Right, last week I did my predictions for the leagues, but this week we get a bit more serious with the rankings of each Premier League team from top to bottom. Let's get straight into it.
1 - Manchester City
The best team in the league didn't improve much, but the addition of Riyad Mahrez will certainly help as Pep's team tries to juggle four competitions.
2 - Liverpool
Klopp's men have strengthened in areas which desperately needed it (GK and CM), and the fact that the board have invested in players who won't just come in and sit on the bench, but automatically slide into the first XI, shows their intent to push on for the title following last season's CL success, even with a midfield of Henderson, Wijnaldum and Oxlade-Chamberlain.
3 - Arsenal
Starting a season without Arsene Wenger for the first time in my memory could mean anything, but the way Arsenal's strike force of Aubameyang and Lacazette finished last season, plus the addition of a few class signings in Leno, Sokratis, and Torreira could be exactly what the faithful at the Emirates need to bump themselves back above Spurs.
4 - Tottenham
Pochettino hasn't made any moves in the transfer market at all, but the strength of the squad he possesses could be all they need to finish in the Top 4. Personally, I think that the lack of movement in the window will be detrimental, but the quality already in the squad will be enough to finish in the middle of the pack as far as the Top 6 are concerned.
5 - Chelsea
Maurizio Sarri has come in and tried to shake up the Chelsea squad in the short amount of time he's been in charge. The additions of Matteo Kovacic on loan from Real Madrid, and Jorginho from his old side Napoli have added to N'Golo Kanté's dynamism in a way which should see Morata, Hazard and Giroud given more clear cut chances in front of goal. The addition of Kepa in goal could be a steal as well, even at £72m.
6 - Manchester United
Jose Mourinho is a polarising figure at the best of times, but some of his antics during preseason have turned people against him. That said, Mourinho's side should be good enough to finish at least this high this season. Mourinho's teams always know how to defend, it's just a case of making the most of the attacking talent at his disposal.
7 - West Ham
So far, 7th has been the most difficult team to predict, which isn't surprising. The choice of West Ham, though, isn't one of bias. The additions to the squad have been in all the right areas, and the arrival of manager Manuel Pellegrini has meant that West Ham is now a place that top class players now want to play their football. The team will be dangerous going forward with the likes of Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson, but the real steal of the window could be Fabian Balbuena at just £3.5m.
8 - Leicester City
Quietly, Leicester have gone about their business, making additions in all the necessary areas to take the team back to challenging for Europe once more. Pereira in defence, as well as James Maddison to add some creativity in midfield are just some of the signings that could catapult the Foxes back towards the big time after their 2015/16 success.
9 - Everton
Marco Silva's first summer as Everton manager ended with a flurry of activity, signing Andre Gomes, Bernard, Yerry Mina, and Kurt Happy Zouma. The worry is that the the manager's insistence on spending £50m on Richarlison will have inhibited the number of quality additions available elsewhere within the squad, and that players like Gomes and Bernard become as revered in the blue half of Merseyside as Davy Klaasen - that is to say, not at all.
10 - Wolves
Just sneaking into the top half are Wolves, who, following the intervention of Kanye West, have become the landing spot for just about every Portuguese footballer not named Ronaldo. That said, just one look at their summer window shows why they've been put this high. Rui Patricio in goal, Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho alongside Leander Dendoncker in midfield, and Adama Traore playing further forward with the creativity of Diogo Jota, gives Wolves an enviable spine that should see them comfortable by March in their first season back in the Premier League.
11 - Fulham
The second of the promoted teams, Fulham's only real weak spot following a very impressive transfer window, is the goalkeeper. Bettinelli doesn't fill me with confidence in the same way that Rui Patricio does, and had they added someone closer to the quality of the Wolves 'keeper, I might have had them finishing 10th. As it is, though, Fulham fall just short of a top half finish.
12 - Newcastle United
Rafa Benitez's squad hasn't been helped by the ownership of Mike Ashley, whose constant neglect of investment in the transfer window has left the club stagnant. Getting £27m for Aleksandar Mitrovic was a fantastic piece of business considering his track record in the Premier League, but the failure to reinvest that money in a centre-back or a potent striker of their own (outside of Rondon), has meant that Newcastle will be unlikely to push for a top half finish this year, but the leadership and skills of Benitez will be enough to see them finish comfortably mid-table.
13 - Burnley
Burnley, despite having three goalkeepers who have played for England in the last two years, I think will struggle this season, especially if they make the Europa League group stage. Dyche's style of play will ensure safety, especially with the squad at his disposal playing the same way they did last season.
14 - Crystal Palace
Originally, Palace weren't going to be quite this high, but the best piece of business they've managed all summer has been keeping hold of Wilfried Zaha. Of course the additions of Meyer and Kouyate have helped with squad depth, but I don't think either of them will be waltzing into Hodgson's first choice XI any time soon.
15 - Bournemouth
Eddie Howe's men, like Palace ahead of them, haven't made any barnstorming signings, but their Premier League know-how will keep them in the league another season. The development of Lewis Cook is a big reason for the departure of Harry Arter, and the strides taken by Ryan Fraser last season should see him become a key cog in the Eddie Howe wheel. The strike force of Wilson, Mousset, Defoe and King won't strike fear into the hearts of many opposing defenders, but this is a small team with a small budget who will do enough to stay up.
16 - Brighton
Brighton's second season in the Premier League will likely see as many downs as ups, but there's little doubt in my mind that there are at least three teams worse than the Seagulls. Iranian forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh impressed at the World Cup under Carlos Queiroz, and opposite Jose Izquierdo, should be able to cause opposition fullbacks all sorts of problems, and if Glenn Murray can replicate his form from last season, then the fans at the AMEX are in for a treat.
17 - Watford
Having made the decision to sack Marco Silva and replace him with Javi Gracia last season, the Hornets struggled mightily. Now, having lost one of their creative outlets to Everton in Richarlison, they will need the likes of Will Hughes to step up. Gerard Deulofeu blows hot and cold, so we don't know what to expect of him, and the rest of the strike force has been unimpressive since about March.
18 - Huddersfield
David Wagner's team haven't made a great deal of inspiring signings this summer, although Terence Kongolo will rejoin the club following his loan spell last season in an attempt to tighten up a defence that at times struggled last year. The lack of signings further forward is a worry, though, with Ramadan Sobhi being the most dangerous of them, which counters the departure of Thomas Ince, who once again will be lighting up the Championship before being a huge damp squib in the Premier League again.
19 - Southampton
To say that the decision to stick with Mark Hughes was uninspiring is a huge understatement. Last season, Southampton looked weak, and the fact that Guido Carrillo (their record signing) has gone out on loan already hardly fills you with confidence, although if Danny Ings can finally fulfil his promise, then the Saints may be in with a shout of staying up.
20 - Cardiff City
Neil Warnock might have a shot at staying up, but the strength of the Premier League this season is such that I don't think his track record will be good enough to keep his team from going straight back down, although the singing of Bobby Reid from Bristol City could be enough to bring some excitement to an otherwise bland team.
Saturday 11 August 2018
Tuesday 31 July 2018
Fresh Baked Takes - Week 5
I missed last week (sorry!), but this week I thought that ahead of the football season(s) starting again, I would put in here, my predictions for winners, qualifiers (for Europe and for playoffs), and the unfortunate souls who will suffer the indignity of relegation. Feel free to @ me about why I'm wrong.
Premier League
Winners: Manchester City - As much as I'd love to put someone here to rock the boat, I don't see any of the other teams having sufficient strength in depth to maintain a challenge for the title, whilst also aiming for European and domestic cup competitions.
Champions League: Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham - Two of the three teams have already strengthened in the summer window, whilst Tottenham were already the second best team in the league. For me, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal will be the order.
Europa League: Chelsea, Manchester United - They're the two remaining 'big 6' clubs, and I don't see anyone breaking that group up this season, although there are a number of teams who have made shrewd transfers this summer (looking at you, Mr. Pellegrini.)
Relegation: Cardiff, Southampton, Huddersfield - Two of the three promoted teams have invested heavily in their squads, whilst Cardiff seem to have stagnated almost entirely, and although Neil Warnock has a semi-proven track record of keeping teams safe, the quality of the Premier League only continues to stretch away from those teams who are promoted each season. As for Southampton and Huddersfield, neither club has made any eye-watering transfers, and both struggled towards the back end of last season. As a side note, Mark Hughes will be the first manager sacked this season. Book it.
Championship
Automatic Promotion: Stoke City and Aston Villa - No one team stands out to me at the moment as being miles ahead of the pack, but these two have done a good job of keeping hold of their best players as of writing (Butland/Allen for Stoke, Grealish for Villa), and I can see players of their quality making the difference in a very tight Championship this season.
Playoffs: Middlesbrough, Derby, West Brom, Bristol City - The first three teams were relatively easy to select, but truth be told, you could swap Bristol City out for just about any other team in the league, it really is that close. The only reason Nottingham Forest aren't in there is that having followed them for five years, my senses have been deadened to any type of investment, and I now expect the very worse. Of those four, Pulisball gets Middlesbrough back into the Premier League, despite his teams being completely devoid of any fun whatsoever.
