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tslasvegas · 4 years

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Episode 8: “On the upside we got the numbers.” - Andrew (who is then voted out by those numbers)

It’s always a sad and unfortunate thing when a player needs to leave a game for personal reasons. I’m wishing Kevin all the best!

Welp. I don't wanna say that this sucks, but this sucks. My closest ally walked from the game, and I hope he's ok. I really hope everything is ok with him. But now, I'm a green in a world of pinks. What my pink friends don't realize though, is I have a Safety Without Power advantage. Nobody knows about it. So if we lose, they cannibalize themselves, and that will be a sight to see. But I'd like to keep my advantage for as long as possible. But if we lose, that'll be a fun tribal council. I can only hope it's a double tribal. Now this - this is a redemption arc.

If a merge at 13 is next, then we are done! ugh.

MERGE HAPPENS

We merged!! And I only had to attend a single tribal council in the premerge with 8 eliminations. That’s wild! We’re sitting here in merge with 7 OG Palazzo, 3 OG Bellagio and 3 OG Luxor. If Palazzo sticks together, we’d have the majority whichever way you look at it. However, I don’t imagine that group is going to stick together very long. Joey wants to get myself and Jaiden into single digits. I’d love to help get Jake into single digits as well. And I’d also like to get Livingston to at least 6th place. Honestly a group of that 5 sounds like a pretty good idea, and I might pitch it to Joey later today. And now we’re doing mastermind! A game I love but rarely ever win. I usually come close and I’m hoping this time around I can snag a win and be safe this first tribal. Nothing is scarier than the merge round of the game. Anything at all can happen. There’s still some idols and extra votes floating around, maybe some steal a votes too. There’s also that safety without power and the legacy advantage, which may be able to be played this round? Exciting things are brewing im sure.

We made the merge!!

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So OG Palazzo must be tight. Good thing Steph and Joey are still reaching out. But I don't know if we can build up a resistance with the non-OGPalazzo. I mean, in theory, it can happen. 6 of us, with a steal a vote. But so much has happened voting on opposite sides, I don't know if it is doable. We can try. Better to go out blazing at 13th, than just waiting for your turn to be voted out before F7.

I MADE IT TO MERGE AGAIN... okay I feel good about my surroundings, as well as the people I’m next to. OG Palazzo wants to go all the way to Final 7, but I know that ain’t gonna happen, cause I’m turning on them as fast as humanly possible. I need others to see that I’m a strengthener to their games, and now that its every player for themselves, I think I can grab some allies and make shit happen. I have a Legacy Advantage, and I’m just trying to get to 6.

I’m sad I lost all my chips. On the upside we got the numbers

MERGE BITCH

Ok but for serious I don't have much to say so I'm just going to do an assessment of everyone on the tribe. Andrew - I thought I was gonna like Andrew bc I thought he was c*te then I find out he likes The Sims so there was something easy for us to talk about!! But then... come to find out. He's not really interested in talking I guess. So I'm just going to leave him alone and not carry on a conversation. Ben - WHY is Ben still here. I'm so annoyed. Ben tries so hard to be my ally but I don't trust him that much. Before the merge, he pitched a plan to pool our coins (meaning: I had to send him all of mine) so that I could spin the wheel and avoid going bankrupt. Then he said we're a final two. I was like,,, no thanks. I feel like he's going to blow up his game at some point, but I just gotta pretend better to be on his side. Idk how to do that exactly... Jake - Jake has been THE biggest surprise of the merge to be honest. I actually really like Jake. He's a little "irritating" I guess, but more in the sense that he is just pretty bro-y and that's not my energy. I respect Jake's desire to be great in Tumblr Survivor, we have that in common here. I think right now, Jake and I are as close as you can get to working together without actually being a legitimate alliance. I want to see where this takes us because he's a cool guy and I really feel bad for talking shit about him before the merge. Jeff - Part of me likes Jeff, but part of me views him as the enemy simply because he's part of the "Palazzo 7". I want to try and work on Jeff because maybe he and I see things the same way? I don't think this game is strictly "seven strong" like Joey perpetuates, I'll get to that in a minute though. Anyways, I want to see how things go with Jeff cuz he seems like a cool dude and I'm definitely a meninist and want to be his bitch! Joey - I hate that I'm in a position where I both know Joey is vital for my game right now, but also that I can't stand his strategy. I like him as a person, let's make that very clear for the post-season - I just don't subscribe to his idea that there's a seven person alliance (which btw includes him according to numbers???) running the show. I will definitely feel Joey out some more before I make any decision to attach myself to him fully or throw him to the wolves. John - THREAT. I'm on high alert for John and kinda trying to maintain a safe, social-distancing-approved level of space between us. I think that John is definitely running things at least in one or two circles and I don't want him to turn that target around on me. I also can't let him know that I'm onto him. John is probably playing it where everybody just likes him and includes him in plans, but in the event that he is pulling strings, that's where the issues start. Kailyn - I don't really care for Kailyn anymore tbh. I kinda think Kailyn is playing a good under the radar game and I think it's in a lot of people's benefit to send her off to the jury sooner rather than later. I have no read on who she's close with though so that's the danger. Probably John? But who knows. Keegan - I also am surprised that I like Keegan as much as I do. He seemed a little bit too smart for his own good? But he's actually rather nice. He flops like I do but I think he's a danger if I'm not careful. I'll keep on this guy and hopefully he doesn't target me <3 I'd rather work with Keegan than against him especially now.

Livingston - WOW I thought I'd like Livingston but goddamn this guy is BORING. Not only does he not message back, but he has nothing interesting to provide to a conversation. If he was the first person to go this round I wouldn't really be upset oop Pat - We talked a lot about drag race. We played an org together and I remember now that Pat was fucking IRRELEVANT so I'm surprised to see this new energy. Who are you and what did you do with the real Pat? Stephanie - I don't really like Stephanie's strategy either, she's just too damn likable and kind of floats on by, I wish she had left last time instead of Rachael because then it's likely Rachael gets the boot soon. But we'll see what happens. I just hope that me voting for her isn't going to kill our relationship and we can work together at some point, at least until she gets voted out. Xavier - I have a hard time reading Xavier. I think I'm calmed down from feeling threatened by him. I trust Xavier enough to not go and screw up a vote again, but does he trust me? Don't really know. I want to work with Xavier at least for a couple votes but I know that he and Ben aren't on good terms and Ben is a vote that I need right now :/ The issue I have with Xavier is that he is positioning himself to kinda be a doormat just doing whatever people want and not necessarily.. taking control of how people look at him I guess. He sticks out for being the "dad" on the tribe and doesn't bring a lot of his own personality to conversation - it's just really basic strategy. I don't know anything about him that I didn't have to go fucking find out about him on his public YouTube. Insert clown emoji here. Anyways, overall I feel okay about my chances on this tribe... So far. I honestly don't see myself playing a winning game right now - BUT it's final thirteen and there is a lot of time to turn that around for myself. I feel good in comparison to my previous Tumblr Survivor seasons because there hasn't been a vote where I've completely made myself stand out like a sore thumb. My head is in a good place to finish out this game strong, just gotta put the pedal to the metal and work shit out. Maybe win a couple challenges! Whatever twists are ahead... I'm not prepared. But I am going to walk away from this season for the better, one way or another. Eight people down, twelve left to go.

Well, I came close to winning but unfortunately didn't. Kailyn won immunity and we had a twist where we all had to choose between two buttons. Aaaaand Kailyn now has immunity this tribal and next tribal. Lovely. After the challenge, Andrew immediately threw out Jake's name, which was worrying but I think Jeff and I have managed to sway things towards Ben. Which is a little scary, since it's highly possible he has an idol or advantage (though he did play an idol on himself at the Rachael boot. So maybe not?) Now, the question is going to become: how do Livingston and myself navigate these next few tribals with Jake? We need to keep him safe and the target off his back. There's also Joey and Jaiden who I definitely want to keep working with moving forward. I think I'm in a decent spot. I really don't see Jaiden or Jake keeping their mouth shut if my name comes up. I think I've managed to build enough of a bond with them that they won't target me. My concern is definitely Ben being a little sneak, as well as Kailyn and Xavier, who really don't talk at all. John... can also be kinda sneaky and he also has been super quiet. However, when all is said and done, I just want a single digit placement. I don't care what happens before/after that, just please let me get there.

My first merge in 3 seasons of Tumblr Survivor, finally! It would be awesome if the tyrannical force of pink wasn’t here. Right now I’m practically a sitting duck. I’ve made connections with Jaiden and Joey who I just met, I’m hoping they’d watch my back. Ben and I are great friends from outside the game, we’re called the Jew-O Duo, for obvious reasons. I’m in a duo with Jeff called Jeff Squared, a duo with Pat called The Best Men, a trio with Liv and Keegan (that’s super dangerous cause I know they’re friends), and me John and Xavier are the Luxor Losers. I should feel protected - but I don’t. I need to keep working socially and hope that I can scoot by a couple more rounds. I wanna buddy up with Steph and Kailyn, I have no interest in working with Andrew after he flat out told me he wasn’t turning on Pink. It could be me tonight. We’ll just have to see.

....five seconds later

No. No no no no no no no. I'm sick of Andrew trying to get me out, and then going after my allies instead. I can't just sit here and let him walk all over me the entire game. He has been wishy washy and fake with me since I met him. I'm not gonna play a game of what ifs, I'm taking a gamble and gonna get his own tribe to flip on him. I've got enough information from Jeff, Pat, and Liv to spin into a lie. I know Andrew said my name - but Jeff and Keegan changed it to Ben, so if I tell Keegan that Andrew blamed him on my name coming up I think I can flip him. I can try to get John, Ben, and Xavier, Keegan can get Liv and Joey, that's 7. If it blows up in my face - Oh well. This is season 99! We're high rolling now.

