Author: Frank G. Barnes

Purveyor of footy since the 90s. Favor the Premier League and old school Serie A with a touch of Bundesliga. More than a touch. Professional writer for 20 years, covering every sport but now focused on the Premier League and world football. You won't be able to guess my favorite team.
We don’t talk enough about how great Petr Cech was for Chelsea
Analysis

We don’t talk enough about how great Petr Cech was for Chelsea

Growing up, I swore Petr Cech was the best goalkeeper in the world. I think at that time, most people were on the Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon trains. And for good reason. They were the faces of the two most prestigious clubs in the world, at least at that time, in Real Madrid and Juventus, and they were also the faces of the Spanish and Italian national teams. Call it a flavor of bias, but I was in love with those old Czech teams with Pavel Nedved and Tomas Rosicky in midfield, Jan Koller and Milan Baros up top, and then Cech in goal. It was unfortunate, too, that the Czechs were basically chronic underperformers and Cech had a couple of bad blunders in a national team kit, but as someone who prided themselves on watching every single game instead of falling for narratives, I alw...
Portugal have finally found the right balance with Cristiano Ronaldo under Jorge Jesus
Analysis

Portugal have finally found the right balance with Cristiano Ronaldo under Jorge Jesus

Cristiano Ronaldo almost seems bigger than Portugal to the detriment of both himself and the team. He becomes the magnet for criticism, pinpointed as THE problem, seemingly absolving the others of accountability, whenever Portugal lose, but he also becomes disproportionately the conversation to the point where he looms over everyone else no matter what happens. Portugal have to prepare for life after Cristiano at some point, even as it is abundantly clear that, at 41 and in the Saudi Pro League, he is still the best option they have at striker despite, you know, never really being an out and out striker in his career. But as Goncalo Ramos continues to flop for club and country in terms of taking that next step towards being a top striker, Ronaldo becomes harder and harder to leave on th...
Which club should Antonio Conte manage next?
Analysis

Which club should Antonio Conte manage next?

Antonio Conte is one of the most volatile but entertaining managers in world football. He is the heartthrob clubs know will ultimately turn on them and hurt them, but for those chasing that one fleeting season of glory - or, more foolishly, thinking they can change his ways - Conte is the Siren's Song of managers. He's undoubtedly one of the best managers in the world, and although he blew things up in smoke at Napoli, pretty much everyone expected that. I mean, Aurelio De Laurentiis is so difficult to work with that even Carlo Ancelotti said he couldn't deal with him anymore and escaped to Everton, of all places. As far as Conte goes, his reputation is actually even higher than it was before, because I still don't know how he turned Scott McTominay into a Serie A MVP and Napoli into Sc...
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2021/22 season for Manchester United deserved so much better
Analysis

Cristiano Ronaldo’s 2021/22 season for Manchester United deserved so much better

In my estimation, one of the saddest stories in world football during the 2020s was Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United. I think for a lot of people who didn't watch Ronaldo's time at Man United when it actually happened, they don't understand how special his rise was. Everyone knew from the moment he stepped foot at Old Trafford that he could be something unique, but it wasn't easy for him at first because he wanted to play so freely and so differently than what people were used to seeing in English football. It honestly rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, including some of his teammates. But it wasn't only Sir Alex Ferguson who took Ronaldo in and backed him to the fullest, believing in his talent. As a collective, the Manchester United fan base rallied around him in a w...
Obviously, Raphinha isn’t the best player in world football
Analysis

Obviously, Raphinha isn’t the best player in world football

Raphinha is honestly one of the best stories in world football when you really think about it. Guy gets plucked out of obscurity, becomes a hero for a team most people don't care about in the Premier League in Leeds United, gets courted by Arsenal and Chelsea to make the next step up, and then somehow ends up at one of the biggest clubs ever in Barcelona at a time when they desperately need to win the league in order to avoid going insolvent in the future because they mortgaged their future debt and TV revenue. And Raphinha ended up repaying Barcelona's gamble on a winger who could barely get 10 goals and 10 assists in a season for Leeds. He didn't get 10 goals or even 10 assists in his first season with Barcelona, but he won the league immediately, combining with Robert Lewandowski to ...
Juventus are becoming ‘Football Heritage’
Analysis

