Anticipation for the Premier League title race remains as high as ever ahead of the 2019-20 season – can Liverpool overhaul Manchester City? Will Frank Lampard re-ignite Chelsea’s challenge; is Ole Gunnar Solskjær the man to make Manchester United contenders again? Will Pochettino take Tottenham to the next level; are Arsenal ready to return to the Champions League?
It has been a little over 3 years since Gianni Infantino became the 9th president of FIFA, on February 26th 2016. At the time there was a general air of hope and relief about his appointment, not so much because of his own campaign to become the leader of world football, but more because his predecessor, Sepp Blatter, had become such a toxic and disparaged figure.
As a result, Infantino was blessed with a relatively long honeymoon period, whilst most of those invested in football were simply thankful that Blatter was no more. Back to the present and Infantino is due to win a 2nd term as president when the 69th FIFA congress convenes on June 5th, in Paris. Not because he's done a great job, but because there will be no candidates to oppose him. Is this welcome? I'm unconvinced, Infantino may not be corrupt (as it stands) but here's why some of his key decisions are a threat to football...
Last month 90 Minutes Online got around to organising a 1st football away day for the 2018/19 season, and this time it was the turn of Swindon Town and The County Ground. Once again, we got to experience a football stadium that we hadn't visited before, plus of course the all-important pre and post match rituals...
Every football club has aspirations, from the non-league to the top tier. Some are realistic, whilst others are not so much. Regardless of this, football clubs will use these aspirations to determine the success and failure of their season. This article is about what should constitute success at the top level of football, and how the argument has evolved over the last decade, particularly in the Premier League.
Question: What's more important to a football club and their fans. Is it finishing high enough in the league to qualify for the Champions League, or is it winning trophies?
Answer: Silverware is what really matters.
Let me explain...
On August 5th 2018, Pep Guardiola added another new trophy to his personal honours list. Yes it was 'only' the Community Shield, and yes it is dismissed every season as a 'glorified friendly', but then again it is a piece of silverware, and one that takes a lot of effort to be eligible to compete for. It was also, memorably, a competition that José Mourinho described as being the 1st instalment in the Manchester United 'treble-winning' season of 2016/17...