There was a general acceptance that it was the right thing for Arsenal when Arsene Wenger was moved on a few years ago. Since his departure there has been signs of progression from other sides in the league, while Arsenal have either regressed or stayed pretty still and they’ve now cemented themselves as a Europa League contender rather than a top four side. Unai Emery had a tough time but his work at Villarreal shows that he’s not a bad manager, while Mikel Arteta swings between the sublime and the ridiculous so it’s difficult to gauge how well he’s done. READ MORE: Football Manager 2021 ..read more

Full back was always the position in school where you would put the kid who wasn’t good enough to play in midfield or tall enough to play as a centre back, but the position has evolved so much in recent years. A good wing back often becomes a key attacking outlet because they have space to push in to, so if they have the quality to come up with any kind of end product then it can elevate the performance of the entire team. It’s fair to suggest that most fans either wouldn’t have been aware of Shaun Rooney until recently or they wouldn’t see him as a great player, but that’s changed so much in ..read more

Liverpool’s title winning team last season will go do down as one of the most impressive Premier League campaigns ever, but has the time finally come where they need to contemplate life without Jurgen Klopp? His time in charge of Mainz and Dortmund both lasted around seven years, so it did always suggest that his Liverpool tenure could come to an end in 2022. Most coaches will dream of taking charge of their national team at some point, and a report from The Mirror has indicated that Jurgen Klopp will find it difficult to turn down the chance to manage Germany if it arises. It’s suggested that ..read more

Barcelona found out against PSG that Sergino Dest may not be quite ready for the highest level, so it makes sense that they would look to bring Hector Bellerin back from Arsenal. Bellerin moved to Arsenal as a kid and he’s looked impressive since breaking through, but he has had his fair share of injuries that have held him back. Thankfully it looks like he could be over those after he’s featured on a regular basis this season, so it makes sense that The Mirror have reported that Barca want to bring him back. That transfer could be dependent on Joan Laporta winning the Presidential elections n ..read more

There’s nothing more demoralising than a crushing home defeat in the first leg of a Champions League game, so it looks like Lazio face a return leg against Bayern where the only thing at stake is their pride. The holders were on fire as they effectively put the game to bed, while there was also a lovely piece of play and goal from Jamal Musiala in there as well: The other game does look more finely poised for the second leg, but Chelsea will fancy their chances of progressing after battling their way to a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid – The only goal of the game was an absolute belter from Oli ..read more

There was plenty of scepticism about spreading EURO 2021 all over Europe in normal times, but attempting to do that in the midst of a pandemic and with fans attending games is nothing short of madness. It still looks like the tournament will go ahead as planned over 12 different host cities, but it’s not clear what the plan is for supporters to attend the games – especially in the sense of those travelling from outwith the country. It has been reported that the UK had offered to host the whole tournament because they expect to have fans back in the grounds by the time the tournament starts, bu ..read more

There’s been a running joke for a while about Lucas Vasquez and what he has on Zinedine Zidane for him to keep getting chances in the Real Madrid side. The reality is that he’s just a versatile and hard working player who won’t let you down, and we’ve seen with Zidane that he only wants to play experienced players that he can trust. It’s very possible that the French legend moved on this summer and that would lead to questions about the future of Vasquez too, with a report from Mundo Deportivo indicating that he’s attracting a lot of interest in a summer transfer. A return to Serie A with Napo ..read more

You always wonder where Jose Mourinho will go every time he fails at a club, but Spurs were the latest to buy into the hype in the hope that he could recover some of his old magic. He has the same problem that any disciplinarian will encounter in that players will run all day and enjoy things if they’re getting results, but they will turn much more quickly once it starts to go wrong. That’s happening now at Spurs with plenty of fans bemoaning Mourinho for sucking the joy out of the club, while results have also taken a dive and Champions League football looks very unlikely next season. READ MO ..read more

You would think that a new player will be nervous about signing for a new club, so seeing the manager literally quit because they didn’t want you isn’t exactly the confidence booster that Olivier Ntcham was hoping for. The French midfielder returned to France on loan from Celtic yesterday, but it was immediately turned into a circus as the Portuguese manager publicly stated he wanted to quit after the deal was done: Breaking | Marseille manager André Villas-Boas announces that he has offered his resignation this morning after the club signed Olivier Ntcham when he didn’t want him. More follow ..read more

The winter transfer window is well known for it’s ability to scare teams into some panic moves, so anybody signing a free agent after the window shuts is surely in desperation mode. There are a few moves that could still make sense if you’ve lost a player late in the window or suddenly have an injury crisis, while good players will suddenly be willing to play anywhere to put themselves into the shop window for the summer. Here’s a look at 10 out of contract players who could still make an impact at a good level:   Ezequiel Garay – Argentina – CB – 34   The former Valencia man was str ..read more