Real Madrid bought Bale in the summer of 2013 hoping the Welshman would take over the mantle of Ronaldo who had by that stage been at the club for four seasons. But it felt that Madrid wanted Bale to be the next Ronaldo while the Portuguese star was still doing a pretty fine job of that himself.

However, with Bale in the side the team felt connected. The puzzle of winning the Champions League that eluded president Florentino Perez for the past 12 seasons had been found. In Bale’s first season Madrid missed out on the Spanish league title but more than made up for that by winning the Champions League and Copa del Rey. It was Bale’s stunning run and goal that won Madrid the Copa del Rey and then it was Bale’s goal in the Champions League final that put the team 2-1 ahead of Atletico Madrid. That goal gave them the desire to push on and win 4-1 in that final.

Bale, despite his injuries, is Madrid’s greatest British footballer. You can make an argument that he’s the greatest British footballer of all time, at least in the respects of being a British import based on the trophies and longevity of his career.

The biggest egos in soccer

But playing alongside the ego and brilliance of Ronaldo has never been easy for Bale. On more than a few occasions you could feel the fire around the players. If Bale saved the day with a spectacular goal that didn’t mean that Ronaldo was happy about it. In this years Champions League final Ronaldo took his time to congratulate Bale with his incredible overhead kick against Liverpool which led to another Champions League title. It was after all supposed to be the footballing Gods writing the script for Ronaldo to get such a goal.

Afterwards Ronaldo seemed unhappy and wanted out. What threw everyone is that Bale almost said the same. In hindsight it felt that both players were actually saying that the club wasn’t big enough for the two of them. Now Ronaldo has departed and probably made the most wisest move given that he is 4 years older than Bale. Now it is time for Bale to continue his good work for the club but also become the biggest fish in the pond.

The main man

New Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui has spoken to Bale at length and made it quite clear that the Welshman is part of the clubs future and pivotal to any success. Bale will join Madrid in their pre season friendly games in the United States and a few weeks later the La Liga season will kick off.

The job Bale has is the job he wants and it is the chance for him to relish in his new role. Even if Madrid, as expected, bring in a new face the new players will now be able to look to Bale and respect him as he enters his 6th season with the club without having a glance over at Ronaldo.

Real Madrid is all about the man from Wales and that should be testament to how far this wonderful, gifted player has come.

Eyebrows have been raised at the fee involved for a player who is 33 years old. Ronaldo isn’t just any 33-year-old soccer player. He’s a dedicated professional and one of the fittest players in the world. He still plays like he’s 29, and his four year contract he has signed with the Italian champions is proof of that.

$140m for a player who is 33?

Juventus will get at least four years from him, and it is evident that Ronaldo will play into his very late 30’s. He stated a few years ago that he would play until he is 41 suggesting that he would retire from football after the 2026 World Cup.

As for paying the fee, the Old Lady will make some of that revenue up in the marketing of the player just as Madrid themselves have done most infamously with the arrival of David Beckham in 2003.

For Serie A, Ronaldo is quite a capture. Here is a league that was clearly the most competitive and best from the late 1980’s and remained that way for a decade before world stars started to head to Spain and England. Throughout the years and despite both Milan and Inter winning the Champions League, Serie A has taken its knocks. It’s been called a has-been league, one that suffers still from hooliganism, bad marketing and that has simply fallen behind the times. Now that Serie A has one of the greatest players to have ever played the game, opinions may start to change.

Ronaldo himself should be applauded for leaving. He hasn’t chosen the easy way out. With all due respect, he could have gone to a lower standard of football and played out his years in China. Instead, he has chosen Italy and Juventus. The league is famous for priding itself on defense and so Ronaldo has in that way given himself the ultimate test.

Ronaldo the G.O.A.T.?

At Madrid, he scored 451 goals in just 438 games, breaking every record along the way. Will he still be able to score 30 plus goals a season?

If he does and if the titles continue, comparisons to Lionel Messi may grow wider. While Messi has done a terrific job, he’s only done that in Spain with Barcelona.

Ronaldo will be trying something new in his fourth league following stints in his native Portugal with Sporting CP, then famously with Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and then with Madrid. Everywhere he’s gone, the goals and titles have followed and everyone will be expecting that run to continue with Juventus.

For Ronaldo, the importance of playing at Juventus is the fact that he will be involved in Champions League football again. For fans of the beautiful game, this is a win-win situation.

Back in the summer of 2002 at the World Cup in Korea and Japan, ink was filled on the sheets of the daily newspapers that we were witnessing a World Cup full of shocks and surprises. It was hard to argue, a Luis Figo inspired Portugal had lost to the USA 3-2 and at one point during the game had found themselves 3-0 down. Senegal had beaten France and the champions would end up exiting at the group stages. Later in the competition South Korea would beat both Spain and Italy and we had the genuine chance of a World Cup final between South Korea and Turkey.

In the end Germany and Brazil won their respective semi-finals although only by one goal each and the 2002 finals finally fell back into tradition. Some call it the cream always rising to the top. A Germany-Brazil final certainly won it over for the football purists. The two most successful teams wrapped up a ‘shock’ World Cup finals and Ronaldo redeemed himself from his nightmare France 98’ final and the story ended there.

The best player in the world at that time, Ronaldo, picked up the World Cup and grabbed both goals in a 2-0 win. Job done.

The final four

Fast forward to 2018 and the “shocks” make the 2002 finals look like a routine competition. The semi-finals have France pitted against Belgium and Croatia will take on England. Of the four teams left we can only look at France and their success rate of the past 20 years to gauge any normality. Belgium have been a very special team for the past 24 months and one is reminded of the brilliant Dutch teams of the 1970s when looking at Roberto Martinez’s side.

The way they are playing and the way they knocked out Brazil in the quarter- finals suggest that they are no longer pretenders.

Croatia have blown hot and cold in this World Cup. They brushed aside Argentina 3-0 but labored to wins against both Denmark and host nation, Russia. Their devastating midfield remains their main arsenal with Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic pulling the strings. The ghosts of France 98’ where Croatia surprisingly reached the semi-finals have been somewhat vanquished. Perhaps reaching the latter stages of major tournaments may just become the norm for the nation.

Finally to England, who for the first time since 1990, has shown team spirit that has begun through the coach Gareth Southgate and infected the team like lighting to water. And yet for all the confidence England do not look like the finished product, surely the European Championships in 2020 will be the peak of this team, and it should be noted that the final will take place in London at Wembley Stadium. However, despite England’s technical shortcomings it may not matter given the World Cup we are experiencing.

A World Cup like nothing before

In past World Cup’s the very best players have risen to the occasion and helped the heavyweight nations to claim victory and it’s quite a roll call. Bastian Schweinsteiger for Germany in 2014, Andres Iniesta for Spain in 2010, Gianluigi Buffon for Italy in 2006, Ronaldo for Brazil in 2002, Zinedine Zidane for France in 1998, Romario for Brazil in 1994, Lothar Matthaeus for Germany in 1990, Diego Maradona for Argentina in 1986 and we could go on and mention Pele, Gerd Muller and Bobby Moore.

There has, in short, always been heroes and we could well suggest that the heroes left the building in Russia 2018 much too early.

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar to suggest the top three. However, that doesn’t mean that new heroes can’t be found. Harry Kane for England has been phenomenal and he looks set to win the golden boot with his goals. Kylian Mbappe for France became the first teenager since Pele to score two goals in a knockout game at the World Cup. Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne have both been sensational for Belgium.

Old heroes have died out here and so has tradition. The World Cup in Russia has turned a page that was 80 years old and a new dawn has arisen and any one of these four nations left could be claiming the glory and gold of the World Cup on July 15 in Moscow.

Sky Sports has been losing ground for a few years now when it comes to showing soccer. The corporation looks to be finally admitting that enough is enough when it comes to spending billions of dollars on soccer TV rights.

However, LaLiga was costing Sky just $30m dollars a season. Compare this with the billion dollars they spend on the Premier League, and it becomes apparent that purse strings are being tightly closed shut.

What is the deal with Sky bailing on Spanish football?

The league has arguably been the best in Europe since the turn of the century. Both Real Madrid and Barcelona have won the Champions League nine times between them.

We have witnessed the emergence of Lionel Messi at Barcelona, hailed as the greatest player ever to kick a ball. If you don’t believe that, then perhaps it is Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

We have, on Sky, been able to witness the greatness of these players week-in week-out.

Perhaps Sky have chosen not to bid higher and challenge Eleven Sports because Messi and Ronaldo are simply getting older. How much gas is left in the tank, so to speak?

Messi will be 31 this year whilst Ronaldo will be 33, but both players benefit from modern healthcare with the result that they could continue playing in the Spanish league until the mid 2020’s.

Plus, of course, this is LaLiga. The greatest teams will always be here and it seems strange that Sky simply does not care about taking the delights of watching Real Madrid and Barcelona away from English screens. It’s important to note that the league isn’t just about these two historical clubs.

Atletico Madrid have made massive strides in the past few years. They’ve broken the Madrid-Barcelona monopoly in the league, picked up the Europa League and won domestic cups. Not to mention that they are set to finish second this season.

Sevilla knocked out Manchester United in the Champions League and as we speak two Spanish sides in Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could sweep up in Europe.

Should we be surprised by Sky’s move?

In recent years, they have had to give up a portion of English Premier League rights to BT Sport- although Sky still get the prime games. The biggest change has been the loss of Champions League football, again, to BT Sport.

Indeed, Sky do not have the rights to the biggest showpieces in European football bar the Premier League. It seems that the company are putting all of their eggs in one basket. But it is a basket that they must share with rival BT Sport.

The excuses over the coming days from Sky could be that English viewers are tuning out of Spanish football. That has had its heyday and that viewers only tune in to watch El Clásico, which is ironically the fixture to be played this coming weekend.

This reminds me of terrestrial television in the 1990’s when each sport was swallowed up and sold to the highest bidder. Then there was just one bidder, Sky Sports. Now Sky have rival bids coming from left, right and center. Sure, they have other rights like Formula 1 and Golf. Nevertheless, the beautiful game is, and will for the foreseeable future, be the number one sport the world over.

This development feels like Sky are taking a huge gamble.

Perhaps they will be able to retain highlights of LaLiga to show late on weekdays when there’s no more news to show on the Premier League.

From the inside, the latest loss may make financial sense but to the outside and its subscribers it feels like the big fish just got swallowed whole. This could be just the beginning.

