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Thursday 30 January 2014

Manchester City too strong

 Twenty three games into the Premier League season and Manchester City are emerging as the clear favourites to reclaim the title they won in 2012.

With 53 points they now hold a one point lead at the top ahead of closest rivals Arsenal, after taking the lead in the title race and hitting their best form at the right time they are firmly in the driving seat in the race for the Premier League.

Last nights excellent performance at White Hart Lane cemented their title credentials, the free flowing football is not only a joy to watch, but also reaping the rewards. With the best goal scoring record in the league, 68 goals, they are almost unstoppable in front of goal.

City struggled early on in the season on the road but a 5-1 victory over Spurs away from home is a sign of how far they have come since then, Pellegrini has gotten to know his best starting 11 and since then there has been no stopping them.

An injury to Sergio Aguero may scupper their chances but the array of options up front at Pellegrini’s disposable should mean this won’t be a problem. City, on current form, are certainly the strongest side in the league and will be extremely hard to beat.

The biggest competition in the race for the title looks to be coming from their next opponents Chelsea, despite Arsenal lying ahead of Chelsea and only one point behind City, Chelsea posses a greater squad and look in better shape than Arsenal to keep up with a rampant City.

Monday’s big game between Man City and Chelsea could, even this early on, decide the where the title may be heading, if Man City are to win it would put them 6 points clear of Chelsea which could be pivotal, were Chelsea to win however, it would put them level with City.

Man City, being at home, look more likely to take all three points on Monday which will give them a massive boost going into the season’s final months. Despite Arsenal being in 2nd position recent history suggests they will drop off, although it would be foolish to think this will be the case.

There may be 15 games remaining this season but already City are making a burst to secure the Premier League in Manuel Pellegrini’s first season.


Wednesday 29 January 2014

Can Mata change Moyes’ fortunes?


New optimism surrounds Old Trafford in the wake of record transfer Juan Mata’s arrival for 37 million euro, it remains to be seen however, is Mata capable of turning a poor season into a successful season for Moyes?

There is no doubt Mata will provide a boost to everyone associated with United, the team will be boosted by his quality but is his quality enough to lift United from 7th up to 1st in the final stretch of the season?

One reason why this signing may not signal any great revival for United this season is the fact they are not lacking quality in the attacking midfield position, the main problem in the starting 11 is, and has been for a while now, the central midfield area, not the role behind the striker.

Although Mata will improve the teams attacking threat, his signing was not a necessity, with other quality players such as Rooney, Kagawa and Janujaz capable of playing in that role, Moyes may have been better served strengthening other areas of the team.

Currently in the central midfield area Moyes has the option of playing Fellaini, a major flop since joining, Carrick, Fletcher and Cleverley, all good players but none great, United are in need of a Gerrard style player, a top quality box to box midfielder capable of turning defence into attack in a second.

This is not the type of player Juan Mata is, he is an attacking midfielder and he is not a solution to their midfield problem. Other places in the team that would be better served than attack with a new signing would undoubtedly be at the back.

With Ferdinand and Vidic struggling with injuries and not on the top of their games, a new central defender could be of more use to United than Mata, although they do posses other centre-half’s  such as Evans and Smalling none of these have proven themselves good enough to maintain a strong partnership at the back for the champions.

The signing of Mata will undoubtedly propel Manchester United upward in the table but it is extremely unlikely he can swing the title race on his own. The big money signing may only be an attempt to cover over the cracks that are still very much a problem at the defending champions.


A fully fit Manchester United will finish higher than 7th in the league but they should be realistic, the top 4 should be their goal and with the form of Liverpool that will be no easy task.

Monday 27 January 2014

Liverpool Must Strengthen

Liverpool have had a great first half to the season but with teams above and below them strengthening, Liverpool must do the same if they wish to avoid slipping away from the top 4.

With their title hopes failing over the Christmas period, it is extremely important they do their upmost to stay in fourth position but with teams below them such as Everton and United bringing inn quality signings it may prove to be a challenging second half of the season for the Merseyside club.

United’s signing of Juan Mata is a big statement to everyone around them that they are far from finished in their pursuit of Champions League football and maybe even the title, Everton have similarly made a statement in the window with their purchases of Aiden McGeady and Lacina Traore, while Spurs under Sherwood are sure to make a resurgence.

This you would think will be sending alarm bells around the Liverpool camp and hopefully from the team and fans point of view, will push the owners into supporting one or two signings in the final few days of this transfer window.

Without signing any players would not necessarily be a disaster, the squad have shown throughout the season so far that they are capable of beating the best teams but come the end of the season when fatigue takes its toll, the injury list piles up and big players are needed to perform, Liverpool may be found wanting.

So far this window Liverpool have only shown an interest in Egyptian Mohamed Salah who has since joined Chelsea ending Liverpool’s hopes, this is no doubt a setback but there is undoubtedly other players out there who can add something to the squad.

When looking at the team there is a few areas that need improving, the defensive midfield area being one of those, the currently injured Lucas has not been overly impressive thus far and Liverpool could do with some competition in that position and will need a replacement for the next few months due to the Lucas injury.

Other areas that need strengthening include left back, with Enrique out injured and Cissokho not up to the standard required, a new player is much needed in that position. Centre half is probably the biggest problem at the moment with the team shipping goal after goal in recent matches, a signing in this position is key.

There is room for improvement in attacking areas but with Sterling Henderson and Coutinho it is not as important as the other positions mentioned.


If Brendan Rodgers wants to reignite Liverpool’s title challenge, signings are definitely needed, however if the top 4 is all he is looking for they will still be in a good position but may struggle to hold off United without any new players in the squad.