The Football Diary

The Premier League is back and returned with not too much of a bang on the opening weekend but it did bring up a shocking result and some entertainment.

With the arrival of superstar managers and players to the League coupled with the fact that most Premier League clubs have spent heavily this summer, the 2016/17 season is set to be one of the most keenly contested ever.

Leicester Start Defence of The Title On A Shaky Note.

The 5000-1 favourites last season surprised many when despite the odds, won the premier league title. Their manager, Claudio Ranieri, who was ridiculed because of his last job as Greece manager was tipped to get Leicester relegated after they just survived relegation the previous season under Nigel Pearson.

But he put his critics to shame and now the rest is history. 

A new season is here now and Leicester have strengthened their squad but have however, lost arguably their most important player in N'Golo Kante who moved to Chelsea and was in action for Chelsea as they defeated West Ham at Stamford Bridge.

Their opponents last weekend was Hull City who are in a shambles at the moment. Their manager Steve Bruce resigned after leading the team back to the Premier League the first time of asking. When they faced Leicester last weekend, they had only 13 fit senior players. Care taker boss, Mike Phelan, didn't bother to make any substitutions during the match.

But instead of allowing the gloom in the boardroom to affect them, the players led by Captain, Curties Davies, were  in inspirational form and shocked the Premier League defending champions with a 2-1 win. 

As any title winning manager knows, it is more difficult to retain a title than to win one. Ranieri has an uphill task in retaining the title if he actually believes he can. The big boys have strengthened and have attempted to poach his best players. So far, Riyadh Mahrez is still a target for Arsenal. Jamie Vardy though, has extended his contract after Arsenal also tried to sign him. 

Kante's absence was felt against Hull  and the new recruits have to quickly step up their game. The trusted senior players and spine of the team, Wes Morgan, Robert Huth,Vardy and Mahrez have to quickly discover their form if they don't want  to play catch up or worse, battle relegation...

Guardiola Starts Reign With Hard Fought Victory

Former Barcelona and Bayern Munich  coach, Pep Guardiola, kicked off his reign as Manchester City boss with a last gasp victory over Sunderland as they laboured to a win with help from Sunderland defender, new signing Paddy McNair who put the ball behind his own net.

David Moyes was looking to stamp his influence on Sunderland and they typically provided gutsy performance which suggests that they might yet surprise some teams during the course of the season. Jermaine Defoe remains as dangerous as ever and who knows,  his former boss Sam Allardyce might yet extend an England invitation if his current form continues.

Guardiola would need time for his philosophy to take root at City. There will be bumpy roads along the way but he remains most bookies and pundits favourite to win the title. 

Then there is the situation of the future of some senior players. Joe Hart was on the bench in the game against Sunderland while Willy Caballero was given the nod and now rumours are rife that Joe Hart might eventually be sold if Guardiola is able to sign Barcelona's Claudio Bravo. Yaya Toure was not even in the match day squad so also Samir Nasri and Eliaquim Mangala.

The Game Of The Weekend Lives Up To The Hype

The big game of the weekend was the fixture between Arsenal and Liverpool which was filled with great entertainment, wonderful goals and drama. 

Walcott missed a penalty, then found the back of the net shortly after. Phillipe Coutinho scored a contender for goal of the weekend with his excellent free kick to draw Liverpool level while Liverpool in the second half raced to a 4-1 lead With Sadio Mane scoring on his debut with a wonderful individual goal.

Then there was the Arsenal fight back which ended with Liverpool managing to hold on for a 4-3 win instead of strolling to victory.

Arsenal need to be commended for their fight back when all seemed to be lost and when it appeared they were in danger of another capitulation Arsenal fans are very familiar with. Liverpool without the injury prone Daniel Sturridge showed great attacking ability and if this game is used as a reference point, then expect Liverpool to score many goals this season under the charismatic Jurgen Klopp.

For Arsenal, the same old questions remain. The question of spending big and solving the striker situation remains unanswered. We should remember though, that in the last 4 seasons Arsenal have lost 3 of the opening fixtures at the Emirates but have still ended up in the top 4. If anything, expect the Gunners again to end up in the top 4.

Sparing A Thought For The Dream Team

Nigeria takes on Germany in the semi finals of the Olympics soccer event in midweek. Since it is unlikely the team will be able to stop the Germans from scoring, this is hoping the team will be clinical when the opportunities come and out score the German machine.

This is wishing Samson Siasia and John Obi Mikel the best of luck. They are going to need it.

Ronaldo: The Good, The Bad, And The Downright Ugly

Laurent Blanc Set To Quit PSG 

After a clean sweep of all domestic trophies by PSG in the just concluded 2015/2016 season in France, one would have thought Laurent Blanc would at least be allowed to have another crack at the Champions League next season. Sadly, that is looking unlikely as reports have it that Blanc will be stepping down as PSG manager after only just extending his contract last February by 2 years. 

