The League that matters

The Premier League is back and what a way to kick off the start off the new season with a big upset in the very first game! Well, some might not consider it an upset but rather just Arsenal being Arsenal, never the less what a dream start for newly promoted Brentford getting maximum points over London's most famous club. For Mikel Arteta, his woes have already begun, the team did do a lot of spending over the summer but for their first outing it looked like it was done in all the wrong places. As much as we can laugh about this result, to the fans and supporters of the club, it ain't no laughing matter but reality is, Arsenal need to step up or they might find themselves in heaps of trouble, one thing results like this will guarantee for the rest of us is some epic AFTV viewing. 

Last season's second place team, Manchester United have laid down quite a statement with their opening fixtures against old rivals Leeds United, Ole's men took a while to find the back of the net but it was none other than star player from last season, Bruno Fernandes who opened their account and followed that up with two more goals to give himself a hattrick in the impressive 5-1 victory at the Theatre of Dreams. Paul Pogba still remains a hot topic for the club as many questioned where his loyalties lie after he was looking to move away from Manchester but those rumours should be put to bed with an impressive performance from the French World Cup winner, getting 4 assists in the game. Unless he was putting on a show for prospective buyers? One thing is for sure, Man United have claimed stake as title contenders and are willing to prove last seasons finish was not a fluke. With impressive signings over the summer, we could just see them fighting their city rivals this season. 

Speaking of their City rivals, the team in Sky Blue had a rocky start to the campaign as they opened the season with a 1-0 loss away at Spurs in London on the Sunday. Nuno Espírito Santo men held off a rampant City in the first 20 minutes at the Spurs Stadium with Son managing to get a stunning goal in the second half which secured the London teams 3 points. It was a spirited effort from Spurs which saw them play the game without star striker Harry Kane, who is reported to want a move to Man City. After seeing his teams performance, with the new manager and fans now back at the stadium will that have him change his mind? It's tough choice for him to make, will he be willing to take the risk to stay with his boyhood club and try to win silverware with them or opt to join a club like City whom are perfectly positioned to get trophies, season after season. 

It seems London clubs are the topic of this blog post as the next team that gets a mention is Thomas Tuchel's team, Chelsea! A surprise addition to their team see's former striker Romelu Lukaku  re-join Chelsea at an exorbitant £97 Million for the Belguim striker. He had an impressive stint at Inter Milan after leaving Man United where he just didn't seem to gel with anyone and the less said about his first touch the better but Tuchel see's something in him that we all don't, lets see what he can offer Chelsea on his second time with the club. 

Liverpool didn't fair too badly on their first outing in the league for the 21/22 season after notching up all 3 points on offer as they travelled to Norwich. Star play Mo Salah got onto the score sheet and provided 2 assists as Klopp's men recorded a 3-0 win. Last seasons wonder signing Jota got the Reds off the mark after latching onto a mistimed touch from the Egyptian, while Bobby Firmino got the Reds second. The team looked impressive but most importantly solid at the back, Tsimikas who was stand in replacement for Andy Robertson had a few mishaps but was firmly put in place by a returning Virgl van Djik and James Milner. The Reds looked comfortable throughout the game, with no major signings apart form Konate as back up central defender, one wonders if they have sufficient firepower to compete against City and the rest of them? It proves to be an interesting season ahead, and I for one cannot wait to see how it plays out. 

Project Restart 2020

This week saw "Project Restart" commence in the UK much to the joy of many football supporters worldwide which saw us go without our beloved sport for three months, that is longer than the summer break! Many Liverpool fans, like myself are breathing a sigh of relief that the English FA took the decision to try to conclude the season rather than end it prematurely in whatever fashion, be it null and void or award the title to Liverpool who look all likely to wrap the title up with just two more victories required to confirm their champion status. It's been a 30 year wait, so the additional 3 months have been frustrating to say the least, but it will definitely go down as one the most memorable league years in the history of the game.  The first game between Aston Villa and Sheffield United had everything, including a malfunctioning Hawk Eye which did not detect that the ball crossed the goal line which would have handed Sheffield United the lead and possible victory in that match. Referee Michael Oliver was not in a position to see if the ball had crossed the line and relied on the technology which failed the Blades on the day. The next game saw two heavy weights Manchester City take on Arsenal, after an injury that saw David Luiz summoned from the bench proved to be the downfall to the Gunners as the defender was the main culprit for the first and conceded a penalty and red card for City's second. A 3rd goal was added in injury time to add insult to injury to Arteta's men. While we may have to get accustomed to watching games in empty stadiums for the next 94 games, the addition of fan noises do prove to give you a semi feel of the real match day atmosphere via the tele but it definitely must be lacking for the players. With the uncertainty of the future of the virus, this could be how the 2020/21 season takes place to ensure fan safety. 

