THE TILLS KEEP RINGING: AND CASH REMAINS KING IN A SUMMER OF TRANSFER MADNESS

While I was growing up they called it the end of term report in school. I realised that it doesn’t change through life, you can call it an assessment, evaluation, annual report, appraisal, examination report, test results or whatever, what matters is that every one receives it as a true mirror for work/job done, or…

So what other variables contribute to the making of a world champion team? What do teams need to have to take home the World Cup?     DEAD BALL and SET PIECES: The set piece is the easiest way to score, but the most difficult to implement. It is the most silly way to concede a…

  World Cup 2018! Four teams left and its an all European affair! 2018 World Cup has been one of the most exciting tournaments ever: VAR, goals, late equalisers, drama, penalties, colourful fans, Russia fans, Global fans, and great football It’s the 21st edition, and the first time ever that a World Cup has not…

In Russia, It’s the Quarter final and we are down to eight: Brazil, France, Uruguay, England, Belgium, Sweden, Croatia and Russia. So who are the favourites? Which country is likely to lift the cup in Moscow on the 15th? 77 nations have competed in the World Cup from inception in 1930 and Of these countries,…

DERBY APPOINT LAMPARD Derby have appointed former Chelsea great Frank Lampard as their new manager. The championship team announced his appointment after interviewing 20 applicants for the job. Lampard, taking on his first managerial role, becomes Derby’s seventh appointment in just over three years. This is great news as we see another legend ditching the…

ZIZOU CALLS TIME AT REAL MADRID After leading Real Madrid to a third successive Champions League triumph, Zinedine Zidane has resigned from the hot seat at the Bernabeu.  The usual trend is for Florentino Perez to sack a manager after a triumph or two, but after 3 years of no musical chairs at the Bernabeu,…

100 POINTS IN STYLE BUT WHO CAN CATCH THEM? Can other teams catch this City next term? I just finished watching the MNF interview with pep Guardiola. Such a gracious, humble man, inspite of this season’s domination.  If there is any good news for the rest of the Premiership big boys, it is the positives…

WENGER ARSE-ENDED IT AT THE EMIRATES After 22 years, 2 PL titles and 7 FA Cups, Arsene Wenger has decided to walk through the exit doors at Arsenal FC.  Give it to Wenger, in an era where clubs didn’t have scouts in every country and where mega money was not yet involved, Wenger built Arsenal…

Congratulations to Manchester City as they win the Premier League title for the 3rd time in 7 years! They have won, playing a brand of football that got everybody applauding and filling seats during their games. It didn’t matter how the opponents set up, they always had answers to the questions posed to them. This…

WHY WOULDN’T YOU LOVE THIS GAME? How can anybody not love football? How can you ignore this beautiful game? The crazy week we have had in football highlights once again why the game is the most popular on this planet It’s fireworks all through; the thrills, the suspense, nerves, the comebacks, excitements, skills, talent, energy,…

KLOPP WINS THE TACTICAL BATTLE AT ANFIELD Whenever the pundits talked about how great Pep has developed Otamendi, and Manchester City defence, I’ve always said aloud, “he’s never had to defend” Well, Otamendi and the others have finally been asked to defend by Liverpool, and defend they couldn’t. When the questions were posed, they had…

JOSE DIVIDES OPINIONS AGAIN I played a football game with some friends. My team had the best players and were the better team, anyway you looked at it. The other team was excellently superior and it was meant to be a walk over. Somehow the game didn’t go as planned; our passes were either too…

JOSE GOT IT ALL WRONG AS UNITED CRASH OUT OF UCL When the team sheets were rolled out yesterday before Manchester United’s champions league game, I was stuck in the kitchen trying to get some bolognese with spaghetti ready for the game. As I trod back infront of the TV just after kick off, it…

JUVENTUS NAVIGATE WEMBLEY WATERS WITH GUILE. Juventus showed us once again why the Old Lady is still one of the giants of European football. Cometh the hour, Cometh the men they say, and that was was we witnessed in the last half hour at Wembley yesterday night Juve were ruthless: scoring two goals in as…

JOSE SHOWS HE STILL HAS IT. Manchester United beat Chelsea 2-1 on Sunday and go six points clear of Chelsea in the league. The win preserved United’s position in second place and moved them closer towards securing a champions league place. Even though Chelsea were the better side during the opening exchanges, Jose found a…

