NFL Draft 2020: A Recap

As usual (I say usual, I didn't do one last year), I'm going to have a look back on last night's first round from the NFL Draft, delving specifically into one or two picks, as well as handing out a few awards. For the first time, there's also a section where I've asked friends to offer up some bold predictions, as well as who they think their teams will take in the first round.

Bold Predictions

I asked my friends and colleagues Tom, Sam, and Maria for some bold predictions ahead of the first round, and even came up with three of my own to see how good our crystal-ball-staring is.


Tom
1. The Miami Dolphins go OT before QB
2. Tua Tagovailoa falls outside the top 20
3. Four OTs are taken in the top 10 picks

- Unfortunately for Tom, a Dolphins fan, none of his predictions came true, although the 'Fins were able to get Tua Tagovailoa, Austin Jackson, and Noah Igbinoghene, as well as trading back to pick up more draft capital.

Sam
1. The Miami Dolphins don't take a QB in the top 10
2. The Philadelphia Eagles trade up to draft a WR
3. Jacksonville Jaguars go QB in the first round

- Sam almost got prediction number two correct as the Eagles selected WR Jalen Reagor 21st overall, but they didn't have to trade up to do it. Meanwhile, the Dolphins took Tua fifth overall, and the Jags decided to bolster their defense, selecting both CB CJ Henderson, and DE K'Lavon Chaisson.

Maria
1. Cam Akers is the first RB off the board in the first round
2. The Indianapolis Colts take Jordan Love with the 27th overall pick
3. Tua Tagovailoa drops outside the top 15

- Maria's claim that Cam Akers would be the first RB off the board surprised me, as it was widely considered that D'Andre Swift would be the first gone, and she was nearly right, but instead of Akers, the Kansas City Chiefs selected Clyde Edwards-Helaire with the final pick of the round. Meanwhile, it was the Green Bay Packers selecting Love with the 27th pick.

Calum
1. The Chicago Bears trade into the first round to take Jordan Love
2. At least 5 draft-day trades go down
3. The most selected position in the first round will be cornerback

- Well I have to admit, I didn't see that NFC North team trading up for Jordan Love. So close, but yet so far. There were just four trades on draft day, as the teams in the top 10 all held on to their selections. As for the most-selected position, that was a three-way tie between cornerback, offensive tackle, and wide receiver.

Head vs. Heart

I also asked these three to give me head and heart selections for their teams in the first round. Who did they think they would pick (head), and who did they want them to pick (heart)? Let's see how everyone got on:

Tom

Head says:

QB Justin Herbert 5th Overall
OT Mekhi Becton 18th Overall
RB D'Andre Swift 26th Overall

Heart says:
QB Tua Tagovailoa 5th Overall
OT Mekhi Becton 18th Overall
RB D'Andre Swift 26th Overall

Actual Selections:
QB Tua Tagovailoa 5th Overall
OT Austin Jackson 18th Overall
CB Noah Igbinoghene 30th Overall (trade with Green Bay)

Sam
Head says:
OT Josh Jones 22nd Overall
CB Kristian Fulton 25th Overall

Heart says:
DT Javon Kinlaw 22nd Overall
CB CJ Henderson 25th Overall

Actual Selections:
WR Justin Jefferson 22nd Overall
CB Jeff Gladney 31st Overall (trade with San Francisco)

Maria
Head says:
QB Jordan Love or QB Jalen Hurts

Heart says:
LB Patrick Queen

Actual Selection:
C Cesar Ruiz

Calum
Head says:
DE AJ Epenesa or DE Yetur Gross-Matos

Heart says:
LB Kenneth Murray or LB Patrick Queen

Actual Selection:
LB Patrick Queen

The Awards

Best Value Pick

CeeDee Lamb to the Dallas Cowboys, 17th Overall
Jerry Jones didn't need another wide receiver, but when the electric Lamb fell into his lap at number 17, he couldn't miss. After posting career numbers last year, Das Prescott now gets an immediate upgrade at wide receiver to go alongside Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, which will cause no end of matchup nightmares for the other teams in the NFC East. If the Cowboys can fill the holes needed on defense on Friday night, then it could be a very fruitful draft for America's Team

Biggest Reach

CB Damon Arnette to the Las Vegas Raiders, 19th Overall
How surprising was this pick? Well, let's put it this way, none of the NFL social media accounts had a post ready for Damon Arnette. On the live broadcast, both Mel Kiper and Daniel Jeremiah said they had him down as a round 2/3 talent, so seeing him come off the board before the likes of Jeff Gladney, Trevon Diggs, and other highly-touted CBs was a very surprising move, although it's exactly the kind of move that we've come to expect from the Raiders.

