ANALYZING PEP GUARDIOLA’s LATEST PREDICTION

“My feeling today is that we are going to win the Premier League,” he insisted. “If we play the levels like we did against Liverpool and Tottenham, we are going to win it again.

“People don’t believe it already because of the three draws, but we’re going to do it again. Knowing that it is not easy.

“No team has done it yet [win four consecutive Premier League titles], so that’s why the difficulty is there, it was last season, it was this season.

“But if you ask me today what you’re feeling, we’re going to do it again.”

On the 6^th of December 2023, Manchester City FC would lock horns with Aston Villa FC in the EPL week 15 match. They have endured three successive score draws and have dropped to the third position and sit six points away from Arsenal FC, the current league leaders. The first was a 4-4 draw against Chelsea, then a 1-1 draw against Liverpool, and last week’s 3-3 draw against Tottenham Hotspur FC. Strangely, Guardiola substantiated his prediction using the levels they attained in their matches against Liverpool and Tottenham. Against RB Leipzig, they came from two goals down to win 3-2 and it’s tough to predict if the past three draws have been due to a drop in form or quality resistance from formidable opposition.

THE WISDOM OF GUARDIOLA’s PREDICTION

To assert control in the face of obvious danger remains a strong leadership capability targeted to build confidence for his players. Should he have said otherwise or questioned their commitment? Doing that would unsettle the team, putting everyone in disarray. Even with a possible sanction of Manchester City for dissent against the referee whilst protesting against his call that prevented them from a possible winning goal, Guardiola defended his team.

 

WOULD GUARDIOLA’s PREDICTION COME TRUE?

Virtually everything is possible in football, more so, in the English Premier League. The league is not yet halfway twists and we expect more drama, twists, and turns among the teams. With the points dropped by all teams at this stage of the League, it’s obvious that the League would end on a tight race and any team currently within the top 6 stands a good chance of winning the league. More points would still be won and lost, injuries to key players would occur, same with bad referee calls. The most consistent team would win the league, and going by the current results, Manchester City has not been very consistent. They have a robust team matched with the hectic load of matches in the English Premier League, UEFA Champions League, and other local competitions and International commitments by virtually all their players. Their other rivals such as Arsenal, Liverpool, and Aston Villa have almost the same schedule though none can compare with the resilience of the Manchester City squad.

The match against Aston Villa is an important that would determine the possibility of Guardiola’s dream coming true. Another draw would take City far from the summit and definitely unsettle the confidence of the team. Villa does stand a good chance of having their day, going by their current records. They have won their last 13 Premier League matches at the Villa Park! These permutations make the EPL tick and attractive! A loss at Villa Park could scuttle their title challenge for the 2023/24 EPL Trophy.

 

Unai Emery Deserves More Accolades !! #ASTONVILLAFC

 

Unai Emery has enjoyed an absolute media snub despite his astounding achievements since the 2022/23 season when he emerged as coach of Aston Villa FC, taking over from Liverpool FC legend, Steven Gerrard. The job at Villa Park is his second in England after his exploits with Arsenal FC, which did not go according to plan.

Aston Villa has maintained some consistency in their development, both in team results and player growth. They have qualified for the last 16 phase of the Europa Conference League, with their victory over Legia Warsaw, and got a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth FC, last week. They don’t just win but also are an attractive team to watch and compare positively in all departments even with the so-called big teams! From Emiliano Martinez in goal, Pau Torres in front of him, to Douglas Luiz in the midfield and Olie Watkins in attack, Emery has built a formidable team that could improve on their 7^th position of last season. On Wednesday, 6^th December, they’d face Manchester City FC at home and next against Arsenal FC, at Villa Park. They currently occupy the 4^th position, after 13 matches, stands, and amongst the top 5, they have lost 0-3 to Liverpool FC and beaten Tottenham Hotspur FC 2-1. The results in these two matches could impact the rest of the season and possibly draw the attention which has so far, eluded Unai Emery.

WHY THE SILENCE ABOUT EMERY’S SUCCESSES?

Only Pep Guardiola and possibly Jurgen Klopp stand heads and shoulders above Emery in the EPL considering his exploits in Spain, Germany, and England and his Europa trophies. With little attention to his team, it appears the reverse but his results make him visible. He likes the peace of his new job especially the little media attention, compared to his first job in England with Arsenal FC. The truth remains that jewels never hide forever!

 

Top 5 SPENDERS

Unai Emery may have been consistently ignored possibly because the current Aston Villa board has done some shrewd purchases of good players but at very reasonable prices. Aston Villa FC has never been among the top 5 spenders of the English Premier League since Emery came to Villa Park. The media possibly assumes that Emery's positive run could be a fluke that would fade soon. They have experience and quality. Emiliano Martinez is a World Cup Champion with Argentina and the same goes for many other players who have had good careers elsewhere.

