Category: Featured Column

Featured Articles

Work for Nasri to do to earn a deal with West Ham

Adl Admin

Conditional on Samir Nasri discovering full fitness, a contract with West Ham awaits him. Without a club since leaving Antalyaspor in January of this year, he is trying to get his career back on track. A doping ban, relating to a breach of WADA rules in December 2016, at which time Nasri was on loan to Sevilla, is due to finish at the end of December.  In the lead – up to that date, he has been training with West Ham. Their manager Manuel Pellegrini was in charge of Nasri at Manchester…

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Plenty of progress for England in 2018

Adl Admin

A year which started with a win, ended with a win.  In between victories over the Netherlands and Croatia, there were many other positives for England.  In the process of reaching the final four of the 2018 World Cup and winning their UEFA Nations League group, they played some excellent football. The players which manager Gareth Southgate selected, all embraced every opportunity which they received to play for their country.  Although it was largely a batch of young players which represented England, their performances were consistently good.  The faith which…

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How to Buy Football Tickets in the UK

Adl Admin

Let’s get one thing straight. The myth that Premier League football tickets are incredibly rare because most stadium crowds are sell-outs is completely false. In fact, football tickets are easy to get a hold of if you look at different ways of doing such a task. For lesser-profile matches, the general public will have football tickets available to them in a variation of ways, however, the truth is that for the games everyone wants to be at there has to be more digging involved if you are to secure your…

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 Why Tottenham can be confident against bad travellers Barcelona

Adl Admin

Barcelona’s visit to Wembley to face Spurs is being seen as a tough tie at the wrong time for the home side, up against La Liga league leaders, and having lost in their last euro outing with Inter. Defeats away to Watford, home to fellow Champions League challengers Liverpool, and away at San Siro against Inter, coupled with unconvincing performances in many of their other outings, have resulted in fans being largely disappointed at the start to the campaign, with the sportsbook GiveMeBet among others needing to factor this in to…

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No top 4 finish for Arsenal according to the bookies

Adl Admin

Arsenal currently sit seventh in the Premier League table after a turbulent start to this season’s campaign. Despite the Gunners only being three points behind Watford in fourth place and having three straight wins, the bookies are already ruling out a top 4 finish. Sure, it kicked off quite badly, with losses to Man City and Chelsea in the two first games. But since then, Arsenal have beaten West Ham at home and claimed two strong away wins against the likes of Cardiff and Newcastle. Yet, the odds for Arsenal,…

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Nations League – What is it and do we really need it?

Adl Admin

2018 has seen the beginning of a new, not-so-exciting, national competition called Nations League. Many of us were left baffled, wondering what exactly it is and why FIFA felt the need to add it to the calendar of biennial competition. After all, we already have a European Championship every two years and didn’t necessarily feel the need to have another one. UEFA has said to have devised the competition to eliminate meaningless international friendlies”, which make a lot of sense. However, it really seems as if, after teams such as…

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A new Chiesa for a new Italy

Adl Admin
Federico Chiesa, Fiorentina

During Italy’s 1-1 UEFA Nations League draw with Poland, one of the few distinctly positive notes for new Coach Roberto Mancini to take, was the performance of substitute Federico Chiesa, Fiorentina’s 20 year-old attacker. Son of Fiorentina, Sampdoria and Parma man Enrico, Chiesa broke into the Viola team in 2016, scoring three goals, and followed that up last term with six in 35 matches, proving himself already worthy of being a starter in a strong Serie A side. This year he is expected to continue his progress and add more…

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If Pogba is unhappy at Man Utd, he should leave

Adl Admin
Paul Pogba

When Paul Pogba returned to Man Utd after a few years away at Juventus, the Red Devils and supporters welcomed the return of the Frenchman, with #Pogback trending on Twitter following the announcement of the deal. Pogba had been seen as “the one that got away” from Sir Alex Ferguson, having gone on to become one of the world’s finest players during his spell in Serie A. The deal would set United back a then-world record £89m, and alongside fellow new signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic it appeared that the club could…

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English talent stifled through lack of game time

