Who will be Manchester City’s next manager?

Manchester City are looking for a new manager after they decided Roberto Mancini had not done a good enough all round job.

In their statement they seemed happy with the work the Italian did on the pitch but his work off it was not up to standard. Mancini did not have the greatest relationship with the board or his players and this has ended up working against him. But, I think he still did a good job and even if the players didn’t like him they still performed to a high level. The question now then is, would they have played even better if they had a different manager? The City board obviously feel that they will and with no trophies this season it was time to go. I really hope this isn’t the start of things to come at the club because I thought they understood football a bit more than other foreign owners and won’t just keep sacking managers every time they have a poor season. Mancini is a good manager but even at Inter Milan he never really came close to winning the Champions League so he was always going to get sacked sooner rather than later at Man City if this didn’t change.

But who will get the job next? The clear favourite is current Malaga manager Manuel Pellegrini. Make no mistake about it Pellegrini is a fantastic manager but he is also one of the most unlucky managers in world football. If you look down his honours as a manager there isn’t a lot to see but when you actually look at the statistics it makes you realise how brilliant he is. In his one season at Real Madrid they finished with 96 points, scoring over 100 goals and somehow still failed to clinch the title. It seems like he is going to get the job and he will yet again be a success but will he get the luck at Man City?

Jose Mourinho is also being linked with the job and this seems very unlikely at the moment with everyone expecting him to join Chelsea in the summer. But if Man City really want the ‘Special One’ then I think they could convince him to join them because they have a lot of money and the board seem a little less controlling than Roman Abramovich at Chelsea so that may just sway his decision. Very unlikely at this stage though.

The next option is someone that I feel has been harshly criticised this season and that man is Rafael Benitez. In my opinion he has done very well at Chelsea and could leave the club with a European trophy and a third place finish. I understand with the team he has they should possibly be closer to the title but with a 56% win record in the Premier League he has proven that if he is given a full season then they will be right in the mix come the end of the season. He came close to winning the title with Liverpool and now with Alex Ferguson leaving Manchester United the title race will be wide open and his experience of being at the very top might just give him the advantage.

The Simpsons Season 7 Review

After re-watching The Simpsons Season 7 it made me realise how good the show was and how much it has gone downhill.

In this season there are some absolutely classic moments that most Simpsons fans will remember, my personal favourite from the whole season is when Moe is hooked up to the lie detector and after he is told he is free to go, he says he has a hot date, and I am sure you know where it goes from here.
This scene is from the second part of ‘Who Shot Mr Burns’ which I did enjoy as an episode and think it kicked off the season pretty well.

Season 7 is a very interesting one because it does touch on a lot of sensitive issues and it does it such a way where you get the sense that the writers and creators wanted to make people aware of these sorts of things but also put a comedy spin on them. Each of the main characters gets a different sort of issue. Bart has to deal with losing his soul after selling it to Milhouse and this touches on a lot religious issues. Homer also gets involved in many things such as anti immigrant laws and he doesn’t really understand much of it and maybe this is something that can be seen a lot in America these days and he also had an episode in which he gained weight so he could be called disabled and work from home. Another major issue they touch on is the problem of class and high society, Marge wants to be accepted into higher social circle but this means she has to change her priorities and the rest of the family have to act like something they are not. At the end of the episode they decide to go to Krusty Burger and the message behind the episode is do not try and be something you are not just to fit into a group of people.

This is also replicated in the final episode of the season with Lisa trying to change her personality to make friends while the Simpson family are away from home. At the end of the episode it turns out that they liked her because of the things she taught them and this was when she was mostly being herself. However, I am not a massive fan of this episode and thought it was quite a poor episode to end the season on. Another episode that I did not really enjoy was the Treehouse of Horror one and even though it showed Homer in the real world and had one of the better stories with a ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ parody, it is still one that I would skip.

The reason this season is so memorable is because of how many episodes have such great quotes in and it is impossible not to laugh over and over again. I would recommend getting this season to anyone that likes The Simpsons or for someone that doesn’t understand why the show was held in such high regard because they have only seen the newer episodes.

Who will be the next Everton manager?

Everton are searching for a new manager after David Moyes decided to take over at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson retires.

