You can’t compare Jurgen Klopp’s side to great Liverpool teams but I prefer watching them to Manchester City January 21, 2020 Managers are a vital part of any club and certain conditions – money, clout – are necessary in a rebuilding job, but Jurgen Klopp really has proven to be the perfect fit for Liverpool that he was billed as. Since arriving in October 2015 he has improved the team each year and, having won the [...]
Struggling Bournemouth need reinforcements but should stick with Eddie Howe January 14, 2020 Bournemouth looked desperate in their 3-0 defeat to Watford last weekend, which saw them slide into the Premier League relegation zone. In a wholly disappointing performance the Cherries looked disjointed, low on confidence and were overpowered by a physically superior Watford. It feels as though there is a disconnect within the club and they are [...]
Mikel Arteta has restored Arsenal’s work ethic – now they can relaunch their season January 7, 2020 Looking at Mesut Ozil’s face as he departed the field towards the end of Arsenal’s 1-0 FA Cup win over Leeds, you could tell that he had put in a hard shift. At full-time of the first few games of Mikel Arteta’s tenure as manager, that effort has been visible in Ozil’s team-mates, too – [...]
Raheem Sterling and Jurgen Klopp top my 2019 football roll of honour December 17, 2019 This year has seen some superb football on show and it will be of little surprise that Liverpool and Manchester City are at the fore of my 2019 honour’s list. Player of the year Virgil van Dijk has been absolutely magnificent for Liverpool this year and was voted in 2nd place for the Ballon D’or, [...]
Forget Brendan Rodgers and Mauricio Pochettino, Arsenal should make Patrick Vieira their Frank Lampard December 3, 2019 Mid-season can be a difficult time for clubs to recruit a new manager, with big moves tending to happen in the close season and next summer in particular looking like being one of major appointments. So Arsenal need to be realistic as they seek a successor for Unai Emery and in my eyes there is [...]
Chelsea look an ideal destination if Jadon Sancho quits Borussia Dortmund and comes home next year November 26, 2019 Jadon Sancho is an exceptional talent and that’s why he will be courted by the very biggest clubs in Europe if, as seems increasingly likely, he looks to leave Borussia Dortmund next summer. At the age of 17 he quit Manchester City and moved to Germany in an attempt to accelerate his development. It worked: [...]
Hiring Jose Mourinho is a roll of the dice, but Daniel Levy must’ve felt keeping Mauricio Pochettino was the bigger gamble November 20, 2019 Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t strike me as a gambler but his decision to sack the manager who took the club to a Champions League final and replace him with Jose Mourinho is a roll of the dice. On the face of it, Mauricio Pochettino’s departure is a surprise. While being 14th in the Premier [...]
Raheem Sterling-Joe Gomez row: Gareth Southgate’s firm response has ensured this won’t happen again November 12, 2019 It’s rare, but I can’t say I’ve never witnessed two England team-mates coming to blows on international duty, as Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez did on Monday at St George’s Park. On one occasion, four of us were in a taxi back from an official England team function – including two Scousers who played for [...]
VAR has not helped the Premier League at all – but here is a how it can be fixed November 5, 2019 We all want to see the correct decisions being made and that is why video assistant referees were introduced but their implementation doesn’t seem to have been thought through. The introduction of VAR to the Premier League this season has not advanced the game at all but with every passing week has instead created more [...]
Granit Xhaka must apologise or lose the Arsenal captaincy October 29, 2019 Captains tend to be brilliant leaders, have great communication skills, or a bit of both. I’m not sure that’s Granit Xhaka but Arsenal aren’t blessed with a host of players who fit that description and someone’s got to wear the armband. In fact I’m not sure what Xhaka is great at. Yes, he comes up [...]