Thursday, December 17 was a day that shall live in infamy for Chelsea fans. When the news broke shortly before 10:00 a.m. EST that Chelsea had parted ways with managerial legend Jose Mourinho, it plunged me into a state of darkness that I have not experienced in many years.
Cesc Fabregas has crossed seas, leaving the cities of his formative years, Barcelona and London, only to return, oscillating between ensconced locales in search of a happiness that can only be provided by fulfilling an unobtainable ambition.
What would you say the odds were that Leicester City was going to be atop the table 16 games into the BPL campaign? Or the odds that Jamie Vardy would have as many league goals as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi combined? Well, Leicester was about a 2500-1 favorite to win the title back in August, and Jamie Vardy having as manys goals as CR7 and La Pulga combined, we'll go ahead and set the odds at 1,000,000-1.
After Manchester United’s dismal Champions League elimination at the hands of Wolfsburg this week, Manchester United fans from around the world must have looked at each other and said: “What the hell just happened here?”
All the promise going into this season has disappeared. United’s inability to put together a cohesive and effective attack has lead to their early Champions League exit, and all the people who were excited about the madman master Van Gaal last season are just about ready to call for his head.
The London Derby between Arsenal and Chelsea has countless highlights. But on this day, December 10th, 9 years ago Michael Essien scored a screamer that nearly made Stamford Bridge explode. Sure, it was only an equalizer, but the 84th minute rocket was huge for Chelsea at the time as they were trying to keep pace with runaway leaders Manchester United. The game was back and forth, with pushing and shoving and loads of talent on the pitch.
Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted to losing sleep and phoning Tonya Harding for advice over Liverpool’s appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager. Well...maybe not. If Ferguson has been watching recent United matches, he’s not having any trouble sleeping. He might have Tonya's mobile number, though.
It’s been a season of stunning upheaval in the EPL. Leicester City have sat proudly astride the Premier League in November and boast the most lethal striker in the division in Jamie "chat s*** get banged" Vardy. The Chelsea team that won the league at a canter last season have become so accustomed to the bottom half of the Premier League table that they’re thinking of releasing a Drake-inspired charity single called "Started At The Top, Now We’re Here (In 14th)." But at least in this swirling maelstrom of change, we can rely on one anchor of stability: Arsenal are fourth.
It's hard to pick the greatest goal of Cristiano Ronaldo's career. I mean, the guy has scored over 500 goals over his 13 year career, so picking just one of them as the best is a tall task. But this long range rip against Porto back in 2009 has to be right atop the list. The younger CR7 has the onions to even attempt this shot, let alone pull it off. It almost makes you sad, because now as the quantity of his goals goes up, it feels like the quality has gone down. Yeah, i know the game is about putting the ball in the back of the net, but I can still be bummed about it.
Emblazoned across the wall at one of the Manchester City training gyms is the slogan “CREATE THE FUTURE.” With their massive outlay on player transfer fees, as well as over £200m spent on the Etihad Campus, a training and academy facility, the Citizens are hell-bent on global domination.
Funded by the seemingly limitless wealth of the Abu Dhabi United Group, the Sky Blues have become a dominant force in English football, winning the Premier League title twice in the last four years.
The beautiful game is constantly evolving and adapting with the times and technology on and off the pitch. A perfect example of this is the technology used by London and Premier League giants, Chelsea FC.