Kevin Parvizi, Author at The Trivela Effect

28Dec

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Analysis

2024/25 Premier League Midseason Awards

With the Premier League back in action after the Christmas break and 2025 right around the corner, every team in the English top flight has played at least 17 matches and the true first half of the season (19 games played) is almost complete. So now is as good of a time as any to take stock of the 2024/25 season thus far and hand out some Premier League midseason awards to individuals around the league. No surprise to see that Liverpool dominate the pack! Best Manager There is no question that Arne Slot deserves the honor as the best manager of the Premier League so far this season. He stepped into a difficult situation as the new man in charge of the club after Jurgen Klopp resigned, as Klopp is a club legend who rebuilt the Reds from perennial underperformance back into a European gian...

5 stars who never should have joined Real Madrid

4Dec

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Analysis

5 stars who never should have joined Real Madrid

There has been heavy criticism of new Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappe since his dream move to the Santiago Bernabeu, and although some have tried to label the move as a mistake already, the reality is that Mbappe hasn't been as poor as the media perception would have you think. Yes, he's had some awful performances, including against Barcelona and Liverpool in the Champions League, and it would be fair to assert that if he were not such a big superstar, he wouldn't even be starting for Real Madrid over other players. But Mbappe has been far from the only player underperforming at Real Madrid this season, and even at his worst, he is still one of the better forwards in LaLiga with 8 goals in 13 games and an impressive 2.7 dribbles completed per game. So while Mbappe has been a di...

The ideal Manchester City starting XI for the 2025/26 season to return to dominance

3Dec

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Analysis

The ideal Manchester City starting XI for the 2025/26 season to return to dominance

After 13 Premier League Matchdays in the 2024/25 season, Manchester City aren't just 11 points behind league leaders Liverpool after losing to the Reds convincingly on Sunday, 2-0. No, the Citizens are also now at risk of missing out on the Champions League, as they are fifth, behind Brighton on goal difference (+5 vs. +3). Rodri's season-ending injury looms large, but his absence alone - nor any other injuries - can excuse just how lackluster Man City have looked in recent weeks. A 2-0 loss to Liverpool compounds several poor performances suffered by the Citizens, who are winless since eeking out a 1-0 victory over Southampton on Oct. 26. They couldn't even take down Sporting CP and Feyenoord in the Champions League. Already, the atmosphere around Manchester City has turned to "r...

Ranking the 10 best players of the 2024/25 Premier League season after 13 Matchdays

2Dec

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Analysis

Ranking the 10 best players of the 2024/25 Premier League season after 13 Matchdays

From superstar forwards Bukayo Saka of Arsenal and Son Heung-min of Tottenham to defensive stalwarts like Chelsea's Moises Caicedo and Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, let's take a look at the ten best players of the 2024/25 Premier League season so far after 13 Matchdays...and rank them in order. 10. Chelsea ST Nicolas Jackson At first, I was tempted to go with a player shining for a less successful team like Jarrod Bowen at West Ham, Facundo Buonanotte with Leicester City (on loan from Brighton), or even Everton's underrated Dwight McNeil. However, it was too hard to ignore the eight goals Nicolas Jackson has scored for Chelsea this season, combined with the sort of quality all-around play that he has brought since joining the London-based giants, even when he wasn't scoring goals quite...

Ranking the 10 best U21 players in the 2024/25 Champions League season

28Nov

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Analysis

Ranking the 10 best U21 players in the 2024/25 Champions League season

From Aston Villa's Jhon Duran to Manchester City's new winger Savinho, a couple of Premier League stars made the cut of the list of the best U21 players in the Champions League. A couple of rising stars in the Bundesliga from Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund joined them, but nobody has more great young talent to watch in European football's premier competition than PSG and Barcelona. It wasn't easy to rank all the players, and there were a number of standouts, such as Endrick and Arda Guler, who haven't gotten enough chances to merit a spot in the top 10. But here is a ranking of the 10 best U21 players in the Champions League here in the new-look 2024/25 campaign, with the list based on a mix of overall ability and success in the current season. 10. Aston Villa ST Jhon Duran Jh...

