-
![]()
“To Loan or Not to Loan?” The Trials and Tribulations of Youth Development
Decision time. You’ve spent days assessing your squad and plugging the gaps to create a title-winning side. There are only so many scout reports you can request before the day arrives. You’ve dived into the depths of your under-21 squad and examined your prospects to the minutest of detail. The question lingers in the back…
-
![]()
Why Signing Jesse Lingard on Loan Is Good Business From West Ham
At the end of January, Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard joined West Ham United on loan until the end of the season for a fee of £1.5 million. Just a few days later, the Englishman propelled the Hammers to 4th in the Premier League with two crucial goals on his debut against Aston Villa in a…
-
![]()
Analyzing Raphinha’s Impact on Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United
Just over four years ago, Leeds United’s Raphinha was plying his trade in the Brazilian second division. Born and raised in the south of Brazil, in the city of Porto Alegre, Raphael Dias Belloni would spend hours every day juggling the ball in the same streets as the man he idolised, Ronaldinho. Now, having moved…
-
![]()
Player Analysis: Facundo Medina
If Manchester United view you as the solution to their left-sided centre-back problem, then you know you’re a special player, and Facundo Medina is most certainly special. Hailing from Argentina, Medina is your typical South American centre-half; passionate, and aggressive, but with a confidence in possession that not many 21-year-old’s have. Born in Buenos…
-
![]()
Raphinha: Bielsa’s Brazilian Star Forcing Himself into Seleção Contention
Although many wingers this season have contributed to their sides in terms of goals and assists, few can boast a real sense of unpredictability and excitement when they get the ball. For the natural sharpshooters deployed on the flanks like Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, attacking play can become fairly routine: hugging the touchline and using…
-
![]()
Data Analysis: Harvey Barnes
While Jamie Vardy is Leicester City’s perennial talisman and James Maddison’s linear progress is receiving public acclaim, Harvey Barnes’ form has somewhat slipped under the radar. Perhaps this is apt: Barnes isn’t a player who exudes flair on the ball, he doesn’t appear to be a vociferous personality and he isn’t racking up 30 goals…
-
![]()
Henrik Mkhitaryan’s Revival at Roma
Armenian international Henrikh Mkhitaryan has arguably been Roma’s best player in the 2020/21 Serie A season so far. After impressing on loan during the 2019/20 campaign, the attacking midfielder had his contract with Arsenal terminated by mutual consent and the Giallorossi signed him on a free transfer. His form in his second season at the…
-
![]()
Player Analysis: Aaron Boupendza
Antakya, the capital of the southernmost Turkish province has borne witness to countless empires and rulers, the Akkadians, Amorites, Assyrians, Neo-Babylonians, and Persians amongst others, however, Hatay has found a new ruler, this time in the form of a Gabonese panther. Often after the panther has struck, a customary cartwheel-backflip is performed, striking fear and…
-
![]()
Leah Galton: Casey Stoney’s Protean Trump Card
Since its inception, The FA Women’s Super League has undergone several different phases of growth and has today rightly become a huge entity in the world of football. From world-class wingers to rock-solid centre backs, the players who have been part of this league for a while now, have only gotten more positionally versatile over…
-
![]()
Best of Both Worlds: England Must Alternate Ben Chilwell and Bukayo Saka at Euros
What most annoyed England fans about the Euro 2016 defeat to Iceland wasn’t the defeat itself. England’s second-round capitulation to the Scandinavian minnows was rightly seen as a national disgrace — fewer people lived in Iceland than in Leicester in 2016, to add bitter context. But what most hurt about it was that the writing…
