Couple of days after Arsenal humiliation

We have been through it. Season after season. It has now come to a stage where we remain inept during the humiliating 90 minutes, or should I say, 90 minutes of torture. These are the days we pray for no injury time and it's safe to say, even those prayers are not answered. 

27th August 2017 was one such day. Arsenal took on Liverpool at Anfield. To begin with, I wasn't hopeful of an Arsenal victory. At best, it could be a draw. I felt the only way we can win is if someone in this Arsenal team does an Arshavin (one time ever, that is) or if Liverpool does a Gerrard slip! Neither happened. As the game began, whatever little hope I had were raised when we started getting chances to convert. We didn't make use of those chances (how can we, when our best striker was sitting on the bench). Then came the humiliation, which I don't want to describe here for obvious reasons. 

Immediately after the game, I wrote these on my Twitter feed - 

Had I written this blog-post immediately after the game, it would've been a rant that I may stand to regret later. Better sense prevailed! 

Anyway, some amount of time has passed. I have regained a little bit of composure and courage, good enough to write this. What happened to this team? We were good at preseason. We strengthened our team by buying two players who were in their leagues team of the season. We strengthened our backroom staff and added what we thought was the missing pieces of the puzzle. We were (and still are) removing fringe players we don't need. Things were looking bright. Then what changed? I honestly cannot decipher. 

What looks apparent to me is that our defense now appears very premature. Yes, we still have Koscielny, but that's it. We sold Gabriel (a good squad player) and on the verge of losing Mustafi. Koscielny is not getting any younger and Mertesacker will retire at the end of this season. We are now left with only makeshift or young options like Monreal, Chambers, Holding and Kolasinac. Surely there's no plan here! Please Mr. Wenger, tell me there's a method to this madness. 

We are now left with 2 days in this transfer window to salvage what is already a lost season. Ox and Mustafi leaving will make our team even weaker. I will be shocked if Sanchez doesn't leave. That makes it 3 first-team players. If we don't replace them adequately, we are doomed (if not already). 

We have brought ourselves in a situation where we will either not buy and strengthen our squad or we stand a risk of making spot-buys who we will later regret having on our books. Anyway, what's gone is gone. Let's see if something can be salvaged this season. Else, I still stand by my tweet "I can't wait for next season to begin".

Proposed change to Transfer Window for next season

There have been news reports of FA working on reducing the transfer window duration. Such a move will ensure Premier League clubs will finish their transfer business a day before the season begins. Many managers are in support of such a decision. Post the approvals from every club, it will be made official. But is it a foolproof step? Does it have any loophole? Let's see - 

Background - Premier League clubs have two windows in a year to do transfer business. This discussion pertains to the summer transfer Window (July 1st - August 31st). The deadline day changes if 31st August falls on a weekend - in which case it moves to the next business day. League season starts in mid-August, which means there's a fortnight of overlap. Deadline of August end was charted out by FIFA to ensure that the teams are finalized before the start of UEFA Champions League and Europa League. 

Arguments in support of this move - Summer Transfer Window officially begins from July, but clubs and managers start the work of rebuilding the squad as soon as the previous season ends. Shortlist is prepared of players who will be considered and who will move out. Negotiations start with the other clubs for prospective players. In some cases, transfer is also announced before the official window. What I am trying to drive here is that the clubs have a lot of time to prepare for next season. If the window ends before the season, it should hardly make a difference. Any manager with a rational take on this topic will agree to have the window reduced as all want to have stably before the season and not last-minute flip flops. 

Arguments against this move - Clubs get few preseason matches under their belt to reassess their squad, strategies and give opportunities to new players to adapt. But what happens when, on the eve of the season, one of the key player gets injured? Or your key player has rejoined late after an international tournament and is in dire need of match fitness to get back to first team? Of course, managers need to have backups. You will have multiple players for a position, but none of the same top quality. The transfer window, in its present state, allows an option to look for a backup. If we agree to the new rules, we will be devoid of such an option. Suffice it to say that the current window can also stabilize an unstable team. 

Possible loophole - Note that this proposal pertains only to the Premier League clubs only. This could mean that foreign leagues from Spain, France, Germany, Italy will still have an option to capture a premier league player! This loophole can completely undo the intention of making the window shorter. Premier League clubs will only be destabilized by this loophole. 

My take - Conceptually, I totally l am in total support of this decision. For those against such a move, I don't buy the arguments put forth. The injury angle is not a legit argument as clubs need to have a squad to provide backup in case of player unavailability due to injury or international commitments. A top player getting injured is unfortunate and he just can't be replaced in any team, let's accept this fact. Now to the possible loophole - I am not sure if FA can make a rule to disallow foreign clubs to poach their player post the new transfer window deadline. If they can't, then there is no point to have a shorter window. I am all for the shortened window under the following two conditions - if all the European association decide to have such a move or else FA charts out a rule to block their player from moving to foreign shores after window closes.

Either ways, we have just started this season but the next season already sounds interesting!

Is Wojciech Szczesny an upgrade over Petr Cech?

Arsenal have 3 goal keepers who can compete for the top spot in the first team. Petr Cech is undoubtedly the best and the one with most experience at the top. His arrival ensured the rest of the keepers won't be given much playing time. Szczesny made the decision to move out on loan (right move, in hindsight) and Ospina decided to stay back and fight for the spot. 

Wenger made it easy for Ospina to stay back by utilizing him for Champions League and FA Cup games and Cech for league games, thereby giving two keepers to continue playing regularly and compete for top spot. As a result, you now have Cech and Szczesny playing more regularly than Ospina. It's no surprise that Ospina has now decided to move on. 

Arsenal are now left with Cech as no 1 and no one to compete with him. Arsenal are in market for a top goalkeeper. Szczesny can come back but he will now need assurances to more playing time. And he's not the old Szczesny we know. The boy seems to be a man now! His performances seem to suggest so. Juventus are in market for a new keeper after Buffon and seem to be looking at Szczesny. Isn't that his biggest appraisal? The legendary Buffon to be replaced by Arsenal's own. Are we missing a trick by letting go of him, if it actually happens? 

Let's analyze if Szczesny is actually an upgrade over Cech - 

Statistical Comparison between Szczesny (past 3 years) and Cech (past 2 years) - 

The biggest argument against Szczesny being Arsenal's no 1 was the fact that he made a significant amount of mistakes at the post and would hand over the advantage to the opposition. He was more leaky in front of the post and his decision making wasn't top notch. But Arsenal knew he was special talent, just not one of the best. But has that changed now? It appears so, if stats are to be believed. Szczesny's clean sheet count over past 3 years show significant improvement. In 2014/15 season, he had 0.18 clean sheets per 90 minutes which went up to 0.24 a year later (on loan) and 0.37 last year. That's about 2 clean sheets in 5 games. It may not be among the best, the improvement is visible. Even the saves count has improved from 1.68 (at Arsenal) to 2.45 (last season). His distribution accuracy has improved, which indicate he is involved more in the game and making less mistakes. Compare these stats with Cech and you realize you are getting a much improved Szczesny compared to a consistent yet slowly diminishing keeper in Cech. 

