Bob Bradley thinks he’s one of the world’s best managers. So we didn’t expect him to be intimidated by his surroundings when he faced off against Arsène Wenger and Arsenal at the Emirates in his first Premier League match. In the end, Swansea were unlucky not to get a positive result against the Gunners.
Wayne Rooney’s struggles for club and country need no introduction. The perhaps striker, sometimes no. 10 and definitely-not-but-let’s-give-it-a-try midfielder is trying to prolong his days as a soccer boy extraordinaire, but it’s just not coming off at 30 years of age.
His movement looks tired, his touch a bit lumpy and his strengths have been boiled down to a combination of strong concentration levels and nice little layoffs.
After an impressive career with the German national team and Bayern Munich, Bastian Schweinsteiger has hit a roadblock in Manchester. Following the 2014 World Cup victory in Brazil, he made the move to United and had a limited, but not altogether horrible season.
Even playing under former boss Louis Van Gaal didn’t see Bastian get a lot of playing time or confidence after finally arriving in England. While he definitely came several years too late to make the kind of impact he was capable of, 2016/17 appears to have brought the final blow to his European career.
Liverpool has followed the examples of Tottenham and Southampton by enforcing a wage cap of £40,000-per-year on 17-year-old youth professionals according to a report by the Telegraph.
The policy aims to combat the "too much, too young" culture in the Premier League that has seen financial incentives for youth products rise to ridiculous proportions.
For three years now Newcastle United supporters have been somewhat patiently waiting for local lad Adam Armstrong to be given a chance in the first team. The 19-year-old striker was dominant on loan at Coventry City in League One last year, scoring 20 goals in 40 matches.
This season, Newcastle have loaned him to Barnsley, a side in the Championship — the same division as themselves. Armstrong has scored two goals in six appearances for the South Yorkshire club, but his debut goal was the finest of his professional career to date.
The career trajectories of England’s Marcus Rashford and the USA’s Christian Pulisic have escalated quicker than Donald Trump’s various horrible statements.
It hasn’t been the dream beginning that many anticipated following three straight victories to open their 2016-17 Premier League campaign, and many within the Manchester United camp are already beginning to feel the heat.
Wayne Rooney has been in dire form, and his inclusion in the starting XI has been relentlessly questioned. Zlatan Ibrahimovic hasn’t scored a Premier League goal since September 10th. Paul Pogba has hardly justified his gargantuan transfer fee, and Jose Mourinho’s personnel choices, including the ostracizing of Bastian Schweinsteiger, have been criticized.
There’s no doubting Mesut Ozil’s quality. You don’t win 81 caps and a World Cup for Germany, a La Liga title with Real Madrid and collect two FA Cup winner’s medals with Arsenal by riding on the coattails of others. However, a criticism of that nature is frequently thrown at Ozil. His languid style leads to cries of having gone AWOL during big matches — particularly during his time with Arsenal.
Aston Villa suck, and as such are in the market for a new manager who can (hopefully) make them not suck anymore. They appear to have their sights set on Huddersfield Town manager and Jurgen Klopp protege David Wagner.
The problem here is, again, Aston Villa suck, and Huddersfield Town, at least in the context of the Championship, do not suck. Huddersfield Town are in first place with 25 points. Villa are in 19th place with 10 points.