Who Will Replace The Special One....

So it’s finally happened, Jose’s spell at Chelsea is over again. After 9 defeats, 1 point above the relegation zone, Mr Abramovich has decided to wield the axe on José for a second time. I’m really 50/50 on this, as my heart said stick by Jose, he’s Chelsea through and through, he loves the club and would do anything for the club. He gave us a league title which we craved for years, however my head said to me enough is enough, a club like Chelsea can’t go on like this, fallouts left right and centre with staff and players alike. Jose publically embarrassing certain player performance i.e. Matic, being subbed on then off after half hour, as a result of constantly criticising referees.

I personally think he’s been given enough time, usually  Mr Abramovich would have wielded the axe in October if results were bad, however Jose was given time to turn results around, but sadly not even the special one could manage it.

With Jose gone, a rumoured £40 million handshake or golden envelope whatever you want to call it, the money actually means nothing to Jose, there’s one that will hurt Jose more and that’s his reputation. He’s one of the best managers in the world, won in every country he’s been in, conquered Europe 3 times, twice in the Champions League with FC Porto and Inter and again with FC Porto in the UEFA Cup now the Europa League. People always compared Sir Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Mourinho; they have many things in common, natural winners, successful, European champions, all three treble winners but Sir Alex Ferguson and Pep Guardiola have never been sacked.

More than likely, Chelsea won’t appoint anyone full time until the summer; they will have someone on an interim basis such as Juande Ramos, who Spurs fans will remember, Brendan Rodgers who managed Chelsea U21’s once upon a time and Guus Hiddink. I personally would prefer Guus Hiddink, however rumours say Juande Ramos has already been contacted by Mr Abramovich with a contract till the end of the season, but after that then we’d have the same discussion again, who will take over from the summer.

 For me there are only two men who could fill the boots of Mourinho. Pep Guardiola or Diego ‘Cholo’ Simeone, I’d prefer the latter, I love watching Simeone manage Atletico Madrid, his passion and enthusiasm to win are second to none, Simeone plays to win and he doesn’t care how he does it, for me personally he would be the perfect fit. Some people will disagree, but how Guardiola likes to play football, I think it would be very hard to implement his style of ‘Tiki Taka’ in the Premier League. Louis Van Gaal has tried and somewhat seems to be struggling and getting constant criticism that possession football is boring, even Wenger plays beautiful football but is 2 FA Cups really enough? I don’t think so either.

With Jose now gone I wouldn’t be surprised if he made a return to Italy, if and it’s only an if, Roberto Mancini doesn’t win the Scudetto (Serie A) with Inter Milan, José will be licking his lips at the prospect of returning to another ‘Home’ as he calls it and bringing the glory days back to Inter.

Just one last thing, Jose thank you once again...

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Is Jose Kicking Himself .....

This season has been one to forget for Chelsea fans, languishing in 16^th place, losing to Bournemouth at home and the players really not stepping it up from last season heroic’s, such as Diego Costa who has only scored 2 in his last 10, throwing the bib a Jose and looking for more of a fight than trying to get a goal. Hazard has not scored in 2000 minutes and has been a ghost compared to last season. Matic has been completely dominated in midfield and looks clueless, the creativeness of Fabregas or lack of it and finally the defence that was dependable and reliable now looks weak and frail.

In all honesty the defence has looked better in recent weeks, however there are still question marks over Gary Cahill, who has just signed a 4 year deal, and wether John Terry can play another season at this level, he’s just turned 35. Finally Branislav Ivanovic who has looked half the right back he was last season and struggled for form. If it wasn’t for Willian, in my opinion Jose would be sacked, he’s carried us through most games including Champions League, scoring crucial goals when we’ve needed it most.

