards the latter stages, the Frenchman’s resting of his prize asset proved pivotal in their league and champions league double as a fully fit Ronaldo reaped the benefits of being frequently rested and tore it up in the big games.

He kicked off his astonishing run in April, where Real hosted Bayern Munich in the first leg of the Champions League quarter finals. After falling behind to a first half Arturo Vidal goal, Ronaldo did what he does best and turned the game on its head with a brace.

In the second leg, he stepped up another gear – after his 76th minute equaliser look set to send Real through to the semis, a Sergio Ramos own goal meant extra time was on the horizon, and Ronaldo capitalised in style, adding two further goals to complete a hat-trick.

His goals had been responsible for leading Madrid through, and they didn’t stop there; in a crunch match of a semi-final against local rivals Atletico Madrid, a second hat-trick in a row all but ensured a place in the final, without the second leg even having been played.

He remained in fine form to score the goal that won Madrid la liga on the last day against Malaga, before they faced off against Juventus in the Champions League final.

The ‘Old Lady’ had kept Lionel Messi’s Barcelona at bay over two legs in the quarter finals, but while Messi was thwarted,  Ronaldo could not be contained.

His impressive finish in the 20th minute opened the scoring in the biggest game of them all, and mid-way through the second half his goal made it 3-1 to Real, sealing  the win.

His crucial goals in crucial games were a vital source of Real’s success in winning the league and Champions League, and his outstanding goal of the bench in the Spanish Supercopa against Barcelona contributed to success in that tie also, before his free-kick in the World Club cup final put the cherry on the cake after a truly unbelievable year.

Personally, I don’t think Ronaldo is the best player in the world. His powers are diminishing slowly, and a tough tie against PSG in the champions league and huge ground to make up in La Liga means that 2018 could be a struggle for him. Nevertheless, due to a combination of Zidane’s excellence and his own brilliance, 2017 was, undoubtedly, his year.

I am compelled to mention four of the other outstanding players of the year, as Lionel Messi, Isco, Neymar and Luka Modric were too good to not be talked about.

Messi was a close runner-up for this award, but after Barcelona were swept aside by Juventus it was almost out of the little genius’s hands as he was forced to watch on as Ronaldo scored goal after goal after goal.

Messi’s brace in El Clasico in May was something special, the first a goal that made Dani Carvajal ( who, may I mention is a terrific player) look like someone playing football for the first time, and the second a world-class team goal, rounded off by Messi with a sumptuous finish in added time to make the score 2-3 to Barcelona.

He also saved his country with a memorable hat-trick, three brilliant goals against Ecuador which sent Argentina narrowly through to this summer’s World Cup finals in Russia.

Isco is also a player who must not be forgotten as he showed his quality in style towards the end of last season.

Often in Ronaldo’s absence, it was Isco who stepped up and made the difference putting in a string off class performances that sent Real on their way to the title.

Luka Modric was also consistent as ever throughout 2017, and as one of the world’s best players he was a vital cog in Zidane’s triumphant outfit.

Finally, we have Neymar. He stole the show in March when Barcelona needed three goals to knock PSG out of the Champions League with three minutes let of normal time. A truly brilliant free-kick, a cool penalty and an impressive assist later resulted in perhaps one of the most amazing comebacks football has ever seen.

But Neymar, rightly or wrongly, felt that he wasn’t shown enough love by the club for his performances, that one in particular, and in the summer, with a hint of irony, PSG themselves paid £200m to bring him to Paris, and he has started his career in the French capital impressively.

So, Modric, Neymar, Isco and Messi are not to be forgotten, but Ronaldo’s brilliance prevailed in a memorable year.

Premier League 2017/18 Preview

It’s been said many times before, but is this to be the Premier League’s most exciting season yet?

There are six, or possibly seven teams who can all lay claim to having a reasonable shot at the title this year, whilst at the other end of the table the league looks far stronger this year; there will be no Aston Villa or Sunderland type team that will almost volunteer to be relegated themselves. No, this year the battle to avoid the drop could be as close as the battle at the top, as the quality of teams appears to be at a higher standard than we’ve seen for quite a few years.

Now, my prediction of last season’s table was forgettable to say the least, but I’ll go again in the hope of better luck this time round. It is widely agreed that this year’s top seven is likely to be the same as last year’s: Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Everton. However, it is the order of those teams that will be so hard to predict.

