With the new Premier League season just around the corner, in fact even closer than that - just 4 days away - pundits and fans alike have been commenting on the upcoming footballing marathon and trying to predict results based on the summer transfer window's deals.
The biggest transfer of the summer was Luis Suarez's £75m move from Liverpool to Barcelona in the wake of his third biting scandal. Liverpool's successful 2013/14 season led to Champions League qualification for the first time since 2009, mainly thanks to Suarez's scintillating form and goal tally of 31.
Liverpool have dipped, or rather plunged, into the market over the past few months, buying a number of players in an attempt to counteract Suarez's departure and manager Brendan Rogers has signalled his intent to attract a few more names before the transfer window closes.
How will they cope with extra midweek games without their star performer and with an ageing captain who clearly won't play every match? Only time will tell, but the pressure will be on the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Stirling to up their game, and the need for the newbies to fit in quickly is evident.
Tottenham had a similar situation with Gareth Bale at the start of last season. 7 new big names couldn't help Tottenham last season, as they scored fewer goals than Bale did in 2012/13. Liverpool must get it right where Spurs got it wrong or the recent success might be undone all thanks to one massive transfer.
On a separate note, Barcelona's strike force of Messi, Neymar and Suarez looks unmatchable. With the big names at Real Madrid too, the Premier League's recent domination of European football and its tag as the most exciting league in the world might well be lost to the Spanish upsurge.
Source: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/28421516
What We Learnt Today
Showing posts with label superstars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label superstars. Show all posts
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Monday, 23 June 2014
Fifa World Cup - Superstars, Messi, Ronaldo and last minute wonders
This fascinating World Cup just keeps on giving and giving and giving!
With big upsets, close encounters, heavy thrashings and underdog stories, what more could you ask for?
Recent games have shown two things: the old adage that giving 110% really does make a difference and take you far, however you can't underestimate the value of having a world-beating superstar in your lineup.
Let's look at the Argentina v Iran and USA v Portugal games.
Argentina's glittering side of match winners, millionaires and household names was expected to crush the hardworking but less talented Iran team. The Middle Eastern side fought until the end, but faced with three-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, they could not stop a final moment of brilliance from him in added time.
Pundits were predicting a more evenly matched tie between the States and Portugal. It's fair to say, though, that few thought that the Americans would be winning with 90 seconds of additional time left on the clock. The USA in this situation did not bargain for last gasp heroics from the world's second most expensive player. Cometh the hour (or rather the 94th minute) cometh the man. An ineffectual and demonstrably unfit Ronaldo stepped up to deliver a wonderful, pinpoint cross which Silvestre Varela duly converted to keep his country alive in the group.
USA gave everything and produced a fabulous display that rightly made manager Jurgen Klinsmann proud, but their immense effort and togetherness was undone at the end by their naivety in possession and inspiration from the genius right boot of Portugal's number 7.
Maybe a superstar is what England lack, despite their strong squad of players, and would have made a difference between 2-1 losses and progressing further in Brazil.
With big upsets, close encounters, heavy thrashings and underdog stories, what more could you ask for?
Recent games have shown two things: the old adage that giving 110% really does make a difference and take you far, however you can't underestimate the value of having a world-beating superstar in your lineup.
Let's look at the Argentina v Iran and USA v Portugal games.
Argentina's glittering side of match winners, millionaires and household names was expected to crush the hardworking but less talented Iran team. The Middle Eastern side fought until the end, but faced with three-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi, they could not stop a final moment of brilliance from him in added time.
Pundits were predicting a more evenly matched tie between the States and Portugal. It's fair to say, though, that few thought that the Americans would be winning with 90 seconds of additional time left on the clock. The USA in this situation did not bargain for last gasp heroics from the world's second most expensive player. Cometh the hour (or rather the 94th minute) cometh the man. An ineffectual and demonstrably unfit Ronaldo stepped up to deliver a wonderful, pinpoint cross which Silvestre Varela duly converted to keep his country alive in the group.
USA gave everything and produced a fabulous display that rightly made manager Jurgen Klinsmann proud, but their immense effort and togetherness was undone at the end by their naivety in possession and inspiration from the genius right boot of Portugal's number 7.
Maybe a superstar is what England lack, despite their strong squad of players, and would have made a difference between 2-1 losses and progressing further in Brazil.
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