There’s one thing I really can’t understand, what does Oscar do? What does he add, if you’re a number 10 you’re meant to get goals and assists but he doesn’t, to think we had De Bruyne and Mata and we let them both go is barbaric, just look at them now, both are key players for the Manchester clubs. De Bruyne has settled in really well at Manchester City, scoring and assisting nonstop, the same with Mata at Manchester United. If I’m honest, I think Chelsea really could have built something extraordinary with the likes of De Bruyne, Mata, Hazard and not forgetting Lukaku, who has scored in 6 consecutive Premier league matches, no Jamie Vardy but a fantastic feat none the less. If all Chelsea fans are honest, it’s these 3 players we need now to get us out of this situation and deep down Jose must be kicking himself for letting them go. 

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How Good Are Bayern Munich This Season....

Everybody talks about FC Barcelona and the perfect team, I hear a lot of people say "they play football, the way it should be played" and they've got the results and trophies to show for it absolutely. 

Since the arrival of Pep Guardiola in Bavaria, Bayern have gone from strength to strength and adopted his style tiki-taka unbelievable well and it shows here's why. 

Since Guardiola has been at Bayern Munich, they are yet to lose a single game in the first half of the Bundesliga season, they are undefeated in 54 league games before the winter break. Remarkable.

Second half lock-down, Bayern concede goals every now and again however when you do score past Bayern, it's usually a consolation goal with the score finishing up at 5-1 say. But this season Bayern in the Bundesliga are yet to concede in the second half, yep you read that right they haven't conceded in the second half. Solid.

  

This next stat I can't believe, if every shot on target that Bayern faced went in they would still be top of the league, What!!!!! Yep that's right every shot on target they faced went in, they STILL would be top of the league. Looks like Mr Utility man David Alaba is in goal next match. Jaw dropping.

Possession is nine tenths of law, well not quite for Bayern, however have a impressive average of 72%, what is even more remarkable is their pass accuracy of 89% on average in the Bundesliga. Controlling. 

Douglas Costa is the man that just keeps on assisting, the Brazilian has settled very well into the Bayern team after his summer move for €30 million from Shaktar Donetsk, registering 9 assists and all in all replaced Frank Ribery in the side. Visionary.  

There are many fine combinations nowadays from strawberries and cream to Jack Daniel's and Coke but none other than Muller and Lewandowski scoring 25 goals, at this point they are the best striking duo in Bundesliga history's in 13 match days 25 goals between them. Clinical. 

Marvellous Muller, in the 4-0 demolition against Stuttgart, Muller not only scored but it would be his 150th Bundesliga win in 209 attempts, that's madness nearly 75% of the Bundesliga games that Thomas Muller has played in he's won, to top it off he's the fastest player ever to achieve this feat and One of Bavaria's finest through and through. Sublime. 

And finally goals galore, Bayern score for fun and their never content with just a 1-0 win, it's like a loss to them. But in 13 of their 19 games this season, Bayern have scored two goals or more in less than 20 minutes with of course Lewandowski's 5 in under 9 minutes against Wolfsburg been the most noticeable feat. Breathtaking. 

Good luck to Borussia Dortmund trying to win back the Bundesliga your going to need it. 

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Can Giovinco Lead Italy to Glory in France This Summer...

In the Gil Azzurri (the Blue’s), we’ve always had a number 10 that could do impossible things with the ball at their feet, Il Divin Codino (The Divine Ponytail) Roberto Baggio, Il Re di Roma (The King of Rome) Francesco Totti and even in some cases the Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia (The Jewel of Old Bari) Antonio Cassano. These players have been idolized by Italians for years for their creativity, passion, flair and love for colours of the shirt.

I’m looking at the squad now and I’m thinking to myself, where is that magic number 10 now? is there anybody when you need it most to unlock that defence, or produce a piece of pure magic that will take your breath away and leave you speechless, its 0-0 with 3 minutes to go in a semi final, who can do this in the Azzurri at the minute? Candreva from wide right maybe or El Shaarawy however there both wingers, but for me it needs to be a number 10 Marco Verratti can play as a number 10 but Verratti is unplayable on his day in the Pirlo role so for Euro 2016 that’s where I think Antonio Conte will play him, for me it leaves Sebastian Giovinco.