Even if you have no love for Tottenham, it’s been hard to overlook just how good the team have been under Argentine coach Mauricio Pochettino over the past couple of seasons.

He has drilled the team into hard work on and off the pitch. Bought some wonderful players. And installed a winning mentality to a team that have had a history of being in the shadow of their neighbors, Arsenal.

And, it’s that last line that resonates, because Tottenham are not in the shadow of the Gunners anymore. Make no mistake, Tottenham have pushed on and will once again finish the season ahead of their eternal rivals. Something, that only two seasons ago, they had not achieved since Arsene Wenger had been coach.

Of course, the one lingering doubt on everyone’s minds is that as good as Tottenham have been they have, trophy wise, nothing to show for it.

A switch this season from White Hart Lane which was being redeveloped to Wembley Stadium on the face of it didn’t help. Nevertheless, after some initial teething problems Tottenham have been superb at their temporary home.

Next season, the club return to White Hart Lane, which will have undergone a huge change and look unrecognizable.

It’ll be different than the old famed stadium that once hosted Barbara Stanwyck. It was a ground that resonated with the cherished memories of Jimmy Greaves’ goals, Danny Blanchflower’s tackling and Glenn Hoddle’s creative passes. Not to forget Paul Gascoigne’s dribbles and the international charisma of Ossie Ardiles amongst many others.

Time equals change

Tottenham enter the 21st century on equal footing as bitter rivals Arsenal did in 2005. When Arsenal made the move they were coming off of perhaps the greatest moments in the clubs history. The double came in 2002 (their third one overall) and the 2003/04 season saw the club go the whole season unbeaten.

The first time this had been done since Preston North End achieved an unbeaten record in 1888.

Then came the Emirates Stadium

The ‘Invincibles’ were soon to be no more. Patrick Vieira was gone, Thierry Henry left soon after for Barcelona. After which, the debts of the stadium started to take their toll. It was clear for everyone to see that this new dawn for the club was actually going to be a long and hard struggle.

In the years that ensued Arsenal reached a Champions League final in 2006 and have won 3 FA Cup’s. For this club, that wasn’t good enough and it’s now been 14 years since they last won the league.

Getting back to Tottenham, they will have their new stadium ready to play this coming season. However, new reports suggest that the cost for the stadium is spiraling higher and higher. So much so that close to a billion dollars at final estimate would not be a major surprise.

Pochettino has already been told that he must sell before he buys next season. This is depressing news for an EPL team that receives hundreds of millions of dollars from revenues and TV money each season.

The similarities from both clubs look very parallel.

Tottenham will go to their new stadium with wonder and hope and with their best key players. But, if their first season ends in disappointment and the club don’t challenge for honors, then, like Arsenal, they could well see their best players start to leave the club for better opportunities.

No one doubts moving to a new stadium or redevelopment, isn’t good. Notably, it has been proven that change and adaptation, not to mention the ever looming bills, does take time. Something that is rarely afforded in the world of football.

Winning the league was a landmark for coach Pep Guardiola who had spent several hundred million on acquiring players over two seasons in charge. A title was needed this season to justify Guardiola’s spending.

Champions of England means you achieved winning the league in a country where it is seen as the most competitive. Nothing can be taken away from City’s fantastic achievement. Yet just a few days before this result, City crashed out of the Champions League in disappointing style to Liverpool.

The Question: Does CL disappointment matter?

Does an elite team who has no limit when it comes to buying players feel bitterly disappointed with their season by Champions League failure? This, despite having just won and been superb in their own domestic league?

Exiting or indeed winning the Champions League always comes hand in hand with the decisive run in the league.

This season City had the exception, in theory. They had the EPL wrapped up just after Christmas. All of their attentions were focused on winning their first ever Champions League. The creme de la creme of club football competition.

Guardiola of course is no stranger to winning the trophy which he has achieved two times both as coach of Barcelona. The last time Guardiola held the trophy was back in 2011.

But City, for example – like Paris St Germain – are all too familiar with coming up short in the Champions League. Rarely do these teams go out with a huge fight. Evidenced in City’s 5-1 aggregate loss to Liverpool at the semi-final stage.

All conquering PSG went out against Real Madrid at the quarter final stage with the aggregate score ending 5-2 to the current European champions.

Since those results PSG had been cruising in Ligue 1 but their performance has evidently wavered. City on the other hand went on to lose the Manchester derby.

These two clubs are accustomed to winning the league

Achieving success that only many of their peers could dream about. So not being able to win the Champions League could feel as if someone has crashed your league title winning party by switching off the music and revealing a huge banner with a reminder that you still failed. Highlighting all of your resources and expectations this season.

At Barcelona the story is the same

However, they’ve tasted Champions League victory on four of the last 13 competitions. While the Catalan giants win league titles year in and year out it is their eternal nemesis Real Madrid that are changing the face of history with back to back Champions League wins.

Including three victories in the last four years, and they are still in the competition set to face Bayern Munich in their mouthwatering semi-final clash.

It comes down to that old adage ‘take with one hand give away with another,’ or maybe, it is in simple terms what Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones once sung “you can’t always get what you want.”

You can tell a lot about a manager’s body language. In the case of Arsene Wenger, he seemed to be beaming inside after his team came back from a goal down to Paris Saint-Germain to draw 1-1 in the opening game of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage on Tuesday night.

It was an important result given that any points claimed away in Europe are gold. Wenger remained bullish in the post-match press conference talking about how he has his strongest and most experienced squad given the club’s average age of 24.

In Paris, the Gunners went behind after 30 seconds and alarm bells would have been ringing, but Arsenal to their credit held their nerve and forced themselves patiently back into the game to claim the draw after Alexis Sanchez’s equalizer.

Arsenal have qualified consistently for the premier European competition since the 2000/01 season, an incredible feat but yet that only counts by how one measures success. The problem for the North Londoners is that in that time they have only appeared in one Champions League final in 2006 and have, of course, never won it.

It is a title that has eluded Wenger and is an obvious gap in his resume. But as the UEFA Champions League enters its 25th season, Arsenal seems to have taken a step backwards.

The Gunners have not qualified for the quarter final stage since 2010 after being knocked out at the round of 16 for the past six seasons. Wenger’s men have failed to impress in the group stages thus finishing in the runners-up spot and then facing one of the better seeded teams and then the inevitable exit.

But in their first Champions League game for this campaign, Arsenal rode a storm and came out with a point to prove, an important point that they will now want to carry on for the remainder of the group stages.

The key for Arsenal is topping their group for the first time since 2009 and this should be able to give the team a deep run in the competition. Questions of course remain about the team’s mental strength — something that Wenger has always vehemently defended. But Oliver Giroud’s sending off after coming on as a substitution bore a familiar face that his players can still be easily wound up.

Not many thought that Arsenal would ever reach a final. They did so and now they need in what could be Wenger’s final season a real push in the competition’s anniversary year to go one step further. And they might just be able to pull it off.

SEE MORE: Schedule of Champions League games on US TV and streaming

Roberto Martinez, the Everton manager, has gone from hero to zero in three years and there is a feeling at Goodison Park that the Spaniard could be sacked at the end of this season.

The situation for Martinez has intensified given that the Toffees have a new majority owner in Farhad Moshiri who purchased 49.9% of the club in February. It’s common knowledge that even after Everton’s miserable season, Martinez’s job would have normally been rock solid.

Just look at Everton’s previous manager David Moyes whose job was never in doubt even though he led the Blues to such forgettable seasons such as in 2003/04 where the club finished just one place above the relegation zone. In the 2005/06 campaign the Toffees were listless for much of the season as they finished in 11th place. But in those two seasons alone, Moyes was in charge of a team that lost 33 games. But his job was never in doubt.

The truth is that Martinez has been a minor success at the club. In his first season, Everton finished in 5th place and achieved a Premier League club record haul of points with 72. But the following season brought only a mid-table finish. Currently the club are in 11th place and, apart from an exciting FA Cup run and striker Romelu Lukaku’s goals, this has been yet another season to forget.

The problem for the fans has been simple – the terrible record at home. By Christmas, Martinez was bemoaning the club’s lack of luck, claiming that the side were playing good football but were not getting the rub of the green.

On reflection, this seemed like a desperate call because the hard facts are that Everton have won just 4 games at home all season. From a possible 51 points, they have won 17. They are averaging a point a game at Goodison. And if home form was based on a league table, they would be in 19th place and going down.

Moshiri’s influence will be huge. He may have been taking advice from long serving club chairman and fan Bill Kenwright, but Moshiri will want to enforce his own vision on the team and it is likely to start with Martinez’s exit.

SEE MORE: Everton’s cup run covering up a multitude of issues under Roberto Martinez

But should Martinez be sacked, who should replace him? Fans took to Martinez right away after he spent time researching the club’s history on his appointment. He understood perfectly the philosophy of the club. Just the same way that his countryman Rafa Benitez did at rivals Liverpool. Even more than early results, this integration secured for Martinez the fans’ trust in him.

Of course, the passion can only take you so far or otherwise we would be having fans as managers. And once the club’s form dipped, so did the fans’ belief in the manager.

The one disadvantage that hangs over Martinez’s stay like a constant black cloud that won’t shift is that he has already presided over a team who were relegated in Wigan Athletic. The mere thought of relegation for Everton fans is something most of them can’t bear thinking about since the club haven’t tasted second tier football in over 60 years.

If Martinez is sacked, there are certainly many candidates who would be lining up. If Moshiri chooses a British manager, there is Garry Monk, who showed lots of promise albeit like Martinez early on at Swansea.

Then there is, of course, David Moyes, but the old saying of never go back has held quite true in soccer. Even in the 1990s, when Everton reappointed Howard Kendall, it all went wrong and they repeated that trick again with the same manager which was akin to adding oil to fire. Nostalgia aside, this rarely works.

Moshiri may be tempted though to bring in a European manager who has had experience possibly in Serie A or La Liga. There was much hype surrounding Rudi Garcia at Roma but some choice results saw the 52 year old sacked at the beginning of the year.

Whilst the likes of Jose Mourinho, who is still searching for a job, are well out of reach for the Blues, his apprentice Andre Villas-Boas could be a shrewd deal for the club. AVB has had much success at Zenit Saint Petersburg since leaving the Premier League, but he has plenty of experience coaching in England and this could work in Everton’s favor.

If Moshiri sees fit to sack Martinez, this could be a turning point for the club and their expectations especially given that they have only had 19 full time managers in 128 years. The club may become more cutthroat, but maybe that is just a sign of the times. The bitter truth is that Martinez is liked for his commitment to the club but at this moment little else.