The biggest attributes that should excite Arsenal management and fans alike are the "defensive errors" and "Errors leading to goals". This is where Szczesny lost out to Cech. He has improved by leaps and bounds here. 0.05 defensive errors mean 1 error in 20 matches. We couldn't relate that stat with Szczesny when he was with Arsenal, could we?  

Conclusion - It won't be right to state that Szczesny is better than Cech, but we must admit he can now be compared with Cech in terms of stats and ability. The loan move to Roma has improved Szczesny to an extent where he can return to Arsenal and stake claim to what was originally his! Also, we need to note that Cech had better defenders in front of him last season compared to Szczesny during his last season with Arsenal. That plays a part too. Now with added support in defense, there is no reason to believe Szczesny can't flourish in an Arsenal shirt. 

Bring back Szcz. We need him.

Stats compiled from Squawka Comparison Matrix - click here for link

Sead Kolasinac - A statistical comparison

Arsenal just made their first signing. Sead Kolasinac, Welcome to Arsenal! I will admit it was one of the worst kept secrets, but a relief to know that we are in the transfer market this early and making things happen.

Sead Kolasinac is primarily a left back who played for Schalke and is now in the last month of his contract. Arsenal pulled a march on rival clubs who had Kolasinac in their radars. I am sure Wenger was impressed with few factors that helped Arsenal track Kolasinac and finally winning the transfer battle. For one, he is young (23). He is versatile, an attribute that rates highly for Wenger. He can play left back, left centre back in a 3-4-2-1 system (which reaped dividends in the latter part of last season), left wing-back and, if needed, further forward as a left winger. Add to this, the fact that he was available for free transfer was the icing on the cake for Wenger. In more ways than one, he is a young and ideal replacement to an ageing yet effective Nacho Monreal. 

Let's have a look at how Kolasinac fares in comparison to Arsenal left-backs and Danny Rose (included in PFA team of the season as a left back for 2016-17 season) - 

Defensive Statistical Comparison - 

From a defensive standpoint, Arsenal have definitely got an upgrade on our existing left back and a player comparable to the current best left of the league. That is quite a statement! Kolasinac is statistically better in many of the defensive attributes in the comparison. He has won 2.22 tackles per 90 minutes and it's better than even Danny Rose. Same can be said about his interception count (3.39 per 90 minutes) and defensive errors (0). He is behind Monreal on blocks count but better than Rose (0.22 v/s 0.31 for Monreal) but you must know that Monreal has played in a centre back role where blocking a shot has more weightage. He has received more yellow cards than Monreal (experience counts) but much less than Danny Rose. His clearance count and fouls committed as the worst in the comparison (which will be the attributes he plan to improve given that he's only 23).

Attacking Statistical Comparison - 

A defender's primary and clear responsibility used to be to help teams to concede no / less goals. Anything more was usually a bonus. Not anymore. Defenders contribute to the attacking prowess of the team as well. Kolasinac has scored more goals and provided more assists per 90 minutes than any of the players listed here for comparison - which is definitely a match for a team like Arsenal who is more attack minded. So when Arsenal switches from defense to attack, expect Kolasinac to sprint down from the left side of the field and be ready to support the attackers. His attack score and total score are not the best but definitely comparable to the best that Arsenal has and the best in the league. 

Conclusion - Arsenal have opened the transfer dealings on a positive note. Kolasinac is definitely an upgrade over the existing setup. And with age on his side, expect him to continue his development and get even better. The only downside is his injury background. But Arsenal backroom staff are better equipped in that level going by their performance in the last season (least injuries compared to previous seasons). Some of the Arsenal fans may not be excited by Kolasinac joining and that's primarily due to his transfer amount - 0. But we need to understand, he chose to see off his contract (a sign of loyalty, if you may) and get the best possible deal for himself and his new team. Kolasinac ends up as a winner in this deal and Arsenal joins him in the winning list as well. 

Stats compiled from Squawka Comparison Matrix - click here for link.

Potential departures at Arsenal for 2017-18 season

2016-17 season's done and Arsenal ended up at the fifth position in the league - their worst position in the past 2 decades. That's right, we were always in the top 4 for the past 20 years. It became so routine that fans - within and outside - started ridiculing the consistency. Wenger kept on harping that top 4 in the premier league is nothing short of a trophy in itself. Football fans ridiculed him for this statement. And now, when you see top managers like Guardiola, Klopp and Mourinho fighting for the "coveted" top 4 position, we start to realize that Wenger was way ahead of times. 

This is by no means a defense of Wenger. 

As an Arsenal fan, I admit I am disappointed. We were among the top mid season only to lose out of reckoning the way only we can do. We kept on losing and dropping points and the contenders around us kept on minting points. It reaches a virtual knockout situation and we won 10 out of last 11 games with FA Cup and a 5th position in the league. Tottenham finished above Arsenal for the first time in last 20 years, to add insult to injuries. 

But that's past now. Post that, Wenger signed a 2 year extension. That clears the air regarding the managerial position. The next step is to strengthen the squad - retaining top talent, buying those crucial elements to complete the squad and removing the fringe players. Ozil and Sanchez saga appears to continue. I want them retained. Ox is another player I want to remain with us. He can be a huge asset in the wing back position (more so if Bellerin goes back to Barcelona) and also in his preferred position of central midfield. More on this later. 

Let's talk about potential departures. Following players, I feel, might / should be allowed to let go by Arsenal - 

GK - David Ospina: No one wants to play second fiddle in a team. Petr Cech is rightfully the better player and deserves to be no 1 at Arsenal. That doesn't mean Ospina is bad. He is a great player and needs to play often. He will leave, for sure. 

Defender - Gibbs: Gibbs is a long timer at Arsenal but failed to cement the preferred left back at Arsenal. He had his moments when Cole left, but failed to fully capitalize. Wenger then bought Monreal and hasn't looked back since. Monreal can also be the backup centre back in case of injuries or rotation. The only issue with Monreal is his age and Arsenal needed a young left back to compete. Enter Kolasinac. Sadly, that means Gibbs has to leave. 

Defender - Debuchy: Debuchy just didn't fit in at Arsenal. He was expected to replace outgoing Sagna. What made matters worse for Debuchy was the resurgence of Bellerin as the first choice right back. Add injuries and you have a player who hardly made a name for himself at Arsenal. He will leave Arsenal, maybe to France.  

Midfielder - Wilshere: Sometimes you need to make a decision you don't like. Maybe it will end up being a bad decision. But something's got to give. Personally, I am a big fan of Wilshere when in full form. His goal against Norwich is a goal for the ages. His passion for Arsenal is unparalleled. He used to be Wenger's blue eyed boy. I always felt he will truly replace Cazorla and be the future captain of Arsenal. But that is yet to happen. Injuries played a huge part. He had a productive season playing for Bournemouth as a loanee until injured, again. Arsenal needs to let him leave. For his benefit, for his future and for his career. 