The fight for the pride of England

The fight for the English Premier League title kicked off last weekend and while most of the scores were rather predictable, it also showed the intentions of the front runners who are vying for the title. 

Last season's runners up Liverpool had the pleasure of being one of the first teams to kick-off the season with their newly promoted opponents Norwich being the other. It was all systems go for the team in red as they showed the former Championship side how the Premier League has changed since they were last in it as they score 4 goals in the first half to give the Reds a healthy lead at half time. It was more of the same from Liverpool in the second but for the Norwich keeper making 3 outstanding saves to keep the scoreline decent as they also managed to claw a goal back. Reds intentions were clear then, they were still hurting from missing out on the league by finishing just 1 point behind the champions so this season they intend to remedy that and hope to go one further. It was not all smooth sailing for Jurgen Klopp as he had to substitute his star keeper Alison in the first half after picking up a calf strain, the Brazilian is said to face up to 8 weeks on the sideline. 

Manchester City saw Liverpools 4-1 winner as a challenge and set about their title challenge with a 5-0 victory over West Ham, Raheem Sterling picking up a hat-trick set his sights early on that golden boot as well. Pep Guardiola's men were ruthless in front of goal and laid down the challenge to the rest of the league. This Man City team is definitely the one to beat, and with them strengthen their squad over the summer, it's only going to make things more competitive for others. They by all means the team to beat, so every opponent they face will try to get their scalp, whether they're successful or not, is another story. 

Spurs had a bit of a scare at home in their opening fixture against Aston Villa, with the away team taking the lead and keeping Spurs at bay, it took a long range effort from Ndombele to equalize and then two quick fire goals from their talisman Harry Kane to make the scoreline look more attractive to the home team. Mauricio Pochettino has still a lot to do if he wants to get his team in the position to challenge the top two. We would have expected more purchases from the London team seeing that their new stadium is now complete but there's been little new figures walking through the Spurs doors. 

Chelsea who were hit with a transfer ban, having their best player leave as well as their manager is now under the guidance of ex star player Frank Lampard. They didn't have the easiest fixture to start with, facing last seasons sixth place team, Manchester United. With Solskjaer cracking the whip at United, and bringing in defence reinforcements with the likes of Harry Mcguire, they were out to prove a point and for most part of it, Chelsea held their own but silly mistakes cost them dearly in the end with United scoring 4 goals in the latter part of the second half, a less than flattering result for Franks men who look to have a long season ahead for them. Their London rivals, Arsenal also made tough work of Newcastle as they scraped a one goal victory at St James Park, with Steve Bruce taking over from Rafa Benitez his team showed good strength against the Arsenal but narrowly missed out on getting a point from their first game. 

It's going to be an interesting season going forward, with City still the team to beat and the depth in their squad, Jurgen Klopp and Pochettino have a lot to do if they want to keep up with City, as it is their goal difference is already sitting at +5 so the catch up game has already begun. But as they say, the league is a marathon and not a sprint. With other teams looking to prove a point as well, it hopefully should make things more open in the middle. Either way, it is bound to be an exciting season ahead. 

The Fickle Few

It's always a case of not all but a few who are the rotten ones in a bunch, but this few is growing larger and larger.  Being a supporter of a football club isn't easy, especially now in the business end of the season. Liverpool find themselves in a strong position both in the league and Champions League, with the distraction of the FA Cup not there, it gives Jurgen and the team time to concentrate and really make this final push to the end of the season one that will bare some reward. At the moment, it's City in the driving seat for the league, while we do occupy top spot, they have a game in hand and if that translates into a win for them, it would change things immediately. It's not the first time Liverpool have been in this position, it's harsh but back in April 2014, we were strong contenders for the league title and we had a home game against Chelsea that weekend, it was the same game of "the slip" and while many put that down as the deciding factor in us falling short that season, I still say it was not. I could list over ten reasons why but that will just be dwelling in what could have been while we now can chat of what could happen. 