Since Giovinco’s move to the MLS, I thought like many what on earth is he going there for? Let’s be fair Giovinco has thrived at Toronto FC, scoring an incredible 22 goals and providing 16 assists in his debut season is astonishing, which also is a MLS record for the most goals and assists combined, Giovinco has produced moments that have left you speechless or asking how has he done that? Being in the MLS team of the week on 10 occasions, two time MLS player of the month and with this being awarded Newcomer of The Year sadly the MVP award is given out till December 3^rd so we’ll have to see if Giovinco picks that up as well furthermore these performances haven’t gone unnoticed rumour has it that Toronto FC rejected a loan move for the pint sized Italian to go to FC Barcelona, after the MLS season finished. have a look at the at the pint sized Italian and see what you think. 

My only criticism of Giovinco is can he cope with the pressure of being the Azzurri’s number 10? To unlock that defence in the dying minutes of a quarter or semi final. Giovinco really struggled at Juventus with the pressure of being the heir to legendary forward Alessandro Del Piero, I’ve got my fingers crossed that Giovinco will come good for Italy at the biggest stage and none other than France 2016.

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Is Michael Emenalo To Blame For The Chelsea Slump?

Michael Emenalo, has been at Chelsea for years now, starting off as chief scout for 2007 after the departure of Ray Wilkins, Emenalo was promoted by Mr Abramovich to assistant first team coach, less than 9 months in the job, half way through 2011 Emenalo was promoted to Technical Director overseeing the scouting and academy programs.

This is the interesting part with the return of the special one in 2013 Emenalo, by request wanted his contract terminating, to free himself up to take the role of General Manager at Wigan Athletic, however this request was denied.

When Emenalo was promoted to Technical Director, he was rumoured to have an unprecedented amount and responsibility over transfers, as in the summer with the lack of signings coming into Stamford Bridge. There are claims that Emenalo has made signing without Jose seeing them play, a recent example of this is, Papy Djilobodji from Nantes who has only appeared once in the Carling Cup, which basically says to me that, Papy Djilobodji was not Jose’s signing at all.

Emenalo has been involved in some cracking deals, with the likes of Kurt Zouma and Bertnard Traore, who especially Zouma has been supurb since he arrived from St Etienne and flourished under the guidance of Jose and John Terry. However there have been more huge flops recently they are Mohamed Salah and of course Juan Cuadrado who both only managed half a season before being shipped out on loan, after struggling to get past Hazard and Willian respectively. Both now are now on loan in Italy Salah with A.S Roma who is touted to have a clause in the loan deal where at the end of season A.S Roma will pay £22 million for the Egyptian International and Cuadrado with Juventus until the end of the season.

With Chelsea in a state of crisis, these are expensive failures and with the need to balance the books with the prospect of Chelsea missing out on Champions League football, some maybe accountable and that someone could be Michael Emenalo.

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Is The Klopp Is Ticking For Both Rodgers And Mourinho...

So after another defeat the clock is ticking for two managers in particular, one being obviously Jose Mourinho and the other Brendan Rodgers who both have really struggled for form at the beginning of this season, with Chelsea 11 points of the pace and Liverpool a bit better off with 8 points of leaders Manchester City who are yet to concede or drop any points.

As for Mourinho, this is contrasting compared to how Chelsea stated the season last year they where ferocious, tearing teams apart Fabregas and Hazard was superb, Diego Costa was unplayable, the defence as solid as a rock and ever reliable nothing ever seemed to faze the back four of Branislav, Terry, Cahill and Azpilicueta. Now they all look like a shadow compared to last season.  

Will both these manager get time to turn fortunes around? I think they will but it will be now till Christmas if I’m honest. The situation at Chelsea looks like history is repeating itself with Mourinho all over again, a slow stuttering start, performances not great struggling to score, looking fragile in defence as well at this moment in time; it really doesn’t look good for Jose.