 

THE LITMUS TEST FOR UNAI EMERY

The past three EPL matches have been turbulent for Manchester City. Against Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur FC, they got three draws, and knowing their dominance of the EPL, they’d need to do the utmost to overcome Aston Villa FC, on Wednesday. This remains a dicey encounter for both teams and another hurdle lies ahead in their next match against Arsenal FC, who’re the current league leaders. A victory in both matches would remove the veil over Emery’s successes at Villa Park. Even if it doesn’t go his way, there’s still enough time for him to continue his good work before the season ends in July.

 

 

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WOULD #TOTTENHAMFC & ANGE POSTECOGLOU BE ABLE TO SURVIVE #MANCITY’s ONSLAUGHT?

 Ange Postecoglou joined Tottenham Hotspur FC from Scotland’s Celtic FC with a very impressive coaching record which has taken him from Australia, Japan, Scotland and England. As he came, Tottenham lost their legendary goal scorer, Harry Kane, at the start of the 2023/24 EPL season but yet they forged ahead. Ange revitalized the team bringing Dutchman Ven de Vaan, from, James Maddison, from Leicester FC, Gugglielmo Vicario from Empoli, Italy and Destiny Udogie.  By the beginning of November, they'd won 8 matches and drawn two, leading the English Premier League. Coach Postecoglou also won three Manager of the Month, for three successive months before calamity began! On the 3rd December 2023, they’d lock horns with current champions, Manchester City FC at the Etihad Stadium and considering their depleted squad, a victory or even a draw for them would be a miracle!

WHAT IS WRONG AT #ManchesterUnited ?

 

What is really wrong at  Manchester United and the coaching methods of Erik Ten Hag? Last Wednesday against Galatasaray FC of Turkey, they surrendered their two goal lead to end up with a 3-3 draw. Same situation occurred against FC Copenhagen.  Their results this season is a mockery to the quality of players in their team.

 

THE DILEMMA AROUND #MANUTDFC

Erik Ten Hag came from Ajax Amsterdam FC with so much promise and expectations. It looked like he had made an immediate impact when on his first season; Manchester United FC took the 2nd position in the ever dynamic English Premier League.  Despite slaying the great Cristiano Ronaldo from his team, citing disciplinary issues, the team went ahead to make a considerable achievement at the end of the season. They qualified for the UEFA Champions League and it looked as if Manchester United FC had found a new messiah after the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson. The expectations grew and he made more efforts to assert his absolute grip on the team and by this summer, he wielded his axe on several players.  First was David de Gea, whose contract was not renewed because he couldn't start-off the attack from the goal post, then the disciplinary issues with Marcus Rashford and then the bust up with Jordan Sancho. The last before the season started, was when the issue of Henry Maguire's place in the team became a huge subject. He was stripped as team Captain and dropped from the first team and put up for transfer. He escaped the sale when the interests from West Ham FC didn't go through. Then goalkeeper Andre Onana became a major issue as he made more mistakes than saves and became difficult to understand his edge over David De Gea. In good faith, ETH trusted him but his performance has remained undulating!

WHAT DOES ETH NEED TO CHANGE@#MANUTDFC?

Erik Ten Hag has always wanted it his way but results on the field has been inconsistent! Like every other team, Manchester United FC has battled with injuries to several players; loss of form and other issues of the game but their level of consistency is inversely proportional to their total investments since ETH came.

Manchester United FC had appeared to have recently gained some steam in the EPL with a few results going their way but their UEFA Champions League results have put them in a delicate position from qualifying for the last 16 and this calls for great concerns. With the impending investments from Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the expectations that he’d have some oversight over sporting issues, the need to put them on the right course is pertinent and ETH remains a critical driver for achieving these ambitions.

 

WOULD #MANUTD BOARD REMAIN LOYAL TO ETH FOREVER?

ETH has been given absolute trust by the board and the next six weeks would remain a critical period for him and unless good results and consistency comes immediately, he could be sacked before the January 2024 transfer window! Despite the huge investments on an assorted list of players, it would be no surprise if Erik Ten Hag asks for more but the downside would remain how badly the current set of new players have gelled into the team.

His style of play has been severally questioned but no improvements have come, rather the individual resilience of some players have saved the blushes of the team and its obvious that such situation cannot be tolerated forever!

 

 

Football as a Strategy for National Prosperity: The Saudi PIF Example

It is common knowledge that if the people are happy, the nation will be at peace. Such is the capacity which sports possess.’’

Gen. Yakubu Gowon, (1934-)Nigerian Head of State, 1966-75

 The Saudi Arabian Football League, now known as #RoshnSaudiLeague as a result of some huge capital investments it recently attracted, has risen to probably compete with the World’s 5(England, France, Italy, Germany, and Spain) major football leagues in terms of capital investments and content capabilities. It’s an outcome of the investment by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund which in June 2022 took equity control over four of the country's top football teams - Al-Ittihad, Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli – as part of the country’s Vision2030 plan. Under it, football plays an integral part in the kingdom’s aim to diversify its economy, boost tourism, and create an atmosphere of investments to strengthen national prosperity and enhance global appeal.

THE SAUDI ARABIAN PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND

This institution is a deliberate creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pursue its national development through the diversification of its economy into diverse sectors. It was founded in 1971 as its Sovereign Wealth Fund Initiative and re-modeled in 2015. The fund is managed by a Board but under the direct guidance of Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, the facto ruler of Saudi Arabia.

