The Rugby World Cup

Now for something a little different. This instalment of my highly reliable and consistent blog will look back to the Rugby World Cup that finished just over 3 weeks ago in Japan. It has taken me this long to get over the devastation caused by the final but I will now try to overcome this and somehow write through the tears about England’s outstanding run to the final and their failure at the very last hurdle. But this won’t just be about the only country in the Northern Hemisphere to win the World Cup, that’s one for you Irish and Welsh fans, I will also look at the success of the hosts, the disappointment of the home nations and the shocks witnessed throughout the tournament.

England

But lets begin with the finalists and, unfortunately, runners-up, England. The start of their tournament was good but expected with the first two games against Tonga and the USA leading to two relatively easy wins. Some of the highlights from these games: the tournaments biggest hit on, yes on, Billy Vunipola by Tonga’s Zane Kapeli, but the Tongan coming off worse after the tackle left him breathless; George Ford pulling the strings against the USA with a try and 5 conversions and Manu Tuilagi’s 2 tries against Tonga, one of which showed the determination this man has as he powered through 4 tacklers and stretched for the line, putting England in control. Yet the score lines of these games did not depict the whole of England’s performance, they weren’t wholly convincing wins as England’s play was mistake-ridden with silly penalties and handling errors costing them an impressive score line that the likes of seem to New Zealand score every week.

The final two pool games against Argentina and France were where the challenge would really begin for England and where they would be tested to see if they had the heart and ability of being World Champions. Unfortunately, due to Storm Hagibis, England’s crucial pool stage game against France had to be cancelled, automatically qualifying England as group winners, but this was over-shadowed by the destruction and ruin caused by the typhoon leading to the deaths of almost 100. The game prior was England’s only ‘test’ of the group stages, however, the enticing fixture was practically over before it began after new Leicester Tigers signing Tomas Lavanini received 1 of the 8 red cards shown at the World Cup for clothes-lining England captain Owen Farrell 15 minutes in. Elliot Daly scored a try somewhat inspired by a trip to the circus as he juggled an easy pass from George Ford before magicking his way between two Argentine backs, this being his best moment of the tournament.

Already this England team had improved its performance from the last World Cup as they had made their way out of the pool stage but before them they had 2 times champions Australia. This, however, did not seem to phase this young England team as we saw for the first time the dominance of England’s back rowers. England’s 6, 7 and 8 had a combined 57 tackles for the game and destroyed the experienced Australian back row at the breakdown, including captain Michael Hooper. The highlight of this heavyweight clash was an inspired piece of tidy hands and footwork by Henry Slade who intercepted a wayward pass from David Pocock before meeting Koroibete and Beale in a footrace and placing an expert grubber kick across his body and away from the despairing Koroibete. The kick was so perfect that it bounced straight into the loving arms of Jonny May who ran to the try line for an outstanding and efficient attack. The game ended a resounding 40-16 win to England who ran away from their competitors with ease in the second half.

The competition would only get harder, however, as next in line for England was three times champions New Zealand. Dressed in all black in rugby more often that not is a bad sign for your opposition, however, in this game England were raring for the game and when the All Blacks lined up for their traditional Mauri Haka a very Air Force-like v shaped arrow was created by the England team. This is not the first time a competitor of New Zealand’s challenged the Haka, in the 2011 World Cup Final France walked towards the Kiwis with malice but ended up being dismantled in the game. This was not to be repeated by New Zealand as it appeared they were actually shaken by this as they lost all composure in the game with their star men failing to show their abilities against England. Beauden Barrett was kept as quiet as he has been in years turning over the ball three times and the New Zealand centre partnership which had appeared so regimental and fierce in the pool stages was outdone with ease by the Englishmen, with 4 turnovers lost between them the one opportunity Goodhue found himself in ended with three English men heaving him over the side line.

Again what helped the English through to the final was the pack. Maro Itoje was the stand out performer in this game, earning himself man of the match with 20 running metres, 15 monstrous tackles and 3 vital turnovers to swing the pendulum England’s way on multiple ocassions. As expected Itoje’s ferocious defensive rucking had the any New Zealand counter attack over before it began and , consolidating England’s breakdown success in recent years. His strong efforts were most apparent in midfield when he disrupted New Zealand’s attack and momentum, leading to 3 turnovers. Furthermore, Itoje’s lineout game had no blips as he was able to win several of his own lineouts and contest with admirable aggression and desire when New Zealand had the upper hand as well.

The only worrying moment of the semi-final was the try, the only points New Zealand were to score. A momentary lapse of concentration lead to England’s 5-metre lineout being caught by Ardie Savea around the back, uncontested, and practically walking the ball in. But this was solvable and looking back across the tournament was one mistake out of dozens of successes, the lineout had been strong and there was no need for concern.

The final hurdle was the final. The opponents South Africa had looked promising at times in the tournament, however, they never seemed to dominate bigger teams especially in their scrappy semi-final win against Wales winning only by 3 points. The same would be said about the final, but in the end South Africa ran away with the game and in doing so won the World Cup Final by the second-largest margin in history.