Which is why the team, more than ever needs every ounce of support from their fans, whether you're at the ground or at home watching them play. But while we are winning games and getting results, I've found a number of fans, especially online being highly critical of players and in other words, talking a lot of shit. This needs to be cut out, if you don't know what you're saying, don't say it at all. I've seen our captain, Jordan Henderson catch a lot of flack for merely just being on the starting line up. These fickle few want other players to start every game, like they have not heard of player management and fatigue. Also if the manager deems it good enough for a player to start, you go with it, if in the case like last week against Southampton, things are not working out, the manager and his coaching staff will change things to try and gain an advantage. After Jordan and James were brought on at St Mary's, the entire team dynamic changed, Jordan was playing in his preferred forward position, made life difficult for the opposition when they had the ball. Many cheered Salah's goal that broke the tie but not many realise that it was Henderson's header, that make the break happen in the first place. 

Then his goal, to seal the deal was the icing on the cake, you could see the emotion in him after he netted, what it meant for him, what it meant for the team and more importantly what it meant for the fans. The players go out there every week and give it there all, for the fans and this is how the fans return the favour? By slagging them at every opportunity online? Facebook groups, Twitter, comments on the clubs Instagram pictures?! When I see these comments I feel embarrassed being grouped with supporters like these. Those who only have negative comments, who see Salah missing one opportunity and want him subbed, those who see Jordan pass the ball back on more than one occasion and feel he isn't good enough, those who criticize Bobby for not scoring in more than one game, it's like they just started watching football recently and haven't a clue how this game works or how our team play. It's one of my biggest fears that we get glory hunting fans that only support the team because we're winning, the type of fans became synonymous with Manchester United, Chelsea and Man City. 

We don't need that crap at our club, we want fans that devote their passion of support to the team, those give of positive energy and not negative bile at every disappointment we see. Our club have achieved a points total that would be worth of winning the league 5 seasons ago, but yet here we are with still 5 games to and the league undecided. While Liverpool have the supposed "easier run in", every game from now on will be a final for the team and judging from the past few games, nothing is going to be handed to us. This weekend, we face Chelsea again, a battered giant, a team that started the season strong but found themselves coming up short after the turn of the year but the same team that provided a massive stumble in our challenge back in 2014. Some of their star players are looking to move away in the new season so they'll be here to perform till the end of the season. We already saw Hazard steal the show on Monday night and you can bet your bottom dollar he'll be ready to go again on Sunday. 

The team say a number of times, they're here to do their job not for themselves, not for the club but for us, the fans. The least we can do is show them support and not be a bunch of fickle idiots on the internet by moaning and groaning at any chance or slating players. Lets back them, as this is the time, more than ever they need us. 

Citizens do it right

Yup, its that time of the year again, the final weekend of the Premier League. While there still may be football left this season, the end of the league still leaves a dent in the social calendars of many in the world. It's a somber moment that you can't really put into words as for the next few months, normally, many would not know what to do with themselves. Thankfully it's a world Cup year, so we have that distraction to keep us occupied for a month. This Premier league season has given us a lot to talk about though, records were broken, some amazing players have entered the league to give us some brilliant football, there were antics on and off the field and as always some shockers along the way.

In just his second season in the English league, Pep Guardiola went to prove why he is probably the best managers out there. After finding his feet last season, he made strategic signings to strengthen his team, found the ideal shape and style that suited their play and on they went, rampant from start to finish, suffering only two losses the entire campaign so far! While we can single out key players like Kevin de Bruyne who was instrumental in City's devastating attacks, the entire team pulled their weight along the way and in such helping the team achieve their 3rd English Premier League title.  The trophy was handed to them last weekend, letting the team start their celebrations a bit early as Sunday's game see's that as their last fixture for the season having being knocked out of the major cups. 