Had a nice long conversation with Jake this morning. Andrew has been throwing my name under the bus for some reason? Well Andrew, better watch out because I’m driving that bus and swerving it at you. OG Palazzo is... not my favourite. Honestly I’m okay if it dies tonight. Jake, Livingston, Ben, Joey, Jaiden and myself can definitely switch things up. I imagine we can get John and Xavier on board as well, maybe even Kailyn. I was perfectly okay riding the pink wave for a few rounds, but Andrew you just had to go and mess that up. Why? For what reason? Hoping it’s you tonight. xoxo Gossip Girl

I feel good about tribal, rip Andrew I guess, but I'm nervous as hell for some reason that it could be me. It would be perfect because I don't even see it coming... :/

I don't know what happened, but there seems to be a "merging" of tribal lines. Which is good for me. The vote is going Andrew with 9. And the 4 are voting Ben. Or everyone is playing everyone. I am just happy I am not one of the options BUT I was told that Steph and I are being mentioned by people as a tight 2. Well, they're right, but I didn't want that to come out.

Andrew is being his paranoid self. And rightfully so. Unless I’m getting completely bamboozled, the vote should between 7 and 9 votes for Andrew, and between 6 and 4 votes for Ben. Fingers crossed this goes off without a hitch

Okay so premerge wasn’t too hard tbh. Just making friendships with my og palazzo. I just hope that every week people see someone else as less important to their game. I have a long mental game for this and I am prepared to take this game week by week and adjust to everything that comes. I just pray that I make it through this week and even if I lose Andrew I don’t mind tbh because then I have an idol to myself. I’m obsessed with Livingston tbh he’s so funny and I like a good amount of the people I didn’t get a chance to meet premerge so I think there’s good room to move about

After last tribal I honestly want Ben gone. He’s kind of rude and frustrating. OG Pallazzo has the numbers so in theory we should be set but who knows? 🤷🏼‍♀️

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stretfordender · 5 years

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16, 25, 55, 73, 89 :3c

16. What makes your favorite coach better than other coaches?

Fergie was THE BEST! COACH! THAT EVER DID LIVE! even though tumblr thinks he’s nsfw

hIS MAN MANAGEMENT! Who else could keep four world class strikers happy at the same time. Numerous people have talked about this in various interviews but he was just. so good at making you feel needed even if he wasn’t going to play you, and always offered you a reason why you weren’t playing... that’s why he got RESPEKT! And I adore it because he passed it on to his lads - I keep wanting to do this juxtaposition set where a Molde player talked about how Ole would do this as well - it’s just. him good. him the best at management.

The siege mentality that he cultivated: strongly believe that this was the reason United was so good and so hated at the same time, because that team was brainwashed???? to think that they were ‘not arrogant, just better’ - that everyone was against them and that’s why they had to be strong. And that’s why they were going to win.

Tangentially, see: putting his arm around becks the moment becks fuked up in ‘98. ‘He’s a United player and he’ll talk about United things’. GOD! he attac he also protecc. COMPARE AND CONTRAST TO uh mou’s ‘luke has a weak mentality’ or whatever bullshit he said. No! that’s not how you manage players! Fergie made sure United was an island and the lads knew it, knew how much playing for the badge meant!!!!!

His stupid team talks about Aberdeen shipyards and geese who does that

#winning - I mean, fergie time was a thing, but there was a reason WHY it was a thing - because his mentality was rock fukin solid! no one could ever get to him. see: kevin ‘love it if we beat them’ keegan. see: rafa ‘facts’ benitez. the man was a mountain and that rubbed off on fortress old trafford. has any team besides united won the title three times in a roW? I THINK NOT!

He was such a grandpa.... he still does that cheeky smile thing when he remembers something one of the players did..... yknow!! hes so good

Consider : most of the players under him became United fans even if they didn’t start that way. That’s Special. IT REALLY IS.

He played understanding the dna of the club. He would talk to Sir Matt, he always promoted the youth al W a y s, he didn’t come in and just be like ‘oh I’m the Special One and I’ll Do things My Way’. CAN U TELL I’M BITTER! but no. I think he always understood narrative and, y’know, what football meant and what United meant. I don’t think there’ll ever be anyone like him ever again.

I love him so much I might die

OKAY DEEP BREATH

25. Favorite Midfielder

Hrahhhh u know this...Paul Scholes...... swear to god, the first time I ever saw him play live it was...fuckin magical. Like. Television doesn’t capture how good he is, you gotta be there looking at the whole pitch because I swear he has eyes on the back of his head - he can see every single pass and he’ll hit every single pass to pinpoint perfection. I can’t even explain it! It was just. Art! It really was art!!!!!! The most beautiful thing I ever watched! And that was when he was, what, 40??? I want a cloning machine so he can play for us again. The feeling when he runs into the box knowing that the ball’s coming out and knowing that he’s going to score a goal is just mA G I C.

55. Three players from past generations you wish you had seen

what is my generation..... uHHH. I’ve seen most of the 90s players even if they were charity matches and I would die to see them in their prime, but for the sake of argument I’ll leave them out -

George Best, because everyone says he was beautiful. Bobby Charlton, because of The Special. And of course Duncan Edwards.

73. Your proudest moment as a fan

YOU MEAN STUFF THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN WHEN I WAS FOUR?

England semi-finals and you know it! You! Know! It! I’ve never been so happy and I’ve never been so sad. And I’ve never been so proud of the lads. Sure the route there was easier! Sure ‘it was only Panama’! but people have No Idea how fragmented national football in England is and to see literally everyone getting behind the team regardless of club was. Just the best.

89. A player who just makes you smile with all the things he does off the pitch

oh god... gonna say Juan because 1. common goal!! 2. he visits MUSEUMS!!! 3. He loves wandering around Manchester tldr i love him

football questions meme

#SORRY THIS GOT LONG GOD!!!!!!!#I HAVE TOO MANY FEELINGS #LOVE U :****#ask box games #strikerbacks

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liamhaydn-blog · 2 years

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The Dominant Dynasties of English Football

When you talk of English football’s most dominant dynasties, only 2 sides can come to mind. The two Northern Powerhouses of Liverpool and Manchester United. Liverpool ruled the 1970′s and 80′s, Manchester United “knocked them off their perch” in the 1990′s and 2000′s. In this time, both established themselves as not only head and shoulders above the rest domestically, but as the most consistent side on earth.

Liverpool won the first Division 1 title when Football resumed after the Second World War, their 5th league crown overall, but by the time Bill Shankly walked through the door in 1959, they had been languishing in the Second Division for five years. Shankly inherited a side which had just been dumped out of the FA Cup by non-league Worcester City. After 1 year in charge, 24 first-team players left the club. With Shankly instituting wholesale changes to modernise the training facilities and training methods, as well as looking to cultivate a much closer relationship between the club and its supporters, Liverpool won the 2nd division title in 1962, after 8 seasons outside of the top-flight.

Shankly’s simple philosophy of “pass and move” and tactics honed in the infamous Anfield Boot Room alongside 2 future managers led Liverpool to two league titles in 3 years aswell as the club’s first FA Cup in the mid-1960′s. However, Shankly was then reluctant to move on players with whom he’d achieved so much success, and the necessary re-building job was delayed due to his loyalty to his players. Many of them were past their best and as a consequence Liverpool continued to fall short going six seasons without a major trophy.

By 1972-73 though, the re-build was complete and thus began the most glorious stretch any English side had ever enjoyed. Signed in this re-build were players such as Ray Clemence, Alec Lindsay, Larry Lloyd, John Toshack, Kevin Keegan and Steve Heighway. All came from the lower league’s and in the case of Heighway, non-league football. Many of these signings came courtesy of the scouting system Shankly had established, which proved to be the best in the country by a considerable distance. Chief scout Geoff Twentyman was thought to be the key man in identifying players, and therefore was perhaps Shankly’s greatest ever ‘signing’.

Liverpool were crowned league champions for the first time since 1966, the partnership of young Kevin Keegan signed from Scunthorpe United in 1971 and John Tashack the year prior from Cardiff City proved a winning formula, both men netting 13 each in the league. An English record was set that season of 21 consecutive home league wins, only broken in 2020 by the same club under Jurgen Klopp.

The club’s incredible success in Europe also began in 72-73, which makes it the perfect season to begin the story of Liverpool’s dynasty. In the UEFA Cup they came through 4 German teams, 2 from the East and 2 from the West, aswell as AEK Athens and holders Tottenham. In the first leg of the final at Anfield, Keegan scored twice as Liverpool beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0. In the second leg the Germans led 2-0 at the break to make for a nervy second half but they couldn’t force the equalising goal as Shankly’s men held on to win their first European honour.

Liverpool were unable to defend the league title, finishing 2nd behind Don Revie’s Leeds, but they claimed the FA Cup beating Newcastle 3-0 with another Keegan brace in a final. The match turned out to be Bill Shankly’s 783rd and final game in charge of his beloved Reds though it wasn’t known at the time, as he announced the news two months after the final whistle. He was 60 years old and 25 years of constant management had put its strain on him. Shankly had won the UEFA Cup and reached the Cup Winners Cup final, but listed his only regret as being his failure to win the European Cup.

He was to be replaced by Bob Paisley. Paisley signed for Liverpool as a player in 1939, but didn’t make his first appearance for the club until 1946 due to the Second World War where he served in the Royal Artillery. He went on to be Liverpool captain until his retirement in 1954, upon which he immediately joined the club’s backroom staff, first working as a physiotherapist, then reserve team manager and then as first-team trainer. Shankly decided the training strategy, which was to abandon the traditional methods of hard physical exercise and move to a more football based approach concentrating on speed and using the ball. Dedicating time to ensuring players had an effective recovery period after training also proved vital to keeping his players remarkably injury free over the years.

Paisley was more of a tactician than Shankly, who excelled more as a force of motivation. However Paisley was a man happy to be in the background, demonstrated by his 15 years working as Shankly’s assistant, and therefore he was reluctant to step in to the Boss’ shoes, and attempt to fill the sizeable space they had left. Paisley’s first game as Liverpool manager came against Brian Clough’s Leeds, also in charge for the first time. Both were replacing gigantic figures at their respective clubs, with Clough being the successor of his great rival Don Revie. Though Paisley and Clough would both begin by competing against each other in the season’s Charity Shield, that would be where the similarities ended in regards to these spells, Clough was sacked after just 44 days. Adding salt to his wounds, it would be his previous club Derby County who took the title that season finishing ahead of second place Liverpool.