Moyes, did a fantastic job and deserves a lot of credit for what he has done at the club and even though he has not delivered any trophies in his time at the club, he has certainly raised the profile of the club and made them a much better side then when he first took over. I am sure there will be some Everton fans that are disappointed in Moyes leaving but that is to be expected but they must surely understand this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, not only for him to manage Manchester United but for a British manager to be in charge of one of the top clubs in the Premier League. Personally, I hope he does really well as this will encourage other clubs to take a chance on British managers rather than constantly looking abroad. His 42.05% win record is very good, especially when you consider that they battled against relegation a few times under him. But, now it is time to look for a new manager to continue the good work of Moyes.

Roberto Martinez is the favourite for the job and I can fully understand why he is being linked with the job. Martinez has got Wigan Athletic playing some good football and if he had better players at his disposal I think he could replicate the finishing positions of Moyes. If Wigan do go down I do think he will leave and I don’t think that should put Everton off getting him in as boss. He is good at bringing in good players at low prices and finding young talent that will go onto bigger and better things and although Everton aren’t a selling club, they do not have a lot of money to spend on transfers so this is a perfect fit.

Someone that has been linked with the job early on is Vitor Pereira and I was very surprised with this. He is currently the manager of Porto and has had a very good start to his managerial career but he was heavily criticised because of their elimination from the Champions League and this may just make him want to leave the club in the summer. He may turn out to be successful and follow in the wings of Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas-Boas in becoming a good Premier League manager.

Neil Lennon is also linked with the job and this could be possible because he has won nearly everything at Celtic and at the moment the SPL certainly isn’t very strong and they should walk the league for a number of years to come. This could mean that he wants a new challenge and a good move for him could be Everton and I would like to see how well he would do in England. However, I do think he could be a risky choice because even with all his trophies, he is largely untested at a good level.

Others linked with the job are Phil Neville, Michael Laudrup and Martin O’Neill.

Who will be the next Manchester United manager?

Alex Ferguson has announced that he will be retiring at the end of the season so Manchester United will be searching for a new manager.

Whether you love him or hate everyone simply has to respect Sir Alex because of his phenomenal record. In my opinion he has finished in the perfect way, delivering the title comfortably and bringing through a lot of good young players that will be the future of the club for many years to come. I don’t know how long he has been thinking about this decision but he has definitely wanted to make sure that the club are still the top team in England after he has finished. Nobody can compare to his record of 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups, two Champions Leagues, a Cup Winners Cup, Super Cup, Intercontinental Cup, Club World Cup and 10 Community Shields. He has so far been in charge of 1497 games and won 893 of those, giving him a 59.65% win record but what is even more remarkable is that he only lost 267 games. But now it is time to move on and search for a successor that can continue his work.

The favourite to take over is fellow Scotsman David Moyes who has been doing a very good job at Everton. He has been in charge of the club since 2002 and has been one of the best managers in the Premier League since then, overachieving several times and leading them into Europe on a number of occasions. However, the only worry that could occur is whether he is a big enough name and get the respect of the international players already at the club. Also, he hasn’t won any trophies in his 11 years at Everton, with the closest being a defeat in the 2009 FA Cup final.

Jose Mourinho is also in the running for the post but I am unsure whether this is possible because it does seem like he will be joining Chelsea in the summer after Rafael Benitez leaves the club. But, if they cannot agree a deal with Real Madrid then that could leave the door open for the team from Manchester. I do think that he would be interested and it would be his way of showing that he is the best and the special one by replicating and possibly surpassing Sir Alex’s record.

Another name that I do believe deserves a mention is Jurgen Klopp because he is one of the best up and coming managers in Europe. He is only in his second managerial position but he has got Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League final this season and has got the team playing some fantastic football with a good young team. This is where I think he fits in with the way things are at Old Trafford because he will look to the youth and bring in younger players. If he gets the job then I believe he will be a massive success and improve the Premier League.

Who will win the Championship playoffs?

The Championship had one of the best ever endings to a season with nobody knowing who will be in the playoffs until the last whistle.

Watford, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Leicester City will be hoping to win the playoffs and gain a place in the Premier League alongside Cardiff City and Hull City. Bolton Wanderers missed out on the playoffs by goal difference and Nottingham Forest only missed out on the last day after losing to Leicester. For me this is one of the most difficult to predict simply because of how close it all was at the end of the season.

