What if Rangnick comes in and said Ronaldo is not good enough for his pattern of play so he stays on the bench? Of course Ronaldo will not be willing to sit on the bench and he clearly showed his displeasure by storming into the dressing room straight after the match against Chelsea. A time on the bench will be like a life sentence for someone as influential as Ronaldo but in big games where Man U needs to defend more he may have to make do with a place on the bench. Ronaldo…
@McKane in December 2021
Those criticizing Carrick for not stepping down alongside Solksjær must be looking for a place to hide right now. Despite the criticism he led the team in three difficult games and came out in flying colours. He's gone out on a holiday now with his family but those results in pretty difficult circumstances will be registered in the hearts of club directors. Expect Michael Carrick back in a coaching capacity in the nearest future.
This very sharp, rapid and new Saudi circuit will leave so many people heartbroken by the time the race is over. I can only hope I won't be one of the heartbroken ones.
For a long period of time I assumed Pep Guardiola hated black players when he replaced Yaya Toure with a scrawny looking and a relatively unknown Sergio Busquets. Well, Busquets redefined the defensive midfield role and is the best DMF of the last decade. Guardiola has this way of making his players do extremely hard things in very simplified mode. That's why someone like Ederson rarely gets the credit he deserves. If most people are to list top 5 goalkeepers in EPL Ederson…
It took David Moyes 11 long years at Everton to build a CV that made him worthy of claiming Man United's job. Unfortunately, he lost everything in 10 turbulent months at Old Trafford. He had to scrape around for jobs at Real Sociedad and Sunderland before getting employed to save West Ham from relegation. He actually saved them as they ended the season in 13th but he was released at the end of the season. West Ham wanted a progressive manager with a wonderful brand of…
We've not even gotten to the race yet and the wall is already proving decisive. For title chasing Max to have clipped the wall today, a lot more drivers will be running into that wall tomorrow.
The fact that Chelsea has conceded more than one goal in just 3 of the 52 games played under Tuchel is unbelievable. Chelsea have always been known for their robust style of play since the first Mourinho era. Merging that robustness with high quality footballers has been the hallmark of Abrahamovich's Chelsea. They lost that under Sarri and Lampard but Tuchel restored that mentality. Whenever I'm playing a touch opponent on FIFA or PES Chelsea has always been my go to team.
Shaw has always looked like the de facto left back at Man U ever since he was recruited. Even when Mourinho dropped him we all still felt it was wrong and criticized Mou' for it. For the first time in a long time I now believe Shaw will not make the first team under Rangnick and it will be justified. Telles was absolutely wonderful today. He played really well defensively and was a threat going forward with good crosses into the box. Considering Shaw doesn't get to full…
And in a blink of an eye the momentum has shifted. That's the beauty of Formula 1. Very unhappy right now.
Mick Schumacher's crash is about to stop Lewis Hamilton from racing clear of Michael Schumacher in the all time F1 championship standings. What a coincidence!
New tracks with limited data do scare tf out of me. This Saudi Arabian GP has more carnage and DNFs in waiting.
This race has got more madness packed in it than the other races put together. An absolute disaster of a race. I am now watching this race more in fear than anticipation.
Max's reputation as being somewhat of a dirty driver and the incidents he has been involved in definitely doesn't help but it looked like Lewis was willing to match his craziness tonight. The race was meant to be interesting. In the end it was confusing and somewhat annoying! What will happen in the next race is anyone's guess.
Finally, Newcastle are off the base of the table after a 1-0 win over Burnley. They are now on 19th, level on points with Norwich and Burnley having played a game more. They are 3 points behind Watford who occupies the 17th position. With games against Leicester, Liverpool and both Manchester clubs before January Newcastle have a tough run of fixtures to come. If they manage to keep up with the rest they may just be able to flex their financial muscle in January to acquire…
The 10 second penalty awarded Max is meaningless. They could've let it go since it won't affect the outcome of the race (Bottas finished 16 seconds behind). I wish the stewards didn't get involved in the whole shitshow we witnessed yesterday more than they've done already.