Chelsea, where do you start? After coming off as Champions the season before, one would not have expected the team to dip in form so badly. Antonio Conte seemed lost at times, as he could not fathom what was going on with his team. No matter what you say, being Champions the one season and finishing outside the top 4 the next is never ideal, especially from a team that is firmly rooted in the top 4. The fight for those spots over the years have been hotly contested though, with Tottenham, a runner up last year, having a major role in the decided spots. While Conte's team might not see this season as an entire failure with a spot in the FA Cup final booked, it certainly would worry the supporters should they not claim silverware at Wembley next weekend as Antonio's days at the Bridge could be numbered. 

Everyone loves to hate United and with the arrogant Jose Mourinho in charge, that hate grows even more but honestly, I cannot understand the criticism they've been receiving since the beginning. of the year. They are in second spot, be it 19 points behind the winners, but they also will be competing for the FA Cup next weekend, so there is a genuine chance of a trophy but still the press seem to berate Jose and his team, my question is why? They say their style of play is unattractive, but please show me a Mourinho side in the past 6 years that did play attractive football? He's a type of manager who grinds out results, keeps things tight and that's how he's being stacking his sides up over the years, why would you expect anything different now? Because he spent a shit load of money on an overrated French midfielder? No! For him, he's done his job and I'm sure the Glazers are happy so we'll be seeing more of the same next season.

Much was expected from Spurs this season, after giving Chelsea a good run for their money the season before but Mauricio Pochettino's men didn't really live up to expectations. While most of the teams did strengthen over the season, the seemed to be content with what they had. Unfortunate for them, as it saw City, United and Liverpool leapfrog them. While they are currently in 3rd spot, one down from last season, they have a tricky last game against Leicester who seem to be ending the season on a high after drubbing Arsenal 3-1 in midweek. A draw or less for Spurs could see Liverpool regain 3rd spot on the final day. 

For as long as I can remember the English League, there has always been one constant, and that was Arsene Wenger. After he announced he would be leaving the club after 22 years in charge, it was an awakening to many that we will no longer see the tall, lanky Frenchmen in the league again. In my opinion, it was 2 seasons too late. Most of the fans had turned against him, while his teams performances left much to be desired. For the second year in a row, his Arsenal team won't be qualifying in the Champions League, something which was unheard of before as he was masterful in always securing that top 4 spots. Arsenal have good players but not the type of quality required to challenge the likes of City and United, there is no indication yet of who they are going to replace him as manager but I'm sure the Arsenal faithful want someone who has a proven record. 

I'm going to end off with my beloved Liverpool, it was the second full season with Jurgen in charge, much was to be expected but he kept our ego in check from day one. He said we were not title ready yet, and whatever we achieve this season would be the best he could do. With one more game to go, and only requiring a point to secure Champions League qualification, it seems that the German has done enough to please everyone. That position could have been much higher if we didn't have a major distraction in the Champions League, but we're in the final against Madrid and you can bet your bottom dollar Jurgen will want to change his records of being the losing finalist this time round. But we have one more game left against Brighton which won't be a walk in the park but 3  points is needed to ease the nerves and to head into the final full of confidence. 

It's been a great season for the neutral, City will only grow in strength over the summer and so will the rest of the league. There will be many who will be staking claim to the title from early on but only one shall end the season on the top. I cannot wait but for now, let us enjoy the final day of the season and all the drama it will bring with it. 

The End is Nigh

No, the world isn't ending, well for some of us it feels that way. Every year millions of grown men around the world bemoan this weekend that is coming, it signals the end of weeks of anguish, excitement and glory, it's the last weekend of the English Premier League. While this year saw Chelsea secure the title with 2 games to spare, it wasn't plain sailing from the 5 times winners of the trophy. They started off the season on a bit of a shaky note with loses at home and dropped points against silly teams but Antonio Conte and his men then put their heads down and while focus wasn't so much on them anymore went about their business notching up 3 points every weekend and slowly started building momentum for their title charge. While many tried but fell away, there was no denying that Chelsea deserve their title. After a small stumble towards the end of the season, well more like a sudden surge from fellow London club Tottenham Hotspurs but a loss to Westham a week ago saw that one put to bed.

