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Letter by Robbo shared by the Anfield Wrap on Facebook

Clarification Not Andy Robertson, Robbo from the Anfield Wrap. Maybe get a flair about that from the mods?
It's one hell of a record; one we’ve been lucky to live through – one many other supporters, of many other clubs, will never see the likes of.
But all good things come to an end. Tonight it did. And now The Champions have to suck it up and start again.
After 68 games unbeaten at home – after an imperious spell stretching all the way back to April 2017 – the needle scratched and the vinyl finally stopped spinning.
Andy Robertson, Fabinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaqiri, Mo Salah, Alisson, Sadio Mane – they all just tasted their first ever Premier League defeat at Anfield in their Liverpool careers.
Mad that, isn’t it? A good mad. A tremendous mad. A mad worth remembering.
Now let’s hope it stings just as much for them as does for us right now.. I think it will.
The headlines will scream shock – and it is in the context of Burnley’s first win at Anfield in 46 years. It is in terms of the 16-1 odds you could get on a victory for Sean Dyche’s side.
Yet it’s been coming.
Liverpool haven’t won in five in the league now, and haven’t scored in four. And watching The Reds recently has been the footie equivalent of Bill Murray waking up to the 6am alarm with Sonny and Cher ringing out. Again, and again, and again.
Unlike Bill, we don’t have the option of smashing the alarm clock or chinning someone – we’ve got to stick with it.
It’s horrible. It’s grim. It’s a shitshow on repeat. And that’s just life at the moment. Please no, not the football as well. It’s made worse by the fact that we can’t be there; rendered powerless by the pandemic. Meet the coach, bring the flags, get in early…. Not an option.
How much is this team hindered by circumstance? We can never truly know. It can’t be measured. But we can take a wild fucking guess.
If you bring in a manager who loves passion, emotion and intensity in his football; who strengthens the bond between supporters and superstars to a level previously unknown in many of our lives, is it unreasonable to say there will be a drop off when the stands are suddenly silent?
Liverpool at its best is a Liverpool driven by spirit; the spine-tinglingly stuff Anfield at its best generates by the bucketload.
Anfield now is sanitised, soulless and silent. A different ball game.
Even the most cynical must admit that, at the very least, it’s likely a factor.
There are likely others, too: the sheer amount of football many of our players have played, not just this season, but for some the last four: Gini Wijnaldum has barely missed a game in the league since he got here in 2016.
There’s the mental toll, too. The Reds have been rattling along at a phenomenal rate for so long: there’s a European Cup, a Club World Cup and a title to show for it. But there was also another European Cup final. There was also a 97-point season before the 99-point season.
Somewhere, sometime, something had to give. It looks like now it has. We can point to key injuries, to the factors above, more too if we think long enough; VAR, dodgy decisions, take your pick.
But it’s unavoidable that Liverpool, collectively, have been stumbling towards this for a few weeks. Ideas have ran out, the fizz has gone missing, and The Reds have become predictable; playing into opponents’ hands. Pointless crosses. Scuffed shots. Overhit passes. Heavy touches. Sorry set-pieces. Leaden legs.
A perfect shistorm of bad form, low confidence and, fuck it, I’ll say it, some shitty luck, ended up with what we witnessed tonight.
This Is A Low, for any 90s indie kids out there.
Worryingly, you wonder how Klopp shakes it up in the immediacy. He’s dropped players, rested players, tinkered, and tried. So what’s left? The fixture list doesn’t look kind either.
The best I can do is that the next two are big games. Perhaps that helps. Because Liverpool have been struggling against sides they should be beating who shut up shop.
Perhaps Man United get too cocky on Sunday. Perhaps Spurs come out swinging on Thursday. We walk on. And we can only hope. There’s a team in there somewhere. A great team. There’s goals there, too. Loads of goals.
These Reds have shown some of the biggest balls around to bounce back from the deepest of disappointments in the past. The Mentality Monsters have got to do it all again.
Play it again, Jurgen.
Robbo
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How the premier league stands mid season

Title race
After Spurs draw against Fulham last night i'm confident there are 3 teams left with a chance off the title. Spurs and especially Chelsea and Arsenal are not good enough this season. Despite strong starts from Leicester Saints Villa and Everton i don't think any off those have a chance in fact the middle 2 will do well to get in the top 7.
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Liverpool looked like the team to beat but with 2 points from the last 3 games which is one less than sheffield united. Injuries and poor form have made me think the Manchester clubs are at least equal in terms off chance off winning with Man City the favourites and Man Utd about even. The game at Anfield will be vital next week in determining the title race. The winner will likely challenge Man City in my opinion
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3 predictions regarding this area off the table
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- Man City win the league
- Nobody gets 80 points
- These 3 are at least 10 points clear off 4th
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Champions League
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Spurs and Chelsea have both looked poor recently giving Everton Southampton Villa and and espeically Leicester the chance for top 4 this season with Leicester the most likely to achually finish 4th and Villa least likely as they will have a compact schudlue next season.
Spurs are more likely to find form than Chelsea as they are 4 points ahead with even games and have looked slightly better than Chelsea recently
Arsenal will also have a chance if they can continue this good but they are pretty easy games compared to average against West Brom and Brighton plus Chelsea have been shit recently. I expect them to beat Palace tonight but won't get anywhere near top 4 and will be in the battle for europa league even though one off my predictions for the next bit is good for Arsenal.
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3 predictions
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- Leicester get the final top 4 spot on the last day off the season above Spurs
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- Everton are in the fight until the 2nd to last game
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- Chelsea and Arsenal are at least 7 point off Champions League
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Europa League
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Everton will finish in the top 7 {which i think is Europa League} 6th is my prediction. So I think there is one spot open between Chelsea Arsenal Southampton Aston Villa with West Ham and Leeds possibly offering outside chances. I don't think Wolves have any chance with Jiminez out and there recent poor form sincebeating Chelsea who are bad enough themselves right now.
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Based on recent form I expect Arsenal to overtake Chelsea around week 25 as momentum is on there side and against Chelseas. If Chelsea finish above them they will have to re overtake them. Assuming Arsenal get 3 points tonight.
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I think Villa would be a good bet for top 7 but there games will be stacked at the end off the season its likely they will have to make up 3 or even 4 games on a already tight schudle in the second half off the season. I think it will get the better off them espeically if they have more games postponed makin top 8 a more reasonable target. I think there are sides below them like Chelsea and Arsenal that have a good chance off over taking them.
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I think Saints have the best chance off the non big 9 clubs {the 9 clubs everyone put in the top 9 at the start off the season i think you can work it out from now not the top 9 in the table} to get top 7 and do have a reasonable chance in my opinion.
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Leeds if they can play at there best can be in the fight as well but they always paly really good and win by 3+ goals or play terrible and lose by 3+ goals. They have conceaded the 2nd most goals despite being comfortbale in midtable. If anything I think they are liekly to get found out though form has been good with 3 wins from the last 5.
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If you don't count the first 2 games where West Ham looked pretty poor they would have 7 wins to 3 losses and they have not lost to a non big 6 club this season except Newcastle on the first day. They have been surprisingly good this season but similar to Leeds i don't think they will have a stand out 2nd half off the season and will finish 10th at best.
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My 3 predictions
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- Arsenal finish above Chelsea
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- Southampton beat Arsenal to the spot on the final day
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- Only 5 points seperate 7th and 12th at the end off the season
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meh teams
Leeds and West Ham have the potential to drop into this group Wolves have the potential to move up but I don't see it without Jiminez espeically with 2 draws and 3 losses in there last 5. It's not Nunos fault and he should not be sacked he's the reason they got here in the first place as a stable mid table side way clear off relegtion. I can't because the 2 reasons i've already mentioned see them finishing higher than 12th which is around where they will finish maybe even a bit lower. They will do very well to get 50 points this season.
Crystal Palace have been the most bang average side in the league not near europe or relegation simialr to Wolves but with less intresting stories and most consistant form as they have never been on a really good or bad run beating Arsenal tonight could give them an outside chance off pushing top 10 and being above mid table.
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If any teams below most likely to do so would be Burnley they could also enter this group.
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Unless Neves or Zaha get injured these teams arn't coming lower than 15th or higher than 12th.
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The bottom six
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Burnley are quite likely to finish nowhere near the relegation zone and Dyche has turned there form around quite suddenly and they have had 3 wins very recently from a terrible positions where they looked well on track for relegation. 4 points against Brighton and Palace gave them the boost and 4 against Everton and Arsenal kicked started there season. I think they are likely to finish well above the 40 point mark possibly pushing Palace and Wolves.
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Newcastle have been on alful form 2 points from the last six which included games against Fulham and Sheff Utd. They are very likely to end up in the relegation battle and look like a sure bet for the bottom 5 unless they change manager quick.
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Fulham look like a better side and are now on a 5 game unbeaten run in the league and six if you include the cup albiet all the league ones are draws at least they are not losing. If they continue like this they have a good chance off beating Brighton or Newcastle.
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Even though they play very good football i don't think brighton will improve they have been playing very good football which looks like a top 10 side since the start off last season but nothing ever seems to come off it as they can not win at home. They have scored 8 and conceaded 11 yet havn't won in there last 8 getting 5 draws which arn't that useful in a 3-1-0 points sytem and 3 1 goal margin losses they score 3 goals the one game they conceade 3 goals. They need a win to re gain confidence and are likely to go down to be honest. If they lose Leeds away which is likely that means they will have 1 4 points after playing every team once that means they will finish around 28. I think they as well as all the bottom 6 teams except Newcastle and possibly WBA will improve but not by as much as Burnley lets say. Can't believe Burnley are even to these guys in the betting odds.
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WBA have conceaded 13 and socred 1 under big sam luckily the goal came in the game they needed it most and that Liverpool point was lucky as they were not the better team. I could see Big Sam spening loads off money in the window and leaving them laods off deadwood to recover in the championship.
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Sheff Utd I don't think we can make up a 9 point gap even though i expect the recent boost in confidence will mean a WAY stronger 2nd half to the season. 9 points to Brighton is a point less than the 10 point gap Chelsea have to Man Utd. Never say never but it would be very surprisng for my blades to stay up. Same thing for WBA. We achually outplayed them without that win they would have 2 less than the next least wins.
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3 predictions
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- Brighton Sheff Utd and WBA are relegated
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- Fulham finish above Newcastle
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- Sheff Utd don't break Derbys record and finish on 20-25 points and above West Brom
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Please excuse the poor spelling and gammer I took forever to write this. I most off my I arn't capitals
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[English Football] How the Champions of Europe became the Banter Club - 20 years of farce in the East Midlands