Might as well predict Forest's finish as well. They'll finish 8th, missing out on a playoff place on the last day of the season, making a nice change from escaping relegation on the last day.
Relegation: Rotherham, Reading, Bolton - As with the playoff race in the Championship, it was hard to determine which two teams would go down with Rotherham, who have surely become the Championship/League One definition of a yo-yo team. Bolton have been teetering on the precipice for years now, as have Birmingham City, who survive in my eyes on account of the fact that Reading is a boring club in a boring town who play boring football.
From here on, I will only be predicting teams who are promoted and related, because quite frankly I couldn't give two hoots about any of the teams in League One or Two outside of the mighty Pies.
League One
Promotion: Sunderland, Shrewsbury, Portsmouth - If Sunderland don't get promoted from league One at the first time of asking then they should honestly just cease to exist as a football club, and all their fans should be required to get a tattoo saying Newcastle United are, and always have been, superior on their foreheads. Shrewsbury and Portsmouth were both quite good last year, I think. Hence, they will also be quite good again this year, I think.
Relegation: Accrington Stanley, Coventry, Wycombe Wanderers - I might as well have thrown darts at a dartboard for this one, I think I'm in way too deep on my League One knowledge, but Accrington Stanley and Coventry both got promoted last season, and Wycombe Wanderers are still living off the fact that they have Adebayo Akinfenwa in their squad: a man who is known universally more for his enormous figure and ridiculous antics than his ability with a football, which infuriates me no end. Nobody who is idolised by 14-year old FIFA hype beasts should be able to ply his trade in League One. I'm sure he's a lovely fella, though.
Oh shit, four go down. Um, also Gillingham. Probably.
League Two
Promotion: Notts County, Exeter, Lincoln, MK Dons - I don't like putting MK Dons in there, because they franchised Wimbledon like some sort of centrally-controlled American sports team, and I don't think you should rip people's teams away from them for profit, but maybe I'm just old fashioned. Or maybe I'm right, let me know. Also going up with the franchise are Exeter, Lincoln, and the mighty Notts County, who are going to win the league with a record number of points, and Kevin Nolan will be granted the freedom of the city of Nottingham, and Andy Hoe will give the entire squad free entry to Ocean for the rest of their living days, on both Wednesday and Friday nights.
Relegation: Newport County, Crewe - Two teams who have hung on to league status for far longer than is reasonably acceptable finally face their fate. Newport didn't come up that long ago, but they've been embarrassingly bad ever since they came up and are taking up a spot that anyone in the National League could fill with ease (except Bromley, I still hate Bromley. Fuck Bromley.) As for Crewe, I just want to watch the weekly MathsJack meltdown on Facebook as he finally realises that he supports one of the two worst teams in the Football League.
European Leagues
Ligue 1
Winner: PSG, obviously
La Liga
Winner: Real Madrid... or Barcelona. Barcelona. Let's go with Barcelona.
Serie A
Winner: Juventus, not because of Ronaldo, but because they are infinitely more talented than any of the other teams in the league. I think they'll lose a maximum of 3 games.
Bundesliga
Winner: Bayern, aka Hoffenheim II. Süle, Rudy, Wagner etc help Bayern win the league, as Nagelsmann's last season becomes an unmitigated disaster and Hoffe finish 7th, fail to qualify for Europe through the league, but win the Europa League and therefore make their way into the 2019/20 Champions League thanks to pure fluke.
Premier League
Winners: Manchester City - As much as I'd love to put someone here to rock the boat, I don't see any of the other teams having sufficient strength in depth to maintain a challenge for the title, whilst also aiming for European and domestic cup competitions.
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| Points deduction required for Lallana's awful trim. |
Champions League: Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham - Two of the three teams have already strengthened in the summer window, whilst Tottenham were already the second best team in the league. For me, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal will be the order.
Europa League: Chelsea, Manchester United - They're the two remaining 'big 6' clubs, and I don't see anyone breaking that group up this season, although there are a number of teams who have made shrewd transfers this summer (looking at you, Mr. Pellegrini.)
Relegation: Cardiff, Southampton, Huddersfield - Two of the three promoted teams have invested heavily in their squads, whilst Cardiff seem to have stagnated almost entirely, and although Neil Warnock has a semi-proven track record of keeping teams safe, the quality of the Premier League only continues to stretch away from those teams who are promoted each season. As for Southampton and Huddersfield, neither club has made any eye-watering transfers, and both struggled towards the back end of last season. As a side note, Mark Hughes will be the first manager sacked this season. Book it.
Championship
Automatic Promotion: Stoke City and Aston Villa - No one team stands out to me at the moment as being miles ahead of the pack, but these two have done a good job of keeping hold of their best players as of writing (Butland/Allen for Stoke, Grealish for Villa), and I can see players of their quality making the difference in a very tight Championship this season.
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| Image may look foreign to fans of Karanka's sides. |
Might as well predict Forest's finish as well. They'll finish 8th, missing out on a playoff place on the last day of the season, making a nice change from escaping relegation on the last day.
Relegation: Rotherham, Reading, Bolton - As with the playoff race in the Championship, it was hard to determine which two teams would go down with Rotherham, who have surely become the Championship/League One definition of a yo-yo team. Bolton have been teetering on the precipice for years now, as have Birmingham City, who survive in my eyes on account of the fact that Reading is a boring club in a boring town who play boring football.
From here on, I will only be predicting teams who are promoted and related, because quite frankly I couldn't give two hoots about any of the teams in League One or Two outside of the mighty Pies.
League One
Promotion: Sunderland, Shrewsbury, Portsmouth - If Sunderland don't get promoted from league One at the first time of asking then they should honestly just cease to exist as a football club, and all their fans should be required to get a tattoo saying Newcastle United are, and always have been, superior on their foreheads. Shrewsbury and Portsmouth were both quite good last year, I think. Hence, they will also be quite good again this year, I think.
Relegation: Accrington Stanley, Coventry, Wycombe Wanderers - I might as well have thrown darts at a dartboard for this one, I think I'm in way too deep on my League One knowledge, but Accrington Stanley and Coventry both got promoted last season, and Wycombe Wanderers are still living off the fact that they have Adebayo Akinfenwa in their squad: a man who is known universally more for his enormous figure and ridiculous antics than his ability with a football, which infuriates me no end. Nobody who is idolised by 14-year old FIFA hype beasts should be able to ply his trade in League One. I'm sure he's a lovely fella, though.
Oh shit, four go down. Um, also Gillingham. Probably.
League Two
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| I don't like seeing Jorge Grant in a shirt that isn't from Nottingham. |
Promotion: Notts County, Exeter, Lincoln, MK Dons - I don't like putting MK Dons in there, because they franchised Wimbledon like some sort of centrally-controlled American sports team, and I don't think you should rip people's teams away from them for profit, but maybe I'm just old fashioned. Or maybe I'm right, let me know. Also going up with the franchise are Exeter, Lincoln, and the mighty Notts County, who are going to win the league with a record number of points, and Kevin Nolan will be granted the freedom of the city of Nottingham, and Andy Hoe will give the entire squad free entry to Ocean for the rest of their living days, on both Wednesday and Friday nights.
Relegation: Newport County, Crewe - Two teams who have hung on to league status for far longer than is reasonably acceptable finally face their fate. Newport didn't come up that long ago, but they've been embarrassingly bad ever since they came up and are taking up a spot that anyone in the National League could fill with ease (except Bromley, I still hate Bromley. Fuck Bromley.) As for Crewe, I just want to watch the weekly MathsJack meltdown on Facebook as he finally realises that he supports one of the two worst teams in the Football League.
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| Europa League winners. Book it. |
Ligue 1
Winner: PSG, obviously
La Liga
Winner: Real Madrid... or Barcelona. Barcelona. Let's go with Barcelona.
Serie A
Winner: Juventus, not because of Ronaldo, but because they are infinitely more talented than any of the other teams in the league. I think they'll lose a maximum of 3 games.
Bundesliga
Winner: Bayern, aka Hoffenheim II. Süle, Rudy, Wagner etc help Bayern win the league, as Nagelsmann's last season becomes an unmitigated disaster and Hoffe finish 7th, fail to qualify for Europe through the league, but win the Europa League and therefore make their way into the 2019/20 Champions League thanks to pure fluke.