The Paisley era had begun by celebrating the era just past, with the team being walked on to the Wembley turf by Shankly rather than the current manager, in a gesture of respect to his great accomplishments. Shankly would quickly come to regret his decision to retire and in the early days under Paisley, would take to turning up at the club’s training ground and taking charge of training sessions, something he rarely did when manager. Paisley always a very modest figure, had to firmly tell the messianic Shankly that he did not work there anymore, that it was now his team. The board of directors similarly wanted to move on from Shankly finding him an over-bearing presence, they were wary of the way Manchester United had been unable to move past the shadow of Matt Busby, due to his lingering presence on the board and therefore opted to completely cut ties with Shankly. They were ultimately vindicated with this ruthless approach as Paisley would go on to surpass his achievements.

Bar the Charity Shield which was won on penalties after a 1-1 draw best remembered for the brawl between Keegan and Leeds’ Billy Bremner, Liverpool were unable to win a major trophy that season. It would be the first and only time that was to be the case in Paisley’s 9 years at the helm.

On the final day of the league season in 75-76, Liverpool needed atleast a draw away at Wolves, but after 75 minutes they trailed 1-0. It looked as though the title may be won improbably by Queens Park Rangers for the first time, but then Keegan equalised and Liverpool went on to win 3-1. They paired the league success with another UEFA Cup win, this time against Club Brugge after edging out FC Barcelona in the semis. The Merseysiders went 2 down in the first 15 minutes of the home leg, but came back to win 3-2. A 1-1 draw away in Belgium was enough to secure the cup against the side managed by the great Ernst Happel.

The following season was somehow an even better one. They retained the league title for the first time since 1923 and became just the second English club to win the European Cup beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1 in Rome. The one disappointment came sandwiched between League and European success, as Liverpool were denied a potential treble losing the FA Cup final 2-1 to Manchester United. That season saw Scotsman Alan Hansen join the club from Partick Thistle for £100,000. He would go onto become one of the greatest defenders in the club’s history. Departing after the European Cup final was Keegan who left for Hamburger, after scoring 100 goals in 321 games for the club.

Arriving in the Summer of ‘77 was Kenny Dalglish from Glasgow Celtic. He went on to more the fill the gap left by Keegan, scoring atleast 18 goals in his first six seasons. Also arriving that season was midfielder Graeme Souness from Middlesbrough, he would have an enormous influence in the side. Liverpool were unable to win 3 titles in a row losing out to Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. They did however become the first English side to retain the European Cup beating familiar foes Borussia Mönchengladbach and Club Brugge in the semi-finals and final respectively, Dalglish scoring the only goal at Wembley Stadium with his 31st of the season. It was Liverpool’s second European trophy that campaign as they also took the UEFA Super Cup against Keegan’s Hamburger, a painful return for Keegan, as Liverpool won the tie 7-1 overall.

78-79 saw Liverpool reclaim the league championship in dominant fashion as they scored 85 and conceded just 16 in 42 games. In 21 home games they scored 54 and conceded only 4 times. They were unable to win 3 European Cups on the bounce however as they were knocked out in the 1st round by Nottingham Forest, who went on to lift the trophy. Liverpool retained the league title the following year, but were unable to win the FA Cup, finally being knocked out by Arsenal at the fourth attempt to decide a winner after the tie was eventually decided after 7 and a half hours. An exhausted Arsenal ended the season losing both the FA Cup final to West Ham and the Cup Winners Cup final to Valencia after a period of 17 matches in under 7 weeks.

Liverpool finished a lowly 5th in 80-81, their first season outside the top 3 for a decade. They made up for this in the cups, not least in Europe where they won the big one for the third time in five years. After edging out Bayern Munich on away goals in the semis, an Alan Kennedy goal was enough to beat Real Madrid in Paris. The following season saw a number of new players establish themselves in the side who would go on to be key players in Liverpool successes for the remainder of the decade. These included Bruce Grobbelaar, Mark Lawrenson, Ronnie Whelan and most notably of all Ian Rush, with £300,000 spent to take the teenager from Chester City. He would go on to score 346 goals for the club. After the previous seasons blip, normality was restored as Liverpool regained the league title with a run of 18 wins from 20 games. There was no continental success this time out as they were defeated by CSKA Sofia and missed out on the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, losing to South America’s Champions Flamengo by 3 goals to 0.

Liverpool retained their title in 1983. Despite winning none of their last 7 and losing 5 of them they walked to the title 11 clear of 2nd placed Watford. They also won a third successive League Cup, United becoming the third side to taste defeat after West Ham and Tottenham had both failed to deny Liverpool getting their hands on the cup. Bob Paisley stepped down at the end of this his 9th season. It was a period of astonishing dominance in which he won 6 league titles, only finishing outside the top 2 once, 3 European Cups, 3 League Cups, 5 Charity Shields (outright), one European Super Cup and one UEFA Cup.

Joe Fagan became the latest to emerge from Shankly’s boot room and take the hot seat as Liverpool boss. And he picked up right where Paisley left off with an incredible first season. Liverpool won 3 league titles in a row for the first time in their history, and as well became the first team to win the league cup 4 times on the spin. It took a staggering 13 games to win this one, including 6 replays. The final fittingly went to a replay and Liverpool triumphed 1-0 over local rivals Everton. This wasn’t all, as Liverpool also went on to win their 4th European Cup as they beat Roma 4-2 on penalties, despite missing their first kick. The match was to be the last in a Liverpool shirt for Souness, who left for Sampdoria that summer. It had been a fitting end to an incredibly successful 6 years in which he won 5 league titles and 3 European Cups. That season saw Ian Rush hit a career best 47 goals in all competitions.

84-85 was to be a season of disappointment as Liverpool finished empty handed. Made worse, it was Everton who bested them first in the Charity Shield then by 13 points in the league. Adding to the pain was an FA Cup semi-final replay defeat to other rivals Manchester United. The Intercontinental Cup was this time lost to Independiente of Argentina and the European Super Cup was a 2-0 defeat to Juventus. Liverpool met the same opponent in the European Cup final as they looked to win their fifth in 9 years. The final was to be marred however by the Heysel disaster, which saw 39 Juventus supporters lose their life as a result of hooliganism. The kick off was delayed for an hour but somewhat remarkably looking back, the game did take place despite the tragedy. This decision was taken due to it being felt that postponing the game would only lead to more violence. Juventus won the game 1-0 to secure their first ever European Cup, but it would come tinged with sadness at the needless loss of life. Liverpool’s disappointment didn’t end with this defeat as they along with every other British club would face a ban from European competitions.

Fagan left in 1985 and Dalglish took over as player-manager at the tender age of 34. Liverpool regained the title from Everton by winning 10 of their last 11 games, making the title certain on the last day with a Kenny Dalglish winner at Chelsea. They also triumphed over Everton in the first-ever all-Merseyside FA Cup final, winning 3-1 to win their first ever league and FA Cup double. Everton snatched the title back in 86-87, with Liverpool also tasting defeat in the League Cup final 2-1 against Arsenal. The only trophy won that season was the Football League Super Cup, a competition played between teams that would have been competing in Europe if not for the ban. Not surprisingly the competition was tried once and not again. Ian Rush hit 30 in the league that season and 40 in all competitions before being sold to Juventus. His replacement was to be Liverpool-born John Aldridge who’d been signed from Oxford United.

His first season was a successful one as he scored 26 in the league, where he was aided by fellow new recruits Peter Beardsley from Newcastle and John Barnes from Watford. The Reds kept the championship on Merseyside for a seventh straight year, as they won their fifth in that time not losing until the 30th game of the season. They could not though win their second double in 3 years as they were stunned 1-0 in the final against the ‘Crazy Gang’ of Wimbledon in one of the greatest ever cup shocks. Aldridge would miss a penalty in the game.

Ian Rush returned in the summer of ‘88 after an unhappy season with Juventus. Liverpool dropped a lot of points and a large gap was opened up by Arsenal. However everything seemed to change for Liverpool after a 3-1 defeat on New Years Day against United. After that they looked as strong as ever as they won 10 on the spin including an FA Cup quarter-final to set up the semi-final against Nottingham Forest. The 15th of April 1989 will forever be the darkest day in Liverpool’s history as 96 of their supporters tragically lost their lives. When the game was replayed, they won 3-1 to set up an FA Cup final with Everton.

Taking place just a few weeks after the disaster, You’ll Never Walk Alone was performed by Gerry and The Pacemakers at Wembley prior to kick off. In one of the great FA Cup finals, Liverpool led from the 4th minute until the very last kick of the 90, with which McCall equalised for Everton. Rush re-established Liverpool’s lead in Extra-Time, before McCall equalised again. The sides were level for just 2 minutes before Rush got his second, giving Liverpool the lead for the third time and this time they held on. A few days later they beat West Ham 5-1 at Anfield, their 13th win in 14 league games. It meant that the title would be decided on the final day, with 2nd travelling to play 1st, knowing anything but a victory by a margin of atleast 2 goals, would not be enough. Arsenal had not won at Anfield for 15 years, Liverpool had not lost at home by more than a single goal for 3 years. Liverpool looked a near certainty to secure the league and cup double. 12 Million turned into ITV on Friday Night on the 26th May 1989 and saw the most astonishing climax to a league season and fittingly in the 100th year of the Football Association.

The World Cup of 1990 is often credited with birthing a new era of Football which culminated in the Premier League, but perhaps the seeds were sewn here, as the country saw how enthralling and entertaining football could be, and the emotions it could produce in women as well as men. The game that started with Arsenal players handing bouquets of flowers to the Kop in commemoration of the lives lost, ended with Liverpool not rioting or attacking Arsenal fans whose team had pipped them to the title right at the very end, but staying on to applaud the newly crowned Champions. What happened in between was a game between 2 great sides, decided by Michael Thomas in stoppage time as he secured a 2-0 win for Arsenal. The game showed what could be possible for the future of football, as it looked to move away from the kind of tragedies that had blighted the ‘80s.

