In what ended like a lost opportunity for Arsenal to clinch the EPL title, the season for The Gunners was not a very bad one. According to official figures, Arsenal were the biggest earners this season, earning more that fairy-tale winners, Leicester and all other clubs.

Arsene Wenger’s side earned £100,952,257 above Manchester City £96,971,603, Manchester United £96,477,120, and Tottenham £95,222,320. The Foxes came in fifth, earning £93,219,598, which includes the £24.8m title money. Leicester City got £9m less than Arsenal in “facility fees” since only 15 of their matches were televised, compared to Arsenal’s 27.

http://www.footylogue.com/arsenal-first-epl-club-earn-above-100m/

The present football era is believed to be bloated with money, resulting in the steady decline in club loyalty. Many players have been accused of putting profit before patriotism and loyalty. Clubs have been restricted from spending freely in order to secure transfers.
With the last set of one club players hanging up their boots, FootyLogue had to dig up the most memorable one club players that started their careers in the 90s.


Carles Puyol

Carles Puyol, a long time serving captain of Barcelona, who took over from Luis Enrique in 2004 ended his career as a one club man. The centre-back played 593 times for the Catalan side, winning a total of 21 major titles. Joining La Blaugrana as a youth in 1995, Puyol spent 18 seasons, retiring earlier than expected due to his frequent knee injuries.

Read the rest here http://www.footylogue.com/7-great-one-club-players-from-the-90s/

Chelsea vs Swansea: Four things we learnt

Thibaut Courtois was sent-off as Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw on the opening day of the season by Swansea at Stamford Bridge.

http://www.footylogue.com/chelsea-vs-swansea-four-things-learnt/

Montero is Ivanovic’s kryptonite

Jefferson Montero’s raw pace and trickery got the best of Ivanovic every time they met. Ivanovic struggled to catch up with him let alone contain him.

Montero was the most successful dribbler on the opening day of the season – 6 successful, 2 unsuccessful.
The Ecuadorian won 10 duels (50/50s) – more than any Chelsea player.
He whipped in seven crosses – more than any Chelsea player.
Montero broke the sound barrier 3 times
Although Montero was “subbed”, he got very high ratings.


Garry Monk’s front-line setup was spot on


Playing a 4-2-3-1 with more mobility from Montero and Ayew was very hard for Chelsea’s defence to deal with. This is probably a better option to playing a true one-man upfront with the wingers being more defense conscious.


Ivanovic’s overlapping did not help

Many times during the game, Ivanovic overlapped. In fact, being out of position played a role in Gomis’ onside position, as a less defense-minded Willian ruined the offside trap. Also, Ivanovic’s delivery when he got the ball in advanced positions was poor – quite unlike him.


Chelsea seem to have changed their talisman from Hazard to nobody

Last season, the Blues could do nothing without Hazard and he duly performed when he was needed. They played in a way that always set Hazard up for impact. Every move was around Hazard’s pace and flair. In the team’s first match, it looked like they have deviated from this pattern.

http://www.footylogue.com/chelsea-vs-swansea-four-things-learnt/

Chelsea vs Swansea: Four things we learnt

Thibaut Courtois was sent-off as Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw on the opening day of the season by Swansea at Stamford Bridge.

http://www.footylogue.com/chelsea-vs-swansea-four-things-learnt/

Montero is Ivanovic’s kryptonite

Jefferson Montero’s raw pace and trickery got the best of Ivanovic every time they met. Ivanovic struggled to catch up with him let alone contain him.

Montero was the most successful dribbler on the opening day of the season – 6 successful, 2 unsuccessful.
The Ecuadorian won 10 duels (50/50s) – more than any Chelsea player.
He whipped in seven crosses – more than any Chelsea player.
Montero broke the sound barrier 3 times
Although Montero was “subbed”, he got very high ratings.


Garry Monk’s front-line setup was spot on


Playing a 4-2-3-1 with more mobility from Montero and Ayew was very hard for Chelsea’s defence to deal with. This is probably a better option to playing a true one-man upfront with the wingers being more defense conscious.


Ivanovic’s overlapping did not help

Many times during the game, Ivanovic overlapped. In fact, being out of position played a role in Gomis’ onside position, as a less defense-minded Willian ruined the offside trap. Also, Ivanovic’s delivery when he got the ball in advanced positions was poor – quite unlike him.