English football has in excess of 100 professional clubs, and a fair percentage of them are absolute circuses. I'm going to do this write up and if there is demand/interest I will do a few of the other shitshow clubs, particularly those outside the Premier League which a wider audience might know less about
The first club in what I hope will be a series covering the petty dramas and farces of English football is none other than my own club, Nottingham Forest. This post will cover the last 20 years, and consider bigger themes and dramatic highlights alike.
Introduction
Nottingham Forest is famous for two football trivia quiz answers, which in combination reveal a lot about this absolute carcrash of a club. First of all, Nottingham Forest is the only club to win the European Cup (later known as the Champion's League) more than it has won a domestic title, winning the 1979 and 1980 European Cups, but only winning the English First Division (later the Premier League) once, in 1978. Secondly, it is the only European Cup winner to ever be relegated into the 3rd tier of football in any country. We'll be touching on that later.
The meteoric rise under 'maverick' (read alcoholic wife-beating) manager Brian Clough from obscure 2nd division club in an unloved corner of England to one ecstatic night in Munich in 1979 and another in Madrid in 1980 is of course the stuff of footballing legend. Children across the East Midlands are indoctrinated from birth to remember the miracles of this age, when Liverpool and Ajax at their full flowering were humbled in a quaint provincial city previously unknown for footballing achievements, as Brian Clough's team of misfits boozed their way around the continent and the most attractive wide player in Europe wasn't some flashy Spaniard or Brazilian, but an overweight chain smoking Scotsman.
But you don't come onto this sub to read tales of sporting glory and giants humbled by a small city known for coal rather than goals. After the pride and the glory comes a fall.
After the glories of 1977-80, Nottingham Forest settled as a respectable First Division side. With the odd tilt at a cup run and qualifying for European football a few more times, the remainder of the 1980s and early 1990s was broadly a good time for the club. After two League Cups and a few good finishes, the club was finally relegated in Brian Clough's final season, with the effects of alcoholism clearly showing. After a resurgence under successor Frank Clark embodied by Stuart 'Psycho' Pearce including a shock 3rd place finish in the Premiership in 1995, leading to UEFA Cup (now Europa League) qualification and becoming the most successful English club in the 1996 competition, gravity was too much for an increasingly mismanaged club which was relegated into the First Division (note that from 1992 the First Division is now the 2nd tier, this is now called the Championship) in 1999. Our story begins here. Each new manager will be numbered to indicate how many appointments since relegation there have been, not including caretakeinterim appointments.
We're Serious About Promotion, Are You?
Initially things in the 1999-2000 season were optimistic. Forest had had two stints in the First Division in the 1990s and bounced back up both times. This time would be the same, right?
Enter David Platt (#1), who promptly spent £12m on aging Italian players he knew from a season managing Sampdoria only for two midtable finishes to challenge his transfer policy. At the time this generated an outcry and his replacement by Paul Hart, but Forest fans would doubtless look back on two midtable 2nd tier finishes as a decent run.
Paul Hart (#2) was lumped with a dire financial situation, caused by Platt and the collapse of a digital TV deal that Forest and many other clubs had based their future finances on. He had a good season, marred by Forest's first failure to be promoted via playoffs.
In both the 2nd and 3rd tiers, the top two teams get automatic promotion, while the 3rd-6th placed teams have a small competition for the final slot. In 2003 Nottingham Forest finished 6th, a good improvement, but drew a strong Sheffield United side in the play-offs. Now, not only were Sheff Utd a good side under the ubershithouse Neil Warnock himself, but Nottingham and Sheffield had a bit of bad blood. In the 1984/85 Miner's Strike the coal miners of Nottingham and its surrounding area (the UK's 2nd largest coalfield in 1984) did not join the strike. The Yorkshire miners had called the strike without a ballot (rendering it against union rules in the eyes of the Nottinghamshire miners), but enjoyed the support of the Welsh and Northeast English miners and bitterly resented the betrayal of the Nottinghamshire miners. This fed into football with acrimonious scenes at any match between a Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire club well beyond the strike ending. Basically, Forest didn't want to get battered by them up the M1. Grabbing a draw at home, Forest took the short trip up the M1 to Bramall Lane where an own goal(!) and a goal by deflection by otherwise stalwart defender Des Walker condemned Forest to the first of what would be many playoff bottle jobs.
The psychological damage was done, and Hart was sacked at the start of 2004. Enter Joe Kinnear (#3), who had good pedigree as a no-nonsense combative Irishman. He proceeded to declare that supporters who wanted him out were idiots before telling the media that the game against hated local rivals Derby County was just another game, being in his mind a quaint provincial rivalry compared to the Glasgow Old Firm or West Ham vs Millwall, before Forest promptly got stuffed by them inbred sheepshagging cunts down the A52. With Forest staring down relegation with just months to go, Gary Megson (#4) turned up in a firefighting job, which he failed in. In May 2005 Forest became the first European Cup winners ever in any country to become a 3rd tier club.
Quite something given that, at the start of the season, season ticket holders received promotional leaflets stating 'We're serious about promotion, are you?'.
Can they do it on a cold night in Yeovil?
Many clubs who find themselves in 3rd tier delude themselves that they can piss their way out of this pub league. Leeds United, Portsmouth, recently Sunderland. But League One and its open terraces and potholed pitches is another game all together, and by the end of 2005 Gary Megson's Nottingham Forest were staring relegation into the fourth tier in the eye.
Enter Colin Calderwood (#5), a decent and broadly well-liked Scotsman who became Forest's longest manager since Frank Clark in 1993-6. A good achievement, and his efforts eventually paid off as Nottingham Forest snuck into the 2nd automatic promotion spot on the final day of the 2007-8 season, their third in League One.
But to get to this happy juncture, the greatest achievement any Forest fan under 30 has seen, we must pass through the valley of death and discuss quite possibly the greatest playoff bottle job in history. In the 2006/7 series Forest had a good run. A lot of good young players were bringing the club into being serious promotion contenders and Colin remained a well liked and respected manager in the city. A 4th place finish rewarded their efforts fairly, with a playoff semi-final tie against Yeovil Town beckoning.
Many Forest fans regarded this as essentially a bye to the final. Yeovil were a non-league club who had risen up a lot and were about to get turned over by the big boys. Yeovil is a small town in rural Somerset, an area of England virtually unknown on the football pitch (Rugby being the preferred sport in the Southwest). To make things better, Forest had turned up in Yeovil and smashed them 2-0. A bumper crowd packed the City Ground to watch their heroes make it to Wembley and the final against Blackpool. What a spectacle it would be.
And what a spectacle it was. Read it and laugh. Yeovil were up 2-1 with just three minutes to go. A valiant performance from a small club but not enough. Until a last minute Yeovil header made it 3-1 and 3-3 on aggregate! In injury time, Yeovil scored twice more, making it 5-2 on the night and 5-4 aggregate. It's hard not to look bad and laugh, but this result summed up the agony more than anything as Forest were turned over at home after winning 2-0 in the first leg by a club who had spent only a handful of years in England's professional leagues at all.
After this humiliation, Colin picked up the pieces and led Forest to a dramatic last day clinching of promotion in May 2008. There was much rejoicing, ironically with Yeovil being the club Forest beat on the last day to secure promotion. Colin had secured his redemptive arc, but if fans thought things could get better, they were wrong.
Mad King Billy
Colin stayed on until Christmas of his first season in the Championship, but poor form and a Boxing Day loss to bottom-placed Doncaster Rovers (another South Yorkshire club) sealed his fate. He was to be replaced by one of the most 'characterful' men in football.
Enter Billy Davies (#6). A Nottingham sports journalist allegedly phoned a colleague in Lancashire where Billy had worked at Preston North End to get a handle on him. His Lancastrian colleague apparently pointed out that he was a short and aggressive man (a nippy sweetie as they say) from one of Glasgow's roughest slums who owned several Staffordshire Bull Terriers. To put it another way, Billy might have known football, but you wouldn't want to knock his drink over and he never forgot a grudge. Billy managed to grind out the results to keep Forest in the Championship in the 2008-9 season, before his warped genius reached new levels in 2009-10.
Forest in all fairness spent most of 2009-10 at the top end of the Championship. They started off strongly with a win over Derby County when striker Nathan Tyson paraded a flag around in order to wind up the sheepnonces. At the return fixture Billy had an altercation with Derby manager Nigel Clough, son of Brian himself. Billy Davies, a staunch Rangers supporter who played for his boyhood club in several Old Firms in Glasgow (easily the most hate-filled football rivalry in Britain), doubtless was a bit more up for a derby day scrap than Joe Kinnear, and it only enhanced his reputation amongst Forest fans.
So, Forest once again succeeded in making the playoffs. Did they win them at last and end the exile? Did they fuck. Forest drew Blackpool for the semi-finals. King Billy tried a few mind games but they backfired spectacularly. He put a weaker side out in a league match against Blackpool to indicate he was resting players for the playoffs, then proceeded to tell Blackpool and the media that playing a jumped up seaside resort was a surefire ticket to Wembley. Where have we heard that before? Anyway, Blackpool, fired up by the team talk Billy gave them, absolutely creamed Forest on both legs.
Back to square one. King Billy had another season and Forest did secure another go at the playoffs. Again, Forest held out for a draw at home but got battered on the return leg at Swansea. The King had fallen out irreparably with the board, and left over the summer.
In June 2011, enter Steve McClaren (#7). Former England manager with a strong pedigree. He resigned 10 games into the 2011/12 season after poor form, then went to go and manage Derby twice, fucking up on both occasions. Lad.
Enter Steve Cotterill (#8). The managers are going to start coming thick and fast about now by the way. Steve is broadly remember positively as getting Forest out of a relegation scrap, but unfortunate events off the pitch would ensure he never got a chance.
You may have asked during this, who the fuck is paying for all this? What lunatic would pump so much money into such a ridiculous enterprise? Meet Nigel Doughty. Local boy done good, he made a huge amount of money in private equity and did what all eccentric multimillionaires do. He subsidised his boyhood club to the tune of £1m a month. He stepped down as Chairman in late 2011, but died of a rare heart condition in early 2012, throwing the club into serious financial disarray as a new buyer had not yet been finalised.
Rumours abounded that Forest was getting into some serious money though. This, readers, is about when it starts getting surreal.
The Fake Sheikh
Forest's new owner was none other than Kuwaiti businessman Fawaz Al-Hasawi. Were Forest now in the financial big leagues? Were the Midlands about to get their first superclub brought up from nothing like Manchester City? Like fuck they were.
Cotterill left as Fawaz brought in Sean O'Driscoll (#9) as manager. Sean was a competent manager who had inherited a decent side and Forest were once again battling for promotion. He lost his job on Boxing Day of his first season, after a 4-2 win against Leeds United, the pantomime villains of English football who everybody likes beating, because Fawaz had been advised by a friend that Forest now needed a manager with Premiership experience. He had wanted to sack Sean on Christmas Day, but the board refused to deliver the letter on the 25th, and so it was Boxing Day.
Who had the experience to get Forest up? None other than Alex McLeish (#10) who had managed both Villa and Birmingham City in the Premiership. McLeish tried to get George Boyd in from Peterborough to bolster his squad, but George couldn't join as he failed an eye test. Alex and his experience would stay at Forest for about a month.
But who could step into his shoes? Who was the only manager to prove himself at Forest since 2000? Of course, it was King Billy himself. I could write an entire post about this deranged man, but I'll summarise the good bits of his second tenure.
Fawaz was ecstatic to get such a titan of the game back. He described Billy as being to Forest what Alex Ferguson was to Manchester United and talked up the prospect of Champions League football at the City Ground. Billy had a few years to reflect on his breakdown with the Forest board, his stated policy that he only wanted to manage Rangers next narrowed down a list of suitors. When he arrived, it was with vengeance in mind. He blamed the Nottingham Post and BBC East Midlands for his downfall, and instituted a North Korea-style media ban in the ground, epitomised by his catchphrase 'nae comment ya media bastards'. He hired his cousin, a solicitor banned from practising, as a club official and got him to offer a 4 year contract. When he was forced to talk to the media on the last day of the 2013 season before a match against Leicester City (a rival club, but less hated than Derby) he held his post-match press conference before the match offering quotes to suit a win, loss, or draw.
But the King had lost his Crown. After 8 games without a win and a 5-0 loss to Derby (still known down the A52 as Deforestation Day) he left in early 2014, with no club in Britain looking to hire him. His paranoid views were now the stuff of common knowledge.
The old King is dead, long live the King. Another nostalgia appointment beckoned, as Stuart Pearce (#11) took over. Stuart was a legend at Forest, and a notorious Pashun Merchant who espoused old school English attitudes that passion, desire, and teamwork would always beat flash foreigners with things like 'skill' and 'training'. In all fairness, the fans loved him. See his first emergence out of the tunnel before a match where the old 'Psycho Psycho Psycho' chant came back. His demonstration of raw pashun when his side beat Derby endeared himself to the fans. Despite this, he struggled with an erratic signings policy to really make an impact. Fawaz had sold two good young players to Newcastle United without Stuart's permission and his position became untenable. When Stuart left in early 2015, the fans remembered a dignified club legend who tried his best but couldn't beat the owners.
Enter Dougie Freedman (#12), who spent a year in role. His year was marred with growing relegation battles, an injury crisis and a transfer embargo preventing him from replacing long term injuries or building a squad. Nonetheless, his advice was so good that even after his March 2016 sacking Fawaz would still phone him up for transfer advice.
Philippe Montanier (#13) became the first non-British or Irish manager at the club, an urbane Frenchmen who had cheese boards at press conferences. Fawaz desperately sought to cut his losses by selling Oliver Burke, then regarded as a future leading talent of his generation, to RB Leipzig without telling the manager again. By now the curtain had started to come down on the Fake Sheikh as people began to realise that being vaguely connected to a Gulf State monarchy doesn't make you rich by default.
The last throw of the dice was Mark Warburton (#14), a no nonsense English manager but without the solid defensive play that Warnock et al are known for. Warburton managed to avoid relegation on goal difference on the last day of the 2016-7 season as Forest stayed up at the expense of Blackburn Rovers by just two goals. Wild scenes followed as a pitch invasion to celebrate staying up became a source of mockery.
The curtain fell on the Sheikh just two weeks later as he announced the sale of the club to controversial Greek shipping magnate Evangelos Marinakis.
Interlude: Don't Bully Meh
Forest at about this time gained temporary global fame. Was it for an amazing goal or run of wins? Of course not.
Two overweight and possibly intoxicated supporters had a fight at halftime over who could have the last steak and kidney pie. The pies at the City Ground aren't even that good. Watch it here for a beautiful example of the local accent
Beware Greeks bearing gifts
The final chapter brings us up to the present day. Marinakis kept Warburton around until the end of 2017, when he replaced him with Aitor Karanka (#15). Marinakis had talked a good game, promising a more mature approach to the club and gained a lot of goodwill with slashed ticket prices and planned stadium expansion - the City Ground has had no work done since c. 1990 and looks a little dated by Championship standards. Karanka was a suave manager who combined attractive continental football with English pedigree, having taken Middlesbrough to the Premier League. The remainder of the 2017-8 season was an unremarkable mid table finish, but the fans wanted a safe finish by this point.
Things heated up in the summer. Marinakis brought in a mix of experienced Championship journeymen such as Lewis Grabban - fresh from Sunderland Til I Die - but also a flock of young Portuguese players signed through superagent Jorge Mendes. These included the club's record signing, £13m for a relatively unknown teenager called Joao Carvalho. Observers talked about 'Big Spending Nottingham Forest' who looked set to ape Wolves by exploiting the good-value Portuguese player market and buy their way into the Premier League.
Did Forest buy their way up? What do you think?
The 2018-9 season started well, with Forest nosing around the top end but not really challenging. Things started to look ugly behind the scenes as Karanka claimed to be feeling flat in a December 2018 interview after a win against strugglers Ipswich Town (another former 'big club' gone wrong). His position weakened after a 3-3 draw against league leaders Norwich. A good result, but Forest were 3-1 up until a disastrous substitution brought on Gil Dias, an unproven Portuguese youngster who made two goal-conceding errors. Even a New Year's Day win over Leeds United (yours truly was visiting relatives in a small village, found a pub showing the match, and serenaded the TV room with 'We All Hate Leeds Scum' for 5 minutes) wasn't enough to save him, as he left the club in January 2019.
So, what had happened? We now know that Marinakis' man in Nottingham, Ioannis Vrentzos, had sought to interfere with Karanka's training and match preparation, causing Karanka deep anxiety issues around the toxic environment that saw him decide to leave the club. We'll come back to Vrentzos in a bit.
Enter another Club Legend, European Cup winner Martin O'Neill (#16). Martin had a fairly impressive record from back in the day, doing bits at Celtic, Aston Villa, and Leicester City. The phrase 'back in the day' is instrumental. He took the job 15 years after his prime and immediately advocated what is often termed 'shithouse football', the use of physicality, endurance, and gamesmanship to beat a more technically adept side. The wonderkid Carvalho was dropped from the side and became a proxy for a Boomer vs Zoomer war in the fanbase.
The battlelines became the Forest Boomers who broadly supported Martin O'Neill as a club legend committed to proper football. He received a lot of support from three former teammates who worked as sports columnists in regional media - fellow European Cup winners Gary Birtles and Kenny Burns in the Nottingham Post and John McGovern on BBC Nottingham.
The Zoomers bitterly resented Karanka's departure and felt that playing young technically able players like Carvalho was key, the idea that the 'English Game' requires a certain sort of player is at best old fashioned.
Forest missed out on the playoffs, but Derby lost the playoff final with our future King, a Villa fan, watching and cheering
After a few months of social media warfare, O'Neill left the club after losing the trust of the players over the summer break. He brought them all back and committed to training methods such as just making them run up a big hill all day instead of the more modern approaches to football training which involve various sorts of exercise and training.
Anyway, the board fucked him off for Sabri Lamouchi (#17) in the summer of 2019. He was announced just 20 minutes after O'Neill's sacking, as thousands of fans frantically googled his name.
Sabri started strong and united the Boomers and Zoomers behind him. Forest signed a series of players who became fan favourites, with one fan having goalkeeper Brice Samba's name tattooed on his arse after he kept a clean sheet against Derby and winger Joe Lolley gaining a new admirer.
Sabri spawned levels of support not seen for a long time for a manager
Forest briefly went top of the league in September, surely they could finally end the curse and get back up into the top flight?
Ahahahaha, no.
Forest stayed around 4th-5th until the Covid lockdown in March. When football returned, it was like another squad. They had been teetering on form since a 2-0 win over Leeds exhausted the side in February, but now it was like watching a Knacker's Yard XI. A string of late goals against a tired side, including a 1-1 equaliser by Derby which shocked one Forest fan who had already jumped into the canal in celebration, condemned Forest to clinging onto the playoffs. Two matches remained. Barnsley away and Stoke at home, all Forest had to do was get a point at either match.
Earlier I mentioned a contentious coal mining dispute. Well, Barnsley is also party to this. If there were fans at the match, it would have been like Billy Elliot. Barnsley were nigh-on relegated and had to win to take it down to the wire. They got a 90+3 winner, staving off relegation for another day while also putting Forest's playoff chances to the wire.
Going into the final match against Stoke, all Forest had to do was either get a point or hope Swansea don't overturn a 5 goal difference. Of course they couldn't fuck this up could they?
Narrator: they did fuck it up
Forest lost 4-1 to Stoke, the same margin Swansea won by to get into 6th place. Highlights include the BBC Nottingham commentary shouting "Swansea have scored, Forest are OUT of the playoffs" while the goalkeeper got up to help in a last ditch corner. A Stoke player got the ball, punted it up the pitch, where January flop signing Nuno da Costa obligingly put it into the net by accident, scoring his only goal thus far in a Forest shirt.
Even by the standards of this story, this was a spectacular collapse of epic proportions and led many to ask, what is wrong with Nottingham Forest?
It turned out quite a lot. The Greeks had an erratic signing policy and Daniel Taylor, a well respected journalist, exposed in the Athletic (sadly paywalled) that Vrentzos was a bully responsible for a toxic working culture that undermined players and the manager. Sabri had little say in transfers, and what is worse, it seemed Forest was being used as a feeder club. Marinakis also owns Olympiakos, the dominant Greek club. He has sought to move good Forest players there, and placed those unwilling to move in a 'bomb squad' who are removed from the first team. Carvalho was likely subject to this, as were several other young prospects.
Sabri got another chance, but four straight losses at the start of this season condemned him. Chris Hughton (#18), a respected Championship manager, came in. He managed to get some points on the board, but at the time of writing Forest are 21st and only outside the relegation zone owing to Sheffield Wednesday's points deduction. This season looks like a relegation scrap, ironically with Wayne Rooney's Derby County also down in the mud.
So, what did we learn from this? Perhaps Marx was right, history repeats as tragedy and then farce. Are some clubs just doomed to making the same mistakes? Should we be wary of Greeks and their gifts?
That is for you to decide, but if you liked this post please let me know as I will do some more for other clubs.
submitted by generalscruff to HobbyDrama [link] [comments]

