Do they really need a striker? When Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov claimed his team were just one player short of challenging for the title this forthcoming season, it didn’t take too much examination to work out which position the Russian business magnate was referring to. Lyon’s Alexander Lacazette and Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuain have both
Roberto Martinez’s troubled second year at Everton bore the Toffees’ worst league campaign for 11 years and poorest domestic cup showing ever. An 11th-place finish and two immediate exits dauntingly undermined an impressive debut season. The drastic response that might reasonably be expected hasn’t happened. Much the opposite in fact. Everton have lost a few
Analysis of the Big Three after summer transfers and pre-season friendlies As ever, the summer transfer market has seen many of the Primeira Liga’s top players leaving Portugal in exchange for more high-profile leagues or a huge hike in their salaries, or for the exceptional few, both. As for the incomers, a mixed bag of
What do you expect from Juventus? I expect Juventus to focus on remaining compact and solid. It’s near impossible to match Barcelona man for man in Berlin on Saturday. We can’t make the same mistake as Bayern Munich did in the semi-final first leg, which they lost 3-0. Coach Massimiliano Allegri will field four at
Since his acrimonious £23 million move from Arsenal, Robin Van Persie has scored 3 times for Manchester United in the five games he has played against his former club. This Sunday afternoon, in what will be a significant game for both clubs in the bid to avoid an August play-off for the Champions League, he
The second leg of the quarter-final is here, so what should we look forward to: Tuesday’s match-ups Barca will hope to finish off ‘Ibra-less’ PSG when the two teams collide in the Camp Nou. Now it’s true that Barca is not unbeatable and PSG does have the capability to bring down Enrique’s men, but let’s be
Despite all the tenuous rumours of a fix, the Champions League draw for this season’s round of 16 was always going to be intriguing. After the group stage, which as always was mildly entertaining but is essentially merely a rather drawn out Hors d’oeuvre before the competition truly heats up in February, we have been
The fairy tale start to the season for Arsenal is still well, on. Infact, its quite absurd to call it a “Fairy Tale ” opening. The Gunners have worked very hard to earn that top position status, and if there is any team who deserves the league come end of season, its them. Albeit, they
Arsenal’s title credentials will be tested to the limit when they travel to Manchester City on Saturday in the midday kick-off. Arsene Wenger’s men will face a City side unbeaten at home in the League and brimming with confidence after coming from 2-0 down to defeat Bayern Munich 3-2 at the Allianz Arena. The defending
Recently, the warriors of Naples have fought many battles and lost the important ones. The 3-0 spanking by Juventus and the 3-1 loss at the Signal Iduna are results that have not gone down well with the Sky Blue army. Matchday six of the UCL is the biggest game of the season for Rafa Benitez
Geraldo ‘TATA’ Martino cannot believe his eyes. The Newell’s Old boys all-time great was chosen to replace the ailing Tito Vilanova in August and he has settled in well to be honest. Like fellow Argentine, Cesar Luis Menotti aka ‘El Flaco’, the man who led Paraguay to the Copa America Final in 2011 as well
Arsenal will push for that 3rd consecutive victory in the Champions League this season, as they host last year’s finalist Dortmund at the Emirates on Tuesday. Wenger’s men continued from where they left off before the International break fixtures in the league; by thrashing Norwich to retain top spot on the log. The Gunners
Le Presidente returns to the Stade Velodrome as manager of the Les Parisiens. When Laurent Blanc was chosen to replace Carlo Ancelotti, eyebrows were raised across France at Marseille. Tomorrow, it will be no different as high flying PSG come to the Velodrome to take on L’OM. Both clubs enjoyed mixed fortunes in their European
Who would have thought that going into the 7th week of the season, Manchester United would lie a distant 12th? Eight points behind Leaders, Arsenal-another huge shock. Even Hull City is placed ahead of the defending champions of the EPL and it is a worrying sight for the fans. Unbelievable development. Going into this evening’s
Rudi Garcia in no mood to drop any points as he as he arrives at the Meazza with a perfect record. Walter Mazzarri left Napoli for a greater challenge in the Summer, pitching tent with the Don Massimo Moratti’s Inter who have suffered a slump since Jose Mourinho left in 2010. He has brought his
English champions, Manchester United, are a club in disarray, and David Moyes will be delighted to have the opportunity to put his domestic troubles to one side and concentrate on European affairs. The game will act as respite for their new manager, despite his admission this week that his squad is not strong enough to
Diego Simeone has revived Los Colchoneros since he took over as manager. Three trophies in the last two years lay claim to the fact that he has done miracles with a team left deep in relegation waters by his predecessor. This season has been even more fantastic. The sale of talisman Radamel Falcao, which certainly
A hard fought draw against an abstruse Sunderland team saw Arsene Wenger’s team exit the Stadium of Light with all three points in the bag. The Gunners started the game brightly, and barely 10 minutes into the half, debutant Mesut Ozil teed Oliver Giroud to fire Arsenal to an early lead. The German international was
The post-Sir Alex Ferguson era has been filled with twists and turns up until this point. The favoured one, David Moyesis about to embark on his first MAJOR EUROPEAN adventure tonight when Steffan KeiSling’s Leverkusen visit Old Trafford for the first time in 11 long years. The draw has pitted a European powerhouse with three
On Saturday, two fierce rivals would do battle for supremacy in what promises to be an epic North London derby encounter. Nowadays, as a friend noted, clubs in the English premier league are loosely using the word “rivals”. As Dictionary.com points out, a rival is a person or an object competing against you. And that clearly
Sometimes I wonder who writes these scripts. You know, Josep ‘Pep’ Guardiola returns from his sabbatical and Mourinho is back at his ‘beloved’ Chelsea. What happens next? They face-off in Europe for a very important ‘winner takes-all’ game. Whoever is victorious will not only smile home with the trophy, but also the upper hand in
This game couldn’t have come at a worse time for the hosts. Europa League winners, Chelsea have a date with Bayern Munich on Friday with the UEFA Super Cup up for grabs. But it is their courting of Wayne Rooney that is the main concern for the red army. The English international wants out. However,
Major transfers IN: Maarten Stekelenburg - £4.7 Million- Roma; Sasha Riether - £1.2 million- Cologne; Fernando Amorebieta – Free – Athletic Bilbao; Derek Boateng – Free - Dnipro Major Transfers OUT: Mark Schwarzer- Free – Chelsea; Simon Davies – Released; Mladen Petric- Released Martin Jol has a big job on his hands to keep
Major transfers IN: Arouna Kone - £6 million – Everton; Antolin Alcaraz – Free – Wigan; Gerard Deulofeu – Loan – Barcelona; Joel Robles - £2 million – Atletico Madrid Major Transfers OUT: Phil Neville – Retired Everton start the season with a new manager for the first time since 2002 with the departure
Once again, the red side of North London would be hoping this is their season. They have been forced to endure a frustrating 8 years campaign- that has seen them trophyless- despite having full hopes by the start of those excruciating seasons. Last season, they had to fight tooth and nail to scrap fourth-spot on