-
Leicester are a Freak, and That’s it
Hi there, Sit down, grab a seat, make yourself comfortable. So if you have been hiding under a rock, Leicester have won the Premier League title. Leicester who had the 17th best odds to win the title at 5000-1 actually did it. The same club that were hanging by a thread at this time last…
-
Manchester City 1-4 Liverpool: What a Successful Gengenpress Looks Like
Liverpool’s 4-1 victory over Manchester City and the manner in which they did it harkened back to their magical 2013-14 season when Liverpool obliterated Arsenal 5-1 in February via the trio of Raheem Sterling, Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez. It was an incandescent performance in a season full of them. Saturday was obviously different in…
-
Mourinho’s Toughest Test
As Graziano Pellé struck for Southampton in the 72nd minute to put the Saints ahead 3-1 at Stamford Bridge the Sky Sports commentator remarked, “This is turning from a blip into a full blown crisis for Chelsea.” Southampton would win the match by that scoreline and keep Chelsea in 16th place in the table ahead…
-
The Myth of Mourinho
I remember the first time I watched a José Mourinho team, and I think that’s very much telling. Usually, you don’t really focus on the manager, no matter how good he is, when watching a game. Back then, managers were a presence that, while very much respected for their importance, weren’t the focus of the…
-
Philippe Coutinho: The Symbol of Liverpool’s Continued Devolution
The more time passes on the 2013-14 EPL season, the more we’ve learned just how much of a one year outlier that Liverpool side really was. Sure, we kind of already knew that when Luis Suarez left after the 2014 World Cup, but to the degree to which it’s hampered Liverpool as a club currently…
-
Ross Barkley isn’t Good at Football
It’s really easy to make fun of English prospects, so much so that it could simply be classified as low hanging fruit. The way the English media and fans hype their own talent way above their actual production level is borderline farcical. Saido Berahino was thought so highly of that Tottenham dedicated nearly a month…
-
Rigid Louie
Louis van Gaal’s second season at the helm at Manchester United hasn’t gotten off to the greatest of starts. After four weeks of play, United have won two, drawn one and lost one, which isn’t really a problem in and of itself. However, it is the manner in which United have come out that kinda…
-
Crystal Palace’s Impact
It was around this time I wrote a guest post about Crystal Palace and their outlook just a few weeks into the 2014-15 season. Palace’s first two seasons back in the Premier League were heart-attack inducing followed by infinite swooning. Much of Crystal Palace’s 2013-14 season consisted of an intensely bad start. Then manager Ian…
-
Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez, and the New Transfer Market Ineffeciency
The transfer dust has finally settled, and well, it was an interesting and active window. A certain Manchester club became Voltron and spat in FFP’s face, and the other became much maligned over a deal for an unproven French forward that hasn’t had his twentieth birthday. How did we get here though? United, while maybe taking a…
-
Mark Hughes and the Culture Change at Stoke City
On Sunday at Carrow Road, Xherdan Shaqiri made his Stoke debut in a 1-1 draw against Norwich. Shaqiri provided an assist on a free kick, completed 34 passes and looked solid on his debut. However, what he did on his debut is ultimately irrelevant. What is relevant is that Stoke City had a 23-year-old who has…