Forward - Perez: I made a mistake analyzing Perez' arrival at Arsenal last year. I expected Perez to compete with Giroud for the lone strikers role. Wenger used Sanchez instead. And the plan worked. For Arsenal, not for Perez. Maybe Wenger thought of Perez as a backup option for Sanchez and Giroud. Then Welbeck came back from injury and Perez lost out. It completely backfired for Perez who now wants to leave (and rightfully so). His departure will be a loss to Arsenal, but has to happen. Perez, thank you for that amazing hat-trick in champions league. 

Forward - Sanogo: He didn't fulfill his promises, got injured, contract ends in June this year and will leave. It didn't work out. All the best to Yaya. 

Other players who can be considered in possible departure list include Coquelin (especially if Xhaka cements his position in midfield, Walcott (lots of promises but lacks consistency) , Bellerin (not sure if he has it in him to reject Barcelona). 

Let's see how ruthless Wenger will be in the transfer window. Until next time. 

Arsene Wenger and the contract conundrum

Arsene Wenger's contract with Arsenal will be over this June. This is no news to you. Wenger has a 2 year contract extension from Arsenal on the table. This is no news to you either. A sizable section of Arsenal fans want Wenger to leave this June. This comes as no surprise to you, especially if you are part of "that" group (Read: Wenger Out brigade). Arsenal's top two players (Sanchez and Ozil) are having a contract standoff with Arsenal over wages (I presume) and now Ozil has expressed the (main) reason that is preventing him from signing an extension. 

Reason: Arsene Wenger's contract standoff. 

Before we get to that, let's try to understand Arsenal's perception in the footballing world. For the past 2 decades, Arsenal have been managed by Arsene Wenger. Although Arsenal was a popular club back then, Wenger put Arsenal on the world map by his footballing philosophy. In the past 2 decades, Arsenal moved from a top team in the league to a global brand and among the best in the footballing world. A team who were once called the invincibles (49 game unbeaten streak), the unique one-touch passing style (known as tika-taka to some) and a team that plays the most eye-catching football in the world. It's truly a pleasure to watch Arsenal when in full flow. All this was possible because Arsene Wenger made it happen. 

As it stands today, we still play the most beautiful football (the frequency of which has reduced significantly) sans the desired results. The stadium project took a toll on Arsenal's winning ambitions. The ambition was there, the resources and results not so much. But things started to change when we bought Mesut Ozil, one of the best attacking midfielders on the planet. So much so that Cristiano Ronaldo criticized Real Madrid for going ahead with this transfer. Arsenal turned a page into the future. The next year, we bought Alexis Sanchez and the signs of a turnaround was on the horizon. 

Now here's the interesting part - if you read their first interview after joining Arsenal, they mentioned that Arsene Wenger played a huge part in them joining Arsenal. And it's not only them, many of Arsenal players have said the same. Jack Wilshere considers Wenger as his father figure. Remember, when Wenger's contract was about to be over last time, Wilshere went on record saying he will leave if Wenger leaves. And this statement is coming from a lifelong Arsenal fan in Wilshere. Aaron Ramsey was snatched from the clutches of Manchester United by Wenger. Xhaka was excited to be part of Wenger's project. Cech joined from Chelsea for the same reason. Ok wait, he joined because he wanted to stay in London. But most of the players joined because of Wenger and / or his salesman-like persuasion of the Arsenal project. 

So Arsenal fans, let's accept it - Wenger is a huge part of Arsenal brand. Whether you like it or not. And I don't find anything wrong, given the current situation, that Ozil wants to wait for Wenger's future to be sorted out before committing. As a fan I am not necessarily happy about it, as it should always be Arsenal FC not Arsene FC. But in a corporate setup (and Football is no longer just a game, it's now a full-fledged industry), resources leave their current project for better opportunities which includes money, location and an understanding boss. Arsenal with London as base and Wenger as boss provides a conducive atmosphere for players to play to their potential. If one of the two mentioned cogs (location and boss) are removed, the wheel will find it difficult to move ahead. This is where Arsenal management sans Wenger should come in and restore faith among the players and fans. And the management will have a huge role to play here. One bad decision can destroy the brand and one good decision can elevate Arsenal to levels closer to Real and Barcelona in terms of success. No kidding, it's possible.

I personally want Ozil and Sanchez to sign contract extension sooner than later as the next 3-4 years (in their late 20s) will see them reach their full potential as players. And I want it to happen despite Wenger's contract standoff. I am a Wenger fan and will always be one. I still believe Wenger is not part of the problem but is part of the solution. At the same time, I feel by extending Arsene Wenger's contract, we are delaying the inevitable problem of identifying a successor without impacting the Arsenal ship. Wenger will move on one day for sure. If Arsenal management doesn't have a well laid-out continuity plan, we will fall head over heels like it happened at Manchester United. 

Arsenal and this January Transfer Window..

The month of riches and creativity has arrived. Not for you and me, I am talking about the Football media groups. Let's have more gossips of players leaving and joining other clubs, about players declining contract extensions and general discontent regarding lack of playing time. In between all of this, you will have a genuine need to strengthen your squad for the challenges that lie ahead. 

English clubs will have an added challenge starting January (Emirates FA Cup). Some teams are in UEFA champions league and some in Europa league. The league cup will end in January with semifinals and finals to go. African Cup of nations will force some teams to add numbers to temporarily replace the outgoing players. Add to that, the injury concerns and sudden availability of top players will force clubs to delve into their rich coffers. 

Arsenal, this season, have been relatively better that previous seasons in terms of injury concerns. Yes, we have lost Santi Cazorla for months at length but we have backups in Xhaka, Coquelin (injured), Elneny and Ramsey fighting for 2 positions at the center. More on central midfield later. Suffice it to say that different combinations were used and have been decent enough to replace Santi. Our defense is now better with top centreback combination of Koscienly and Mustafi, with Gabriel, Mertesacker and Holding as backups. Our strikers are doing good with Sanchez and Giroud having a strong and healthy competition for the lone strikers' role. With Perez and Welbeck returning from injury, our backup in that department is also strong. Number 10 role is owned by Ozil, and I have no complaints there. Iwobi can be used there too. Wingers are also doing reasonably good with Ox, Walcott and Iwobi utilized specifically for these roles and Sanchez and Perez providing healthy competition. Don't get me wrong, there is always scope to improve the squad. But this is January Transfer Window so we can't expect major changes from any of the top teams unless a world-class player suddenly becomes available. 

Central midfield was finally considered to be the strongest in recent years so much so that we shipped off Wilshere on loan! Cazorla and Coquelin are our best midfield pair. However, both are now injured. Elneny is off to African Cup of nations. This leaves us with Xhaka (great and silly in equal measure) and Ramsey as last men standing. Ox can be used in central midfield too, but am not convinced if Wenger feels the same too. Another injury and we are looking at makeshift options! The situation is demanding enough to warrant for a dip in the market for options. Maybe a longterm replacement for Cazorla (No, Xhaka is not yet there). But, Wenger being Wenger, I won't be surprised if he goes for make-shift options or promotes someone from youth setup for a month till Coquelin returns. 

