By the end of Arsene Wenger's long tenure, Arsenal's defence was a debris field. The attack remained potent but the Gunners were perpetually exposed at the back. Unai Emery failed to solve the problem. Now, it's left to Mikel…

AC Milan are in a colossal mess. After a brilliant campaign with Sampdoria, Marco Giampaolo replaced Gennaro Gattuso to begin the season. Life at San Siro wasn't so well lit and he was sacked in short order. Stefano Pioli took over…

Do you remember the diner scene in Rain Man? A box of matches falls on the floor. Looking at the jumbled mess, Charlie Babbit [Dustin Hoffman] says, “82, 82, 82.” His brother Raymond [Tom Cruise] claims there are a lot more than…

Clubs struggle to make moves in the transfer market. Just ask Arsenal and Manchester United. Then you see Juventus acquiring their targets swiftly, almost effortlessly. The Old Lady’s latest addition is Dejan Kulusevski. Atalanta sold…

It’s that time of the year when Cristiano Ronaldo kicks things up a notch. After an uneasy start to the Maurizio Sarri era, CR7 is back to his best, regaining the elite reputation for which Juventus paid a club-record fee. With eight…

Olivier Giroud was never really considered the most popular striker in London during his eight-year spell in the English capital. The Frenchman somehow managed to stay away from controversy and fanfare for nearly a decade plying his trade in…

Genoa might appoint the Devil if it meant Serie A survival this season. Ten defeats in their first 18 league matches sucked them into the relegation whirlpool. Consequently, Thiago Motta is down the drain and Davide Nicola takes over. One former…

James Milner, who went off in the tenth minute, was the closest thing to a member of Jurgen Klopp’s preferred XI to start the FA Cup Third Round Merseyside Derby at Anfield on Sunday. Everton still lost to Liverpool’s youngsters.…

Barring an epic collapse even by their standards, Liverpool will finally lift the Premier League trophy this year. In large part, the Reds' recent success is due to shrewd transfer policy, moulding lesser-known talents into…

Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino's inability to convince Christian Eriksen to commit his long-term future to Tottenham is testament to how much the midfielder wants to leave. If two of the world's top managers can't draw a…

On the eleventh day of football, UEFA gave to me Eleven keepers keeping Ten lads-a-leaping, Nine ladies playing, Eight managers managing, Seven sides-a-sinking, Six games amazing, Five Golden Goals! Four calls blown, Three French clubs, Two…

On the eighth day of football, UEFA gave to me Eight managers managing, Seven sides-a-sinking, Six games amazing, Five Golden Goals! Four calls blown, Three French clubs, Two title races and  Liverpool and Man City Welcome to this year's…

On the seventh day of football, UEFA gave to me Seven sides-a-sinking, Six games amazing, Five Golden Goals! Four calls blown, Three French clubs, Two title races and  Liverpool and Man City Welcome to this year's edition of the 12…

For the last decade, Rome has been recognised for one predominant football entity - AS Roma. The thinking was unquestioned as the Giallorossi maintained podium finishes and peaked during their Champions League semi-final run last year.…

Gennaro Gattuso's Napoli reign got off to the worst possible start against Parma on Saturday. Gli Azzurri was down after just three minutes in Naples. Although they rallied back to restore parity, the resilient visitors struck the…