Have you ever watched three pre-season friendlies in a row? I have. I don't recommend it. You come away from them with conclusions like "Ben Woodburn is the best footballer there is, has ever been and ever will be. That's what happened when I watched Liverpool vs. Wigan on Sunday. Like I said, I don't recommend it.
Cristiano Ronaldo made his Manchester United debut on August 16th, 2003. He came on as a substitute for Nicky Butt in the 60th minute of United’s Premier League encounter with Bolton Wanderers.
Superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic is headed to Manchester United this season, a move that prompted one of my Manchester-supporting friends to assure me they will win the Premier League this season.
Ibrahimovic is known for his ability on the field and his ego off of it, and he may have finally met his match, ego-wise, a man who can stand toe to toe with Zlatan in the self-confidence arena: former Manchester United striker Eric Cantona.
I love center back highlight videos. I am not sure why this is, but I can't get enough.
This one is perhaps my favorite. It depicts Martin Skrtel and Mamadou Sakho as a pair of warrior gods who defend Liverpool's goal and honor against all comers and defeat them with ease.
In hindsight, Leicester City’s €15.5 million purchase of French defensive midfielder Nampalys Mendy was an exact like-for-like replacement for the eventual sale of breakthrough star N’Golo Kante.
Not that Leicester City supporters will be okay with seeing Kante leave, especially to EPL rival Chelsea.
Pre-season friendlies present an odd contradiction. They make us hate ourselves when we watch them. We have so many better things we could be doing. So many. But we can't look away. We are drawn to bad pre-season friendlies featuring 16-year-old academy players against fourth-division teams like moths to the floodlights at the Stade de France because we are soccer fans, and therefore we are masochists.
LeBron James became an investor in Liverpool FC in April of 2011. His passion for the club was once again demonstrated on Tuesday when he took to Facebook to offer his support to coach Jurgen Klopp and the rest of the squad. He also offered his services to Liverpool should they ever “need a walk on”.
Arsene Wenger gave Thierry Henry the choice: either he quit his job as pundit on Sky Sports to focus solely on his job as assistant manager of Arsenal’s U-18s, or he’d lose his role within Arsenal’s academy.
Henry has responded by leaving the club, choosing to maintain his role on television along with its £4 million-a-year paycheck.
Arsenal’s all time record goalscorer had been completing his UEFA Pro License at the club, the final coaching qualification available, giving rise to rumors that he'd someday replace Wenger.
Leicester City kick-off their 2016-17 Premier League season on Saturday, August 13th against Hull City. The Foxes are 30/1 long shots to win the Premier League, but they’re tipped at 25/1 to be relegated from the division. To prepare, some poor sap has foot the bill to have them flown abroad to train in Austria. What a giant waste of time.
Leicester City, for those not in the know of English football, are a teeny-tiny club in the East Midlands (i.e. the middle) of England. They miraculously staved off relegation last year, and those plucky, midway bastards are back at it again!
Liverpool played their first friendly of the pre-season Friday against Tranmere Rovers, and I watched. I can't believe I just typed that. Pre-season friendlies are bastions of terrible soccer, academy players you've never heard of and never will hear of again, players huffing and puffing because they're not in shape yet, players looking awful because they haven't played in a while and players not caring because it's a friendly. Why would anyone watch one of these?
I did, so there must be some kind of appeal.