Another place where I feel Arsenal need to invest is the full back positions. We have one of the best young right-back in Bellerin who appears to first choice right back for a long time to come. But we don't have a suitable backup to Bellerin. This season Gabriel was utilized when Bellerin was out injured. Although he did a decent job, he's still a makeshift option. Rob Holding is considerably young and inexperienced for this role. Debuchy will be sold or will leave on a bosman. Calum Chambers is doing good with Middlesbrough and may be suitable to compete for this position from next season. Maybe he will not. But that's future and is uncertain. What is certain is that we don't have a like-for-like backup to Bellerin. 

Same is the case for left-back position. With Monreal and Gibbs, we have good depth but Monreal is not getting any younger and is bound to tone down his workrate sooner or later. Gibbs has been with Arsenal for quite a while but he hasn't cemented this position yet. Injuries have also taken its toll on Gibbs. Arsenal need to identify a player to replace Monreal when the time is ready and as on date, Gibbs doesn't seem to be that guy. On his part, Gibbs also should be looking for more playing time which means he may look for a transfer too. This is one more reason why we need to concentrate on this position in the near future. Also, Cohen Bramall, if we eventually sign him, is one for the future and definitely not a like-for-like backup.

January Transfer Window is not usually the time to identify long term solutions. It's pretty much quick fix. Arsenal have had exception to this rule and ironically, Monreal is one such example. I am not surprised that Wenger is not looking to be busy this time of the year. But he will do our team a world of good by looking to strengthen the fullback positions. We need genuine like-for-like backups and not a makeshift option. Fight for the title is still not over and we are in three different tournaments for the rest of the season. Addition to the squad will hardly do any harm.

Over to you, Professor. 

Sanchez' passion is what we need..

Arsenal dug a hole for themselves and at the last minute barely managed to get out of it. Haven't we heard this script before? Against AFC Bournemouth, we were 3-0 down, thanks largely to our defensive lapses. And then came the comeback. 3-1 (Sanchez), 3-2 (Perez, what a goal) and 3-3 (Giroud). We lost out of time to get the winner. I am sure, with the momentum we had, we were just 2-3 minutes away from the winner. 

We got away with snatching a point from the away fixture. In the larger scheme of things, the appropriate narrative is that we dropped 2 crucial points. The battle to the top was steep and we managed to make it worse. The way we conceded all 3 goals was not worth of the champions we intend to be. Bellerin was the culprit for the 1st and 3rd goal and Xhaka became his usual self inside our penalty box. Emotionally, it was a topsy-turvy game and it ended with mixed feelings. What if? That's how it ended for me. 

Anyway, what I got the see post the match completely defines what an Arsenal fan must have felt. We, as Arsenal fans, are used to our team "committing suicide" during the game and then coming back from the dead just before the game is over. As fans, we don't exactly know how to react. Should we be frustrated at what could have been or should we heave a sigh of relief? I think, for me, it's nothing but frustration, despite coming away with an unlikely point. 

Did anyone see Alexis Sanchez' reaction? 

That's exactly how I felt after this match and am sure that's how most of the Arsenal fans have felt. Utter frustration! I can see despair and a feeling of loss from other Arsenal players. But Sanchez took it to an altogether different level, a level most of us fans know. Yes, am sure the manager might have felt frustrated, but he never shows. Most of our players might have been dejected, but they appear to move on. The reaction from Sanchez shows he is just waiting to punch on his next opponent. 

Mirror carried an article saying his passion should be the main reason why he should leave Arsenal. They claim he deserves much better. The second point, I agree. He surely deserves much better than a team bottling up chance after chance to be the best. But I have my reservations against the first statement. He should leave because he is more passionate? That's rude towards both Arsenal and Sanchez. I am actually thinking quite the opposite here. I want the remaining 10 players on the pitch to see his dedication and start lifting themselves to his level of passion and dedication. Why can't they? Sanchez is one of those players who, when in full flow, is a treat to watch but when he is completely out of form, his dedication and work-rate makes him a standout player. Compare this with Ozil, Mesut Ozil is pure class when in form but anonymous when out of form.  

Arsene Wenger has a big job on his hands. If he has to retain Sanchez, he will not only have to shell out what Sanchez is asking for but also relieve him of his frustration by making him play with more top-class players rather than developing talents. Arsenal has to evolve more into a world class team rather than a home of developing players who get bought by world class teams. The signs are truly promising with Ozil, Sanchez, Cech, Koscienly in the lineup. But we need more finished products. 

Giroud does a Scorpion!

Did you see that goal Giroud scored against Crystal Palace? 

• Yes? So, that means you want to see the goal again!
• No? You gotta see this to believe it!

Here's the video link from Arsenalist.

Thanks to this goal and another one from Iwobi (will do a world of good for his confidence), we defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 in a game of pure dominance and defensive stability. It's good to have a clean sheet after a while. Only regret, we created a lot of chances and should have had 3-4 goals at the minimum. Goal difference might come into play in the end. Just a single point now separates 3 teams from 3rd to 5th. 

This is what Giroud had to say about his goal - "Alexis gave the ball a bit behind me and I tried to take it with my heel. I had maximum luck! Yeah, I had good balance. It was a great feeling, I wanted to score early from Nacho’s cross but I was a bit short. So it’s nice that I succeeded to get a nice one for the team."

It's good that Giroud included luck as one of the factors in his goal. Even if you are the best striker in this world, you still need that little bit of luck to make such a goal happen? To admit that luck is a factor speaks of his modesty. 

This is what Arsene Wenger said about the goal - "It was up there with strikes like Dennis Bergkamp’s wonder-goals against Leicester and Newcastle, as well as Thierry Henry against Liverpool. I think it was an exceptional goal because it was at the end of a fantastic collective moment, which is what our game is about. He transformed that goal into art – because of the surprise, because of the beauty of the movement and because of the efficiency. That will be remembered as the Giroud goal that nobody will forget. People come to the games to see these kind of goals." 

Too much praise from Wenger won't do him and Arsenal any harm as far as the contract renewal with Giroud is concerned. Right? Personally, this is one of the top 5 Arsenal goals that I have seen and, believe me, I have seen quite a few world class goals from Arsenal during the past 15 odd years. All in all, a positive day for the Gunners. We scored 2, kept a clean sheet, went back in 3rd place and are now 3 points behind Liverpool and 9 behind Chelsea. Although we are significantly behind the league leaders, we are not giving up without a fight! And who knows, a bad phase of 3-4 games for Chelsea and Liverpool dropping points coupled with us going on a winning spree, we can make it to the top again! Too much of an ask? Maybe. A tall order indeed but nothings over until it's over.

I couldn't have expected for a better start to the new year. Thank you Giroud for this memory.

Can anyone stop Chelsea?