So now I have to appreciate the South African performance… From the very first whistle the Springboks came sprinting out the blocks, they had key winger Cheslin Kolbe back from injury for the final and this was the only boost they needed to ease over the line. There are no arguments that the concussion of England tighthead prop Kyle Sinckler scuppered England’s game plan and disturbed the scrum as Dan Cole, Sinckler’s replacement, went on to concede 4 penalties at scrum down. The game seemed to be decided at the scrummage, for the whole first half England were dominated in the pack for the first time in the tournament and even when South Africa replaced both props early in the second-half their very first scrum was yet again insurmountable as England crippled under the pressure of another scrum. Even in the backs England were dominated. As England continued to back their kicking game, which had been excellent, South Africa were content to match them as Handre Pollard was exceptional with ball to boot consistently pushing the men in white back to their 22-metre line with pinpoint accuracy. At the breakdown the hard work of Curry and Underhill was blown out of the water by Duane Vermeuelen who went on to win man of the match with several turnovers, earning the Springboks vital points.

But the stats do appear to tell a different tale. England had more possession, territory, carries, players beaten, rucks won and fewer missed tackles. However, when South Africa had possession and made the runs they made clean breaks, 11 to England’s 2, and tallied up the metres made at a rate of knots, 369m to England’s 201m in 34 fewer carries. This stat was showcased in both of South Africa’s late tries which condemned England. Mapimpi’s break down the wing and subsequent chip behind England’s defensive line gave Am the space to run at the England player’s and find Mapimpi again with some brilliant handling leading to the first try of the game 65 minutes in. Less than 10 minutes later Kolbe took advantage of one of many English handling errors and ran the ball in from 40 metres out, brushing past a weak tackle from England captain Owen Farrell on his way to the try-line and World Cup glory.

This took the score to 32-12 at the final whistle and has become one of the most monumental and meaningful World Cup wins since the tournament began. It was such a poignant win as South Africa’s first ever black captain Siya Kolisi had lead his nation to its third World Cup success and shown the true power and determination of the black population within the country, creating not just a sporting legacy but also a social and cultural legacy sparking the flames of unity in the country once more.

All there is to say about England’s World Cup is fantastic throughout, disappointing when it really mattered. Wins against Australia and New Zealand really cemented England’s dominance on the world stage but all the pundits said that historic win against the All Blacks would mean nothing if England did not go on to win the final, and they didn’t. Nevertheless I have all the confidence in this still young England outfit with promise across the whole team. For me, Sam Underhill, Tom Curry and Maro Itoje will continue to be crucial for years to come if they can continue in the way in which they dominated the tournament. The most saddening part of the final loss was the fact that could be the last chance many members of the team have to win the coveted trophy. With Dan Cole, Courtney Lawes and Ben Youngs all in their 30s it is highly likely they won’t get another chance when the World Cup comes to France in 2023 and with players like Jonny May, Mako Vunipola and Manu Tuilagi approaching that landmark it would be easy for injury, a serious concern for the latter two anyway, or general decline with age mean they miss the next tournament or miss out on selection. One thing I hope remains in the England team for the next World Cup would be Eddie Jones. He has been a beacon of light for this England team since the disgrace of the 2015 World Cup and has been the only prolific and highly successful coach for the team since Sir Clive Woodward guided the country to the World Cup in 2003.

I will be writing another blog on the other talking points of the Rugby World Cup soon.

Manchester United Part 2

After the sacking of van Gaal things seriously changed at Manchester United. From the hope and optimism of success under Moyes and van Gaal to the almost inevitable success with new manager Jose Mourinho.

The summer of 2016 was rife with rumour and speculation over the successor of Louis van Gaal. With two of the worlds top managers out of a job, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho, and two of the worlds top teams manager-less, both Manchester teams, there was a fierce rivalry over who would go where and who would achieve more, further accentuating the recent rise of competition in Manchester.

United fans were ever hopeful of the appointment of Pep Guardiola, him being the favourable of the two managers with impressive domestic success no matter where he went and an unbelievable tact in winning trophies, currently winning games one every 23 games. He hadn’t done this in the Senegalese second division or some other outrageously uncompetitive league, he had managed two of the most historic and successful clubs one world football, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Yes he had the talents of Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski at his disposal at the respective clubs, however, he utilised them to their maximum abilities- introducing Messi to the False 9 role in which he now excels, scoring 47 goals in the first season.

Despite Guardiola’s apparent superiority, Mourinho was still one of the best managers around and has only 2 fewer trophies to Guardiola having managed far inferior teams to the Spaniard, managing to provide some of the biggest footballing shocks of recent times. Among his trophies are 2 Europa League and 2 Champions League wins, both of which Guardiola fails to display in his trophy cabinet. The first of Mourinho’s Champions League victories was simply incredible and set up the future of his managerial career, winning it with FC Porto a year after winning the Europa League with that same team. This led to his subsequent managing roles at Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid.