Liverpool responded like champions do to the setback of that night, by taking the title back in 1990 losing just one of their last 23 games. As they ran riot on the final day winning 6-1 at Coventry for their 10th league title of the last 14 seasons, you would have been hard-pressed to find a single soul anywhere who would believe you had you told them this would be the last league championship Liverpool would win for 30 years.

But the following season brought the first murmurs of uncertainty. Dalglish resigned suddenly after a 4-4 draw with Everton and Alan Hansen announced his retirement. Ronnie Moran was appointed caretaker boss until Graeme Sounness took the job with 5 games of the season left. Arsenal took their second title in three years as Liverpool had to settle for second place.

91-92 saw other long-standing players such as Peter Beardsley and Steve McMahon leave the club and for the first time in a long time new signings were underwhelming rather than exceeding all expectations. Liverpool finished 6th, their lowest finish since 1965. They did however find success in the FA Cup with a 2-0 win over Sunderland, one of the goals scored ironically by Michael Thomas, this time ending a season positively for Liverpool.

Liverpool would only win one more trophy for the remainder of the 90′s, the 1995 League Cup against Bolton. The glory days were well and truly over. Between 72-73 and 90-91 Liverpool finished outside the top 2 just once, in a season they won the European Cup. In 20 years between 1973 and 1992 they won 11 league titles, 4 European Cups, 4 FA Cups, 4 League Cups, 2 UEFA Cups and 1 UEFA Super Cup for 26 major trophies in 20 years. Adding in the 7 Charity Shields won would make for 33 honours. Liverpool in the 70′s and 80′s were an all-conquering winning machine who seamlessly transitioned from manager to manager to even player-manager and still just went on winning. Their scouting and recruitment was an endless conveyor belt of successes.

However, 1992 didn’t just see the birth of the all-new FA Premier League, it saw the disappearance of the once-powerful force of Liverpool into the shadows and in their wake came a new beast from 30 miles down the road, Manchester United.

91-92 saw United win the League Cup and the European Super Cup against European Champions Red Star Belgrade. It was the third successive season United had picked up silverware after winning the Cup Winners Cup the previous year against Johan Cruyff’s Barcelona and the FA Cup in 1990. The most significant final involving United in 1992 however didn’t contain their senior side, as it was the Youth Cup Final. Word had been spreading around Old Trafford about the most talented set of youngsters the club, as well as perhaps the whole country had seen since the Busby Babes who won the first 5 Youth Cups. The squad that won the Youth Cup by beating Crystal Palace 6-3 on aggregate contained Gary Neville, Nicky Butt, Paul Scholes, David Beckham, Keith Gillespie, Robbie Savage (never featured for the first team but made 346 Premier League appearances) and Ryan Giggs. The teenage Giggs had already made over 50 appearances for the first team and was considered the club’s most prestigious young talent since George Best.

It wasn’t all joy for United that season however. A run of 6 games in 11 April days cost them the League Championship as they won just 1 of them and lost 3 in the space of 7 dreadful days. It meant the long wait would go on, United still hadn’t won the title since 1967, the days of Matt Busby and the holy trinity of Best, Law and Charlton, as they lost out to Leeds United.

Since those glory days of the ‘60s, United had endured some hard times. Bouncing straight back up from a relegation suffered in 1974, United were an inconsistent side, occasionally finishing as high up as 2nd and 3rd or as low as 11th and 13th. 3 FA Cups were won between 1983 and 1990, but rarely were they able to consistently threaten the likes of Liverpool.

After finishing his playing career as a forward in Scotland after spells with Dunfermline, Rangers and Falkirk among others, Alex Ferguson took his first managerial job in 1974 with East Stlrlingshire aged just 32. He quickly took a bigger job in St. Mirren where he managed for four years, taking the club up the leagues with a team of very young players. Relationships with club authorities soured however and Ferguson was sacked. He was hired by Aberdeen.

Ferguson was still not much older than some of the players and initially had some trouble winning them over but in 1980 Aberdeen became Scottish champions for just the second time, and for the first time in 25 years. 3 years later Aberdeen won their first European honour, the Cup Winners Cup where they knocked out Bayern Munich and triumphed over the mighty Real Madrid in the final. They then won the Super Cup beating European Champions Hamburger. The following season Aberdeen did the league and cup double, and retained their title in 1985. His final full season at Aberdeen saw Ferguson win both domestic cups taking his trophy haul at the club up to 10 major trophies in 8 years, all won in his last 6 years.

Ferguson had unsurprisingly received many offers from England, turning down Wolves, Tottenham and Arsenal. However when Ron Atkinson was sacked by Manchester United in November of 1986, he decided the time was right. His first full season saw United finish a promising 2nd but the following year saw United drop to 11th. 1989-90 was even worse as the Red Devils came 13th, their worst Division 1 finish since relegation. The season featured a humiliating 5-1 loss at Maine Road against a City side that finished below them. Ferguson was able to pick up his first trophy as United boss though after two 3-3 draws in the semi’s and final against Oldham and Crystal Palace respectively, they were able to win both replays.

When the Premier League got under way in 1992, United had won 4 trophies in the past 3 seasons, but big questions still remained over whether they could lift a league title. These questions only intensified when United began the season with just 1 point from the opening 3 games. A late Dion Dublin winner in the 88th minute away at Southampton to give United their first win of the season set United on a path of 5 straight wins, but they then went 7 without a win, drawing 5 consecutively.

On the 26th November with the team sat in 8th position, Eric Cantona was signed from Champions Leeds United for £1M. He had scored 9 goals in 28 games in the top division for Leeds and was seen as a decent player but not worth the hassle due to a troubled personality that had caused problems everywhere. But United were desperate for goals and having been unable to sign Alan Shearer or David Hirst, and having new signing Dublin out with a broken leg, United were prepared to take a gamble on the Frenchman. It proved to be the greatest gamble in the club’s history.

United were suddenly transformed with Cantona and only lost twice for the remainder of the season. They took the title 10 points clear of Aston Villa, to win their first league title for 26 years. United then set off to ensure they made up for that long barren spell. They retained the title in 93-94, adding the FA Cup to win the club’s first ever double. Cantona scored 2 in the 4-0 final win over Chelsea to take his tally for the season to 25. The club were using their position as the best supported side in a league which suddenly had money pouring in from Sky Sports and outside advertisers to bolster their side with the acquisition of Roy Keane for a British record transfer fee of £3.5M, it proved another inspired signing.

94/95 was defined by an away game at Crystal Palace on the 25th of January. Having received his marching orders, Cantona then reacted to taunts from the Palace support by launching into the crowd to ‘Kung-Fu’ kick 21-year old Matthew Simmons. For this, the Frenchman received an 8-month ban and 120 hours of Community service. The race against Jack Walker’s Blackburn Rovers went right to the wire, but three 0-0 home draws from four looked costly as Blackburn continued to keep their noses in front. Going into the final day, United had to win at West Ham and hope rivals Liverpool did them a favour at home to the Rovers. Liverpool did their bit winning 2-1 but United were unable to win at Upton Park, the 1-1 draw meaning they missed out by a solitary point. More pain followed the next weekend as they lost the FA Cup final to Everton.

That summer Manchester United sold big players in Paul Ince, Andrei Kanchelskis and Mark Hughes, players who’d played a key role in United’s back to back title wins. They were also to be without the still-suspended Cantona until October. To compensate this Ferguson signed not a single first-team player, instead opting to promote the Neville brothers, Butt, Scholes and Beckham from the youth team. Following on from the Busby Babes of the ‘50s, this crop would go on to be known as Fergie’s Fledglings. But after opening day defeat away to Aston Villa, they looked more like Fergie’s Flops, Alan Hansen famously dismissing them with the line “you can’t win anything with kids”. Few people disagreed with him.

But these weren’t just any kids, and they continued to be a central part of Ferguson’s plans alongside more experienced teammates, including Cantona who returned to the side with a goal from the spot against Liverpool in his first game back from his lengthy banishment. United’s rivals for the title that season was Kevin Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’ Newcastle United, who flew out of the blocks winning 9 from their first 10. In comparison to Manchester United, Newcastle had spent big in the summer with high profile signings such as Les Ferdinand and David Ginola, and despite having a big lead in January, they went even further in bolstering the side to make absolutely certain by adding Faustino Asprilla and David Batty.

Newcastle led by 12 points with 15 games to go but Cantona had by now got fully up to speed, and seemed a man on a mission to cut down that sizeable gap between first and second. In the season’s turning point, he scored the winner away at St. James Park, and aswell United’s only goal in the next 3 matches to gain United another 7 points, including 3 against Arsenal which saw United go top for the first time since September. Newcastle who had led the Premier League for nearly the whole season never regained the position and Keegan and co. were left rueing what might have been, whilst Fergie and his team celebrated again. More celebration was in order a week later as United completed the ‘Double Double’ beating Liverpool in the final with Eric Cantona again the difference maker. Liverpool’s team were famously dubbed ‘the Spice Boys’ by the media due to their all-white suits and it went a way to showing just how far that team had fell in a short time, and how far United had risen to clinch 2 doubles in 3 years.

United retained the league crown the following season despite a horror week where they were hammered 5-0 at contenders Newcastle and then shipped 6 at Southampton. Overall though the title was won in more straightforward fashion than the previous year as the Red Devils took their 4th title in 5 years. This was also the first season in which they were able to better get to grips in the Champions League, reaching the Semi-Finals for the first time since 1969. That season was to be Cantona’s last as he announced his shock retirement aged just 30.

His loss didn’t appear to be being felt too heavily as United led the way with new captain Roy Keane and new number 7 David Beckham, when Arsenal suddenly charged in from out of nowhere and took the title by winning 13 out of 14 in the closing months of the season. Ferguson was left feeling how Keegan must have felt, and a bitter war of words that had already begun was starting to form a rivalry which would go on to define the Premier League for years to come.