Manchester United vs Aston Villa

After a very poor start of the season, very few people believed Manchester United could even get into the top four. However, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side entered a streak that launched them right behind Liverpool. The Red Devils are just two points behind their fiercest rivals, thanks to nine matches in which they missed the chance to win only twice. Although the hosts failed to secure a place in the Champions League knockout stage, they can fully focus on the title race instead. Bruno Fernandes and the lads have shown a strong mentality since they trailed in several matches but managed to end up as winners eventually. It seemed that Wolves would remain undefeated at Old Trafford last Tuesday, but Marcus Rashford’s injury-time goal brought them an important victory. Manchester United had a very poor record at Theather of Dreams, but they managed to improve and get ten points from the last four games at the home ground. They need to be consistent to remain in the title battle.
Aston Villa barely survived last season, and they were projected to fight against the relegation once again. However, they are enjoying an excellent campaign and sit in fifth place, being three points behind Everton and Leicester City, but with a game in hand. The visitors entered a five-match unbeatable run, during which they celebrated three times. Dean Smith’s side is one of the best defensive teams in the league, having conceded only 14 goals. On the other hand, Jack Grealish and the lads scored twice more and managed to find the back of the net eight out of the last nine games. The Villans are the third-best visiting team, as they suffered just one defeat from seven outings. In addition, they recorded only one draw and managed to get back home with all three points on five occasions. The away side hopes they can continue the unbeatable run at the Red Devils’ expense.

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

We expect to see a very exciting clash as both teams should search for a win. However, we find the hosts being slight favorites, and they should pick up all three points from this game.

Goals Market Prediction

Six out of their last seven clashes at Old Trafford went over a 2.5 margin. We expect to see another interesting display from both sides, and at least three goals in total.
Manchester United to win @ 1.75
Over 2.5 FT @ 1.55
Correct score 2:1 @ 9.50
Read the analysis here and share your opinion with us!
submitted by bat-bet to sportsbetting [link] [comments]

[OC] The most upvoted post on every subreddit

So I decided to gather a list of the most upvotes post on each PL teams’ subreddit because i sometimes like going on different subs and seeing the fans react to important moments In their history/ season. It also allows you to revive memorable PL moments and players I guess. Here it is.
DISCLAIMER: Obviously there are a lot of different factors involved like the age of the sub and number of users at the time of the post so keep that in mind
Gunners (Arsenal):
FA Cup 2020 Celebrations
BACKSTORY
We all know this one, no need to go into detail. Arsenal won the 2020 FA Cup in a 2-1 victory over Chelsea courtesy of a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
avfc (Aston Villa)
Aston Villa avoid relegation in the 19/20 PL season
BACKSTORY
Aston Villa avoid relegation (this looked very unlikely only a few weeks back) from the Premier League after a 1-1 draw to West Ham United. This point was enough to keep them up after Watford lost 3-2 to Arsenal and results did not go in Bournemouth’s favour.
Burnley (Burnley):
The reaction to the banner flown over the stadium during a fixture against Man City
BACKSTORY
Some morons decided to fly a banner over the Burnley stadium saying “All Lives Matter” as a response to the Black Lives Matter protests that had been taking place before every Premier League game.
BrightonHovealbion (Brighton)
Mooy Zidane comparison meme
BACKSTORY
Just a meme about Zidane looking like Aaron Mooy
ChelseaFC (Chelsea):
Chelsea sign Kai Havertz
BACKSTORY
Chelsea signed Kai Havertz from Bayer Leverkusen for a reported few which could reach up to 71 million pounds. The German International’s excellent performances for club and country lead to international recognition for the youngster and led to a race for his signature which Chelsea eventually won.
CrystalPalace (Crystal Palace):
Crystal Palace beat Leicester 5-0
BACKSTORY:
Palace beat Leicester 5-0 thus beating their record of highest win margin in Crystal Palace’s PL history. They moved up to 11th place.
Everton (Everton):
Leighton Baines tribute
BACKSTORY
A tribute to Everton legend Leighton Baines who retired on the last game of the 19/20 Premier League Season. A loyal and faithful servant of Everton and a firm fan-favourite notable for his deadliness from set-pieces, astuteness in defence and great attitude on and off the pitch.
FulhamFC (Fulham)
Joe Bryan appreciation thread
BACKSTORY
Fulham secured promotion in a 2-1 victory over Brentford in the Championship Play-off Final after Extra Time. 2 goals from Joe Bryan were enough to get Fulham over the line and grant them the win, returning them to the Premier League.
LeedsUnited (Leeds)
Chris Wood equaliser vs Newcastle
OVERVIEW
Chris Wood scores a 95th minute equaliser against Newcastle in 1-1 draw at St James’ Park. This was an important goal as it kept their hopes of getting promoted through the playoffs to the Premier League.
lcfc (Leicester City):
Leicester win the PL
BACKSTORY
Again, we all know the story, but it remains remarkable. A Leicester team ranked 5000/1 to win the title managed to pull it off with after excellent seasons in particular from Vardy, Mahrez and Kante as well as the master Tinkerman, Claudio Ranieri
LiverpoolFC (Liverpool):
Liverpool become PL champions
BACKSTORY:
We all know but Liverpool became the Champions for the first time in 30 odd years. After an agonising end to an enthralling title-race the previous season, Liverpool and Klopp finally got their hands on the Holy Grail.
MCFC (Man City):
Story about a lifelong Man City Fan who passed away with cancer a couple of years back
I don’t want to take anything away from the story or get any details wrong inadvertently. It’s best you go read it yourself if your up for it.
RedDevils (Man Utd)
A beautiful picture of Marouane Fellani getting hit in the head with a football
BACKSTORY
In Man Utd’s 2-1 loss to Real Madrid in the 2017 Super Cup, Fellaini’s image went viral all over social media so much that even Fellani himself reacted to it.
nufc (Newcastle):
A foreign supporter’s love letter to Newcastle
BACKSTORY
A Newcastle’s fan journey of supporting the club and how he fell in love with and decided to become a supporter of it.
SheffieldUnited (Sheffield United)
A pretty mediocre Messi joke can’t lie
BACKSTORY
When Lionel Messi, arguably one of the greatest players of a time , announced that he wanted to leave Barcelona, almost every set of fans in the world started jokingly thinking about how he would fit in their team.
SaintsFC (Southampton)
Hassenhuttl’s first game
BACKSTORY
After the mediocre period that Mark Hughes has while in charge of Southampton, the manager was sacked and replaced with Hassenhuttl. In his first ever game, he managed to secure a 3-2 victory. The fans were pretty hyped.
coys (Tottenham):
Spurs reach the UEFA Champions League Final
BACKSTORY
Tottenham Hotspur reached the first Champions League Final in their history. After being 3-0 down to a rampant Ajax side, a sensational hat trick from Lucas Moura marked an unbelievable comeback in the biggest game in the club’s history. The last of Moura’s goals came in the 96th minute and provoked tears of joy from manager Mauricio Pochettino.
WBAfootball (West Brom):
A funny dig at wolves
BACKSTORY
There is a rivalry between Wolves and West Brom, just as there is with all Midland Clubs. Not too sure about the context of the Kanye tweet tho tbf.
Hammers (West Ham):
Michail Antonio appreciation post
BACKSTORY
During the run-in, Antonio was in excellent form (particularly after the break) and was one of few players that really helped to drag West Ham over the line and steer them away from the drop zone. He was rewarded with a POTM because of his form which was well-deserved.
WWFC (Wolves):
Adama appreciation post
BACKSTORY
After a disappointing 18-19 campaign, Adama truly stepped up his game this year. Amazing dribbles, blistering pace, incredible strength and rapidly improving pace has made him one frightening (and fun to watch) player in the Premier League.
Well there it is, I hope u enjoyed it
submitted by Gr8Banter27 to soccer [link] [comments]

Manchester City vs Aston Villa

After a slow start into the campaign, the home side entered their recognizable form and tied eight straight wins in all competitions. City missed the chance to win only three times on the last 15 occasions, and that excellent run launched them to 2nd place. They are two points behind Manchester United, but with one game in hand. Ruben Dias and the lads have been unbeatable in the back, and the hosts managed to keep their net intact four times in a row. Manchester City conceded only three times in the last 15 games, and they are the best defensive team in the league. Besides a good campaign in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s side progressed into the next round of the FA Cup, EFL Cup, and the Champions League knockout stage. The hosts will be looking to continue their winning streak and remain an active contender in the title race.
The schedule in the past few weeks has been very tough for the visitors as they faced some of the biggest Premier League clubs. The Villans picked up a point away to Chelsea but failed to a 2:1 defeat against the Red Devils at Old Trafford. The away side had several players infected by the Covid-19 virus and had to close its ground for the last ten days. Those issues saw them fielding youngsters against Liverpool in the FA Cup, and they got knocked out by a 4:1 defeat that everybody saw coming. Nevertheless, Dean Smith should have his main players at his disposal on Wednesday and try to break City’s winning streak. Aston Villa sits in the middle of the table, seven points behind the fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, but with three games in hand. Tyrone Mings and the lads are doing an excellent job in the back and are among the best defensive sides in the competition. Villa conceded just five goals on the road and suffered two defeats. They need another disciplined performance to stand a chance of remaining undefeated.

Full-Time Winner Odds & Prediction

Manchester City celebrated five times in a row against Aston Villa, and they want to keep that run going. The visitors remained undefeated at Etihad Stadium last time in 2007, and City is a strong favorite in this one. We believe they are going to meet the expectations and book another victory against the rivals from Birmingham.