Friday 13 July 2018
Fresh Baked Takes - Week 4
Kylian Mbappé has been the Best Young Player and it's not even close
Kylian Mbappé is already the most expensive teenager in football history, and after a season waltzing to the title in France with PSG, he's showing his worth on a worldwide scale. I don't say this lightly, but the French national football team need to build around him for the foreseeable future. He's the most important player in that side. Not Griezmann, not Pogba, not even Kanté, although he's probably second. Mbappé's blistering pace has struck fear into defences all tournament, coupled with the passing range of Paul Pogba has been one of the more terrifying prospects to gameplan against. Mbappé running in behind defences, even when he doesn't receive the ball, opens up space for the more intricate play between the likes of Giroud, Pogba, and Griezmann to take place in front of the opposition, with the flying teenager always looking to get in behind or isolate his man in a one-on-one situation, where he is absolutely deadly. France need to make sure that this youngster doesn't lose his love of running at defenders at pace. And as much as he might prefer to play through the middle, his place on the wing in this system for France has been a stroke of genius from Deschamps, and it is where he should stay until such a time that the national team can accommodate his skillset through the middle.
The Home Run Derby is going to be BORING as hell
Here's the names of the eight players competing in the Home Run Derby at this year's All-Star Event in Washington DC; Jesus Aguilar, Bryce Harper, Max Muncy, Alex Bregman, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, Freddie Freeman, Rhys Hoskins. 4 of the competitors have fewer than 20 home runs through the first half of the season, with Hoskins not even in the top 50 in the league with just 14. 5 of the seeds have fewer than 50 career home runs, which is no real measure of ability as Aaron Judge hit 44 in last year's competition, but the only real recognised slugger in the field is Bryce Harper. There's no sign of league leader JD Martinez, or famed sluggers Giancarlo Stanton (22HR this year), Mike Trout and Judge (25), and Nolan Arenado (23). The best matchup in the first round is #2 Bryce Harper vs #7 Freddie Freeman, which doesn't come close to last year's #1 v #8 of Stanton v Sanchez. I'd even go so far as to say that only Bryce Harper would even have made it into last year's contest on name alone. I mean, I'm obviously going to watch the Derby, because I love watching dingers fly in all directions, but I don't think it's going to be nearly as jaw-dropping as last year.
The England team has 2 World Class Players
Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling. That's it. No arguments please. Sterling has been roundly criticised by the media and fans for his performances at the World Cup, often ranking among the lowest rated England players on the BBC Player Rater (which is a dumb metric because generally people watching the games want tangible results [tackles, goals, assists]). Sterling does more than that. Sure, he was incredible for Man City this season with 18 goals and 11 assists in 29 starts, but in the system employed by Gareth Southgate, Sterling has been so much more than goals and assists. The best way to explain it can be found here, and verbalises everything I'm trying to say. Sterling is England's best player, and the fact that he hasn't scored for the national team since October 2015 shouldn't be a point of criticism for a player whose cerebral abilities very nearly match his physical ones. The next world class player hurts for me to admit, but Harry Kane's all-round play for club and country has pushed him into the top tier of striking talent in the world alongside the likes of Lewandowski and Agüero (Ronaldo is a different level, he doesn't count here). Kane's ability to do anything asked of him makes him the ultimate Swiss Army Knife striker. If you need him to hold the ball up, he'll boss centre backs physically. If you need him to pull away and create space inside for midfielders, he'll pull off a perfectly weighted one-two to help out. I genuinely just had a vision of Kane playing for Manchester City with Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling, and Sané and as a fan of not Man City it was not pleasant. That would be scary shit. But above all, Kane's ability to find the back of the net in any way possible is his biggest asset. If there was one player in the Premier League that you had to back to score a penalty to save your life, mine would be Kane, and that's saying something when Mark Noble is the captain of my club.
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| Future Ballon D'Or Winner Kylian Mbappé |
The Home Run Derby is going to be BORING as hell
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| Who is this man? |
The England team has 2 World Class Players
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| It's Coming Home (2022 edition) - Raz ft. Harry Kane |
Friday 6 July 2018
Fresh Baked Takes - Week 3
What should Germany do?
Well I think we can all agree that nobody envisioned the Germans, the reigning world champions, going out of the World Cup as early as the group stage. Hell, I predicted them to repeat as champs with Timo Werner winning the golden boot. Obviously that never happened. Joachim Löw has already confirmed he will not be stepping down as head coach, and as such he must learn from his mistakes, most notable of which was the emission of Leroy Sané from the final 23-man squad. Germany lacked a cutting edge which Sané would lend in abundance with his pace and dribbling skills, not to mention learning from Pep Guardiola for a couple of years, which has done both he and Raheem Sterling the world of good. As well as including their best players in the squad, which kind of seems like an obvious move to me, Germany needs to improve significantly in a few areas of the squad, most notably central midfield and full-back. Whilst Toni Kroos is comfortably one of the best central midfielders in the world, Germany lack an N'Golo Kanté-type player who hustles around in front of the back four, harassing opposing attackers and freeing up space for the more attack minded players in front of him. Moving Joshua Kimmich into central midfield seems like the obvious choice, but with so many top international teams employing the skills of wingers like Neymar and Eden Hazard, the full-backs really need to be able to compete at the top level, and as good as Germany are, they don't have that quality in those positions. Whilst the rebuild looks on the surface to be simple enough, Löw will also apparently have to work to heal a rift in the squad that derailed their World Cup defence, with player factions led by Kroos and the flashy Jérôme Boateng clashing in the lead up to the tournament. However, Germany are too good to be held down for long, and will no doubt be back in contention come 2020.
Run the damn score up!
Another week, another unwritten baseball rule that makes no sense to me. The average salary in MLB is $4m. Four million dollars to be paid to play baseball. Throw, catch, hit, run. That's it, essentially. And if you make it to the very highest level, you'll be paid an average of four million dollars. Of course, some are paid more and some are paid less, but if you underperform on a certain day, you should expect to be punished. Baseball players have long been known as slightly petulant, retaliatory, and really really bad losers (case in point Hunter Strickland and Sergio Romo both being dickheads in the past couple of weeks, and their teams weren't even losing/losing badly). Here's my thought: If you are paid these amounts of money to play baseball, you should be able to suck it up and strap on a pair when you have an off day and get tattooed all over the park by the opposition, rather than what seems to be the MLB default of crying foul when down by more than 6 runs and drilling any player who dares try to score against you. Last night the Washington Nationals went 9 runs down in the second inning, and instead of rolling over and having their bellies rubbed, they cracked on, and came back to win 14-12. Do more of that, baseball. Make the game interesting all the way through, rather than checking out midway through the fifth. Nobody wants to see that.
Return of the (French)man?
If the rumours are true, and they're coming from a pretty reliable source (@ExWHUEmployee on Twitter), Manuel Pellegrini has been in talks to bring Dimitri Payet back to West Ham (I almost wrote Upton Park there, how sad.) The deal is apparently worth more than what we sold him for 18 months ago, and he's now 31 years of age, but would bringing him back be worth the hassle that inevitably comes with Payet in claret and blue? You cannot deny the man's talent. He is the most talented and exciting attacking player I have ever seen in a West Ham shirt, and would undoubtedly fill the hole in the team left by Manuel Lanzini's horror knee injury. But the relationship with some of the fans would need patching. The majority of the younger generation that I have seen on Twitter would take him back in a heartbeat, and the same goes for a lot of friends I talk to, but I fear that the older generation would get on his back from the very first day and immediately expect the same results that he delivered in his first spell. All I would say is that the circumstances surrounding his departure from the club were somewhat cloudy, and apparently the players are keen on having him back in the squad, so if we can get the transfer over the line, why not? It will only take three or four classy performances that we saw in 2015/16 to turn the tide and get the crowd singing his name again. Bring it on, I say.
Well I think we can all agree that nobody envisioned the Germans, the reigning world champions, going out of the World Cup as early as the group stage. Hell, I predicted them to repeat as champs with Timo Werner winning the golden boot. Obviously that never happened. Joachim Löw has already confirmed he will not be stepping down as head coach, and as such he must learn from his mistakes, most notable of which was the emission of Leroy Sané from the final 23-man squad. Germany lacked a cutting edge which Sané would lend in abundance with his pace and dribbling skills, not to mention learning from Pep Guardiola for a couple of years, which has done both he and Raheem Sterling the world of good. As well as including their best players in the squad, which kind of seems like an obvious move to me, Germany needs to improve significantly in a few areas of the squad, most notably central midfield and full-back. Whilst Toni Kroos is comfortably one of the best central midfielders in the world, Germany lack an N'Golo Kanté-type player who hustles around in front of the back four, harassing opposing attackers and freeing up space for the more attack minded players in front of him. Moving Joshua Kimmich into central midfield seems like the obvious choice, but with so many top international teams employing the skills of wingers like Neymar and Eden Hazard, the full-backs really need to be able to compete at the top level, and as good as Germany are, they don't have that quality in those positions. Whilst the rebuild looks on the surface to be simple enough, Löw will also apparently have to work to heal a rift in the squad that derailed their World Cup defence, with player factions led by Kroos and the flashy Jérôme Boateng clashing in the lead up to the tournament. However, Germany are too good to be held down for long, and will no doubt be back in contention come 2020.
Run the damn score up!
