WHEN Bayern Munich won the UEFA Champions League in 2020, it was fairly clear they were the best team in Europe. After their defeat in the quarter-final to Paris Saint-Germain this year, it is reasonable to ask if the French champions are a better side than Bayern. They are not, but it could be that […]
THE NAMES in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League may be familiar, but nobody can accuse the competition of lacking some variety. This season’s last eight showed a five team change on 2019-20’s last eight which continues the trend of a 50% churn on the previous campaign. Yes, they are all part of the […]
SUMMING UP a football match as a satisfactory clean sheet or a well-earned point is like declaring the highlight of the traditional Sunday lunch was the boiled cabbage. Whatever happened to that quaint, old-fashioned notion of entertainment? Chelsea versus Manchester United used to be a calendar highlight, especially for Chelsea fans. But if there were […]
FOOTBALL is a results business, so for Chelsea, it was a case of job done in Bucharest. But if it is also deemed to be an entertainment industry, then it was, at times, white handkerchief territory in the Arena Nationala at times. Curiously, nobody has really considered the pandemic could be a competitive disadvantage for […]
LONDON clubs may not be setting the world alight at the moment, but the UK’s capital still provides 30% of the Premier League’s constitution, a figure that compares favourably with its counterparts around Europe. There are six London clubs in the Premier League (Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Tottenham and West Ham), that’s 30% of […]
A LOT of Chelsea fans were upset about the sacking of Frank Lampard, somehow assuming his status in the history books would make him immune to usual practice at one of the most ruthless clubs in Europe. Those that consider the appointment of Thomas Tuchel a foolhardy step that lacks ambition are allowing their heart to […]
THERE WILL be no shortage of sympathy for Frank Lampard as he goes the same way as a dozen or so other Chelsea managers. Eighteen months might not seem like a long time, even by Chelsea’s standards, but this was an appointment that went into the same category as AVB and RDM. In other words, […]
ASTON Villa may have been beaten by Manchester City this past week but their most fielded 11 players have accounted for 86.9% of their playing minutes this season, the highest figure in European football. Villa have certainly had a stable line-up in 2020-21 and they’ve enjoyed some success, notably their 7-2 victory over Premier League […]
THE PANDEMIC may be having an unexpected impact on the football management sector in that fewer managers have been sacked so far in 2020-21. With the Premier League at the halfway stage, only one manager, West Bromwich Albion’s Slaven Bilic, has departed in a mid-season taxi. There will surely be more to come, but the […]