Since Blanc replaced Carlo Ancelloti as manager of PSG in 2013, it's been total domination of Ligue 1 all the way as well as winning 2 French Cups, 3 League Cups and 2 French Super Cups. It's in the Champions League they have fallen short often getting knocked out in the quarter finals.

With such achievement by Blanc's team albeit in a league were traditional rivals Monaco, Marseille, and Lyon are currently unable to compete at PSG's level of financial power, he deserves to leave when he feels he needs a fresh challenge. This mutual consensus between Blanc and the PSG management to part ways just goes to show that success is no longer a guarantee for a manager to keep his job if the 'success' is not in line with the ambitions of the club's directors.

Unai Emery has been touted as the favourite to replace him. If this turns out to be the case, he might end up an astute signing by PSG but he doesn't look the type of manager that would  upstage Barcelona, Bayern Munich or even Real Madrid if PSG was to cross paths with these teams in the Champions League. Remember, Sevilla actually failed to make it past the group stage of the champions league last season that's why they found themselves in a competition they have sort of emerged as specialists in winning after retaining the Europa League for a second year running. How ironic that Blanc's possible replacement is one who thrives in Europe's second tier competition.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Retires From The National Team

Meanwhile, Laurent Blanc's top dog at PSG, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, has called it quits with Sweden. Zlatan announced during the ongoing European Championships in France before Sweden  got eliminated that he would no longer play for the national team after the Euros and thus ended speculation about his intentions to play for Sweden at the Rio Olympics.

Zlatan is retiring after making 116 caps for Sweden and scoring 62 goals. He is Sweden's record goal scorer. If the transfer rumour mill is to be believed, then Zlatan should end up at Manchester United after deciding not to extend his stay at PSG.  Zlatan has not had an illustrious career only for Sweden but at club level as well. He has turned out for the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan and Barcelona with trophies and accolades wherever he has been. Although the Champions League trophy remains elusive for him, a move to Old Trafford will not see him achieve this dream any time soon.

Ronaldo: The Good, The Bad, and The Outright Ugly

Real Madrid and Portugal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo's Euro 2016 adventure has gotten a lot of coverage since his criticism of Iceland's tactics against Portugal in their Euro 2016 opener which ended in a draw as he has been singled out by the media for what can be regarded as undue scrutiny.

It appears Ronaldo has become a victim of his own high standards. And when the media apply pressure, he has demonstrated a low tolerance for their intrusiveness and criticism. Every act of frustration or disappointment by Ronaldo is highlighted. 

Ronaldo has struggled in the Euros and Portugal lacking quality strikers have suffered as a result. He struggled in Portugal's first two games not out for a lack of trying though but because he didn't get the rub of the green.

But when push came to shove, when his country needed him the most during adversity, he reminded his critics what he was capable of by scoring a brace against Hungary.

Ronaldo may have a big ego, he may be petty and a sore loser as the game against Iceland revealed, he may have shown terrible disdain for the media by throwing a journalist's microphone into a nearby lake but he will continue to divide opinion as long as he continues to break and set new records like he has done during Euro 2016.

Leicester And Tottenham Make Statement Of Intent

Premier League Champions, Leicester City have shown that they mean business next season as they have been able to persuade top striker, Jamie Vardy to extend his contract at Leicester and turn down any offers from Arsenal.

Arsenal, according to reports, were said to have triggered a buy out clause said to be in the region of £20 million in Vardy's contract but Vardy has decided that his future lies with Leicester City and not in Arsene Wenger's squad. 

Vardy is currently having a mixed bag at the European Championships with England. He scored against Wales but struggled to make an impact against Slovakia. 

Would he have been a success at Arsenal? Leicester City is largely a counter attacking side and thus is set up to play to his strengths but with Arsenal, there is that odd chance that he may struggle to make an impact with their style as he is currently experiencing with England at the Euros as they labour to break down teams who defend deep which Arsenal often encounter in the premiership.

In other news, Spurs have announced the signing of Kenyan defensive midfielder Victor Wanyama from Southampton on a 5 year deal. As Spurs prepare for Champions League football next season, It appears Mauricio Pochettino has decided one area of priority is cover for Eric Dier. Make no mistake, Wanyama joining Spurs will strengthen Spurs' midfield immensely especially in potentially difficult away games against the big boys in Europe or England.

One can only wonder if this is the season Southampton finally get sucked into the relegation battle or even go down. With Ronald Koeman joining Everton, surely it's a matter of time before a big club snaps up Sadio Mane. It might yet prove one exit too many.