It has now been over a month since Chelsea’s separation from Jose Mourinho, and things are already noticeably better for the team from West London. In fact, Chelsea are unbeaten since Mourinho’s departure and Guus Hiddink’s subsequent hiring as interim manager.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has said the Premier League should be worried about the increased spending of China in the transfer market. In this last January window, Chinese clubs were responsible for three of the top four biggest deals.
This Sunday all over our nation people will gather for what might as well be considered a national holiday.
It is just a perfect embodiment of what America is: food, beer, and Football! And maybe it’s a tad “Grinch That Stole Sundays” of me with all their noise, noise, noise, but I guess I think it’s unfortunate that the sport's biggest game has reduced itself to the spectacle that it has become and it's more about the party, food, commercials and halftime show for most of its viewers than the game itself.
It's finally here! The end of the January transfer window is almost upon us. The Bale-to-United articles will finally disappear (for at least a week anyway), the squads will be set and business will resume as normal.
As a rule, the January window is always more rumour than substance, but there have been some interesting transfers this window that may have some bearing on the destiny for a few Premier League clubs (or in Aston Villa's case, a lack thereof). Here are ten January transfers that could make an impact.
The footballing wheel of fortune knows no reverence for history, pedigree or sheer support. One moment you’re champion, the next you're out of a job. Just ask Jose Mourinho. For the spoilt supporter, this typically means having to wait another year for a trophy. For those who are less fortunate, this can mean watching your team plummet down the ladder to the dark depths of the footballing.
In case you haven’t heard, there’s a frenzy going on in the United States and it's over the Powerball Lottery. The current jackpot for the lottery is an astonishing $1.5 billion with a cash value of $930 million, because, you know, taxes.
How do you win a title with a centre-forward who is widely regarded as not world-class, a revolving door in midfield because of a perpetual vicious cycle of injuries and rehabilitation, a rookie full-back and a squad so shallow that every manager in the world can name the starting XI? You buy Mesut Ozil and let him get on with it; at least, that seems to be the Arsene Wenger approach.
As the boos rang around Old Trafford Saturday afternoon following a 2-1 defeat to newly promoted Norwich City, Manchester United’s transformation from functional dullards to dismal incompetents was complete. Louis van Gaal’s pedestrian, monochromatic football has been painful on the eye all season long, but at least it had previously brought results.
Cesc Fabregas has crossed seas, leaving the cities of his formative years, Barcelona and London, only to return, oscillating between ensconced locales in search of a happiness that can only be provided by fulfilling an unobtainable ambition.
Defending a penalty kick in soccer is one of the hardest things to do in all of sports. That is not my opinion, that is a fact that is proven by a plethora of statistics including shot conversion rates, how much ground a goalkeeper has to cover, and the fraction of time they have in order to cover that ground.