Few would have foreseen an extraordinarily open six-goal thriller at St. James’ Park on Tuesday evening. Even fewer would have foreseen such a wholesale change in tactical emphasis from Manchester United’s Louis Van Gaal. Continue reading
Leicester City will go into the New Year level on points with Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, after an uneventful – but tactically interesting – scoreless draw against Manchester City. Continue reading
There were numerous moments during Saturday afternoon’s defeat to Stoke City that one could highlight to illustrate the irreparable dysfunction rife amid the ranks of Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United. Continue reading
It is arguably the most remarkable turnaround in fortunes in Premier League history. Saturday afternoon’s victory at Goodison Park ensured that Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City side will sit atop the league tree this Christmas – a far cry from 12 months ago, when they languished at its foot. Continue reading
Louis van Gaal’s second defeat in five days had a lot in common with the first. Two concessions from set-pieces prompted the Dutchman to turn to Nick Powell – who made his last Premier League appearance over three years ago – as an unlikely emergency target man. Continue reading
Although Mesut Ozil’s thirtieth-minute opener arrived with more than a touch of good fortune attached, thanks to the error-prone John Ruddy’s poor clearance, Arsenal’s lead was fully merited to say the least. Up to that point, the Gunners had registered six shots on Ruddy’s goal. Norwich, for their part, had not even managed to create one from their paltry 27% share of the football. Continue reading
Manchester United’s last Champions League outing – a 1-0 home victory against CSKA Moscow – can now be safely filed away in the false dawn folder. That night, as crowd unrest began to build off the back of three consecutive scoreless draws, Louis Van Gaal’s side turned in an anomalous performance. Full-backs were encouraged to overlap and attackers were encouraged to attempt dribbles. The tempo was noticeably higher, the passing significantly more direct. United, in truth, were incredibly unlucky not to win by far more than a single goal. Continue reading
Here was Liverpool’s first truly Klopp-esque performance. Saturday evening’s 4-1 Etihad rout of Manchester City could easily have been even more emphatic, as the German’s charges swamped their hosts with a breathtaking display of relentless pressing and rapier-like counter-attacking. Continue reading
Paul Doolin’s Republic of Ireland will play no part in the UEFA U19 Championships Elite Qualifying phase after a comprehensive defeat to Scotland at a wet and windy Markets Field in Limerick this evening. Continue reading
One year and two days ago, the Republic of Ireland lost away to Scotland by a single goal. The nation’s chances of even securing a playoff looked remote at best. Tonight, it won that playoff, comfortably besting a much-fancied Bosnia-Herzigovina side to qualify for Euro 2016. Continue reading
Tactics Truck v2.0 