But the deal was set and Jose Mourinho was to join United and Guardiola would travel across the city to City. Mourinho, with plenty of funds at his disposable, started off well and signed Paul Pogba, an ex-United academy player who was discarded by Ferguson and resigned for a world record fee by the new Portuguese manager. Impressive signings were also made in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Zlatan Ibrahimovic who had impressive first seasons. Mkhitaryan was particularly impressive in European competition with 6 of his 11 goals in the 2016/17 coming in Manchester United’s Europa League victory. It was in that same competition that Ibrahimovic’s United career effectively ended after he hyper-extended his knee against Anderlecht causing ‘serious knee ligament damage’ ending his 27-goal debut season in despair; the season after he only managed 187 minutes for United eventually being shipped off to America in the now familiar send-off for many legends of the modern game. Pogba, on the other hand, was fearfully under-performing in respects of his substantial price tag but was still a key member for the United team.

Image result for zlatan ibrahimovic injury — Ibrahimovic has since moved to LA Galaxy and gone on to bag himself a fair few goals, along with a few controversial moments

It appeared Mourinho was going to continue his trend of European success over domestic performance as United only managed a 6th place finish which would have been considered shambolic if it were not for United’s Europa League victory giving the side a Champions League place for the following season. The European title was also supported by the League Cup win with Ibrahimovic pivotal in the tournament win, especially with his brace in the final.

The next season was far more rounded: 2nd place in the league, finalists in the FA Cup, quarter-finalists in the League Cup and reached the last 16 in the Champions League. The last on the list being the most painful and avoidable as United were overwhelmed by a beatable Sevilla side. A goalless draw in the first leg filled supporters, players and the club as a whole with hope going into the second leg at Old Trafford. But Sevilla substitute Wissam Ben Yedder tore United to shreds with 2 late goals condemning United to another year of Champions League disappointment.

This season was a record breaking season in Manchester, however, for City rather than United as the Red Devils were blown out of the water by the league winners, finishing 19 points behind their closest rivals. It was a season which was mocked by rival fans. Whilst Liverpool reached the Champions League final and City won the league with relative ease, United’s biggest achievement was not handing City the title in April after an impressive 3-2 win at the Etihad coming from 2 goals behind to delay City’s title parade by a few games. In comparison to their biggest rivals, United looked meek and mild and the fans had lost all bragging rights.

A piece of criticism from Mourinho’s time at the club was his use of Paul Pogba and, more specifically, his inability to get the best out of a world class player. No matter what rival fans say when Paul Pogba performs to the top of his ability he is almost unstoppable but he has shown this kind of performance only a few times over his United career in comparison to his constant match winning performances for the French national team. There was no better a time to question this than in the summer of 2018 when Pogba led France to the World Cup title in Russia beating Argentina, Uruguay, Belgium and Croatia on the way to their second World Cup victory. He was a fundamental part of their team in the tournament playing a slightly more defensive midfield role, as he usually does for France, alongside fellow Premier League player, N’golo Kante. The World Cup campaign highlighted Pogba’s ability to be a mature and versatile midfielder but also highlighted the fact he needed support in the midfield from other hard-working, passionate midfielders.

Image result for paul pogba world cup — Pogba celebrates in Moscow after scoring one of France’s 4 goals in the final

As a result of this Manchester United signed Brazilian midfielder Fred for £50 million. Arguably the worst Premier League signing of the season. His highlight coming in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford against Wolves in which he scored United’s only goal. This signing was enough to spark outrage from the fans as they believed it was time to say goodbye to Ed Woodward, much like Louis van Gaal believed all those years ago. The fluctuations in his spending over the last few years led to huge controversy, at times over spending on players who weren’t good enough for the squad and at times not spending at all when the team desperately needed a new player or two.

So Mourinho went into the new season without the experienced and world-class centre back he desperately craved and instead picked up a Brazilian midfielder from the Ukranian league, an ageing bench-warmer, keeper from the Championship and an unknown and inexperienced Portuguese full back. In a comparatively worse position to most of their rivals United went into this new season with unease following pre-season defeats to Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Within 3 Premier League games, United had lost 2 including a 3-0 thumping from Spurs. By December were out of Europa League qualification leaving Mourinho’s job teetering on the verge of termination and then United travelled to rivals Liverpool needing to win to keep any chances of Champions League qualification alive. But United were condemned to a 3-1 defeat leading to Mourinho’s sacking 2 days later.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

So with one of the world’s best managers gone, deemed to have failed at the club, who could the board possibly turn to? Their decision was a shock to almost all fans of the club and followers of the Premier League as it was decided the former Manchester United player would take over the role, a man who took Cardiff City back down to the Championship in his only managerial appearance in a top European league.

Other than this one dismal appointment, Ole was a successful manager in his home country, Norway, for Molde FK. In his two stints at his boyhood club Solskjaer managed to gain two domestic league titles and a Norwegian cup final triumph. Most sceptics point out that this was only the Norwegian league and they couldn’t be more true which makes it even more bizarre that this success in such a small, uncompetitive league could lead to his appointment as Manchester United’s caretaker manager in late 2018.