Most Surprising Pick

QB Jordan Love to the Green Bay Packers, 26th Overall
When you have a first-ballot Hall of Famer at QB, and you haven't spent a first round draft pick on an offensive skill position player in nigh-on 15 years, you should probably think about bolstering the WR corps or the running back position. Instead, the Packers traded up four spots to take Jordan Love. I can see the logic behind the pick, as Aaron Rodgers sat behind Brett Favre before becoming a legend, but this team made it to the NFC Championship Game last season. Why not spend big on improving the offense, and try to take that final step to the promised land, rather than picking the only player who will both annoy your QB, and not see any playing time in his first season?

Best First Round

Denver Broncos (WR Jerry Jeudy, 15th Overall)
In their wildest dreams, I'm not sure that the Denver Broncos could have envisaged themselves picking up arguably the best receiver in the draft in the middle of the first round, let alone having the choice between the top two. Jeudy is one of the most polished route runners that many draft experts have seen in years, and draws favourable comparisons to some of the league's top names already. Now, Vic Fangio gets the chance to pair the Alabama product with one of the most dependable young receivers in the game as Jeudy will start opposite Courtland Sutton on opening day, which will be music to the ears of presumptive QB Drew Lock.

Worst First Round

New York Giants (OT Andrew Thomas, 4th Overall)
I didn't just want to rinse and repeat my breakdown of the Raiders' pick of Damon Arnette, so instead I've gone for the Giants, whose selection of Andrew Thomas baffled many on draft night. The Georgia product was considered the fourth-best option at OT behind Tristan Wirfs, Jedrick Wills, and Mekhi Becton, all of whom are projected to have higher ceilings at the next level. So with the top three tackles on the board, as well as a plug-and-play versatile impact player like Isaiah Simmons, the Giants decided to shock everyone by picking Thomas, who they could easily have traded back about ten spots to select if they had wanted to.

5 Predictions for the 2020 NFL Draft

Thursday night/Friday morning sees one of my favourite times of the year roll around, as the NFL Draft comes out to play once more. Of course, the coronavirus pandemic has already claimed the live show, so there will be no chest-bumping, high-fiving, or bear-hugging of Roger Goodell on stage, but nevertheless, all 32 teams will be involved as they try to get better and earn their way back to the top of the pile as the Kansas City Chiefs aim to hold them all off once more.

With that, here are some predictions from me, a very average draft follower-and-knower, for what may happen early on Friday morning (GMT):

1. At Least One Team Trades Into the Top 5

With the general consensus pointing towards LSU QB Joe Burrow at number one overall, and Chase Young following him off the board to the Washington Redskins, the Detroit Lions and New York Giants then become the envy of every other team in the league as they can sit and wait for QB-needy teams to trade with them to jump ahead of the Miami Dolphins' pick at number five. With the draft capital that the Dolphins have built up over the last couple of seasons, I could even see them trading up to three to get their hands on their QB of the future, Tua Tagovailoa. Either way, I think we'll see early action at the top of the draft as teams clamber to secure the future of their franchise.


2. Tua Tagovailoa Ends Up Having a Better Career Than Joe Burrow

Now this one's going to take time to develop, but I'm simply using Tua's college career as a yardage marker for this prediction. In his freshman year, he came into the National Championship game and defeated Georgia to take home the title, replacing fellow 2020 draft prospect Jalen Hurts at half-time. Meanwhile, Burrow bounced around a little, before settling at LSU and struggling somewhat in his first season with 16 TDs and 5 INTs. Compare that to his 2019 season, which saw him light up college football for 60 TDs and 6 INTs, and there's no doubt that Burrow has shown an ability to improve, but there's just something about the way that Tua carries himself which makes me think he'll be the standard-bearer for the quarterbacks of the 2020 draft class.


3. The New England Patriots Choose To Bolster Their Defence

Last season, the Pats had a suffocating defense, which carried Tom Brady and a slightly stagnant offense to the AFC East title once more. In this draft, I can see Bill Belichick going one of two ways: either he stacks the defense with as much talent as possible to try and carry the Brady-less Pats to a division title, or he bolsters the offensive line to give their future quarterback (who I think will come from the 2021 draft class) as much protection as possible. More likely though is that Belichick leans on his past as a defensive coordinator and gets the best player available to boost his already impressive squad.