Date: 11th Sepember 2016. Match: Swansea City vs Chelsea. Result: 2-2

Fact: This was the last time Chelsea drew in a Premier League this year.

Date: 24th September 2016. Scheduled Match: Arsenal vs Chelsea. Result 3-0

Fact: This was the last time Chelsea lost in the premier league this year.

Since then, Chelsea have been unstoppable! They have won 13/13 Premier League games and deservedly, are top of the standing with a safe gap of 6 points from Liverpool in 2nd place. In terms of records, Chelsea are now 2nd in the list of winning streaks in Premier League. The list is led by Arsenal's invincibles for 14 consecutive wins (Feb 2002 - Aug 2002). Chelsea are just one win away from equaling the best and 2 away from beating the best winning streak. And to make it interesting, their next two games are against London rivals (Tottenham) and current champions (Leicester City) - both away. Even a draw against Tottenham will break the streak. This game is an irony for Arsenal fans like me who want Chelsea to lose their winning streak but at the same time want Tottenham to lose anything that comes their way! After a lot of contemplation, I guess I will settle for a draw!

Post the match against Arsenal, Antonio Conte reacted by changing the formation to 3-4-3, with 3 Centre Backs and the 2 "wing-backs" for added support in attack as well as defence. This formation has worked wonders for Chelsea and none of the opponents they faced had an answer to this including their very own Jose Mourinho, whose Manchester United were thrashed by Chelsea 4-0. Another feature of this formation is the role of the CDM, who is even more restricted in his movements and, at times, will act as a virtual CB when under attack. In such occasions, you need a strong and disciplined CDM and Chelsea have that in N'Golo Kante. In attack, Chelsea have Costa leading the line flanked by Hazard and Willian. They have surprisingly formed a destructive partnership post the Mourinho era where something just didn't work right. Add the return to starting place for Fabregas as a box-to-box midfielder and Chelsea are now potent in all areas.

Now, let's come back to my original question, can anyone stop Chelsea? At this juncture, even a draw would mean Chelsea dropping 2 points - such has been their form. They seem to have the desire to win every game they play. The fear has started creeping in for the opposition teams and they will start reacting to Chelsea's winning streak by dropping deep (just like with Stoke did, but eventually caved in to pressure). 

Chelsea's next 5 fixtures - 

screengrab from Fotmob app

From a neutral standpoint, I expect Chelsea-Tottenham to be an even battle and Chelsea will need all their momentum to get 3 points from this match. The reason why I say this is because these are the 2 best defensive teams of the Premier League and if Tottenham have any ambition of winning the league, they will have to stop the gap between them and leaders Chelsea and this could be their match. As it stands today, Tottenham are 13 points behind Chelsea with a game in hand, which would virtually make it 10 points - still a significant gap.

screenshot from Premierleague.com

If Chelsea wins against Tottenham, then they will breeze past Leicester City, who were patchy at best and would be without some top players due to their participation in African cup of nations tournament. Their next biggest hurdle will be against Liverpool and I fully expect it to be a virtual decider of the season. Assuming Chelsea continue grabbing points every game and Liverpool continue to impress, this game will be explosive. If Liverpool fail to snatch all 3 points against Chelsea, then we can consider Chelsea as the firm favorites to win the league. Then comes Arsenal. We can claim to have the bragging rights over Chelsea this season, something that Chelsea would be least bothered about anyway. To be fair to Arsenal, we had the bragging rights over last season's champions as well (we did a double on them too!). But again, these are just bragging rights and also shows that we were too inconsistent last season as well as this, in terms of competing for the title. 

Its important for the quality of the Premier League that the leader in the table is not too far from the second. There has to be some amount of competition for the top spot. Liverpool are playing well and are the team most likely to challenge Chelsea, followed by inconsistent teams like Manchester City, Arsenal and Spurs. Let's not dismiss the resurgent Manchester United (who are on a 5 match winning streak of their own in the league). But for now, Chelsea fans - rejoice! The rest - we need to buckle up. There's more to be done next year.

Happy New Year everyone! Stay Blessed.

Chinese Super League!

Here's a trivia for you - Who is the highest paid football player? And your options are - 

• Cristiano Ronaldo
• Lionel Messi
• Gareth Bale 
• None of the above

Most of you would have gone for either Ronaldo or Messi, simply because they are the best and probably deserve the best remuneration too! Your loyalties would have decided your answer. Anyway, the answer is Cristiano Ronaldo. Closely followed by Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale. However, this should not come as a surprise. But guess what, there's a string of players who are joining this group. And they all belong to one league! No, not the English Premier League.

One among them is Carlos Tevez! Who? You'd ask. No, I am kidding. If you follow Football, you would have heard of this strikers name. If you have been a Manchester United fan, a Manchester City fan, a Premier League fan, a Juventus fan, Italian League fan, or even a fan of Argentina, you know him. There's also Oscar, who's popular and highly criticized move from Chelsea showed how money-oriented footballers are over carving a career playing with the top team. I personally don't find anything wrong with Oscar's move. If you were in that situation where you are being offered more money (actually double or even more) for doing the same job with more exposure and opportunity to be a leader, would you decline? At least you would've give a thought. And even gone ahead!

But how did all this happen? Anyone knows about Chinese Super League? I initially thought the American, Chinese and the Indian Soccer Leagues were for players who crossed their prime (late 20's to early 30's). This is probably their swansong phase of football playing career and start of management. But boy, I was wrong. These clubs have big money to spend and a huge untapped market to tap. China and India are the top two countries in the world in terms of population. More population means more eyeballs, more eyeballs mean more viewership, more viewership means more money and eventually more money means more players ready to take the risk of going to an uncharted territory. That's how Tevez got in. He signed for Shanghai Shenhua.

Carlos Tevez, in a rather emotional move, had rejoined Boca Juniors in 2015 - his childhood club from Juventus. This showed the guy has an emotional connection with his childhood club and their fans. And in the process, he opted not to go for another big money move and compromised on his earnings. This is a rarity in Football now-a-days. But then, a couple of years later, he might have thought that emotions wont give him the luxury he had when he played for some of the top clubs. Parity, unfortunately, was restored. Same goes for Oscar and even Hulk!

Many players are now open to the idea of joining Chinese Super League for more money and a new challenge. Tevez, Oscar, Hulk, Lavezzi and among them. These are the players who can still make a mark in the most challenges leagues in Europe and still be among the top. But they chose an option unknown to most of us. Money is definitely a huge pulling factor here. Doesn't that say something about the clout that Chinese league has over other leagues? I won't be surprised if more players decide to take the plunge! We are in for an exodus and as a premier league fan, it disappoints me. But hey, Football is growing rapidly in newer markets and with far greater fan following. This is not bad either.

The different types of football transfer news

What's the one thing that happens in Football twice a year? Transfer period, of course! It's a month of rebuilding the team, replacing non-performers with supposed performers, adding depth to cover for injuries, replacing players with more ego than desire. Buying world-class players who are suddenly transfer listed. The list just goes on.

