Articles
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How England Could Line Up Without a Recognised Left Back
Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad selection has raised a few eyebrows for a couple of reasons. The first is there are no natural left backs in the squad despite Ryan Bertrand and Bukayo Saka being available. The second is that the central midfield options are noticeably starker than usual. While Jack Grealish and Kalvin…
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Scouting Report: Édouard Mendy
There are a few examples of a meteoric rise and late bloomer more compelling than that of Édouard Mendy – a goalkeeper who signed his first professional contract at 24, in the second tier of French football, and who is set to play Champions League football at 28. Whether he remains at Rennes or moves…
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What’s Next For Yoshinori Muto?
Yoshinori Muto joined Newcastle United two summers ago from German outfit Mainz, but the Japanese striker is now set to leave the club. Steve Bruce, who is desperate to add to his squad, has been told he must do a bit of wheeling and dealing in the window, and Muto will more than likely be…
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An Analytical Look at Giovanni Reyna
17-year-old Giovanni Reyna is by most accounts one the top young talents in world football. The England-born American is now at Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund after signing for the club at the age of 16. He made his way to Germany after coming up through the New York City FC Academy, where his father Claudio…
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Reggie Cannon, Systemic Racism and the National Anthem
The 2020 Major League Soccer season started back in February, on schedule, but less than a month in, the league was put on hold indefinitely due to the pandemic. A return in July saw the one-off tournament called the MLS is Back Tournament with 24 out of the 26 MLS teams participating. Results of the…
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How Donny Van de Beek Could Help Solve Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka Problem
Whisper it quietly, but Manchester United may have made a smart move in the transfer window. Donny van de Beek’s arrival from Ajax is imminent, and while midfield isn’t the most pressing need for United, this signing definitely helps. In terms of his profile as a midfielder, Van de Beek is definitely different to…
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Scouting Report: Donny van de Beek
Donny van de Beek may have played his final game for Ajax after he was absent from Erik ten Hag’s squad for Saturday’s friendly against Eintracht Frankfurt and absent against Union Berlin. The midfielder has been heavily linked with a summer exit and former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, currently Ajax’s CEO,…
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Spezia’s Remarkable Return to Serie A
La Spezia is a city that is not well known for its sporting prowess or great historical sites, and it is better known as a transport hub, especially for tourists who travel to the colorful villages of Cinque Terre. The city has the second-largest population in the Liguria region after Genoa and it is…
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From the Board to the Pitch: What Football Can Learn from Chess
You play football with your mind, and your legs are there to help you. – Johan Cruyff. The above quote was uttered from football’s seminal leader, the unofficial king of the modern game, Johan Cruyff, and it may just be the most important of his innumerable, incessantly quoted adages. If we take the…
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Fulham Learning From Their Previous Mistakes
Fulham’s last spell in the Premier League wasn’t long ago. They earned promotion from the Championship via the playoffs in the 2017/18 campaign but were subsequently relegated twelve months later after finishing nineteenth in the top flight. Their struggle to survive due to poor recruitment, something Scott Parker is eager not to repeat this time…