Chelsea seem to have changed their talisman from Hazard to nobody

Last season, the Blues could do nothing without Hazard and he duly performed when he was needed. They played in a way that always set Hazard up for impact. Every move was around Hazard’s pace and flair. In the team’s first match, it looked like they have deviated from this pattern.

http://www.footylogue.com/chelsea-vs-swansea-four-things-learnt/

http://www.footylogue.com/manchester-united-vs-tottenham-four-things-we-learned/

With a different result from last year’s loss in their first game, Manchester United still have a lot of work to do at the back, and also make their attack more impressive. Kyle Walker’s own goal was really a life saver. Meanwhile, Tottenham did not bring their “A” game at Old Trafford.

These are the four things we learnt.


United’s defence is still jittery

The team list for the game raised eyebrows. No Rojo. Blind at the back.
We agree that Blind is a versatile player, but playing as a centre-back, increased the butterflies in our stomachs. While many say that Smalling performed very well, there’s a reason for concern about the number of back passes.

It is becoming too much.

The thing is, passing to the Romero does not in any way help the game. It puts undue pressure on the goalie, whose delivery upfield is not as good as De Gea’s. It also put pressure on the new signing – Schneiderlin. Definitely it is not a comfortable style of play, since possession is constantly lost.

Above all the defence kept a clean sheet, but they are too scared to pass out to other outfield players.


Van Gaal is still experimenting

After much talk about his intention to play a 4-3-3 this season, it is clear that Van Gaal is still experimenting. He played the team in a semi-flat 4-4-2 with Depay in the hole, Carrick and Schneiderlin in a double pivot.

Depay and Schneiderlin had good debuts, but the former looked like he would play better from the wings.


The Old Trafford landlords are toothless upfront

Fans have been skeptical about this part of the team. As a result, rumours of signing a mystery striker was at a high during the off-season. This match proved that the team needs a striker, either as an addition or as a starter (looked like Rooney got a knock).

Rooney strayed often into midfield positions, leaving Depay in goal scoring positions; the latter’s lack of a striker’s instincts getting the best of him.

There was no shot on target in the first half despite being one goal up. At full time, it was just one shot on target. Very poor.
Coupled with numerous events of Young’s indecision on the ball, the front men were without the killer bite.

Maybe a Depay on the right will change things, but Manchester United really needs a man mounting constant pressure on opposition defences.


You can play poorly and still win

This is exactly what Mourinho does, – “boring football”, scrap a result despite playing poorly. In this case, defending a 1 goal lead that came through an own goal. Manchester United were able to checkmate Tottenham’s style of play in the first half, but it came with a price – inability to make impact in the final third.

In the end, an own goal equaled three points.

http://www.footylogue.com/manchester-united-vs-tottenham-four-things-we-learned/

The summer transfer window has seen a lot of ‘player transactions’, guaranteeing that we would see many new faces and players in new club colours this season.


Let’s take a look at this 10-man list of players whose move into and across England are regarded as most noteworthy.

Diego Costa

Atletico Madrid to Chelsea; £32 million

The heroics of the Brazil-born poacher for Atletico Madrid last season was enough signal that Costa was due for a bigger club. His move to Chelsea is a big relief for Jose Mourinho, following his comments last season about Chelsea’s lack of attacking personnel. Optimists believe that Costa’s World Cup jinx with Spain is far in the past and that he would resume to being the goal scoring beast he is known to be.

Read the rest here:
http://www.footylogue.com/the-top-10-transfers-before-the-start-of-the-20142015-english-premier-league-season/

Howard Webb announced his retirement during the week and as expected social media and the Internet went crazy with “Manchester United bias” memes.

Looking at the statistics from Webb’s officiating in the EPL since 2009 reveals another side of the ‘accepted truth’.

http://www.footylogue.com/what-epl-club-really-profited-from-howard-webb/

The Chelsea striker has decided to focus on his club career after scoring 65 goals in 104 appearances for the Elephants

Cote d'Ivoire icon Didier Drogba has announced his retirement from international football at the age of 36.

The Chelsea striker represented the Elephants at this summer's World Cup in Brazil but has now decided to focus on his club career after scoring 65 times in 104 appearances for his country.

"It is with much sadness that I have decided to retire from international football," Drogba wrote in a statement released on Friday.

