Rafa Benitez is such a rare thing in an era where player power is king, social media vitriol spreads like a virus and chairman have itchy trigger fingers. From Liverpool to Chelsea and Newcastle he is looked on with nothing but fondness. This season has the potential to be the one that shows exactly what […]
Manchester United are a club that require nothing but simple analysis when trying to understand their current position, what they might achieve and what can be expected from them. As a club, they are obviously currently performing below what would be expected from them. As a set of players, they are individually performing below what […]
While Manchester City obviously have a lot to live up to after last year, it feels like there is an even greater burden of expectation on Liverpool for this upcoming season. While the lack of any serious action in the transfer window is probably attempting to send a “Same again lads” message to the team, […]
It was somewhere towards the end of last season that I gradually realised that Leicester City were the team I most looked forward to watching live. They have a really exciting crop of ball-playing footballers all over the park, and a couple of players who feel like they are on the verge of a real […]
Everton sit alongside Leicester and Wolves as the three times that I am currently most excited about in the Premier League. I would absolutely forgive Everton fans themselves of not necessarily having quite the same positivity, as they have suffered from all-too-familiar false dawns in recent times. But if you look through Everton’s team, the […]
It doesn’t feel like hyperbole to boil the preview of Crystal Palace’s season down to a consideration of the Zaha situation. It was evident from last season’s performances how much they rely on him – games with and without him on the pitch were chalk and cheese. The fact that the window slammed shut with […]
Chelsea are embarking on what will be one of the more fascinating seasons we’re likely to see any club. Having been the trailblazers in the UK for the ‘spend until you win’ mentality, their transfer ban now sees them needing to fall back on incumbents rather than arrivals. Similarly, it feels like the appointment of […]
Burnley are a club that are truly to be admired – and an aspirational story that should give hope to all clubs out there in the football league ladder. They are from an unglamorous city, they have a manager that could be used as the poster boy for the phrase ‘down-to-earth’, they rarely spend money, […]
I have a real soft spot for Brighton, although that extends far more to the city than it does to the football club. That’s not to say I have any active dislike for the club, it’s just that any optimism or good feeling I have towards the football team seems to stem more from a […]
I struggle to imagine the prevailing emotion one must feel as a Bournemouth fan in the Premier League. On the one hand, it feels nothing short of miraculous that the are about to embark on their 5th year at the top table, but on the other, I feel like whenever that cold harsh reality of […]