Another week, another unwritten baseball rule that makes no sense to me. The average salary in MLB is $4m. Four million dollars to be paid to play baseball. Throw, catch, hit, run. That's it, essentially. And if you make it to the very highest level, you'll be paid an average of four million dollars. Of course, some are paid more and some are paid less, but if you underperform on a certain day, you should expect to be punished. Baseball players have long been known as slightly petulant, retaliatory, and really really bad losers (case in point Hunter Strickland and Sergio Romo both being dickheads in the past couple of weeks, and their teams weren't even losing/losing badly). Here's my thought: If you are paid these amounts of money to play baseball, you should be able to suck it up and strap on a pair when you have an off day and get tattooed all over the park by the opposition, rather than what seems to be the MLB default of crying foul when down by more than 6 runs and drilling any player who dares try to score against you. Last night the Washington Nationals went 9 runs down in the second inning, and instead of rolling over and having their bellies rubbed, they cracked on, and came back to win 14-12. Do more of that, baseball. Make the game interesting all the way through, rather than checking out midway through the fifth. Nobody wants to see that.
Return of the (French)man?
If the rumours are true, and they're coming from a pretty reliable source (@ExWHUEmployee on Twitter), Manuel Pellegrini has been in talks to bring Dimitri Payet back to West Ham (I almost wrote Upton Park there, how sad.) The deal is apparently worth more than what we sold him for 18 months ago, and he's now 31 years of age, but would bringing him back be worth the hassle that inevitably comes with Payet in claret and blue? You cannot deny the man's talent. He is the most talented and exciting attacking player I have ever seen in a West Ham shirt, and would undoubtedly fill the hole in the team left by Manuel Lanzini's horror knee injury. But the relationship with some of the fans would need patching. The majority of the younger generation that I have seen on Twitter would take him back in a heartbeat, and the same goes for a lot of friends I talk to, but I fear that the older generation would get on his back from the very first day and immediately expect the same results that he delivered in his first spell. All I would say is that the circumstances surrounding his departure from the club were somewhat cloudy, and apparently the players are keen on having him back in the squad, so if we can get the transfer over the line, why not? It will only take three or four classy performances that we saw in 2015/16 to turn the tide and get the crowd singing his name again. Bring it on, I say.
Sunday 24 June 2018
Fresh Baked Takes - Week 2
Following last week's entry, I had a few good suggestions from people on Facebook, which I have decided to provide my takes on this week. Hopefully that will happen more as the weeks go on because a lot of the topics were those that I hadn't considered writing. Anyway, let's get on with the show.
Refereeing at the World Cup
I think we can all agree (even me, as someone with a 'longstanding and admirable disdain' for the England team) that England didn't exactly get the rub of the green with penalty decisions in their first group game against Tunisia, but generally speaking the refereeing at the World Cup, and the introduction of VAR for the first time, has overall been a success. The issue with VAR as a system is not the fact that it stops the game, but the decision making process in and of itself. If we assume that a referee misses a decision, it is then sent immediately to the VAR truck for referral. Should the officials in the truck decide that the decision needs looking at, they then tell the referee, who has the final say on whether he reviews it. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but letting a man who gets one viewing, in real time, at full speed, have the final decision as to whether to bruise his ego on an international stage is a bit of a daft choice. The four officials in the truck, with the multiple replays and angles, should be able to be insistent upon a review, even if it turns out to be wrong. Serbia would have salvaged a draw from the Switzerland game if that had been the case, and if it had been the process during the England game, then maybe the media and Twitter wouldn't have gone into total meltdown as well.
The Plight of the Colorado Rockies
I think it goes without saying that it takes more than two superstars to create a contender in baseball, and although Colorado has those in Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, their roster pales in comparison to the best in the game. I don't think I could name you a single starter from the Rockies (I just checked, I couldn't), and the bullpen isn't strong enough to be able to carry a team to the offseason. As much as the infield has quality at each position, with Story and Desmond in particular playing above themselves this year, there isn't enough there to justify a playoff push. But if they're to do it any time, they'll have to do it soon. Arenado is a free agent at the end of next season, and he will have plenty of interest in his services as a Gold Glove winner at 3B and a demon at the plate, the likes of which are coveted by just about every team in the big leagues, and I'm not sure the Rockies will have the capital to be able to re-sign him after spending big on Charlie Blackmon this year. The blend of youth and experience that the Rockies have isn't quite right yet, which is why their push for a playoff place this year will ultimately be fruitless, although it doesn't help that the National League is looking like a pretty even playing field this year, with a number of contenders for the two Wildcard spots.
LeBron to LA?
Now, my basketball knowledge isn't massively up to snuff, and it never has been, but I've been picking up knowledge in the office, and I reckon I can give this one a good crack. If LeBron goes to the Lakers, he will have as good a shot to make it to the NBA Finals as he did this year with Cleveland. Maybe they'll even win a game. The Lakers have spent the past couple of years jettisoning big contracts and bringing in young players through the draft and trades. Lonzo Ball, despite his absolutely mental father, managed to put up strong numbers in his first season in the league, and will only get better, especially if LA surround him with a talent like LeBron. We've already seen what LBJ can do almost single-handedly (and no thanks to JR Smith), but in LA, James would be able to take the reigns and let loose with a much more talented team at his disposal. For much of the back end of the regular season, he was without Kevin Love, and even when Love came back from injury, he didn't quite look like he had fully healed. Consider also that LeBron was the best player for the Cavs despite having a broken hand after Game 1 of the Finals and you start to see just how talented this man is. In LA, I have no doubt he would be able to take the Lakers to the Playoffs, but in the Western Conference, would he want to play the Warriors before the Finals? My head says no. Golden State at the moment are like watching Space Jam, and they're the Monstars. Ultimately, as long as that team is together, and even 70% healthy, I don't think there's anything that LeBron and whatever Tune Squad he decides to sign with can do to stop GSW winning yet another title.
Refereeing at the World Cup
I think we can all agree (even me, as someone with a 'longstanding and admirable disdain' for the England team) that England didn't exactly get the rub of the green with penalty decisions in their first group game against Tunisia, but generally speaking the refereeing at the World Cup, and the introduction of VAR for the first time, has overall been a success. The issue with VAR as a system is not the fact that it stops the game, but the decision making process in and of itself. If we assume that a referee misses a decision, it is then sent immediately to the VAR truck for referral. Should the officials in the truck decide that the decision needs looking at, they then tell the referee, who has the final say on whether he reviews it. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but letting a man who gets one viewing, in real time, at full speed, have the final decision as to whether to bruise his ego on an international stage is a bit of a daft choice. The four officials in the truck, with the multiple replays and angles, should be able to be insistent upon a review, even if it turns out to be wrong. Serbia would have salvaged a draw from the Switzerland game if that had been the case, and if it had been the process during the England game, then maybe the media and Twitter wouldn't have gone into total meltdown as well.The Plight of the Colorado Rockies
I think it goes without saying that it takes more than two superstars to create a contender in baseball, and although Colorado has those in Nolan Arenado and Charlie Blackmon, their roster pales in comparison to the best in the game. I don't think I could name you a single starter from the Rockies (I just checked, I couldn't), and the bullpen isn't strong enough to be able to carry a team to the offseason. As much as the infield has quality at each position, with Story and Desmond in particular playing above themselves this year, there isn't enough there to justify a playoff push. But if they're to do it any time, they'll have to do it soon. Arenado is a free agent at the end of next season, and he will have plenty of interest in his services as a Gold Glove winner at 3B and a demon at the plate, the likes of which are coveted by just about every team in the big leagues, and I'm not sure the Rockies will have the capital to be able to re-sign him after spending big on Charlie Blackmon this year. The blend of youth and experience that the Rockies have isn't quite right yet, which is why their push for a playoff place this year will ultimately be fruitless, although it doesn't help that the National League is looking like a pretty even playing field this year, with a number of contenders for the two Wildcard spots.LeBron to LA?
Now, my basketball knowledge isn't massively up to snuff, and it never has been, but I've been picking up knowledge in the office, and I reckon I can give this one a good crack. If LeBron goes to the Lakers, he will have as good a shot to make it to the NBA Finals as he did this year with Cleveland. Maybe they'll even win a game. The Lakers have spent the past couple of years jettisoning big contracts and bringing in young players through the draft and trades. Lonzo Ball, despite his absolutely mental father, managed to put up strong numbers in his first season in the league, and will only get better, especially if LA surround him with a talent like LeBron. We've already seen what LBJ can do almost single-handedly (and no thanks to JR Smith), but in LA, James would be able to take the reigns and let loose with a much more talented team at his disposal. For much of the back end of the regular season, he was without Kevin Love, and even when Love came back from injury, he didn't quite look like he had fully healed. Consider also that LeBron was the best player for the Cavs despite having a broken hand after Game 1 of the Finals and you start to see just how talented this man is. In LA, I have no doubt he would be able to take the Lakers to the Playoffs, but in the Western Conference, would he want to play the Warriors before the Finals? My head says no. Golden State at the moment are like watching Space Jam, and they're the Monstars. Ultimately, as long as that team is together, and even 70% healthy, I don't think there's anything that LeBron and whatever Tune Squad he decides to sign with can do to stop GSW winning yet another title.
