City too Hasty
Mark Hughes had made mistakes, of that there is no doubt. But I felt to sack the Welshman just 18 months into his tenure was hasty.
Manchester City's owners had begun to get twitchy over the past few weeks, with the club's 1-1 home draw with Hull City on November 28 setting alarm bells ringing. Despite being just six points off the Champions League places in sixth position, a run of draws and last Wednesday's comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Tottenham proved unacceptable to the owners.
No Way Jose, Becks is Back at Man Utd
The Champions League last-16 draw has thrown up a couple of crackers.
Coach Jose Mourinho will face his former club Chelsea for the first time with Inter Milan. As if that wasn't enough, David Beckham will return to Old Trafford to play against Manchester United for AC Milan. Read more...
Melo in the Dustbin
Felipe Melo was meant to be one of the missing links in the Juventus team, a man capable of transforming the Bianconeri into title challengers.
A US$30 million signing from Fiorentina, the Brazilian international was one of Juve's two big summer signings, with fellow countryman Diego the other.
So far, Melo has flopped, and to cap off a miserable first four months of the season, he has now won the Bidone d'Oro (Golden Bin), a prize commemorating the worst signing of the season in Italy. He polled 22.87% of the vote.
Arshavin Shows Liverpool What They're Missing
Liverpool were never seriously linked with Andrey Arshavin before he made his move from Zenit Saint Petersburg to Arsenal last January. But he is exactly the kind of player the Reds needed.
He demonstrated this fact again on Sunday with an explosive second-half effort to seal a 2-1 win for Arsenal at Anfield.
Finished at 26
What a shame it was to hear that Dean Ashton has been forced to retire from the sport at 26.
The West Ham striker was not the typical forward. A big front man, with a good touch, he drew comparisons with Teddy Sheringham and would undoubtedly have represented England more than once had a broken ankle suffered in training with the national team not curtailed his career.
Groups Give Coaches Cause for Concern
The draw for the group stages of next year's World Cup in South Africa is unlikely to have pleased Messrs Dunga and Joachim Low.
Brazil and Germany met in the 2002 World Cup final, but the two nations will have their work cut out getting back there after being presented with taxing first round groups.
Dunga's Brazil, who cruised through the qualifying campaign after a slow start, must face Portugal, Ivory Coast and Korea DPR. Low and his Germany side, meanwhile, take on Australia, Ghana and Serbia.
The League City Didn’t Want to Win
Manchester City, a club already resented for their wealth, will not have welcomed the release on Monday of figures paid to soccer agents in transfer deals.
City may be stumbling in the Premier League despite spending over £120 million in the summer transfer window, but they came top of the table in fees paid to agents.
Read more...Gattuso Makes His Point
I was interested to read Rino Gattuso's outburst after AC Milan's 1-1 Champions League draw against Marseille on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old was furious at being left out of the starting line-up by coach Leonardo as the Rossoneri made heavy weather of the French side, ultimately fortunate to come away with a point.
Read more...Arsenal Look Genuine Contenders
Having been at the Emirates Stadium to witness Arsenal's 4-1 Champions League demolition of AZ Alkmaar this week, I was left with the impression that the Gunners are on the verge of something special once again.
This was reinforced by another 4-1 win over Wolves on Saturday in the Premier League. Arsenal will face tougher assignments than matches against the Dutch champions and the English midlands club. But it is the sustained quality of their soccer and increased squad strength that has me thinking a prolonged Premier League threat to Chelsea and Manchester United is on the cards.
Robinho Barca Bound?
Transfer rumors are something of a guilty pleasure for soccer fans, whether they have substance or not. Here's a look at five big ones to have made the headlines in the past week.
1. Barcelona have been linked with Robinho for several weeks now. The Manchester City star has continually flirted with the Catalan club, and the strongest rumors are suggesting a January loan move. I think this is because Barca may not want to stump up the millions it would cost for a permanent deal, without the Brazilian proving form and fitness first.
Read more...