SPURS TOO HOT TO HANDLE After twenty minutes at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, I knew I was looking at a Spurs team that had come of age. Dembele was my man of the match; his ability to drop deep and take the ball and start play, weaving past one, two or three midfielders with…

ITS A MERRY-GO-ROUND! Aubameyang, Giroud, Batshuayi, Alexis Sanchez and Mkhitaryan As the January transfer window drew to a close, Dortmund, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all came together and decided to let go of a personnel and take personnel that were surplus to requirements Arsenal lost Sanchez and Giroud, but gained Mkhitaryan from United. Chelsea…

SANCHEZ FINALLY JOINS JOSE’S ARMY There was huge talk of a done deal in the summer for Alexis Sanchez, moving to the blue end of Manchester. But five months later, it’s Jose’s Red Army that Sanchez joins in one of the biggest transfer coups of the year! Something happened beneath the scenes: perhaps someone in…

AS THE CRAZY SPENDING CONTINUES: HOW MUCH IS MESSI, HAZARD OR KANE WORTH NOW? When Lionel Messi signed his new contract extension with Barcelona, he insisted on a clause; that FC Barcelona would continue to invest in big players and demand to win the top competitions in Spain, Europe and the world. Well, after Ousmane…

FINALLY PALACE GIVE US A RAY OF HOPE   Just when Antonio Conte threw in the towel even before the contest began, and just when Manchester United AND Jose Mourinho capitulated under the might of their noisy neighbours, and just when the chasing pack put their vehicles into reverse gear, Crystal Palace have suddenly given…

– [ ] For the neutrals and the hopefuls, the season is a long way off from being over, and I hope so, (hope being the trigger word) but realistically, unless the team self destruct and give in to in fighting caused by egos, or suffer an avalanche of injuries, you would have to say…

SLAVEN PAYS THE BILL-IC, GUARDIOLA ESCAPES THE CHASING PACK CHELSEA RUMOURS JOSE MOURINHO AND UNITED   IS PEP THE NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN? And so Manchester City remain the team to beat in this year’s EPL. It’s taken Pep Guardiola two years to stamp the notebooks with his signature football : pass, move, pass, pace,…

  EDITH AGOYE TO HEAD SHOOTING STARS Congratulations to Edith Agoye on his appointment as the Head Coach of Shooting Stars FC (Up Shooting!) From school days to Shooting Stars as a player, to FC schaffhausen and Rot-Weiss Oberhausen and Esperance FC and Braunnau, Agoye Edith learned the game at all levels. He concluded part…

KOEMAN SACKED-KLOPP’S DEFENCE MAKES WAY AGAIN-MOURINHO FUMING-RONALDO AND BUFFON WIN EVERTON GIVE KOEMAN THE BOOT We all saw that one coming didn’t we? Ronald Koeman sacked as Everton manager after just nine games. The 5-2 drubbing by Arsenal was the final nail in the coffin that sealed Koeman’s fate: five losses, two draws and minus…

MUSICAL CHAIRS CONTINUE AT LEICESTER AS SHAKESPEARE LEAVES THE HOT SEAT. When Craig Shakespeare replaced Claudio Ranieri four months ago, we thought Leicester had found a messiah to mop up the ghosts of the past; results, club expectations after winning the league, players and two managers As results turned however this season, Craig has been…

HARRY KANES SLOVENIA AS ENGLAND ROMP TO RUSSIA It had to Harry Kane – as Tottenham fans say, one of us – who sent England to Russia in a lack lustre display against Slovenia. After an 88 minute stalemate, in which either of the sides could have taken the lead, but for world class stops…

SUPER EAGLES SOAR TO RUSSIA Against a fantastic team from Zambia on Saturday evening, Super Eagles of Nigeria beat Zambia by a solitary goal to qualify for the World Cup in Russia in 2018. Eagles become the first African team to book a place on the world stage next summer, with a game to spare.…

LEST WE FORGET HOW GUARDIOLA PEP-PPERED CONTE AT THE BRIDGE Chelsea fans will point to last season at the Emirates as the turning point in their last season. When Arsenal drubbed Chelsea 3-0 at the Emirates, it was the signal for Antonio Conte to move into a 5-2-3 formation that eventually took the league title…

AFRICA: CAN WE PRODUCE ANOTHER GOLDEN GENERATION? I had just arrived in Switzerland in to play professional football when Nigeria won the Atlanta Olympics gold medal, with some of my friends in that team. Nigeria was revered and feared going into the next year, both in Africa and Europe. George Opong Weah (European player of the…