Watford finished third and have been one of the most entertaining teams this season but they had such a disappointing end to the final game. They lost 2-1 to Leeds United but in their defence they conceded a late goal from a counter attack. If only they had managed to score a goal they would have actually finished second and gained automatic promotion. Troy Deeney got a red card in that game and so that means there will be more pressure on top goal scorer Matej Vydra. But, he isn’t in the greatest of form himself. Watford have been criticised this season because of all their loan signings but Gianfranco Zola deserves more credit for getting them to perform.

Brighton finished fourth and are going into the playoffs in the best form and with their experience they may be the team to go up. Wayne Bridge and Matthew Upson at the back shows they have a lot of quality and experience and they have been a large part of their rise to towards the top of the league. In midfield they have a lot of young and talented players like Liam Bridcutt , Will Buckley and Kazenga Lua Lua that probably deserve a chance to show their talents in the Premier League. Even though their top scorer only has 11 goals they still have good strikers with the efforts and determination of Craig Mackail-Smith and Jose Ulloa who has had an impressive start to his Brighton career, scoring 9 in 17 league games.

Crystal Palace under Ian Holloway have been very hit and miss and they need to find some form and quickly. Their win over Peterborough on the last day of the season could be crucial as it showed that they can come from behind to win games and still have a lot of quality in their team. Glenn Murray, the top scorer in the Championship scored one of the goals and Kevin Phillips got another so they have players that can score at anytime in a game. Their defence is a little bit of a worry but in midfield they have a lot of talented players like Wilifried Zaha and Jonathan Williams.

Leicester were the last team to qualify for the playoffs and I was really surprised that they got in there because they had to beat Nottingham Forest away and hope Bolton didn’t win. So this could push the team on because they will be very confident and maybe seen as outsiders. They have a lot of talent in their team and this could be Nigel Pearson’s last chance to get promotion with Leicester so there could be extra motivation for the players.

However, I do think Watford will beat Leicester and Brighton will beat Crystal Palace in the semi finals and then it will be a very exciting final. Then I am going to go for Brighton to win the playoffs and compete in the Premier League next season.

Who will win the League 1 playoffs?

League 1 had a very exciting finish to it with Doncaster Rovers winning the league and Bournemouth also going up automatically.

Now it is time to turn to the playoffs and with Brentford, Yeovil Town, Sheffield United and Swindon Town looking to secure a place in the Championship it will certainly be nail biting for all the fans involved. All of the teams were guaranteed a place in the playoffs before the final game so they didn’t have to worry about that too much and could concentrate on trying to get promotion.

Brentford may be coming into the playoffs in the worse position because they were a penalty kick away from gaining automatic promotion and that might have damaged the confidence of all the players, particularly Marcello Trotta who missed the chance to be a hero. However, this may drive the team on and with them finishing third they should be favourites to go up. A worry I do have about them in the playoffs is simply the fact that manager Uwe Rosler has criticised the whole team for missing the penalty. I don’t think he should have blamed anyone, especially when there is still possibly another three huge games before the end of the season.

Yeovil Town are the surprise team in the playoffs in my opinion because they cannot have a big budget and there are some big teams in the division this year. But under Gary Johnson, who I do think is a good manager, they have been brilliant and even if they don’t manage to go up this year, the fans and the club should be proud of what they have accomplished. Striker Paddy Madden has probably been the signing of the season not only in League 1 but possibly the whole of the Football League and he will be crucial in these playoffs.

Sheffield United will probably be most people’s picks to win promotion through the playoffs this season but they are out of form and certainly need a lift, they haven’t scored for three games and lost two of those. Chris Morgan has recently took over from Danny Wilson as manager and that to me was a very poor decision, Wilson was really unlucky to have missed out on promotion last season and I felt that he would have got them up this year. The problem for them is they are missing a regular goal scorer so will be relying on good defensive displays to win the playoffs.

Swindon Town are also another team that have had to appoint a new manager recently and this could prove to be a problem because they haven’t quite been as good under Kevin MacDonald. Swindon have an amazing goal difference with plus 33 and this is better than both Doncaster and Bournemouth. They lost their last league game to relegated Scunthorpe United 3-1 and this will not have put the team in the best of moods. It was very different under departed Paolo Di Canio and maybe the players just haven’t responded to MacDonald’s training methods.

I think Brentford will beat Swindon and Sheffield United will beat Yeovil in the semi finals and then the final is very difficult to call but I will go for Brentford as they have had a very good season and hopefully they can pick themselves up.