Tuesday 19 June 2018
Fresh Baked Takes - Week 1
Welcome to the first instalment of what I hope will be a weekly blog where I give my takes on some topics which may or may not be burning at that moment in the world of sport. Some you will probably have an opinion on, some you might not, but either way I'd love to hear what you think, as well as any suggestions for future takes you want to hear about.
Without further ado, let's get on to the first week:
Minnows at the World Cup
I understand that the World Cup only comes around once every 4 years, but there are people out there complaining about the inclusion of teams like Panama and Saudi Arabia, especially after the pasting handed out to the latter by the hosts Russia, who themselves aren't even that good. But to suggest that those teams don't deserve to be there completely disregards the qualification process that all teams have to go through, which is already weighted heavily in favour of the confederations where the vast
majority of the main contenders lie (UEFA and CONMEBOL). It is absolutely not the fault of the likes of Saudi Arabia, Panama and Peru that they managed to beat the teams in front of them, while Italy couldn't force their way past an Ibrahimovic-less Sweden, or the Netherlands couldn't beat Bulgaria to even reach the playoffs. The David v Goliath matchups at the major tournaments are some of the most fun to watch (Iceland v England, anyone?), and in a similar vein to the FA Cup, I love watching a minnow outkick their coverage, although by the time we get to the quarters or semis, I'm always wanting the best teams to come out on top. But during the group stage and early knockout rounds, let's give it up for the smaller teams and celebrate football throughout the world. And anyway, even if the Saudi Arabians do end up getting battered every game, they might not make it to another World Cup for ages.
Unwritten Rules in Baseball
If you watch baseball, then you will know that there are a number of unwritten rules that the sport seems to abide by. I'm going to cover different unwritten rules each time I write about baseball in this column, but this week I'm going to talk about 'not bunting away from the shift'. To quickly explain 'shifting', if a right-handed batter tends to pull the ball to the left side of the ballpark, the opposition will set up as such, leaving a gaping hole to the right side of second base, and vice-versa for lefties. For some reason, there is an unspoken bond between most players, managers, pitchers etc. that dictates that players don't use the vast expanses of land available to them. Were I a major league manager, I would tell every single player of mine 'if they show shift, bunt and get to first base'. There are many reasons for this, chief among which is that the more baserunners you have, the more chance you have of winning the game. But equally, if you bunt away from the shift, the opposition are less likely to set up in the shift the next time up and you can go back to hitting to your preferred part of the field, with less chance of finding a shifted fielder. In an era of baseball where power is becoming the most important element of the batting game, and pitchers and fielders are becoming more savvy with their positioning and ability to work around the strengths of a hitter, why not fight fire with fire and expose their shortcomings in exactly the same way?
There are only two things wrong at West Ham (for now)
Obviously this won't last, I'm not daft. But for the moment, there only seem to be two things holding West Ham back, and they are the two members of the board not named David Gold. His co-chairman/woman seem to be the two barriers standing between the club and progress. For Karren Brady, a lot of the obstacles she seems to put up are off-the-pitch issues regarding the fan experience, and making it accessible for all. Of course, with the price of season tickets at the London Stadium being relatively low, single game tickets will fetch more on account of not wanting to price out 'loyal fans' and make it more cost-effective to just buy tickets on a weekly basis, but there were times last season when a Tier 5 Junior ticket was something extortionate like £60. How many under-16s do you know that have that kind of money to spend going to watch their football team play Manchester United or Chelsea. Similarly, a lot of the on-field issues seem to be sparked by David Sullivan. His insistence on being the head of recruitment (until the appointment of Mario Husillos last week) has led to a well-documented lack of improvement in the playing squad, and I daresay that had Manuel Pellegrini not come out and vocalised the struggles he was having with Sullivan in just his first week in the job, that process would have continued long into the summer. West Ham need reinforcements and they need them soon, especially with the transfer window closing early this year, so Sullivan needs to pull his chequebook out and start actually paying for players rather than subsisting on loans with options to buy and free transfers.
I think that's quite enough for week one, but I'll be back with more hot takes on hopefully developing/new topics next week.
Without further ado, let's get on to the first week:
Minnows at the World Cup
I understand that the World Cup only comes around once every 4 years, but there are people out there complaining about the inclusion of teams like Panama and Saudi Arabia, especially after the pasting handed out to the latter by the hosts Russia, who themselves aren't even that good. But to suggest that those teams don't deserve to be there completely disregards the qualification process that all teams have to go through, which is already weighted heavily in favour of the confederations where the vast majority of the main contenders lie (UEFA and CONMEBOL). It is absolutely not the fault of the likes of Saudi Arabia, Panama and Peru that they managed to beat the teams in front of them, while Italy couldn't force their way past an Ibrahimovic-less Sweden, or the Netherlands couldn't beat Bulgaria to even reach the playoffs. The David v Goliath matchups at the major tournaments are some of the most fun to watch (Iceland v England, anyone?), and in a similar vein to the FA Cup, I love watching a minnow outkick their coverage, although by the time we get to the quarters or semis, I'm always wanting the best teams to come out on top. But during the group stage and early knockout rounds, let's give it up for the smaller teams and celebrate football throughout the world. And anyway, even if the Saudi Arabians do end up getting battered every game, they might not make it to another World Cup for ages.
Unwritten Rules in Baseball
If you watch baseball, then you will know that there are a number of unwritten rules that the sport seems to abide by. I'm going to cover different unwritten rules each time I write about baseball in this column, but this week I'm going to talk about 'not bunting away from the shift'. To quickly explain 'shifting', if a right-handed batter tends to pull the ball to the left side of the ballpark, the opposition will set up as such, leaving a gaping hole to the right side of second base, and vice-versa for lefties. For some reason, there is an unspoken bond between most players, managers, pitchers etc. that dictates that players don't use the vast expanses of land available to them. Were I a major league manager, I would tell every single player of mine 'if they show shift, bunt and get to first base'. There are many reasons for this, chief among which is that the more baserunners you have, the more chance you have of winning the game. But equally, if you bunt away from the shift, the opposition are less likely to set up in the shift the next time up and you can go back to hitting to your preferred part of the field, with less chance of finding a shifted fielder. In an era of baseball where power is becoming the most important element of the batting game, and pitchers and fielders are becoming more savvy with their positioning and ability to work around the strengths of a hitter, why not fight fire with fire and expose their shortcomings in exactly the same way?
There are only two things wrong at West Ham (for now)
Obviously this won't last, I'm not daft. But for the moment, there only seem to be two things holding West Ham back, and they are the two members of the board not named David Gold. His co-chairman/woman seem to be the two barriers standing between the club and progress. For Karren Brady, a lot of the obstacles she seems to put up are off-the-pitch issues regarding the fan experience, and making it accessible for all. Of course, with the price of season tickets at the London Stadium being relatively low, single game tickets will fetch more on account of not wanting to price out 'loyal fans' and make it more cost-effective to just buy tickets on a weekly basis, but there were times last season when a Tier 5 Junior ticket was something extortionate like £60. How many under-16s do you know that have that kind of money to spend going to watch their football team play Manchester United or Chelsea. Similarly, a lot of the on-field issues seem to be sparked by David Sullivan. His insistence on being the head of recruitment (until the appointment of Mario Husillos last week) has led to a well-documented lack of improvement in the playing squad, and I daresay that had Manuel Pellegrini not come out and vocalised the struggles he was having with Sullivan in just his first week in the job, that process would have continued long into the summer. West Ham need reinforcements and they need them soon, especially with the transfer window closing early this year, so Sullivan needs to pull his chequebook out and start actually paying for players rather than subsisting on loans with options to buy and free transfers.
I think that's quite enough for week one, but I'll be back with more hot takes on hopefully developing/new topics next week.
Monday 7 May 2018
Two Years On - The West Ham Story
Generally speaking, two years after moving to a new house, you've settled in and got the place looking roughly how you'd like it to. Maybe the kitchen still needs a lick of paint, or the garage still has a few unopened boxes of miscellaneous artefacts from the move, but you're more or less there. Try telling that to West Ham United Football Club, whose new home at the London Stadium has been more like moving into a botch-job by a bunch of cowboy builders than a sleek new-build that looks as good on the inside as it does from the outside.
There has been a number of high-profile mishaps since the move from E13, most notably the shambles of the stadium seating, the departures of both Slaven Bilic and Dimitri Payet, and the now infamous 'dildo brothers' comment following the failed transfer of William Carvalho and subsequent lies from the board. But in the two years since that unforgettable night at Upton Park, has the club made any progress at all?