4. No More Than One RB Will Go On Thursday Night

The running back position has been increasingly devalued as the game has got faster, and more of the focus has moved onto edge rushers, offensive tackles, wide receivers, and cornerbacks. Even the selection of Saquon Barkley at number two overall a couple of years ago is regarded as a reach in some circles, as the production of the running back compared to the wear-and-tear just doesn't match up. There's only a few spots where I can see DeAndre Swift landing in the first round this year, and the two most likely of those belong to the Miami Dolphins' third and final pick at 26, and the Kansas City Chiefs with the final pick of the round. From a purely selfish, football-watching point of view, I'd rather see him succeed with Andy Reid in Kansas City, where Kareem Hunt flourished with Alex Smith under center, so who knows what's possible with Pat Mahomes, a first-round running back, and Andy Reid's offensive scheme.


5. Seattle Won't Pick at 27

This one's pretty simple. Since John Schneider became Seahawks GM in 2012, the team has never picked at the same spot, trading out of the first round altogether in 2013, '14, '15, and '17, and bouncing around to pick up more capital in the other years of his reign. This one seems like a pick out of thin air at first, but once you read into it, it's probably the most likely of all of these predictions to actually come true.

Baseball's Unwritten Rules are Stupid and Dumb

Look, if you disagree with me on the title, that's fine. But you have to know that you're wrong. I'm going to run through a couple of baseball's unwritten rules and point out why they make no sense.

Don't Run Up The Score

Now I know that run differential is unlikely to matter in a 162-game season. And I know that it's demoralising to allow double-digit runs in a game. But here's the thing: If you can't stop a team, why on earth should they stop trying to make things easier for you? If I were the manager of a team, I would want my guys out there trying to score as many runs as they can on a nightly basis. And if the opposition can't stop us, I don't want my guys giving them easy outs just because it's the done thing. Boost your batting average and try and drive a few runs in. Who knows, next time out, it could be you on the receiving end of a pasting. Also, who doesn't want to see more 30-3 scorelines?

Don't Swing On A 3-0 Count

This is another case of 'I can't help it if you don't have your best stuff today'. If the pitcher can't throw strikes and has to lob a meatball down the pipe just to get the ball over the plate, the batter should be well within his rights to unload on that thing and send it 450 feet. Admittedly, from the batter's point of view, he could mis-hit it and get out, but this is very dependent on the game situation. If my team is up a few runs, I'm giving every batter the green light on a 3-0 pitch. If it's a tie game or we're a couple of runs behind, I might think about it. But more often than not, if the batter can see it's a nice ball to hit, get after that thing.

Don't Bunt To Break Up A No-Hitter/Perfect Game

Your job is to get on base. So get on base any way you can. I don't understand this obsession with not bunting when the shift is on, or not bunting when there's a no-hitter on. These players are paid millions of dollars to get themselves on base and score runs, and they should be doing that any way they can, even if it means breaking up a no-hitter. Let's face it, if you're in the seventh inning and you don't have a single hit off a pitcher, something clearly isn't working, so lay down a bunt and hustle down the first base line. If he doesn't like it, he'll probably bean you, and I've got plenty to say about that as well.

Don't Admire Your Home Runs

Home runs are great. Home runs are beautiful. Home runs deserve admiration. But pitchers don't like it, and therefore neither should you. The difference between a pitcher and a batter is that a pitcher has to stay on a relatively even keel. They can't let anything get to them too much or they'll be thrown off-stride. Batters meanwhile get one shot in nine, and their swings are trying to get the most out of the situation, it's one swing and a huge rush of adrenaline if they see the ball sailing off into the distance. And why shouldn't they be able to admire it? It's not like there's a timer on rounding the bases. Sure, it might hurt your pitcher's feelings, but maybe next time they'll throw a better pitch.

If You Admire Your Home Runs, Expect A Baseball To The Ribs

This is the dumbest one of the lot. 'Hey, you there, why are you good at your job, you massive dork? I don't like that, so the next time I see you, I'm going to force you to wear a 90+mph baseball.' It brings to mind the saying "don't be bitter, be better" and it never applies more than to a pitcher or team who feel like they've been embarrassed. Take Ronald Acuña Jr for example. You're in your first major league season and you are just torching baseballs for fun, hitting monster home runs night after night. But then you face the Miami Marlins, and their starting pitcher doesn't like that you're doing well, so he throws the hardest pitch of his career right into your midriff. Seems harsh, doesn't it?

Fresh Baked Takes - Week 6

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.

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.

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.

Image may look foreign to fans of Karanka's sides.

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

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.

Europa League winners. Book it.

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.

Fresh Baked Takes - Week 4

Kylian Mbappé has been the Best Young Player and it's not even close

Future Ballon D'Or Winner Kylian Mbappé

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

Who is this man?

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

It's Coming Home (2022 edition) - Raz ft. Harry Kane

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.

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.