Immediately Rangnick was announced as the interim manager pundits started permutations about players who will fit into his pattern of play. One player that was unanimously touted for an important role under the German is Van de Beek. So I was quite surprised and disappointed when I realised he won't start against Crystal Palace. I have to admit to feeling guilty about the way Van de Beek's career at Old Trafford has panned out so far. The fact that a particular Elanga was…
If you aim at nothing, you'll hit nothing. Before sleeping, think of those targets you aimed at today. How many did you hit? How many did you miss? Always make that important check before closing those eyes, it helps.
Though Everton are struggling they are still an above average team not to be underrated or written off. Wonderful win against Arsenal last night coming from behind.
Demarai Gray is a very underrated player. He is not a guy who will score or lay down an assist every game but he is that one that can create magic anytime. His goal last night was a thing of beauty. Just stunning!
I've always been an advocate of "class is permanent" mantra. I've always believed anybody who could will himself to be amongst the best can still be the best again even after dropping down low. As important as this has proven in many aspects of life there are always exceptions to every rule. Sanchez was a total mess at Man U despite once being the best player in EPL. He never recovered and has remained a bit part player ever since. Aubameyang is now firmly on that path of…
The final group match of this season's Champions League is here. Of all the groups, Barca's situation interests me the most. Though they are occupying the second spot behind Bayern Munich they are two points ahead of Benfica. Barca travels to the Allianz Arena to face a nearly impossible task. They just have to win. If they lose or draw they will need Dynamo Kiev to do them the almighty favour of avoiding defeat at Benfica. If Benfica wins and Barca doesn't match that, Barca…
Mundo Deportivo is reporting once again today that Man U are attempting to buy Ousmane Dembele. This is just baffling. Dembele has been at Barca for four years or so and has been utterly useless.
Liverpool are fielding a bunch of bench warmers against AC Milan. If AC Milan wins and Atletico wins, Milan goes through as they won in Spain last time out. Porto are second on the log behind Liverpool. All they have to do is win and they're sure of second place. For Porto to qualify, they must win or draw as long as AC Milan couldn't win against Liverpool. For AC Milan to qualify, they must win and hope Porto lose at home to Atletico. For Atletico to qualify, they must win…
Looks like the god of Balon d'Or (if their is anything like that) doesn't want Lewandowski to win this. The award was cancelled the year when he was the clear favourite. This year when I thought he will win it Messi chose that same year to win his first senior international trophy. The news and hype about Messi's Copa America triumph was enough to get him his 7th Balon d'Or. Lewandowski remains excellent and will be a contender for the Balon d'Or next year but he looks…
Just when I was anticipating a Europa League with Atletico Madrid and Barca by February, Atletico did the unexpected by getting the all important win at Porto. Their job was made easier by AC Milan's home loss to a largely second string Liverpool. On this basis, I won't be writing off Barca's qualification chances this evening. Football has a way of shocking us all.
There was a time you had to watch Serie A matches if you want to enjoy top class European league matches. Back then, Serie A ruled the roost. They had the best players and the best league. That was before the Calciopoli scandal that ruined Italian football. As I watched a second string Liverpool put AC Milan, the current Serie A leaders, to sword last night I felt so bad for Italian football. They've been irrelevant since Mourinho led Inter to Champions League glory in 2010.…
Xavi never played in the Europa League for Barca but he will coach his beloved Barca in the tournament next February. When Messi left we knew Barcelona had problems. Nobody would've guessed their problems will be this serious.
Spurs Europa Conference League match against Rennes tonight has been postponed, and Rennes are definitely not happy about it. The fixture must be rescheduled between now and December 31.
After building Emirates Stadium Wenger's plan was to use revenue generated from the Champions League to pay up. He relied heavily on youths and bargains in the transfer market to build his team. It worked initially until Sheikh Mansour bought Man City and changed the landscape of English football forever. Before Man City's purchase, Abrahamovich's money spending Chelsea already dislodged Arsenal as the main rival to Man U in the EPL. Arsenal then were the third best team in…
There was a time I'd willingly tune in to watch French Ligue 1 games, and I always enjoy it. Even though they are called Farmers League because of the perceived lack of talent I've always been an advocate of the French league. There was a time South Americans prefer to play in France to England. Those were wonderful times. Recently I've moved away from watching the league. It remains as competitive as any other league out there but my turn off has been the crowd violence.…
Joshua Kimmich won't be available due to lung problems after his Covid case. I have to admit I missed his tenacity against Barca even though Tolisso played well. Get well soon, Joshua. And get back stronger in January.