This season I’ve gone with City for the title again. In 2016/17, perhaps not all at the club were entirely behind Pep Guardiola and his methods, but after a full season of Premier League experience under his belt accompanied with an even better squad than last time out, the blue half of Manchester look too good to not win the league.

Young Brazilian Gabriel Jesus impressed in his first few games in a City shirt last season before injury ruled him out until the last few weeks of the season where he came back and scored even more goals. On a couple of occasions Pep has selected Jesus over Sergio Aguero, and to do that again this season would be a bold move, but this does look like the breakthrough season for the youngster. Pep may also experiment with Jesus out wide, but I would like to see a system with both him and Aguero as a partnership up front, perhaps with Jesus just behind his Argentinian team-mate.

Pep also has decisions to make with regards to the selection of the rest of his team too, with Leroy Sane, David Silva, Raheem Stering, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne at his disposal for attacking midfield options.

From there, he also has to choose between Fernandinho, Yaya Toure and Ilkay Gundogan as deeper midfielders, and one would hope that the latter is given as much game time as possible after the German international was yet again plagued by injuries last year, despite looking impressive when playing.

He has spent £100m on Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy as upgrades to Aleksandr Kolarov and Pablo Zabaleta in the full-back positions, whilst he will be praying that this is the year where John Stones fulfils his promise and become’s one of the league’s best centre backs.

In goal, a world record fee (for a goalkeeper) has been spent in order to bring Edinson in from Benfica, and Pep will hope that he fares better than Claudio Bravo after a poor season in Manchester for the Chilean.

Having so many good players to choose from is a problem most managers would love to have but leaving out top players could also create disharmony amongst the group.

He’ll have to play his cards wisely, but with the sqaud he has, I’m tipping Pep’s Manchester City for the title.

The rest of my top four are made up of Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham.

Last year one of Man United’s main problems was goals, and after effectively sacrificing their league position in order to win the Europa League and thus qualify for the Champions League, Mourinho’s men finished a measly sixth.

This season though, with the addition of £75m man Romelu Lukaku to bolster United’s strikeforce, a sqaud with potential could turn into a squad that performs.

Goals may have been hard to come by at times last year for United in comparison with other top sides, but with Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford, Henrikh Mkitaryan and Anthony Martial as main goal threats, that could all change.

Players such as Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata will also make a difference, whilst Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba are threatening to become one of the world’s best midfield duos, and this could be their year.

Despite being villified by a number of opposition clubs, Ander Herrera has his best season in a United shirt yet in 2016/17 and should he continue that, he will only be counting on Pogba to do the business too.

After Man United spent £90m to bring him back to the club from Juventus, he went below the radar for much of the season in a campaign where he often failed to dazzle.

However, this time out it could be his time to shine, his undoubted class brought trophies at Juventus, now it’s time to bring trophies to United.

In third place, I’ve gone with last season’s champions, Chelsea.

The signing of Alvaro Morata looks a good one, although it is hard to see how the Spaniard can improve on Diego Costa’s performances.

Costa, who looks set to leave after being told he wasn’t part of Conte’s plans earlier this year, is Chelsea’s main departure from their title-winning team of last season, along with Nemanja Matic.

The sale of Matic, a star performer from last season, to title rivals Manchester United, almost looks like Chelsea have themselves in the foot.

Not only have they sold a key player in their team, but they’ve handed him to Jose Mourinho where he will line up alongside Ander Herrera and allow Paul Pogba to play further forward and cause havoc.

It is a strange decision to say the least, and one that could leave Chelsea on the back foot; United and City look far stronger this year.

I’m tipping Tottenham to finish in the final Champions League spot this season, and although they will have to overcome thier Wembley hoodoo, they are undoubtedly a fantastic side.

The sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City was their only notable departure from last season’s side which were Chelsea’s closest challengers for the title, but Kieran Trippier, who will replace him at right-back, is arguably the better players anyway.

Oddly, Spurs have not made a single signing so far this summer, and although their first 11 is definitely capable of challenging for top spot, one would’ve expected them to bolster their ranks and add depth to their sqaud ahead of what is likely to be an extended Champions League campaign in comparison with last season.

