Monthly Archives: January 2023

2022-23 FA Cup, 3rd Round Proper: location-map, with fixtures list & current league attendances.

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“The FA Cup is the oldest football tournament in the world. The 2022-23 FA Cup is the 142nd edition of the tournament. The FA Cup Third Round is when the teams from the top 2 divisions in England – the Premier League, and the EFL Championship – join the competition. The 20 Premier League teams and the 24 Championship teams join 20 other lower-leagues teams. This season, that breaks down to: 11 teams from EFL League One [the 3rd level], 6 teams from EFL League Two [the 4th level], and 3 teams from the non-League National League [the 5th level]. Those 3 non-League teams are: Wrexham, Chesterfield, and Boreham Wood. The map shows the locations of the 64 teams in the 3rd Round, with the 32 home-venues listed. …”
billsportsmaps

Arsenal’s expert counter-pressing nullified Newcastle and is key to their title fight

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“… At times, football games can be looked at from different angles to provide different perspectives. Arsenal’s goalless draw with Newcastle United on Tuesday meant that their five-game winning streak in the league came to an end. After an exciting 10 minutes in which Arsenal looked threatening, Newcastle’s solid defensive organisation limited the host’s chances in open play. A view from this angle gives the impression that Arsenal might have had a poor game, but football isn’t black and white. …”
The Athletic
The Athletic – Why Arsenal need Mudryk: Stalemate shows attacking reinforcements crucial to title charge (Video)
Guardian: Newcastle thrive off Big Dan Burn energy to wrestle point from Arsenal

Dutch Eredivisie Stats Recap: The State of Play

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“Feyenoord currently lead the Eredivisie over pre-season favourites Ajax and PSV Eindhoven. Their strong 2022-23 campaign so far confirms that their European exploits last season were no flash in the pan. Despite only having four players that started last season’s UEFA Europa Conference League final defeat to Roma still at the club, Feyenoord’s aspirations of topping the Dutch league this season felt questionable. Even more so when you consider that the pair held 10-point (PSV) and 12-point (Ajax) advantages over the Rotterdam club in the 2021-22 table. …”
The Analyst

Unpredictable Mbeumo and Wissa show Brentford can survive without Toney

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“It turns out there was no need to panic. The build-up to Brentford’s incredible 3-1 victory over Liverpool was dominated by fitness concerns around Ivan Toney. The forward had to be taken off on a stretcher in the final minutes of Brentford’s 2-0 win over West Ham United just four days earlier with a nasty-looking leg injury. He fell awkwardly trying to clear the ball from a corner and the initial fear was that he could be out for months. …”
The Athletic (Video)
The Athletic: New year, same problems for disjointed Liverpool

Serie A 2022-23 Predictions: Rest of the Season

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“Napoli are bossing things in Italy, right now. The Naples side are eight points clear of second-place Milan as the Italian top-flight returns to action following the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and our supercomputer is struggling to see past a third Serie A title for them in 2022-23. Their chances of winning their first scudetto since 1989-90 thanks to the brilliance of Diego Maradona are rated at 88.7%, while Napoli fans are almost certain to enjoy UEFA Champions League football again in 2023-34, with the supercomputer rating their chance of finishing outside the top four places in Serie A at just 0.06%. …”
The Analyst

Why Man Utd are for sale

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“Manchester United are for sale. After years of conflict between supporters and owners, the Glazer Family, who have held majority control of the club since 2005, are searching for a buyer. But why now, and what will happen next? How much are Manchester United worth? Who could afford to buy United? Laurie Whitwell and Dan Sheldon explain, Craig Silcock illustrates.”
YouTube

Bruno Guimaraes’ clever use of his body makes Newcastle midfielder so hard to stop

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“… Those were the thoughts of a young Bruno Guimaraes as he started his football career back home in Brazil. It’s a journey that has taken him to the league he regularly followed as a kid — the Premier League. Less than a year after his arrival from French club Lyon, Guimaraes is proving to be exactly what head coach Eddie Howe and Newcastle United wanted in their midfield — an off-ball battler who also has the necessary technical skills on the ball to help the team progress up the field. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Antonio Mateu Lahoz plays his cards wrong to make Catalan derby history

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“Barcelona and Espanyol were a quarter of the way into their first game for more than 50 days, La Liga back at last, when the referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, was suddenly set off. Urgently heading across the pitch wearing a determined look, triggered by what he heard or perhaps remembering something really important he had to do, he sprinted straight at Xavi Hernández, who was all in black and shouting. This was only ending one way. Pulling up pitchside, he grabbed Barça’s coach. And then he kissed him, whispering in his ear. …”
Guardian