5 possible defensive midfield transfer targets for Manchester City in 2025

11Oct

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Analysis

5 possible defensive midfield transfer targets for Manchester City in 2025

Manchester City have the world's best defensive midfielder in Rodri, who is one of the top Ballon d'Or candidates for 2024 after a sensational 2023/24 campaign at the base of the Citizens' midifeld. Alongside him, Man City have three great players capable of manning the second spot in a double-pivot - John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, and Mateo Kovacic. However, Man City have been left thin at the position due to injuries to these players, with Rodri's looming largest. Furthermore, Man City don't have a young player in the center midfield positions. With Kovacic linked to Saudi Arabia and Gundogan likely on his last legs at the elite level, the 2025 transfer windows could be the right time for Man City to strike with a move for an elite 6. Here are five options for Manchester City to c...

The 5 most underrated Wolverhampton players of the last decade

11Oct

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Analysis

The 5 most underrated Wolverhampton players of the last decade

Here are the five most underrated Wolverhampton Wanderers players from 2010 to 2019. LW Matthew Jarvis Matthew Jarvis' peak for Wolves was around the tail end of the 2000s and the start of the 2010s, and he was a darn good player for Wolverhampton. Jarvis scored 4 goals with 6 assists in the 2010/11 season and then 8 goals with 4 assists a season later. He was the one saving grace for Wolves, and it says something that he played that well in 2011/12. only for Wolves to finish dead last in the Premiership anyway. And without him, they would have definitely been relegated a season earlier than that anyway. Jarvis was unplayable at times when he was in his peak, though that peak sadly only lasted for a few seasons. His trickery and skill ranked among the best wingers in England, with ...

5 better center back transfer targets for Bayern Munich than Jonathan Tah

10Oct

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Analysis

5 better center back transfer targets for Bayern Munich than Jonathan Tah

If you've had even a passing interest in the German Bundesliga over the last 10 years, then chances are that you are quite familiar with Bayer Leverkusen center back Jonathan Tah. Honestly, if anything, it's a surprise that Tah hasn't joined Bayern Munich by now, because he is one of the most recognizable central defenders in the country - and one of the best ball-playing defenders, which is an attribute Bayern tend to seek in center backs. The thing is, Bayern were smart for holding off on signing Tah, because his growth stagnated from the time he first emerged on the scene as one of the top young German center backs to watch. Tah has never been an above-average starter for the German national team, and at Leverkusen, he was quickly outshined by Edmond Tapsoba in defense, then fu...

8Oct

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Analysis

The 5 most disappointing Manchester United players in 2024

Which Manchester United players have been letting the Red Devils down the most over the past year? CM Mason Mount Manchester United spent 55 million pounds in the summer 2023 transfer window in order to sign Mason Mount from Chelsea, and the former 2020/21 Champions League winner has looked nothing like the top Premier League attacking midfielder he was a few years ago. If anything, signing Mount didn't make much sense in the first place, because Manchester United already had an even more statistically prolific No. 10 in Portuguese playmaker Bruno Fernandes, who was never going to yield his starting job anyway. And then behind him, Manchester United have one of the top prospects in the Premier League, Alejandro Garnacho, meaning Mount was destined - or doomed, depending on your per...

Ranking the 5 best Manchester United goalkeepers in history

8Oct

By Kevin ParviziNo Comments

Analysis

Ranking the 5 best Manchester United goalkeepers in history

5. Alex Stepney Alex Stepney was Manchester United's starting goalkeeper from 1966 to 1978 after a brief spell at Chelsea, and he ended up playing over 400 games in the English top flight for the Red Devils. Although Stepney's name doesn't come up as often when discussing the great Manchester United goalkeepers, he won the league, FA Cup, and European Cup with the club, producing an acclaimed save in that European Cup Final at Wembley against Benfica. The save game from short-range to stop a scorcher from Benfica striker Eusebio, who is widely regarded as one of the best players in world football history. In fact, Stepney's save was so remarkable that Eusebio himself applauded the Manchester United goalkeeper. Stepney recalled, "I saw it on telly afterwards and what had happened ...