What goes around comes around, and so it did for Manuel Pellegrini and his Manchester City side all within 72 hours this week.

On Sunday, Manchester City was celebrating their fourth League Cup trophy victory after they had defeated Liverpool in a tense match and went on to win on penalties.

But as luck had it, the two sides were due to meet just three days later and at Anfield a wounded animal in Liverpool licked its wounds and gave City a beating. Okay, 3-0 may not be a thrashing that Liverpool fans were boasting about after the game but it was certainly a solid result after the disappointment of Sunday.

For Manchester City, it probably ended their quest to win a third Premier League title in 5 seasons. And considering the money spent and the players that have been brought in, one can only feel that City’s season at least in the league has been incredibly hollow.

The club have never found the consistency that made them champions as recent as 2014, and the loss to Liverpool meant that Pellegrini’s side have now lost three games in a row.

City are 10 points behind league leaders Leicester City, and whilst it’s true that the club have a game more to play, it would seem on reflection that it will make little difference.

The problem for City is that Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal are between them and the leaders, and it seems unrealistic that all teams will implode to let them back in the title race.

For City, we shouldn’t speak about League titles but we should question instead if they will qualify for next season’s Champions League. Just ten days ago, they held a six point advantage over rivals Manchester United for the fourth and coveted spot. So much was the gap at the time that United coach Louis van Gaal declared that Champions League qualification was all but over.

SEE MORE: Pellegrini unfazed by Manchester City’s slump

And now United rest on the same points (47) as City, and the heat really is on. It seems difficult not to think that City will drop more points before the end of the season. However Pellegrini, who knows his time is up at the end of the season for incoming coach Pep Guardiola, doesn’t have to worry.

His priority in his final weeks is to drive City to an unlikely Champions League title. Whilst that may be beyond them, this is where the fun and the rest of the season realistically lies for the club.

As for Guardiola, he will be hoping that City have enough in the tank to finish top four. Otherwise the Spaniard will be coaching in the Europa League next season for the first time in his career. Oh the irony.

Leicester have bobbled and tried to seize control of the Premier League’s top spot for much of the season but their rivals for the title are still hot on their back. Manchester City and Arsenal are just a win away from disposing them of first place and Tottenham Hotspur are five points adrift.

However after this comes Manchester United who not an immediate threat to Leicester as they are 10 points behind, and this is when Leicester’s campaign gets interesting.

Whilst it would be one of the truly great moments in soccer if Leicester were to claim the Premier League crown, it would still be a great achievement if the Foxes could claim a top four finish and qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

With a ten point safety gap and 45 points to play for, all is not sealed but one could also start to believe that at the very least the club could be playing amongst Europe’s elite next season.

SEE MORE: Schedule of Leicester City’s games on US TV and streaming.

Leicester’s title and Champions League qualification hopes could well come down to how they perform in February. Their schedule of fixtures look very menacing; Liverpool at home this week is followed by trips to Manchester City and Arsenal before rounding up the month with a home game against Norwich City.

There’s 12 points on the line and if Leicester can get at least 7 from that, they will have to be happy. But what if they can get more? It’s interesting to note that from March onwards, the Foxes will only face one other top five side in Manchester United. However their last game of the season, which could end up being all important, is away to the rejuvenated Chelsea.

With the fixtures in hand for Leicester, I have tallied up the points that the club could get and have come up with 25 points from the forty five remaining. That would give the club a total of 72 points. This may just fall short of a league title but 72 points has still been good enough for Champions League qualification from 7 of the last 10 Premier League campaigns.

Leicester dare to dream but it’s getting to the point now where they can wake up and believe that this campaign is going to be unique whatever the next three months has in store for them.

Louis van Gaal’s face said it all after Manchester United succumbed to their 6th loss of the season. The venue Old Trafford and the club Southampton but this felt like the same old song and dance for the Dutchman.

Saturday’s 0-1 loss to Southampton is another damning defeat for the club especially given that they had seemed to turn a corner of sorts. Inspired by Wayne Rooney who had become something of a scapegoat for the media recently, United had won 3 of their last four games and had remained undefeated for almost a month before this loss against the Saints.

This performance as we have seen from United frequently this season lacked tempo, desire and skill; the home team had one significant shot on target, which says everything you need to know about the match. That the winning goal scorer was Charlie Austin, shamefully neglected by other Premier league teams, was that much more rewarding. The prolific marksman was snapped up by the Saints for a bargain £4million and paid some of that back immediately.

Only last week after their morale boosting victory over eternal nemesis Liverpool, van Gaal spoke that the club still had title credentials. But this performance was anything but and mirrored United’s season thus far. Now they stand 10 points adrift of league leaders Leicester City, van Gaal’s claims seem very distant.

The question that must be posed is how long will United’s hierarchy stand for van Gaal in charge of the club? Previous coach David Moyes was infamously given 8 months before he was given his marching orders. Could it be that van Gaal’s past reputation has blinded the United board?

United’s counter argument could be that they intend to replace the Dutchman at the end of the season, and it does seem highly unlikely that he will see out his last season, due to wind up in 2017. But if this was the case then why not give the job on a temporary basis to Ryan Giggs?

Whilst Giggs isn’t going to become a full time coach at the club, the experience would do him good and with a new guy in charge with different ideas it could provide the spark that the club need. The league is out of sight, but Champions League qualification is not.

Currently van Gaal has won just half of his games in charge of the club and his 50% win rate is in fact his worse win percentage record of his career as a coach which has spanned 25 years.

It looks like van Gaal will get his two full seasons in charge when others weren’t even given a season to prove their worth. But can anyone really believe that the club have taken steps forward? It seems on reflection that the club have been standing still ever since Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day four years ago. United need to be re-awoken, who that new coach will be is anyone’s guess but what is certain is that change is needed and the quicker, the better.

Gary Neville has certainly experienced better moments in his career than his start as coach of Valencia. In his coaching debut, Neville is still winless in La Liga after five league games. Valencia’s form has seen them only slip a few places since Neville’s arrival, now down to 11th; however, they are seven points adrift of a European place.

These are worrying times for Neville, who is so used to winning, but his crop of players haven’t felt that in the league since Nov. 7, where they surprised everyone in demolishing Celta Vigo 5-1 away from home. Of course, at that time Neville was busy juggling jobs as a pundit on Sky Sports and overseeing Salford City FC, which he had helped buy along with his former Manchester United teammates.

There have, of course, been bright spots in his managerial career in Spain. A comeback draw against Real Madrid last week spelt the end of Rafa Benitez’s seven-month stint at the club, and the team has won two matches in the Copa del Rey. Indeed, they have set themselves up nicely for the quarterfinals of the competition, as they lead Granada 4-0 going into the second leg.

Before the Real Madrid game, Neville hinted that he could leave the club at the end of the season, although immediately after the 2-2 draw he said that he had been misquoted and would love to stay long-term with the club. The one advantage, despite his poor start, is that Valencia are owned by Peter Lim, who also has a 50% share in Salford City. This could well give Neville more leeway than with another president of the club.

The rest of the month should judged on whether the club can start winning games again. Next Sunday morning, Valencia will take on Rayo Vallecano at the Mestalla, where Neville will be expected to get the team’s first win in over two months. Vallecano are 19th in the league and have won just four games all season; however, Valencia have won just once more. But away from home, Vallecano have lost seven of their nine matches and have conceded 27.

After Rayo, Valencia have fixtures away to Deportivio La Coruna and then at home to Sporting Gijon.

If Neville’s team can’t find wins from those games, perhaps Neville will seriously have to rethink his career in Spain.

With 20 games played in the English Premier League, we are starting to see the real contenders for the title this season. And as the English have a way of putting it, there seems to be a two horse race developing.

Arsenal is in the lead with 42 points and is two points ahead of the surprise package this season, Leicester City. Manchester City is in third place but are just a point behind Leicester. Then there is the rest in the form of Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Crystal Palace and so on.

With all due respect to high flying Leicester, surely the two teams now emerging for a challenge are Arsenal and Manchester City. Arsenal hasn’t won the league since 2004, and if they were to do so it would be some genuine victory for English football. Here is a club led by Arsene Wenger in charge of the club since 1996, who spent just $17 million this summer — which is unheard of for a Premier League team chasing the title. Furthermore the money was spent on one player — goalkeeper Petr Cech.

For Manchester City, it was business as usual in the summer where they totaled up millions of dollars in purchases in the hope of winning the league title for a third time in five seasons. City looks like being Arsenal’s greatest challenge despite their poor away form.

So what has happened to the other heavyweights of the league? The biggest shock has been the meltdown of Chelsea, and it shows no signs of getting better under new coach Guus Hiddink, despite some amicable draws along the way and a win against Crystal Palace on Sunday. Manchester United are still reeling it seems from Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 and remain a shadow of the attacking swashbuckling team under the great Scotsman.

Jurgen Klopp is having an incredibly inconsistent time at Liverpool, and the bad news for the German is that the owners have a tendency to sell their best players. Just ask sacked manager Brendan Rodgers who had to make do without Luis Suarez and then Raheem Sterling before he was given his marching orders.

So Arsenal will be the most content after twenty games. They are top of the pile and will feel that Leicester’s inexperience will catch up with them (The Foxes have slipped up in recent weeks, gaining just 2 points from their past nine). With the failings of so many clubs who have won the league in the past decade, they will see only Manchester City as the obstacle.

For Arsenal they must fully concentrate on the league title up until they meet Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League in six weeks time. Even the FA Cup, which they are chasing for a third straight year, should be dismissed if Wenger feels that he cannot balance the two with the squad that he has.

City must improve away from home. They have won 15 points from a maximum thirty on the road which places them with just the 8th best away record in the league. Perhaps more damning is their recent away form, which includes just one win in the past five.

What looks certain is that as usual in the Premier League, we will be treated to quite a few twists and turns before May and quite certainly a few surprises in between. Stick around for the ride.

It can certainly without doubt be considered a little harsh to judge Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool thus far. After all, the former Borussia Dortmund manager has only been in charge of the club for 15 games. However his time at the club can be called underwhelming thus far.

The question to pose is; Have Liverpool improved under him since the sacking of Brendan Rodgers? The new manager effect when Klopp was appointed was somewhat mute. Klopp started his Liverpool career with three draws against Tottenham Hotspur, Rubin Kazan and Southampton respectively. In one sense, these were hardly terrible results, at least Liverpool were stemming the wounds so to be speak and were not losing.