Couple of weeks to the opening of the January transfer window and Rudiger is yet to sign a new contract at Chelsea. When this saga started I assumed it's going to end in no time. After all, Rudiger now plays regularly and is quite popular in the dressing room. So giving him what he wants in the form of a mouth watering contract is the right thing to do. As a free agent Rudiger will command hefty wages as he is one of the best centre backs around right now. If he is not tied…
You can call Mino Raiola whatever you want. One thing no one can deny is that right now he is the master of deals. He sell players that shouldn't be sold for amounts they shouldn't be sold for. He is a loud mouth who is not scared of tackling anybody as long as he gets his deal done. When someone has clashed openly with most top managers of his time, past and present, you just know that person is not scared of getting dirty to clinch a deal. He just started a bidding war for…
A couple of clubs has emerged as potential transfer destinations for Martial after his agent said he will like to leave in January for regular playing time. As far as I'm concerned this is great news for me. Martial is just another example of huge talents that doesn't necessarily become world class footballers. He is in the class of the Dembeles and the Quaresmas of this world, players with unbelievable talents who doesn't have the drive to match and therefore remain average…
Well, Red Bull finally joins the party. There's no way Mercedes is dominating this weekend from start to the end. It won't make for the interesting finale we want.
Raul Jimenez will find it very hard to sleep tonight after conceding such a foolish red card and leaving his teammates to struggle against a team like City. It was very unexpected and highly uncharacteristic of him though I think the referee could've overlooked the second yellow by giving a stern warning.
English referees chose to take centre stage today by awarding cheap penalties to Man City and Chelsea. Villa were also denied a stone wall penalty against Liverpool. It's just so unfortunate how ridiculous some of these decisions are.
Man U has been intense, chaotic and full of running in their three games under Rangnick. Their game is lacking control, cohesion and creativity. Even though we expect steady improvement under Rangnick the suitability and adaptivity of the players to his style is vitally important. Lastly, Rangnick has to develop the courage to drop big name players if they're not playing well. Ronaldo was totally out of sync against Norwich. I would've subbed him after 60 minutes of the game.
Granit Xhaka lost his captaincy after clashing with supporters against Crystal Palace. It was an ugly sight to behold, that incident. It definitely pale in comparison to Aubameyang's recent antics. Auba' took over from Xhaka and was wonderful for Arsenal, leading them to F.A. Cup glory. He has regressed ever since due to loss of form. After being dropped for the Southampton game Arteta and Auba' both have a massive decision to make. Will Arteta strip Aubameyang of the…
I just hope this race won't be ruined by judgements and decisions off the track. Masi needs to get it together. The whole world is watching this one, even the neutrals.
Where is Bottas when you need him?! I have to admit I'm quite impressed with what Perez did right there. If not for him this race would be nearly over by now with that 9s gap.
For some reasons I can't even explain I think I'm seriously tapping right now. Can't this race just end now?! The tension is just too much on this side.
It's going to be very hard for Max to cut the just over 10s gap in the remaining laps. Barring any unforeseen circumstances Lewis should bring this home. But then, Formula 1 is all about unforeseen circumstances. You just don't know when it's going to hit you!
Is Latifi the miracle Horner prayed for? This is unbelievable!
No scriptwriter could've written this...
We are gradually moving back to the Covid era with the Tottenham issue and now, news of a 'small' outbreak at Man U. I didn't enjoy the matches played in empty stadiums when Covid struck last year as the fans are the lifeblood of football. I hope we never get to witness that again.
With a 13 point gap safely between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid I will expect Real to comfortably win the league now. Sevilla are on second, 8 points behind Real but I'm not expecting them to keep the second place till season's end. So, La Liga title race is effectively over as early as December. That's pathetic. As for Barcelona they should make the top four and qualify for the Champions League. They are not too far off the fourth place.