Firstly, a quick look at the playing squad shows the emergence of youngster Declan Rice, as well as the undeniable influence players like Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic have had in claret and blue. Of course, Lanzini was there in 15/16, but the purchase of Arnautovic showed a willingness to play football 'The West Ham Way' (which incidentally doesn't exist, but that's for another article). However, having lost Payet and the likes of Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Jose Fonte, and Robert Snodgrass (who is definitely not going to want to play under the current board after they described his signing as a mistake), can anybody really say that the team taking the pitch every week is any stronger than that which finished 7th in the Premier League in 2015/16? I would argue not. The squad is paper thin, and ravaged by injury more often than not, with key players such as Winston Reid and Michail Antonio unavailable for large chunks of the season. Add into this the fact that the club is without a bona fide first choice goalkeeper, and the issues grow ever more.
So the squad isn't as good as it was two years ago, but are they at least playing good football? In a word, no. At Upton Park, West Ham were generally a threat to score. In fact, they scored in all but one of their home games in the league in 15/16, and managed 13 goals and 14 points against the 'Top 6'. This season, those numbers drop to 5 goals and 4 points, with Manchester United still to come to London. Depressing at best, you'd have to agree. Bilic's insistence to put square pegs in round holes, like Antonio at LWB, and Moyes' defensive approach, like playing 5-4-1 at home against teams like already-relegated Stoke City, makes for dismal viewing, and the fans have had a lot of that to put up with this season.
Speaking of the fans, nobody can deny the influence that the atmosphere had on the club at Upton Park. Right on the touchlines, the fans were inseparable from the action, and many argue that they were often the difference between a defeat and a draw. Contrast this to the toxic atmosphere present at games not just this season, but last season as well, and you start to see a club heading for turmoil.The off-field issues have been discussed at length in the media, and the decisions being made at board level are affecting fans at an unprecedented rate. Look at the badge, the seating arrangements, the lack of investment in the squad, and the poor standard of football, and you can see why the fans are coming to the end of their tether and turning their backs on the club they love. There have been a number of fans posting on social media about their stories and how they have fallen out of love with West Ham after being turned into a corporate machine by Gold, Sullivan, and Brady, and who can blame them? The atmosphere is bland, the football is insipid, and there is no reason that people should be expected to pay up to £1100 for a season ticket to watch what is being put on at the London Stadium week in, week out.
Of course, the investment in the summer needs to be thorough and well-researched, not just for players, but for a new manager as well. But to bring the analogy full circle, West Ham United's new home needs more than just a lick of paint. The walls need tearing down and rebuilding so it feels like a proper home, and the landlords need to have a good think about how they are treating their tenants, or they will walk away and not come back.
There has been a number of high-profile mishaps since the move from E13, most notably the shambles of the stadium seating, the departures of both Slaven Bilic and Dimitri Payet, and the now infamous 'dildo brothers' comment following the failed transfer of William Carvalho and subsequent lies from the board. But in the two years since that unforgettable night at Upton Park, has the club made any progress at all?
Firstly, a quick look at the playing squad shows the emergence of youngster Declan Rice, as well as the undeniable influence players like Manuel Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic have had in claret and blue. Of course, Lanzini was there in 15/16, but the purchase of Arnautovic showed a willingness to play football 'The West Ham Way' (which incidentally doesn't exist, but that's for another article). However, having lost Payet and the likes of Enner Valencia, Diafra Sakho, Jose Fonte, and Robert Snodgrass (who is definitely not going to want to play under the current board after they described his signing as a mistake), can anybody really say that the team taking the pitch every week is any stronger than that which finished 7th in the Premier League in 2015/16? I would argue not. The squad is paper thin, and ravaged by injury more often than not, with key players such as Winston Reid and Michail Antonio unavailable for large chunks of the season. Add into this the fact that the club is without a bona fide first choice goalkeeper, and the issues grow ever more.
Speaking of the fans, nobody can deny the influence that the atmosphere had on the club at Upton Park. Right on the touchlines, the fans were inseparable from the action, and many argue that they were often the difference between a defeat and a draw. Contrast this to the toxic atmosphere present at games not just this season, but last season as well, and you start to see a club heading for turmoil.The off-field issues have been discussed at length in the media, and the decisions being made at board level are affecting fans at an unprecedented rate. Look at the badge, the seating arrangements, the lack of investment in the squad, and the poor standard of football, and you can see why the fans are coming to the end of their tether and turning their backs on the club they love. There have been a number of fans posting on social media about their stories and how they have fallen out of love with West Ham after being turned into a corporate machine by Gold, Sullivan, and Brady, and who can blame them? The atmosphere is bland, the football is insipid, and there is no reason that people should be expected to pay up to £1100 for a season ticket to watch what is being put on at the London Stadium week in, week out.
Of course, the investment in the summer needs to be thorough and well-researched, not just for players, but for a new manager as well. But to bring the analogy full circle, West Ham United's new home needs more than just a lick of paint. The walls need tearing down and rebuilding so it feels like a proper home, and the landlords need to have a good think about how they are treating their tenants, or they will walk away and not come back.
Wednesday 25 April 2018
How The Teams Stand - AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs
2017 Record: 10-6 (Lost to Titans in AFC Wild Card game)
Free Agents Signed: WR Sammy Watkins, ILB Anthony Hitchens
Cap Space Remaining: Around $7m
Draft Needs: CB, DL, OL
Having sent star cornerback Marcus Peters to the free-spending LA Rams for a fraction of his worth, and put all their eggs in Patrick Mahomes' basket, it could be argued that the Kansas City Chiefs have the most rebuilding to do out of any of the four franchises in this division. Losing Alex Smith to Washington and signing Chad Henne as a backup is all well and good, but Mahomes is yet to win a regular season game and Henne is not good. Add to that the fact that Kansas has limited remaining spending money, and you might think that this is a team destined to struggle. However, the signing of Sammy Watkins gives Mahomes arguably one of the most explosive offenses in the league. And, with Andy Reid still in place as head coach and chief play-caller, you can expect them to barely miss a beat. I would expect that the Chiefs select a cornerback early in the draft, and then set the rest of the team up to be able to beat teams in offensive shootouts throughout the season.
Los Angeles Chargers (yes, I wrote San Diego and had to correct myself)
2017 Record: 9-7 (Missed out on the playoffs by thiiiiiiiis much)
Free Agents Signed: C Mike Pouncey
Cap Space Remaining: Around $12m
Draft Needs: ILB, DT, OL
The LA Chargers just barely missed out on the playoffs by virtue of bottling it the same way they manage to every season, and surely this season they are built to get there. But then we say that every year, too. Philip Rivers has seemingly been given the cast around him that he needs to succeed, with Melvin Gordon turning into a top 15 RB, and Keenan Allen as reliable at WR as he was before all his injuries. The potential loss of Antonio Gates (although still a free agent) could prove costly, although in Hunter Henry, the Chargers have a ready-made replacement for the future Hall of Famer. The defense is where the Chargers will surely continue to shine, as the pass rush duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram continue to terrify opposing O-Lines, it would seem sensible to upgrade at DT through the draft, which seems most likely in order to get the Chargers back to the post-season.
Oakland Raiders
2017 Record: 6-10
Free Agents Signed: OLB Tahir Whitehead, WR Jordy Nelson
Cap Space Remaining: Around $3m
Draft Needs: CB, S, ILB
Under the leadership of once-again-Oakland Head Coach Jon Gruden, the Raiders seem to have reverted to a team of the mid-1990s, with Gruden proclaiming such things as not believing in data analysis, and getting rid of anyone who isn't considered a good, pure, football man. This included the cutting of arguably the best (and most entertaining) punter in the league, Marquette King. For the sake of $3m, Gruden has lost his best field position asset to a division rival. However, that is going to be the least of his worries when he realises that not a single player on this team managed to nab more than 2 interceptions last season. To put that into perspective, all six Jags players who registered an interception managed at least 3. The Raiders are straight up garbage on the back end, and should take a cornerback or safety in the first round if they don't want to be humiliated by every team they play next season.
Denver Broncos
2017 Record: 5-11
Free Agents Signed: QB Case Keenum, P Marquette King
Cap Space Remaining: Around $15m
Draft Needs: OL, CB, RB
Despite signing a QB who made it to the NFC Championship Game last season, the Broncos still have question marks over that position, especially when it comes to having a backup. In an ideal world, Case Keenum will be able to steer the Broncos back to mediocrity over the course of his contract, allowing the Broncos to set the table around him for a new rookie to come in in the future and take the reigns. This year, I envisage the Broncos drafting Quenton Nelson with the 5th overall pick, and using a number of later round picks to secure the secondary following the departure of Aqib Talib to the Rams. Under the watchful eye of Keenum, and hopefully with someone behind him who can carry the rock successfully, the Broncos should be able to become competitive within the AFC West once more.
2017 Record: 10-6 (Lost to Titans in AFC Wild Card game)
Free Agents Signed: WR Sammy Watkins, ILB Anthony Hitchens
Cap Space Remaining: Around $7m
Draft Needs: CB, DL, OL
Having sent star cornerback Marcus Peters to the free-spending LA Rams for a fraction of his worth, and put all their eggs in Patrick Mahomes' basket, it could be argued that the Kansas City Chiefs have the most rebuilding to do out of any of the four franchises in this division. Losing Alex Smith to Washington and signing Chad Henne as a backup is all well and good, but Mahomes is yet to win a regular season game and Henne is not good. Add to that the fact that Kansas has limited remaining spending money, and you might think that this is a team destined to struggle. However, the signing of Sammy Watkins gives Mahomes arguably one of the most explosive offenses in the league. And, with Andy Reid still in place as head coach and chief play-caller, you can expect them to barely miss a beat. I would expect that the Chiefs select a cornerback early in the draft, and then set the rest of the team up to be able to beat teams in offensive shootouts throughout the season.