A 1-0 victory in the Capital One Cup followed over Bournemouth at home but Liverpool under Klopp did not ignite until they traveled to Stamford Bridge on Halloween and beat Chelsea 3-1 after going a goal down. They then beat Rubin Kazan at Anfield but then highlighted the one step forward two steps back theory when they lost at home 2-1 to Crystal Palace. This, in the end mattered little when they travelled to the Etihad and destroyed Manchester City 4-1 with beautiful free flowing football not seen since the days of Luis Suarez et al. The form was there when victories followed over Bordeaux, Swansea City and a 6-1 victory over Southampton. In truth, Klopp had arrived and nobody could complain.

However since scoring six goals at St Mary’s, Liverpool has hit a patch of form that has summarized the club over the last decade. A shock loss to relegation threatened Newcastle United followed; a bore 0-0 score line against Sion in the Europa League hardly helped matters and a 2-2 draw against West Brom which saw Klopp clash with West Brom’s manager Tony Pulis was plain ridiculous. Pulis had done little wrong and Klopp to his credit apologized a week later. But that clash only emphasized that Klopp was feeling the pressure of the job.

Against Watford at Vicarage Road, Liverpool were expected to stop the rot but Watford ran off with a deserved victory, but it wasn’t a lucky one, a 3-0 whitewash saw Liverpool drop 14 points behind league leaders Leicester City and into 9th place.

Statistically Klopp has won just 47% of his games, nowhere near the 55-60% mark he would need to make sure that Liverpool were challenging for the league title and more importantly at this stage a place in the Champions League. From 15 games, Liverpool has had a negative result in 8 of those with 5 draws and 3 losses.

For now and as said above, Klopp can’t be judged. It’s too early for that, but Liverpool supporters could be forgiven for feeling a little anxious at this point. Watford themselves have leapfrogged Liverpool and gone four points clear of them whilst a batch of teams in Crystal Palace, Manchester United and Tottenham will be presenting Liverpool with an incredible challenge to grab that 4th place and converted spot for the Champions League.

The next two months should give us a clear indication of Klopp and Liverpool’s journey this season. However the German who was so successful at Dortmund despite a torrid final season will be given time – next season is assured. He has the press on his side too but in a cutthroat league which has already seen Chelsea’s most successful coach sacked, the press may be asking questions and prodding the fragile manager who has already shown signs of his anger, just ask Mr. Pulis.

The writing seemed firmly on the wall for Barcelona this season. That they would not be challenging for any honors seemed a ludicrous suggestion after the club won the treble last season that included their fifth European Cup.

READ MORE: It’s time for LA Galaxy to bench Steven Gerrard

However, a slow pre-season culminated in their domestic Super Cup hammering to Athletic Bilbao. The season followed quickly with lethargic displays and scrapping past inferior opponents. And when the champions weren’t doing that they were getting a 4-1 lesson from a defeat to Celta Vigo.

If things couldn’t get any worse, Lionel Messi was ruled out for up to eight weeks following his knee injury sustained against Las Palmas. Barcelona at the time couldn’t buy luck.

But since Messi’s injury the club have grouped together and learned how to deal with scoring goals without the Argentine genius. Neymar, who has shone recently, scored four goals against Rayo Vallecano, but it is Luis Suarez who has really come to age at the club in Messi’s absence.

Suarez who was more known for being the man to work off the ball last season, despite scoring 16 goals in the league is scoring more now as a classic center-forward.

From Barcelona’s first eight league games Suarez has found the net seven times and last weekend on his anniversary of his Barcelona debut he obliged with a hat-trick against Eibar.

The Uruguayan has really stepped up and is proving he is one of the best strikers in the world. By season’s end he will want to be known as the best.

It is easy therefore to see the void at the Catalan club had they not signed Suarez from Liverpool. He has earned perhaps 30% of Barcelona’s points this season and will continue to be a danger for the opposition.

Despite their rocky start to the season, Barcelona find themselves level on points with leaders Real Madrid who both share 21 from their first nine games.

Without playing near to their potential we could yet see the very best of Barcelona and if we do and if Suarez keeps up his form, we will most certainly start talking about more trebles once again.

It’s been 20 long years since Paul Rideout scrambled a goal home to win the FA Cup for Everton against Manchester United, and since then the Blues haven’t won another piece of silverware. They have, though, for the past decade been in a very comfortable position, first started by David Moyes and then continued by Roberto Martinez. Indeed, Martinez has embodied the spirit of the club and has integrated himself within the club’s philosophy from day one.

This season, from eight games played, the Toffees have lost just once, against Manchester City, when the 2014 Premier League champions looked unstoppable early in the campaign. Some impressive wins have been recorded, including winning 3-0 away to Southampton and being far the superior side in dispatching Chelsea 3-1 at Goodison Park. The results leave Everton in seventh place on 13 points, just five points adrift of leaders Manchester City.

But when we go back to that word comfortable, we can say that nothing has changed under Martinez, which could be seen as a good thing. Everton are a staple of the league with at least a top-seven place assured under current form. However, fans will be expecting to wipe the ghost of Paul Rideout and a cup victory achieved at the old Wembley. In short, the club won’t win the league this season, but Martinez needs to deliver with a domestic cup victory sooner rather than later.

SEE MORE: Barkley confident, mature and back in the groove for Everton.

Lineup Decisions

When Steven Naismith came off the bench to hit a hat trick against Chelsea, Martinez installed the player as a first choice starter, though it was slightly puzzling why Naismith wasn’t already a regular for the team. It has been refreshing to see Martinez give regular starts recently to youngsters Brendan Galloway and Tyias Browning in defense, even if they are only there due to injuries. Both players are getting a wealth of experience and are backed up well by stalwart Phil Jagielka and the much sought after John Stones. This has meant, though, that new signing Ramiro Funes Mori has been left on the bench for more time than he would have wanted.

The only worrying aspect of Martinez’s lineups so far has been playing just one forward up front, recently evidenced against Liverpool. There the club were held at home to a draw, when in reality their eternal nemesis were there for the taking.

Best Performer

Romelu Lukaku just gets better and better, and even if he leaves Everton without a trophy, he will be remembered as one of the Everton greats. He is quick, decisive and scores goals. He has five goals in the league already and seven overall. Barring injury he is set to get even better, giving Everton the prolific goal-scorer they’ve lacked through the years.

Most Improved Player

Everton have a short list here, but let’s go with Ross Barkley. There hasn’t been a player that has graced the Toffees with such skill in his feet since Wayne Rooney. Every time Barkley gets the ball you can feel the excitement within the fans – he is stardust for the club, and always loves to come forward. His recent excellent displays for England have only highlighted this further. Everton will do well to hold on to him.

Managerial Progress

After Martinez’s explosive first season, it would be tempting to say by his second term the club had gone backwards. But he has been given money this season, and Everton have bought around $25 million (in transfer fees) worth of talent. The team seems hungry for victory, and there is certainly a willingness to do well in the two domestic cups, too.

For Martinez, it has been two steps forward and one step back. Overall, the club seems to be going in the right direction.

Weaknesses

The problem so far for the Toffees has been the amount of games they have drawn. In the short run, a draw can be a decent enough result, but in the long run, too many and you head for a mediocre mid table finish. Everton have drawn half of their games this season and, to add to that, have only won one game at home.

Martinez will have to find that balance of converting draws into wins. Points at home should come more naturally for the club as the season progresses.

Score: 8/10

Everton are in a decent position and are ready to break into the top six. They are doing well in the Capital One Cup, and despite just 12 goals so far, they have conceded just eight – one more than the best record in the league, so far.

All in all, this season has been a minor success for the Blues, and they will be looking to go onwards and upwards from here.

If Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal manager was ever to play a game of Monopoly you would sense he would pass ‘GO’ several times before making that first purchase, and there is no difference in his philosophy for buying players when it comes to the transfer market.

The transfer window has closed and Arsenal was the only club in the major European leagues not to buy a single outfield player.

Wenger complains that there isn’t enough talent around and suggests that he isn’t going to purchase players for the sake of it. This is sound advice, if it were true.

Lyon alone had the pick of two players for the north London club. Could you imagine if Wenger had dipped in and bought Alexandre Lacazette, who was the Ligue 1’s top goalscorer last season with 27 goals? Or perhaps his teammate at the club, Nebil Fekir who scored goals and set them up and only last week made a statement to other clubs sniffing around as the window closed when he scored a glorious 36 minute hat-trick against Caen. Lyon won 4-0 and guess who assisted for the fourth?

Those two players are prime examples and could well have linked up with Oliver Giroud to create a deadly strike force. A force that is clearly needed, given that in their two home games at the Emirates, the Gunners have yet to score.

For defense why didn’t Wenger catch wind of Aymen Abdennour, so brilliant for Monaco last season, a rock in the defense. The French club went almost four months without conceding a league goal, and the Tunisian was a huge part of their surge to third place last season.

Instead Valencia came in for the talented defender and snapped him up for around $30m.

Arsenal has the money and that comes from Wenger and the people inside the club. Only in July, Arsenal director Lord Harris claimed that the club had $300m. Harris told the Daily Mail, “‘we could go into the market and probably buy any player in the world, apart from half a dozen who are unbuyable. In the accounts, there’s over £200million ($300m in dollars) in the bank.”

Two weeks ago in a press conference, Wenger talked about the funds being there but that they were not close. This is when alarm bells should have been ringing for fans of the club. How could it be that a club like Arsenal, a regular Champions League participant was not close to signing an outfield player after the window had been open for seven weeks prior?

Wenger was absolutely right though to make an example of Manchester United’s purchase of Anthony Martial from Monaco. With add-ons United could well pay Monaco upwards of $100m for a player that United captain Wayne Rooney admitted he had never heard of.

However, at least United did something, they may have gambled but they can afford it, much like Arsenal can too.

It seems that the loyal season ticket holders have been, to put it politely, fooled once again into getting their seats secured early for another season. And for what? A new goalkeeper, Petr Cech who was surplus to requirements at Premier League rivals and champions Chelsea.

The January transfer window looks doomed too for fans hoping that Wenger will dig deep. Historically, Wenger has argued that the better plays are not available at this time, and also if Arsenal are still in the Champions League, a transfer target may be cup tied.

Next season fans may have to ‘double-cech’ if they still want to renew their season tickets, and despite the madness of Arsenal and Wenger’s policy, it seems that they will.

“Nothing has changed from last season,” Milan coach Sinisia Mihajlovic said after his side picked up their first win of the season at home to Empoli. “We showed too much fear.”