Adl Admin

In the World Cup this past summer, England managed their most successful campaign since 1990 when they reached the semi-finals. Manager Gareth Southgate and the England players themselves enjoyed the plaudits for doing such a professional job where perhaps past generations have choked. Fittingly, the Three Lions also ended their penalty shootout hoodoo when they eliminated Colombia from the competition on spot kicks. Statistical data has emerged, however, which suggests that English players are being given less playing time in the Premier League than ever before, particularly at clubs vying…

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Man Utd to miss out on Premier League top 4 – says supercomputer

Adl Admin
Paul Pogba

Technology is a great thing when it works. The advent of smartphones and, of course, the emergence of the internet have allowed us to surround ourselves with football in every nook and cranny of our lives. We can find out exactly what has gone on within the corridors at our club with just a few taps of the thumb, or a few clicks of a mouse. Football and technology seem made to go hand-in-hand as both evolve and develop over the course of months and years. One of the most…

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Could John Terry really join Mourinho at United?

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John Terry, Aston Villa

There have been suggestions recently that former Chelsea defender John Terry could turn down a move to Sporting Lisbon – or a return to Aston Villa – in favour of reuniting with former Blues boss Jose Mourinho at Man Utd. The suggestion – credited initially to Adrian Durham on talkSPORT – may seem somewhat silly on the surface of it, but dig a little deeper and there is certainly an argument to be made for it happening. Assuming there is any interest from the Portuguese manager (who counted Terry as…

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Is Manchester United job the biggest blot on Jose Mourinho’s career?

Vyom Chaudhary

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has built an infamous reputation for unceremonious exits from his jobs. The Portuguese manager has seldom parted ways on an amicable note with his employers, and it appears, that he is headed towards the same outcome in his relationship with United. However, Mourinho also has a reputation of being a winner, and that has proved to be his saving grace in most conditions. It was the sole reason why Chelsea risked bringing him back to Stamford Bridge in 2013, despite undergoing an unpleasant experience with…

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Can Dele Alli Recapture His Past Form in the Premier League This Season?

Adl Admin

Dele Alli will return to Premier League action with Tottenham Hotspur buoyed by his success with the national side at the World Cup last summer. The young midfielder is desperate to put last season’s below-par campaign behind him and recapture the form he showed upon first joining the North London outfit. Spurs’ title hopes could hinge on players like Alli hitting the ground running in the season ahead. Alli has enjoyed a somewhat meteoric rise to the top level of English football, after plying his trade with MK Dons initially.…

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How Can Manchester United Dethrone City In 2018-2019

Adl Admin

Manchester United underwhelmed under Jose Mourinho last season, despite enjoying the club’s best domestic season since the Alex Ferguson era. Finishing second behind bitter cross-town rivals – and runaway winners Manchester City – there was disappointment from the Old Trafford fans with the way the manager set up the team and the manner of their play. This was compounded by the club going trophy-less in 2018. This year could be a defining one for Mourinho. He has led United to Europa League and League Cup wins and oversaw the team’s…

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Silverware an Absolute Must for Liverpool after Expensive Summer

Adl Admin

It was a case of close but no cigar for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool last season. The Reds were much improved in the Premier League but could only finish third – Liverpool did advance to the Champions League final but fell short against the mighty Real Madrid. Since then, Klopp has spent over £150 million to bolster his squad and lots of fans believe that the Reds are primed to topple Manchester City in the 2018/19 Premier League title race. Naby Keita, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Alisson will all help Liverpool in…

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Mourinho bemoans “bad” pre-season as Man United seek to close gap on City

Adl Admin

Man United manager Jose Mourinho has never been shy about coming forward, and so it will have come as little to no surprise really to hear that he has stated the Red Devils’ pre-season is a bad one owing to so many absentees. The vast majority of those not present are players still on holiday after good-to-remarkable World Cup campaigns of course, while former Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez has remained in England to sort out some “personal administrative issues”. With such a depleted squad able to partake in some warmup…

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New Sobakov footwear continues Adidas dominance of terrace footwear

Adl Admin

The latest in terrace footwear is upon us, and as in previous years, Adidas are the frontrunners in authentic football culture trainers. The new Sobakov line, available in black and white versions, takes aspects off the pitch and onto the street, and will be the next must buy for Adidas footwear enthusiasts, who have cemented their well-earned status among football fans over the last 5-10 years. The new release is called Sobakov, and is actually a mix of two Russian words, fittingly seeing as Russia gave us the World Cup…

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Do Tottenham Stick or Twist?

