Today United won a staggering 19th title. It was Alex Ferguson’s 12th Premier League title, a fete that will never me matched again, as long as I live anyway. The question I am posing is; Who can stop United?
In the same afternoon the blue pretenders from across the road won their first trophy in 35 years and Mancini was quoted after the game in saying,
‘This is just the beginning’
Maybe it was the euphoria of the occasion that clouded his judgement and made him have this random (or calculated) outburst but is it really the beginning? If that cup final win signals the beginning for Man City, that would mean the end for Manchester United.
Way back in September I wrote an article that said Manchester City were on the verge of ruining the English game. This was because of the foreign imports Mancini brought in. The statistic upset me. From a squad of 35 on the clubs website, 24 were not English in origin. As a young English up and coming manager it was upsetting me that £25 million would be spent on unproven Bundesliga footballers and hungry and skillful English talent was being overlooked. My worry was and of course still is where will our national game be in ten years?
What do I know?
Manchester United took an enormous step towards an unprecedented double this afternoon, wiping the floor with Chelsea at a bouncing Old Trafford.
Javier Hernandez punished David Luiz after one minute to score his 20th goal of an impressive campaign. They scored again through captain Vidic and looked in total control throughout the match. A 70 th minute Frank Lampard goal made it an interesting last 20 minutes but Manchester United defended resolutely to make sure they go in to the final two games needing only a point to make it 19 league titles.
Lessons Learnt
Aston Villa manager Gerard Houllier has recently managed to sign Darren Bent on a £24 million deal. Since Houllier become manager his had his eyes set on the Sunderland striker and he has managed to secure this deal. The transfer itself has been portrayed as a signing of desperation in an attempt to avoid relegation.
Many Sunderland supporters have been against this move and it has recently been reported that Bent has been receiving several death threats for accepting the move to Villa Park.
On the other hand Gabriel Agbonlahor believes that this move will push Villa away from the drop zone and get them in a more comfortable position.
Tottenham Hotspur showed today why they are not real title contenders by failing to beat 10 man Manchester United at White Hart Lane this afternoon.
There has always been something missing from Harry Redknapp’s side and in the last few seasons and it has been that metaphorical x factor. So at the beginning of this season Redknapp shrewdly dipped in to the transfer market to buy Rafael Van Der Vaart and all was rosy. Today however showed that Spurs are missing something else that makes champions………….. the killer instinct.
This is a preview of
Spurs Fail To Punish United. What Now For Tottenham?
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Read the full post (427 words, 1 image, estimated 1:42 mins reading time)
The rumour mill at Upton Park has reached fever pitch this weekend and I have it on near on certain authority that Avram Grant will indeed get sacked from West Ham and he is to be replaced by the hugely respected and successful Martin O Neill.
The Israeli will take charge of his last game tonight when Arsenal arrive at Upton Park to take on his suprisingly in form and buoyant Hammers. Indeed West Ham have lost only one game in seven, whilst Arsenal are coming off the back of a typical indifferent cup week after drawing with Leeds United and then suprisingly losing to lowly Championship side Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup.
So Manchester City have done it again. They have signed the hugely talented Edin Dzeko from Wolfsburg for £28 million. This signing does more than strengthen their squad, it is a statement that the club believe that they will totally win the EPL this year and that Dzeko will go a long way to ensure that this happens.
The squad is frighteningly strong now, with players like Milner, Johnson, Silva, Toure, De Jong, Tevez, Hart, baby Balotelli and Richards leading the way for the blue half of Manchester to dominate English and European football for potentially the next 4 years
After the inevitable exit of Roy Hodgson from Liverpool last week there is strong speculation that Avram Grant will be sacked tomorrow morning. Irrelevant of the score in tonights Carling Cup Semi Final against Birmingham.
Sam Allardyce, Martin O Neill and Chris Hughton are the front runners, although that is natural to link out of work managers to a possible vacant position.
Conflicting as this sounds the FA cup has a problem. On one hand the 3 defeats inflicted on Premier League opposition yesterday means that the romance for underdogs defeating big name clubs lives on.
On the other hand however it means that the 2nd and 3rd tier clubs in the EPL are distancing themselves even further away from winning the most traditional competition in club football.
The financial pressures placed on Premier League clubs to stay in the top flight is so great that cup competitions are seen as a chance to blood young players in the squad and give players who are on the edge of the matchday squad a chance to shine.
As usual the English league is dominated by four. Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.
Below are each team’s chances of glory with a quick tactical paragraph to explain each squad.
Manchester City
This super power have money to burn, they can buy anybody they want at any price. They have a very strong squad; all experienced internationals and have a manager who is doing wonders with a difficult squad. With such household names as David Silva, Ya Ya Toure and Gareth Barry and notorious cry-babies as Mario Balotelli and Carlos Tevez, man managing this squad will be the biggest obstacle but Mancini is doing well and to be top of the league at the half way point is no mean fete and they should be taken seriously. If the players can forget their egos for the next few months then Manchester City will be in with a chance.
This is a preview of
At The Half Way Point of The Season Who Will Win The EPL This Year?
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Read the full post (638 words, 1 image, estimated 2:33 mins reading time)