Diogo Dalot was definitely sure of leaving for Roma in January. He was stuck behind Wan Bissaka and isn't getting any playing time. And then, Rangnick happened. The first game under Rangnick I thought Bissaka and Shaw were injured. The game against Norwich simply confirmed that both full backs have been dumped for Dalot and Telles. Just like in life, in football things can change. Yes, it can change very quickly.
After admitting to making a gaffe, UEFA had a re-draw for the Champions League Round of 16: Sporting Lisbon vs Manchester City Benfica vs Ajax Chelsea vs Lille Atletico Madrid vs Manchester United Villarreal vs Juventus Inter Milan vs Liverpool Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid Salzburg vs Bayern Munich I'm anticipating these tasty clashes!
Nothing lasts forever. There was a time Pele ruled football. There was a time Maradona was king. They've all withered away now as we have to rely on highlight reels just to remember what they look like. On Wednesday, Sergio Aguero will announce his retirement from the game he loves. This is a very sad ending to an illustrious career. Even though Aguero played his best games for the part of Manchester I will never be affiliated with, football transcends rivalry and my love…
Not the best of news to start a new day. Manchester United's EPL game at Brentford has been called off due to Covid-19 cases in Man U's camp. The cancellation was requested by the Manchester club. This is just infuriating. I've chosen no side since the issue with getting jabbed and not getting jabbed caused a divide. Some players have refused vaccination and we see Joshua Kimmich openly expressing his regrets at not getting jabbed this week when he got Covid and couldn't…
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has been stripped of the captain's band following his indiscretion. This was totally expected as he has showed his indisciplined side on more than one occasion. Also, he will be left out of the squad as Arsenal faces West Ham on Wednesday. This is a not so good news coming out of Arsenal FC yet again. They've had issues with captaincy in recent seasons. Auba's situation is a peculiar case though because he will be very difficult to move on before…
I'm still hoping and waiting for the time when sports game will dominate the Blockchain Gaming/P2E market. Maybe I'll be fully invested in P2E then.
While one football great bows out of the limelight due to health issues another football icon's contract is about to be cancelled due to health related issues. Aguero bid active football farewell this afternoon. Christian Eriksen is training again after the Euro 2020 scare but his contract will be ended by Inter as he can't represent then any longer. I was actually scared when Lindelof was struggling to breathe against Norwich. Health related issues is causing panic across…
Mercedes appeal looked unwarranted from the onset. Though they have a case their is no way FIA is reversing the decision. Max won the Championship deservingly. Mercedes could've saved us all the drama. Now that they've withdrawn their appeal it looks a little bit silly appealing in the first place.
For the first time in a while everything is quiet as regards Pogba. In fact, it's been dead silent from his side. I have to admit I'm quietly getting used to the idea of Pogba not being at Man U anymore. With the situation of things Pogba will leave Man U. Raiola will be working over the clock to get him a pre-contract as early as possible. And when Pogba leaves he won't be sorely missed. He is a wonderful player with a lot of talent but Man U never saw the best of him.
Not having Trent Alexander-Arnold in one's FPL team is a sin! He is a must have.