Liverpool at risk of vicious circle as problems escalate at Brentford

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“If football really was the simple game of cliche, it would be easy for Liverpool to identify a single issue, work out a solution and put it right. This, after all, is the team that have, for five years, been consistently the second-best side in England. Yet, after a shambolic defeat at Brentford, they lie 15 points behind the leaders, Arsenal, and, more pertinently, four points off Manchester United in fourth, having played a game more. What must be most troubling is the sense of plates across the stage stopping spinning as Jürgen Klopp dashes frantically between them. …”
Guardian

A Demarai Gray wondergoal, but also fight, spirit and resilience from Everton

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“A turn, a drag-back, a slip, a stumble — a seemingly inauspicious spell. But the ensuing moment of sorcery? The firework denouement on New Year’s Eve? Astounding. Even if Demarai Gray never does another noteworthy thing in an Everton shirt, he will be remembered for this one spectacular, surreal and joyous moment by generations of Blues to come. His 64th-minute equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium could be the greatest away goal scored by an Everton player in the Premier League era. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Ange Postecoglou calls for Old Firm match to be free of big VAR delays

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“The Celtic manager, Ange Postecoglou, has called on the match officials for the first Old Firm game of 2023 to ensure VAR delays do not disrupt the marquee fixture. VAR’s arrival in the Scottish Premiership – it was first used at matches in October – has, perhaps unsurprisingly, proved controversial. Postecoglou was unperturbed about the introduction of the technology but, like umpteen managers, has since grown frustrated at the time taken to reach decisions. Monday’s Glasgow derby at Ibrox will bring with it intense focus on every refereeing decision. …”
Guardian

Liverpool’s midfield issues are clear – January provides the chance to find a solution

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“‘A fantastic win,’ declared Virgil van Dijk deadpan to the waiting written media. Then a big grin crept across his face. The pretence wasn’t maintained. Liverpool could afford to see the funny side after a fourth straight Premier League victory lifted them to within two points of the Champions League places after 16 games. Christmas is a time for giving, and how grateful Van Dijk and company were for the generosity shown by the hapless Wout Faes, who became the first Premier League player to score two own goals in one top-flight game since Stoke City’s Jonathan Walters managed it against Chelsea in 2013. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Arsenal excellent, Tottenham flawed: When the ‘Big Six’ splash the cash, has it worked?

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“The summer of 2021 brought Arsenal’s new recruitment strategy into sharp focus. Just over £140million ($168.4m) was spent transforming a squad that had staggered to an eighth-place finish in the previous Premier League season and not one new arrival was over the age of 23. It was all premeditated, all part of a plan. In came Ben White, Aaron Ramsdale, Martin Odegaard, Takehiro Tomiyasu, Albert Sambi Lokonga and Nuno Tavares, each bringing more potential than an obvious pedigree. ‘That has to be Arsenal,’ said Edu, the club’s technical director. …”
The Athletic

The top 10 Bundesliga moments of 2022, featuring Bayern Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt

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“From Bayern Munich’s record-extending 10th successive Bundesliga title to Eintracht Frankfurt’s historic UEFA Europa League triumph, it’s been another year to remember in and around the German top flight. …”
Bundesliga (Video)
Bundesliga: The 2022/23 Bundesliga season so far in numbers (Video)
Bundesliga: The story of the 2022/23 Bundesliga season so far (Video)

Will Still has made the jump from Football Manager to Preston to Ligue 1

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Will Still / Reims
“Stade de Reims’ defeat to Marseille on the opening day of the season is looking increasingly far away these days and not just because of the World Cup break. Reims’ 3-1 win over Rennes on Thursday night was their eighth match in a row without defeat, a run that has coincided with the installation of Will Still as their manager. Some of the games in that run have been against the league’s lesser lights – and Reims were not majorly disrupted by the World Cup, with only Junya Ito playing in Qatar – but the evidence of the young manager’s positive influence continues apace. …”
Guardian

How Good is Enzo Fernandez?

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“On 2 August 2022, 21-year-old Enzo Fernández made his Benfica debut in a UEFA Champions League third-round qualifier against FC Midtjylland. He was uncapped at senior international level for Argentina and his move to Portugal was his first foray into European football. 138 days later, the young midfield maestro is a world champion with Argentina, was named the FIFA Young Player of the Tournament in Qatar, is an integral part of a Benfica side that is top of the Primeira Liga, has gained passage into the UEFA Champions League knockout stages helping As Águias top their group ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, and he has yet to lose a single match for his new club. It’s fair to say that Enzo Fernández’s rise has been nothing short of meteoric. …”
The Analyst