“Imagine, for a second, that Liverpool hadn’t appointed Jurgen Klopp in late 2015 and were instead forced to settle for an inferior manager who only marginally improved the club. In that world, the past few years in English football would have been very dull. Rather than Manchester City winning four of the last five titles — already a huge level of dominance, although two of them were only clinched on the final day ahead of Liverpool — they would presumably have coasted to five in a row without any serious challenge. …”
The Athletic (Video)
The Athletic: Liverpool’s whole defensive structure is struggling – it’s not just Virgil van Dijk
Daily Archives: April 8, 2023
Sackings spate shows who matters now: welcome to football’s age of the executive
“Patrick Vieira gone! Antonio Conte gone! Brendan Rodgers gone! Graham Potter gone! More managers have left Premier League clubs in the past four weeks than in the entire 2005-06, 2003-04 or 1995-96 seasons. The past month has not quite matched the chaos of November 1994, when Ossie Ardiles, Mike Walker, Ron Atkinson, Gerry Francis and Brian Little left their jobs, but for managers this has been the most turbulent season in Premier League history, with 13 leaving mid‑campaign. It may not be over yet. …”
Guardian – Jonathan Wilson
Kylian Mbappe, a PSG marketing video that upset him and what we know about his future
“From the outside, it appeared to be just an ordinary marketing video sent to Paris Saint-Germain season ticket holders to try to coax them into a renewal. But then, on Thursday, an Instagram story appeared on Kylian Mbappe’s account, expressing to his 102 million followers that he was unhappy about the whole thing. … This was not the first time Mbappe has used social media to vent his frustrations. Last October, after a 0-0 Ligue 1 draw with Reims, Mbappe dropped a subtle message on an Instagram story about his perceived unhappiness at being played as a central striker. …”
The Athletic
The Great Story You Might Not See in ‘Welcome to Wrexham’
“The irony of it all, really, is that Notts County would make a terrific subject for a documentary. The elevator pitch is simple. After more than a decade of financial strife and rolling existential crises — featuring both a convicted fraudster and fictional Gulf investment — the oldest professional soccer club in the world puts together a record-shattering campaign, one that promises to restore the team to something close to its former glory. The casting is rich and compelling. …”
NY Times