While Chelsea will are in celebrations mode, it will have to be cut short for the final league game as well as the final of the FA Cup which they will be facing another London rival, Arsenal. While on the subject of the Gunners, over the last decade, Arsenal's claim to fame is finishing in the top 4, in fact in the 2015/16 season they celebrated finishing in the top four as though they won the title. This year however saw many other clubs push their way into their seat, with the resurgence of Liverpool and Mauricio Pochettino men making progress from last season to nudge into second place, this season could see Arsene Wenger's team finish outside a Champions League place. There is however a small chance that Arsenal still could get fourth place, with the Top 3 places almost already decided with Manchester City's win over Westbrom last night, Liverpool have to win their last game against Middlesbrough to guarantee they Merseyside club a return to Champions League football. 

Having had a terrible second half to the season, most of the damage was done in January, Jurgen Klopp's men have found a last bit of fight in them to end the season on a high, following a triumphant rout at Westham over the weekend, spirits are high in the camp and they hope to transpire this onto the field on Saturday when they end their campaign at home in front of the Anfield faithful. Anfield normally being a good hunting ground for the reds was the scene for many disasters this season, goalless draws against minnows and even defeat from teams who were fighting relegation. The Reds have found themselves being complacent at times and other times, looked like the best team in the world. It's a Jekyll and Hyde complex that Klopp needs to figure out and fix before the start of the new season as this team has potential to go on and win trophy's. Obviously there needs to be some changes in the team, our defence isn't the best and it's become a problem for us with teams knowing how to exploit this issue.

One can't do a season wrap up and not talk about the teams from Manchester, lets give the Red side a break and talk about the Blue side for a bit. There was much fanfare at the start of the season with the appointment of Pep Guardiola as their manager, he is undoubtedly one of the best in the world and given the kitty City have at their disposal, we were all expecting big signings and a strong City challenge but Pep quickly learnt that the English league isn't like the Spanish or German one, he didn't make any notable signings apart from Jesus in January who gave his team that spark which kick started them and helped finish 3rd, I feel if he didn't get injured City would have been there with Spurs fighting Chelsea for the title but alas it wasn't to be. 

Now the Red side, well with the leagues favourite manager taking charge at the most successful club in the Premier League, you know everyone's eyes would be cast onto Old Trafford checking their transfers, results and what colour tie Jose is wearing. And Jose is one to never shy away from the media, so that coupled with his breaking of the transfer record fee by acquiring Paul Pogba at an astronomical price, he was only heaping more pressure on him and the team. Suffice to say, while they didn't do as badly as previous seasons since Alex Fergurson departed but they didn't do that great either with them pretty much cemented in 6th place, even after their long stint of unbeaten games that saw them move no where. They have a lot of work to do but are still holding on to their hopes of reaching the Champions League by winning the Europa League where they will face a very tough Ajax team. Knowing Jose thought, he'd park the bus and hope the game goes to penalties so you never know. 

Never the less, this season was great entertainment as always, it provided us with much to talk about, whether it be bad refereeing of which we saw plenty of, or great games such as Monday nights 7 goal thriller with Chelsea and Watford. One thing we can be sure of is next season is going to be a whole lot more interesting with teams back in the Champions League and competing for the title. It's going to be a busy summer and the Confed Cup coming up in Russia should seal the void that we might have over this break period. 

Too Early For Conclusions?

We're only five games into the new English Premier League season and a lot of people are already drawing conclusions to what they've seen. As predicted, Manchester City have had a pretty good start with flawless victories so far. Pep has them playing a brand of football we've haven't seen a City team play before and it is quite pleasing to watch, they certainly are the team to beat. Surprisingly we find Everton at second position, most of their fans are quite happy but one has to realise they've haven't had the most difficult fixture list to contend with seeing that only Spurs were their real tough game from the lot. Speaking of Spurs, they're not doing too badly but the surprise package so far has to be Liverpool.

As a supporter of the team, seeing that fixture list before the season started, I would have been happy with 8 points after the first five games but after three trips to London and remaining unbeaten from them with an emphatic victory against the current league champions at home, one has to start wondering if this team can maintain their form throughout the season. We know Liverpool are prone to blow hot and cold, as shown against Burnley which saw them lose 2-0 away from home but the games thereafter showed some promise. 