If this statement is coming from the coach, just imagine how supporters feel.

After seeing their rivals Juventus pick up four Serie A titles in a row, it seemed only a matter of time before the Rossonieri responded. Enter Thai millionaire Bee Taechaubol, who bought a 48% stake in the club this summer, allowing Milan to spend nearly $100 million on players in the transfer window.

SEE MORE: Italy’s richest have a new way of screwing over the rest of Serie A.

Preseason for Milan was a mixed bag, leaving victories over eternal rivals Inter  welcomed, but a feeble and unreliable Milan was exposed at the Audi Cup tournament in Germany. There they failed to score whilst shipping five goals respectively to Bayern Munich and Tottenham Hotspur.

What did give the club an early boost was winning the TIM Cup — Milan beat Inter and then Sassuolo on penalties — but it was hard to judge the new team Mihajlovic was shaping after inheriting the squad from Fillipo Inzaghi.

Despite the hype surrounding the team, Milan’s first game away to Fiorentina was a one-sided, 2-0 loss. To stoke the fires, Rodrigo Ely was sent off early on for the Milanese team. Victory came over Empoli followed, with the international break giving us a chance to reflect on the positives and negatives for Milan thus far.

BEST STARTING XI:

Diego Lopez, Mattia De Sciglio, Rodrigo Ely, Alessio Romagnoli, Luca Antonelli, Giacomo Bonaventura, Juraj Kucka, Andrea Bertolacci, Keisuke Honda, Luiz Adriano and Carlos Bacca.

BEST PERFORMER:

Very early to give a definitive answer, but Shakhtar Donetsk import Luiz Adriano has started the season well, scoring a goal and assisting on another. He looks like he could be a great foil for Carlos Bacca up front as the season goes on.

MOST IMPROVED PLAYER:

He’s going to keep getting better and better, but already it’s easy to see why Milan paid Roma $28 million for defender Alessio Romagnoli. He is being tipped to take over the Italian defensive mantel from the likes of Paolo Maldini, Franco Baresi and Fabio Cannavaro.

INJURY NEWS:

The biggest concern is forward Jeremy Menez’s recurring back injury, which has kept him out of the team as the campaign has started. This is a reason that Mario Balotelli was brought back in on loan from Liverpool.

SEE MORE: Balotelli points the finger at Rodgers for his England flop.

BUSINESS IN TRANSFER WINDOW:

This has been one of Milan’s most productive summers in some time. In came Carlos Bacca from Sevilla, Luiz Adriano, Andrea Bertolacci from Roma and Alessio Romagnoli. Midfielder Simeone Verdi was bought from Torino, while Juraj Kucka was snapped up from Genoa. And, of course, Balotelli’s return has the media back in a frenzy after his return.

MANAGERIAL PROGRESS:

Sinsia Mihajlovic is well known in Serie A after having plyed his trade as a player and as a manager, but he has never been a Rossonieri. The Serbian believes in psychology to being key for victories. Mihajlovic has a lot to say, but it remains to be seen, at this early stage of the season, if the players will listen.

WEAKNESSES:

On paper Milan went into this season with the talent to challenge in Serie A, but a fear factor remains with the club. They don’t look confident, especially in midfield. The defense will need time to settle, but Milan need a player to step up and be that playmaker that can assist in 20 goals a season. If they face an opponent that can dominate midfield, then Milan will see little of the ball.

Angel Di Maria’s grin, which was as wide as the Grand Canyon, said it all on Sunday evening where his team Paris St. Germain stormed to a 3-0 win over Monaco in the Principality.

PSG have looked irresistible over the last three years, but this season they looked to have gone up another gear. Tricky games and frustrating draws away from home no longer will stop the French champions in their tracks. Europe should be afraid, very afraid.

The team from the French capital is playing wonderful football, boosted by confidence and more importantly a hunger to succeed. It would be easy for a team backed by millions of euros and star studded egos to take their foot off the pedal after winning three Ligue 1 titles in a row, but under manager Laurent Blanc, the team wants to win everything that is put in front of them.

Last season, PSG won the domestic treble, though they faced a league challenge last season first from Marseille then Lyon and then a rejuvenated Monaco. This season, PSG want to stamp their authority on the league. They want to go the whole season undefeated. They want to win the league by April and they want to play to win in every game. There is a clear defining difference that the sleeping giant has awoken.

And all of this and their star player, the glowing 6ft 5 inch Zlatan Ibrahimovic, hasn’t even scored a goal yet. But he contributes and he waits in the wings, and once the Swede gets going, the sky really is the limit for the Parisians.

SEE MORE: Preview of Ligue 1 2015/16 season.

Going into the match with Monaco, PSG had a 100% record in the league. After 3 matches. they had scored 4 goals and not conceded. After the game with Monaco, that record had changed to scored 7 and conceded none, all of this against one of the meanest home defenses in Europe.

PSG had strangled the game, consumed it, chewed their opposition and then swallowed them whole in an utterly professional away match, where away supporters are rarely seen in Ligue 1 games.

They have also opened up a 7 point gap between themselves and Monaco, who at this point are destined to never claim the title for their selves.

With Zlatan not finding the net of late, it has been left to a whole array of players to get the goals. Midfielder Blaise Matuldi has got a couple, but Saturday night belonged to Edinson Cavani. The Uruguayan scored two and Ezquiel Lavezzi wrapped up the game with a third goal, seven minutes from the end.

Blanc will be ‘très heureux’ (very happy) with this display against a genuine title rival. His club had 19 shots to Monaco’s three. His club had 65% of the possession compared to 35% to Monaco and his club got the most important stat, three goals to zero.

SEE MORE: Champions League draw: Chelsea, Manchester United find fortune; Arsenal, City draw giants.

PSG can win every trophy that is presented to them in this form and that includes the one that has eluded them, the UEFA Champions League.

Last season in Europe, they showed maturity in finding a way to beat and knock out Chelsea, a club who had knocked them out the season before. They fell inevitably to Barcelona in the next round, but unlike, for example, Manchester City, PSG seem to learn from their mistakes. They are getting closer to the biggest prize in club football. Who would bet against them going all the way and becoming the first French side since Marseille in 1993, that remain the only French club to have won the European Cup/Champions League?

Time will tell and, of course, in soccer you are only as good as your last game, but if the hunger and ambition remains, there are no limits for PSG to create history and bring French football to the fore of Europe once again.

Manchester City may well become Premier League champions for a third time this season, and they are playing great football on their quest to do so. But it is, of course, coming at a cost.

The club is currently pushing through a deal with Wolfsburg to sign Kevin De Bruyne. Sources say the proposed transfer will go through for around $75 million. If it does, City will have spent over $200 million in transfer fees this summer.

SEE MORE: Wolfsburg chief hints that Kevin de Bruyne move to Manchester City hinges on bigger offer.

The Belgian is expected to receive a salary of (wait for it) $387,000 a week. What has De Bruyne done to justify such a wage? A Chelsea reject. He went to Wolfsburg for $27 million and, in two seasons, won the DFB Pokal Cup … and that’s it. How did his transfer fee rise another $50 million? Has the world gone literally mad?

How can any team compete with that? And is City simply buying their way to a league title?

Whilst it’s true that the norm now to go and win the league is to spend at least $100 million, City has simply upped the ante. It all leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Let’s look at what that $200 million will have brought the club. First up was Liverpool’s Raheem Sterling, a player that electrified the Reds when he partnered Luis Suarez. However Sterling had a very normal nine months last season. True, he has pace, but he also loses possession far too easily.

SEE MORE: Latest summer transfer window deals.

Sterling, in signing for City, became the seventh most expensive player in soccer history, and he has yet to win a trophy.

Fabian Delph came in for $13 million, which seems a snip from Aston Villa. However Delph better get used to warming the bench. It would be a surprise with the gallery of players on show if he gets much playing time.

Nicolas Otamendi from Valencia does look like a great deal. The talented defender who likes to come forward and was so important for the Spanish side was snapped up for around $54 million.

Manuel Pellegrini, the Manchester City manager, will be rubbing his hands with glee at the prospect of the club having such a war chest to plow on players. Here is a manager that, according to most media, is on a stay of execution. It was heavily favored that the Chilean would be sacked in the summer, but it never happened, partly because no one else was around to take his place.

SEE MORE: ESPN FC to deliver expansive Transfer Deadline Day coverage on Tuesday.

So far City is the only team in the Premier League with a 100 percent record, and they have yet to concede a goal.

City might win the league in style but they cannot escape the fact that they have spent close to a quarter of a billion dollars doing it. How can that sit comfortably with anyone, least with their own fans?

If you were asked who was the most improved European team of the season, you may have to think a little before admitting  the season is too young for such a question. However, in the English Premier League, we’re already 3 games in and have completed the first round of one of the domestic cups, and one team has come to the fore – Leicester City.

The Foxes are playing their second successive season in the top tier after finishing 14th last season, just six points from a relegation place.

In the summer changes were made, the most important was the coach. Outspoken Nigel Pearson, who had guided the club to Premier League status, was sacked, and Claudio Ranieri was brought in.

SEE MORE: Claudio Ranieri says Riyad Mahrez is ‘not for sale’ at any price.

Ranieri of course will be familiar with EPL fans for his time with Chelsea over a decade ago. The Italian comes with a wealth of experience, having coached Roma, Juventus, Napoli, Monaco and a whole host of clubs. Indeed, in a 29-year coaching career, Ranieri has overseen 14 different teams and came to Leicester after his time coaching the Greece national team.

Trophy-wise, Ranieri has a poor return, and if you discount winning the French Ligue 2 with Monaco, he hasn’t won any silverware in a decade. Even then his trophy cabinet is sparse, with mostly domestic cup wins. He has never won a league in a top tier.

However, we need to rewind a little and remember why Leicester has the popular Italian. Leicester is not going to win the league anytime soon. But Ranieri is there to oversee that the club make positive strides for European qualification. A cup run and or win also wouldn’t go amiss.

Because of his connections, the club has already brought in genuine quality. Eyebrows were raised when they captured Gokhan Inler, so impressive for Napoli over the last few seasons, for just $4 million. Sure, Inler is 31, but the role he plays in midfield means that the club can get a good four seasons out of him, at least.

Leicester went the whole of preseason unbeaten, but it has been their impressive start to the Premier League campaign that has seen them in the deserved spotlight.

From their opening three games, they have seven points and currently find themselves in second place, two points behind Manchester City.

SEE MORE: Claudio Ranieri believes he started rotation policy trend.