But this is just one side of the story. The side that should have ideally remained that way. The other side - the "stories" - makes this phase a juicy phase especially for the fans. And that's where the media houses come in. These two months are when (I suspect) they usually have higher targets to achieve and more often than not (I suspect again) they achieve those targets with ease. Financial targets, article count targets, article page-view targets, Facebook and Twitter trending targets, you name it, they achieve it all! How, you may ask? That's where this post comes in. Read on.

There are many different types of articles being published in many footballing websites. Some footballer looking for more playing time, some manager had a bust up with a footballer on the pitch, some clubs with lots of money approaching a player or his agent, one footballer was looking for house in a place different from his club location, players from different clubs caught dining together. All these are juicy gossips and were initially considered to be harmless. Not anymore. These are serious news making situations. Any of the above mentioned situations can turn into potential transfer news and media houses rake in enough money to sustain one whole month, if not more. 

Truthful - These are actual news. You will have to be a genius to sort out these types of news. E.g. Oscar transfer to Shanghai SIPG. The deal happened, the player passed on his goodbyes, the club is also fine. No recurring revenue for football websites here. 

Situational - These are possibilities. Here the articles play on the current situation at hand. One situation could be that the player is getting less playing time. Other could be his contract status. E.g. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain transfer news since he has only 18 months left in his contract. These types of news provides recurring revenue till the situation resolves itself. 

Incorrectly read between the lines - These are creative transfer news based on one interview or simply an act. For example, if a player is being interviewed and he says he admires the way the other team is playing, or he appreciates a manager, or he is close friends with another player playing for a different club, all these and more could be actual incidents. However, the creative writers of the transfer market will weave a story around it in such a way that the player has "indirectly" asked to be transferred to a different club. Case in point - Alexis Sanchez saying life is difficult in London. I don't think Alexis meant he wants a change here. He just mentioned life is difficult when you are staying in a global city like London. I don't see any issue there. 

Outright Fake - Most of the transfer news falls here. These are just random news articles just to excite the people and make them visit the sites. There's no truth, no situations, nothing. Just fake news. 

We are slowly moving away from real life situations to virtual life situations thanks to social media. Now-a-days, even a harmless "like" on a social media post of a fellow footballer is considered a cryptic message and some bold sites even mention the player has already signed on the dotted line and they are waiting for the news to be officially announced. Wow! Talk of confidence. This works because these sites have nothing to lose and everything to gain. If the news turns out to be false, there's no retribution but if it is true, they claim they were the first to report it, which makes them famous. You see how these work work out in the end? 

So, the next time you read a transfer gossip, treat it as just that - gossip. Read, enjoy and move on. The moment you start treating these as news and if it impacts your club, you are doomed for a month. Because you will keep on following up by checking their site often, their page views increase, they get better deals from ads, they win, you lose. Don't play into their hands. 

Another day, Another sack

If you need any proof of the fact that we are living in a fast paced day & age, then look no further! Swansea City have just sacked their manager Bob Bradley. 

Bradley was appointed as their manager in October 2016. Yup, that's just 2 months ago. In October, Francesco Guidolin was sacked as Swansea manager and Bob Bradley was surprisingly hired. Bradley's past experience and pedigree includes managing US national soccer team. In my opinion, Bradley as Swansea manager was a bold move because of two reasons - Swansea knew they have a battle on their hands to stay in the Premier League for another year and also the fact that a known person - Ryan Giggs - was also in the running for the job. 

Premier League clubs have started showing zero tolerance with their managers, which is terrible for the manager community. You don't need knowledge of quantum physics to know that every job in this world involves a settling period. We take time not only to adjust to the new setup, but in many cases new countries, new ways of paying the game, new strategies, new people et al. Bob Bradley should consider himself very unfortunate. But hey, he should have seen it coming as this is the new footballing world we live in. 

On the positive side, Sam Allardyce was sacked few months ago by FA for being part of a scandal and he's now back to regain his lost glory with Crystal Palace. Bob Bradley might get back to managing soon, but probably in a lower league team in England if he's to make a name for himself in England. He may get opportunities from clubs in other European countries. Swansea City, in order to fill the hole they created, are now looking at Ryan Giggs and Alan Pardew. It'd be quite a funny story of any of the two gets the nod. Ryan Giggs was overlooked when Bradley was signed, so by going for Giggs they don't mind going for 2nd best (by their own reckoning) option. If Alan Pardew comes back, it proves my hypothesis that karma has started allowing second chances to anyone and everyone and all the time. 

Looking at this from a different perspective, why would anyone think of managing Swansea City, a club who has fired 2 managers in a span of 3 months? I don't think the person who comes in, will be passionate about the club! In fact far from it! The one who comes in, will only be interested in adding to his resume of managing a club in the Premier League. He will be sure that his neck is also on the line. If he succeeds to avoid the drop, he can kick-start his career (again). If he loses to do so, there's no harm either. No one expected him to do it anyway. So its a far bigger risk for Swansea City than for the new manager. 

Whatever! 

Let's just spend a moment in silence for the managers of the Premier League who's decline is inversely proportional to the financial growth of the league. Premier League clubs know they need to be in the top 17 in the table at the end of the season which means their financial coffers will continue to grow exponentially. Below top 17 means a year of obscurity, drought, famine and hard-work to be promoted again. Thus, clubs in the top of the league will do anything as long as it's not illegal (hopefully) even if it means adding instability to the club in the middle of the season. 

The Perils of more money!

Uncle Sam from England is one lucky guy

What happened to karma now-a-days? And what about the old adage - As you sow, so shall you reap? I guess most of us have learnt that the mistakes we make are liable for punishment. Only a handful of us get second chances in our lives. I don't know about most of us, but Sam Allardyce is one among the handful. 

Let's absorb these phrases first - England National Football team manager, Highly reputed, Highly popular, Strong will, High net-worth. These are the phrases we used to associate Sam Allardyce with. But greed crept in somehow and he caved into committing to make decisions that are completely against the phrases we knew him for! Post the hidden cam video that went viral, Sam decided to step down and face the law. He didn't have any other option anyway. During all this hullabaloo, many managers were shortlisted for this role and one such manager was Alan Pardew. Eventually it didn't happen that way. Pardew continued to be manager of Crystal Palace and Sam quietly moved away from spotlight and into uncertain oblivion. 

Few months later.. 

Crystal Palace is down in the dumps, fighting to stay in the much coveted, financially satisfying and highly competitive English Premier League. Patience ran out of the owners and one fine day, Alan Pardew was sacked! He didn't step down, the official statement made it clear that the decision was made by the management and there was no mutual consent. Guess who stepped to fill this void?

Yes, karma and irony aside, it was Sam Allardyce himself! Now, I don't deny the pedigree Sam has to bring a struggling team back to safety. He has done that many times in his career. From a professional and success-oriented standpoint, it's a great decision. No doubt. But what about the baggage he is carrying? What about the scandal that he was part of? By bringing him back from oblivion, Crystal Palace proved that they don't care to be associated with a guy who was caught red handed and who took full responsibility before stepping down as England manager. 

