The comparisons with Pep Guardiola and Zinedine Zidane don’t help Frank Lampard
Is Frank Lampard the right man for Chelsea? Chelsea certainly think so as Lampard became the 14th manager Roman Abramovich has appointed since he bought the club in 2003. Abramovich’s restlessness and his desire for more from his managers have not prevented Chelsea being successful. Maurizio Sarri may have spent last season moving between the […]
7 years ago
The fall of Martin O’Neill at Nottingham Forest and why nostalgia doesn’t work in football
What now for Martin O’Neill? On Friday, Martin O’Neill was dismissed by Nottingham Forest after five months in the job. Few people in Ireland will have been surprised by this decision but is it possible to feel sorry for O’Neill given the state of Nottingham Forest? What will O’Neill’s legacy be now after his […]
7 years ago
“Are you talking about a man who took a 6th place Derby from the Championship, to 6th place in the Championship?”
Stand by for the Lampard era. Hiring a club legend to manage an ego-laden team, what could possibly go wrong? Now that Chelsea have brilliantly manage to pawn off Mauricio Sarri, the manager with 2nd best first season win record in the history of the club onto the unsuspecting 9-in-a-row Serie A Champion, Juventus, they […]
7 years ago
“Shane Duffy is right now everything for Ireland. His defence keeps us in it & when Denmark score, who steps up?”
Just the baddest man in Irish football. Majestic man-mountain Shane Duffy can do it all. Having kept Ireland in the game with a succession of bone-jarring reducers and full-blooded blocks, inevitably it would be his phenomenal forehead that would rescue a point for Mick McCarthy and his improving Irish team. This wasn’t a great Irish […]
7 years ago
‘Liverpool are probably going to sell Divock Origi in the summer and that’s the right thing to do’
Right now, it seems like Divock Origi’s world. The rest of us just live in it. Divock Origi scored the second goal in the Champions League final in Madrid on Saturday night. After Mo Salah’s early penalty, Liverpool went into their shell. Tottenham completed twice as many passes and had more possession. Alisson Becker kept […]
7 years ago
Chelsea’s easy victory in a venue nobody wanted to go to doesn’t do football any favours
Chelsea rejoiced, but this was too easy. The decision to host the Europa League final in Baku was heavily criticised in the run up to the game. The fact that Arsenal and Chelsea had to travel from London to reach Azerbaijan ensured that many fans decided to stay at home. The Arsenal fans who […]
7 years ago