View From The Bridge

The position of manager at Arsenal has been a cursed one ever since Arsene Wenger’s retirement. Those who have followed the great Frenchman have seen nothing but mediocre performances and mid table finishes behind the likes of West Ham. Despite initial excitement, the addition of Mikel Arteta hasn’t brought any additional glory to London’s north end and has managed only two 8th place finishes and a FA cup trophy. Now for a mid-table team this would be acceptable, but for a side who is supposedly within the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’, it hardly stands up against the achievements of Arsenal’s rival clubs. The need for change is severe, but the next manager to run through the gauntlet will certainly have their hands full.  As of now, there are two big name managers on the market, Antonio Conte and Zinedine Zidane. Both men have had great success in their managerial careers, combining for 15 trophies between them, but in terms of style and philosophy they couldn’t be more different....

Right now isn’t exactly the best time to admit to being a Spurs fan. No manager, no European football, stuck behind West Ham, and now at risk of losing their one and only hope of retaining any sort of dignity from the 2021 Premier League season. In an interview that has since gone viral, Harry Kane stood for a chat with Gary Neville and discussed his desire to move past Spurs and start clearing off some of the cobwebs of his very empty trophy cabinet. However, this isn’t something we haven’t seen before and in my mind will undoubtedly end with Kane remaining in the number 10 shirt at Spurs for the foreseeable future.  There’s no question that Harry Kane is a world class talent and has the price tag to match. Any big club that want the chance at signing Kane are going to have to liquidate a serious amount of Bitcoin in order for Spurs to let him go and is valued at around £77 million according to data from the CIES Football Inventory. At 27 years old and arguably coming off his best...

It’s that time of year once again. As the end of another Premier League season draws to a close, pundits and fans all begin to focus on who have been the standout stars from around the league in the last 9 months. Not only is this a time to highlight the achievements of some of footballs rising all-stars but is a dream come true for controversial fans like myself who always like to throw a curveball to upset the nearest Chelsea fan. In that spirit, here are our picks for the 2020-2021 Premier League Team of the Season.  Formation: 4-4-2  Goalkeeper: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)  After a rough start to the year for Chelsea which saw them drop to 9th, putting them solidly in Arsenal territory, the emergence and signing of Edouard Mendy has become a major contributing factor to the clubs continued success. In 27 appearances, Mendy ranks 2nd in the Premier League for fewest goals conceded (22) and has kept 15 clean sheets in his time at Stamford Bridge. His influence in between th...

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...

Racism in sport is worse than it has even been previously. For many, sport is a platform. Some use it as a place to display greatness and achievement. Some use it for political agenda's or propaganda. But some use it to abuse others, and for one reason or another, racial abuse is a continued form of mistreatment that remains largely unpunished within pro-sport.  Now, by "unpunished", I don't mean that any racial abuse is quickly swept under the carpet and forgotten. Governing bodies have taken major steps in minimising the racial abuse that professional athletes may receive by launching campaigns such as the Premier Leagues "No Room for Racism" and "Black Lives Matter".  Penalities for fans or athletes who continue to engage in racism can be given a plethera of punishments that include fines, stadium bans, point deductions, or even arrests. Although this has slightly improved the behaviour of fans in attendance, the athletes themselves are actually...

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...

€105 million goes a pretty long way these days. You can buy yourself a couple of holiday villas in Spain, a Bugatti or two - hell, maybe even a yacht. However, in the football world, you get Paul Pogba - the worlds most expensive super-sub. E ven the most hardcore Man United fans have to admit that this particular investment hasn't exactly worked out the way they wanted, as they were promised the midfielder of the century when in reality they got a Frenchman with bad ankles.  But it hasn't all been bad. Impressive performances at Juventus is what conjured up a return to Old Trafford in the first place and he certainly earned that €105 million price tag. In 178 appearances for the King's of Italy, Pogba racked up 74 goal contributions including 34 goals and 40 assists, pushing Juventus to 4 consecutive league titles under Antonio Conte.  This form did continue for a period at Old Trafford, as even with continuing chemistry and management issues, he still produced 24 goals an...