With the acquisition of Dwight Yorke for £12.6M in the summer of ‘98, adding to Andy Cole, Teddy Sheringham and little known Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signed a couple of years prior, United went into the season knowing they now had the firepower to compete on all fronts. At the back Jaap Stam was added and he would prove just as vital, if not more so than anyone going forward. Fergie’s men lost the Charity Shield 3-0 to Arsenal, but they would lose on just 4 more occasions for the rest of the reason. 3 of them came in the league, but with a comeback from a goal down against Tottenham to win 2-1 they were able to take the title back from Arsenal by a solitary point. They had also bested Arsenal in a dramatic FA Cup Semi-Final replay after a solo goal from Ryan Giggs and were able to secure their third double by beating Newcastle.

There was a chance for yet more however, as the team had qualified through the Group Stage of the Champions League above Barcelona, then got past Ronaldo’s Internazionale in the Quarters and Zidane’s Juventus to face a familiar opponent from the Group Stage that season in Bayern Munich. They had needed a 92nd minute equaliser in the home leg against Juventus and then to score 3 to come back from 2-0 down against them to reach the final but this time an even greater miracle was required. Cole and Yorke had proven a devastating and deadly combination all season but they were unable to get a sniff at the Nou Camp against this Bayern defence. Cole was subbed as Sheringham and later Solskjaer entered the fray.

With Bayern still leading from the 6th minute as the board went up to indicate 3 minutes additional time as the game clock surpassed the regulation 90, United launched a throw into the box, it was dealt with but the ball was recovered and a corner was won. It was cleared from the box only as far as Giggs who volleyed it back in and Sheringham diverted it home for 1-1. Immediately after the restart, Solskjaer won a corner giving United one last chance before Extra-Time. Beckham whipped it in, Sheringham won the header and Solskjaer lifted it into the roof of the net to give Manchester United the most dramatic victory in the history of the sport and to secure them the first League, FA Cup & European Cup treble in the history of English Football.

The following season United retained the title easily finishing a massive 18 points clear of Arsenal, and they also won the Intercontinental Cup but were unable to win any of the other prizes on offer. In 2001 3 league titles were secured for the first time in the Premier League era and for the first time in United’s history. In 01/02 United finishing outside the top 2 for the first time in over 10 years as they had to settle for 3rd behind Arsenal and Liverpool. Ferguson announced his retirement during the season but couldn’t bare to bow out on such a disappointing note so reversed his decision.

United roared back with the help of Dutch striker Ruud Van Nistelrooy who banged in 44 in all competitions including 25 in the league, to secure United’s 8th Premier League in 11 seasons. There would then be 3 seasons without the title, as they missed out first to Arsene Wenger’s invincibles and next to Jose Mourinho’s Oil-Rich Chelsea who won it back-to-back. Ferguson added abundantly talented teenagers Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney in an attempt to fight these foes but won just 1 FA Cup and 1 League Cup in these 3 years. The arrival of the Glazer family in 2005 as new owners also didn’t appear to bode well for United’s chances of re-establishing past dominance as they saddled the club with debts.

Ferguson was able to buy 4 very key players that 05-06 season however. 35-year old keeper Edwin Van Der Sar, South Korean midfielder Park Ji-Sung who offered endless running for £4M and defenders Patrice Evra and Nemanja Vidic. These players properly settled in their second season and this combined with Rooney and Ronaldo scoring 23 apiece across the campaign saw United win their first league title for 4 years, the key game being a last-minute win at Anfield with John O’Shea scoring the goal. 07-08 saw Ronaldo go up to another level as his 31 in the league helped United to retain the title on the final day with a 2-0 win at Wigan. He scored his 42nd in all competitions in the Champions League final, United’s first since ‘99, this one against Chelsea. Ronaldo would go on to miss a penalty in the shootout after a 1-1 draw, giving John Terry the chance to win the cup for his side. He slipped, and Edwin Van Der Sar would instead be the hero saving from Nicolas Anelka as United triumphed 6-5 on spot-kicks to win their 3rd European Cup and second under Ferguson.

United made it 3 in a row in the Premier League for the second time, aswell as winning the World Club Cup. They also were back in the Champions League final but this time fell short against Barcelona. That summer Ronaldo was sold for a world record fee of £80M to Real Madrid. Replacing him was Wigan winger Antonio Valencia, injury-prone Michael Owen and 2 unknowns in Obertan and Miram-Diouf. United still took the title to the final day but missed out on becoming the first club since Huddersfield in the 1920′s to win the league titles 4 years consecutively by a single point, the key result being a 2-1 home defeat to Chelsea in April.

The league championship was won back in 2011 and United as well found themselves in their 3rd Champions League final in 4 years. Again though they came off second best against Barcelona this time losing 3-1 at Wembley Stadium. 11/12 saw the emergence of a new title rival in Manchester City, local rivals who found themselves suddenly a force after an unprecedented influx of cash into the side following the takeover of the Abu Dhabi United group. The Red Devils knew what a force they were after suffering a 6-1 humiliation at home against City in October, but appeared to have left them behind in April only to let the Blues back in by losing to them as well as Wigan and dropping points at home to Everton. This meant that on the final day United had to beat Sunderland and hope relegation threatened QPR could prevent City from winning. United won 1-0 and then could only wait for reports to come in from the Etihad. With 5 minutes added on, QPR led until the 92nd minute when Dzeko equalised. City still needed one more and they got it courtesy of Sergio Aguero with a minute to spare in the most dramatic end to a league season since Michael Thomas at Anfield all those years prior.

United responded by signing striker Robin Van Persie from Arsenal and his goals made all the difference in 12/13, his 26 in the league ensuring that there would be no last day heartache this time around as United took the title by 11 points. With the title secured fittingly with a Van Persie hattrick against Aston Villa, Ferguson took the chance to call time on his extraordinary career. With Manchester United Ferguson had won 13 league titles, 5 FA Cups, 3 league cups, 2 Champions Leagues, 1 Club World Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Cup Winners Cup and 1 European Super Cup. In their dominant period between 1992 and 2013 they won 13 league titles and a total of 26 major trophies in 21 years and 35 trophies including the 9 Community Shields won in that time.

Similarly to Liverpool who endured a very mediocre ‘90s in the immediate aftermath of 2 decades of constant success, United too have suffered since the departure of their all-conquering, fear-inspiring coach. And like Liverpool, they are now having that misery compounded by being forced to watch their rivals replace them as the countries dominant force, this time in the shape of Manchester City, who have won 6 of the last 11 league titles aswell as 6 of the last 9 league cups, and who look likely to boast a similar number of trophies in a decades time to rival the amount won by Liverpool in the ‘70s and 80′s, and United under Ferguson.

Liverpool’s success may have stemmed from one man in Bill Shankly but it had been the club’s ability to transition seamlessly from the Shankly era to the Paisley era to the Fagan era to the Dalglish era that had defined their success. United’s success could only be attributed to one man and one man only. Ferguson and his ability to get more from everyone. Bad players were made to look average, average made to look good, good to look very good and very good was turned into great. The decision to allow Van Nistelrooy to leave after 150 goals in 219 games for the club in order to make space for the just turned 20 duo of Rooney and Ronaldo to go onto fire United to a three-peat of League titles and back-to-back Champions League finals was an example of the many bold decisions he would take that other managers would not have the stomach for and that ultimately would pay off time and again.

So who was more dominant?

Liverpool won 11 of 18 league titles between 72-73 and 89-90, United won 8 of the first 11 Premier League’s and then after 3 seasons without the title, won 5 of the last 7 available under Ferguson. Liverpool finished outside the top 2 only once between 72-73 and 90-91, finishing 5th in 1981. United finished outside the top 2 twice between 91-92 and 12-13, but never finished below 3rd. Liverpool did the league and FA Cup double only once in 85-86, United three times including one as part of the treble. Liverpool won the league three times in a row once between 1982 and 1984, United are the only club to do it twice as they did between 1999 and 2001, then again between 2007 and 2009. Both teams won the league and European Cup in the same season on 2 occasions, Liverpool in 1977 and 1984, United on both occasions they won the European Cup. Both also won multiple major trophies in 5 separate seasons and each won 3 once, Liverpool in 1984 with the league, European Cup and League Cup and United in 1999 with the league, European Cup and FA Cup. By virtue of winning 13 league titles to Liverpool’s 11, not finishing below 3rd for 21 years, winning more doubles, and winning the league three times in a row twice, United were slightly more dominant domestically.

Liverpool won 7 continental titles between 72-73 and 83-84. They won 4 European Cups, 2 UEFA Cups and 1 European Super Cup. They reached the European Cup final 5 times between ��77 and ‘85, losing only once. Despite being Europe’s best performing club in this era they likely would have had even more European success in this era if not for the Heysel disaster, which led them to spending 6 years banned from Europe. United won 6 continental titles under Ferguson with the first coming in 1990 and the last in 2008. They won 2 Champions Leagues, 1 World Club Cup, 1 Intercontinental Cup, 1 Cup Winners Cup and 1 European Super Cup. They reached 4 Champions League finals, including 3 between 2008 and 2011, but lost two finals against two great Barcelona teams. Liverpool retained it in 1978 and won 3 in 5 years. United took a while in the 90′s to look like the side that dominated domestically, but defeated all of the continent’s best in 1999 to take the title. From there though they only reached 1 semi-final in the next 6 years which they lost to Bayer Leverkusen. Between 2006 and 2011 they finally looked confident in Europe and reached 4 semi-finals, only winning once but being perhaps unfortunate to play 2 finals against Guardiola’s Barcelona sides. Liverpool were comfortably more dominant than United in Europe, despite only reaching one more European Cup final, they were able to win twice as many as their rivals.