Still, with Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, and Toby Alderweireld providing the spine of the team, they should be in the mix for first place for most of the year, but in what could be the tightest season yet, I expect them to fall just short once again.

In fifth, I expect Arsene Wenger’s men to miss out on Champions Leaue football for the second year running.

Whilst they have a good team that are capable of challenging high in the league, they simply don’t look as strong as Spurs, Chelsea, City and United.

Still, the acquisition – at last – of a top striker in Alexandre Lacazette should bolster thier firepower as he’ll look to score at least 20 goals this season, and new left-back Sead Kolasinac, who impressed on his Arsenal debut in the community shield with the equalising goal, looks as shrewd a buy as you’ll see all summer.

The big question mark still remains though – will Alexis Sanchez stay?

There have been strong rumours that both Manchester City and PSG are interested in bringing the Chilean to the club, although the former probably wouldn’t need another attacker, and the latter have just signed Neymar, so a deal would be unlikely, but it still seems possible that Sanchez could be on his way out.

Should he stay, Arsenal are likely to be contending for a champions league place or even higher, should he go, they could struggle.

In sixth, it could be a backwards step for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.

With strong interest from Barcelona, star man Phillipe Coutinho could be out of the door this summer, which would no doubt be a blow for their campaign.

However, new signing Mohamed Salah will get his second crack in the Premier League after struggling with Chelsea, but off the back of a fine season with Roma, the Egyptian could cause problems for Premier League defences with his pace and eye for goal, making him slot in perfectly on the opposite wing to Sadio Mane.

While Salah is a good buy, Liverpool still seem to be lacking a genuine centre-forward.

Daniel Sturridge’s career was summed up in a nutshell in a pre-season game against Bayern Munich, coming off the bench and scoring a delightful chip, but injuring himself in the process of taking the shot.

Once again he will be a doubt and will be unreliable for the rest of the season, while Roberto Firmino isn’t really an out and out striker.

In seventh place I’ve gone with Everton, where Wayne Rooney has returned to his boyhood club.

Despite the sale of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, Everton look prepared for what should be a good campaign.

In adding Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Davy Klaasen, Wayne Rooney and Sandro Ramirez, Ronald Koeman has created an impressive new spine for the team.

It remains to be seen whether former Barcelona man Sandro can score the goals that Lukaku did, but he shouldn’t lack in providers as Klaasen appears to be a class midfielder.

Idrissa Gana Gueye will do the dirty work once again, and he is the one that often makes the difference for Everton; you notice when he’s not playing.

All in all, like last season, these top seven teams look a cut above the rest, but the thirteen below will be of a much higher quality this time out.

In eighth, I’m expecting West Ham to do the unexpected.

Amongst all the drama involving the Dimitri Payet saga and the poor performances at their new London stadium, Slaven Bilic has consistently been under pressure, but while some may expect him to finally crack, it could be the opposite.

New signing Javier Hernandez could be one of the buys of the summer.

He had a decent spell with Manchester United back in the premier league a few years ago and he has scored goals pretty much everywhere he’s been, and might just be the answer to West Ham’s problems.

Their defence may still be shaky, but Hernandez’s goals combined with Manuel Lanzini’s class from midifeld could be a frightening prospect.

Following them closely are Southampton in ninth under another new manager in Mauricio Pellegrino.

Pellegrino guided newly promoted Alaves to a ninth place finish and a cup final in Spain last season, which caught the eye down south.

Whilst results are still imperative, Southampton fans are craving some entertainment after a dire end to Claude Puel’s rein, but if he can get Manolo Gabbiadini scoring again and Nathan Redmond and Sofiane Boufal rejuvenated, the goals should flow, but that will be no easy task.

The Saints broke their transfer record for the third consecutive window to bring Juventus midfielder Mario Lemina to the club, and he could also get the feel-good factor going again at St Mary’s.

In tenth place, I’ve gone with Frank De Boer’s Crystal Palace.

After Sam Allardyce saved them from relegation last season, he resigned and it is De Boer’s job to take the team back to where they should be, and with their sqaud they are more than capable of a top half finish.

They under-performed for much of last season but the likes of Christian Benteke, Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend and Yohan Cabaye make up a strong side, and if De Boer can get them playing effective football under his possession-based philosophy, there’s no reason why they can’t go far.