"These past 12 years in the national team have been full of emotions. From my first call-up to my last match, I have always tried to give my best for my country.

"I am very proud to have been captain of this team for eight years and to have contributed to placing my country on the world stage of football, taking part in three World Cups and two African Cup of Nations finals.

"I cannot convey enough thanks to the fans for all the love and support during these years. All my goals, all my caps, all our victories are for you - I love you."

Drogba made his Cote d'Ivoire debut in September 2002, against South Africa, and broke his international duck the following February, in a 3-0 win over Cameroon.

The attacker captained his country in their first ever appearance at the World Cup, in 2006, netting in the Elephants' opening game, a 2-1 loss to Argentina.

Drogba struck again at South Africa 2010, against Brazil, but he failed to find the net in his three appearances at this summer's tournament as Cote d'Ivoire failed to make it out of the group stage for the third time in a row.

Having since completed a free transfer to Chelsea following the expiration of his contract with Galatasaray, Drogba has now called time on his long and illustrious international career.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/468/internationals/2014/08/08/5018707/cote-divoire-icon-drogba-announces-international-retirement?ICID=HP_HN_1

The 34-year-old midfielder has succeeded Carles Puyol, who had long held the armband but left the club this summer to take up a non-playing role

Barcelona have announced that Xavi will succeed the retired Carles Puyol as club captain following the centre-back's exit this summer.

The former Spain midfielder was Puyol's deputy last term and won a vote of his team-mates to take on the armband on a permanent basis after deciding to remain at Camp Nou.

The 34-year-old will be assisted by Andres Iniesta, who will be his immediate depty, ahead of Lionel Messi and Sergio Busquets.


Last term, Victor Valdes was the third captain after Puyol and Xavi, but the goalkeeper left the club this summer after his contract expired. The Spaniard is currently recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and is without a club.

Xavi has spent his entire career at Barcelona, making close to 500 Liga appearances for the Catalan giants since making his debut in 1998.

He has won a stunning seven Primera Division titles in his time at Camp Nou, along with three Champions Leagues and two Copa del Reys.

This week, he announced his retirement from the international scene and revealed that he was close to leaving the club this summer, but was persuaded to stay by new coach Luis Enrique.

http://www.goal.com/en/news/12/spain/2014/08/07/5017216/xavi-named-barcelona-captain?ICID=HP_HN_5

Juventus & Man United confirm the sale of Patrice Evra to Turin

Both Manchester United and Juventus announced the news at the same time on Twitter on Monday after, as the 34-year-old left-back ended his eight and a half years at Old Trafford.

Evra told the Man United website:

After a great deal of thought I have decided the time is right for me to leave Manchester United. It is the biggest decision of my career as this club is, and will always remain, in my heart.

The French international is believed to have cost the Serie A champions just €1.2m payable in two installments, while Evra has penned a two year deal at Juve.

Evra made 379 appearances for United and scoring 10 goals.

Evra won the Premier League five times, three League Cups, and the Champions League and the Club World Cup once apiece.

See tweets confirming that Patrice Evra has joined Juventus below.

https://twitter.com/juventusfc/statuses/491229840847040512
https://twitter.com/ManUtd/statuses/491230008787337217

Source: http://www.101greatgoals.com/blog/done-deal-juventus-man-united-confirm-the-sale-of-patrice-evra-to-turin/?

News has broken on Monday afternoon that Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has retired from international football.

The news was announced on the FA’s website, with the following quotes from Gerrard:

I have enjoyed every minute of representing my country and it is a sad day for me knowing that I won’t pull on the England shirt again.

This has been a very difficult decision, one of the toughest I’ve had to make in my career. I have agonised over this since coming back from Brazil and have spoken to family, friends and people close to me in the game before coming to this point.

Most importantly, Brendan [Rodgers] has been fantastic and obviously I have to look after my body as much as possible to ensure I can give everything when I take to the field.

To ensure I can keep playing to a high level and giving everything to Liverpool Football Club I believe this is the right decision, and having Champions League football back at Anfield is another big factor in my decision.

Gerrard also captained England 38 times in a 114-game career for the Three Lions, scoring a total of 21 goals.

Steve Gerrard played in three World Cup finals for England, scoring three goals in the competition.

Source: http://www.101greatgoals.com/