Neville urges Manchester United board to support Solskjaer

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has urged the Red Devils board to support manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the club go through a difficult phase. Solskjaer has placed the emphasis on building a young and hungry team but so far, that has not paid dividends with the Red Devils making a disappointing start to the season.

The likes of Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Daniel James have played key roles since joining the club but there has nonetheless been a weakness in the central midfield department and upfront, where they have lacked a genuine goalscoring striker. Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said that the supporters may go through a lot of pain during the forthcoming 18 months where the club will continue with the recent transition phase. (more…)

Mbappe and Neymar to be the next great rivals

It has been a few years in the making and still appears a few years off arriving, but football fans regularly contemplate what life will be like when Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo either fall from their ridiculous standards or retire gracefully. Aged 31 and 33 respectively, they are at the time of the career when most normal footballers exhibit some signs of decline. Yet the reason they have had such longevity at the top of the game is their work ethic combined with ludicrous ability. Perhaps it could be the arrival of two new bona fide superstars that will encourage Messi and Ronaldo to hang up their boots.

If Messi or Ronaldo had been able to carry their national side to a World Cup title, they could have looked around the sport and decided that there were truly no more worlds to conquer. Instead, Ronaldo was his usual prolific self but received little help, while Messi never really looked comfortable in Argentina’s system under Jorge Sampaoli. Two men who have enjoyed far more successful World Cups are Kylian Mbappe and Neymar. The latter is, of course, Messi’s former Barcelona team-mate, while both are players who have been linked with moves to Real Madrid at various times to either supplement or usurp Ronaldo. Mbappe even grew up idolising Ronaldo, which, if nothing else, should serve to make many of us suddenly feel very old. (more…)

Will Hierro Be Spain’s Iron Man?

On the eve of their preparations for this Summer’s FIFA World Cup, Spain’s plans will have been thrown into disarray. Julen Lopetegui, who had only signed a new contract until 2020 as recently as May of this year, is no longer in charge of the nation which won the 2010 edition of the tournament.

The former Barcelona goalkeeper announced just two days before the first ball in Russia was kicked that he was going to take charge of Real Madrid for the start of next season. The only problem was that it was the first the Spanish FA had heard of it. (more…)

Both Teams To Score & Win Bets

For those who don’t like merely backing outright results in football matches, the option to get behind the outcome where each side scores at least once and a specific team wins comes as a riskier alternative with stronger odds. This has grown in popularity over the past few years and it’s no surprise when considering how often this occurs in all of the most desirable football leagues to bet on.

All you need in order for your BTTS & Win bet to land is for each side to score one or more times each and your chosen side to win the game, all inside ninety minutes unless stated otherwise. (more…)

Pull the Other One, Defoe: Veteran Striker Has No Chance of Going to World Cup

At 35 years old, Jermain Defoe is fast-approaching the end of his career at the top of the game. If he does a John Terry and decides to move down a league or walks off into the sunset a rich man, there’s no doubt the East London-born scorer has put in a shift over the years.

The well-travelled England cap – who has represented his country at every level from U16 to the senior squad – is currently plying his trade at Dean Court in the colours of Premier League club Bournemouth but his CV shows stints at West Ham, Tottenham and even Portsmouth (when they used to be half-decent). (more…)

Mourinho still believes in the title

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is adamant that his side can catch Manchester City in the race for the title despite falling eight points behind the leaders.

Jose Mourinho admitted that there have been some disappointing results for his side and that they were hoping to cut the gap between themselves and Manchester City, but that the poor results had come in difficult games (against Chelsea and Liverpool) and that he has no complaint against his players. (more…)

United will miss out on the title – Craig Burley

Former Chelsea ace Craig Burley believes Manchester United will miss out on the Premier League title this season. The Red Devils have made a quick start off the blocks with 19 points from seven matches, and they are only trailing Manchester City at the top on goal difference.

Speaking to ESPN, Burley feels the Red Devils have made a step forward with resounding wins over the weaker sides, but there is a still a gap between them and the Premier League crown, he said: “I think clearly United have made a step forward, the results would suggest it. Against weaker teams last year they gave up points, they weren’t as clinical, they weren’t as strong, as organised. But I’ve not got them to win the league. I don’t think they’ve taken a big enough one for me but I do think they’ve moved in the right direction.” (more…)

Germany Grows Up

Prior to the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Germany was positioned in 2nd place of the FIFA World Rankings but after the team of Joachim Low emerged as the victorious side with a 1-0 triumph over Argentina, they earned an escalation to the 1st spot, and they’ve been at the top pretty much ever since, even though there has been a changing of the guard in recent years. If anything they are more vibrant, exciting and entertaining now than ever, and well worth watching in action on fussballlivestream.tv if you get the chance!

The German squad that came out on top in 2014 has experienced many changes as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Phillip Lahm and Miroslav Klose all retired from the international stage, and the guys that we’d all watched on streams as kids socagol.tv slowly moved on to less competitive (MLS) football, or away from the game completely. Whilst this has been sad in some respects, with legends of the game now past their pomp, it also gives a chance to fresh young footballers keen to make a name for themselves! (more…)