The two eras were extremely close in overall trophy count, between 1973 and 1992, Liverpool won 11 league titles, 4 FA Cups and 4 league cups for a total of 19 major domestic trophies. Between 1990 and 2013 United won 13 league titles, 5 FA Cups and 4 league cups for 22 major domestic trophies. Liverpool’s 7 continental trophies takes their tally to 26, and United’s 6 equally takes them to 28. Including Charity shield’s won Liverpool’s trophy count would be 33 and United’s 37. Across their 20-year reign Liverpool won an average of 1.3 trophies per season, 1.65 including the Charity Shield. United’s era of either winning trophies or challenging for the league title lasted slightly longer than Liverpool’s, and across their 23-year reign they won 1.1 trophies per season, 1.4 including the Charity Shield.

#manchester united #mufc #liverpool #lfc #ynwa #bill shankly #bobpaisley #kennydalglish #sir alex ferguson #saf #classof92 #davidbeckham #cr7 #cristianoronaldo #epl

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farlydatau · 3 years

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#kevin keegan #legend #football #soccer #nft crypto #nftcollection #nftgallery #nft #vintage #Retro #premier league #london premiere #liverpool

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briefgardenfan · 3 years

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Footballer No 10 | Alan Shearer

The top scorer of English Premier League of all time, sets the bar high for british football.

Alan Shearer started with Southampton in 1988 at the age of 18 after breaking through the youth ranks of the club. He had many memorable moments with the club, one of them being scoring a hat-trick against Arsenal in his debut season, making him the youngest player to do the feat in First Division of English football.

Despite this, Alan Shearer wouldn’t reach his full potential. He was used as a false nine who would drop deep to provide balls for the wingers cutting in. Though it was an important role and fans did appreciate the major work he put in and it did gain him the national team call-up, a major part of Shearer’s game was missing.

Shearer (right) is mostly active on sports journalism after his retirement

Blackburn Rovers signed Alan Shearer for £3.2m. A regular for the club since Day 1, Shearer was operated as a perfect target man which enhanced his game a lot. This meant he could utilise his creativity as well and it wouldn’t affect his goal-scoring. In the second season at the club, he scored 31 goals in 40 appearances and helped Blackburn Rovers finish runners-up in the Premier League season. His performances won him the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year award.

The next year was probably the best year of Shearer’s footballing career. His tally of 34 goals in the season along with a few assists helped Blackburn Rovers win the Premier League, their only one till date. He was Blackburn’s Player of The Year, PFA Players’ Player of the Year, Premier League Player of the Year, Premier League Golden Boot winner, 3rd in FIFA World Player of the Year and 3rd in the Ballon d’Or rankings.

Will anyone in English Premier League beat his total goals scored one day? (pic source: sports-nova.com)

Newcastle United bought Shearer in the summer of 1996, despite tough competition from Manchester United. It was a then world-record signing of £15m. Managed by his idol Kevin Keegan, Shearer put in another jaw-dropping season as he won the Premier League Golden Boot for the 3rd time in a row. This earned him the PFA Player of the Year award as well.

His form was halted with injuries. The 1998 World Cup campaign was unsuccessful for England and Shearer managed just 2 goals. However, he somehow managed to have a good scoring record in the 1998-99 season. Shearer quit international football after the 2000 Euro Cup. Another disappointing performance from the whole of the English team saw them eliminated in the group stage and Alan Shearer having only a goal to his name in the tournament. Alan Shearer quit international football after the tournament.

Position: Forward

Country: England

Clubs: Newcastle United (2006 -96), Blackburn Rovers (1996 - 92) and Southampton (1992 -88)

Total career goals scored: 260

Total assists: 64

#alan shearer #epl #england

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snesgsts · 6 years

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(1993) Kevin Keegan's Player Manager

a perfectly ok one single tune

#1993 #Koji Hayashi

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mitchbeck · 3 years

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CANTLON: CT HOCKEY OFF-SEASON VOLUME 13

BY: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - Ex-New York Ranger and Hartford Wolf Pack defenseman, Stu Bickel, hired by the Minnesota Wilderness (NAHL) in the summer, then moved on to St. Thomas University (CCHA), a brand-new D1 program, has changed jobs again. Bickel was hired this week by the AHL's Springfield Thunderbirds as their new assistant coach. The Thunderbirds have also signed two new defensemen for Bickel to work with who have Connecticut backgrounds, Griffin Luce (Salisbury School) and ex-Wolf Pack, Josh Wesley. The Thunderbirds also signed forward Nic Pierog (Canterbury Prep/Sound Tigers) to a one-year AHL deal. COACHING MOVEMENT With Ryan Martin leaving Detroit to become the new Hartford Wolf Pack General Manager, the Red Wings named former Whaler and Ranger Pat Verbeek as the new GM of Grand Rapids; he also is the assistant GM in Detroit. Chase Stillman was drafted by the Devils in June. He signed the standards entry-level contract (ELC) of $925K-NHL/$80K-AHL. He is junior eligible, WJC eligible. He will play next season with the Sudbury Wolves (OHL). UCONN PLAYERS TURN PRO A third UCONN player turned professional. Forward Kale Howarth signs a one-year AHL deal with the Rockford Icehogs. Howarth was last seen lying on the ice in a Hockey East quarterfinal playoff game. He was hit in a net-front scramble from behind by Providence College’s Jason O’Neil late in the second period with his entire body weight falling on Howarth’s leg. He was helped off the ice with a severe leg injury. Incredibly, no surgery was required, and Howarth did rehab near his home in Calgary this off-season. The other two Huskies who went pro were fellow junior goalie Tomáš Vomáčka with the Nashville Predators. Instead, he'll be with the Milwaukee Admirals (AHL). However, they will likely see one another in an AHL Central Division matchup. Also turning pro was defenseman Yan Kuznetsov. He left UCONN two years early and signed with the Calgary Flames. He could play major junior with the Saint John (NB) Sea Dogs (QMJHL), who selected him in the CHL Import Draft. He is still eligible to play there. He could be in Stockton (AHL) with the Heat this upcoming season. He will likely play for the Russian WJC team. OTHER COLLEGE PLAYER NEWS Christian Evers graduates from the University of Vermont (HE) and signs with the Rapid City Rush (ECHL), making 28 Hockey East East players turning pro. Nationally, 35 underclassmen have left early, and the Division-I pro signings in North America is up to 86. The conference breakdown is: - Big 10 (22) - NCHC (16) - ECACHL and AHA (7) - CCHA formerly the WCHA (4) - NCAA Independent Arizona State (2) The total number of college players Division I and III signing pro deals in North America and Europe is 124. MORE PLAYER MOVEMENT Ex-CT Whale/Wolf Pack Tim Kennedy has been hired by the Buffalo Sabres (NHL) to be their development coach for their AHL, ECHL, and collegiate prospects. He was the Head Coach/Assistant GM of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL). After being let go by Halifax (QMJHL) in April, ex-Wolf Pack Assistant Coach, J.J. Daigneault, is still available. Ex-Sound Tiger Ben Thomson signs with the Henderson (NV) Silver Knights. Seven more AHL’ers head to Europe. The second of last season's Wolf Pack heads overseas as Patrick Newell signs with Sterjen (Norway-NEL). Ben Thomas of the Syracuse Crunch moves to Leksands IF (Sweden-SHL). Two depart from the Tucson Roadrunners, Kevin Hancock to Dorbirner EC (Austria-IceHL) and Josh Wilkins to Västerviks IK (Sweden-Allsvenskan). Keegan Lowe, son of ex-Ranger NHL Hall of Famer, Kevin Lowe, and Kevin Boyle of the Grand Rapids Griffins, will head to HC Bolzano Foxes (Italy-IceHL). Another member of the Gulls, ex-Sound Tigers, Matt Lorito heads to Djurgårdens IF (Sweden-SHL). Sweden and Russia are the top international destinations, with 14 players each from the AHL. There are 73 AHL players to sign overseas, with 27 of the 31 teams to lose at least one player. MORE MOVES Cole Sillinger, son of ex-Sound Tiger Mike Sillinger, signed his NHL standard three-year ELC deal with Columbus at $925K-NHL/$80K-AHL. With one more season of eligibility left, it's expected he will play this season with the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL). Because he has dual citizenship, Sillinger played last year with the Sioux City Stampede (USHL) and is WJC eligible for Canada and the United States. The first US college player to go to Canadian major junior is Dave Lafrance from the now-defunct Robert Morris University (AHA) program. He heads to the training camp of the Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL). Another Division III player signs in Europe. Corey King Chatham University (UCHC) heads to the HC Giants (Finland Suomi-Sarja Division-1). Another Robert Morris player transfers as Matt Guerra enrolls at Holy Cross (AHA). He is the 81st off-season transfer. Quinn Emerson, the son of former Hartford Whaler Nelson Emerson, will play at Wenatchee (WA) Wild (BCHL) this season, delaying his commitment to Bowling Green (CCHA) by a year. Greg Brown, born in Hartford and a former Rangers assistant coach, signs with the Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) as their new head coach. AND EVEN MORE MOVEMENT Mitch Eliot, son of former New Haven Nighthawk Daren Eliot, heads from the Utica Comets to the Rochester Americans. Ex-Wolf Pack Richard Nejezchleb departs from Crakow (Poland-PZIHL) to UTE (Hungary-MOL). Jerry Pollastrone (Salisbury School) departs Austria and heads to his seventh European country, signing with EC Bad Nauheim (Germany DEL-2). COYOTES OUT OF OPTIONS The City of Glendale, Arizona, informed the Phoenix Coyotes and the NHL that at the end of next season, when the team's lease expires, it would not be renewed at the Gila River Arena. The city cited mounting debt and other non-compliance issues to the lease as reasons for the termination. However, the team was on a year-to-year lease, with each side having the ability to terminate it, and the city has done just that. Talks have been ongoing for the past sixty days on a third building under consideration to house the team in Tempe. That location would be more desirable for Arizonians but includes buying compost land by 2024 at the earliest. Many details would go into a move like this, including the boatloads of money for a new arena to make it come to fruition, so options are minimal, and the time crunch now. The four cities now being mentioned as possible new destinations include Houston, Texas, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and incredibly to stay in the Phoenix area. Houston would seem to be the most logical course to pursue with an eager and publicly-stated partner in the NBA's Houston Rockets owner, Tilman Fertitta. They have in Houston a modern building, the Toyota Center, home of the NBA Rockets. A source stated, “This puts the team in a pickle. The city’s move puts the puck in the NHL’s corner. This would be the crowning achievement for Gary Bettman’s legacy, get into another huge market, with a willing, wealthy possible owner and a fairly new building. You keep the (NHL) landscape properly set and get out of all the problems on-and-off the ice in Arizona. Houston seems the logical next step.” ADVANTAGES OF HOUSTON Houston is the fourth large TV market. The Toyota Center was built in 2003. The Fox Sports Southwest regional sports network is already in place. Texas does not have an income tax which helps in recruiting players salary-wise. There were two previous hockey editions in Houston. First, the Houston Aeros were in the WHA in the mid-1970s with Gordie Howe and his family leading the way, and then there was the AHL-version of the Aeros was relocated to Iowa by the Minnesota Wild 2013. CONSIDERING QUEBEC Quebec has the Videotron Centre home of the QMHL Remparts, a new building built to NHL specs. They have a loyal fan base with visions of raising the blue banner of the Nordiques and regional TV networks in RDS (French) and TSN (English). There are several negatives, however. First, there's the matter of the discrepancy with the US dollar. The onerous taxation on income (up to 25%) and public taxation on items such as food (15%). There's the French language and political issues, the Montreal Canadiens private reluctance in not wanting to share the Quebec province with anyone. Not to mention the current COVID rules that have just been reimposed by the US for another month. These are all significant drawbacks. Hamilton sits in the Buffalo market and has nearly 40% of their ticket base in Southern Ontario. The Eastern city and the building are 30 years old, and it's home to the OHL Hamilton Bulldogs. The building would require MAJOR renovation to bring it up to a contemporary NHL standard. Phoenix has been a disaster for the NHL, but there is a third venue still available. The 61-year-old Veterans Memorial Coliseum is not even up to AHL standards, let alone the NHL's. That last tenant in the building was the old IHL team in 1997 as the third edition of the name, the Phoenix Roadrunners that folded after one year competing against the NHL. Moving AHL Tucson low on the ladder would be another issue. Still, easier going to either Beaumont near the Louisiana border, a former WPHL city (early part of this century), which is closer to Houston like the Astros Triple AAA team in nearby Sugar Land, or return to an “old” AHL market, like San Antonio. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

