Saying the words "Adam Lallana is the key to the Premier League's most high-powered offense" feels weird. It does not roll off the tongue. You think "did I just say that?" and, after a few moments, realize you did say that, and that you meant it, because it's true.
This is not a thing that seemed like it could ever be true as recently as this summer.
Here are a couple of tweets I have tweeted about Adam Lallana:
What was truly remarkable about Leicester City’s Premier League title run-in last year was how smoothly they managed it. After a 2-1 loss to Arsenal of February 14, Leicester finished the season on a 12-game unbeaten run, winning eight and drawing four.
In those eight victories, they hammered their opponents by a scoreline of 14-1. That solitary goal was scored by Everton after Leicester had already clinched the crown. Essentially, they never slipped up; they never made a mistake.
Bob Bradley is now the former manager of Swansea City after the club announced his firing Tuesday.
Bradley, the first American to manage a Premier League club, lasted just 11 games. In those 11 games, he went 2-2-7 and gave up 29 goals, which means that another American probably isn't coaching in the Premier League for a while unless David Wagner can get Huddersfield town promoted.
If the decision to sack Bob Bradley isn’t made in the next 48 hours, as the Daily Mail has reported, it will certainly come down to Saturday’s match against Bournemouth. Bradley was only appointed on October 3, and his reign has been all of 11 matches but such is the nature of managing in the Premier League.
Sam Allardyce’s return to Premier League management with Crystal Palace was everything we’ve come to expect from the big man. Palace secured a point at Vicarage Road, moving them two points clear of the relegation zone, and Allardyce got involved in a spat between Palace winger Wilfried Zaha and Watford mascot Harry the Hornet.
Christmas is widely considered to be the most wonderful time of the year by many, but football is different. There is no winter break and many teams will be thinking of the Boxing Day game as opposed to a turkey dinner, and it can be hard. What would make it even harder, however, is awarding those sides with what can only be described as the worst Christmas gifts of all time.
Chelsea — Crowd Noise Generator
For me, it was an old VHS tape called Ooh Aah Cantona - The Cantona Phenomenon that changed everything. Before the days of soccer on ESPN or NBCSN, well before the era of YouTube skill show compilations and with the lasting memories of the 2002 World Cup seared into my mind, I was introduced to Eric Cantona.
The number seven emblazoned on his red shirt, striding around the pitch with dad bod physique, his collar upturned and with all the beguiling qualities of an existential Frenchman on his third glass of absinthe, Cantona was a side of football I’d never seen before.
Celtic’s Karamoko Dembele, the 13-year-old prodigy who made headlines when making his debut for Celtic’s U-20 side, has triggered an international arms race between England and Scotland as both countries look to secure his services at the youth level.
The FA, in its infinite wisdom, has decided there needs to be more girls playing the beautiful game in England. This in and of itself is a reasonable thing to want. Gender equality is good and the FA should want that.
What is not reasonable or good is the document they made full of suggestions on how to get more females playing soccer.
Specifically, these suggestions were clearly not written by women, or girls, or anyone who has ever met a woman or girl.
Jamie Vardy’s dismissal on Saturday for his lunge on Mame Biram Diouf was predicated on everything but the tackle itself. Having lost the ball to Glen Johnson in the buildup, that particular spirit that invokes images of Skittles Vodka and murmurs of “Chat Shit Get Banged” could be felt through televisions around the globe: Vardy, looking like Pokemon’s Rattata with Red Bull coursing through his mouse veins, was probably about to do something he’d regret.