Juventus are becoming ‘Football Heritage’

It might honestly be one of the most used quotes in modern football, but Jose Mourinho's rant about how Manchester United consistently being bad since Sir Alex Ferguson left was "Football Heritage" might be one of the most important rants in the history of the Special One and maybe even in the modern game. And here's a link to watch it and football's greatest showman (apologies to Mario Balotelli, but this man is the OG) go at it. And yes, I will shamelessly use any excuse to link this, but, well, it's also the inspiration of this article. Because it really sets an example for how we should think about clubs, even storied ones, falling below their standard year after year. A lot of us who follow football and are active online don't have as much of a Rolodex (and have we ever seen a l...
Morgan Rogers just confirmed he is what Chelsea were missing
Analysis

Morgan Rogers just confirmed he is what Chelsea were missing

Chelsea defeated Fulham 3-2 in Xabi Alonso's managerial debut, and, as many Blues fans were hoping and even expecting, new Aston Villa signing Morgan Rogers played a crucial role in the victory. He was arguably the standout player on the pitch across from Cole Palmer, and these two are fitting each other like gloves, with Rogers the perfect creative counterweight to Palmer on the left side. Rogers can finish off the chances that Palmer and Joao Pedro produce, and he was scintillating with a goal and five key passes to lead the team, while also progressing the ball well and even taking the Fulham defense on with successful one on one dribbles. Since breaking out in the 2024/25 season, Rogers has been one of the best forward and hybrid attacking midfield wingers in the Premier Leagu...
2026/27 Premier League Power Rankings after Tottenham, Man United, and Aston Villa implode
Rankings

2026/27 Premier League Power Rankings after Tottenham, Man United, and Aston Villa implode

Here are the first Premier League power rankings of the 2026/27 Premier League season after Tottenham Hotspur's shock defeat to Brentford, Chelsea's huge win over Fulham, and Manchester United getting embarrassed by newly promoted Hull. 20. Coventry 19. Nottingham Forest 18. Crystal Palace Coventry looked completely overmatched on Friday night, and while that was nothing less than expected against reigning champions Arsenal, it was still pretty jarring to see. Nottingham Forest have quite a bit of talent, but they did not look up for it, while Crystal Palace, on the other hand, may have lost too much talent to be able to truly compete in the Premier League this season. 17. Sunderland 16. Ipswich 15. Hull 14. Leeds 13. Aston Villa 12. Tottenham Hotspur 11. Manchester United I...
4 stars, 3 flops from Chelsea’s 3-2 opening win over Fulham
Analysis

4 stars, 3 flops from Chelsea’s 3-2 opening win over Fulham

Chelsea defeated rivals Fulham 3-2 in Xabi Alonso's managerial debut against his former Real Madrid teammate and coaching successor Alvaro Arbeloa. Here are the biggest stars and flops from the match. Star: Cole Palmer If Chelsea are to return to the Champions League, then they are going to need Cole Palmer to be back at his best level. Well, he was on Matchday 1, absolutely cooking the Fulham midfield and defense with three key passes, eight combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn, and a goal and an assist to win it. Oh, and Alonso got some solid defensive work rate out of him. Flop: Malo Gusto Malo Gusto at right back and Reece James in the midfield does not work, because James is ten times the right back Gusto is and any midfielder is going to be better than James. The former Ly...
Kai Havertz on a mission to prove Arsenal fans right about what the rest of the Premier League doubts
Analysis

Kai Havertz on a mission to prove Arsenal fans right about what the rest of the Premier League doubts

Kai Havertz isn't the most popular player around the Premier League, and even though Arsenal themselves spent a ton of money to replace him with a more traditional No. 9 in Viktor Gyokeres last summer transfer window and have designs on making an even bigger splash before the window closes this year in La Liga superstar Julian Alvarez, the German international is still valued highly. And Havertz did have a strong Friday night 2026/27 Premier League season debut against Coventry, toasting up the newly promoted side with a goal. Arsenal fans have viewed Havertz as a loyal servant and a key player, and a lot of them astutely point out that when you look at the raw production, he is playing the best ball of his career in North London. While Havertz was something of a phenom in the Bundes...