  

To be fair we all know Brendan Rodgers is a slow starter, however he’s again a lot on money bringing the likes of Roberto Firmino, Benteke and Nathaniel Clyde, so the pressure’s on Rogers for sure, and would the Liverpool board accept no Champions League football for a second successive year, me personally no I don’t think they would.

As for Brendan Rodgers Liverpool have given him time in the past, however you can only take so much until you have to make a decision, so we stick or change, Rodgers still hasn’t won anything with Liverpool which is worrying, he continues to play a 4-3-3 which doesn’t suit the players he’s got, if I was Brendan I’d go back playing 2 up top, it worked when SAS (Suarez and Sturridge) and that’s personally what he need to do.

Is there any good candidate’s to take over either Chelsea or Liverpool? There’s one man Jurgen Klopp, loves to play fast flowing attacking football, likes possession and a high tempo passing, Klopp thrives off playing a 4-2-3-1 which I know Chelsea play but when Klopp was at Dortmund there wasn’t a dull moment form the fantastic performances his team played right through to his facial expression on the bench. This Klopp is ticking for both Rodgers and Mourinho, they need to be very careful before either the Liverpool board run out of patience or Mr Abramovich wields the axe on José once again.

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Manchester United's Best Signing of The Window...

So after signing a new contract, David De Gea was immediately reinstated back in to the fold at Manchester United after agreeing a new 4 year deal with an option of an extra year. My question is why would he sign a 4 year deal? Well a few things spring to mind.

 1. De Gea’s place in this summer’s Euro 2016 squad was being compromised by the lack of first team activity.

2. Has De Gea realised how dreadful the Madrid faithful can be i.e. with Bale, Ronaldo and Iker Casillas.

Bale scores the winner in the UEFA Champions League Final to give Madrid a record breaking 10 title known in Spain as La Decima and Copa Del Rey Final, goes from been hero to zero in the space of 4 months.

Ronaldo who is on another planet has scored a minimum of 50 goals in each of his last 5 seasons,which is extraordinary futhermore Ronaldo is now Real Madrid's all time top goalscorer and if he where to fire a few blanks in the coming game weeks he would still get booed which is preposterous.

(One for the Ladies if your reading)

Finally Iker Casillas, who had represented Real Madrid superbly throughout his 25 year association with Los Blancos, Iker even had to release his own press conference as Madrid didn’t, which sparked fury across the media for the lack of respect that Madrid gave Saint Iker.

I think one of the most important factors behind De Gea signing a new deal at Manchester United is none other that  ... Sir Alex Ferguson himself. Yes that’s right I said it Sir Alex, it’s well known Sir Alex hates Madrid with a passion, the Manchester United legend once said ‘he wouldn’t even sell Real Madrid a virus’. If it could be anyone to swing De Gea’s mind it would be Sir Alex.

 Now we shall see where the next chapter of De Gea’s Manchester United careerwill take him. Will he be there at the start of next season or not, because personally he’s in the one of the best clubs in the world at the moment, fans adore him and worship him like a Saint and finally he’s key to Van Gaal and Manchester United’s plans going forward. however this has happened before with Real Madrid, it pains me to say they always get there man, could this follow similar suit to Cristiano Ronaldo, he signed a new deal then the following year moved to Madrid, could this be history repeating itself. This is coming from a Chelsea fan, I hope it’s not however one thing I do know, is Real Madrid don’t go away easy, Florentino Perez and Real Madrid will do whatever it takes to get there man.

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Chelsea's Struggles Continues

As if it couldn’t get any worse for Chelsea, they’ve only managed to accumulate 4 points so far this season which by Chelsea’s and Mourinho’s high standards is woeful, conceding goals left, right and centre, missing out with several bids for  a top quality centre back i.e. John Stones and Marquinhos.

Then to make matters worst the terrible form of John Terry, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic added more headache for José. 

Now for the cherry on top Courtois will be out till Christmas, excellent.... Not what Chelsea fans would have wanted to hear, do you think Chelsea regret selling Petr Cech to rivals Arsenal??? You bloody bet they do.