However, he proved these sceptics wrong early on in his United managerial career as it was all plain sailing for once at the club, in fact they were flying high with a 15 game unbeaten-run in domestic competition. The highlights of this great run of form: a 1-0 win at Wembley against Tottenham with ‘Manc born and bred’ Marcus Rashford scoring the winning goal and having his name chanted around the home of football; an FA cup demolition of Arsenal at the Emirates with Sanchez, Lukaku and Lingard all playing unusually well and finally Chelsea in the FA cup again with Paul Pogba running the show from midfield.

All of this culminated in the Champions League round of 16 where United faced their toughest opposition yet, Paris Saint Germain. The first leg at Old Trafford was an unpleasant watch as in form Lingard and Martial were both forced off due to injury in the first half and in the second half PSG took a 2 goal lead and Paul Pogba found himself on the receiving end of the referee’s red card. So without Paul Pogba, Manchester United looked feeble and the second leg in the Parc de Princes was going to be a real test for the squad having to rely on players like Fred, McTominay and Greenwood who had little big game experience and some of them had little Manchester United experience at all. But it was proven striker Romelu Lukaku who came into the game hungry for a result as he managed to squeeze in two first half goals but United still needed one more goal to go through automatically. Into added time in the second half they went and Presnel Kimpebe leapt into the air to bloke a wayward Diogo Dalot shot and it was deemed by VAR that it was done so using his arm. The subsequent penalty was leathered into the side netting by Marcus Rashford past Gigi Buffon, Rashford’s first penalty in a professional game and United went through on away goals to the quarter-finals for the first time since David Moyes’ management.

After this ground-breaking result, Solskjaer was finally made Manchester United’s replacement manager, something that the fans had been pleading the club to do for months prior to this event. Yet in retrospect it appears this was a poor choice. The honeymoon period of Solskjaer’s reign as caretaker manager was abruptly cut off after the victory on March 6 as United went on to lose 8 of their last 12 matches of the season- including a shameful 2-0 defeat against an already relegated Cardiff City.

The end to last season was stressful for the club as the players who performed so excellently in the first 3 months of Solskjaer’s term suddenly lost the ability to play basic football: Lingard, in the form of his life in early January, showed the creativity of a 2 year old let loose on a whiteboard, none; De Gea, the world’s best goalkeeper who had saved the club for years and about the only player who was still performing at the end of Mourinho’s time at the club, had his sheets dirtied many a time in the last few games as he flapped at tame shots and struggled to find his form, particularly in Solskjaer’s first game as full-time manager against Arsenal where he misread a Granit Xhaka long shot as it sailed right into the centre of the goal with the Spaniard wrong footed and helpless.

The major positive to take from the end of the season was the fact that Solskjaer was going to be given the money to ‘rebuild’ the club and so he did. United’s major concerns from last season came in defence. Victor Lindelöf was a rare glimmer of hope in the backline which otherwise had an ageing Ashley Young, an injury-prone Luke Shaw and a shaky Phil Jones or Chris Smalling. The summer signings of Aaron Wan Bissaka and Harry Maguire have already made United’s defence far stronger with Maguire’s brute strength and ability to play out from the back and Wan Bissaka’s blistering pace and fearless tackles giving him the nickname ‘The Spider’.

So the season began with United looking stronger due to these defensive signings plus the helpful signing of Welsh youngster Daniel James who provides sheer speed and athleticism down the flanks. However, there were nerves around the club due to the loss of a certain Ander Herrera, the clubs most passionate player was simply discarded to PSG as Ed Woodward once again decided not to give a key player a new contract.

Only 4 games into the season and the murmurings of doubt are already circulating around the club as United have claimed 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss in the most bizarre fashion. Having thumped Chelsea 4-0 on the opening day of the season, United travelled to Wolverhampton to face their kryptonite from last season and yet again left with dropped points due to a standard Ruben Neves strike, nothing they could do about that. Yet there was something the team could’ve done about losing to Crystal Palace at home, a lacklustre performance saw Crystal Palace take their opportunities and pounce twice on the counter-attack to seal the win. Most recently United travelled to Saint Mary’s, Southampton. It wasn’t a bad performance, however, the team made it harder for themselves- conceding an equaliser from a corner and then failing to convert a number of easy opportunities to win the game late on against a 10 man Saints side.

Solskjaer should not be written off just yet as he has managed to get a good squad together that are actually performing well. But the fundamental errors which these world class professional footballers are making cost the club massively. The major issue for this season, in my opinion, will be squad depth. United have a few injury prone players and individual injuries can turn the whole squad around. For example, the recent injury of Luke Shaw means one of last year’s liabilities has to step up to the plate, Ashley Young, which could jeopardise the whole squad. Furthermore, any injury to one of the United’s key attackers would leave all the responsibility on one of the recent academy graduates, most likely 17 year-old Mason Greenwood. It will be interesting to see how the squad can cope with the pressures of the rest of the season and how they manage to adapt to them too. Solskjaer will really be tested this campaign and whether or not he will still be at the club by the end of it we will have to wait and see.