Goals Market Prediction

Man City’s defense has been rock-solid lately, while Villa hasn’t scored in their last two games at Etihad Stadium. We expect the hosts to keep the clean sheet once again, so our second pick is BTTS No.
Manchester City to win @ 1.30
BTTS No @ 1.90
Correct score 2:0 @ 8.00
Read the analysis here and share your opinion with us!
submitted by bat-bet to sportsbetting [link] [comments]

Trophies and Winning Mentality

Introduction

Hello, everyone. We've talked endlessly about Man United's various players and how good they really are, but something which I've seen crop up on occasion is the idea of the 'winning mentality'. In other words, it's this idea that part of the reason that this club is struggling on the pitch at the moment is attributable to the fact that most of our players have little to no experience winning trophies and so lack the required drive, desire or experience to succeed in the same way that the likes of Liverpool and Man City have.
How do we measure 'winning mentality', though? I don't think it can truly be measured objectively, but medals and trophy cabinets might give us some indication. Thus, I'll be going through every player currently at the club (with a minimum cut-off of fifty career senior appearances) and looking at all the senior trophies they've won to see how true it is that our current problems stem partially from a lack of experience at winning things.
​

David de Gea

De Gea was bought from Atlético Madrid by Sir Alex on the 29th of June 2011 for £18.9 million (which was a British record for a goalkeeper at the time) and it's fair to say that he's been among our best players in recent years. You may already know that he's one of the very few players left at the club who has won a Premier League title, but what else has he won?
Not many people talk about this, but DDG had actually won stuff with Atlético prior to joining United, namely the Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. Not the most impressive haul, but part of Fergie's magic was instilling a winning mentality into players who otherwise might not have possessed the same mental fortitude.
At United, De Gea was of course part of Ferguson's last title-winning squad. In addition, he has won an FA Cup under van Gaal, a League Cup under Mourinho, three Community Shields (one under Ferguson, one under Moyes and one under Mourinho) and he even got a winners' medal when Mourinho won the Europa League (I checked and he did actually play a few fixtures). All-in-all, not a bad trophy haul, but considering that he was the best goalkeeper in the world at one point, he'll be disappointed to have won just one league title and no Champions Leagues in his senior career. His lack of silverware with Spain will also be an issue for him.
​

Dean Henderson

Hendo came from the youth ranks but didn't sign a senior contract until August 2015. He has since gone on loan to Stockport County, Grimsby Town, Shrewsbury Town and Sheffield United. In that time, he hasn't won a single senior trophy; the closest he came was making the EFL Trophy final with Shrewsbury and coming second in the Championship with Sheffield United. He's no doubt a solid keeper, but if we're to return to the glory days, Ole (or whoever a future manager might be) is going to need to drill him to win titles.
​

Sergio Romero

The Argentinian international was signed on a free transfer (his most recent club being Sampdoria) by Louis van Gaal on the 27th of July 2015. Prior to joining United, he had already won the Eredivisie and the Johan Cruyff Shield (which is basically the Dutch Super Cup) with AZ Alkmaar, so he had experience winning league titles. He had also recently featured in the World Cup Final for Argentina, but failed to win.
Since joining United, he has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and, most notably, the Europa League. He has failed to win anything with Argentina despite reaching two Copa América finals. Considering he's essentially a backup, his trophy cabinet isn't too shabby. Plus, he absolutely earned that Europa League title under José considering he played both in the semi-final and the final (take notes, Ole).
​

Lee Grant

Manchester United's GOAT goalkeeper has had quite the career. Signed from Stoke City on the 3rd of July 2018 for a reported fee of £1.5 million, it's fair to say that he's a bit of a veteran, having made his senior debut all the way back in 2002. In that time, he has won absolutely nothing. I mean, I guess there's no obligation for the third-choice goalie to have won anything, but still, it's a little odd.
​

Joel Pereira

A youth player, Joel Pereira has spent most of his time on loan. He has yet to win anything.
​

Victor Lindelof

Lindelof was signed from Benfica by Mourinho in June 2017 for a fee of €35 million, and his list of honours is bigger than you might expect (granted, not quite playing at the same level). His first trophy was the Swedish Division 1 title with Vasteras SK, before winning three Primeira Liga titles, two Taca de Portugal titles, one Taca de Liga and one Supertaca Candido de Oliveira with Benfica. In other words, prior to joining United, he had won four league titles, two cups, a league cup and a super cup. He has yet to win anything with Sweden, however, or with Manchester United for that matter.
​

Eric Bailly

Bailly was the first player to be signed by Mourinho on the 8th of June 2016 for £30 million; he had previously been at Villareal. Bailly is a rather unusual case in that he hadn't won any domestic trophies prior to joining United but he's also the first person on this list to have won international silverware, more specifically the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations with Cote d'Ivoire. At United, he has won the Community Shield, the League Cup and the Europa League, all under José Mourinho.
​

Phil Jones

Now we come to none other than Jonesta himself. When he was first signed by Fergie from Blackburn Rovers on the 13th of June 2011 for £16.5 million, he was genuinely seen as one of the hottest young talents at the time despite not having won anything. It's a shame that hasn't really lived up to his potential, but right now, we're focussed only on trophies, and I have to say that he hasn't done too badly for himself on that front.
He's one of the few players at this club who has won the Premier League, more specifically Ferguson's last title (which is still one more than Steven Gerrard). He has also won the Community Shield under both Ferguson and Moyes (not under Mourinho, however), the FA Cup under van Gaal and the Europa League under Mourinho. At international level, he of course hasn't won anything with England.
​

Harry Maguire

Maguire was infamously signed for £80 million (a world record fee for a defender) from Leicester City on the 5th of August 2019. The only silverware he's ever won, though, is a Championship play-off trophy with Hull City, which is somehow still more than some of our other players. Of course, he's also reached two semi-finals with England (the World Cup and the Nations League) but he's yet to bring football home. With his record in mind, it's easy to see why some fans are sceptical of Slabhead's captaincy.
​

Marcos Rojo

Like Cristiano, Rojo came from Sporting, having been signed for £16 million by Louis van Gaal on the 19th of August 2014. He has been much-maligned by United fans for a while now (I bet most of you forgot he was still at the club), but his trophy cabinet, compared to most of our players, is actually relatively impressive.
While at Estudiantes de La Plata (which is not one of the Argentinian 'Big Two' of River Plate and Boca Juniors), Rojo won the 2010 Apertura (which I think counts as a league title?) and the 2009 Copa Libertadores. That makes him the first player on this list to have won a continental title. At United, he has won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Europa League and the Community Shield. I have to say, if the problem is players who lack a winning mentality then I'm not sure Rojo should be the first to go (though he's still deadwood IMO).
​

Axel Tuanzebe

Somehow, he actually makes the cut-off; I didn't realise how much he's actually played. Another youth player, most of Tuanzebe's appearances have come while on loan to Aston Villa, and he actually won the Championship play-off with them, so he already has a trophy in his cabinet. He also supposedly has a Europa League to his name, but I'm not sure how considering he hadn't made his debut yet, so I'll be cautious and exclude it.
​

Luke Shaw

Louis van Gaal signed Luke Shaw from Southampton on the 27th of June 2014 for a reported fee of £30 million (making him the most expensive teenager in world football at the time). What had he won at that point? Nothing. Still, he was considered a generational talent and he has since won a couple of stuff at Manchester United: the Community Shield and the Europa League, both under José. Yeah, his trophy cabinet is pretty barebones.
Interestingly enough, Chelsea were in for him at the same time United were, but backed out due to his wage demands. Perhaps Shaw would have won more trophies had he gone to Chelsea instead? More interesting is that José Mourinho was Chelsea manager at the time, so it's quite ironic that after refusing to sign Shaw, he'd end up managing him anyway.
​

Timothy Fosu-Mensah

I'm not sure what position TFM plays, but fullback seems most appropriate. Anyway, he came through our academy and didn't win anything on his various loan deals. However, he has won both the FA Cup and the Europa League at United, like most of our players, it seems.
​

Alex Telles

Signed from Porto for £15 million in this transfer window, I'm happy to say that he's actually won a lot of stuff in various leagues, which is hopefully a good sign.
Firstly, he has won the Copa FGF (a regional Brazilian cup competition) twice with Juventude. Secondly, he has won a league title with Galatasaray, as well as two Turkish Cups and a Turkish Super Cup. Finally, he has won two Primeira Liga titles, a Taca de Portugal and a Supertaca Candido de Oliveira with Porto. He has won trophies at every club which he's spent more than a season with, so hopefully, he'll help United to our first piece of silverware since the Europa League under José.
​

Aaron Wan-Bissaka

Signed from Crystal Palace for £50 million on the 29th of June 2019, he hasn't got the greatest pedigree, winning nothing. How much he's expected to win at the age of 22, I don't know, but certainly, there's still plenty of time. What's needed is for someone to instil that winning mentality into him like Sir Alex would have done with his young signings.
​

Diogo Dalot

Dalot was supposedly considered a huge talent before signing for us, but really, it seems to me as if he should be a winger rather than a fullback. Anyway, we signed him from Porto on the 6th of June 2018 for £19 million, but went out on loan this transfer window to A.C. Milan. Believe it or not, he's actually got a trophy to his name, and it's not some minor super cup either; he's actually won the Primeira Liga with Porto. Dude has won more trophies than Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
​

Paul Pogba

Depending on who you ask, Pogba is a fantastic midfielder who is United's best player, a talented midfielder who has been too inconsistent or a waste of money who has cared only for himself (in José Mourinho's words, a 'virus'). This isn't too surprising considering we signed him for £89 million from Juventus on the 8th of August 2016, which was a world record for any player at the time; of course expectations were going to be high.
At Juventus, Pogba was a trophy-winning machine, having to his name four Serie A titles, two Coppa Italia titles and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. The lack of European success was his only weak spot in that regard. Since joining United, however, he's been restricted to a League Cup and a Europa League, which must feel like quite the stepdown (at least he's got a European trophy now, though probably not the one he wanted).
That's only counting club trophies, of course. His greatest achievement by far has to be his 2018 World Cup win for France; it's not as if he was a passenger either, being praised during the tournament for boosting France's midfield significantly. This, to me, shows that he can absolutely be motivated to win titles, but it doesn't seem to happening for him at United for whatever reason.
​

Juan Mata

The only David Moyes signing still at the club, Mata was signed from Chelsea in January 2014 for £37 million, which was a club record at the time. He had an illustrious career prior to joining United, and looking at his trophy cabinet, one could argue that he has effectively wasted his prime years at this club.
Even prior to joining Chelsea, he had won a Copa del Rey with Valencia and the 2010 World Cup with Spain. He then proceeded to win a Champions League, a Europa League and an FA Cup with Chelsea (as well as reaching the final of the FIFA Club World Cup), in addition to winning the 2012 European Championship with Spain. When United signed him at the age of 25, he had already won pretty much every major trophy barring a top-flight title and he hadn't even hit his prime, so the signing must have felt like an absolute steal.
Unfortunately, this is where Mata's success began to fade. At Manchester United, he has won a Europa League, an FA Cup, a League Cup and a Community Shield, but still no league title. At the age of 32, it seems unlikely that he'll win any more major trophies, which is a shame for a player who won so much at a tender age.
​

Jesse Lingard

Although he made several appearances as an unused sub under Fergie, Lingard didn't make his competitive debut for the club until the 2014-15 season under van Gaal (who loved to use youth players). How much has won, then? Not more than most other players, it should be said. None of his loan spells garnered him any trophies, but he has won the Europa League, the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Community Shield for Man United.
​

Fred

When United signed the Brazilian midfielder for £47 million from Shakhtar Donetsk on the 5th of June 2018, there were no doubt a few eyebrows raised. However, he has actually won a boatload of trophies at club level despite his lack of international success.
While at Internacional, Fred won the Campeonato Gaúcho (the top division of the Rio Grande do Sul regional leagues) twice and then proceeded to win three Ukrainian Premier League titles, three Ukrainian Cups and four Ukrainian Super Cups at Shakhtar Donetsk. That's actually not a bad trophy haul at all.
​

Bruno Fernandes

Ah, the Portuguese Magnifico himself; when United fans talk about the 'winning mentality', Bruno is often the first player that is pointed to as an example of a player who possesses this mentality. The question is, though, has Bruno actually won anything?
As a matter of fact, he has, but no league titles, unfortunately. While at Sporting, he has won a Taca de Portugal and two Taca da Liga titles, so a cup and two league cups. His most prestigious trophy is arguably the 2018-19 Nations League with Portugal, though time will tell if the Nations League successfully establishes itself as a premier competition. That being said, based solely on his trophy haul, there is little to suggest that Bruno has what it takes to win a league title (of course, anyone can see from his performances and demeanour on the pitch that he hates losing).
​

Nemanja Matic

The best Nemanja since Vidic, Matic has won a lot of trophies over his career. When he was first signed from Chelsea by Man United on the 31st of July 2017 for £40 million, he had already won the incredibly prestigious Slovak Cup with Kosice, before winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and a League Cup during his two stints at Chelsea as well as a Primeira Liga and a Taca de Liga with Benfica. At United, he has won...nothing. In fact, if you discount his season-long loan at Vitesse, this is so far the only club in which Matic hasn't won anything.
​

Donny van de Beek

For Ajax, DvdB won an Eredivisie title, a Dutch Cup and a Johan Cruyff Shield. He also reached a Nations League final with the Netherlands. Time will tell if he can add to his trophy cabinet at Manchester United.
​

Scott McTominay

McSauce came through the youth ranks, made his debut at the end of the 2016-17 season and has yet to win anything.
​

Andreas Pereira

Pereira made his senior debut in the 2015-16 season before being loaned to Granada, Valencia and now Lazio. He has yet to win anything at senior level.
​