In 11th, 12th and 13th I have Bournemouth, West Brom and Leicester respectively.

Under Eddie Howe the Cherries finished an impressive ninth last term, but they haven’t rested on their laurels, moving quickly to bring in Asmir Begovic, Nathan Ake and Jermian Defoe to strengthen the sqaud.

West Brom will almost certainly avoid any kind of relegation battle again, but under Tony Pulis it seems as if that side has reached its peak.

Pulis will keep them safe every year, but will it ever get much better than mid-table mediocrity?

As for Leicester, the back to basics approach worked wonders under Craig Shakespeare after Claudio Ranier’s shock sacking, and now it’s time to take it up a notch with the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho showing they want to keep improving.

They could lose Riyad Mahrez to Roma, which would be a blow, but they stil have the majority of their title-winning team amongst their ranks, so they should avoid any relegation scraps this time round.

In 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th, I’ve chosen Newcastle, Stoke, Watford and Swansea, all of which could find themselves battling to avoid the drop.

Under Rafa Benitez, the Magpies look the safest of the four, and although their sqaud appears fairly basic, Benitez will get the best out of his men in a functional system, something that not many teams will be able to do.

As for Stoke, they appear to be on a decline.

The loss of Marko Arnautovic to West Ham is a blow, and they still need a striker; Peter Crouch being their top scorer last season tells its own story.

Wilfried Bony looks like deadwood and it remains to be seen if Saido Berahino can fulfil his promise, Stoke need to move quickly or they could be in trouble this season.

Despite Marco Silva’s best efforts, Hull still went down in 2016/17.

In his new job, Silva finds himself with a far better chance of survival at Vicarage Road with a Watford side crying out for a bit of stability.

The signing of Andre Gray from relegation rivals Burnley could be massive, but Marco Silva has a lot of work to do to keep the Hornets up.

At Swansea, it looks almost certain now that their star man, Gylfi Sigurdsson, is set to leave, and Nigel Clement has an uphill task to save them without their Icelandic star.

As with Silva at Watford, Clement will hope to provide some stability in Wales after the club had three different managers last season, so Swans fans will be hoping that the board put a little faith into Clement’s work.

Young Tammy Abraham will hope to make an impact, whilst fellow striker Fernando Llorente will attempt to defy Wilfried Bony and Michu in his efforts to not be a ‘one season wonder’.

It almost pains me to predict the immediate relegation of Brighton, who have a wonderful story behind their ascent to the Premier League.

Still, under Chris Hughton there is no doubt that they will fight all the way, and whilst you shouldn’t rule out survival, it seems an unlikely feat, even if Anthony Knockeart can continue his fine performances from last season.

The sale of Andre Gray to Watford will not help Burnley, and this could well be the year they go down again.

Last season it was their home form that kept them up when their away form was so poor, but Turf Moor is unlikely to be as much of a fortress as it was last season, and if their away form doesn’t improve, a dismal season could be ahead.

The loss of Michael Keane will also unsteady the ship at the back, but Sean Dyche’s men won’t go down without a fight.

In 20th are David Wagner’s Huddersfield, who clinched promotion after two penalty shoot-out wins in the play-offs.

Wagner, the Jurgen Klopp disciple, lovesa high press, but against the top teams adopting that tactic could be fatal, especially against the likes of Man City and Arsenal.

The permanent signing of Aaron Mooy will definitely help, but it looks like a long season is in store for them.

Those top seven teams realy do all have a shot at the title, but will it be Conte again, or will Pep ad Jose be battling it out until the death?

 

PSG smash world transfer record with £200m Neymar deal

You could buy around 792,000,000 freddos for £200m. You could also sign Riyad Mahrez 400 times, according to his price when signed by Leicester. Instead, PSG have splashed the cash on Brazlian superstar Neymar in an unlikely transfer.

He will cost significantly more than double the price of the world’s former most expensive player, Paul Pogba, and many are suggesting he left after growing tired of surrendering the spotlight at Barca to Lionel Messi.

Messi, who has been a Barcelona player since the age of 13, has had the adoration of Barca fans for his entire career, and with his status as arguably the best player in the world, he regularly grabs the headlines.

When Neymar first signed for Barcelona in 2013 he made it very clear that he understood his role as second to Messi, and appeared to acknowledge that the Argentinian would dominate everything at the Camp Nou.