So far they have beaten Sunderland, 4-2, West Ham, 2-1 and drew against Tottenham, 1-1, to remain undefeated. The Foxes followed this up with a 4-1 demolishing of Bury this week in the League Cup.

Leicester are riding high, and the club and Ranieri deserve early praise. Ultimately the fixtures will pile up and provide more testing for the Foxes, but for now they look like they are in a great place. And who would bet against them getting another three points this weekend away to newly promoted Bournemouth?

‘Il grido di battaglia’ is the official anthem of Parma, who are now known as Parma Calcio 1913. The anthem translates as ‘the battle cry,’ which is apt for a club that were declared bankrupt in April. Not only will they play in Serie D, they have also lost use of their ground, the Stadio Ennio Tardino, for the first time in 91 years and are selling off their UEFA club trophies to raise funds.

The Italians are in debt to the tune of $223 million and an Italian judge ruled the club could be sold for as little as $25 million, but no takers have come in thus far.

For soccer historians and long standing fans, it will feel as if history is repeating. Parma has gone through administration and insolvency on two different occasions in their history.

The first was back in 1968 when the club went into liquidation and was playing in the bottom league. It took a decade just to get back to Serie B.

Bad luck turned a screw again in April 2004 when Parmalat the club’s main sponsors who featured on their shirts for many seasons went through a financial meltdown. The club were duly declared insolvent and remained in administration until 2007.

SEE MORE: Parma’s road to ruin and how the once proud Italian club were sold for $1

Lately Parma has been accused from UEFA of not paying income tax on football player’s salaries and this led to a ban on playing in the Europa League, which they had qualified for. Last season, they played in Serie A without a UEFA license — something that is virtually unheard of. They were docked points and relegated as a consequence.

The Yellow and Blues have certainly had their fair share of financial hardship, but in 2015 they hit rock bottom. Their winning replica trophies from the following wins have been put up for sale: Coppa Italia’s from 1992, 1999 and 2002, The Cup Winners’ Cup from 1993, The European Super Cup from 1994, The UEFA Cup from 1995, 1999 and the Italian Super Cup also from 1999.

UEFA rules clearly state that a trophy cannot be taken out of the country and that they don’t encourage clubs to have the power to sell their trophies. It is quite possible that UEFA may look to bar the club from selling their silverware.

SEE MORE: The malaise of Parma FC is a saddening Italian soccer story.

When you look at the success of Parma in the 1990s, considering what the club went through to get there, it is quite remarkable. But that was spearheaded solely by Parmalat who in the process could bring in some of the biggest names in European soccer.

The likes of Gianfranco Zola, Fabio Cannavaro, Faustino Asprilla, Gianluigi Buffon and Hernan Crespo who all played major roles in making Parma one of Italy’s most successful and respected teams of the 1990s have long gone. Their likes won’t be around the corner anytime soon either.

These are desperately sad times for such a famous club and yet history says that somehow and somewhere they will bounce back. Just don’t expect it anytime soon.

When AC Milan’s season gets underway on Sunday evening away to Fiorentina they will start a Serie A campaign for the first time in four years thinking that they have the squad to win the league.

Times have been hard and let’s face it tiresome for the fans of the red and black. Since winning a third Champions League title in 2007, which was their seventh European Cup overall, the club have fallen from grace. True their 2011 league triumph was a healthy speed bump but along the way they have seen their old foes Inter Milan pick up league titles and a Champions League themselves.

Milan have also lost their best players in the likes of Kaka and Andrea Pirlo, but it was their replacements that left a lot to be desired. Milan had turned into a team that reflected the city – fashionable haircuts and tattoos. 

For anyone growing up in the late 80s and early 1990s, the past eight years have been something of a shock, watching a Milan team looking tired and spent. 

Robinho was supposed to be the player that would add stardust to the team, but as skillful as he was Robinho was never cut out for professional soccer at the highest level. Alongside Denilson these two would have been the kings of the Copacabana and revered in legendary status had they never made it into the game.

Stephen El Shaarawy the forward remained an enigma. On his day his first touch was sublime and he scored 21 league goals over four seasons. Not a great record by any means but one has to have some sympathy given that he joined at 18 years old. He was loaned out to Monaco for the forthcoming season.

Michael Essien so brilliant for Chelsea for many years was brought in on a free but he was past his best by a few seasons and this only raised more question marks about where the once great Milan were heading.

Since winning the league the purse has been tightened to in recent years, usually Milan would spend around 15m Euros a season, fatal for a top European club. But it seems after watching Juventus win four Serie A titles in a row and seeing the Old Lady reach a Champions League final, Milan have finally opened their wallet.

Though of course it’s not that simple. So enter 39-year-old Thai businessman Bee Taecaubol who bought a 48% stake in the club, amounting to around £200m. Even though the paperwork and background checks are still ongoing, Milan has suddenly brought in 84m euros worth of talent.

In has come Luiz Adriano for 8m euros, who scored nine for Shakhtar Donestk in the Champions League group stages last season. But the big purchases are Carlos Bacca from Sevilla and arguably the most talented young defender in Europe, Alessio Romagmoli from Roma – the pair cost a 55m euros combined.

The structure of the club has changed too, with Fillipo Inzaghi shown the exit door at the end of last season. 

Serbian Sinisa Mihajlovic has been brought in as first team coach, who was a highly decorated player but also a very controversial one. Mihajlovic is known for being extremely hard and a disciplinarian. 

With these new players and investments Milan can have a genuine go at challenging and winning back the Serie A title. This summer has also been about authority for Milan and stamping their name on the European transfer market once again some average seasons. 

The one drawback for the club is ironically the coach. Can a fearful manner have any positive outcome on a group of millionaire footballers? Also Mihajlovic’s record as a coach is poor. With Fiorentina his winning percentage was 34% and with Sampdoria who Mihajlovic left to join Milan he managed just 38%.

But the argument of course has to be that Mihajlovic has never coached with so much talent around him and if money is still available to him this will be new territory for the Serbian. 

Last season the Rossonieri finished in 10th position, a whopping 35 points behind Juventus but expect that gap to be bridged drastically this time around. 

When Real Madrid President, calls a meeting about transfers heads usually turn as to who will be shown the back door next at the Bernabeu in exchange for a large check. 

Perez, who first became Real’s President in 2000, is of course infamous for creating the so called ‘Galactico’s’, buying a star player every season. But a few years into his presidency he let Claude Makelele leave the club without hesitation. For him Makelele wasn’t a galactic – how could he be in a midfield that included Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo?

However, what Perez failed to notice is that when aforementioned players were turning on the style it was Makelele who was keeping the engine ignited. Makelele was sold to Chelsea and Real Madrid won nothing for four seasons.

Perez quit and the club won back-to-back leagues under Vincente Cauldron’s presidency. Perez was soon back on board and continued to buy up the very best talent. But he has become more cautious in who gets sold now.

Alvaro Morata was one player who when sold to Juventus did raise eyebrows given that he was a Real Madrid player through the youth system and a promising prospect, then there is the messy exit of club legend Iker Casillas just this year.

Perez is doing everything to keep influential defender Sergio Ramos at the club who wants to join Manchester United. In Perez’s first term this situation would have been sorted in a flick of a pen and Ramos would now be wearing the red shirt of the English club.

When Perez sold Mesut Ozil and then Angel Di Maria to Arsenal and Manchester United respectively there was shock that he was breaking up a great team yet again. Xabi Alonso then a Madrid player voiced his shock at Ozil’s departure and Ramos himself was in disbelief that Di Maria had been sold.

But have either player made an impact with their new clubs and have Real honestly missed them?

Ozil has won two FA Cups with Arsenal, but at a transfer fee of £40m, a club record for the Gunners – a league challenge was expected so were a few more goals – Ozil has just 12 goals in all competitions.

But Di Maria is perhaps Juan Veron Mark II at United. He was supposed to be the bankable Ferrari for new coach Louis van Gaal but ended up nothing more than scrap metal and will surely be forgotten for his time with the club. 

It’s not as if Di Maria had a horrific season with the Red Devils, he just made no impact for a player that cost £60m. Perhaps the writing was on the wall when in his debut game against Burnley he was substituted for Anderson.

However, for six weeks starting in September, Di Maria was in fine form but then picked up an injury and after returning was unable to recapture any moments of magic. His star had faded nine months into a five-year contract.

It came as no surprise when just a season later he was sold to French champions PSG, at a loss to United of around £15m.

Perhaps Di Maria will be able to find the magic in his boots with his new club, the English media seem to think so with the idea that the French league will be a step down for the Premier League.

As for Ozil and Arsenal they are complimenting each other, domestic cup wins are reflective of a player who looks brilliant one week but not the next and no consistency means no title.

Perez made £100m from the sales of two players, who one suspects wouldn’t have changed the circumstances for Real Madrid had they stayed with the club.

Another final and another defeat for Lionel Messi spelt a somewhat anti-climax to his season, which has been extraordinary. When Alexis Sanchez scored the most audacious penalty kick to confirm Chile as the Copa America winners, Messi was left to rue another final with Argentina where he has been on the losing side.

Almost a year to the day Messi cut a lone figure in Brazil where Argentina had been beaten by Germany in the World Cup final. Seven years prior it was the same story when again Argentina were runners up in the Copa Amercia. However, at that point in Messi’s career he had just turned 20 and had many tournaments to put that stat right.

But in losing this match the question marks will remain over Messi’s international career. The great man has only shown in small bursts what he does for Barcelona week in and week out. Fans will still be divided as to his greatness though, and comparisons with fellow countryman Diego Maradona will rage on. Maradona was able to lift his nation, infamously winning the World Cup in 1986 and returning for another final where they narrowly lost to the Germans in 1990.

It’s not just the fact though that Messi isn’t winning with Argentina, critics can also point that Messi isn’t the same player. Last Saturday night the greatest player on the planet for whatever reason was not able to create a solidarity magic moment against Chile. A moment that would have settled the match.

Messi by and large had a very average tournament, scoring just one goal in the group games, although his play was generally unselfish and he did set up another three goals.

At the World Cup last year it was much of the same from him. Cutting a frustrated figure, it would be easy to think that Messi doesn’t enjoy the game when watching him play for La Albiceleste.

But perhaps the answer is simple and Messi is simply exhausted. He played 57 games for Barcelona last season and of course won everything there was to win with the club. He put in dazzling performances and formed an incredible partnership alongside Neymar and Luis Suarez.

But being jaded simply won’t cut with fans and historians and Messi’s time is running out on the international stage.