Edinson Cavani

The signing of Cavani has divided opinion. Some feel that he'll be the next Bastian Schweinsteiger or Radamel Falcao, while others feel that he could be the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, one thing that can't be denied is his massive trophy cabinet; whether a player who has achieved as much as he has is precisely what United needs is another matter.
The Uruguayan started his career by winning the Primera División with his boyhood club Danubio before winning a Coppa Italia with Napoli. However, it was at PSG where he really shone, winning six Ligue 1 titles, the Coupe de France four times, the Coupe de la Ligue five times and the Trophée des Champions four times. Yes, it's PSG and yes, he hasn't won any continental competitions, but he's still a proven winner. Add in the 2011 Copa América (which he won with Uruguay) and I don't think Man United have a more decorated player in their squad at the moment. The real question is whether Cavani is past it or whether he still possesses the class that he had in his prime.
​

Anthony Martial

On the 1st of September 2015, Manchester United famously threw £50 million down the drain to sign a 19-year-old Anthony Martial (who came from France) from AS Monaco. The English press declared that he had no chance; he went on to score 71 goals in 225 competitive games for United.
It should be said that Martial hadn't won anything when we signed him, but considering his age, that's forgivable. He has since won the FA Cup, the League Cup, the Community Shield and the Europa League, but still no Ballon d'Or. As for the French national team, Martial came close to winning Euro 2016 but he (and France) fell at the final hurdle, while he wasn't included in the squad for the 2018 World Cup.
​

Dr. Marcus Rashford MBE

The future Prime Minister and part-time Manchester United forward came through the academy ranks before making his debut under Louis van Gaal following an injury to Martial. Rashford during his time at Man United has won an FA Cup, a League Cup, a Community Shield, a Europa League, a Member of the Order of the British Empire and an honorary doctorate from the University of Manchester.
​

Mason Greenwood

The best finisher at the club since Robin van Persie, Greenwood also came through the academy ranks. Given his young age and lack of experience, he of course hasn't won anything yet.
​

Daniel James

The Welsh winger was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first signing as manager, being bought from Swansea City on the 6th of June 2019 for £15 million. Given his previous club (Swansea) and his national team (Wales), it's no surprise that he's yet to win anything.
​

Odion Ighalo

Unlike the rest of the players here, Ighalo was loaned to us in January 2020 from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua. He may won just the one trophy, but when that trophy is none other than the coveted Chinese FA Cup, you can already tell that he's a natural born winner (Chinese FA Cup-winning centre-forward, you'll never sing that!). He also came second place in the Championship with Watford, but second place is first place for losers, so that doesn't really matter.
​

Jadon Sancho

Bought on deadline day for £120 million, Sancho has won the DFL-Supercup with Borussia Dortmund.
...screw Ed Woodward. At least we have Facundo Pellistri, eh?
​

Conclusion

This whole thing is turning into a bit of a mess, so let's standardise it with some numerical values. Note that these are just arbitrary numbers that I've assigned for comparison purposes, so don't take them as gospel.
​
World Cup, confederation cup (e.g. Euros), Champions League, Copa Libertadores = 20 points
Top-flight title in 'Big Five' leagues = 16 points
Europa League, national cup competition in 'Big Five' leagues = 10 points
UEFA Nations League = 6 points
Other top-flight title = 5 points
Other national cup competition = 3 points
Other cup (e.g. league cups, super cups) = 1 point
​
With this system, here are all the current Man United players (min. 50 senior appearances) ranked by trophy haul.
​
Cavani: 180
Pogba: 117
Mata: 112
Matic: 52
De Gea: 51
Rojo: 47
Jones: 38
Fred: 33
Bailly: 32
Lindelof: 28
Romero: 28
Telles: 27
Lingard: 22
Martial: 22
Rashford: 22
Fosu-Mensah: 20
Fernandes: 11
Shaw: 11
Van de Beek: 9
Dalot: 5
Ighalo: 3
Maguire: 1
Tuanzebe: 1
Grant: 0
Greenwood: 0
Henderson: 0
James: 0
McTominay: 0
Pereira (both of them): 0
Wan-Bissaka: 0
​
Obviously, trophies aren't everything (I am not seriously suggesting that Phil Jones has a stronger mentality than Bruno Fernandes) but this might be interesting. For reference, here's the list for all of Man United's players who played in at least five league games in the 2012-13 season (our last league title) up to and including the beginning of that season (so trophies won after the start of the 2012-13 season, including the league title, aren't counted).
​
Ryan Giggs: 291\*
Paul Scholes: 244*
Rio Ferdinand: 113*+
Anderson: 111*
Nemanja Vidic: 108*
Michael Carrick: 98*+
Patrice Evra: 97*
Wayne Rooney: 95*
Nani: 83*
Shinji Kagawa: 62
Jonny Evans: 44*^
Chicharito: 42
Rafael: 41*
Antonio Valencia: 23
Robin van Persie: 21
Chris Smalling: 18
David de Gea: 12
Danny Welbeck: 9*
Anders Lindegaard: 4
Tom Cleverley: 2
Ashley Young: 2
Phil Jones: 1
​
*Player won the Club World Cup, which I've assigned 6 points
+Player won the Intertoto Cup, which I've assigned 3 points
^Player won the second division of a 'Big Five' league, which I've assigned 3 points
​
OK, firstly, jeez, calm down, Giggsy. Secondly, LOL at Anderson being ahead of Vidic, Carrick, Ferdinand, Evra and Rooney. Thirdly, that 2012-13 squad contained 10 players who had a score greater than 52 at the time (and of course, several of them saw a jump after the title win). The current squad has 3. Obviously, it's much easier when you've been winning titles left, right and centre for the past twenty years, but make no mistake: Fergie drilled his teams to win at all costs.
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Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur Betting Prediction

It’s a top of the table clash at Anfield on Wednesday night as Premier League champions Liverpool host league leaders Tottenham Hotspur in what’s set to be an enthralling clash.
Goal difference is the only thing that separates the two sides at the top of the table as they’ll be looking to make an early statement in the title race.
Liverpool were only able to claim a point in their last outing away to Fulham, a game Liverpool would count themselves lucky for getting a draw as if it wasn’t for Fulham’s several missed chances, it would have been defeat at Craven Cottage for Jurgen Klopp’s men.
Liverpool are on thin legs heading into the game against Tottenham Hotspur with perennial injury doubt Joel Matip uncertain to play and Naby Keita having no rhythm in his game according to Jurgen Klopp.
“Naby has no rhythm, that’s the truth, but because of different things since we started the season again and that obviously doesn’t help performance-wise,” said Klopp of his injury-plagued midfielder.
“Then you play a game and we have only two days between the games and
then you have to make a decision: is he ready?
“But whatever you do in the rehab process, you cannot replace the proper football training – and we don’t have a lot of football training because of the number of games we have. That makes it difficult.
“That was the case at Midtjylland; everybody who saw Naby Keita playing in his absolute best moments knows that was obviously not his best moment – normal and explainable with the lack of rhythm, but still obvious.”
It’s an advantage for Jose Mourinho and Tottenham who will feel confident that they can grab a result against this depleted Liverpool side.
Every week, Tottenham prove every doubter that they are here to stay at the top of the Premier League and a clash against the champions provide yet another opportunity to show this is where they belong and Jurgen Klopp praised the work of his fellow manager in Mourinho and said he has transformed Tottenham Hotspur into a “results machine”.
“I am not surprised because that is the world we are living in,” said the Liverpool manager. You are very successful until yesterday probably and if you don’t prove it today then people go for you. That’s how it is.
“I don’t think he was surprised but he showed come back – if it was a comeback I don’t know – skills. Very impressive. The way they play is really good. He turned them into a result machine.
“They got results and good performances and if they are not on their top form they still win and they defend collectively.”
I think it’ll be a tight contest between both sides in what I predict will be a 2-2 draw which would keep Tottenham Hotspur top of the table.
Odds on a Liverpool home win open at -125. Odds on a Tottenham away win open at +333. Odds on a draw between the two sides open at +280.
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Pre-Match thread, Everton vs Liverpool, 21/06/2020, KO: 19:00

Pre-match thread - Everton vs Liverpool.
Before we start can we get this out the way:
Ha
HAHAHAHA
Ok ill stop
Premier league
Venue: Goodison
Referee: Mike dean is the ref, VAR is Anthony taylor
Where to watch: https://m.livesoccertv.com/match/3669580/everton-vs-liverpool/
Team news:
Form guide +/- (Premier league)
Liverpool (1st): 66/21 WWWLW
​
Poor everton
​
Everton (12th): 37/46 WWLDL
Possible line-up from The Gaffer
Alisson
TAA - VVD (nsfw gif). - Matip - Jamez Milner
Gini (NSFL gif) - Fabinho - Henderson
Origi - Firmino - Mane
Match facts:
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[OC] Premier League Clubs’ First Summer Transfer Window Signing, Ten Years Ago (2010/2011): Where are they now?