Now, after four seasons in Catalonia, it seems that the  25-year old is in search of his own personal success. After all, he won every club competition that there was to win during his Barca career, but he is yet to win the Ballon D’Or, and possibly feels that in order to step out of Messi’s shadow he must move to the French capital.

It was against PSG themsleves that Neymar scored two late goals and provided an impressive assist in the dying moments as Barcelona completed an unforgettable 6-1 victory in order to progress to the next round of the champions league against all odds.

However, despite being undoubtedly man of the match and performing brilliantly to save his side, it was an iconic image of Messi celebrating in the stands with the Barca fans that made the back pages, even though Neymar had a far more effective game than his team-mate.

It has been suggested that this hurt Neymar, who felt that it was his turn to be idolised by the club’s fans, but again it was Messi who got the credit.

Now he is at the club that he tormented in last season’s astonishing comeback, and he will be the main star in a PSG side looking to finally crack Europe.

For years the owners of the club have craved success in Europe, but they have consistently fallen short. This year, with their £200m man, it could be very different.

Being the star man at the club, and the league for that matter, will not only mean that Neymar is more likely to get the attention of fans and pundits across the country, but he will also be able to stand out and be the main man, which could boost his Ballon D’Or chances.

In addition, whilst PSG chase European success, domestic success is also likely as Paris often dominate their league despite Monaco’s success last season, so the Brazilian will be able to add to his already magnificent trophy cabinet.

So what does all this mean for Barcelona?

Well, having £200m to spend will certainly help, and they are targeting the likes of Paulo Dybala, Phillipe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele.

The latter pair seem the more likely, although Barca would have to pay a premium to prise Coutinho off Liverpool’s desperate hands.

Reds manager Jurgen Klopp insists that their star man is not for sale, but should Barca make an offer in excess of £90m, it would be hard for Liverpool to turn down.

He would make a shrewd addition to their midfield, but filling the void on the left wing, Ousmane Demebele could be the perfect fit.

Although he is arguably yet to fully prove his quality, the French youngster showed lots of potential in an impressive campaign at Borussia Dortmund last season, and his key attributes would probably fit the bill for the Catalans.

His pace can stretch opposition full backs, creating space for Barca to push up and dominate as they love to do, whislt his convenient ability to use both his left and his right foot effectively is ver useful for a winger.

So, the key questions for next season in Barcelona and Paris will be, who will Barca sign? Will they perform? And is Neymar the best player in the world?

 

 

Champions League final preview 2017/18

‘This one could go either way’ is a phrase often used by pundits as merely a get of jail card, upon being asked to predict the outcome of the match in question. Two evenly matched teams meet, the pundit doesn’t choose to predict, and therefore the encounter is labelled as a game that could go either way.

But not this one. The last two previews on this website have, in all honesty, been drastically inaccurate.

Still, after all, there is no man on this earth with a crystal ball, and predicting is almost a lottery when it comes to football at the highest level. So, in fairness, I concede that maybe I should have anticipated Leo Messi’s brilliance in El Clasico, but come on, who thought that a struggling, injury ridden Arsenal side with a manger whose future is in question would beat the classy, impressive Premier League champions, Chelsea?

Anyway, those two games, despite being won by the ‘underdogs’, seemed straightforward enough to choose a favourite for.

Tonight, however, offers a very different encounter.

The Galacticos, lead by a previous Galactico himself in the form of Zinedine Zidane, who are champions of Spain and overcame the likes of Napoli, Bayern and Atletico en route to the final, face the ‘Old Lady’, current champions of Italy who reached the final after comfortably dismantling Barcelona on their way, conceding only one goal in all of their knockout games.

Regarding the game’s tactics, full-backs, as they often are for Real Madrid, could prove key figures in deciding the outcome of today’s final.

Marcelo and Carvajal, who are both excellent players and offer a further dimension to Real’s attack, will need to be contained by Juve, and could prove a difficult task.

As Juventus play with three central defenders and wing-backs, leaving Alex Sandro and Dani Alves to contain Real’s threat out wide would probably not only leave them exposed to being overloaded by a winger and full-back, but it would also quash their own attacking threat, and Dani Alves and Alex Sandro are both impressive players when going forward themselves.