Who will win the League 2 playoffs?

The League 2 playoffs will be very exciting this year and it is one of the toughest to call.

Burton Albion, Cheltenham Town, Northampton Town and Bradford City are all hoping to get through the semi finals and win the playoff final so they can be competing in League 1 next season. They will be hoping to join Gillingham, Rotherham United and Port Vale in getting promotion this year and now I will look at each team and give my verdict on who I think will go up. Each team could easily win it so it is quite difficult to choose.

Fourth place Burton Albion should be confident going into the playoffs as they were the closest to getting automatic promotion and have just beaten Gillingham 3-2. However, in recent weeks they did also lose 7-1 to Port Vale. I am surprised that they are actually in the playoffs because I expected them to struggle this season but they have proved me and many others wrong. One thing that has been impressive is the amount of goals they have scored, particularly at home. Jacques Maghoma has scored 15 league goals this year with Billy Kee and Calvin Zola also scoring double figures this year.

Next are another team that have a fantastic home record but for a completely different reason. Cheltenham may not score as many goals as their rivals but they certainly have a very good defensive record. They also have some good midfielders and I believe they have the ability to play at a much higher level. Marlon Pack is the standout player for me and has already played over 150 games in his club career even though he is only 22. Darren Carter and Jermaine McGlashan will also be key in these playoffs. The club are hoping to go one better than last year when they were beaten in the final.

Northampton Town are probably the most out of form team in the playoffs but that does not mean you can count them out. With a striker like Adebayo Akinfenwa they will also cause problems to any defence even though he is not in the greatest form himself. Getting a victory over Barnet on the final game of the season will also give the team confidence. They have a good manager in Aidy Boothroyd and I would like to see him managing higher up in the English leagues once again.

Bradford City will be hoping they can visit Wembley for the second time this season after getting to the League Cup Final earlier this year. Phil Parkinson has done a fantastic job and to get a promotion would be just a cap off an amazing season for the fans and the players. I do like their attacking players, especially Nahki Wells who has scored 18 goals in 39 league games. But they also have James Hanson who adds more than just goals to the side and he will be vital. I would like to see Bradford go up and get back to where they once were.

I think Bradford will beat Burton Albion and Cheltenham will beat Northampton in the semi finals. So the final will be against two teams that have lost at Wembley in the last year. But, I think this time Cheltenham will come out on top.

Cardiff City are promoted to the Premier League

Cardiff City have been promoted to the Premier League as champions under the guidance of manager Malky Mackay.

It will be the first time the Welsh club have played in the Premier League and it will also be a great moment for their manager as he gained three promotions in a row towards the end of his career but was released each time. So he will be hoping he does keep his job in the summer but that surely will happen after such a fantastic year. At the start of the season there was a lot of controversy around the club with them changing the strip colour and a few other changes but when it actually came down to what was happening on the pitch, they have been by far the best team in the division and deserve to be champions in my opinion. Cardiff do still have two games to play and there should be a brilliant atmosphere at home to Bolton Wanderers when they collect the trophy. They will be the second Welsh team in the Premier League and their rivalry with Swansea City will be more high profile than ever and just shows that football may slowly be catching up to rugby in Wales these days as the main sport.

Looking at the team though, it may be surprising to see that their top scorer only has nine goals. Heidar Helguson is the man that has got these goals and at the start of the season I backed him to be one of the top goal scorers in the league, it hasn’t quite turned out that way but he has certainly done a lot to help the club get promoted. Along with Craig Bellamy who must be the happiest player at the club as he gets to play Premier League football for his boyhood club.

Cardiff do have some good players in the midfield but the two that stick out for me are Peter Whittingham and Aron Gunnarsson. Whittingham has been one of those players that has looked too good for the Championship over the years but no Premier League club has been willing to take a chance on him yet, so finally the former Aston Villa player can show his talents in the top division. Gunnarsson is a very good player too and his eight league goals is quite impressive, add to this his brilliant long throw the Iceland international will be crucial to the side if they are to have a any chance of staying up.

Defensively I do not think they are great and will certainly need to bring players in during the summer but they do have a good full back in Andrew Taylor, who is decent going forward and also looks solid enough when defending. Ben Turner is another with some potential but it could be very tough for him next season playing against strikers that have better movement and only need half a chance to score.