Arsenal → Marouane Chamakh
Let’s ignore his horrible hair. Chamakh marked his debut season in England with seven league goals but found the back of the net just once the following season. He subsequently joined West Ham for a short loan spell before a permanent transfer to Crystal Palace, where he lasted three years and scored seven more league goals in that time. Prolific. The Morocco international was released from Palace in 2016, and moved to Cardiff City where he made two appearances with the Welsh club before a swift release. The Bluebirds proved to be the last club for the target man as he spent two years as a free agent before a 2019 retirement.
Aston Villa → Stephen Ireland
Heavily hyped at Manchester City as a youngster, Ireland switched to Aston Villa with James Milner moving in the other direction to the Citizens. Ireland failed to recapture his form in the Midlands and later in an incendiary interview with a French publication, apparently called Birmingham a ‘crap city’. A loan spell at Newcastle brought more personal issues and Ireland eventually made 47 league appearances in three seasons for Aston Villa. He later joined former boss Mark Hughes at Stoke but the heights of Man City still continued to elude him with less than 60 Premier League games in five years hit with injuries. Released by the Potters after their 2018 demotion, Ireland would move to cash-strapped Bolton Wanders only to leave after two months and zero appearances. He’s still without a club after two years – oh, and apparently lives next to Bruno Fernandes. Fun.
Brighton → Matt Sparrow
Sparrow became a Gull when he joined the League 1 side after a remarkable 396 appearances for Scunthorpe. The midfielder would later find the grass isn't always greener and suffered a frustrating time in the south, later departing Gus Poyet's team for Crawley Town in 2013. Sparrow returned to Scunthorpe for two seasons but after a few more spells with Football League sides, now plies his trade in Australia with semi-professional club Bayswater City at the age of 38. It's his third Aussie team after time at Sorrento and Joondalup United. Australia, probably much sunnier than Lincolnshire.
Burnley → Dean Marney
A hard-working midfielder, Spurs academy graduate Marney found the perfect home at Burnley with eight seasons in Lancashire. Marney would win promotion to the Premier League twice with the Clarets and made 202 league appearances in his time there. Unfortunately he failed to make the pitch in his final season at the club due to a significant cruciate knee injury, and was released in 2018. Marney later joined Fleetwood Town, managed by Joey Barton, and was eventually axed by the club at the end of the 2019/20 season after two years there.
Chelsea → Yossi Benayoun
A creative runner in midfield, the Israel international moved to the Blues after three years with Liverpool. It proved to be a disastrous move as Benayoun suffered a ruptured achillies in September 2010 that saw him out for six months. Under new boss Andre Villas-Boas, the player was deemed surplus to requirements and so moved to Arsenal for a season-long loan. In all competitions, Benayoun returned a modest six goals in 25 appearances. He turned out to be quite the lover of London clubs with further spells at West Ham (a former club) and QPR (once Chelsea had released him). Israel’s most capped player returned to his country in 2014 with Maccabi Haifa and finished his career at Beitar Jerusalem, where he seems to be a Sporting Director behind the scenes.
Crystal Palace → David Wright
Joining Palace as a 30 year old, the defender featured 57 times for the Eagles while also spending time on loan to Gillingham. Wright dropped down to League 1 with a free transfer to Colchester, and played 52 games there in two full seasons (and a few months into the third). The ex-Wigan Athletic man additionally took on non-playing roles while at Colchester, and since retirement currently acts as the head coach for the Norwich City U23s. It’s a living.
Everton → Jermaine Beckford
A hitman of a striker at Leeds (including a famous Manchester United sinker in the FA Cup), Beckford moved to the Toffees on a free transfer. Beckford returned eight league goals in his debut Premier League season but after just 35 league appearances for Everton, the striker was sold to Leicester City in the Championship. Beckford would never return to the top division in his career that saw spells at Huddersfield and Bolton before returning his best form at Preston North End with 18 goals in his debut season, three of which came in the League 1 Play-Off Final. Born in London though capped by Jamaica, the striker spent two more seasons in Lancashire before his career ended at now-defunct Bury. Known for something of a part-swaggering, part-twat attitude in his playing career, Beckford seems to have calmed down with pundit work for Sky Sports.
Fulham → Philippe Senderos
The Swiss defender signed for the Cottagers on a free transfer and in four years, returned 57 league appearances. Somehow the centre-back even managed a loan switch to Valencia, and then later moved to Aston Villa in 2014, the same year he appeared in his third World Cup. Senderos mustered only eight appearances in the Midlands before moves to Grasshoppers and Glasgow Rangers, where he was sent-off in his debut – an Old Firm clash with Celtic. Big, bald and bad (in the classic hard-man centre-back style), the former Arsenal man secured a move to Houston Dynamo in 2017 and managed to score four times in ten appearances. Fair play. He announced his retirement in December 2019 after a short spell at Swiss club Chiasso.
Leicester → Tom Kennedy
Nephew of former Liverpool man Alan Kennedy, the defender joined the then-Championship side from Rochdale. Kennedy terminated his contract with the Foxes two years later after a handful of appearances before joining Barnsley and marking a later return to Rochdale. Like a Football League journeyman, Kennedy also appeared for ex-side Bury and Blackpool on loan then dropped into the non-league with AFC Fylde in 2016. He ended his career after a stint with Welsh club Bangor in 2018. Since hanging up his boots, Kennedy now acts as a financial planner for footballers and the general public. In an interview with the Professional Footballers’ Association, Kennedy has stressed the importance of a pension to all those who have laced up the boots.
Leeds → Kasper Schmeichel
Remember when Notts County were bankrolled by a consortium from the Middle East? Well, all that turned out to be incredibly dodgy and the Danish keeper fled the promoted League 2 team after not being paid much of his £15,000 a week salary. Leeds did not prove to be much of a sanctuary as Schemichel admitted he regretted his move to the club after a few weeks, blaming a negative reaction from the fans towards his family’s link to Manchester United. Following 37 appearances in a single season at Leeds, the Foxes followed and ‘tumultuous’ was the word to describe the keeper’s move to Leicester as apparently Leeds chairman Ken Bates approved the transfer without the knowledge of Schmeichel. Nonetheless it worked out as Kasper continues to be the starting Leicester keeper after ten seasons and even appeared in every league game as the Foxes won a historic Premier League title against the odds in 2016.
Liverpool → Jonjo Shelvey
A fiery (or, a bit of a twat) midfielder with an eye for a Hollywood pass, Shelvey was 18 years old when Rafa Benitez snapped him up from Charlton for an initial £1.7 million. The Spaniard soon departed from Anfield and subsequently Shelvey experienced Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and Brendan Rodgers in three years. The England international (I know, right?) made 47 league appearances with the Reds but only 17 of those were starts. In 2013, Shelvey transferred to Europa League side Swansea and in three years, Shelvey made 79 league appearances and 10 goals. His most famous performance was perhaps contributing at both ends to all four goals in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool. Poor form ended his time in South Wales and two days after an angry confrontation with a Swansea fan, Shelvey joined Newcastle United in January 2016, where he remains today. Last season equalled his best return of league goals by scoring in the Premier League six times.
Manchester City → Alex Henshall
Sought after by Liverpool and Manchester United, Swindon boy Alex Henshall signed for Man City aged 16. The winger played alongside Raheem Sterling in various English youth sides but their careers took completely different paths as Henshall subsequently bounced around the Football League on numerous loans before a free transfer to Ipswich in 2014. And uh, then came (deep breath): Blackpool, Kilmarnock, Margate, Braintree, Nuneaton (Town and then Borough), Darlington and then finally back in Wiltshire with amateurs Swindon Supermarine ten years on. That’s a depressing route, town-wise.
Manchester United → Javier Hernandez, Chris Smalling, Marnick Vermijl
The joys of three pre-arranged transfers.
Mexico’s ‘Little Pea’ enjoyed an impressive debut season under Sir Alex Ferguson with 13 league goals as the Red Devils won the Premier League and appeared unsuccessfully in the Champions League Final. Ferguson’s retirement led to his game time and goals dry up under David Moyes, and boss Louis Van Gaal hooked him to Real Madrid for a loan move abroad, having preferred the arriving Falcao. The poacher scored seven times with the Spanish giants but found his continental scoring touch with a later move to Bayer Leverkusen. Indeed, Hernandez returned 28 Bundesliga goals in just two seasons. He returned to England with West Ham United in 2017 yet never rekindled his old form in Britain and joined Sevilla after a transfer request two years later. Hernandez now features for LA Galaxy at the age of 32.
Despite nine years of service and two Premier League titles, Chris Smalling never earned huge amounts of praise at Old Trafford since his transfer from Fulham. Capped 31 times by England, Smalling appeared under the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho only to find himself out of favour with Ole Gunnar Solksjaer. The centre-back became one of the few modern-day Englishmen to play abroad last season with a loan move to AS Roma and a successful season in Italy saw his time in the capital made permanent just a few days ago for an initial £13.6 million fee. Smalling ultimately made 323 appearances in all competitions for Manchester United.
Belgian fullback Vermijl made his debut for Manchester United with a League Cup appearance in 2012 but failed to make a senior league appearance. The fullback found first team football at Dutch club NEC on loan, and signed permanently with Sheffield Wednesday in 2015 in search of more game time. He managed just 11 league appearances with the Owls, and the defender has told of his regret at leaving United so early. Vermijl made appearances at Preston North End, Scunthorpe and native side MVV Maastricht before ending up recently with K.V.V. Thes Sport Tessenderlo in the third-tier of Belgian football.
Newcastle United → James Perch
Having initially transferred from Nottingham Forest, the versatile defendemidfielder made 65 Premier League appearances for the Magpies in three years. Perch dropped down to the Championship with a 2013 move to FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic and became a fixture in the club’s line-up, earning the team’s Player of the Season award in back-to-back seasons with an impressive 81 appearances in that time. He would later ply his trade at QPR but was released as a 32 year old in 2018 after three years in London. Perch completed a move to third-tier Scunthorpe and 71 league appearances there was not enough to prevent his release due to Coronavirus-related cutbacks. He subsequently signed a one-year deal with home town team Mansfield in League 2.
Sheffield United → Daniel Bogdanovic
The Maltese striker (who was apparently born in either Libya or Serbia, depending on your source…) bagged 14 goals for Barnsley but moved across Yorkshire to the Blades on a free transfer. He notched five goals in a single season with then-Championship side Sheffield United and subsequently joined Blackpool, of which Malta cannot compare to. Loan spells at Rochdale and Notts County followed without much joy, and Bogdanovic returned to Malta to play for a selection of Maltese clubs. He finished at the wonderfully-named Xewkija Tigers a few years prior to becoming manager of Ghajniselem FC in the same country.
Southampton → Ryan Dickson
Impressive at Brentford, midfielder Dickson moved to third-tier opposition Southampton for an initial £125,000 fee. He endured a season of seemingly poor displays in spite of the Saints winning promotion back to the Championship and an injury-ridden time on the south coast saw him sent to Yeovil, Leyton Orient and Bradford City in search of game time and fitness. Dickson joined Colchester in 2013 after being released by Southampton and found more football than ever there, with the same experience at Crawley and Yeovil (permanently, this time). The former Plymouth talent would return to Devon with Torquay in 2018, although after a loan spell and a free transfer, now plays football for Truro City. Based in the only city Cornwall has to offer, the club feature in the seventh-tier of the English pyramid.
Tottenham → William Gallas
Despite a summer in which Gallas and the French national team dramatically crashed out of the World Cup, the centre-back was picked up by Harry Redknapp to become the first player to ever feature for London rivals Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs. He even made quite the stir as he captained Tottenham in a North London Derby! Gallas enjoyed a good first season with Spurs but knocks and a tense relationship with Harry’s successor Andre Villas-Boas marred the rest of his time at the club. Ultimately Gallas still made 61 league appearances in three seasons. The two-time Premier League winner ended his career with Perth Glory after a single season in Australia.
West Bromwich Albion → Gabriel Tamaș
The Romanian centre-back made a permanent move to the Hawthorns in May 2010 after a five-month loan spell. He made 45 appearances (starting from June 2010) in three years before returning to Romania with CFR Cluj, only to be released from his contract without playing for uh, alcohol-related incidents. Unfortunately, this would become a running theme for the defender. Following spells with Doncaster, Watford, a couple more Romanian clubs and an Israeli side, Tamas plays for second-division side Universitatea Cluj at the age of 36.
West Ham → Thomas Hitzlsperger
A German international, the midfielder nicknamed ‘Der Hammer’ by Villa fans made a fitting move to east London. Despite his transfer the former Lazio man did not feature until February 2011 due to injuries. Hitzlsperger mustered 13 appearances in all competitions as the side dropped down to the Championship, and his contract was terminated despite years remaining. He made a handful of games at Wolfsburg and Everton before hanging up his boots due to reoccurring knocks. In his post-career, the former Villa man made headlines as he became perhaps the most notable player to come out as gay. Currently, Hitzlsperger sits as a Sporting Director at VFB Stuttgart, the same side he won the Bundesliga with in 2007.
Wolves→ Jelle Van Damme
Capped 31 times by Belgium, the defender signed a three-year deal with the Black Country club only to force a move back to his country in the winter window with six appearances (and a goal!) to his name. Van Damme spent five years with Standard Liege, impressed with LA Galaxy for two seasons before wrapping up his career with Royal Antwerp and Lokeren, his fifth Belgian team, last season.
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Reviewing the 2011/12 Season, Best/Worst Matches, Highs/Lows - by BluFF