In order to prevent Marcelo and Carvajal from causing havoc, Juventus wingers Juan Cuadrado and Mario Mandzukic will need to force them back by pressing high, which would therefore see the game come through the middle more, leaving an interesting midfield battle, where Toni Kroos and Luka Modric will be likely to relish.

If Marcelo and Carvajal are given the freedom to roam however, it could prove tricky for even Juventus’ incredible defence to stop them from delivering balls into the box where Cristiano Ronaldo, who drifts in from wide areas in menacing fashion, is almost impossible to mark, and when he is presented with a free header, he doesn’t miss, such is his sensational ariel ability.

Still, if there were a team in the world who could keep Real Madrid at bay for ninety minutes, it would be Juventus, especially with the outstanidng Gianluigi Buffon in goal who is looking to complete his trophy collection by finally getting his hands on European football’s most coveted prize.

As for Juventus going forward, Gonzalo Higuian will be hoping to shake off his ‘flat track bully’ tag after many disappointing major finals in recent years accompanied by goal after goal after goal in domestic football against the so called ‘lesser teams’.

His fellow countryman and strike partner, Paulo Dybala, already has a glowing reputation in Italy, and will look to show the world just how good he is in tonight’s final after two impressive goals against Barcelona in the quarter final stage.

So, whilst predicting hasn’t really gone my way recently, I dare to use my crystal ball to guess tonight’s outcome in a game that truly could go either way: Real Madrid 1-2 Juventus AET.

FA Cup final 2016/17 preview

  • Antonio Conte’s Chelsea side have the chance to cap off a near perfect season in today’s FA cup final at Wembley, where they face Arsenal in what could be Arsene Wenger’s last ever game at the club after over 20 years as manager.

Much is at stake for the Frenchman today as there have been numerous calls for his head throughout the season, but if Arsenal can beat the Premier League champions today, he could go some way towards validating his reasons for staying in his job.

However, he may not last as manager whatever the result as he has not reassured the fans of his future yet and today’s game would seem like the perfect opportunity to bow out.

Still, after such glorious success in his early days in North London, he will doubtless be desperate to claim his third FA cup in four years, although this year’s champions Chelsea could prove too much for the Gunners to overcome.

After their appalling tenth place finish in 2015/16, the tactical nous of Antonio Conte and the return to form of a number of key players such as Eden Hazard and Diego Costa has seen Chelsea storm to the league title.

Interestingly, it was against today’s opponents where their season really took a turn for the better, where Wenger’s men comfortably dismantled Chelsea 3-0 at the Emirates.

Following that defeat, Conte switched back to the 3-5-2 formation he had previously used in Italy with Juventus, and that decision proved to be inspired as they went on a rampant run, winning 14 games in a row and effectively securing them the title.

Conte has a full strength sqaud at his disposal today, so the only real decision for him to make is whether he should play Pedro or Willian.

Both have impressed when played this season, and Willian grabbed the first two goals in the semi-final of this competition, but Pedro has usually been favoured over the Brazilian and could prove a technically shrewd choice.

And whilst Chelsea have no injury concerns, Arsenal are without a number of key players today, with Kieran Gibbs and Shkodran Mustafi being fitness doubts, Gabriel injured and arguably one of their most important players, Laurent Koscielny, suspended, after a brainless red card last week.

Due to these absences, a three at the back system for Arsenal themselves could prove the answer, as it has been fairly successful for Wenger when employed in recent weeks.

Their defence is likely to be shaky, especially up against the likes of Hazard and Costa, and N’golo Kante and Nemanja Matic are likely to dominate the midfield.

Still, with all the odds against them, Arsene Wenger could yet re-kindle some of his old magic and win today, because after all, with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal are always likely to be a threat.

Ozil’s inconsistent displays can often cause discontent among the Arsenal faithful, but it is clear that when the German is at full-throttle, he is rarely contained, and Alexis Sanchez has been one of Arsenal’s few players to have enjoyeda a decent season, and after his 2015 cup final cracker against Aston Villa, he will be hoping history will repeat itself.

So, a team who failed to reach the top four this year with a manager in limbo against a team that cruised to the league title under an impressive manager and with some of the best players in the world.

An Arsenal win wouldn’t be a miracle, but it seems highly unlikely. But this is football we’re talking about.