The PIF has an ultimate goal to become a global investment leader through the delivery of large-scale investment and infrastructure projects that would shape the global economy.

AN ABRIDGED PROFILE OF THE SAUDI PIF

92 Portfolio companies created

13 Strategic sectors

560,000 + Jobs created

$700BN + Assets Under Management

THE SAUDI ARABIAN ROSHAN LEAGUE

In June 2022, the Saudi PIF bought 75% investment rights over four of its major football clubs as earlier highlighted, and thus prompted the drive to attract the best quality of world footballers to strengthen her local league.

The major bang in their investment was the coming of Portuguese captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world’s most decorated active footballers, in January 2023. Thereafter, others followed and by the end of the summer 2023 transfer window, about $900m had been spent on players transfer by the 14 teams in the SaudiRoshanLeague! According to Transfermarket, one of the world’s most authoritative football websites on players’ activities, the RoshanLeague, ranked second, apart from the English Premier League, in player transfers.

In terms of individual spending by football clubs, three out of the ten biggest spenders in the August 2023 transfer window, are from within the SaudiRoshanLeague. Hitherto, it was not so!

Other consequences of this strategic plan include,

·        Signed broadcast deals globally with leading media houses like DAZN, Canal+, etc. to make the league available in 130+ countries

 

·        Brought a boost to local manufacturers and businesses by signing 116+ sponsorship deals across the 18 teams

·        Same for the kits, 18 teams have partnered with 12 kit manufacturers including #Nike #Puma #Adidas and many local manufacturers like Offside

Whilst justifying this move, His Excellency, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF, highlighted the need to meet the interest in sports for the 63% of Saudis who are under the age of 30.

"You will have a lot of young people who are interested in sports and entertainment and that's basically part of the offering."

He further reiterated the huge expenditure as a deliberate investment targeted towards sustainability for the enterprise

"It makes financial sense to us, and that's the only way going forward. We don't like to subsidize things … we would like to have it sustainable."

Whilst most pessimists would doubt the sustainability of this project, seeing the income generated, it is expected that its drivers would have studied the factors that caused the demise of the Chinese League (it was a similar initiative) and the teething problems faced by the English Premier League before its stability. Overall, using sports as a basis to strengthen national prosperity and peace would also remain a success, as highlighted in the introductory statement of this article.

 

Has Ronaldo's Move To Saudi Arabia Diminished His Football Legacy?

Cristiano Ronaldo left his country Portugal for England when he was just eighteen. His extraordinary football talent attracted the Manchester United FC hierarchy and in 2003, they signed him from Sporting Lisbon FC. He played for them, winning several football laurels, including the UEFA Champions League and English Premier League before he was snapped by Real Madrid FC of Spain. At Madrid, he surpassed his achievements with Manchester United. He currently is the 2nd highest winner of the Balloon D’or, apart from Lionel Messi. He has won five UEFA Champions League titles and five Balloon D’or. Ronaldo is the highest goal scorer in Real Madrid's history but like always, he moved. His next destination was Italy where he joined the old lady, Juventus FC and he also excelled with them. In 2020, Ronaldo returned to England and re-joined Manchester United FC. He did excellently in the first season, emerging as the club’s highest goal scorer for the season and amongst the highest goal scorers in the English Premier League. He did not complete his second season and had his contract terminated just before after the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup after some disagreements with Coach Erik Ten Hag. 

Cristiano Ronaldo's Move To Saudi Arabia

Whilst tongues were wagging on what his next destination would be, it was announced that Ronaldo had joined al Nasser of Saudi Arabia. It was a very lucrative financial offer from the Saudi club and possibly to further convince him, several other world football icons were lured with fat cash to join Ronaldo. It marked the beginning of the Saudi Arabian football Revolution and Cristiano Ronaldo became the star boy! Lionel Messi rejected the offer to move to Saudi Arabia, but Neymar, Karim Benzema, and several others obliged. Some critics believe his move was just about money and that it would not enhance his football legacies. A critical analysis implies the opposite. Cristian Ronaldo has won everything in football except the FIFA World Cup. 

The Rationale of Cristiano Ronaldo's Move

Making the move to Saudi Arabia at the twilight of his career appears the best thing to have happened to his football career! Had he remained in Europe and with his huge financial demands, very few clubs would have been able to afford him. Rather, they would prefer a younger player with less risk of injury and no worries about managing the ego that most players of Ronaldo’s profile carry. Even with his fitness and positive work ethic, it remains contentious if he'd have been able to match the tactical demands and constant competition for positions synonymous with the volatile European leagues compared to the freedom he enjoys in Saudi Arabia. The quality of the Saudi Arabian league puts him under lesser pressure whilst enjoying the benefits of dazzling the less technically gifted players with his exquisite skills and experience. Apart from building another positive football profile for himself in Saudi Arabia, by hopefully winning laurels, the annals of football history would immensely credit his contributions to the Saudi Arabian Football Revolution.