Manchester United

The last few seasons have been tumultuous to say the least for Manchester United. Ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure at the end of the 2012/13 the club has simply not been the same. With 4 permanent managers and 1 caretaker manager in under 6 years the club has become disjointed and a place for uncomfortable viewing for its fans.

David Moyes

Sir Alex’s hand-picked ancestor at one of the biggest clubs in world football turned out to be disastrous. He managed less than a season at the club where he struggled to utilise the ageing talent he had at his disposal: including Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie and the January signing of Juan Mata.

His Premier League experience at Everton had been pretty successful. He became a well-liked and respected manager of the club after completing over 10 seasons with top 10 finishes in all but 2 of them. In the 2004/05 season he even managed to gain the Evertonians Champions League football but they failed to get past the prelimanary qualifying rounds.

He took the Manchester United job before Sir Alex had even finished his final season, the anticipation was high and so were the expectations after 27 glorious years with their previous Scottish manager. But the story of Scottish success did not continue. The marquee signing of the summer was Moyes’ own Evertonian creation of Marouane Fellaini, a player United fans began to ridicule as the years went on leading to his transfer to China this year.

See the source image — Fellaini stayed at the club until January 2019, providing a few important goals for the club as well

The start of Moyes’ season was only foreshadowing what troubles lay ahead of Manchester United as the first pre-season game ended in 1-0 defeat to Thai team, Singha All Stars. Before Christmas United were in poor form, 13 points behind the pace of Arsenal, league leaders at the time.

However, it was not all doom and gloom as the Champions League began to look promising. 4 wins from 6 games in the group stage placed them top of the group and won against Olympiacos in the round of 16. A Robin Van Persie hat trick sealed the deal for United as they made their way to the quarter final. Here they were stopped by Bayern Munich 4-2 on aggregate but it was still an impressive run of form for a manager in his first season at the club.

The league still wasn’t going their way though and neither were the domestic competitions, losing to Swansea in the FA Cup and Sunderland in the League Cup. Remaining 13 points behind, now 4^th placed, Arsenal condemned Moyes by April as he was sacked with 4 games to go in the season. United’s 7^th place finish was enough for Europa League football but it was a long way from their glory days with Sir Alex Ferguson as David Moyes held the shortest stint of a Manchester United manager in 82 years. 10 months in the job was all it took to break the foundations of one of the most successful teams in footballing history.

Louis van Gaal

Off the back of his success with the Dutch national team at the 2014 World Cup, van Gaal was swiftly swept up by Manchester United as he looked to piece together the impossible jigsaw of the team left behind by Moyes. He had taken the Netherlands all the way to 3^rd place in Brazil beating Mexico, a newly emerging Costa Rica and the hosts themselves in the third place play off.

Ed Woodward, executive vice-chairman of the club, said van Gaal had “impressed everyone around the club”, however, just last week the former Manchester United manager announced his beliefs on Woodward claiming, “he has zero understanding of football”, something Manchester United are all too familiar with as a result of the poor transfer history in recent years.

Yet the start of Louis van Gaal’s reign looked like a very promising time for the club with multiple lucrative signings, some of which became club favourites but some became the biggest flops the club may have ever seen. The signings of Ander Herrera from Athletic Bilbao for £29 million and Luke Shaw from Southampton for £30 million are some of the best signings in recent years with both players becoming important member of the squad, Ander Herrera ultimately leaving the club this summer without a single contract extension. The disappointments of the following season were Angel Di Maria, signed from Real Madrid for an English transfer record of £59.6 million, yet another Galacticos reject being accepted with open arms by a seriously inferior English club, and Radamel Falcao who’s loan signing from Monaco was everything but exciting as he failed to have the same success he had seen in the French and Spanish leagues.

The majority of the highlights from this season were defeats despite a 4^th place finish for the side. The opening day of the Premier League season ended 2-1 to Swansea City, a team who managed to torment Manchester United at ‘The Theatre of Dreams’ for some years. The second round league cup tie against MK Dons has gone down in history as one of the darkest days of United’s in recent history, a disgraceful 4-0 defeat in which the team were simply dismantled was the earliest League Cup exit for the club. United also took part in one of the most entertaining games of the season; a thrilling 5-3 win for newly promoted Leicester City at the King Power Stadium led to United’s worst start to a season since the 1980’s, this game was probably the highlight for Di Maria’s season, and his whole Manchester United career, with a beautifully chipped goal but his efforts weren’t enough to get a result.

Even more signings in the followung summer transfer window once again filled the fans’ hearts with promise for success. However, yet again the majority of these signings ended inevitably and, in the opinion of many, prematurely. The highlights of the transfer window were Memphis Depay from PSV, the young dutchman at the time had bags of potential, however, he struggled to carry them through his United career and even lost a few on the way, Anthony Martial an unheard of French boy, if anything, signed from Monaco leading Manchester United fans deep into Youtube compilations to find the highlights of his realtively short career and Morgan Schneiderlin, another Frenchman who looked to hold the midfield but was unsuccessful at doing so ever since being shipped across to Merseyside, however, he currently dons the blue shirt of Everton rather than the more prosperous red of Liverpool.