Is money the only thing that matters in English Premier League? Does history and image take a back seat when it comes to a financial landfall for staying in the Premier League? It appears so. At the core of the Premier League is the game we live and adore - Football. As a fan, I feel terribly pained to see how certain teams have thrown in the towel to achieve success at all costs - success in this case is to stay in the league and not be demoted to a lower league. Talking of Sam Allardyce, shouldn't he be banned by the Football Association of England for being open to make decisions that humiliated the FA in front of the footballing world? 

Is it only me or does no one care about all this anymore? 

Arsene Wenger as England manager? Why not?

Uncle Sam of the United Kingdom decided to earn some quick buck the wrong way. But ironically the cash registers are ringing at the office of the Daily Telegraph. 

For the uninitiated, Daily Telegraph carried a sting operation on England head coach over transfer dealings and ways to bypass the FA rules and regulations. All the hype and hoopla over Sam Allardyce being the messiah of the England football team died within 67 days. That's it, that's all it took. The only solace Sam has is that he is probably the only England manager with a 100% success ratio. He managed one game and they won thanks to a last minute goal by Adam Lallana. 

What I found funny was the press releases. FA and Sam ended their contract by "mutual consent"! Really? Mutual consent? It's like saying the Judge and the accused have decided to punish the accused to 4 years of rigorous imprisonment by "mutual consent". Sam should have been fired by the FA, not just his contract ended by mutual consent. 

Anyway, we are now back to square one. England team are in tatters, not just by poor showing on the field but also by incidents off it. Now the hunt begins again. Who's going to be the new manager? Like it or not, managing England is still a prestigious job. A team with a lot of potential but without proper direction. A team that had players who can single-handedly change the game but for some reason, are unable to. What they lack, in my opinion, is proper leadership on and off the field. So, is there anyone who understands the FA administration and the England football in detail and is available in the near future? Is there anyone who can make-do with what he has at his disposal and lead England Football to new heights?

Did I hear anyone whisper Wenger? 

Arsene Wenger. 

It's no secret that FA has Wenger as one of their shortlist. I am not sure if Wenger is FA’s no 1 choice. However, I won't be surprised if that's the case. Wenger ticks all the boxes. He is an established manager and has led Arsenal Football Club through thick and thin. Wenger understands the English Football market much better than anyone out there. He can bring the best out of footballers. He had a knack of picking up true gems from out of nowhere. He is a thorough professional and perhaps the only one, along with Sir Alex, who can bring dignity back to FA. His style of football is exciting to watch. And his contract with Arsenal is ending next season. 

Now let's address the Elephant in the room. Wenger's criticism. Wenger is accused to be a financial manager. As the England manager, he won't be involved with finances anymore. So, that's not a problem. Wenger is accused to be someone who's not hungry for success. I strongly doubt it, but for the sake of argument, let's assume that's true. As the England manager, his main role and possibly his only role will be to make his team win games and tournaments. He won't be handling anything else. No transfer dealings, no building of a new stadium. So there's no running away, either he succeeds or he fails. No excuses. Wenger is accused of supporting youngsters more than they deserve. If at all anything, this will only help the England squad more than it hampers them. Did I miss any other criticism of Wenger? No, top 4 as a trophy does not apply to the national sides. So that's not a criticism. 

This will be an interesting season for sure. Wenger has not rejected the England proposal yet. Arsenal would obviously want him to continue being their manager. A considerable portion of the fans would want him to continue. Players surely want him to continue. However, I won't be surprised if he decides to leave after this season. A change of scenery, with relatively less pressure, could be the main reason for this change. The media will be gunning for an opportunity to take him down, but Wenger has 20 years of experience in handling English media who exaggerates success and failure in equal measure. Handling them will be a cakewalk for Wenger. 

If Wenger gives any positive vibes / hints to FA, I am sure FA will be prepared to wait for the season to end and then appoint Wenger. Wenger had always respected his contract and will only be available after the season. 

Whatever happens, England Football team can only move up from here.

Let the Premier League season begin..

Finally, after 12 weeks, we have a new season of premier league. You know there's something amiss even if your weekends are going fine. There's something lacking to make the weekends even better that it actually is. It's a lot like cooking, you know the food is great but maybe a pinch of salt will elevate it to an altogether new level. Just a small tweak. That's all it takes. For me, Premier League was that salt I was looking to add during the weekends. And it now tastes great!

So what's new? Both Manchester teams brought in new managers. Not just another manager, but the top ones. Manchester United has Mourinho and Manchester City has Guardiola. This will surely make Manchester Derby even more interesting than what we had in the previous seasons. When new managers come in, expect new players too. That's what has happened. United has Ibrahimovic and Pogba among others and City has Nolito and Gabriel Jesus. I expect Guardiola to buy defensive enforcements as City is poor defensively. I also expect United to follow Mourinho's defense first strategy, which means it will be relatively more difficult to score against United. 

Liverpool and Chelsea have also upgraded their teams. Klopp now has more years under his belt to make Liverpool great again with the players he need. Chelsea have had a terrible season by their standards. By bringing in Conte, they have again shown their intention of competing with the best. Conte is an astute tactician and will be interesting to see how he changes the way Chelsea plays. 

Leicester City are  the reigning champions. I still can't believe this happened. Premier League will now be closely watched to check if Leicester can maintain the same level of performance this season. They haven't done badly in the transfer window either. For starters, they have retained all their top stars except Kante. They also went on to buy value-for-money stars like they successfully did last season. But I feel they now need something more up their sleeve to surprise their opponents as most of teams will now be better prepared to tackle Leicester City's strategy of counter attack. 

And finally Arsenal. Same old, same old, I hear again. Arsenal are in dire need of a quality defender, despite buying a high potential defender in Holding. Arsenal are in dire need of a quality striker to challenge Giroud. With Xhaka, the midfield problem of having a tough tackling midfielder has been solved. What remains to be seen is how Wenger handles his midfield with all the talents at his disposal. I expect Wenger to dip into the market to add 1-2 players to cover his defensive and attacking gaps. The advantage Arsenal has is the form of youngsters like Iwobi and Chuba Akpom. Same old, same old, I hear again. 

What makes me excited about this season is the competition between top managers. With Guardiola, Wenger, Mourinho, Conte, Klopp and Ranieri vying for the top honors, you can't help but wonder who among these will accept failure this season. Add to it the fact that Wenger may leave his coveted post after this season makes the battle more intriguing. This is his final opportunity to win the league and leave on a high but this is by far the most toughest season he will face. 

Rest assured, we are in for a ride this season. Prepare to be amazed and saddened at the same time as the team you support may not win the league as you expected. Manchester teams are obviously the favorites. But count the London teams out at your own peril. 

Transfer Window - bound to be Pogba-tic!

