The Chelsea Football Club appeared to be in turmoil before the 2019-20 Premier League season began. Enigmatic, chain-smoking manager Maurizio Sarri left the club after just one season at the helm, returning to Italy to coach Juventus; it sold its best player (and perhaps the best player in all of the Premier League), Eden Hazard, […]
Unai Emery moved to the Premier League with an impressive resume. He managed Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League titles from 2013-14 to 2015-16, and he helped Paris Saint-Germain return to its perch atop the French soccer pyramid in 2018. His arrival in North London was mostly met with hope and goodwill. Arsène Wenger’s stewardship […]
History tells us that at least one and maybe two of the Premier League’s most recently promoted clubs — Aston Villa, Norwich City and Sheffield United — will be relegated at the end of the season and forced again to ply their trades a division down the English soccer pyramid. It’s rare that all three […]
It is halftime in a soccer game. One side is losing. Most of the time, that team’s manager decides to persist with the 11 players who started the match until well into the second half. That lack of action actually damages the team’s prospects of making a comeback in the game. And despite the data […]
The Premier League has never been one for parity. For the majority of its existence, the league has been dominated by a small fraternity of very talented (and very wealthy) clubs. Only six teams have won the Premier League in its 27-year existence, and only four have won it more than once. And if last […]