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Aug 1, 2024 | 
totalfootballanalysis.com | Lee Scott
With the majority of European leagues ramping up their preparations for the start of the 2024/25 season over the coming weeks, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was no quality football available to follow. While the European Championships, and now the Olympics, may have offered some distractions from the long summer break, top-level leagues are still ongoing as most Scandinavia, Denmark excepted, play through the summer months.
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May 4, 2024 | 
thesun.ie | Lee Scott |Gary Stonehouse
ERLING HAALAND “owns” Roy Keane after he brutally hit back at the Irishman’s “League Two level” jibe. The Norwegian hitman scored FOUR as Man City thrashed Wolves 5-1 to close the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal to a point. That took the 23-year-old’s tally to 36 goals in 41 appearances this season. However, despite his incredible record since his arrival at the Etihad, he endured an iffy spell by his own standards recently.
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Mar 12, 2024 | 
totalfootballanalysis.com | Lee Scott
The Polish Ekstraklasa has been, over the last five years, one of the most interesting championships in European football. The quality of the league, in general, is actually very high, with some impressive technical players on the top sides. Still, the most interesting aspect in recent seasons is that no dominant team exists. Legia Warsaw are traditionally the giant of Polish football, but Lech Poznan and Rakow Czestochowa have been impressive lately.
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Mar 5, 2024 | 
totalfootballanalysis.com | Lee Scott
At the professional level of football today, the way that clubs recruit players has changed dramatically in the last 5-10 years. We do not have to go back far to a time when recruitment at top clubs was built in the main on relationships with agents or coaches, essentially driving a club’s recruitment strategy.
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Feb 13, 2024 | 
the-sun.com | Lee Scott |Kealan Hughes
IT IS rare for managers to return for a third spell in the Premier League - but Jose Mourinho is no ordinary boss. The Special One won three Prem titles across his two Stamford Bridge spells, and now some are tipping Mourinho to return to his old stomping ground. Pochettino, 51, arrived with big expectations as many expected him to improve performances from last season, when Chelsea struggled under Graham Potter and Frank Lampard.
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Jan 28, 2024 | 
the-sun.com | Lee Scott
CASEMIRO's return to fitness for Manchester United could help the team push back up the Premier League table. The Red Devils have struggled for consistency since his hamstring injury back in November. Casemiro, 31, missed key defeats against the likes of West Ham and Nottingham Forest as well as Bayern Munich in the Champions League. The midfielder made his return to the team in the 2-2 draw against Tottenham, however he was an unused substitute.
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Jan 24, 2024 | 
thesun.co.uk | Lee Scott
IT was not supposed to be like this. At the start of this season, there was optimism around Manchester United after what was seen as a successful summer transfer window. The signings of Andre Onana, Rasmus Hojlund and Mason Mount were thought to have fixed some of the glaring weaknesses in the squad and Champions League football was returning to Old Trafford once again. But, as of January, Man Utd are in the middle of another disappointing campaign.
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Jan 19, 2024 | 
thesun.co.uk | Lee Scott
IN the January transfer window almost every team in football wants to add the same thing - a striker to score goals. Given the spending at Chelsea in recent windows, it should come as no surprise that they are actively pursuing a new forward. The decision to spend £32million on Nicolas Jackson has not worked out despite the 22-year-old Senegalese star scoring seven and assisting two in 19 Premier League matches.
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Jan 13, 2024 | 
thesun.co.uk | Lee Scott
MAURICIO POCHETTINO must make changes to his midfield setup to get the best out of £220million stars Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Chelsea are sitting 10th in the Premier League and now they are facing an uphill battle to even reach the final of the Carabao Cup following their 1-0 defeat in the semi-final first leg against Middlesbrough. As we enter 2024 the optimism felt by the Chelsea fanbase at the start of the season appears to have all but disappeared.
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Jan 11, 2024 | 
the-sun.com | Lee Scott
ONE of the most intriguing stories at the start of 2024 is the new power dynamic at the top of Manchester United. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his Ineos group have agreed a deal for a 25 per cent minority stake in the ownership of the Red Devils which will crucially see them take control of football operations at the club. This includes, but is not limited to, the transfers of players in and out of the club - an area of operation which has been heavily criticised over the past decade.