Luckily for Messi he doesn’t have to wait another four years for the Copa America to roll around. Next year marks the 100th anniversary of the tournament, which means a special edition of the competition will be played.

So Messi has at a guess two more Copa America’s and two World Cups to put his record straight with Argentina. But the question remains will Messi ever be able to reproduce his devastating form for club on a consistent basis with his national team? We could know the answer as soon as next summer.

So Guus Hiddink has resigned as the Netherlands coach and it should come as little shock to anyone. The former Real Madrid and Chelsea manager endured a torrid time in charge of his home nation since taking the job in July 2014.

In his first match back in the hot seat he saw his side lose 2-0 to Italy in a friendly, but it is the Netherlands devastatingly poor form in the Euro 2016 qualifiers which would ultimately force Hiddink’s hand.

Losing matches to the Czech Republic and Iceland and a draw against Turkey has left the Dutch in third place in their group.

From 10 games in charge of the Netherlands, Hiddink has lost five and had just a 40% win rate; his lowest since coaching South Korea 13 years ago.

Despite a poor win rate with South Korea, that is the coaching job he will always be fondly remembered for after guiding the Koreans to a shock four place finish at the 2002 World Cup.

At 68, one wonders what the future holds for Hiddink, who has had an incredible career in management. Kicking off in spectacular style with PSV Eindhoven, he had only been there for a year when he guided them to the European Cup in 1988. Since then he has coached eight different clubs and five different nations.

It is noticeable, however, that Hiddink’s trophy cabinet had dried up some time ago. He hasn’t won any silverware since Chelsea’s 2009 FA Cup win. Outside of his home country he has only won two trophies – the aforementioned cup win with Chelsea and the Intercontinental Cup with Real Madrid as far back as 1998.

There’s no doubt, though, that if Hiddink does retire he will still be missed from soccer. His decision to leave the Dutch ahead of the Euro’s and with still another year to go should be applauded. Simply put, it wasn’t working this time around. Assistant coach Danny Blind is expected to assume the role.

It’s always a curious debate as to who the best striker in the world is right now and who has been over the past decade? Below is a list of the best strikers of the past 10 years. To get this list I have looked at games played compared to goals scored and also what the individual player has achieved and won in this time.

Just to make things clear this list does not contain Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. We know without doing any research that these two players would fill the top two spots and that they have scored an incredible amount of goals in the last decade. What these two have done has been extraordinary. However, they are not classic center forwards, they are attacking midfielders, who can change the game in a second. True, Messi has sometimes been pushed further up the field, but his most comfortable position has been drifting in from the wing and playing just behind the striker.

The same can be said of Ronaldo, especially at his days with Manchester United where he was a winger.

So let’s proceed with the list.

10. Mario Mandzukic

Mandzukic’s career kicked off in Croatia and he started to find goals early with his second club Dinamo Zagreb. A move to Wolfsburg yielded 20 goals in 56 league appearances and then he got his big move to Bayern Munich.

In two seasons he won eight trophies, including the Champions League and the Bundesliga and scored 48 goals in 88 appearances. He then made a big summer move in 2014 to Spanish champions Atletico Madrid.

9. Radamel Falcao

Although the Colombian is struggling to regain a place at Manchester United, Falcao has easily been one of the best center forwards in the past decade.

He started his career at River Plate and has played for Porto, Atletico Madrid and Monaco, winning many titles which included two Europa League titles.

He will forever be remembered in the 2010/11 season where he scored 18 goals in 16 appearances in Europe. For Porto and Atletico Madrid he played 178 times scoring 142 goals.

8. Carlos Tevez

Unless you’re a West Ham United fan, Tevez probably won’t be remembered too fondly in England.

The Argentinian played for both Manchester United and Manchester City before cutting his ties with both and joining Italians Juventus.

In the last decade he has played 299 times and scored 143 goals and won the Champions League and league championships with both Manchester clubs and Juventus. At Juventus he has scored 46 goals in 84 appearances and has reinvented himself.

7. Fernando Torres

It’s easy to look at Torres especially after his £50m move to Chelsea from Liverpool and wonder what he is doing in a top 10 list, especially when he failed so miserably at Chelsea.

However, at both Atletico Madrid and Liverpool, Torres was a goalscoring machine. His debut season at Liverpool where he scored 33 goals in 46 matches is one of the best ever by a foreign player. He went on to score 65 goals in 102 league matches for them.

Honors wise Torres has won almost everything. A World Cup, two European Championships, the Champions League and the FA Cup.

6. Wayne Rooney

Apart from his early move from boyhood club Everton, Rooney has been a constant in the Manchester United side for over a decade. And what a player he has been.

He has won 12 trophies with United, including five league titles and a Champions League. Rooney has scored 158 goals in 303 league appearances in the last decade.

He is also on course to break the England national record of 49 goals, being just three goals short.

5. Thomas Muller

The young German has taken the mantle from the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann and Oliver Bierhoff before him and is one of the most intelligent strikers in world football.

He has scored 136 goals in 262 league appearances in the past decade and his goals have usually been the important ones.

He’s a Bayern Munich player through and through and has won 11 trophies, including three doubles and a Champions League at just 25 years old. We shouldn’t forget he is a World Cup winner too.

4. Luis Suarez

Often controversial but supremely gifted, Suarez is a goal machine and has proven in his first season at Barcelona that he has another part to his game, able to hold up play and let in other players.

Suarez scored many goals for Ajax, but it was in the Premier League where Suarez made a name for himself with Liverpool. In four seasons he netted 82 goals in 133 matches.

He certainly needs to fill up that trophy cabinet, but who can bet against him correcting that at Barcelona? Though he did win the Copa America in 2011 with Uruguay and jointly shared the European Golden shoe for the most goals with Cristiano Ronaldo in 2014.

3. David Villa

Simply an outstanding player, perhaps overshadowed by the greatness of Messi at Barcelona, but when Villa scored the heavens would applaud. His goals were usually a thing of beauty.

At Valencia he scored 128 goals in 217 appearances but it was his last two seasons where he scored 58 goals in 85 games that convinced Barcelona to buy him.

At Barcelona he scored 48 goals in 116 appearances, including a peach of a goal in the 2011 Champions League final.

Villa has won it all, including the Champions League, league titles with Barca and Atletico Madrid, three Copa del Rey’s and for the national team a World Cup and a European Championship.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

If Ibrahimovic plays for you then you usually win the league. The deadly Swede has won 11 league titles, though two of these were revoked when at Juventus, following the Calciopoli scandal.

Ibrahimovic likes to score goals though and in the last decade he has banged in 195 goals in 300 games. He has scored consistently for the likes of Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan and PSG.

The towering striker helped PSG win their first title in 19 years and has scored an incredible 99 goals in 121 games for them.

1. Samuel Eto’o

The Cameroonian striker was offloaded by Real Madrid at one point but has proved to be the best striker of the past 10 years.

Scoring 153 league goals in 261 games for a range of some of the biggest clubs on the European stage.

Eto’o was part of perhaps the greatest Barcelona side the 2008/09 team, who won six out of six trophies, scoring 30 goals that season in the league from 36 games.

After winning the Champions League with Barcelona he joined Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan and in stunning form went on to win the Champions League again the following year.

Soccer often throws up surprises and one at the weekend in the Bundesliga was no exception. Tongues will wag and an inquest will be opened after Bayern Munich were left shell shocked after losing 2-0 at home to Borussia Mochengladbach.

It was only Bayern’s second defeat of the season, and Arjen Robben’s return was soured by yet another injury after tearing a stomach muscle and is set to miss at least two weeks.

So in asking why Bayern lost we could connect manager Pep Guardiola’s midweek trip to see his old club Barcelona. Guardiola was there sat next to his father to watch Barcelona’s sizzling 1-0 victory over Manchester City.

It was Guardiola’s first return to the stadium to watch a fixture in three years, so instead of taking up a VIP seat, he used his season ticket and sat with fans.

Guardiola simply could not hide his emotions, moving in his chair, smiling and looking stunned with excitement when Lionel Messi on more than one occasion nutmegged the opposition. It was a special show and Guardiola enjoyed every minute.

On the surface there seems little wrong with an ex-manager watching his former club, a team he also played for and perhaps picking up notes about them – if Bayern are due to face them later this season.

However, Guardiola clearly wasn’t at the Nou Camp for this reason or if he was that was soon vanquished when Messi and his team put on an impressive display in front of a sold out home crowd.

For 90 minutes he ceased to be the manager of Bayern Munich and became a fan of Barcelona. And if you weren’t a Bayern fan it was simply heartwarming to see.

Considering his association with the club this seems normal, apart from the fact that he was cheering on a club that are in the same competition as his own.

Had this been a quick trip over to Spain to watch a league match or perhaps a cup match there could be no complaints. But here was Guardiola showing his true emotions for a club that before the quarter-finals draw was made he could have been playing in three weeks time.

Three days later, Bayern hosted Moechengladbach a game they were expected to breeze through and lost to a team that could have been backed at 16/1 to win.

Bayern of course will recover from this. Title rivals Wolfsburg could only draw at the weekend meaning that the champions have a 10-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga.

At least for Bayern’s hierarchy, Guardiola will not be able to repeat the same feat for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Bayern, who play FC Porto, will be playing on the same night as Barcelona.

Less than 48 hours after Arsenal crashed out of the Champions League to Monaco manager Arsene Wenger spoke out.

Instead of saying how well Monaco had played at the Emirates in the first leg, a match the French team won 3-1, Wenger was more adamant to divert the situation.

He pointed out to the fact that Arsenal had lost on the away goals rule, something that also haunted them as recently as 2012.

In that campaign, Arsenal had exited to Bayern Munich after losing the home leg 3-1, but surprising most with a 2-0 victory in Germany.

The exact same score line had repeated against Monaco, where Arsenal looked impressive in a 2-0 victory, meaning the match had finished 3-3. However of course Arsenal was out of the competition as Monaco had netted three goals in London.

Suddenly Wenger sees the away goals rule as a joke, and wants it disbanded.

The away goals rule goes back to the early 1960’s and was introduced so the away team would approach games in an attacking style, and thus us the viewer would get more excitement from those encounters.

However, it’s also true to point out that the away goal rule was also introduced as a means of merit of scoring on away turf. Stats will tell you again and again that the majority of socceer teams have a poorer record away from home than at home.

Wenger of course has a very decent argument for the away goals rule to be abolished. But it’s his timing which seems critically fatal. He has come across as a man spewing sour grapes.