The following season contained just as much disappointment as the previous seasons. The side were knocked out of the Champions League group stage in an average group containing German side Wolfsburg and new signing Depay’s former club, PSV. Yet 2 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses were not enough to secure knockout stage status. The Europa League took them to Denmark and FC Midtjylland where they suffered a 2-0 defeat, but the home leg was a moment of recent Manchester United greatness as it brought about the emergence of Manc born and bred, Marcus Rashford. A brace from him and goals from Ander Herrera and Memphis Depay were enough to secure a last 16 spot, but that’s as far as they went. There was success in the FA Cup, however, as United conquered Crystal Palace in the final 2-1. Extra time and a sweet match winning goal from Jesse Lingard secured the club’s first silverware since 2014.

However, the many failures outshone the achievements as Memphis Depay failed to impress, Matteo Darmian had little impact after his signing and Sergio Romero, obviously, hardly got a look in with De Gea claiming the number 1 shirt. Over £75 million was spent on Depay, Schneiderlin and Darmian none of which had an impact just showcasing United’s poor transfer decisions and financial stupidity in recent years.

The only major positive from this season would be the creation of new talent for the future. New signing Martial burst onto the scene becoming the club’s top scorer with 11 goals, including a famous derby winning goal against Liverpool. There was also the emergence of academy players Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard both with years ahead of them and both showing nerves of steel when the club needed a victory in the big moment.

This is part one of two about Manchester United post-Alex Ferguson. The next will be about the infamous spell of Jose Mourinho and the controversy over Ole Gunner Solskjaer’s appointment.

European Football: Season comes to a close.

Unlike the political world , England are currently on top of the footballing world at the end of the 2018/19 season. Spurs’ and Liverpool’s Champions League comebacks and Arsenal and Chelsea both making their way to the Europa League Final topped the season off in fantastic fashion as for the first time ever there is an all English final in both the Champions and Europa League. However, not all the footballing news comes from the Land of Hope and Glory. There are also stories of footballing miracles in Holland, Spain, France and Italy as the giants of world football are eventually being pushed to their limits domestically.

Ajax

Trophyless since the 2013/14 season this youthful Dutch side has taken on the world this season and beaten it, save Tottenham Hotspurs. A youthful team, with an average age of 24 years, found its way to the Champions League semi-final, champions of the KNVB Cup (the Dutch equivalent of the FA cup), and have just accomplished their first Eredivisie title in 5 years.

But whats the secret to their success? Just like in the 20th Century, their academy. In the past it has created many of the greats: Dennis Bergkamp, Johan Cruyff, Patrick Kluivert, Edwin Van de Sar and Clarence Seedorf to name a few. The present is no different. Young, Dutch players like Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt are at the heart of team and have the belief and passion to play for the badge.

Yet this is where the Ajax team we are seeing this year is different. Dotted throughout the team are highly underrated, world-class players. The likes of Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech are fundamental in attack and Tadic especially has really found his true footballing abilities at Ajax. In the midfield is the youth of Frenkie de Jong and also David Neres plus Donny Van de Beek, however, there is also the anchor of experience with Lasse Schone being a key aspect of the midfield and a set piece master. In defence Matthijs de Ligt is backed up by a revitalised Daley Blind and Joel Veltman (2 more academy graduates with much more experience).

The combination of youth and experience, silky skills and tough defending, creates this perfect Ajax dynamic. Mathhijs de Ligt, despite being the youngest in the team, is the captain and the leader of the defence – showing maturity beyond his years. He also isn’t shy on the goal front with 7 goals this season alone but the attack is the place in the Ajax team requiring the least support. They have become the highest scoring team in Europe this season with 162 goals in 52 games with Dusan Tadic netting 28 of them in only 34 games. Their fluid, stylistic attack is what really carries the team forward and allows them to break down teams like Juventus, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich home and away.

And that is what has defined their season, their Champions League success. They cruised through the group stages picking up two draws against the German champions, Bayern Munich, pushing them the whole 90 minutes in an absolute thriller with 6 goals, two red cards and a stoppage time equaliser from Argentinian left back Nicolas Tagliafico at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Next up the holders Real Madrid, not just the holders but the team that had won the competition three years on the trot. The first leg was a tense 2-1 victory to Los Blancos, putting Madrid in control with the away goals rule. However, it would be Ajax who would rock up to the Santiago Bernabeu and spoil the party. In one of the biggest shocks of Champions League history Ajax dismantled the shambolic Real side 4-1. Every goal just as special as the last: a now trademark counter attack finished off by Ziyech started the night off well; some audacious and spectacular skill from Tadic saw him run through the majority of the white shirts pick out David Neres in the box and he put Ajax 2-0 up and going through; yet another counter attack which was precisely placed in the top left by Tadic on the edge of the box showed Ajax’s ruthlessness and finally a wonderfully whipped free kick from the tightest of angles by Schone beat Courtois and beat Madrid.

