Tag Archives: Analysis

Wins over Newcastle and PSG have, at least for the moment, tempered the criticisms of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Nevertheless, there’s a sense that such frustrations are always brewing beneath the surface at Manchester United. It’s not truly frustration towards Solskjaer, or Harry Maguire, or Paul Pogba. These are the mere …

Liverpool’s midfield is peculiar. Great teams are often defined by a stellar midfield. Roy Keane and Paul Scholes. Casemiro, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric. Most infamously, Busquets, Xavi, and Iniesta. Jurgen Klopp, however, has built his side on the dynamism of his front three and fullbacks, while his midfield is …

A perennial issue of squad building is how to purchase players beyond a first XI. Should teams buy like-for-like replacements for starting players such as Liverpool did with Takumi Minamino or acquire players who can serve as “Plan Bs” such as Olivier Giroud at Arsenal? In signing Ajax midfielder Donny …

Jose Mourinho is a dead man walking at Tottenham Hotspur. That’s what general football opinion would have you believe, at least. Most have cast the Portuguese manager as a fallen angel in a game that has moved beyond him, someone whose reactiveness and abrasiveness produces dour football on the pitch …

David Silva is one of those unique personas in football who is universally respected, even by rival fans. It’s a testament not merely to his genius on the pitch, but the manner in which he expressed it. The talisman of the “noisy neighbours” has quietly spent a decade cultivating an …

Patrick Vieira is perhaps one of the most over-referenced players in football. It seems like every time a talented, French defensive midfielder emerges onto the scene, they are touted as his successor. Yet the shadow of his days at Arsenal has certainly loomed over the club during the past decade, …

With the transfer market continuing on a seemingly endless trajectory of inflation, more and more clubs are devoting more resources towards purchasing and developing young players. Rather than shelling out tens or even hundreds of millions to acquire established world-class players, teams are now trying to produce their own. Most …

Manchester City and Liverpool have dominated the Premier League in an unprecedented fashion over the past two seasons, amassing a points total that places them in an echelon of their own. The task for other Premier League teams is to bridge the gap. Making such strides will have to start …

The defensive midfielder has become an increasingly important position in modern football. With many teams preaching a high-pressing, attack-minded style of football, having a player who can shield the defensive line, cover the space behind the attacking unit, and progress possession effectively is crucial to achieving success. Joshua Kimmich for …

One of La Liga’s foremost clubs, Valencia, has struggled this season. Despite emerging from a Champions League group with Ajax and Chelsea, they were eviscerated by Atalanta in the Round of 16 and have faced a lackluster domestic campaign. However, one bright spot in an otherwise unremarkable season has been …