Reviewing the 2011/12 Season, Best/Worst Matches, Highs/Lows - by BluFF
After reviewing the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons (links can be found at the bottom), I decided to travel further back in time to review the 2011/12 season. This was a season of two halves. André Villas-Boas took charge of the majority of this season until his sacking in March of 2012, where he was replaced by second in command and fan-favorite (and former Chelsea player), Roberto Di Matteo. What followed, was something special. Let's find out what the best/worst matches and general highs/lows were from this season.
P.S. If you are a newer fan, you do not want to miss this season!
Quick recap of where we were in 2011:
  • Carlo Ancelloti won us the double (league title and FA Cup) in 2009/10, and was sacked the following season (2010/11) after finishing runners up to United. This sacking is perhaps one of the more shocking sackings in our modern history (and we have had ALOT), even many Chelsea fans were left speechless. Carlo was loved, albeit inconsistent (we came 2nd but were as low as 5th at one stage in 2010/11, also his defeat to Jose's Inter in the CL KO, was probably curtains in Abramovich's eyes). Anyways, I'll go into this more when reviewing those respective seasons.
  • Point is, we were searching for a new manager going into the 2011/12 season and appointed a very young, talented up and coming manager André Villas-Boas (AVB), he was just 32 years old at the time and had just come off of winning the treble with Porto (Europa League).
  • At this point, Abramovich REALLY wanted to win the CL (only major trophy left to win under his ownership at this time) and we had come so close on many occasions in the past, and were only left empty-handed by either sheer dumb luck (2005), scandalous refereeing (2009) or just the wrong side of the post (2008). If you are a newer fan, and don't completely know what I am talking about here, CONSIDER YOURSELF LUCKY. Point is, Abramovich was desperate, and we were also very annoyed and frustrated, that our legendary spine was running out of time (in terms of their peak) to win this illustrious trophy.
  • We always knew a transition season was coming, where we had to replace/phase out the likes of Lampard (33), Terry (31), Drogba (33), Paulo Ferreira (32) and Cole (31). Cech was close too (30), but GKs typically have more years. Even Essien (29) who should be in his peak, was constantly injured, and even missed the first half of this season sadly.
André Villas-Boas's term & The Lows:
  • Basically, in his whole 9-month term, AVB attempted to transition Chelsea into a more youthful, less reliant on the old-guards, higher tempo, and higher backline Chelsea. In hindsight, it was a good project, and the manager was a good appointment, he was known for a good attractive brand of football at Porto (undefeated season, only 13 goals conceded), and given time, and more backing, who knows what he could have accomplished.
https://preview.redd.it/xm1mzh1ub2l51.png?width=1078&format=png&auto=webp&s=6bdb565d26c94d9dfd0389b0ae4d014a108a3758
  • The signings this season (both summer and January) were terrific and in hindsight could have been one of the best TW in Chelsea's history. We signed fan favorite and a future 2 time POTS Juan Mata, ultimate underdog story Gary Cahill, young Belgium talents Lukaku, Courtois, and KDB. We also had newly signed David Luiz and 50M Fernando Torres from last season's January TW. We also bought Raul Meireles (MRLSH) for dirt cheap on deadline day in the summer. Seriously, this window was underrated and was indicative of the future Abramovich wanted Chelsea to go towards.
  • The league campaign fell apart pretty soon, through a combination of very strong Manchester sides running away with the league and our poor results, we started to see faults and background rumblings in October-November with defeats to QPR away, Arsenal at home and back to back losses to Liverpool. Those months were infamous during this time period for Chelsea, I will get into this more in the 2012/13 season review, but as a quick summary, from 2010 to 2013 we had notoriously poor form in late October-November, and even had a manager sacked in November, because of this bad form. It was dubbed the 'dreaded month of November' by Chelsea fans. it was bad.
QPR 1-0 Chelsea: The game itself was interesting, we had two red cards in the span of 7 minutes, yes TWO. We actually didn't play too badly with 9 men, but ultimately blew the chance to go second after United lost 6-1 at home to City. This game was also where Terry became involved in an investigation by the FA for his alleged racial abusement of QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Terry would be found guilty and banned for four games the following season.
Chelsea 3-5 Arsenal: Yes, you heard it right, a team hardly knew what it was like to lose at SB, conceded 5 goals to Arsenal, including goals from Andre Santos, a ridiculous goal from Theo Walcott and a hattrick from in-form Robin Van Persie. Arsenal completely destroyed Chelsea's high line.
Shock double loss to Liverpool at SB: In November, we lost 2-1 at home to an under-par Liverpool side, which included a rare piece of brilliance from FULLBACK Glen Johnson in the 87th minute. Chelsea suffered their first back to back home defeat in the league since Roman took over in 2003. What made this worse, is a week later we would lose at home AGAIN, to Liverpool as they knocked us out of the Carling Cup (which they would end up winning). Liverpool were NOT fun to face in 2010 and 2011, we lost to them countless times. It was also some of their worst built teams which made it all the more worse.
  • On top of this, the real run of bad results came in Dec-Feb, where we would only pick up 12 points from 10 games, including a crazy 3-3 draw to United. Combination of high-risk tactics (playing slow defenders like Brana, Alex and Terry in a very high line), inconsistencies in our attack (Torres/Drogba/Anelka), and some players perhaps downing tools due to disagreements with the manager (or just not getting game time). There was also that game in Naples in the CL KO.
Chelsea 3-3 Manchester United: Have you ever wondered why people troll United saying referees (namely Howard Webb) always favored them, or always award them penalties? Just watch this match in February 2012. We led 3-0 at half (one of which includes a brilliant Mata volley) but then ended up conceding TWO penalties and a trademark goal from the man who couldn't stop scoring against Chelsea in 2010-2012, Chicharito. United of course were chasing the title, so you could imagine the backlash following this match. I believe this Howard Webb photoshop was made after this game lol. This game also features an incredible DDG save denying Juan Mata's world-class free-kick to win it.
Napoli 3-1 Chelsea, CL KO: Napoli's front 3 of Cavani, Lavezzi, and Hamsik were probably borderline world-class, and were having good individual seasons. Chelsea actually went infront this game through Mata but were then ripped apart. Criticisms fell on Luiz, Cahil, MRLSH, and of course the on-going saga with the old guard and AVB, as guys like Lampard, Cole, Essien, Torres were all benched for this game. Cole did come on and make a now-iconic clearance off the line to deny Napoli going 4-1, which they deserved.
  • Ashley Cole had later confirmed that many players were not the happiest under AVB, and there were strong stories of the old-guard going to Abramovich to complain about AVB's tactics. It's a shame that the club was embroiled in this kind of controversy, especially around the time AVB was ultimately sacked.
  • AVB was a relatively new manager, who wasn't a charismatic enigma like Jose Mourinho or club icon like Sir Alex both of whom could probably get away with ruffling feathers (and have). AVB on the other hand was still young and not as proven as our old guard were. I also think his communication skills weren't the best, or it came off very Mauricio Sarri like. I think not having the accolades to back some of his actions ultimately cost him, and he was probably the wrong guy to entrust a transitional season with IMO. I also think this shouldn't have been a transitional season. I know the old guard were, well, old, but they could still play, as we would find out soon
  • Ultimately, Chelsea dropping out of the top 4, and likely heading out of the Champions League knockouts (after being destroyed in Naples at the hands of a frightening Napoli side) was the tipping point, and AVB was sacked in March. Roberto Di Matteo took over.
Roberto Di Matteo's term & The Highs:
  • I feel Robbie, was never the tactics guy, or the manager that was known for a certain attribute (defending, passing, attacking, etc.), he had great faith with the fans, mostly for his time as a Chelsea player which was highly successful (he scored in the FA cup final in 97 and won two more trophies the following year). RDM was a big fan favorite. IMO he was not the manager Chelsea wanted but the manager Chelsea needed at this time. Someone that the players loved and respected, and someone who could steady the ship. But he did more than that. Especially at a time where the club, the fans, and the players were at a low point.
Chelsea 3-0 Valencia, CL Group Stages: Ok, so I kind of cheated here, we did have one big high during AVB's term. We needed to beat a tricky, unpredictable Valencia at home in a straight shootout for that last spot in the KO. Lampard was benched for this game which probably would have been fatal for AVB had he lost, but thankfully Drogba stepped up with a brace. Mata and Ramires were also great that night. What's funny is Leverkusen had what looked like a sure-fire win against winless Genk, to claim the top spot, only for them to tie and gift Chelsea top spot where we would avoid Barcelona in the first round of KO!
  • So our league form didn't really improve after Di Matteo took charge, it was more or less the same, we had our upsides in the league (6-1 win against QPR with Torres's hat trick) but also lows like losing at home to Newcastle courtesy of a brace at the hands of Papisse Cisse. We were outside top 4 when AVB was sacked and ultimately stayed outside top 4 with RDM, and ended up finishing 6th. Granted we were touching distance at times from top 4, and the overall mood, atmosphere and club morale was at a much higher level than under AVB. But ultimately, RDM pretty much sacrificed certain league games in favor of the FA Cup and Champions League.
Chelsea 4-1 Napoli (5-4 AGG), UCL KO: Lets go back to where we left off with AVB, it was March 2012, Chelsea were down 3-1 on AGG, manager sacked, club/fans morale low, and facing a Napoli side on the back of 5 straight league wins, scoring 6 in their last league match. There was only 1 favorite, and perhaps this is why this match is so legendary. RDM's first decision was to bring back the golden oldies and boy did they deliver. Drogba and Terry score first to make the scoreline 3-3 on AGG, with Chelsea advancing on away goals. Then Inler scores which now requires Chelsea to score 2 to advance. Napoli then has an incredible near 1v1 chance but Cech makes a vital save to keep Chelsea in the CL. Chelsea then gets a pen in the 75th which Lampard scores and the game goes to ET (4-4 on AGG). We all know what happens next with Brana scoring a stunner to win the game in ET. Chelsea won against all the odds and media predictions. Turning point of the season.
Chelsea 2-1 Benfica (3-1 AGG) UCL, QF: Benfica were up next after Napoli. Benfica was a dark horse, having already knocked out last years CL finalist Machester United, Chelsea went into the second leg at home with a slender but brilliant 1-0 lead, which they got through an underrated Ramires-Torres assist to Kalou (who really shone in the second half of the season). Chelsea took the lead early through Lampard penalty and should have killed it if not for an incredible miss from Ramires. Benfica got one back and it set up a very tense last 10 minutes finish to the game because a Benfica goal would mean Chelsea were knocked out. ENTER MRLSH and THAT iconic goal on the break in the 90th, the one where he should have maybe passed but instead scores a screamer, and celebrates like only he can. Shame he only stuck around for a season, he was a cult hero.
  • Sorry about the lengthy write-ups about the next two games, but had a lot to say
Barcelona 2-2 Chelsea (2-3 AGG) UCL, SF: Chelsea's CL campaign was a roller coaster that didn't fail to deliver incredible ups and downs. After a great win over Benfica, Chelsea faced defending champions Barcelona in the semi-finals (and the greatest football team in the world, that Guardiola's Tiki Taka team that dominated club football since 2008/09). Chelsea took a brilliant 1-0 lead to the Nou Camp, after an incredible gritty performance in the first leg at SB. There was so much happening in this game it's ridiculous, Gary's injury in the 12th forcing him off, being replaced by Jose Bosingwa at CB. Pique also departed shortly. Then a period of extreme lows, in the span of 7 minutes, our Captain, Leader, Legend let us down big time by getting sent off in a ridiculous manner, which was sandwiched in the middle of two Barcelona goals. This meant Chelsea were trailing 1-2 of AGG, then a minute before half time, Lampard takes out 3 players and plays probably one of the best passes of his career under pressure right at Ramires's feet who scores what is possibly the greatest goal in Chelsea's history, that audacious chip against Valdes that stunned the Nou Camp and put Chelsea ahead in the tie due to away goals, and required Barcelona to score again against 10 man Chelsea. In the second half Drogba gave away a penalty but Messi hit the post, Messi again hit the post, and it seemed it just wasn't going in for Barcelona, but they were putting tremendous pressure on a resolute makeshift Chelsea backline (Ramires-Ivanovich-Bosingwa-Cole). Then comes the moment straight out of a Hollywood script, as injury time sub Fernando Torres comes on and scores an incredible breakaway goal to send Chelsea to Munich.
Chelsea beating Bayern in the Champions League Final: Bayern didn't win the league this year and all their marbles were in this basket. If that was not enough, the final was being played at their home ground, which is such a rarity. Add to that, Chelsea had many key players missing through suspension including Ivanovic, MRLSH, Ramires, and of course Chelsea's Captain John Terry. RDM's deployment of Ryan Bertrand on the left-wing surprised everyone, but it was a masterstroke, as he and Cole kept Robben at bay. Luckily for us, Gomez had a bad night, but Chelsea were resilient in their defending, with standout performances from Mikel, Cahill, and Luiz (both of the latter playing injured). Chelsea didn't really threaten at all this game sadly, and Muller would eventually put Bayern ahead in the 82nd minute, only for him to be taken off shortly after for a defensive change. Enter Torres who did inject some spark into Chelsea and showed directness, winning a corner in the 88th, which Mata delivered and Drogba scored. This header is criminally underrated, only Drogba could score from that location against the best keeper in the world. Game went into ET, where Drogba gave up a penalty when he fouled Ribery, Cech saved Robben's penalty, and the game went to a shootout. It's amazing that Chelsea not only won the shootout against a German team (notoriously good at penalties) but won it after missing their first penalty and Bayern scoring their first three (one of which was by a keeper). Luiz, Lampard, Cole with crucial penalties, and Drogba of course sealed it after Cech saved Bayern's last two spot-kicks.
  • Cech has since told us he spent several hours studying Bayern's kick takers all the way from 2007
  • Drogba has also since said that he took a short run-up b/c he didn't want to give Neuer any time to think where he will go.
  • Another fun fact, Lampard won the toss for the shoot out and chose to have the kicks be at the Bayern end, I guess to put less pressure on Chelsea, and it worked out!
  • Thus ended a terrific end to the season, and RDM's Chelsea go down in the history books, Drogba left Chelsea a legend, and the old-guards did have one last European spark to lift that famous trophy.
​
Other notes from this season:
https://preview.redd.it/4bjwfljgy1l51.png?width=898&format=png&auto=webp&s=bc79e9ed635aa5fbb9afd76832127e54f5de765a
Cech's finest hour: The amount of crucial saves Cech made in the second half of the season is unbelievable, he is IMO the SOLE reason we won the two trophies we did win, sure Drogba and Torres take the headlines, but Drogba cost us two massive penalties (vs Barca and vs Bayern) that could have gone the other way, Cech guessed right for both and saved Drogba's blushes. Cech was outstanding in the home ties vs Napoli, Barcelona, and of course was the official MOTM in the CL final, where he saved Robben's penalty in ET, and correctly guessed all 5 Bayern penalties in the shootout, saving 2 (Yes, he got fingertips to Schweinsteiger's penalty). Not to mention he made IMO one of the best saves you will ever see, when he somehow kept Carrol's bullet header out of the goal with milliseconds to react due to how close Carrol's header was, this was in the FA cup final no less. Absolute Champion. There was a reason Drogba went to him first after slotting in the winning penalty against Bayern.
Special Juan: Special shout out to Juan Mata, in his debut season, he contributed 12 goals and a stunning 20 assists! one of course being in the CL final. Chelsea's POTS. That is some honor considering there were many contenders.
https://preview.redd.it/rlbiiklb82l51.png?width=275&format=png&auto=webp&s=0f45bbe18d4e1b5d786ef411e5d96e089509d39c
FA Cup victory, 2-1 win vs Liverpool, Final: After 4 consecutive defeats to Liverpool, Chelsea finally beat them in the big one, FA Cup final. Liverpool had just won the Carling Cup in February 2012, so both teams had momentum. Of course Wembley specialist and man for the finals, Drogba scores the opening goal after a brilliant assist by Frank. Ramires scored the second continuing his big match scoring spree. Liverpool definitely fought back and Andy Carrol scored perhaps his best Liverpool goal and probably should have had a second if it was any other keeper then Cech, who pulled of the save of the season. I love winning FA cups. This often gets overshadowed b/c of our CL victory, but this would have given us a lot of confidence ahead of Bayern in a few weeks time.
​
Fun Moments:
  • John Terry being the 3rd best passer in the world in 2011 (for players with over 1,000 passes), with a 91.6% pass accuracy rate. Only Barcelona player Xavi (93.0%) and Swansea City player Leon Britton (93.3%) were better. Terry was always a criminally underrated passer, this was nice to read.
https://preview.redd.it/3t0yt2ib02l51.png?width=275&format=png&auto=webp&s=4cab834069acaf47491fb5f15190d493940751e6
  • Thrashing Spurs 5-1 at Wembley in the FA semi-finals: This is a hidden gem of a match, right smack dab in the middle of our CL run, was a quiet but quite brilliant FA cup run as well. Our first real test in this competition came here, against Spurs. Drogba scored arguably his best goal at Wembley, and that is saying something, considering he's scored 265 goals at Wembley lol. If you have not seen this, I would take the time to check it out. Lampard probably the same tbh. Stunning performance. Mata with a great assist to Ramires who continued his great form. Terry with a vital clearance off the line at 0-0.
https://preview.redd.it/wgtr0jp1g2l51.png?width=809&format=png&auto=webp&s=464aae1a3f9283a21a0cdb2aa583113d6d3a8786
  • BOSSingwa absolutely trolling our trophy celebration in Munich, when he just couldn't let anyone else get the limelight, it was pretty hilarious
  • The CL trophy celebration in general, from Terry's strip to full Chelsea kit, to Luiz and Brana's goal post celebration, to RDM telling Abramovich "I told you", it was all good.
  • Daniel Sturridge's regular goals during the first half of the season, he scored 13 goals in 2011/12 a great return for a player so young and playing out of his preferred position. Became less used under RDM. He was also inconsistent and was often a frustrating figure due to his selfishness and general lack of awareness, also his injury record. When he was fit, he definitely was a goal threat, as we would find out for Liverpool in 2 seasons time.
https://preview.redd.it/cct9tqf8j1l51.png?width=445&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c70cae9d8cfb42d19dc22064fcbc2cfd0229d65
  • Chelsea is no stranger to Brazilian players, but before Ramires, we hardly had many. Ramires and Luiz really brought out that proper Brazilian samba and flair to Chelsea, and it's no surprise they were very popular, especially the Geezer. Ramires had a terrific goal-scoring season as well. He is of course a two-time Chelsea goal of the season winner for a reason! Luiz also scored some crackers this season, including two peach curlers that Drogba would have been proud of
  • I cannot say again how underrated Ramires was during this season, goals throughout the season, same with Mata, Lampard, Terry, Brana and Cole, vital contributions throughout
  • Torres's hat trick against QPR, it came right after the goal at the Nou Camp, you could tell he was confident, it was a great week for good old Nando
https://preview.redd.it/crr0nybdt1l51.png?width=259&format=png&auto=webp&s=6b40f959c44138e1cd6dc21df832f52af153bd93
  • Kalou's CL final haircut, I think Drogba summarized everyone's reaction pretty well here.
https://preview.redd.it/wa7v7k6ok1l51.png?width=290&format=png&auto=webp&s=4e8e5e4decafd23892dc9cece8b8075bf4d7eb99
  • Just before the kickoff of our CL final, which was being played at Bayern Munich's home stadium, the Bayern fans had this banner up which read " "Unser Stadt. Unser Stadion. Unser Pokal." Which meant "Our City" "Our Stadium" "Our Cup". They got 2/3 of that right. At least it didn't generate too many memes, right? WRONG.
https://preview.redd.it/rsy2cg5ts1l51.png?width=290&format=png&auto=webp&s=2f30d3f626ec731e3c758e24769c5e4b88154e5f
  • IDK if anything will top this, ever, but because we came 6th and won the CL, we actually prevented Spurs from playing in the CL next season even though they came fourth. At this time, UEFA strictly only allowed the # of designated teams of that league to play, England had four, so if one of the teams outside the top four won the competition, they would take the place of the lowest-ranked team, which would be Spurs at 4th LOL. Ultimate back-handed slap in the history of our rivalry! GOLD. (UEFA has since changed the rules lol)
TL:DR: Story of two halves. Season of so many incredible moments. FA cup win. One of the best UCL campaigns I have ever seen and many rival fans say this is perhaps the best ever. The odds stacked against us to win that Champions League was so much, I still can't believe we won it. But man, did we deserve it. We were founded in 1905 and won our biggest trophy on 19/05, in our opponent's backyard. It was written in the stars.
Other season reviews
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Pick of the week: FC Midtjylland – Liverpool !