HAS PSG FINALLY COME OF AGE? Mbappe, Neymar and Cavani. Add Rabbit, Alves, Thiago, DiMaria, Draxler, Veratti and Marquinhos, this team looks like the real deal and with the form of Mbappe and Neymar, we may be witnessing something new from Paris this season of the champions league. Is this the season that the French…

RUMMENIGGE ENDS ANCELOTTI’S REIGN AT BAYERN The handwriting was on the wall from pre-season. Two nil nil draws against Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim, 4-0 loss to AC Milan, 0-2 loss to Inter Milan, 3-0 to Liverpool, 2-0 loss to Napoli and Super cup final loss to Dortmund. And when Hoffenheim beat them 2-0 on match…

HODGSON HAS A LOT ON HIS PLATE Roy Hodgson walked into his new role at Crystal Palace with a lot of optimism, but it has not been a bed of roses or a match made in heaven thus far. A football lesson for forty five minutes at the Etihad on Saturday, shows the hurdle that…

HUDDERSFIELD SCRAP THEIR ACADEMY When Huddersfield football club reached the top flight at the end of last season, I am sure a lot of youngsters and parents rejoiced at the prospect of the opportunity to play premiership football, if they progressed through the youth ranks. When Dean Hoyle announced a few weeks ago however that…

FRANK DEBOER’S REIGN OVER 77 days and gone! Crystal Palace end the short reign of Frank DeBoer today, after a bad start to their Premier League campaign. Defeats to Huddersfield 0-3 at home, Liverpool 1-0 away, Swansea 0-2 at home and now Burnley 1-0 away condemned Frank Deboer to the scrap heap and a P45.…

CHELSEA END AN EMBARRASING WINDOW WITH DRINKWATER SIGNATURE Years ago, every player wanted to go to Stamford bridge. Yes the lure of the money was a factor but under Mourinho, Ancelloti, players really wanted to sign and play for Chelsea. So what happened during this transfer window? Why are the players avoiding the bridge? Rudiger,…

OH DEAR WENGER! It’s same old story at Arsenal; Arsene’s diabolical team selection, square pegs in round holes -Bellerin left wingback, Oxlade right wing back – big game magic missing from several players, body language from the senior players not so exciting. Arsenal just didn’t look like getting out of their own half against Liverpool,…

Tottenham will play against Real Madrid, Borrusia Dortmund and and APOEL Nicosia in the group stages of the Champions League beginning in September, according to the draw a few hours ago. English Champions Chelsea go into a tough group but one which they are expected to scale through unscathed with AS Roma, Atletico Madrid and…

Back from the dead should be the appropriate title for Zlatan’s return to the Premiership. Zlatan single-handedly spearheaded the United attack last season with 28 goals in all competitions at age 35 but got injured as United prepared to hand him another contract extension towards the end of the season. Jose Mourinho has always said…

ROONEY LEAVES WHEN THE OVIATION IS LOUDEST Two fantastic goals at the start of the premier league season with new club Everton, against Stoke City FC and Manchester City FC and ‘Recall Rooney’ has been the shout out from every fan and pundit across England to Gareth Southgate since last weekend’s round of games. But…

TINKERING PEP DROPS TWO VALUABLE POINTS AGAINST EVERTON I see what Pep is trying to do at Manchester City, but I’m afraid against the top sides, he would struggle to achieve what he truly wants i.e dominate, attack, score, but defend with attackers. One could argue that he did it at Barca and Bayern playing…

SAME TRICKS, SAME RESULT ARS-ENE WENGER LOSES OUT TO STOKE It was Groundhog Day for Arsenal fans at the Britannia stadium yesterday as the Gunners lost 1-0 against Stoke. To be fair the last twenty minutes was one way traffic towards the Stoke goal, but the damage was done again, just after half time, exactly…

WHO WILL WIN THE PREMIERSHIP?  The most exciting league in the world has started and it promises to be a fantastic season. Can we avoid a ‘Conte season’ at the bridge? Can Tottenham finally win something or will it be mass exodus at season’s end? Can Mourinho restore the glory days to Old Trafford? Can…

Breaking News coming out of Anfield suggest that Phillippe Coutinho has just handed a transfer request to Liverpool FC amidst the pursuit of his services by FC Barcelona! Coutinho is bent on forcing a transfer through with his parent club Shares Facebook Twitter Google+ Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Comments comments