Los Angeles Chargers (yes, I wrote San Diego and had to correct myself)
2017 Record: 9-7 (Missed out on the playoffs by thiiiiiiiis much)
Free Agents Signed: C Mike Pouncey
Cap Space Remaining: Around $12m
Draft Needs: ILB, DT, OL
The LA Chargers just barely missed out on the playoffs by virtue of bottling it the same way they manage to every season, and surely this season they are built to get there. But then we say that every year, too. Philip Rivers has seemingly been given the cast around him that he needs to succeed, with Melvin Gordon turning into a top 15 RB, and Keenan Allen as reliable at WR as he was before all his injuries. The potential loss of Antonio Gates (although still a free agent) could prove costly, although in Hunter Henry, the Chargers have a ready-made replacement for the future Hall of Famer. The defense is where the Chargers will surely continue to shine, as the pass rush duo of Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram continue to terrify opposing O-Lines, it would seem sensible to upgrade at DT through the draft, which seems most likely in order to get the Chargers back to the post-season.
Oakland Raiders
2017 Record: 6-10
Free Agents Signed: OLB Tahir Whitehead, WR Jordy Nelson
Cap Space Remaining: Around $3m
Draft Needs: CB, S, ILB
Under the leadership of once-again-Oakland Head Coach Jon Gruden, the Raiders seem to have reverted to a team of the mid-1990s, with Gruden proclaiming such things as not believing in data analysis, and getting rid of anyone who isn't considered a good, pure, football man. This included the cutting of arguably the best (and most entertaining) punter in the league, Marquette King. For the sake of $3m, Gruden has lost his best field position asset to a division rival. However, that is going to be the least of his worries when he realises that not a single player on this team managed to nab more than 2 interceptions last season. To put that into perspective, all six Jags players who registered an interception managed at least 3. The Raiders are straight up garbage on the back end, and should take a cornerback or safety in the first round if they don't want to be humiliated by every team they play next season.
Denver Broncos
2017 Record: 5-11
Free Agents Signed: QB Case Keenum, P Marquette King
Cap Space Remaining: Around $15m
Draft Needs: OL, CB, RB
Despite signing a QB who made it to the NFC Championship Game last season, the Broncos still have question marks over that position, especially when it comes to having a backup. In an ideal world, Case Keenum will be able to steer the Broncos back to mediocrity over the course of his contract, allowing the Broncos to set the table around him for a new rookie to come in in the future and take the reigns. This year, I envisage the Broncos drafting Quenton Nelson with the 5th overall pick, and using a number of later round picks to secure the secondary following the departure of Aqib Talib to the Rams. Under the watchful eye of Keenum, and hopefully with someone behind him who can carry the rock successfully, the Broncos should be able to become competitive within the AFC West once more.
Thursday 8 February 2018
How The Teams Stand: AFC East
After one of the more offense-driven Super Bowls in history (it broke a fair few records), I can finally write my piece on the AFC East, including Super Bowl runners-up the New England Patriots. Imagine being a Patriots fan born in 2017, you still haven't seen your team win a Super Bowl, hahahahahaaaa! Anyway, without further ado...
New England Patriots
2017 Record: 13-3 (Lost in Super Bowl LII)
Key Free Agents: CB Malcolm Butler, LT Nate Solder, ST Matthew Slater, WR Danny Amendola
Cap Space: Around $14m
Draft Needs: CB, QB, Edge
New England traded away backup QB (and now future Hall of Famer) Jimmy Garoppolo midseason last year, and will have to look to the future at some point. A 2nd or 3rd round pick on a QB would not only be shrewd, but the other 31 teams around the league would sit up and take notice: quarterbacks in New England command a premium price. Malcolm Butler almost certainly won't re-sign this offseason following his benching in the Super Bowl, where Bill Belichick essentially cut off his nose to spite his face. There may well be a low-rent cornerback on the free agent market that the Pats pick up off the street and turn into an All-Pro, but the more likely scenario remains the draft, where New England are renowned for moving around within the first round.
Buffalo Bills
2017 Record: 9-7 (2nd in AFC East, gained the 6th seed)
Key Free Agents: DT Kyle Williams, WR Jordan Matthews, CB Shareece Wright
Cap Space: Around $30m
Draft Needs: QB, LB, DT
Despite snapping their playoff drought, it was more by luck than judgement (see; Peterman, Nathan and Dalton, Andy) and the Bills front office will have a fair amount of rebuilding to do if they are to become consistent postseason contenders. Trading Marcell Dareus was the strangest decision of the season, followed closely by benching and subsequently unbenching Tyrod Taylor, who only turned
the ball over 6 times all year, compared to 5 times in one half by his understudy Peterman. The need to rebuild on the defensive line is strong, but if the Bills brass aren't convinced by the skills of Taylor, then QB need to be the letters written largest on April's draft board. That said, the state of the run defense last year was no laughing matter, and as a result, any run-stopping interior D-Linemen or linebackers would be happily welcomed by coordinator and teammates alike.
Miami Dolphins
2017 Record: 6-10 (Third in AFC East)
Key Free Agents: QB Jay Cutler(!), DE William Hayes, WR Jarvis Landry, OG Jermon Bushrod
Cap Space: Around $7.5m
Draft Needs: OG, ILB, RB
The Dolphins will definitely need a new QB this offseason in addition to the above positions, but don't expect them to spend big with such a tight cap situation. More likely is the scenario where they add a signal caller late in the second day of the draft, leaving free agency open for shrewd spending, which the Dolphins haven't exactly excelled at recently. That said, some contract restructuring and a
few low-end signings could push this team from 6-10 to 9-7 and in the hunt for a wildcard spot, not to mention the fact that their starting QB should be fully healthy by the start of training camp. Fins fans should be wary of the fact that their defense wasn't as good as it may have appeared in spots last year, so the need for a commanding presence in the middle, or an effective edge rusher alongside Cameron Wake (when William Hayes inevitably gets overpaid in free agency), becomes greater than the need for a good interior O-Lineman.
New York Jets
2017 Record: 5-11 (Last in AFC East)
Key Free Agents: QB Josh McCown, DE Kony Ealy, TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Cap Space: Around $73m
Draft Needs: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL
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Josh McCown isn't getting any younger, and coincidentally almost certainly won't be getting any better, Robby Anderson needs a running mate, Their TE1 isn't good enough to command TE1 money so might get re-signed, and I can't remember the last RB the Jets had that didn't make a name for himself before moving to the Big Apple (Tomlinson and Forte spring to mind immediately). That said, as much as the Jets need help on offense, the defense could also use some new pieces. Last year's first round pick Jamal Adams can't do it on his own, even if tackling machine Darron Lee is roaming the field in front of him. However, their cap situation leaves them with the ability to sign at least one marquee player, and I have heard lots of people projecting New York as a landing spot for Kirk Cousins after they traded for Alex Smith, and they could do worse. Come draft day, the Jets will most likely have their pick of the crop at no. 6, so don't be surprised to see them pull the trigger on a huge name capable of making blockbuster plays in the big city.
New England Patriots
2017 Record: 13-3 (Lost in Super Bowl LII)
Key Free Agents: CB Malcolm Butler, LT Nate Solder, ST Matthew Slater, WR Danny Amendola
Cap Space: Around $14m
Draft Needs: CB, QB, Edge
Buffalo Bills
2017 Record: 9-7 (2nd in AFC East, gained the 6th seed)
Key Free Agents: DT Kyle Williams, WR Jordan Matthews, CB Shareece Wright
Cap Space: Around $30m
Draft Needs: QB, LB, DT
Despite snapping their playoff drought, it was more by luck than judgement (see; Peterman, Nathan and Dalton, Andy) and the Bills front office will have a fair amount of rebuilding to do if they are to become consistent postseason contenders. Trading Marcell Dareus was the strangest decision of the season, followed closely by benching and subsequently unbenching Tyrod Taylor, who only turned
Miami Dolphins
2017 Record: 6-10 (Third in AFC East)
Key Free Agents: QB Jay Cutler(!), DE William Hayes, WR Jarvis Landry, OG Jermon Bushrod
Cap Space: Around $7.5m
Draft Needs: OG, ILB, RB
The Dolphins will definitely need a new QB this offseason in addition to the above positions, but don't expect them to spend big with such a tight cap situation. More likely is the scenario where they add a signal caller late in the second day of the draft, leaving free agency open for shrewd spending, which the Dolphins haven't exactly excelled at recently. That said, some contract restructuring and a
New York Jets
2017 Record: 5-11 (Last in AFC East)
Key Free Agents: QB Josh McCown, DE Kony Ealy, TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Cap Space: Around $73m
Draft Needs: QB, RB, WR, TE, OL
Josh McCown isn't getting any younger, and coincidentally almost certainly won't be getting any better, Robby Anderson needs a running mate, Their TE1 isn't good enough to command TE1 money so might get re-signed, and I can't remember the last RB the Jets had that didn't make a name for himself before moving to the Big Apple (Tomlinson and Forte spring to mind immediately). That said, as much as the Jets need help on offense, the defense could also use some new pieces. Last year's first round pick Jamal Adams can't do it on his own, even if tackling machine Darron Lee is roaming the field in front of him. However, their cap situation leaves them with the ability to sign at least one marquee player, and I have heard lots of people projecting New York as a landing spot for Kirk Cousins after they traded for Alex Smith, and they could do worse. Come draft day, the Jets will most likely have their pick of the crop at no. 6, so don't be surprised to see them pull the trigger on a huge name capable of making blockbuster plays in the big city.
