Articles
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Romain Perraud: Southampton’s French Fullback
At 23 years of age, Romain Perraud emerged as one of the top-scoring left backs in Ligue 1 for Oliver Dall’Oglio’s Brest with 3 goals and 7 assists in 36 appearances in the 2020/21 season. This earned him a €13 million move to Southampton in the summer, and whilst he has often rode the bench in…
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Tactical Analysis: Wayne Rooney’s Derby County
Many of you will remember a time in the not-so-distant past when Derby County was a club, to the point of social media ridicule, referred to as Frank Lampard’s Derby County in wider football circles, and that mantle of a high-profile ex-player in management was soon passed over to Wayne Rooney when he took charge…
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Player Analysis: Anthony Elanga
When Ralf Rangnick arrived at Manchester United, one player, in particular, caught his eye. Was it five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo? Nope. Was it Bruno Fernandes and his irrepressible thirst for goals and assists? Not him either. No, it was United’s 19-year-old Swedish forward Anthony Elanga who was the source of…
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Anthony Gordon: Merseyside’s Latest Boy Wonder
On a moody Saturday morning at Goodison Park, Steven Gerrard and his re-invigorated Aston Villa side buzzed around an unenthused Everton, still rocking from their messy split with Rafa Benitez. By the end of the first half, Villa were 1-0 up. It could have been more, they mustered seven shots to Everton’s none. To…
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Tactical Analysis: Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund
After spending the start of the decade in the shadow of the Premier League and La Liga, German football enjoyed a resurgence in the mid-2010s. 2013 saw an all-German Champions League Final between Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund and Jupp Heynckes’ Bayern Munich, whilst the following year saw Joachim Löw’s Die Mannschaft write their names into…
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Player Analysis: Jude Bellingham
The trouble with Jude Bellingham, is he’s absolutely brilliant. Born in the year 2003 – that’s the year Thierry Henry was robbed of the Ballon D’Or and Ruud van Nistelrooy won the Premier League’s golden boot, for those who’d like to be slapped in the face by Father Time – Jude Bellingham rose to…
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Jan Paul Van Hecke: Blackburn’s Dutch Colossus Formidable As Rovers Battle It Out For Promotion
Jan Paul Van Hecke has been instrumental in Blackburn’s recent ascent to the automatic promotion spots, going under the radar in comparison to Ben Brereton-Diaz’s international recognition and Darragh Lenihan gaining more notoriety at the back. His red card against Fulham in a 7-0 drubbing could have seen his Rovers loan derail, a reckless…
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How PSV and Cody Gakpo Have Pushed Ajax for the Eredivisie Title
It takes a lot to topple Ajax off of the Eredivisie at the best of times, let alone when they’ve only conceded just five (!) goals in 20 games. Yet until PSV succumbed to a 1-2 home loss to Erik Ten Hag’s side on the 23rd of January, Roger Schmidt’s side were doing just that.…
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Achraf Hakimi: Morocco’s Blazing Fullback in Attack
Morocco’s African Cup of Nations campaign came to an end on January 30 when they were defeated by North African rivals Egypt in the quarterfinals. A Soufiane Boufal penalty put them ahead within 10 minutes, but Mohamed Salah’s equalizer sent the affair into extra time, where substitute Trézéguet scored the vital winner. The Atlas…
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Analyzing Chelsea’s January Window and What It Means for Thomas Tuchel Going Forward
Amidst all the drama in the January transfer window, especially late on towards the dying week of it, Chelsea stood still. No business done for the senior team, no additions that could potentially aid a team that Thomas Tuchel stated time and time again that he was worried about due to the congested fixture list.…
