A quick way to judge how a head coach is viewed by the football public is to pay attention tothe conversations which surround him after he takes over a new team.There are, of course, many different reasons why a club would change its manager, but it's rare for it not to be linked, in some way at least, to underperformance. Generally speaking, then, it can be broadly assumed that most appointments are made with improvement in mind. Whoever takes over will be inheriting a mess: unhappy players who are conceding lots of goals.Then it gets interesting, because what follows depends on profile.One type of coach is expected to inspire an immediate spike in performance. For example, Nigel Pearson at Watford...
Money no object, who would you sign this January for your club to build a team around?The chances are you're going to pick at least one player on today's quiz. These are the top-rated footballers on Earth under 23 years old – at least according to Transfermarkt's heady algorithms –and we want you to name every single one.These are the stars that you won't believe are only the age they are. Destined to be on the Ballon D'Or podiums of tomorrow, should Cristiano Ronaldo ever hang up his boots.There are some obvious ones on the list – hello England squad hopefuls – and some less visible stars. But if you're intoFootball Manageror you're halfway through aFIFAcareer, you've already sent your...
When Arsenal lost to Chelsea before the turn of the year, in Mikel Arteta’s second game in charge, the result belied an encouraging performance betrayed by individual mistakes. The tone had been determined, but a lot of the positives which should have been drawn - in retrospect - were scared away by the nature of the collapse.The goalkeeping error, the midfield being caught hopelessly out of position, the defeat snatched from the jaws of victory. Unfortunately, those were the tenets of an old era, so it was difficult to celebrate a new Arsenal while the old one seemed so alive and well.MATCH REPORTHector Bellerin score late leveller as 10-man Arsenal hold ChelseaTuesday night initiallybrought more slapstick. First inShkodran Mustafi’s hopeless...
Two points for a home win, three for an away winIn 1981 the English Football League became the first in the world to introduce three points for a win rather than the traditional two. A change spearheaded by Jimmy Hill; it was hoped the change would encourage teams to take a more attacking approach with a greater reward on offer for wins.By 1983, however, the recently formed Alliance Premier League - or Football Conference as it is known today - changed the rules so that teams earned two points for a home win and three points for an away victory.Theorising it would encourage teams to chase more wins on the road and make for a more entertaining spectacle, the next...
Before West Ham’s game against Everton on Saturday, when hundreds of home fans gathered to protest against the state of their club under the current owners, you could be forgiven for expecting that another afternoon of rage, rebellion and toxicity at the London Stadium.Insteadthough, the mood was a more apt one of dejection and disinterest. Issa Diop put the home side ahead in the first half, Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised shortly afterwards, and the rest of the game played out to an atmosphere that landed somewhere between misery and melancholy. If West Ham fans - whose protest marked a decade in the ownership of Davids Gold and Sullivan - are grieving the state of their club, then they are becoming dangerously...