Image result for ajax vs real madrid — Ajax tear Real Madrid apart at the Bernabeu

The quarter final tie with Juventus had just the same spark and charisma as the last. A relatively even game in Amsterdam threw it all up to play for in Turin and Ajax took this opportunity and took their place in the semi-final. De Ligt summed up his fantastic season by finishing off the Old Lady with a thumping header Ronaldo himself would’ve been proud of and booking their tickets to London whilst at it.

Image result for ajax — Matthijs de Ligt fires Ajax ahead against Juve

Yet another good performance was witnessed in the first leg of this semi-final, the biggest game of their season so far, with Donny Van de Beek giving Ajax a 1-0 lead in an even tie. However, it was Ajax being wasteful for the first time in the competition that finally destroyed them. Despite going two up in the first half in the second leg, their clinicality just was not the same as they found the upright on multiple occasions and came inches wide on others. A fabulous Lucas Moura performance surpassed the efforts of Real and Juve as Spurs, in Indiana Jones style, slid into the final by the skin of their teeth and managed to grab the win on the night and on aggregate.

But this defeat does not define this fantastic Ajax season, not at all. With the final game of the Eredivisie season played, Ajax finished the season in their usual style, a 4-1 win with Tadic bagging 2 more goals sending them to the title and himself to an impressive tally of 28 goals domestically. Their defence was also highlighted as formidable with only 4 losses all season. Their last loss was on 17th March as they finished the season with an 8 game winning streak, including a 3-1 win against biggest rivals PSV Eindhoven. Impressive in both their league and in Europe Ajax are looking revitalised and a threat for the future.

However, their future is all down to one thing, transfers. Do Ajax cash in on their biggest and best young players or do they hold on to them and regain power on the European stage and start to compete with the big boys at the top? Already it seems like they have gone with the first option, unfortunately. Having already signed a deal for Frenkie de Jong to join Barcelona in the summer for €75 million, it looks like they will eventually do the same with Matthijs de Ligt with Liverpool, Manchester United, Barcelona and pretty much every team in Europe vying to sign the youngster to add stability to their defence.

Getafe

One of the biggest shocks of the season within Europe’s top 5 leagues. Getafe, deep within the Segunda Division only 3 years ago, were striving for a Champions League finish within La Liga. The Madrid based side haven’t been outstanding within the league and haven’t provided any shocking results against the likes of Real or Atletico Madrid or Barcelona, however, they have been able to dismantle the rest of the league. Taking into account their 5 losses against the top 3, the team have only lost 4 other games throughout the whole season and have convincingly beaten Sevilla twice and gained wins from the majority of the teams around them, including Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.

A major part of their Champions League chase was their ability to keep a clean sheet. The defence has come up with 13 of them in the league, competing with the likes of Barcelona and smashing Real Madrid out of the water who’s defence, comparatively, has been a shambles. Only conceding 33 goals puts them second lowest, behind an Atletico Madrid side with world beaters in goal with Jan Oblak and in defence with the Uruguayan combination of Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez.

Unlike the performances of Ajax, this has been a pure team effort. There are no standout players in the attack who do it all, their top scorer is shared between Jaime Mata and Jorge Molina at 14 goals each.

Yet another thing separating Getafe with the rest of La Liga is their spending. In the last season having only spent €20 million on 21 players. Some of the highlights of that spending are goalkeeper David Soria signing for €2.7 million and this season gaining 13 clean sheets and Jaime Mata a free transfer becoming top joint goal scorer.

This is a rare occasion in football. A team with little funding, with no bright academy players but with a team that play and win together to challenge in such a competitive league with some of the worlds best. A Champions League spot was that close it was painful to miss out on such an achievement. The ability to play under the lights against the world’s best, hearing the Champions League anthem blast out the speakers and putting your all into your clubs first feature in the top European competition. However, Getafe will have to settle with the Europa League next season, not bad for a team who were 2nd last in the league 3 years ago.

Atalanta

With their last top 10 finish in the 2007/08, Atalanta have been revitalised in the last few years with 2 top 4 finishes in 3 years. Relegation in the 2009/10 season was obviously a low point but all they have done since then is climb the table. To the point now where they easily compete with the best in the league having beaten Napoli, Inter Milan and Lazio this year and gaining points against the likes of Juventus and Roma.

Image result for duvan zapata — Duvan Zapata is currently the league’s second top scorer

Goal scoring has been the team’s main asset this year, becoming the highest scoring team in the league aided by the efforts of Duvan Zapata (22 goals) and Josip Ilicic (11 goals). This impressive run of form has earned Zapata a call up to Colombia’s Copa America squad and gained Ilicic over 50 caps for his country, Slovenia.

The attack doesn’t just come from these two either, Alejandro Gomez, a massively important member of the team for a few seasons now, has continued his success. With a higher average match rating than all of his team mates, he has contributed 6 goals and 10 assists to the team and has had a less attacking role, dropping into midfield with his pace and tenacity.

Continuing with new talent and unexpected performances is Hans Hateboer. The midfielder has been dropped into defense this season, in an unfamiliar environment he has proved his ability to be a key member of the team. Adding 5 goals and 5 assists to the team’s tally really helped the push for Champions League qualification. Exemplifying his adaptability is a performance just last weekend against Juventus in which he played at centre back against one of the best attacks in the world, managing to hold the league champions to a draw in an impressive away atmosphere.