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jensenbbeth · 3 years

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Joe Hart will be a backup for Ederson

The club has already signed a new player:

* Jhonny Peralta

* David Villa

* Sergio Ramos

* James Rodriguez

* Andres Iniesta

* Yaya Touré

* Marco Asensio

* Josep Guardiola

* Diego Simeone

* Zinedine Zidane

* Cristiano Ronaldo

* Lionel Messi

* Thierry Henry

* Wayne Rooney

* Gareth Barry

* Frank Lampard

* Kevin Keegan

* John Terry

* Dennis Bergkamp

* Chris Smalling

* George Weah

* Steven Gerrard

* Tim Cahill

* Phil Jagielka

* Scott Sinclair

* Jordan Henderson

* De Bruyne

* Sadio Mane

* Tammy Abraham

* Georginio Wijnaldum

* Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

* Anthony Martial

* Leroy Sane

The team will play in the Champions League.

In the English Premier League, Manchester City has already won the title for the second time in a row. The previous time it happened was in the season of 2013-14, when the Citizens won the championship for the third time in the row.

In this season, the team of Josep Mourinho has already managed to become the champion again. The Citizens have a good lineup, which can be compared to the famous one of the Guardiola's team.

However, the current champion has a number of problems. First of all, the squad of Mourinho is not as strong as the previous season. Second, the club has not won the Champions Cup yet. Third, the main rival of the Citizens is Liverpool.

It is worth noting that the current season is the third consecutive one in the English championship.

What to Expect from the Champions

The Citizens have already won it for the fourth time in row. This is a good result for the club. However, there is still a lot of work to be done. The main problem of the club is the lack of motivation.

Despite the fact that the team has already become the Champions of England, the fans still expect a lot from the club in the future. The club has a good chance of winning the Champions league again.

This is why the fans are so excited. The Champions League is one of those tournaments that can be won by any team. This can be seen on the social media, because the fans have already managed not to miss anything important from the tournament.

You can follow the development of events in the tournament on the website of sports statistics. Here, you will find information about the Champions tournament, as well as other competitions from around the world.

Current Champions League Standings

The Champions League has already ended, and the current standings are as follows:

1. Manchester City – 33 points

2. Liverpool – 30

3. Chelsea – 25

4. Bayern – 23

5. Juventus – 21

6. Real Madrid – 19

7. Barcelona – 18

8. PSG – 15

9. Bayern Munich – 13

10. Juventus Turin – 12

11. Dortmund – 11

12. Arsenal – 10

13. Manchester United – 9

14. Tottenham – 8

15. Manchester Utd – 7

16. Juventus Bologna – 6

17. Tottenham Hotspur – 5

18. Arsenal - 4

19. Chelsea - 3

20. Manchester united - 2

21. Bayern - 1

22. Dortmund - 0

The current champion of the Champions is the Citizens. The team has a great lineup, and it is capable of winning all the tournaments it participates in.

If you look at the current Champions League standings, you can see that the azscore.com Citizens are in a good position. However this is not the only reason for their good results.

They have a number advantages over their competitors. First, the Citizens have the best coach in the history of the tournament, Josep Mchale. He has managed to lead the club to the Champions title for three consecutive years.

Secondly, the players of the team are very motivated. This has already been proven in the current tournament, when they have already scored a lot.

Thirdly, the City has a strong lineup. The players have a lot to prove, and they have the ability to win all the competitions they participate in. However they have a long way to go.

At the moment, the Champions are very close, and you can follow their progress on the sports statistics website.

Manchester City’s Prospects in the Future

The City has managed not only to win the Champions trophy, but also to become one of England’ best teams. The current champion is the best in the world, and this is a great result for them.

Recently, the situation with the Citizens has improved. The coach managed to get the club into the Champions’ zone for the first time in its history. However the team still has a lot more to do.

One of the main problems of the current team is the fact, that it is not at the same level as its main rivals. The City has not been able to show its full potential for a long time.

That is why it is so important for the team to improve its results in the next season. The next season will be decisive for the title of the champion.

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jitamas0121442 · 3 years

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Why Is Everton Football Club Fans So Passionate?

Everton are one of the longest running franchises in UK and have a very rich history. The club was formed in 1878 and ever since then it has won numerous prestigious awards including the FA Cup, European Cup, FA Community Shield, League Cup, UEFA Cup, Football League Cup Winners Cup and the FA Vase Finals. It also holds the record of being the oldest surviving professional football club in England. Some of the great players that have come up through the Everton youth system include Kevin Keegan, Wayne Rooney, David James, Carlton premier league live บอล ย้อนหลัง ลิเวอร์พูล Cole and Steve McManaman to name a few. There have also been some notable overseas stars like Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard and John Terry.

The prominent football clubs in UK are Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. However, there is a lot to be said for Everton having maintained a position at the top of the English game without winning too many major trophies. Despite missing out on cup finals, they have still managed to win the League Cup twice, the FA Cup thrice and the FA Premier League title thrice.

A major part of what has made Everton so successful over the years is their commitment to community involvement and giving back to the communities in their area. This is a legacy left by the club's long standing association with Notogedders, an institution that strives to improve the conditions for disadvantaged children. The club has also hosted the World Cup Series once before and continues to do so today. This shows the dedication, the club has in place to not only provide entertainment for fans, but to educate and help in various ways. These types of engagements have proven to be some of the best and most fun for fans.

An exciting aspect of being an Everton fan is being able to attend the matches live. This is a unique experience and one that is rarely replicated. For a fan, being at the stadium is almost a dream come true. You get to see your team up close and it is a feeling no other football club can give. The atmosphere at the ground is always electric, especially during matches. It is an experience that you will never forget.

Being able to watch all of the games live on TV and on the internet is an even bigger treat. There are numerous programmes and games available for fans and non-fans alike and this means that even non Everton fans can enjoy the game from home. There is no better way to see a football club play live than when you are at the ground. Being able to enjoy the game from home brings a level of excitement that is difficult to find anywhere else.

What has all of this got to offer you? Apart from the thrill and satisfaction of winning and losing at home, there are also other benefits that come with being an Everton fan. From exciting football stories to being able to attend different games and watch different players, there is something for everyone. Even non Everton fans will be able to appreciate the hard work of the football club. The club is always trying to improve, but every fan is guaranteed to be pleased with the team they have.

