Tag: Manchester United

Ranking Every Premier League Big Six Club by How Convincing They Have Been This Season
8Nov By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Ranking Every Premier League Big Six Club by How Convincing They Have Been This Season

The Premier League table tells one story. The performances behind it tell another. Ten matches into the 2026/27 campaign, the traditional Big Six have offered wildly different reasons for optimism, concern and outright frustration. Some have established themselves as genuine contenders through tactical discipline and defensive excellence, while others are struggling to translate ambitious tactical ideas into consistent results. Manchester United are enduring a nightmare, Tottenham are struggling to find goals, and Chelsea's attacking ambition continues to come with considerable defensive compromises. Further up the table, Liverpool are showing signs of improvement, Manchester City remain frightening going forward, and Arsenal have established themselves as the most complete side in t...
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10 Premier League Players Who Had Better Peaks Than You Remember
8Nov By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
All-Time Lists

10 Premier League Players Who Had Better Peaks Than You Remember

There is a funny thing about football nostalgia: sometimes, the further removed we become from a player's best years, the more difficult it becomes to remember just how good they actually were. A disappointing transfer, an unfortunate injury, a lack of silverware or simply playing alongside a bigger superstar can completely reshape how we remember a footballer's career. Suddenly, a player who once terrorized Premier League defenses becomes little more than a name on an old team sheet. That is particularly true of several players from the Premier League's 2000s and 2010s. Think about Luis Nani, whose best Manchester United performances were considerably more productive than his reputation suggests. Or Leighton Baines, who was arguably the most influential creative force at Everton ...
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Ranking The Top 9 One-Club Men of The Premier League Era
8Nov By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
All-Time Lists

Ranking The Top 9 One-Club Men of The Premier League Era

There was a time when becoming a club legend meant something slightly different. It wasn't just about winning trophies, scoring memorable goals or producing a handful of spectacular seasons. It was about staying. Through managerial changes, disappointing campaigns, title races, relegation battles and the arrival of increasingly expensive teammates, some footballers simply refused to imagine themselves wearing another shirt. Modern football doesn't make that sort of loyalty particularly easy. The transfer market is bigger than ever, financial incentives are enormous and even established superstars can find themselves looking for a new challenge after a couple of difficult seasons. Yet the Premier League has produced a remarkable collection of footballers who made an entire career out of re...
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Ranking the top 10 one-season wonders in Premier League history
7Nov By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
All-Time Lists

Ranking the top 10 one-season wonders in Premier League history

The Premier League has seen its fair share of extraordinary footballers, but not every remarkable season is the beginning of something special. Sometimes, a player catches lightning in a bottle, enjoys a spectacular run of form and briefly looks like one of the best footballers in the country. Then, just as quickly, the magic disappears. There have been prolific strikers who couldn't stop scoring, young prospects who looked destined for superstardom and unexpected signings who made their clubs look like geniuses. Some were undone by injuries, others by transfers, and a few simply couldn't sustain the form that made them household names. From Michu's unforgettable Swansea campaign to Kevin Phillips' remarkable Golden Shoe-winning season, these are the 10 biggest one-season wonders in ...
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Bruno Fernandes is costing Manchester United in a familiar way
13Oct By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Bruno Fernandes is costing Manchester United in a familiar way

Manchester United attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes has 3 goals and 2.5 key passes per game this season, but while those numbers look impressive, the reigning Premier League Player of the Season has rightfully been criticized by fans for his poor performances. The Red Devils are in the bottom half of the league table, and Fernandes is a big part of that. He is posting big numbers but hogging the ball at the expense of his team with a lot of negative plays that are making others look worse. And per WhoScored data, no outfield player in the Premier League has lost possession more so far this season than Bruno at 106. While possessions lost are not the worst thing for a playmaker if they are making big plays while taking these risks, Bruno only has one assist, most of his key passes ...
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Michael Carrick unconvincingly said what Manchester United fans wanted to hear about Bruno Fernandes
13Oct By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Michael Carrick unconvincingly said what Manchester United fans wanted to hear about Bruno Fernandes