The team that was making all the noise preseason seemed to have quietened down after three straight defeats, which one might that be? Manchester United of course, now this post isn't meant to poke fun at the rivals but merely state observations of what could be going wrong in the team. Now as much as we mock them for spending so much money on Paul Pogba, secretly we all wished our teams could splash some cash on a world class player like that and cause mass hysteria in the football transfer window. It's what makes the game more exciting, unfortunately it does add pressure to the player, with such a high price tag he will be doing his utmost to prove his price but that can cost them dearly as we saw with Andy Carroll when he made the switch to Liverpool, granted the price was no where near Pogba's, it was a record for a British player and he always tried to do more than what he was capable of during games which subsequently saw him reduced to sitting on the bench. I think Jose needs to sit him down and tell him to just relax and play his normal game, and not expect him to go out there and score hattricks every game. 

Now for the elephant in the room, well troll in the room, aka Shrek. As much as most of us love to hate Wayne Rooney, he is a quality player. After Scholes, Giggs and Ferdinand left the fray, it was up to Rooney to be the English stalwart of the team and credit to him he has done a fantastic job but the thing we all need to realise is that players get old and while they do remain fit, aspects of their game gets affected. They're not as a sharp as they once were, not as quick and their radar goes a bit off every now and then. When Gerrard left Liverpool it was a bittersweet moment because we knew we were losing an asset to the team but he knew he wasn't good enough to make the first eleven any more and he didn't see himself as a player who came off the bench to help the team. I feel the same is happening to Wayne at United. He wants to start every game but can he? Jose wanted Rooney for his Chelsea team 4 years ago and now that he finally has him, he wants to play him in the role he envisaged for him but Jose needs to realise Wayne isn't that same player anymore. The defeat against Watford saw Rooney making some dreadful passes, the last thing he will want is the Old Trafford faithful turning against him for playing badly. I think it's time Wayne realised he isn't that same player and either leave the club or settle for a place on the bench before he damages his good reputation with the supporters. 

Maybe I'm wrong though? Maybe Jose has a plan and he's just waiting for the whole team to click into gear. As I said, we're only five games in so to draw conclusions now would be premature and stupid but from what I've seen so far, this what it seems like but we still have 33 games to go and it's going to be an interesting few months leading up to the December period and we're surely in for a treat. 

The Greatest League

Go back 10 years ago, the English league was the best league in Europe. The money, the mangers, the big names, it had it all. The teams were dominant in the Champions League and it was one of the toughest leagues in the world but then something happened. Not quite sure what it was but it lost it's dominance, players were attracted to other leagues such as the German, Italian and Spanish, the English teams that did make it to Europe often faded away early in the competition and overall it fell behind the likes of LaLiga, Bundesliga and Serie-A. 

Has all of that changed now? This season see's probably the best line up of managers ever seen in a league and they're all managing English teams. Mourinho, Conte, Klopp, Wenger, Guardiola and Ranieri (I had to slip in ol Claudio there) take on each other in the English Premier League in whats set to be one of the most anticipated one yet! Most of the managers will have their first test this weekend seeing that they have been brought in during the summer with the exception of Klopp, Wenger and Ranieri. While Jose has managed in the league before at Chelsea, it will be a different kettle of fish for him as he tries to exorcise the demons that has plagued Old Trafford for the past 2 seasons. 

While on the subject of Jose, he's causing quite a stir so far and even though he's at the team I love to hate, I'm rather loving it. He's known for shit talking and to be honest, the league needs that. Whether or not his demons of last season at Chelsea have followed him to United remains to be seen but one things for sure, he's certainly doing things his way. Firstly the signings, Bailly, Miktarian, Ibrahimovic and the signing everyone is talking about, Paul Pogba. Jose literally broke the bank to bring in the French International and while the spot light has been on him for the past month, I don't think he will be their key signing for United. Bailly for me will be of more significance to the team as their defence seems to be in tatters after the departure of their famed brick wall of Vidic and Ferdinand. 

Last season saw a complete outside take the title and for that, we now don't know what to expect. Many are scared to make any predictions, can Leicester do it again? I doubt it but there's always a chance that they were not one season wonders. They've made some good signings and managed to hang on to star striker Jamie Vardy but they still need to keep the others that played a pivotal role in last seasons success. 