English Premier League has exactly nine months of a single season. The soccer is exciting. There are top clubs who compete for the top honors in England. There are favorites but none clear enough to win the league before the ball is kicked. Italy have Juventus, Germany have Bayern Munich, Spain has one among Real Madrid / Barcelona. England? It could be anyone among the Manchester Clubs (United and City), London clubs (Chelsea and Arsenal) or Liverpool. But it’s not that simple now-a-days. For example, Leicester came and won the league convincingly. Just the season before the last season, they were fighting tooth and nail not to be relegated from the premier league! You have shock results, surprises, winning streaks, non-losing streaks, injuries, comebacks et al. All in all, entertainment guaranteed for nine months at a stretch.

And then the inter-lull (defined as a phase when nothing happens. I guess it’s a soccer term) happens. Inter-lull is defined as a phase when nothing happens; I guess it’s a soccer term. 3 months of off-season. You are so habituated to see soccer during the weekend that the next 12 weekends become damp squib. That’s how we soccer fans thought. Media companies saw a market in this inter-lull. Guess what? The Transfer Window!

Transfer window, for the ignorant folks, is a window where players are transferred from one team to the other. This feels like a boring phase, isn’t it? I mean, why should we care about players coming in and going out of a club as long as we get our weekly dose of soccer. That’s what I thought in the early 2000’s. Not anymore. Ever since Chelsea was bought by a Billionaire, the financial dynamics behind managing a Soccer club changed. Add to that, the revenue generated by the television rights for a season makes even a newly promoted club with limited resources attempt to buy a “top talent” from the European market.

Transfer window is huge business for the media companies. They play on the “hope” factor for the teams that have a significant social media presence. Media is primarily responsible for having a divide in the fan base. Case in point: Arsenal. Then there are deals that are absurd in the real sense of the term. 

Take Paul Pogba for example. He is a great talent with strength, vision and pace who will lead the team from central midfield. Acquiring his services would improve any team. It completely makes sense for a top team to buy him from Juventus. Everything makes sense till now. Now let’s look at the price being quoted for him – 100m+ pound. You can replace pound with Euro and it will remain still that – absurd! And to think that Manchester United are ready to finalize the deal, which by the way, is one-fifth of the clubs estimated revenue for 2016, shows how ridiculous the market has become. 

There are means by which we can justify the price. Pogba is one-of-a-kind player and you won’t find his talent and potential elsewhere – a qualitative assessment and is debatable but still a fair point. EPL clubs have loads of money from the TV rights that they can quote over the top figures to get their player – fair point. Paul Pogba is young and has years of top quality football left in him, which means Manchester United are paying for his future potential and hence the amount. If we go by this logic, then Juventus is already making a huge profit after buying Pogba for less than a million and selling him for more than 100 million! 

This is nothing against the player and the buying / selling club. This is just my assessment of the way transfer businesses are being held. I won’t be surprised if players are being bought and sold for 200m+ in the coming years. Where are we going with this? In my opinion, to doomsday! All this brouhaha over the transfer amount and the absurdity behind it is because of the TV rights and renewed sponsorship deals of a club. It’s like a balloon that is expanding and the club is enjoying every phase of stretching the limits of the balloon. But every balloon can handle only so much pressure and once it crosses that point, it will burst. In footballing terms, all it needs is a financial scandal to cut off TV revenue and sponsorship deals. That’s it! 

The “top” clubs enjoy high revenues but have equally high debts (Case in point: Real Madrid). The returns are high, but so are the risks. I wish these clubs have a contingency plan to weather the storm coming their way. Else, fans will stand to lose in the long term. Our years of investment (time and money) in supporting our club will come to nothing. 

Greed is one of the seven deadly sins, and it will be ready to haunt us for the rest of our lives!

Sharapova's proactive press conference was a stroke of genius!

When Maria Sharapova announced a press conference, it was widely believed that she will be retiring from Lawn Tennis for good. And there were strong reasons to believe so. Sharapova has had her share of injuries and illness and as a result, was not in the 'pink' of health and form. The world's highest earning women athlete for the past 11 years will finally call it quits. But that's not what happened right? She dropped a bombshell! And left the whole Tennis fraternity and fans reeling in shock.

In the press conference, Sharapova informed the world that she has failed a drug test at this years' Australian Open. The drug in question was Meldonium, which is a blood-flow promoting drug and helps to relieve chest pain. It can be used to enhance endurance and strength (something you need in abundance if you are playing a high paced 3-setter long match every alternate day). She also said she's being having the drug for the past 10 years now. Now here's the most interesting part - WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) has included Meldonium among the list of banned drugs starting Jan 1st 2016. That's this year onwards. Which means, Sharapova was legally having the drug till the end of Dec 31st 2015. She probably had it once or a handful of times in 2016 since Australian Open commenced on 18th January . Because of this shocking admission, she now stands to lose her endorsements (ones who ensured she remain the highest paid woman athlete for all these years). She also stands to be suspended which means she won't be playing Tennis, her passion and her secondary source of income, for a considerable amount of time. How life changes in a matter of days!

What surprised me even more was the press conference itself. I mean, if a player tests positive for a banned drug, the agency will come forward and release the statement to the media. The media will do their stuff and spread the news. That's how it works. The player will get a lot of negative publicity from press and fans alike. Brands will cancel the contracts. Many fellow players will condemn, some bold ones will sympathize. Fans will lose faith in the player and the sport, in general. This will continue till the player reveals all and apologized to everyone in a moving press conference. By that time, the damage has already been done. The player then goes away from the limelight and waits for the suspension to get over. Sharapova was 'proactive' to reveal a lot of information before it was publicly released by the concerned authorities. Many have called her move as bold, honest, transparent, straight-forward and courageous. I largely agree with these adjectives. But think about it, wasn't it a stroke of genius from her team of PR strategists. By doing what she did, they have ensured that she doesn't lose the fanbase the way she would have lost otherwise. Brands will still evade her. A relatively larger section of her colleagues will now support her (like the way Serena Williams did). The press will be relatively less negative. Her team have actually started the damage control exercise even before the damage was done. If a person you admire / respect, comes forward and admits in larger audience the mistake he/she has committed and also accepts whatever punishment is given, you tend to have a sense of sympathy and support towards that person. It's just a natural human response. If my understanding of the situation is correct, this press conference was simply a masterstroke!

Don't get me wrong. I am not underplaying the honesty and courage angle, but I am not overplaying it either. Let's call a spade, a spade. She made a mistake, she admitted it and she will be punished as per the rules of the game. If its proved that she was ignorant about the drug and that it was banned, the punishment will be less severe - which is what Sharapova will be hoping for. The fact the the drug was banned most recently will also go in her favor. By laying the facts, including the recent banning of the said drug, she has strengthened her case of enduring a less severe punishment. This strategy is not illegal, it's not against the rules, it was simply damage control before the damage was done.

PS: I am a big fan of Maria Sharapova (who isn't?). I will continue to be one. I genuinely believe she has shown a lot of courage (whatever the behind-the-scene strategy may be, if at all there is one). I also believe she will make a grand comeback post suspension, make a statement and retire with her head held high. I really do.