Adl Admin

The conclusion of the World Cup was just a few days ago, but there is no rest for the wicked as the prospect of the 2018/19 Premier League season looms large. The first ball will be kicked on Saturday August 11thas Newcastle take on Tottenham at St James Park, however before the campaign gets underway there will be something of a sense of urgency in the preparations of English clubs. The reason being is that the domestic transfer window no longer closes at the end of August, instead it shuts…

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How has the World Cup affected this year’s transfer market?

Adl Admin

July is traditionally the time of year when transfer season moves into top gear, and the rumour machine across the Premier League, Championship and Leagues One and Two starts going into overdrive. This year, of course, attention has been focused to lands further east and the events in Russia. It is understandable that with so many Premier League players in action for their countries, the usual transfer frenzy among the giants, both in the UK and Europe, has been deferred till later in the month. But this has also resulted…

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Golden route to World Cup final for England after securing silver

Adl Admin

England fans didn’t travel all the way to Russia to settle for second place – or did they? Gareth Southgate’s side ended as runners-up in Group G behind Belgium with a final tally of two wins and one defeat. It was a very winnable pool, with the Three Lions holding all the aces in the head-to-head stats over Belgium, but a final match defeat at the hands of the Red Devils handed Belgium the prize. England progressed to the knock-out stage and appear to have been dropped into the better…

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Quiz: Find your second World Cup team

Adl Admin

As the biggest sporting event in history draws ever closer, it’s time to take a look at your choices for the world cup betting odds. Are you sticking with the tried and tested big four? Or going for an unexpected underdog this year? Between them, the nations of Brazil, Germany, Italy and Uruguay have won an incredible 15 of the 20 World Cup tournaments in its long 80+ year history. This year features some unexpected surprises, as well as a few debut nations who’ve never made it to the event…

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Croatia set to repeat the heroics of 1998

Vyom Chaudhary

Both Croatia and Russia will fight for a place in history books when they take on each other in the FIFA World Cup quarterfinal at Fisht Olympic Stadium on Saturday. Croatia surprised everyone in the footballing world in 1998 when they clinched the third place in the World Cup. Davor Suker was the hero of that Croatian side as he claimed the Golden Boot award with six goals in seven games. A lot was expected of the tiny nation following their heroics in France, but it took them another 20…

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Infographic: Proof if needed that a long time has passed since England last won the World Cup

Adl Admin

England climbed to the peak of international football by winning the World Cup in 1966, but it’s been mostly downhill from there ever since. The Three Lions didn’t even qualify for two of the World Cups in the 1970s – that’s how quickly it went wrong. Maybe if Peter Shilton hadn’t been outjumped by Diego Maradona in 1986 it would only have been 20 years of hurt. We’ll never know. More than 50 years have passed since Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup – but what does that really mean?…

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England huge favourites to seal qualification against Panama

Vyom Chaudhary

England’s campaign in Russia is only one game old, and the Three Lions have already improved on their performance in Brazil. The Three Lions found themselves along with Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica in their group four years ago and could manage only one point from their three games. Obviously, Gareth Southgate’s men have been rewarded with a much easier group this time, and it’s too early to judge their title changes. However, their win over Tunisia has almost ensured their place in the last-16, and there is a new-found…

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Five reasons to love this England team

Vyom Chaudhary

It’s been easy to feel fatigued following England in recent years. Whether it’s the slightly cheesy ‘car flags and bunting’ that surrounds a tournament or the predictably poor performances in big games, many fans have fallen out of the love with the national team a bit in recent years. Most prefer club to country. So, it’ll be more of the same this time, right? I mean, if I gave you £20 and told you to name the finalist with williamhill.com then it’s unlikely that you’d put your cash on the…

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