Brent Maximin

Florentino Pérez may be an egomaniac who doesn’t know how to keep out of his own team’s way, but at least he’s predictable. In a move that surprised absolutely no one, Pérez fired Rafa Benítez yesterday and replaced him with Real Madrid icon Zinedine Zidane. With Madrid only four points from the top of La […]

Knees get shot, sharpness fades, minutes have to be managed. For sports fans, the idea that athletes have a limited shelf life is not a difficult one to accept. It’s always hard to watch your favorite player lose a step, but it’s never totally unexpected. A playing career is divided into three acts: the early […]

He’s gone. We all knew it was coming. For the second time in just over eight years, José Mourinho has been sacked by Chelsea. After winning the Premier League title with relative ease last season, Mourinho’s Chelsea have started this year so atrociously that they find themselves just a point away from the relegation zone. […]

Later today, Manchester United will face off against Wolfsburg in a game that could decide its Champions League group phase fate. Win, and the Reds will progress to the next round as group winners. Lose or draw, and they could find themselves out of the competition altogether. That United even finds themselves in this position, […]

With more a third of the Premier League season already accounted for, this is usually around the time where the wheat is separated from the chaff. Over the last decade, only three teams have been crowned champions, and the top four spots have been shared among the same six teams. Distinct tiers emerge, and there […]

Success spoils you. For fans of big clubs, this entitlement creeps in over time. You get used to winning games, claiming trophies most seasons, and it’s hard not to grumble when things don’t go exactly according to plan. For some, supporters that expectation of constant excellence starts to manifest itself as impatience. Dull 1-0 wins […]

José Mourinho’s future at Chelsea is in the balance. That much should be clear by now. Mere months after winning the Premier League title, Chelsea is not even among the top four teams in London, never mind top four in the league. As the most successful manager in the club’s history, Mourinho has probably earned the right […]

At some point while we mostly stopped paying attention, Theo Walcott — young, prodigious, “next up” star of tomorrow — stopped existing only in the future tense. Walcott is 26 now (yes, you’re old), and should be in his prime. In fact, he probably is in his prime, and therein lies the sense of disappointment. […]

Every big club is hated. Fans of English soccer hate Manchester United because of its domestic dominance over the last two decades, and because of its spoilt, oftentimes insufferable fanbase. Ditto for German fans and Bayern Munich. Real Madrid is rightly seen as arrogant by everyone who isn’t a Real Madrid fan. Juventus? It’s hard […]

Earlier this week, financial blogger The Swiss Ramble posted his annual review of Manchester United’s accounts. While it is clear that United continues to generate eye-watering amounts of revenue, the report makes for grim viewing. This passage in particular was a stunning reminder of just how expensive the Glazers’ ownership has been: "In fact, over […]

England’s elite may have fallen behind their counterparts on the continent, but the clubs just below the trophy-or-bust crowd are arguably better than ever. The handful of sides that would have been competing for a place in the Intertoto Cup (back when that was a thing) have gotten demonstrably better in recent years. What used […]

You would think that three consecutive wins (with 10 goals scored and onlyone conceded) would move the José Mourinho narrative in a positive direction; then again, that means you probably don't know José Mourinho. For all the turmoil the cantankerous Portuguese had mustered last time we convened, afew wins have yet to abate the storm. If anything, Mourinho’s future […]

What happened to José Mourinho? He was always arrogant and crass, but at least he was entertaining. He hasn't always produced teams that were enjoyable to watch, but at least he won things. Whatever entertainment value he had disappeared somewhere in Madrid, and even though this season is still in its infancy, he doesn't look […]

Remember when the Premier League was good? The days when two or three of its best teams would be in the semifinals of the Champions League, and the best of England was a match for the best anywhere? Ah, those were the days. The premiership is still “good,” obviously, in broad terms – just not […]

Thanks to some sort of administrative SNAFU, the long-running David De Gea transfer ended in utter farce this week. In a rare (and let’s be honest) very funny outcome, everyone lost. De Gea didn’t get his dream move, Manchester United somehow couldn’t lose the staredown without looking even more inept, and Real Madrid finally paid […]