Opinion

The 2016-17 Premier League season is still young, but we don’t want to let that little detail keep us from making a few early predictions about who might fill the shoes of Riyad Mahrez and take home the EPL Player of the Year trophy. 

People can hope and cheer but, judging by the way things look at Leicester City right now, a repeat is about as far from happening as Tim Howard becoming president. 

Taking that into account, we can rule out two of last year's front runners for the EPL's ultimate individual accolade, Mahrez and Jamie Vardy. 

Openly disdained by most Premier League clubs and truly loved by only a small sub-section of society (read: Sevilla), the Europa League has always been the Boo Radley of European football — it’s believed to be a horrible thing for everyone who comes into contact with it. Rumor has it that it’ll even ruin your domestic title chances while decimating your entire squad with injuries. 

Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw between Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal yielded two story lines which have gone on to dominate this morning’s headlines. It’s just a matter of perspective: either David Ospina, selected to start over normal Arsenal No. 1 Petr Cech, earned Arsenal a point, or PSG striker Edinson Cavani squandered all three for the home side.

Ross Barkley did not have a good game against Sunderland.

Barkley spent most of his time posting up defenders like a basketball player from the 90s, but that strategy doesn't work very well if you're 40 yards from the goal. Ronald Koeman noticed this and yanked Barkley for Spaniard Gerard Deulofeu, who is wispy and aggressive and prefers to glide at/around defenders instead of trying to smash them into grit.

Major League Soccer has been something of a taboo subject for football fans around the world for many years now. It's often regarded as an oddity within the world's game due to the fact that the American conception of football is so different to our own. 

It's as if they've been cast off from the rest of the footballing landscape, free to do as they please until they're ready to come around. Now, it seems as though America has finally got around to embracing the world’s game. The real question is, can they now compete with the other elite leagues across the globe?

For the first time in about ten years, it must finally be relaxing to be a fan of the Brazilian national team. At the 2005 Confederations Cup, Brazil merrily captured the title with a squad containing the assurances of Kaka, Ronaldinho, Lucio and the phenomenal talents of Adriano and Robinho. That was the end of the fun.

Christian Pulisic seems to be the name on the lips of every American soccer fan following his brace against Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The young American soccer player is being described as a potential future great. Yet, for most USA fans, the likelihood of seeing Pulisic in action is slim to none — unless you’re planning on taking a trip abroad.

Let's be honest, El Tri failed to meet extremely high expectations this summer. What was expected of the Mexican national team was to excel in all competitions, but they fell flat at the Copa America Centenario and the Rio Olympic Games.

Competing in the Copa America in the team’s ‘second home’, the United States, fans and spectators alike believed El Tri had a chance to make history in the competition. 

They were one of the early favorites. With a win over Uruguay and the top dogs, Brazil, crashing out early, they had a chance but blew it. 

It's been ten years since Cristiano Ronaldo first flirted with the prospect of leaving Manchester United for Real Madrid. We all know he wound up making the switch to the Santiago Bernabeu during the summer of 2009, but Ronaldo’s three extra years at United helped him become the Herculean figure he is today.

Ronaldo's initial itch to leave United stemmed from fear — a fear of backlash from the whole of England after his perceived role in Wayne Rooney's sending off during a 2006 World Cup quarterfinal.

September is upon us. For many, that means looking forward to cooler weather and an opportunity to view the fall coloring. For soccer fans, however, that means a few weeks of zero club action. There will be no games until the weekend of September 10 because of the break for international matches

Why the interruption? Well, this particular break is to stop play so players could take part in qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Yet, for fans, that means no top level club soccer matches, which simply isn’t fair.