 It’s all started very pear-shaped for Jose this year, very pear-shaped indeed. Lack of transfer activity at the beginning, missing out on key target in market, All in all not the best window for Chelsea however the signing of Pedro was a stroke of genius £22 million for a winger that will get you not only goals but assists as well, so hats off to Jose for that deal, as we’ve seen in Pedro’s first two matches against West Brom and Crystal Palace respectively, one goal and 2 assists. 

But for me personally as a Chelsea fan, this window has been pretty poor, still lacking in strength and depth in defence, so we shall see how Chelsea and Jose will cope, to somehow to turn this around, but José being José, you don’t know what might happen. 

BPL Young Player of the Year Shortlist Through Tony's Eyes ...

So you’ve read my Player of the Year prediction now here’s my Young Player of the Year prediction... the two Manchester new boys in Memphis for United and Sterling for City and as a real wildcard the young solid Frenchman Kurt ‘Happy’ Zouma.

So first up Memphis, he has come to the premier League off the back of a sensational year for PSV, winning the title for the first time in seven years and been top goal scorer in the Eredivisie, bags of pace, a real eye for goal and trickery to entertain the Old Trafford faithfully, inheriting the famous number 7 from the disappointing Angel Di Maria, the stage is set for Memphis  after a slow and sluggish start but the best is yet to come from the young Dutchman and I hope he makes it his own that’s why he’s my number one contender for the award.

Second, the £49 million signing of Raheem Sterling, many eyebrows were raised when Manchester City shelled out the enormous fee for the 20 year old, as he show a Liverpool Sterling can be one hell of a player with ball at his feet, frighteningly electric pace, can dribble through the tightest of gaps and has a keen eye for a pass. Playing with the likes of David Silva, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero are only going to improve Sterling and take him to the next level.

And finally the wildcard Kurt Zouma, I’ve not just included Zouma cause his middle name is happy, I’ve included him because I really think he has a real shout with Chelsea leaking goals left, right and centre at the minute and with questions over how reliable John Terry and Gary Cahill actually are, why couldn’t Zouma win the award, we saw last year how good Zouma was playing at the back or even in midfield, around Chelsea, Zouma’s compared to French legend Marcel Desailly, both as strong as an ox, can read the game well and for centre backs are both very quick off the mark. With Chelsea’s Centre backs looking a little slow and sluggish why isn’t Zouma the answer.

So here’s my Young Player of the Year nomination, let me know what you think.

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BPL Player of the Year Shortlist Through Tony's Eyes ...

So the Premier League is well underway and our first intentional break is here, which made me think about my prediction for who would win BPL player of the year and I’ve choose 3 players who have a real shout. They are David Silva, Eden Hazard and finally Wayne Rooney.

So first up David Silva, Manchester City has made a blistering start to the Premier League season, scoring on 10 occasions and conceding 0. Looking back at their very best, Manchester City performances this year have been nothing short of excellent, super slick passing with the ball and on another level defensively, as we saw against Chelsea in a 3-0 drumming. But enough about the performance, I’m going to talk about the pint sized Spaniard and how essential he is for Manchester City. Already this season David Silva has shown us what he can do with the ball, with 1 goal and 4 assists in 4 games, he is there main creative force and looks relentless, picking out superb passes which lead to one thing you need to win titles... goals. A lot of you will be reading this thinking why not Aguero, he will score the goals but I thought it would be too obvious, so that’s why I’ve chosen David Silva

Second, the Belgium wizard that’s Eden Hazard, it’s safe to say that Chelsea have started dreadfully, pure and simple, champions elect looks more like chumps elect to me, but if there one man in that Chelsea side that can create something tremendous out of nothing, it’s no other than Belgium winger. Hazard won the award last year and its going to be real challenge to win the award for a second successive time; it’s a feat that hasn’t been achieved often, two players that spring to mind to have achieved this is Cristiano Ronaldo and the other Thierry Henry, so Eden really needs to show up now and improve on his goal tally of 14 league goals, Eden really needs to be hitting at least the 20 mark, and with Chelsea in dire form the stage is all set for Hazard to turn things around.

