Manchester United continue to break records in the post-Sir Alex era; both good and bad ones. Yet another one occurred this weekend, when a 4th successive home draw vs West Ham happened for the first time since 1980. A 1-1 vs Stoke was an anomaly, the 0-0 vs Burnley unlucky. 1-1 vs Arsenal was 2
Arsenal currently sit fourth in the Premier League table, just a single win off the top spot that houses local rivals Chelsea. However, had they changed their approach to convalescents, they could as well be the table toppers, never mind winning the title at least once in the past decade. Arsenal’s treatment room currently features
Charles’ latest “The Mind of Conte” column. Looking at Chelsea’s form over the past few games, outstanding comes short of describing how impressive the blues have been. Six games, seventeen goals scored and zero goal conceded. This spell was made possible by Antonio Conte’s stellar management of the team. Leadership Conte has displayed great
Adam’s latest “The Championship Corner” column. An eye-watering twenty different managerial combinations have taken charge of Queens Park Rangers since Ian Holloway departed the club in 2006, but now, in case the headlines his opinions generate have been missed, he is back at Loftus Road aiming to “restore pride”. Holloway referenced the excess of Flavio
Vishakh’s latest “The Manchester Musings” column. In the vast majority of football games, the scoreline does reflect the true nature of the game; if a team wins 4-0, they have been dominant and controlled everything for 90 mins. In the case of a 1-1 however, it could mean a variety of things. Either it could
Adam’s latest “The Championship Corner” column. For the first time since 2011, when Arsenal travelled up to Yorkshire for an FA Cup tie, Elland Road will be a sell-out on Sunday for when Leeds United welcome Newcastle. Both clubs have gone through difficult recent periods, but this weekend the 39,460 seater-stadium will be packed with
Praveen’s latest “The Arsenal Annals” column. Arsenal travel to Manchester United in search of their first win at Old Trafford since September 2006; however, the Saturday’s early kickoff presents them an easy opportunity to overcome the United hoodoo given the form of either side heading into the game. On the back of a 16-game undefeated
Praveen’s latest “The Arsenal Annals” column. Arsenal’s new centre-back partnership featuring Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi has been somewhat impressive since their first game together in the Premier League, but they are still far from the finished product. Earning plaudits from right and left, the imaginatively named Kostafi have helped the Gunners remain undefeated across
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It is always better to work out weaknesses before being presented with an opponent who can exploit them. Last Wednesday night Sergio Busquet’s rather maligned start to the season was fully exposed by Pep Guardiola, the manager who first put him in Barcelona’s first team eight years ago, and
Vishakh’s latest “The Manchester Musings” column. Another 3-game week with Manchester United, another win/loss/draw. A 0-0 stalemate at home vs Burnley was followed by an abject away showing against Fenerbahce with redemption coming in the form of a 3-1 win at Swansea. Burnley In reflection, this was just one of those days. 37 shots,
Adam’s latest “The Championship Corner” column. Of the 13 players Chelsea have dotted around the Football League on loan, three of them scored at the weekend. Tomas Kalas and Lucas Piazon both netted in Fulham’s 5-0 rout of early league leaders Huddersfield while Tammy Abraham got one in Bristol City’s 2-2 draw with Barnsley. Meanwhile
Charles’ latest “The Mind of Conte” column. Chelsea’s 3-4-3 formation was put to the test against Southampton over the weekend, and once again passed the test with flying colors. Since switching from 4-3-3 to 3-4-3, Chelsea have kept four clean-sheets in a row and scored eleven goals in the process. Here are my talking points
Adam’s latest “The Championship Corner” column. Simon Grayson was being realistic after he saw his team thrashed 6-0 by Newcastle in their midweek EFL Cup tie. The Preston North End manager even had time for a laugh when asked if there would be a different outcome when they host the Magpies in the league this
Vishakh’s latest “The Manchester Musings” column. After an absolute shellacking in West London, Manchester United returned to winning ways by grinding out a 1-0 win against rivals Manchester City to progress to the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup. It was by no means a vintage performance, but it got the job done, restored bragging rights,
Charles’ latest “The Mind of Conte” column. Following the most impressive wins from the men in blue against Leicester City and Manchester United, here are some thoughts on what stood out to me. Dynamic front three Conte’s front three is in many ways reminiscent of the Malouda, Drogba, Anelka trio that led Chelsea to
Adam’s latest “The Championship Corner” column. Five months ago, Alan Stubbs was holding aloft Hibernian’s first Scottish Cup for 114 years after defeating Rangers in the final. Now, after leaving to take charge of Rotherham back in June, he is without a job, wondering what possessed him to move south. Stubbs lasted just 13 league games
Vishakh’s latest “The Manchester Musings” column. If you had offered Manchester United fans a point away at Anfield prior to the Monday night game, most would have taken it. A rampant Liverpool attack were scoring goals for fun, and not many United fans were confident going in. As a result the Red Devils were sure
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. With great power comes great responsibility as Stan Lee famously penned in one of his many Spiderman comics. Being the head coach of Real Madrid, one of the most influential, powerful and successful sides in world football, Zinedine Zidane is learning that this quote is undeniably true. Less than
Praveen’s latest “The Arsenal Annals” column. Arsenal overcame the Swansea City voodoo when they handed the Swans a 3-2 defeat at Emirates Stadium in Bob Bradley’s first game in charge. Although the win barely ranks amongst Arsenal’s best defensive performances – statistically, at least – it highlighted the attributes Arsenal’s six consecutive Premier League wins
Adam’s latest “The Championship Corner” column. “I relish the challenge of trying to take the club where it wants to go and needs to be” said Steve Bruce while Steve McClaren said “I am very motivated to put things right for the club and supporters.” Two managers were being unveiled at respective new clubs, Aston
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. It is always difficult moving to a club that has just won everything there is possible to win. When you also throw in the fact that your new club is serving a transfer ban which will mean that you cannot play for the club for the first six months
Praveen’s latest “The Arsenal Annals” column. With only a few hours left until the end of current international break, Arsenal supporters are hoping to see their personnel return in the pink of their health. Their fear is definitely justifiable, as many first teamers have often returned to London Colney carrying an injury sustained during the
Charles’ latest “The Mind of Conte” column. Following back to back defeats in the Premier League against fellow top 4 contenders in Liverpool and Arsenal, Antonio Conte vowed to look for solutions to address his team’s recent form, or lack thereof. As a result, the Italian manager setup his team in a brand new formation
Andy’s latest “The Madrid-Barca Axis” column. In two months’ time, Diego Simeone will celebrate his fifth anniversary as Atletico Madrid coach. In that time, he has established them as a force both domestically and in Europe with his cleverly organised defence and intense physical game. However, just as it seems we are adjusting to his
Vishakh’s latest “The Manchester Musings” column. At the October international break, it is normally a good time to reflect back on clubs’ starts to the season, see where they are at, and a time to assess. This is a look at Manchester United’s 2016/2017 season so far: Premier League - 6th: 13 points (4W,