Author: iphie

My names are Ifeoma iphie Igwe, I love sports.

Is Epl hard on Zlatan or what

Zlatan has gone 498 minutes without scoring,This is his worst run since 2006.Is the Epl hard on him or is it that age is telling on him? this is the question on the lips of every manchester united fan. Do you think it is lack of creativity from his team mates? Should jose bench him and start Rashford or pair him with Rashford upfront?

Unstoppable Barca

Leonel Messi returned to the Barcelona starting eleven with a hat-trick against Manchester city, his former coach Pep Guardiola and goalkeeper Bravo who saw red when he handled the ball outside the box trying to stop a strike from Luis Suarez which was as a result of his give away in the first place.

It took just 17 minutes for the most expensive left foot in football history and greatest player of all time Leo Messi to wreck havoc. The first half ended that way.

City came back in the second half with more ambition but their finishes were not clinical enough. Barcelona had chances of their own but both goalies were up to the task.

One carelessness from Claudio Bravo then changed the tide as he was sent off. Barcelona went on a scoring spree with Messi scoring two more goals to claim a hat-trick. Neymar missed a penalty when Messi took on the whole City defense and had to be brought down but soon came up with a goal of his own goal to make it 4 goals to Barca.

Both teams ended the match with 10 men as Jeremy Mathieu saw was also sent off after two bookable offence.

City have been defeated 5 times by Barcelona and have never beaten the Blaugrana.

Which Red claims it tonight

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Unlike Michael Jackson’s Blood on the dance floor, there’s going to be red on the green pitch today as Liverpool welcome Manchester United to Anfield. Oops! Did someone just say Manchester disunited?

Liverpool have a solid team we must agree. The Reds are playing so well and are not walking alone this season. They go into this match 3 points ahead of the Red Devils and in 4th place better than the devil’s 7th.

Manchester United will be gunning for all 3 points tonight. The devils have not been impressive in their last few matches after loosing some and managing only a draw against Stoke in front of 75000 roaring crowd at the Theater of Dreams. Jose has his work cut out as this is one of the greatest rivalry in soccer history and a lose today will only infuriate United’s fans the more and could see the coach fall out of favor with the club management.

Why does something keep telling me LVG is somewhere right now laughing his head off? Do you think the same?

Ex United’s veteran Paul scholes feels United haven’t been able to pack it together. In his words, United lack identity. He feels Jurgen Klopp has been able to stamp his way of playing on his team hence establishing a winning pattern and tradition, an ingredient missing from United since the exit of Sir Alex.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have only managed two wins in five games against the devils and will be without Adam Lallana and Georginio Wijnaldum due to injury.

Phil Jones might be the only player missing tonight. United should have a strong squad to rattle anfield; if they can. Can they?

Odds favor Liverpool to nick all 3 points. They have a great coach and a great squad and are playing very well individually, and as a team. Klopp has the midas touch on and off the pitch and you can bet he’ll have the Red’s running all 90 minutes.

But lest i remind you that we are talking about Manchester United?

We have seen clubs get back to form and winning ways with matches like this so who says the Dreams that rule old Trafford cannot manifest and wreck havoc tonight?

Both teams are playing for points, supremacy, honor. Who dares more takes the night. Who will that team be? Take a guess.

Whichever way you see it, one thing is certain. We are in for a thrilling entertaining and tough match tonight; worth all its cents.

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NPFL Do you see Elkanemi Worriors spoiling the party for Rangers

 

The League management company has annouced a new cash reward of 40 million naira for the Npfl winners of the season, as the current campaign comes to an end on sunday. Do you see El kanemi Warriors spoiling the fun for the Flying Antelopes? Enugu Rangers are hoping to end their 32 year wait to lift the trophy, they only need just one point from their next game to be crowned champions.

Rivers united needs to score five goals and maximum 3 points and will only lift the trophy if only Enugu Rangers looses their match.

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Do i hear “Replace Arsene Wenger”!

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In the summer of 2013 the most successful football club in the EPL, Manchester United, won the trophy for a record 20 times, 2 more than their closest rivals Liverpool. Not only is Man U the most successful club, Sir Alex Ferguson is also the most successful manager having led the club to 13 premier league titles, two UEFA Champions league titles of which one was in 1999 when they did the treble (the only English club so far to have achieve this), a feat that brought him the knighthood. He also won 5 FA cups, 4 League cups, 1 European cup winners cup, 1 European super cup, 1 intercontinental cup and 1 world club cup totaling 38 trophies.

Now that’s a WOW! An outstanding feat. A record that is going to take some time to equal anytime soon in the Red Devils camp.

We all know the story after the exit of Sir Alex Fergie.

Comatose.

Moyes took over and rammed the ship into an iceberg a million times the size of the Titanic. Luis Van Gaal took over and damaged the ship further. Now after splashing over 150 million pounds and Mourinho at the helms of power a lot is expected of the Manchester United team.

Now lets echo the Arsenal way.

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Arsene Wenger was named Manager of Arsenal FC in 1996. Since then he has gone on to win 3 league titles, 6 FA cups and 6 community shields. A lot of pundits feel that the Manager has been unsuccessful judging by the worth of Arsenal in the EPL and the fact that the club has never won a major European title. The club has only made it to one EUFA Champions league final in its history where it lost to FC Barcelona. It also made it to the EUFA cup final now the Europa league where it lost to the Turkish club on penalties.