And finally I had to include an Englishman and who other than the nation’s new top goalscorer Wayne Rooney, usually if history repeats itself, before a major international tournament, Rooney hammers in a healthy number of goals and is always bang on form ready for the tournament,. After struggling to score for Manchester united in their first 4 fixtures in the Premier League, Rooney looked back to his very best in Europe, scoring a hat trick against Club Brugge and netting in England’s 6-0 thrashing of minnows San Marino, Rooney will take immense confidence from that and will be hoping that with his goals and energetic displays combined with a never say die attitude, that Manchester United will be at the top of the tree and lifting the Premier League title come the end of the season.

So there it is that’s my 3 nominations stay tuned for my young player of their year nominations...

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Andre Ayew, Swansea’s Own Lionel Messi

Andre Ayew, Swansea’s own Lionel Messi and their talisman. It’s safe to say Ayew has hit the ground running for Swansea and before the international break, he punished giants Manchester United for being so sloppy in defence by getting a goal and setting up another for the inform Gomis.

I’m really surprised that none of the big 4 in the Premier League looked at Ayew, he joined from Marseille after spending five years there on a free!!! Yes that’s right I said a free. I’m absolutely speechless as to why no other clubs went for Ayew as Swansea pulled off a massive coup in signing Ayew, so hats off to Garry Monk for that deal.

 After the first four Premier League matches, Garry Monk will be delighted as to how easily Ayew has slotted in the Swansea starting 11, making that right hand side his own, furthermore having a hand in many key attacking movements in the final third of the field and creating a very good partnership with not only Gomis but also Jefferson Monetro as well. In Ayew they have some who can pick up the ball and make something happen, very similar to his father Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew, as Abedi Ayew was known for, in his hay day, producing superb goals and assists at crucial times for not only Marseille but Ghana as well, which bring me to say that Andre is a chip off the old block, if your comparing him to his father.   

 In my opinion Swansea are my surprise package to get into the Europa League this year, very similar to what Southampton achieved last season with some very shroud signings, Swansea has followed suit, which one of these shroud deal is Andre Ayew.   

For me Ayew is the biggest coup of the season and one of the smartest deals done by a Premier League manager this season.  

   

  

Anthony Martial, The £36 million Signing To Fire United Back To The Top !!!

Anthony Martial began his career at CO Les Ulis in 2001, but at the age of 14 Olympique Lyonnais saw the potential Martial had and went on and snapped him up. During Martial's second season with Lyon, he was prolific to say the least, scoring an astonishing 32 goals in only 21 games, as a result of this fantastic form for Lyon, Martial was called up to the French U17's  squad for the upcoming tournament, the 2012 European Under 17 Championships in Slovenia, where Martial would go on to score just the once in the European Championships. 

Martial got his professional debut for Lyon in the Europa League in December 2012 against Israeli side Ironi Kiryat Shmona, where Lyon went on to win 2-0. In Ligue 1, Martial made his debut a couple of months later in February against Ajaccio, when Martial came on as a 79th minute substitute. In total Martial managed 4 games for Lyon in his debut season. 

With competition so fierce for places at Lyon, They accepted a €5 million plus bonuses bid from AS Monaco at the beginning of the 2013-14 season. Martial's first season in the South of France was not fantastic, As he only managed to play 15 games and find the back of the net on only 2 occasions. However the 2014-15 season, Martial would announce himself as AS Monaco's main man up front, playing in 35 matches in Ligue 1 and scoring 9 times. In total Martial played 46 matchs, scoring 12 times, 7 of these appearance came in the came in the UEFA Champions League, where some Arsenal fans will remember Martial as Monaco knocked Arsenal out in the Last 16 stage. 

So now you know who Anthony Martial is,however now your asking, what type of striker is he ? 