Coming back to the battle of the managers, many seem to think Jurgen Klopp has the upper hand. He came in almost midway through last season so he's had some time to assess the players and see which individuals will be key to his revamp of the squad. He's made a number of good signings, nothing record breaking but from what we've seen in the preseason, it was money put to good use. The stand out for me has been Sadio Mane, yes we've got a habit of poaching players from Southampton and whilst most of them haven't shined as they did at the Saints, I believe Klopp is spot on with this one. He's got the pace, he's strong and he has knowledge of the English game and while he didn't cost 89 million pounds, he didn't come in cheap at just over 30 million pounds. Many argued that it was a bit much for him but I rate him being a better buy than Pogba, so come the end of the 16/17 season I'd love to see a head to head stats between the two of them. I still don't thnk Klopp has the end product and the injuries don't help him either. He isn't far off from that and we've seen glimpses of the team he wants, the demolition of Barcelona at Wembley was simply breathtaking so lets hope we can see more of that come the start of the league this weekend. 

Liverpool have the toughest opening fixture list from any of the other top teams with most of their matches being away from home, some of them by choice as Anfield see's their new mainstand take shape and increase the overall capacity of the stadium. Arsenal away is first up and while many bemoan the lack of activity from the Frenchman, I don't doubt his tactics. He's the longest running manager in the league of our decade, he's been through it all, seen it all and he's proven that he doesn't need a lot of cash or big name players to do the job. The board are happy with him as he makes them profits and the fans, well the fans of Arsenal will never be happy regardless. They normally don't hit the ground running in the league so Sunday's encounter will be a tricky one.

Overall this season is going to be one of the greats and everyone in the world will be keeping an eye on it. From world class managers to the most expensive player in the world, it has it all. Entertainment? You bet it will be, with even the smaller teams wanting to prove a point. Everyone is going to go out there and try to be a Leicester City, whether or not they can achieve it remains to be seen. One things for sure, it's going to be great viewing pleasure and will reaffirm the English Premier League as the Greatest League, once again. 

Never give up

Like many out there, I got up yesterday morning in disbelief, Leicester City, Champions of England. For many who don't follow the league, you might be wondering what the big fuss is all about? Well there have been many miracle stories in football, Man Utd in 99, Liverpool in 05 and Segio Aguero's last minute goal to win the league in the dying seconds of the 2011/12 season but nothing can top this. 

As the saying goes, "the league is a marathon and not a race" so for Leicester City, a team whom had to dig themselves out of a relegation spot last season, to come in and perform consistently every week to stay ahead of the pack is no mean feat. I know they didn't have that many competitions to par-take in like the other top flight teams and they've been lucky with hardly and major injuries during the season but all that forms part of the luck you need to win England's most coveted trophy.  

Claudio Ranieri came in at the beginning of the season to try and steady the team to a respectable position in the table, I doubt he even thought it would have been possible to achieve what they have done. For many years the league was dominated by the formidable "big four" but as the years went on and big money came into the league, it saw things change and maybe for the better. Yes many might say money is killing the game with certain teams having the bank balances to pay for big name players but Leicester City went and showed the world that you don't need money or big names to win. The total cost for their starting 11 for most of the games never exceeding 400,000 pounds, which some players earn in 2 weeks... It was hard work, belief and pure passion for the game that got them where they are. 

That's what Leicester did this season, it reminded people why we play and watch this sport, and what makes it the beautiful game. With odds against them at 5000/1 to win the league at the start, for them to prove the bookies and world wrong is something extraordinary and will be spoken off in years to come. Whether or not they would be able to replicate this form next season is questionable but what they've taught everyone is that nothing is impossible.

 As a Liverpool supporter it is a sore point that Leicester managed to win the Premiership before us as well as with less points that we've managed to score on more than 3 seasons but that's football for you. They were ready for the challenge and kept going till the end. You ride your luck during the season and make the effort when need be, every season has it's own challenges but you got to overcome them to secure that prize. 

One thing is for sure, next season I don't think anyone would be able to predict what can happen and whether or not bookies will be putting outrages odd's on teams to win the league will be interesting to see after having to pay out a lot of money this season. To Leicester, the football world salutes you on what you have achieved, slaying giants along the way to earn respect in a sport that's dominated by money and superstars, you showed the world you don't need all of that to be winners.