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Showing posts from January, 2023

Benin City set to host high-flying Remo Stars as their odds defying Bendel Insurance’s perfect start faces toughest test

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At 4pm on Saturday, 28th this month, Remo Stars will kickoff their Gameweek four fixture of the new Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL season at the Samuel Ogbemudia, Benin Stadium against their newly promoted host, Bendel Insurance. But who could have thought, at the start of last season that the Ikenne based side will be regarded as favourite in a topflight game, moreso away from home having suffered relegation in each of their two previous seasons in the topflight before last season. Surprisingly, under now manager of Shooting Stars of Ibadan, coach Gbenga Ogunbote, the Sky Blues defied the odds and achieved massively in the last season, finishing third in the league and securing continental ticket for the CAF Confederations Cup. Now under coach Daniel Ogunmodede, they seems not be to slowing down and have started the new season with intent, currently the best side in the league with three wins from their first three games. Remo Stars are also the only side in the league, not to

Mykhailo Mudryk to Arsenal : A priority that should not have been makes failure in deal indifferent

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Mkykailo Mudryk isn't coming to Arsenal but while Arsenal fans have the right to feel hurt after hoping to get a player all over them only to watch him join their rival, they also need to realize that it has become an awkward deal, when a player with €40 million valuation is set to cost around €100 million. The market is already inflated but the fact that Cody Gakpo joined Liverpool in the transfer window for less that £60 million makes €100 million for Mudryk ridiculous and Arsenal were not helped by interest from willing spenders, Chelsea. Any hopes of Arsenal signing Mudryk died the moment Chelsea became serious about the deal given the financial buoyancy of the Todd Boehly owned club. They'll offer wages that if Arsenal tried to match, it will upset their wage structure. They can give more bonus to the player's agent and also offer more money to Shakhtar Donesk with better payment structure. Given Chelsea's current situation, Mudryk will also get more play time ther

Charlie Patino : The long wait for a proper midfielder from Hale End ends for Arsenal

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Charlie Patino is the one Midfielder from Hale End with the prospect of representing Arsenal's first team in a while now and there is no denying he has the potential to star for the club. Arsenal do have the reputation of moulding and promoting youngsters to star for the club on the big stage but it has been a while since they have a midfielder come through the ranks. Infact, hardly have they been able to integrate one into the system since Jack Wilshere in the 2000s. Albeit they have had the likes of Joe Willock, who is now thriving at Newcastle United, the youngster never really fit into the system under Mikel Arteta's Arsenal despite being afforded several chances by the Spaniard. Yunus Musah is having a good career in the La Liga with Valencia and even starred for the US Men National Team in the FIFA World Cup in Qatar late last year but the 21year old could not for his time at Arsenal and left Hale End in 2019 as a 16-year-old. Ismael Bennacer, currently of AC Milan and on

Liverpool : Deviation from identity the trouble that continues to shatter dreams

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Jürgen Klopp prepared himself a disaster in his decision to adopt technicality rather than the intense, fast, and energetic 'metal football' he is known for but the time is still there to make the right calls and revert to the prosperous days. Days after days teams continue to get better in what they are known for, leaving little or no room for errors as even the slightest ones will not be left unpunished. However, Liverpool appears a team digressing from what it is good at, to learn what the world enjoy. To worsen matters, Liverpool don't have/ sign the right players to implement the Gengenpressing football anymore and those that were responsible for their success are aged/ departed. You would ask yourself what the likes of Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho are doing in a team managed by Jürgen Klopp. Why were they even signed to start with when Klopp is still at the helm and hasn't revealed any intention of leaving any time soon. It is understandable that the league i

The consequences of sacking Graham Potter is more daunting for Chelsea Football Club than it is for the manager

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It is better to have a good manager than having good players when you give a good manager the needed time, they are able to control the pattern of a team but good players can only play their part under the tutelage of a manager. Football has become more technical. Chelsea’s last seven Premier League games has produced only one win but this is not a reason to start calling for the manager to be sacked. YES! Someone, somewhere in the other part of London was here not so long ago and there is no telling what they went through before they get to where they are in the present, a position every other team in the league cherish. In context, Arsenal at a time went ten Premier League games and can only produce a win, losing to the likes of Burnley, Wolves, Everton, Aston Villa and more. At that time, it did not matter whether they were playing at home or away. Aston Villa came to the Emirates and won by three goals to nothing. The form was so poor it was worse that what got Arteta's predece