Well Martial is know for his tremendous pace, smart movement in the box, superb close control of the ball and is excellent in one on one situations. These points are the positives from Martial game, however there are some drawbacks to Martial's game and these are his consistency in front of goal, his ability to impose himself physically and a lack of determination. Many of the staff in and around Monaco have high hopes for the young Frenchman, comparing him to the Legendary Thierry Henry. A £36 million move to Manchester United is a bit steep in all honesty, as for that price you could get Edison Cavani and maybe add £10-£15 million extra, prize away the deadly Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Munich. 

It looks all but signed to be fair this deal for the young Frenchman, if I was Martial, the first thing I'd do at Manchester United is to buddy up with Antonio Valencia and get in the gym to prepare for how physical the Premier League is. I think Martial has the potential to be a great striker, however playing for a club like Manchester United, you need to be at the top of your game at all times and be determined to be the best. Now the ball is in Anthony Martial's court, he has the platform to be one of the best number 9's in the world, the question is will he take this opportunity... Only time will tell. 

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My UEFA Champions League Prediction

I'm So after the eagerly awaited Champions League draw, there were many mouth watering ties to look forward too, PSG v Real Madrid, Man Utd v Wolfsburg, Atletico v Benfica, Juve v Man City and last but not least  Arsenal v Bayern. This has also brought up some fantastic ties, where various mangers and players will be returning to former clubs, like ‘the special one’ returning back to FC Porto where it all began, Di Maria’s return to the Santiago Bernabeu and the great Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s long awaited return to Malmo, which cause their website to crash yesterday due to so many fans checking the draw, and finally the return of Memphis to PSV.

The Champions League always throws a good surprise or a group of death (That the Italians always end up in). Lone behold Juventus get drawn in a really tricky group along with Manchester City, Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach.  After Juventus reached last year’s final, where my friend Samuel Menzenga predicted it in a blog. I’m now going to predict who I think is going to be in the final, and who I think will be selected in the UEFA Team of the Year.

 A lot of people will be saying Barca, Madrid, or Bayern for the title, I do believe that one of these prestigious clubs will be in the final, however id be more inclined to go for Bayern Munich, but who else you ask will be joining them in the final for this year’s Champions League ? That’s where my surprise package comes in and I’m going for Manchester City.

Over the years they’ve always been nearly men, however they’ve had real tough draws against the likes of Barcelona and Bayern, and if you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat them. Some of you will be reading this and thinking why Manchester City, well they have a more complete squad now, Pellegrini has strengthened Manchester City’s squad superbly this window and addressed key issue’s in Defence, Midfield and Attack. The signing of the robust Nicolas Otamendi is a good one, a strong hard tackling Argentine who not afraid to get stuck, moreover the foundation of going on into the latter stages of the Champions League  is by having a strong defence and with Vincent Kompany by his side Manchester City will be getting that. In Midfield the signing of Raheem Sterling, where some say they’ve completely overpaid for Sterling and to be fair they probably have, however Sterling can change a game with his electric pace down the wings. Finally, although not confirmed yet, but with the impending arrival of the Belgium wizard Kevin De Bruyne playing behind Sergio Aguero, would add so much more quality in that final third, taking some of the pressure of the likes of the pint sized Spaniard David Silva and the ever so reliable, back to his best Yaya Toure. So that’s my surprise package, the final will be Man City v Bayern.

Now onto UEFA Player of the Year, is going to be again another surprise, Thomas Muller... I’ve tried to avoid all the obvious candidates i.e. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. I really do think that Thomas Muller is seriously underrated; he’s superb, scores goals consistently for not only Bayern but for Germany also. Muller is a talisman for Bayern, the fans adore him for his never say die attitude, furthermore he leaves everything on the pitch, with his tireless displays, which he showed in last year’s semi final against eventual winner Barcelona, where Muller was nothing but positive, stating that they could ‘turn round the result and that if any Bayern player didn’t believe so, they’d be better off not even on the bench.’ So that’s my Player of the Tournament, the ever so consistent and tireless Thomas Muller.

See below for my predictions of the UEFA Team of the Year!

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