Image result for atalanta vs juventus — Atalanta running riot against Juventus

Atalanta’s season has really showed it’s impressiveness against the Old Lady especially, with 2 draws from 2 games in the league and a 3-0 demolition in the Coppa Italia thanks to a brace from Zapata. Only one other team in Serie A have not lost a game to Juventus this season, relegated Genoa, showing the formidability of the Turin-based champions and the admiration that Atalanta deserve.

Success hasn’t just come in the league but also in the Coppa Italia. Beating Fiorentina and Juventus on their way to the final, they missed out on some silverware for this fantastic season as a result of a 2-0 loss against Lazio in the final with 2 very late goals ending the game.

One game to go, Atalanta need to win and they get Champions League football next year regardless of any other results. But being in 3rd place isn’t always a comfortable position, especially when the pressure is on and both Inter and AC Milan are on your tail. Yet pressure is something Atalanta have not cracked under this season and there is no need to now.

Lille

Talent. That is what LOSC Lille create, that’s what the majority of the Ligue 1 creates. It’s what the majority of Ligue 1 offload to PSG, cementing PSG’s domestic success. This season will be no different, but Lille’s domestic success has been just as sweet as PSG’s.

The creation of Nicolas Pepe has been vital for the club this season, both competitively and, eventually, financially. The Ivorian winger is now at the forefront of transfer targets for some of the best teams around the globe with an asking price of at least £70 million. His 22 goals and 11 assists have been fundamental for Lille’s domestic success, placing himself 2nd top goalscorer and 2nd top assister in the league and the team 2nd in the table, ahead of a more impressive than ever Lyon side.

To cope under the pressure of PSG is something very impressive in Ligue 1, Lille would be considered to have done that this season despite being 16 points behind. Yep, 16 points behind, with 1 game to go. The shocking thing is, the last time Lille won the league, in the 2010/11 season creating Eden Hazard, Gervinho and Moussa Sow on the way, they only needed 76 points to do it. Their tally of 75 points this season would’ve still won them the league as second place Marseille had only 68 points. The huge increase of PSG-based domination and the required points to actually win the league is what is truly damaging the league and its reputation. For a team like Lille with great talent and capability this season it is hard to see them still fall far too short to compete with PSG.

However, there are positives. Lille came out on top 5-1 when they last locked horns with PSG in April and, other than their one 2-1 loss to the league champions, only lost 5 games all season. Also, Pepe is not the only emerging talent. There is also promise in the French winger Jonathan Bamba and 19 year-old Portuguese striker Rafael Leao, scoring 21 between them.

But much like Ajax, the team’s future comes down to what they do in the transfer market and, much like Ajax again, they have already promised to sell their top player, Nicolas Pepe, although unclear who to, the loss of their best talent will damage the team again, just like when Eden Hazard upped sticks for Chelsea. The competition in Ligue 1, despite only arriving, is leaving almost immediately.

Wolves

The lowest placed team featured in this blog but perhaps the most impressive? Wolves were automatically promoted as winners of the Championship in the 2017/18 season. An impressive season saw the introduction of the team’s Portuguese influence from manager Nuno Esperito Santo and agent Jorge Mendes. This trend has continued into their first season back in the Premier League.

The team caught unrelenting amounts of attention as a result of their impressive signings in the summer, the transfers had a certain Iberian influence in them including: goalkeeper Rui Patricio for £16 million, veteran Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho for £5 million, Diogo Jota for £12 million from Atletico Madrid and the loaning, and subsequent £32 million purchase, of the Mexican talisman, Raul Jimenez.

The latter two of that list have lit up England’s top flight in attack, creating some of the biggest shocks of the season. Jimenez scoring 17 and Jota scoring 10 in all competitions this season showing their true ability to perform in top flight football.

The most impressive thing about Wolves is their huge number of signings and yet the ability to keep the squad performing well, massively contrasting the performances of Fulham who were in much the same position when the season began. This led to their 7th place finish in their first season back in the Premier League, giving them a Europa League qualifying place as well. Not only in the league have they performed but also in the FA cup, making it all way to the semi-finals at Wembley beating Manchester United with a dominant display in the quarter finals.

One of the more surprising influences in the team was Matt Doherty. The Irish man has transformed his footballing abilities to that of a world class right wingback. With plenty of pace he has the ability to control Wolves’ attack down the right wing and has been with plenty of goals this season too, with 4 in the Premier League and 4 in the FA Cup. Creating chances is also of importance to the Wolves veteran, 10 assists and their top creator of the season just echoes this.

Nuno’s genius has led his side to success in the league, in the cup and to a potential European tournament next season. Wolves have done the unthinkable and taken English football storm, gaining points from Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Spurs on their way to it. Not only are the top 4 in the Premier League dominating the footballing world currently but also the top 10 are contending and pushing for their own success.

That brings to a close my first blog post. I’ll be trying to bring out a new post every month or so. Hopefully you enjoyed this very first one on the European football season

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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