Pick of the week: FC Midtjylland – Liverpool !
Tipster: Realtu Stake: 1/10 Odds: 2.262 Start GMT: 09.12.2020 | 17:55 League: UEFA - Champions League Category: Football Prediction Bookmaker: VIP-IBC Betting Prediction: Liverpool to win
​
Champions League | FC Midtjylland – Liverpool
​
This week we are going to look at a match for the UEFA Champions League between FC Midtjylland and Liverpool. The championship is still in its early stages, but let’s look at the numbers and try to pick the best choice:
The home team here will be the FC Midtjylland, at the moment they have 1a single point in 5 games, 0 wins, 1 draw, and 4 losses, only 3 goals scored and 12 suffered. We are still in the early stages, but this team has not been doing well so far, despite their recent draw against Atalanta.
Our visitors are the 1st placed Liverpool. They have 12 points in 5 games, 4wins, 1 loss, 9 goals scored, and 2 suffered. Liverpool is doing quite well and it is leading the table with a 4-point advantage at the moment.
This time we will palace our support behind the visitors. The FC Midtjylland hasn’t shown anything so far that merits our support against a strong team like Liverpool. Plus, Liverpool has a stronger attack and a stronger defense than their rivals, and I believe that will take them to the victory here.
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A statistical look: 3 "unheralded" creative options (Luis Alberto, Ruslan Malinovskyi, Marcel Sabitzer)

tldr: A statistical analysis of some lesser known/discussed creative players. I've bolded my key points in the post if you don't want to read it all. Quick hit summary of my findings in the comments if you don't want to parse through the body of the post for the bolded sections.
Since the Premier League season ended, I've been working on some data analysis of players from the big 5 leagues to see if I can spot some objective insight on players we're interested in or unheralded names that I think would be good value. So far, my database is set up to analyze "creative players" and I kicked off my player analysis with Emi Buendia and Willian/Coutinho.
As you can tell from the title, this post is going to focus on a few players in the big 5 plays who haven't been discussed much on this sub, but who stood out during my analysis. Because I don't want to get too long-winded, I'll only cover three players here. I actually had planned on also including three U25 creative players and had finished a good bit of the write-up on them, but the post was getting really long so I'll save them for now and throw it up in another post in a couple of days.
Quick disclaimer: stats are never the whole picture - they can be inaccurate, be made to be misleading, and are best used in conjunction with watching game tape. To the extent that I can, I will try to cover the stats in a holistic way.
METHODOLOGY (skip if you don't care or have read my other posts):
Simply put, I compiled a database of all available statistics on players from the 5 big leagues (via fbref), then used the data to create a peer analysis. Once you determine your peer groups (I used Wingers/Attacking Midfielders, as categorized by fbref, with over 810 mins logged this season), you normalize each player's stats so that it's relative to the peer set. By doing that, I can see in what percentile a player is in relative to that data set by using the mean and standard deviation of that set (generally better than simply creating a % by saying "he ranks 20th out of 100 players in the set, so he is in the 80th percentile).
It's important to note that there are different ways to do this, with one of the more simple ways being standardizing it to a normal distribution, and this is what I generally did. But this only works when the underlying data is distributed like a normal bell curve, which it isn't for a lot of the cases. I tried avoiding using the stats which didn't apply well to the normal or lognormal distributio, but in cases where I do make reference to one of them, I provide an * to indicate that there may be some skew here. Those stats metrics are typically directionally correct, but have room for error in terms of percentile (anecdotally ~5-10% variance).
Explaining the peer groups: "Creative players" in this case refer to players categorized as FW/MF (both, not either or) by fbref. I'm not sure how fbref determined the player positions, but based on the pool of players, it seemed like most wingers and attacking mids were given both the FW & MF designation. It also made more sense to sort by FW & MF designation in my database because I didn't want defensive mids or strikers skewing my distributions of creative players. This did lead to some players who are regarded as "creatives" not being included in the data set (i.e. de Bruyne as MF; Mahrez as a FW), but with 270 players and most of the "world class creatives" classified with both the FW & MF designations, it made for a sufficient enough data set size to determine the mean and standard deviation (as that's what I use to determine the percentiles). I was able to retroactively apply the mean and standard deviation of the 270 player creative data set to all Mids and Forwards and determine their percentiles in each stat as if they was a FW/MF so that I could catch players who are creative, but not categorized as both FW/MF.
Note #1: Read "94.0% (10/273 ; 30/992)" as "in the 94th percentile for the stat, ranking him at 15th out of 273 in the "creative player" data set and 30th out of 922 in the all midfielders and attackers data set". I would recommend not focusing too much on the rank in the "all midfielders and attackers groups" - while useful in the above overall rank to capture the creatives that are weirdly categorized, it's not so much on an individual stat basis as midfielders and attackers tend to dominate in certain stats and under-perform in others relative to the average creative player.
Note #2: The lower the percentile, the worse it is, and vice versa. The percentile is calculated based on the standard deviation of the distribution and the distance of the individual from the mean, whereas rank is relative to how they directly stack up with their peers.
​
PLAYERS:
Percentile
Chance Creation: Goal CC p90* / Shot CC p90 94% (10/273; 17/922) ; 97% (7/273; 14/922)
Goals p90 / xG p90* 52% (154; 382) ; 43% (138; 339)
Non-Penalty Goals p90* / Non-Penalty xG* 50% (167; 401) ; 40% (149; 357)
Assists p90 / xA p90* 96% (8; 16) ; 93% (12; 19)
Passes Attempted p90 / Pass Completion % 99% (6; 65) ; 77% (70; 372)
Key Passes p90 96% (9; 13)
Completed Passes Into Final 3rd p90 99% (4; 26)
Completed Passes Into Penalty Area p90 96% (7; 13)
Completed Crosses Into Penalty Area p90 30% (202; 489)
Completed Progressive Passes p90 100% (3; 9)
Passes While Pressured 96% (11; 50)
Touches p90 99% (7; 63)
Dribbles Attempted p90* / Success % 45% (143; 236) ; 84% (41; 277)
Dispossessions p90* / per Carry* 63% (113; 602) ; 91% (22; 314)
Tackles Attempted p90* / Success Rate 54% (110; 509) ; 57% (114; 372)
Pressed Ballcarrier p90 / Success Rate 56% (117; 350) ; 87% (33; 187)
Interception p90* 63% (83; 470)
Key Takeaways:
​
Percentile
Chance Creation: Goal CC p90* / Shot CC p90 80% (44/273; 95/922) ; 99% (4/273; 18/922)
Goals p90 / xG p90* 90% (21; 87) ; 67% (76; 233)
Non-Penalty Goals p90* / Non-Penalty xG* 90% (16; 64) ; 60% (92; 257)
Assists p90 / xA p90* 67% (106; 238) ; 91% (14; 24)
Passes Attempted p90 / Pass Completion % 93% (23; 155) ; 75% (79; 388)
Key Passes p90 91% (27; 40)
Completed Passes Into Final 3rd p90 90% (29; 221)
Completed Passes Into Penalty Area p90 95% (8; 17)
Completed Crosses Into Penalty Area p90 83% (43; 89)
Completed Progressive Passes p90 97% (14; 59)
Passes While Pressured 88% (26; 114)
Touches p90 97% (17; 94)
Dribbles Attempted p90* / Success % 80% (48; 74) ; 93% (21; 185)
Dispossessions p90* / per Carry* 25% (213; 819) ; 75% (71; 464)
Tackles Attempted p90* / Success Rate 37% (160; 614) ; 67% (87; 275)
Pressed Ballcarrier p90 / Success Rate 44% (145; 466) ; 76% (61; 301)
Interception p90* 11% (251; 801)
Key Takeaways:
​
Percentile
Chance Creation: Goal CC p90* / Shot CC p90 68% (92/273; 188/922) ; 74% (73/273; 119/922)
Goals p90 / xG p90* 78% (55; 191) ; 57% (102; 278)
Non-Penalty Goals p90* / Non-Penalty xG* 80% (45; 151) ; 65% (81; 236)
Assists p90 / xA p90* 82% (51; 114) ; 65% (109; 210)
Passes Attempted p90 / Pass Completion % 93% (22; 153) ; 59% (118; 521)
Key Passes p90 82% (48; 96)
Completed Passes Into Final 3rd p90 92% (23; 177)
Completed Passes Into Penalty Area p90 90% (24; 43)
Completed Crosses Into Penalty Area p90 77% (69; 140)
Completed Progressive Passes p90 97% (11; 54)
Passes While Pressured 79% (50; 201)
Touches p90 91% (29; 169)
Dribbles Attempted p90* / Success % 11% (254; 623) ; 73% (78; 390)
Dispossessions p90* / per Carry* 84% (47; 421) ; 90% (24; 322)
Tackles Attempted p90* / Success Rate 48% (127; 549) ; 83% (45; 126)
Pressed Ballcarrier p90 / Success Rate 35% (174; 561) ; 100% (3; 9)
Interception p90* 84% (43; 375)
Key Takeaways:
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best odds liverpool to win champions league video

Tottenham vs. Liverpool in the Champions League final: Who ... MATCH PROMO SPURS V LIVERPOOL UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ... Every Liverpool Champions League goal on the road to ... UCL Moment: Wild scenes as Liverpool win their sixth European trophy Barcelona vs Liverpool (3-0) UEFA Champions League ... - YouTube

“All I can say is, I want to arrive in the best condition when we play them. We want to compete as best as possible and go through.” Liverpool are 6/1 in the Champions League winner odds after also being drawn against Bundesliga opponents in RB Leipzig, who eliminated Manchester United by beating them 3-2 in the final round of group games. The EPL pair of Man City and Liverpool are shortest odds at +140 for a Champions League win Serie A teams are the longest shot for the trophy Oddsmakers have opened some interesting UEFA Champions League props for the big leagues vs the field, where punters can bet on which European domestic league the winners of this season’s competition will (or won’t) come from. Champions League betting on the European football club championship. Get outright and match odds, plus tips, free bets, offers and money-back specials Current 2021 UEFA Champions League Odds & Favorites. Top 5 ; Top 16 ; All After a Matchday 5 win over Man U, PSG’s title odds now sit at an average of +1033 [11/6/20] Halfway through the group stage, Liverpool’s odds have shortened from +700 to +600 since Matchday 2 after thumping Atalanta 5-0. Odds as of January 27 at Bovada. See Odds Shark’s Best Soccer Sites. Favorites Drawn Against Lesser Opponents . While there is no such thing as an easy path through the UEFA Champions League, winning the group that qualifies each winner for a fixture against a side that came second is a clear advantage and one that this year seems starker than ever. Champions League - Winner Betting Odds. Get the best available Champions League odds from all online bookmakers with Oddschecker, the home of betting value. Check out latest Champions League odds for outright winner and Golden Boot (top goalscorer) and more betting from the best online bookies in the odds comparison tables below. Champions League Winner Betting Odds To Win Champions League Odds; Outright Winner Betting; To Lift The Trophy 2020/2021; Best Odds Bold; Each-Way Place Terms: 1/2 odds 1,2. This Champions League outright winner odds comparison allows OddsJet to display the best odds for every team to win the Champions League outright so Canadian bettors may maximize their potential returns. For individual UCL matches, OddsJet also provides a Champions League odds comparison. View the latest odds on UEFA Champions League Matches & Bet with Sportsbet. Join Australia's Favourite Online Betting and Entertainment Website. Champions League final odds - Liverpool favourites but Tottenham backed to win Reds and Spurs both pulled off dramatic comebacks to set up all-English encounter in Madrid Share

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Tottenham vs. Liverpool in the Champions League final: Who ...

Watch every goal that helped the Reds reach a second successive UEFA Champions League final, where they prepare to take on Tottenham Hotspur at the Estadio M... Lionel Messi produced yet more magic including a stunning free-kick as Barcelona secured a three-goal advantage to take back to Anfield for the Champions Lea... Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. The day has arrived. The time is now. Let's make history, together.Subscribe to Spurs TV on YouTube: http://spurs.to/YouTube Facebook: http://spurs.to/Facebo... Liverpool fans and players did not hide their happiness when the final whistle went, as the Reds secured their sixth UCL title. Download beIN SPORTS, your home for football: https://bein.onelink ... Craig Burley, Steve Nicol and Shaka Hislop of ESPN FC break down the UEFA Champions League final between Tottenham and Liverpool as both clubs worked miracle...

best odds liverpool to win champions league

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