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tkmedia · 3 years

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Ten kneejerk reactions to the opening Premier League weekend

The Premier League’s opening weekend lends itself to the hottest takes, such as Southampton’s relegation and a breakout Paul Pogba season. 10) Trevoh Chalobah will be England’s next debutant It is a Crooksism but the tendency to highlight the virtues of a defensive player only when they score is unavoidable and pervasive. Trevoh Chalobah might have broken through that barrier and received due praise regardless but his debut goal against Crystal Palace, combined with the perennial focus on Chelsea’s talent production line, guaranteed glowing column inches and gushing pundit prose. The 22-year-old will not retain a regular starting place beyond the next fortnight or so; Thiago Silva promptly reprises that role upon his return. But Thomas Tuchel has been sufficiently satisfied with Chalobah’s seamless adaptation to this stage and so his foot is in the door. It is only a matter of time before Gareth Southgate revisits interest in a player he called upon to train with the England squad ahead of the 2018 World Cup. The only defenders to make their Three Lions debut since November 2019 are Conor Coady, Reece James, Ben White and Ben Godfrey. There is room for a fresh addition, even as flavour of the month. 9) Brighton will finish in the top half For a moment there it seemed as though Brighton supporters should actually have been careful what they wished for. The safety net provided by Chris Hughton was cast aside for something greater, more meaningful and conducive to growth in 2019. But the transition was not seamless. You can throw a small net over the club’s four Premier League seasons: finishes of 15th, 17th, 15th and 16th, points totals of 40, 36, 41 and 41 and goals scored columns of 34, 35, 39 and 40. Hughton and replacement Graham Potter have opposing tactical ideals but whether the focus was on defence or a more expansive style, Brighton never seemed to move the needle too far. They have won nine games in each of their four Premier League seasons, infuriatingly incapable of breaking through that ceiling. It has been enough to survive each time but the onus is on progression and a comeback win against Burnley is indicative of that. Brighton won one game from behind in the entirety of last campaign: that euphoric first match back in front of fans against Manchester City in May. But this victory was inspired by the manager’s substitutions and the players’ indomitable spirit instead of any fan emotion. Two points separated the Seagulls from Burnley in 2021/22; the gap felt more substantial on Saturday. While their respective levels of investment mean that should be a given, it has rarely been the case in practice. Brighton have valuable players throughout their spine and even the lack of a reliable goalscorer should not prevent them from finally cracking a top half that, beyond an established six or seven teams, has an interchangeable cast. Since 2016, Stoke Burnley, Newcastle, Sheffield United, Wolves and Leeds have all come tenth or higher. There is no guarantee of being able to build from there but Brighton have the foundations in place for something tangible. 8) Burnley and Southampton will be relegated The numbers are rough estimates but they tell a story that can be spun in two different ways. Either Burnley and Southampton have mastered the art of shopping for own-brand items and living on a stricter diet than most, or theirs is the sort of inherent tightrope gamble that many clubs accept to live within their means. Four current Premier League clubs have a net spend of £50m or lower over the past five seasons; the Clarets and Saints have been top-flight sides throughout that period, unlike Brentford and Watford. It already feels as though Burnley and Southampton might have struggled to strike that balance this season. The former have infused the squad with as little fresh talent as possible in recent years. Jay Rodriguez was the latest signing in the starting XI that fell to Brighton; he joined in July 2019. Sean Dyche otherwise named four players he bought in 2017, three purchases from 2016, an addition each from June 2015 and January 2012 and academy graduate Dwight McNeil. ALK Capital do not seem to have opened any recruitment doors. That is still an upgrade on the apparent asset-stripping occurring on the coast as Southampton have sold their top scorer and best centre-half in the same summer that they lost one of their most senior players. Danny Ings, Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand will be difficult to replace and Ralph Hasenhuttl was already working close to the edge in terms of depth at times last season. He and Dyche are talented coaches but those tides will be tough to fight without a paddle.

7) Brentford and Watford will be fine Norwich understandably struggled to carry their share of a historic weight as the three promoted clubs almost all won their opening Premier League fixture for the first time. The Canaries might justifiably point to the standard of respective opposition as to why they could not quite emulate the feats of Brentford or Watford, who both displayed their top-flight credentials in different but similarly stinging circumstances. The Bees were phenomenal against Arsenal – organised, fluid and uninhibited by their relative lack of experience. The Hornets stunned a supposed European hopeful in Aston Villa, overwhelming their visitors and possessing the sort of individual brilliance that can be harnessed to immense danger in the right team dynamic. The chasm between the Championship and Premier League can be bridged with patience, foresight and investment, especially if the top flight already contains a few sides clinging on to that status through reputation and longevity alone instead of proper planning and vision. Brentford particular seem more suited to this level; Watford have plenty more capacity to surprise. 6) Everton will qualify for Europe Many clubs, if not most, had more impactful and outwardly impressive transfer windows. Few were quite as focused, specific and tailored to the existing strengths of the squad in question. Rafael Benitez had a budget imposed upon him through the mismanagement and financial excess of his predecessors. He identified an area for improvement and acted on it within the constraints placed upon him. Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray were cost-efficient purchases for rivals to scoff at and some Everton supporters to lobby against, but it is always better to spend £1.7m on necessary signings who have an obvious place rather than much more on luxury buys who do not. The results were immediate. Southampton were put to the sword and the cross as Goodison Park witnessed an aerial bombardment designed to exploit the new Dominic Calvert-Lewin meta. Richarlison should excel by his side and Alex Iwobi even embraced the challenge, while Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure will compete with most midfields and the defence is solid enough even without Benitez’s more conservative and pragmatic stylings offering a little more protection. He feels a more natural fit with these players, if not the supporters just yet. 5) Liverpool don’t need more signings It will never be accepted. Standing still is moving backwards, particularly when the only two clubs definitively expected to do better have either broken the British transfer record or have edged remarkably close to the new mark. Manchester City will keep trying to unite Harry Kane with Jack Grealish and Chelsea should be forgiven for relishing the arrival of Romelu Lukaku. Liverpool have instead quenched the never-ending thirst for signings – and reacted to a recent defensive injury crisis – with £36m fourth-choice centre-half Ibrahima Konate. Every other advance has been to write out a spate of new contracts for the existing squad. That will never appease sections of the fanbase or a media built on transfer rumours but it makes sense in this context. If Liverpool can avoid such a freakish cluster of concurrent injuries then there is no issue in the squad that requires an imported solution: the starting defence is sensational and every position has at least one solid back-up; Georginio Wijnaldum is a significant loss but one outcome of Curtis Jones developing, Naby Keita emerging, Thiago acclimatising or Fabinho adjusting seems likely; Mo Salah can carry that attack with Harvey Elliott and Takumi Minamino as possible wildcards now Diogo Jota is fit enough to provide serious competition and variation. The collective mood and mentality seems genuinely more important to Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool than to most other managers and teams and it is worth trying to continue fostering that instead of risking friction with too many new faces in an established set-up.

4) Tottenham will finish in the top four Newcastle finished third when Andy Cole won the Golden Boot and set up the most goals in the 1993/94 season. Kevin Keegan was defending his sale to furious supporters on the steps of St James’ Park 18 months later. Harry Kane became the only other man to ever lead the division for goals and assists outright last campaign. Perhaps Daniel Levy will soon be inviting beleaguered fans to a newly-instated VIP cheese room to explain his reasoning for finally letting the club’s prize asset go. Beating Manchester City has not quelled talk of Kane’s departure. It has had rather the opposite effect. But lost in the renewed clamour to smuggle England’s captain to the Etihad was a professional, dedicated, organised performance from his teammates to overcome the Premier League champions in north London. Nuno Espirito Santo engineered victory with neither Cristian Romero nor Bryan Gil starting, the new coach instead dusting down a squad that had been marginalised and misused, finding treasure in another man’s trash: Japhet Tanganga, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Lucas Moura and Steven Bergwijn were considered expendable yet each have a role to play in a quietly exciting future. Add Kane to that mix once the distractions are removed with the closure of the transfer window and Tottenham are suddenly a genuine force again, even without their actual best player. Erik Lamela is in a better place now. 3) Aston Villa and Jack Grealish will both be worse off This is not to say Aston Villa will be relegated and Jack Grealish will be a catastrophically bad signing for Manchester City. The one thing Dean Smith could not buy to replace his talisman was time and it will take plenty for a new attack to gel, for players to adjust to not giving the ball and the responsibility to their captain. And Pep Guardiola’s ideal and meticulous instructions cannot be absorbed after a few training sessions; Grealish will find his role in the team and calibrate, just as long as he absolutely does not become a two-time Premier League winner and Champions League finalist who regularly scores and assists. That would be awful. But the grass will be greener for neither. Villa handled the situation impeccably, putting a contractual escape route in place, insisting it be met instead of courting any sort of saga, signing numerous fine players to share the workload even before he left and clearly explaining each thought process to the fans. That does not change how vast a hole Grealish has left and how much it has irrevocably altered the entire team dynamic. Villa have reiterated that they were 18 months behind in terms of where they would have needed to be in their project to keep their crown jewel; this will set them back much further before they find the right track again. As for Manchester City, they signed a phenomenal player but not one they necessarily needed. He will do well enough – win trophies, score goals, win free-kicks – but offers only a brilliant variation to what they already had rather than a legitimate alternative. His honours list will benefit but his light will be that little bit dimmer. It’s not a bad personal trade-off, in fairness. 2) Paul Pogba will be named PFA Player of the Year He could have done more. The blame for five underwhelming and inconsistent seasons has to be apportioned appropriately and one of the bigger slices belongs to Paul Pogba himself. It has not been a question of attitude or application, rather an inability to bring the best out of less talented teammates. He lowered his own level more often than he raised that of those around him. Anyone expecting the Frenchman to single-handedly drag Manchester United to glory had misunderstood his career to that point – and some are still wilfully obtuse in that regard. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has built a platform and is happy for Pogba to stand upon it as long as he has him. Bruno Fernandes, Harry Maguire and Edinson Cavani improved the collective standard; Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane will hope to do the same. A Pogba unencumbered with that weight of individual expectation is free to express and enjoy himself. “Manchester United need one outstanding season from Paul Pogba because he’s going to leave next summer,” was Gary Neville’s belief and whether the midfielder extends his deal at Old Trafford or not, he finally has the sort of worthy team he was promised in 2016. One year of his French national team alter ego is better than nothing at all. 1) Mikel Arteta will be the first manager to go The process is a whole lot harder to trust when a newly promoted team with vastly inexperienced players and a manager in only his second senior role seems so much further ahead in theirs. What Brentford lack in history, prestige, transfer fees and wages, they made up for in a performance that thoroughly and painfully explored Arsenal’s limitations. It was not about the bounce of supporters being back, the novelty of top-flight football or the brightness of those Friday night lights. Brentford beat Arsenal because they were better in preparation and execution. That run of form from Boxing Day onwards spared Mikel Arteta. Only the Manchester clubs earned more Premier League points from December 26 to the end of the season and a five-game winning streak to close the campaign was the longest the Gunners had managed since October 2018. It offered an illusion of progress that has been almost immediately undermined as soon as the pressure was back. There is a lack of confidence on the pitch and seemingly an absence of clarity off it. Chelsea and Manchester City await before the international break and it could genuinely be worth changing tack then if things have not significantly improved. Arteta might not be the problem but he certainly does not appear to have the solution.

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