For the third game in a row Aubameyang is not going to be involved in a game for Arsenal. Arteta confirmed he is not in the squad to face Leeds this weekend despite having no injury. The rumour has been that Aubameyang didn't return on time from a travelling he embarked upon. The punishment is looking too much for such a trivial issue as not returning from a journey on time. Dropped from three games and stripped of captaincy, their is no way this hefty punishment matches the…
I sincerely don't know what the fuss is about Dembele. A forward who has played 84 games in four and a half years, scoring a paltry 18 goals in the process is not someone I want to worry myself about. Fine, he is talented and all but Quaresma was way talented yet he never really maximised his potential. I understand Barca's position. They wouldn't want a player they signed for over €100M with add-ons to walk away as a free agent. They need to tie him down to another contract…
Another day, another crowd trouble in French Football. Even though the French government made some announcements as regard punishment for crowd troubles on Thursday another violence erupted in Lyon's game yesterday which led the game to be abandoned. I think UEFA and FIFA needs to be turning the screw a lot more on them. They are gradually becoming a disgrace to football. Maybe if they are threatened with getting dropped from European and national competitions they will get…
So, I joyfully activated Free Hit before the initial 14:30 deadline for this Game Week. I filled my team with players from Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal. This week has to be good; the last one was pretty bad. I wanted to do last minute checks on my team and that was when I got the news that the Aston Villa vs Burnley match has been cancelled, deadline now 17:00. Heck, I have Matty Cash and Ollie Watkins in my team. I reshuffled and got in Lacazette and Ruben Dias.…
Xavi chose to continue in self delusion by claiming they could still compete for the league. Heck, Xavi sure loves to say a lot of impossibilities. Ancelotti in his usual calm manner carefully told the press when it was put to him what Xavi had said that Barca is not a "direct rival" for the title. That must sting a lot if you are affiliated to the Blaugranas. But that is the situation of things right. I watched Barca against Elche and could barely recognise a couple of the…
It's just December and it looks like three of the top five European leagues is settled. In Germany, Bayern are 9 points ahead of Dortmund. PSG are 13 points ahead of Marseille having played one more game in France. Real Madrid are 6 points ahead of closest rival Sevilla, 13 points ahead of perennial rival Atletico and 18 points ahead of Barca. Barring any calamity Madrid should stroll to the title. Serie A is still pretty close with Inter leading AC Milan with 4 points…
The VAR is becoming more of a problem than a solution. They've somehow made watching football uninteresting one way or the other. Your team scores and you don't even know if to celebrate or not so as not to be made to look like a fool few seconds later. Yesterday's game at White Hart Lane was definitely a joke. Or the VAR was probably on vacation. Harry Kane nearly broke Robertson's leg yet he got a yellow and VAR chose not to review it even for just 5 seconds. Jota was…
Reading the news of Vincent Kompany being racially abused in his home country is unbelievable. This man played his heart out for Belgium yet some nonentities believe racially abusing him makes them better. It's high time football stand up to this rubbish. Club Brugge were out to say those racists doesn't represent their club values yet they're staying on their own side of the stadium. Racism has to end in all form and it has to be start from the top. There are very few black…
I was recently mocked by a rival fan. He looked at me and said, "How old is Phil Jones?" I had no answer. He smirked. He asked again, "How many games has he played for Man U in the last five years?" Again, I had no answer. By then he already had a wild grin plastered all over his face. He then said, "When is he leaving Man U?" Once again, I had no answer. The dude laughed wildly and walked away. I felt super embarrassed. At that point I asked myself, why is Phil Jones still…
A depleted Chelsea just knocked Brentford out of the Carabao Cup at the Brentford stadium with a 2-0 scoreline. For what its worth, Tuchel is one of the best managers around. He knows how to win games.
Wan Bissaka was signed for £50M from Crystal Palace. Even though his limitations were glaring he made up for it by turning up reasonable defensive performances on a regular basis. With Rangnick at the helm now Wan Bissaka is no longer first choice. News is rife of Man U joining the race for Kieran Trippier. If Trippier joins Man U in January Wan Bissaka becomes the third choice right back behind Dalot and Trippier. £50M is a ridiculous sum paid to sign a third choice player.…
Here we go again! Liverpool vs Leeds, Wolves vs Watford games off due to Covid cases. I pity myself right now as I have two Liverpool and 1 Watford assets in my FPL squad. Another sub-50 points weekend loading.
Thank you, Noise.Cash, for showing me a new path I never knew existed. Thank you for the knowledge and experience gained. Let's continue to grow together! Happy Birthday, Noise.Cash.
Just when I thought I've seen the last of Sergio Ramos on the red card list he chose to remind me of his wonderful love for the treacherous card last Wednesday. Injuries had limited his time on the pitch to just three league games for PSG thus far but he made the most of a half time substitution against Lorient to introduce himself to Ligue 1 lovers in grand style. Two yellow cards in a space of 5 five minutes led to Ramos' 27th career red card. As long as he plays more red…
Using this medium to wish every member of this wonderful forum a Merry Christmas. May we all witness more in good health, sound mind and joyous heart.