A lot of times fans have vented their displeasure and anger at the manager for always failing to sign big players in transfer windows claiming he is just too stingy to part with lump sums of money for quality. Nigerian Arsenal fans call him baba ijebu and alchagum, meaning outright selfishness.

Although the embattled manager has surprisingly signed some averagely big players in the last 2 seasons, a lot of fans still believe 20 years is enough and its time for the French man to take his exit. Some are also of the opinion that it would spell doom for the club if he leaves now, judging by what has been happening to Manchester United ever since the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson.

Former Arsenal and Brazilian player Gilberto Silver feels that it would be catastrophic for Wenger to leave now and believes that fans should exercise a bit more patience and learn from the mistakes of Manchester United.

Gilberto Silva

Silva, a member of the Invincible side in the 2003/04 campaign, spent six seasons at the club where he won the Premier League title and two FA Cup medals.

But in the last ten years Arsenal have only won two FA Cups, leading to annual criticism over Wenger’s methods and uncertainty regarding his future.

Ferguson took his final bow at United in 2013 but David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal failed to emulate the success of their predecessor.

Silva was quoted as saying that: “As a football manager, to stay in a club for 20 years you have to congratulate the guy for achieving such an important thing in his life,”

“The way he changed the club by bringing new ideas and helping bring in good players for the club, meant that they got the results everyone expected. This is not so easy.

“Sometimes he will make mistakes and when you fail, sometimes people don’t forgive you.

“Arsene at this time is facing a lot of criticism for the way the team play and they haven’t got the trophies.

“But if people see the entire job he has done for the club, it has been amazing.

“I hope people do realise that, because when he leaves the club at some point it won’t be so easy to replace him. You can see, for example, at Manchester United where it’s not been so easy to replace Sir Alex Ferguson.

“It’s important for Arsene and for the club to start to prepare somebody for when he leaves. I don’t know if it will be this season as his contract is expiring. He loves the game, he loves what he does and he loves the club.

Arsene Wenger

But what if his love for the game just isn’t enough to bring trophies to the emirates? What if he can’t make accurate and or good decisions on which quality player to sign on that would help bring glory to the club? What if he’s done enough and should just make way for younger coaches to take over? What if he has run out of ideas and all that’s left is a grumpy old man that just scratches at his head every time he falls behind? What if…? What if…?

What do you think?

The FA and Sam Allardyce

Sam Allardyce’s problems have only just begun as he is still to face an inquiry from the FA concerning the comments he made about third party ownership and offering of advice to businessmen on how to get around the governing body’s rules on transfer.

Big Sam’s apology and his offer to make a public one was not enough to keep his job. He was said to have been distraught after he exited his position, agreeing that he made a terrible error of judgement.

The FA chief executive Martin Glenn added: “The issue for us was one of our employee’s behavior and whether he could carry on as England manager having said some of the things he said on television. He admitted that his behavior was foolish and put his position in jeopardy.”

Allardyce had traveled down to London 7 am to have a discussion with the FA top brass in a bid to save his job but was unsuccessful. He soon realized that he would not be allowed to resign but must leave on mutual consent. If he had refused to this terms then the FA would have sacked him piling up his humiliation.  He left quietly but later said he accepts he made a terrible error of judgement.

Glenn added: “In light of the media allegations that we’ve seen, we’ve decided, and Sam has agreed, that his behaviour has been inappropriate and frankly not what is expected of an England manager, discussing a range of issues from potential contravention of FA rules through to personal comments that frankly just don’t work if you are England manager.”

Allardyce now becomes the first England manager since Kevin keagan in 2000 to leave the position during an active qualification campaign. The 61 year old oversaw only one game and that was against Slovakia which the 3 Lions one 1 nil. He had only spent 67 days in office. It is also the shortest reign of an England permanent manager.

It is quite embarrassing as the FA had to turn to under 21 coach Gareth Southgate to take charge of next month’s World Cup qualifiers at home to Malta and away to Slovenia and the two more matches before the end of this year – another qualifier at home to Scotland and the friendly against Spain. Well who says he can’t be successful and eventually land the job on a permanent deal.

Allardyce when he was appointed had been presented and hailed as the outstanding choice but that claim leaves a sour in the mouth as a result of his behavior.

However it is likely that the FA will now face pressure to tighten up its rules and, in particular, prevent England managers from seeking outside work or remuneration beyond their highly-paid contract, given the unique status of the job they hold.

“We are the guardians of the game – we set the rules and we have to be seen to apply those rules consistently and evenly, whether you are the England manager or someone low down in the organisation,” Glenn said.

The current investigation has placed  the FA in a difficult position. The FA prides itself on protecting the future and integrity of the game and has always preached probity to the world governing body, Fifa. Integrity was a word used by the FA’s hierarchy in their discussions with Big Sam. Integrity has always been the watchword.

Last night former England captain Alan Shearer accused Allardyce of a “catastrophic misjudgement” and claimed that England were now the “laughing stock of world football”.