It will be very tough for Cardiff next season but everyone was saying that about Swansea and they have so far never been in danger of relegation.

Manchester United have won the Premier League

Manchester United have won their 20th title with four games still to play and could finish the season on 96 points.

It has been a very good season for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side and one that will be remembered, especially after last season’s heartbreaking ending. They clearly didn’t want a repeat of that this year and have only lost four games all season as well as having a much better goal difference than their closest rivals which was once again Manchester City. At times earlier in the season there were questions about their defence but in recent weeks it has tightened up brilliantly which has taken the pressure off their attacking players.

One of these attacking players is Robin Van Persie who in my opinion has been the difference this season from last year. It is not only his goals that has made him such a good signing but his movement and his ability on the ball, he drags defenders out of position giving other players opportunities to score and even when he was on a goal scoring drought, he was still playing pretty well. 28 goals in all competitions is a great return and he will be hoping to hit 30 before the season is out. The other two main strikers have also chipped in with goals and Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez will have profited from playing alongside the former Arsenal man. Although there may be a few concerns with Rooney as it is the first time he is not the main man for a long time. Another slight concern might be the goal scoring return of Danny Welbeck but he has played on the wing at times this season and some of his appearances have been off the bench. In my opinion though he is certainly good enough to be the fourth choice striker.

It has been quite a strange season for the clubs midfielders though as none of the attacking ones have really stood out for prolonged periods of time. Nani, Ashley Young, Shinji Kagawa and Antonio Valencia just haven’t quite been at their best this season and will be hoping they get another chance to impress next season because I am a little worried about the future of some of these at the club. However, Michael Carrick, whether rightly or wrongly has been included in the PFA Player of the Year nominations, has had a fantastic season and just proved why he should have more England caps than he does.

Yet again the defence has been good at times but there have also been mistakes in their defence that have not quite cost them but made a few games more difficult than they should have been. Rafael at right back looks very promising and in a few years could be considered the best in the world, as long as he improves his defending slightly. However, these days it seems more important to be able to attack from full back than to actually defend so he is ok in that respect. Also David De Gea deserves a mention because everyone was jumping on his mistakes but when he was keeping clean sheet after clean sheet nobody was praising him. He is another that will get better and I don’t think people consider his age when criticising him. He is only young (especially for a goalkeeper) and will make mistakes but he has bounced back from every one of them.

Portsmouth have been relagated to League 2

Portsmouth may have been relegated from League 1 but they probably have the happiest fans in the country right now.

It has been tough being a Pompey fan in the last couple of years (this is a massive understatement) but finally they will be able to start again and support the team that they love and hopefully they can get back to where they belong. The Pompey Supporters Trust now own the club and they will put the club first rather than any of their other owners recently and this has just lifted the whole club and with the 3-0 win over Sheffield United, the future looks bright for the club that many believed would go out of business.

One thing that does need sorting now though is the future of the caretaker manager Guy Whittingham and personally I believe he should be given the job as he has done remarkably well under the circumstances. The 48 year old who also had two spells at the club as a player has been in charge since November and although results haven’t always been the greatest he has at least kept up morale in the squad and seems to have got some players playing quite well at times.

It is unclear who will stay at the club over the summer but there are still a few that the fans will be hoping stay. One of those is Jed Wallace who has impressed me every time I have seen him and will get even better as he is only 19. Six goals in 21 league games is a good record for any midfielder in any division and if Portsmouth can keep hold of him, he could be crucial to the ambition of the team and whether they want to come straight back up from League 2. Johnny Ertl is another that has been quite impressive this season even when things haven’t been going well, he has always been committed and one that will definitely perform a lot better now that the future of the club is secured. Another player that has been quite impressive is the former Republic of Ireland striker David Connolly who has seven goals in 17 appearances which yet again is quite good. If he stays then the 35 year old could grab a few more important goals for the club.

The problem with assessing how well Portsmouth are going to do next season is that it is unclear what players are staying, what sort of budget the manager is going to receive and simply what their ambitions are? Maybe as it is their first season owned by the fans they will just want to consolidate and make sure they stay in the league and build from there. However, right now it must be an exciting time being a Portsmouth fan and how many clubs can say that after suffering yet another relegation in just a few short years. I am happy that Portsmouth have sorted out their problems because it doesn’t matter who you support nobody wants to see a club die.