Manchester United star attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes may be the reigning Premier League Player of the Season, but astute fans of the club are tired of him racking up stats at the expense of the team and don't want to see him as totally untouchable. Fernandes is in bad form despite solid key pass and goal numbers, and Man United fans watched the media grill Michael Carrick on the subject of Bruno while the Red Devils toil in the bottom half of the table. But while Carrick admitted that Bruno is not undroppable, he frustratingly did not make that clear and caged the language a bit by stating that nobody is undroppable in the team: "This is not on Bruno, this line, but nobody is guaranteed a place in the team. Don't take that as me talking on Bruno, just in general. There'...
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Kobbie Mainoo told Clarence Seedorf exactly what Manchester United fans wanted to hear
13Oct By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Kobbie Mainoo told Clarence Seedorf exactly what Manchester United fans wanted to hear

Kobbie Mainoo is one of the most talented young midfielders in the world and the future of Manchester United, and he is finally coming into his own again under Michael Carrick in 2026/27, just as Man United fans had hoped. The young England international recently sat down with AC Milan legend Clarence Seedorf, who asked him what he can improve on. And Mainoo gave the exact answer United fans wanted to hear: Mainoo wants to be more creative and decisive. He said to Seedorf on Amazon Prime Video Sport, "I want to get better at the killer pass. The pass that leads to a goal, creating opportunities for my teammates and stuff, and being around it. "Now, I'm known as a connector, get the ball and move the ball and stuff. "I definitely want to decide games more with my passing, whether with...
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Gary Neville told the brutal truth about Youri Tielemans at Manchester United
11Oct By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Gary Neville told the brutal truth about Youri Tielemans at Manchester United

Youri Tielemans was one of the best midfielders in the Premier League for years at Aston Villa and Leicester City, but club legend Gary Neville is not impressed with the way he and Kobbie Mainoo fit together as the pairing at the base of the Manchester United midfield. Neville said of the duo after United's 1-1 draw with Tottenham,"Tielemans and Mainoo, I think we've seen enough now. I don't want to draw a definitive line, as that would probably be too radical, but I've seen enough to think that this midfield [the two of them together] isn't dynamic enough for the Premier League. Both are good players individually, but sometimes it just doesn't work together." Mainoo is having a career start to the 2026/27 season under Michael Carrick and is one of the leaders in passin...
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Senne Lammens keeps the Carlos Baleba hype train going
11Oct By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Senne Lammens keeps the Carlos Baleba hype train going

Manchester United were not able to close the deal against a 10 man Tottenham Hotspur, drawing 1-1, but they were able to get a positive in the form of seeing blockbuster signing Carlos Baleba on the pitch. And his teammates are hyped about him, too, with young star goalkeeper Senne Lammens raving to the press after the game about what the new No. 8 can bring to Old Trafford. Lammens said, “I think everyone saw the qualities he has—the qualities he can bring us. “Not only him, but I think also Josh [Zirkzee]. He played a pivotal role in the second half to help us get control of the game. One of the positive things about today, I'm very happy for them and hopefully in the future they can also help us a lot”. Baleba was a top class Premier League player for Brighton, and while he is ...
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Gary Neville finally told the bitter truth about Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint at Manchester United
9Oct By Frank G. BarnesNo Comments
Analysis

Gary Neville finally told the bitter truth about Cristiano Ronaldo’s second stint at Manchester United

Manchester United legend Cristiano Ronaldo was the best player in the world in his first stint at the club and made sure the Red Devils stayed on top, but his second stint as a veteran who had already conquered football was a disaster. Although Cris was amazing in the 2021/22 season as a goal-scorer, Man United almost seemed to go backwards as a team. And while he was right about a lot of the criticisms of Erik ten Hag and the club on his way out, his exit did not sit well with many fans, and neither did his lack of work rate on the pitch or his treatment of some of the young players. Speaking on The Overlap podcast, another Manchester United legend and Cristiano's former teammate Gary Neville spoke unkindly of Cris's second stint at the club, pointing out that he did not show the sa...
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