Though Arteta hasn't completely revealed what transpired between himself and Aubameyang, his impassioned defence of his decision has shown that this has a lot to do with ego and control. The fact that Arteta indirectly threatened to leave the club speaks volume. Aubameyang is a flamboyant guy. He loves his fast cars and his array of flashy sneakers. Everyone isn't a fan of that lifestyle and it can become a problem if your boss believe it's affecting your output. Despite…
I checked Whoscored.com a couple minutes ago just to update myself on the statistics side of things so far. While browsing through three categories piqued my interest: Possession, Pass Accuracy, Shots per Game. Manchester City is the only team featuring on all three categories, topping the Possession category (66.7%), coming second only to PSG in the Pass Accuracy category (89.9%) and third in the Shots per Game category (19.3). The second team on the Possession category is…
So, in reference to my statistical checkup last night another category caught my attention; the Dribbles per Game category. This category is comfortably led by Adama Traore - the marauding Wolves front man with 0 goals and 0 assists in 17 EPL games. Second on the category is Allan Saint Maximin of Newcastle. At least this one has 3 goals and 3 assists in 18 EPL games. The fact that these two play for mid table and/or relegation struggling teams show that football has moved…
Upon seeing the news this morning that Isco will be transfer listed this January by Real Madrid, my heart sank. At Malaga, Isco had the world at his feet. He could do whatever he wanted with the ball and every top team out there wanted him. When Isco joined Madrid in 2013 he looked assured of playing. Madrid still had Mesut Özil and Di Maria, two wonderful creators, in the starting 11 so Isco will have his chance. Zidane's appointment culminating in a midfield three of…
This thought just won't go away. It looked silly at first but it's gaining momentum in my mind now. It still looks silly though. For some reasons I'm considering drafting Jorginho into my midfield. Yes, Chelsea's Jorginho. The guy has 4 goals in the last 4 games and he's priced at £5.8 now. Even though those goals were scored from the spot who says Chelsea won't have another penalty in upcoming matches. There used to be a time when we drafted James Ward-Prowse into our…
I've been feeling somewhat joyous the past 30 minutes but couldn't understand the reason for the sudden mood change. I just checked my watch now to realise Man U will be playing Newcastle in an hour and half from now. That is the reason for my mood change. I've not seen Man U play in 16 days, since game week 16. The wait has been very frustrating. Though we play Newcastle tonight, win, draw or lose I'm going to enjoy every single moment of the match.
I don't know maybe I'm being bias right now or I'm just forming some nonsense conspiracy theory, but I've always thought that left footed players are injury risks. They always look to me like an injury waiting to happen. The amount of left football players that have suffered lengthy, high profile injuries only solidifies my belief about this. Ben Chilwell is out for the season, Luke Shaw needs no introduction, same for the likes of Van Persie, Arjen Robben and even Messi in…
After seeing the mess Man U midfield pair of Fred and McTominay created against Newcastle, I believe Man U should be chasing down the agents of every available top class midfielder out there right now. So you could imagine my frustration when I read that Tottenham are already in direct negotiations with Frank Kessie while Man U are still "just" interested. Spurs already snatched Conte from the dithering Man U board and we could see how improved Spurs have been since he took…
With Chelsea now eight points behind City the next game against Liverpool becomes more important in the title race. City's next two games are against Arsenal and Chelsea. Chelsea's next two games are against Liverpool and Man City. Even though Arsenal has enjoyed some kind of a renaissance it doesn't look like they will win against City. If City wins those two games it's game over as far as I'm concerned. The current situation is just perfect for Man City. They have the…
Last day of the year over here. I didn't achieve everything I set out to achieve this year. I did acquire those things I never even thought was possible this year though. It's been a wonderful year, way better than last year. Here is to hoping that next year will be much better than this year. Happy New Year in advance, guys.
@TomiAjax I just responded to your challenge #FirstPostChallenge
I call 2021 the year of unusualness in football and sports in general. Emma Raducanu rewrote Tennis history; Euro 2020 was played in 2021; Messi won his 7th Balon d'Or. Christian Eriksen's health scare that united the whole football world; Max Verstappen's last lap overtake and maiden F1 title win; Steph Curry breaking Basketball's all time three points record; Tyson Fury shutting Deontay Wilder up for good; Messi leaving Barcelona for good and teaming up with Ramos at PSG;…