View From The Bridge

To say that the 'Super League' has been met with mixed reactions would be an understatement. Millions of football fans, pundits, players, and former managers have voiced their joint "disgust" toward the creation of the new breakaway league that aims to create another opportunity for big-name clubs to clash on a more regular basis. On paper, who wouldn't want to see Liverpool vs Barcelona or Manchester City vs Juventus on a weekly basis? Unfortunately, the idea has been utterly torched just because a couple of old school football pundits say it's wrong. So, just before you jump up on the hate bandwagon, let's set a few things straight.  The European Super League already has the signatures of 12 top football clubs which include Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletico Madrid, Juventus, Inter Milan, and AC Milan. The basic concept is that these clubs will break away from UEFA competi...

For Chelsea, the start of their 2020/2021 Premier League campaign was much like the British governments handling of Covid-19 - lot's of money spent, full of controversy, and an overall s**t show. However, after the dismissal of Frank Lampard and the hiring of Thomas Tuchel in January, Chelsea has gone from mid-table wannabes to Champions League contenders, all in the space of 13 games. So, with a place in the Champions League final on the table and a top-four league spot all but guaranteed, is Tuchel's takeover of Chelsea the most successful in recent history?  Your first guess would probably be "No", as minds dart straight to the successes of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in his takeover of Manchester United in late 2019. Here, he set a new standard for caretaker managers and collected more points from his first ten games than any other manager in Premier League history (26). This included wins against 'Big Six' rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City and pushed t...

It's no secret that as of late, Chelsea has been the most disappointing 'Big Six' side. Since they sat at the top of the table in early December, the Blue's have followed a promising early showing with top-class mediocre football. With a record of 2 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses over the last 8 games and with over £222 million spent in the summer transfer window, Lampard may start to feel his seat on the Chelsea throne start to slip away.  Now, as I have said in the past, football thinking is very medieval in that on most occasions, the manager is blamed for a teams underperformance rather than the players. However, in this case, this way of thinking may be justified.  For any team, the purchase of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner is something footballing dreams are made of. Each player dominated at their former clubs and definitely made a case for their astronomical combined price tag of £129 million. However, with Havertz having an anonymous impact and Werner playing like a sh...

The 2020 summer transfer window will forever be known as the year R oman Abramovich opened his wallet to most of Europe, offering big contracts to young stars such as Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, and Hakim Ziyech. These additions alongside the young talent that Chelsea has already cultivated (besides Kepa Arrizabalaga of course) have provided Frank Lampard with a super-team that its fans believe could bring them back to the top of both the Premier League and Europe. Although it is still early in the season, the signings combined performance has left something to be desired, both by the fans and Abramovich's wallet; which is now £222 million lighter.  The phrase "super-team" is a phrase that is thrown around a lot in modern sport, but on paper, Chelsea definitely qualifies. They have both quality and depth at almost every position on the pitch and paired with a great coach in Frank Lampard means that they definitely look good on a lineup sheet and coming out of the tunnel. Ho...