Would Wenger have mentioned the away goal rule had Arsenal got a third goal, and thus have qualified at the expense of Monaco?

Wenger’s outburst was ill timed and if he cannot appreciate that the opposition just had that little bit more in the tank over two legs, then he is looking at his own club’s performances with blind hope.

Notwithstanding the fact of course that Arsenal at times were superb in scoring two goals against a team who arguably have one of the best defenses in Europe. But Wenger needs to move on.

This stubbornness and the power of Arsenal will no doubt bring up the away goal rule to UEFA’s attentions, but Wenger needs to regroup his side and wonder why they keep on losing first legs at home.

When Arsenal failed yet again to qualify first from their group, they thought they had got lucky drawing Monaco. However in this case it wouldn’t have mattered if they had qualified top of the group. As Borussia Dortmund who pipped the Gunners in the group learned from their 5-1 hammering over two matches to Juventus.

Other teams seem to be learning from their mistakes- and progressing. Juventus being one example, PSG another. However, Arsenal has not threatened to win the Champions League since 2009, when they reached the semi finals only to be thwarted by Manchester United.

Wenger needs to forget that his side went out on the away goals rule. It was a rule in place before the competition started. One wonders though if Wenger can forget, and instead will the away goals loss fester in his mind just like Bayern and just like Valencia from over a decade ago?

The question then is this, is Wenger subconsciously holding a club he dearly loves back?

The answer is emphatically though rather sadly, yes.

Andre-Pierre Gignac is steaming down on goal. The Marseille hitman who, when his side travelled to Monaco earlier this season, had already reached double figures in his goalscoring tally, sees the Monaco goal gaping in his sights but he has just has one problem — defender Aymen Abdennour.

Abdennour is following almost harassing and cornering Gignac for the ball. The Tunisian-born defender standing at 6ft 2 proudly wears the No. 5 shirt of AS Monaco and is working overtime to keep a clean sheet and stopping what would be a fatal pass into the heart of the area. Once that ball is played Abdennour will know a one on one with the goalkeeper will most likely result in a goal. He ushers Gignac instead onto a one on one against him, the timing is key.

He is waiting for a loose touch, the touch that signifies that the player is ready to make up his mind and at that point Abdennour gets into a position to show Gignac away from goal and ultimately block the pass. Abdennour knows if he gets this right then there is no way that Gignac can play the ball around him or through him. Abdennour will use his pace and experience and another chance will have been diverted.

Abdennour has been the heart beat of Monaco, a club who arguably has produced the best defensive displays in Europe this season but it wasn’t always like that.

Monaco had started the season with fans protesting at the gates and threatening to boycott the games and return their season tickets. The reason had been the so called lack of ambition after the sale of James Rodriguez to Real Madrid. But then Radamel Falcao was loaned out to Manchester United for the season and it was easy to see the fans frustrations – because up front stood the lone figure of Dimitar Berbatov who had surely seen his best days years ago.

To make matters worse Monaco, last season’s runners up got off to a poor start in Ligue 1. Losing at home to Lorient 2-1 and then being thrashed away to Bordeaux 4-1.

The Champions League was different where in an admittedly fragile group the team started to chalk up wins and clean sheets. They finished the group stages conceding just one goal and winning the group. However, domestically the team was struggling in mid-table. There could be little doubt that their high profile departures in the summer had hurt the club.

With pressure on coach Leonardo Jardim to deliver, the club with no real quality up front instead concentrated on defense. This all came to ahead after another poor display had seen the team fall to Rennes 2-0. And then it all changed.

After the Rennes defeat, Monaco went 770 minutes without conceding a goal in the league. To date they have 14 clean sheets from 28 games and have conceded just two goals in the league since November 29th, 2014.

This attitude towards defense has reaped dividends and Monaco have reached fourth place, just three points behind Marseille and a Champions League place for next season.

Abdennour has seen a few changes in his teammates in the back line. But he has been the one constant player at center-back. At 25, he has just signed a one-year contract extension that ties him to the club until 2019. Though, it would be no surprise to see him play for the likes of Barcelona or Bayern Munich in a season or two.

This week Monaco has the chance to knock out Arsenal, after they pulled off a shock 3-1 win in London in the first leg of the Champions League. If they can complete their task, and with this defense, could we realistically say Monaco are dark horses for the competition themselves?

Not many people would connect Hearts from the Scottish Premier League and Qatar the hosts of the 2022 World Cup, but Dave Mackay who passed away this week at the age of 80 would be that connection. He started his career for the Edinburgh team and ended his football career life as national coach of Qatar some 42 years later. Whilst Mackay may not be recognizable to a younger soccer generation there is an infamous photo of him that even passing fans would likely have seen.

We usually come across one or two unique football photos each decade. The 1970’s gave us the moment Bobby Moore shared a precious moment with Pele after Brazil had knocked out the then world champions England. The 80’s had Vinnie Jones having a squeeze on Tottenham maverick Paul Gascoigne’s privates. Whilst the 1990’s had a bird’s eye view of Roberto Baggio kneeling in anguish after his penalty miss for Italy in the World Cup final meant that Brazil had won the World Cup for a record fourth time.

In the 1960’s that moment belonged to Tottenham Hotspur’s Dave Mackay, who can be seen grabbing Leeds United’s Billy Bremner by the scruff of the collar. Just the way Mackay has approached his opposition player cries for the times this photo was taken in. A decade later and it may have been a punch, a decade after that and it could well have been a head butt. Mackay loathed the picture because it represented in his opinion that he was a bully. But the picture became infamous in the annuals of football history. Sir Alex Ferguson had it framed and hung it up in his office at Old Trafford for 26 years.

Mackay had that rare distinction of being a serial club legend. First at Hearts where he played 135 games then at Tottenham Hotspur where he played 318 games in nine years. Despite being 34 and having experienced two broken legs, he managed short stints with Derby County and Swindon Town respectively.

But the man from Scotland will always be remembered for that infamous 1961 season with Tottenham, when the north Londoners became the first team of the 20th century to win the League and FA Cup double.

The late George Best once called Mackay the toughest player he had ever played against. Phil Holder, who would be best remembered for his time at Crystal Palace in the 70’s, was a trainee at Tottenham when Mackay’s Tottenham days were winding down. He once recalled being stunned by walking into the gym and seeing Mackay volleying the ball from 20 yards against the wall repeatedly without hesitation and changing from his left to right foot at random.

But perhaps, and most fittingly, the last word on Mackey should go to his teammate Jimmy Greaves, who said that Mackay was the greatest player ever to play for Tottenham.

Dave Mackay born November 14th, 1934, died March 3rd , 2015

East London was treated to some South American flair Wednesday night as Argentina took on Croatia at West Ham’s Upton Park. The World Cup runners-up came back from a goal down to see off a solid Croatian side who had left out the likes of Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric and Darijo Srna, to name a few.

Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, the Argentina manager, opted to play his strongest eleven. Captain Lionel Messi took center stage, and the crowd — largely West Ham devotees, of course  — ooh-ed and ahh-ed at his every move.

Croatia started the more confident, producing a few saves from the Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero, and it was fair to say that if the Argentine back four had not had sufficient time to warm up, Croatia were giving them a lesson. But in having such a positive attitude, the inexperienced team were also leaving gaps. Thus, we were treated to end-to-end action in the opening ten minutes.

Ever Banega was instrumental in Argentina’s first real threat on goal -one on one with the keeper but referee Andre Marriner was quick to blow his whistle for offside. But then in the 11th minute, a well-worked move saw Croatia take the lead through Anas Sharbini’s rousing shot, and the small pocket of Croatian fans, unfortunately at the other end of the stadium, let out a huge cheer as much of Upton Park fell silent.

Martino had opted much like his time as coach of Barcelona to start Messi off on the right wing, out of the action in the middle he so craves. But the little man still worked hard to create the best chances for his team in the first half. The captain dribbled, swiveled and deceived a Croatian midfield, setting up numerous chances for Sergio Aguero. However, Aguero was guilty of squandering some of those. Though credit had to be given to Lovre Kalinic, the Croatian goalkeeper, who jumped high and dived to his left hand goal to save a shot from the Manchester City forward that had the equalizer written all over it.

Angel Di Maria was another key figure and worked well with Messi. They Ping-ponged the ball to each other with ease, with one chance having Messi running in on goal only to be challenged in the penalty box. He looked at Marriner and threw his arms up, but none of his teammates were appealing, and Marriner quite rightly waved the play on.

It was obvious that the match was devoid of charm and yet with so much talent on the field, it was hard to take your eyes off the action. But Croatia went in at half time in the lead.

Argentina, as expected, came out with all guns blazing, and leveled four minutes into the second half with a steering shot by defender Cristian Ansaldi, though the ball had taken a heavy deflection off Aguero’s arm on its way to goal.

At 1-1, the South Americans found an extra gear and assaulted the Croatian goal with wave after wave of attack. It seemed inevitable that they would get the next goal, and 8 minutes after coming from behind, they were awarded a penalty after a foul on Aguero. Messi, of course, stepped up to take it, perhaps with memories of his last penalty, a miss against Brazil. But he slotted home to the left of Kalinic and Argentina went ahead. By this time, cheers were ringing out in the famous stadium, but that was nothing compared to what would happen next when Carlos Tevez, introduced as a West Ham legend, took to the pitch, replacing the active Aguero just past the hour mark.

With Tevez on, Messi switched to a more familiar attacking midfield role and he supplied the Juventus hit man with some wonderful passes. And the former West Ham man made some darting runs and came close on a few occasions – the crowd almost willing him on to add a third goal. But it wasn’t to be.

To their credit, Croatia pressed for an equalizer up until the very end but the crowd got what they wanted — a Messi show, a Messi goal, Tevez and Mascherano back at Upton Park and, most importantly of course, an Argentina victory.

Argentina 2 (Ansaldi 49, Messi 57 [pen])

Croatia 1 (Sharbini 11)

Argentina: Romero, Vergini, Ansaldi, Zabaleta, Mascherano, Perez, Fazio, Di Maria, Banega, Messi, Aguero

Subs: Tevez for Aguero, Pererya for Banega, Lamela for Di Maria, Silva for Ansaldi

Croatia: Kalinic, Vrsalijko, Leskovic, Jedvaj, Badelj, Cop, Milic, Antolic, Kovacic, Leovac, Sharbini

Subs: Jajalo for Sharbini, Tomecak for Milic, Halilovic for Kovacic, Mitrovic for Leskovic, Rog for Cop, Vargic for Kalinic

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