Wednesday 17 January 2018
How the Teams Stand - AFC North
After a typically gruelling season for each team in the NFL, and a particularly historic one (and not in a good way) for the Cleveland Browns, we now know the fate of every team heading into next season. This is the first in a series where I will be looking at how well prepared each team is for 2018, even before 2017 has really ended, and where else to start but with the AFC North?
Pittsburgh Steelers
2017 Record: 13-3 (Lost to JAX in Divisional Round)
Key Free Agents: RB Le'Veon Bell, OLB Arthur Moats, ILB Sean Spence
Cap Space: Between $-3m and $3m
Draft Needs: QB/TE/LB
Baltimore Ravens
2017 Record: 9-7 (Lost to their own defensive mistakes in Week 17)
Key Free Agents: WR Mike Wallace, C Ryan Jensen, TE Benjamin Watson
Cap Space: Around $11m
Draft Needs: WR/TE/OLB
Cincinnati Bengals
2017 Record: 7-9 (Lost to teams when it mattered, beat teams when it did)
Key Free Agents: TE Tyler Eifert, RT Eric Winston, RB Jeremy Hill
Cap Space: Around $38m
Draft Needs: OT/WR/CB
Cleveland Browns
2017 Record: 0-16 (Lost to everybody)
Key Free Agents: RB Isaiah Crowell
Cap Space: Around $110m
Draft Needs: CB/WR/QB(?)
Pittsburgh Steelers
2017 Record: 13-3 (Lost to JAX in Divisional Round)
Key Free Agents: RB Le'Veon Bell, OLB Arthur Moats, ILB Sean Spence
Cap Space: Between $-3m and $3m
Draft Needs: QB/TE/LB
 |
| F this shit, I'm out. |
The Steelers capped off another relatively successful season with yet another AFC North title, avoiding major injuries to key players for the most part (Ryan Shazier notwithstanding), and keeping Ben Roethlisberger in the team for all sixteen games, which in itself is a rare feat. The biggest challenge for the Steelers this offseason will be the same as last year: re-sign Le'Veon Bell. The star RB has threatened to retire if he is once again franchise tagged, and expects to be paid healthily as both an RB1 and effectively a WR2/3, however the tight cap situation indicates that the Steelers will have to do a fair amount of trading and renegotiating with other players to ensure that the Killer B's are all back at Heinz Field next year. In the draft, although Roethlisberger has already ruled out retirement, the firing of his offensive coordinator Todd Haley (announced today) could force his hand, and the Steelers will certainly need to take a look at the inside linebacker position with Ryan Shazier out indefinitely, and Sean Spence coming up on free agency. It promises to be a busy offseason for Pittsburgh, and major upheaval could well spell the end of their dominance in the AFC North.
Baltimore Ravens
2017 Record: 9-7 (Lost to their own defensive mistakes in Week 17)
Key Free Agents: WR Mike Wallace, C Ryan Jensen, TE Benjamin Watson
Cap Space: Around $11m
Draft Needs: WR/TE/OLB
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| Ginger Jesus. |
A return to the playoffs for the first time in 3 years looked promising for the Ravens until a late Week 17 brain fart by the entire defense meant that the Bills broke their drought ahead of them. A stifling defense, coupled with an eventually potent rushing attack is usually a good postseason formula, you just have to get there first, and the big wigs at Ravens HQ will spend the next 8 months figuring out how to get the franchise back playing January football once more. Of the Key Free Agents, the one most pressing for the Ravens to sign would be Ryan Jensen. His physical style of play made him a favourite with the fans towards the end of the season (see: fighting the entire Dolphins defense after a late hit on Joe Flacco), and signing him to a new contract would stabilise an offensive line that has seen too much change in recent years to be consistent. Tying veteran wide receiver Mike Wallace down to a short-term, low-risk contract would also be a shrewd move from Ozzie Newsome, who should look to use Wallace as a mentor for the WR he picks in the first round of the draft. (NB: this is what Newsome should do, but he'll inevitably end up taking Alabama CB/S Minkah Fitzpatrick cos Newsome stays loyal to his brand.) Joe Flacco is the starting QB of this team through 2019 at least, so taking an early shot at a QB doesn't make much sense, so the Ravens should complement the ever-productive Terrell Suggs with a new friend on the other side of the D-Line to disrupt opposition passers, and take some pressure off the improved, yet injury prone secondary.
Cincinnati Bengals
2017 Record: 7-9 (Lost to teams when it mattered, beat teams when it did)
Key Free Agents: TE Tyler Eifert, RT Eric Winston, RB Jeremy Hill
Cap Space: Around $38m
Draft Needs: OT/WR/CB
 |
| Fast, but not good. |
Cincinnati, just like in most other years, flattered to deceive. They didn't even make it to the postseason and go one-and-done this time, so changes are needed across the board for this team to get back to where everyone predicted they were a couple of years ago. Although I have listed Eifert and Hill as Key Free Agents, Cincinnati seem to have found worthy replacements in Tyler Kroft and Joe Mixon. I fear that Jeremy Hill will be let go, and head somewhere like Detroit to make Matthew Stafford very happy, but the 1-2 punch of Mixon and Giovani Bernard should be enough for the Bengals to not skip too much of a beat. Eifert, meanwhile, could be re-signed, just a season removed from his breakout year to complement Kroft and AJ Green in the passing game, and potentially revitalise an offense that has looked shaky since losing Marvin Jones Jr to Detroit and Mohamed Sanu to Atlanta. Upgrading the offensive line looks to be priority number one in Cincy as Andrew Whitworth proved to be one of the steals of the season for the LA Rams, and Eric Winston at age 34 could well be considering retirement. If it's not the O-Line, then the Bengals should really consider going back to WR in the first round after John Ross was pretty much confirmed as a bust by the front office when they announced they were considering moving him to CB, and as mentioned, the losses of Sanu and Jones have really hurt Andy Dalton and his team. It doesn't take much, but with a few correct decisions, the Bengals could once again become offseason champions, and have experts raving about how they're going to go to the Super Bowl once again (but they're almost always wrong as long as Marvin Lewis is in charge).
Cleveland Browns
2017 Record: 0-16 (Lost to everybody)
Key Free Agents: RB Isaiah Crowell
Cap Space: Around $110m
Draft Needs: CB/WR/QB(?)
 |
| This man could literally make me a Pro Bowl QB. |
Congratulations Cleveland, you finally did it! After all these years of trying, you finally joined the 2008 Detroit Lions as the only teams to ever go all-defeated. Well done, you. Now, back to focusing on being a team that are actually good at what they do. I am always sceptical about writing about the Browns offseason, because you know that they pretty much rinse and repeat in this situation. Draft QB, QB sucks, tank, repeat. But I'm going to write this with a hint of optimism, which comes in the form of the one hundred and ten million dollars that they have available in cap space. For that money, the Browns could feasibly sign 4 or 5 top free agents in positions of need, and still have some left over to pad out their roster. Not to mention that they have two of the top 4 picks in the draft this year. Only having one key free agent (and he's not even that good) means that the Browns can sign more or less who they want, when they want, and then go into the draft safe in the knowledge that hitting big on two or three draft picks can catapult them from winless season to playoff challengers. The secondary is a huge concern, after trading star CB Joe Haden to Pittsburgh last year, Cleveland never really replaced him, and so a cornerback could well be used in one of the first two round of the draft. I'm of the school of thought that DeShone Kizer could succeed in the NFL with a better supporting cast around him (see Bradford, Sam, and Goff, Jared for examples). Anyone can be a good QB in the NFL with Joe Thomas and Joel Bitonio on the O-Line, and Josh Gordon and another premier pass catcher at WR. I think the Browns should go for a WR in one of the first two round, but I know they will plump for a QB (probably Baker Mayfield, Josh Rosen, or Sam Darnold at number 1 overall), so best of luck to the Browns, and best of luck to whichever unlucky chap they choose to lead them into the 2018 season.
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