On the surface, Liverpool is in dire straights at the mid-way point of the 2020/2021 Premier League season. After 6 straight defeats at home, something that has never happened in the club's 129-year history, and having fallen to 8th in the table, this is where fans and owners start to try and find someone to blame. Jurgen Klöpp is the man in charge and has single-handedly brought Liverpool back to the top of European football with the sensational signings of Virgil Van Dijk, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. However, with a string of injuries plaguing his once-great side, is it time to bring in someone new to guide Liverpool through the rest of this rocky season?  As angry as Liverpool fans may be right now, I think the firing of Jurgen Klopp would be premature. Premier League football is a cut-throat business, with several managers ending the year jobless due to their inability to produce top-flight worthy results. Since his arrival in October of 2015, Klöpp has rejuvenated a once-great En...

For as long as I can remember, Sir Alex Furgeson has always been regarded as the best manager that the Premier League has ever seen, and is definitely in the conversation for the worlds best too. In contrast, although Arsene Wenger had great success during his 22 years at Arsenal, he still left a foul taste in the mouth of ungrateful Arsenal fans after his resignation in 2018. However, the statistical difference between these two great managerial legends isn't as great as you might think.  Sir Alex Furgeson joined Manchester United in 1986, and over a 27-year career, he put together quite a stat sheet. He led the Red Devils to 17 Premier League titles, 5 FA Cups, and 2 Champions League trophies, whilst managing some of the biggest names in world football such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, and Robin Van Persie.  Similarly, Arsene Wenger joined Arsenal in 1996 and was an immediate success in the Premier League. He was the only manager who could compete with the dynasty tha...

When Leicester City won their famous lone Premier League title in 2016, nothing more was expected of them. I think it's safe to assume that after the sale of Riyad Mahrez to Manchester City and Ngolo Kante to Chelsea, everyone was expecting a swift return to the mid-table. But smart transfers and the continued success of Jamie Vardy as one of the leagues most proficient strikers, has kept Leicester City within touching distance of the top 6. Now, with the addition of Brendan Rogers in early 2019, Leicester City has turned from a northern English city to a legitimate 'Big Six' side, capable of standing toe to toe with Europe's biggest football clubs.  Rogers was hired from Celtic in February 2019 and was tasked with returning Leicester City back to Europa League contention. He managed the final 10 games of the 2018-2019 season and came away with 5 wins, 2 draws and 3 losses, bringing Leicester back to the top 10 for the first time since their title run 2 years prior.  Th...

Since 2015, Premier League teams have spent over £6.6 billion in gross transfer fees and it's fair to say that not every one of those transfers has turned out great. Nicolas Pepe was sold to Arsenal in 2019 for a club-record £72 million and has only scored on 9 occasions in 47 appearances. Danny Drinkwater signed for Chelsea in 2017 for £34.1 million after being a regular starter for Leicester Cities Premier League winning side the year prior. In his very short time at Chelsea, the Englishman made 12 appearances over 2 years and contributed a single goal. Thankfully, not all Premier League transfers have made such disastrous headlines and at the very top of those successful few is Leicester front-man Jamie Vardy.  Originally bought from non-league side Fleetwood Town for £1 million, Vardy made his Premier League debut with Leicester after contributing to their promotion in 2014. What followed could only be described as a footballing miracle.  As well as being one of the main d...

Since 2004, Arsenal fans have had a lot to complain about. Their lack of consistency in both the Premier League and in Europe has given their fans diminishing hope that they may one day return to the glory days at the beginning of the millennia. The 2003/2004 Premier League season is one that was supposedly dominated by Arsenal, who went undefeated in their 38 game season, winning 26 and drawing the remaining 12. This earned them the name " The Invincibles " and is a fond memory that Arsenal fans can cling too when watching the current outfit lose to Burnley at the Emirates. However, when you dig a little deeper, this so-called unbeatable side was just lucky enough to be in the right era at the right time. Of all the great sides that have graced the Premier League since 2000, there is no question that the Invisibles should still be included. With world-class talent in Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Sol Cambell, the 2003/2004 Gunners were pretty much stacked at every positi...

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...

Over the last decade, the Premier League has been graced with some truly outstanding moments that will live in the hearts of those who saw them for years to come; from Sergio Aguero’s 93rd-minute winner against QPR to Leicester City's incredible march to the peak of topflight football. However, whilst most teams have continued to build and progress (especially those inside the 'Big Six') Arsenal have been spending most of their time stalling and underperforming in a league they have been more or less irrelevant in since 2004. Now irrelevant may be a strong word, as Arsenal have had some decent finishes within the league table since they lifted the trophy; notably finishing in 2nd a year after their title triumph in 2005 and finishing 2nd again in 2016. But as a sports person (and a highly competitive one at that), I have the understanding that if you don't win or accomplish a goal that you set out to achieve, you've failed. This of course is relative to who you are ...