The Week that was – 16th August 2020

Background

So what happened? UCL and Europa league one off quarter finals, the Jadon Sancho transfer saga and the arrival of the best left wing back in the world.

Article

PSG beating Atlanta last minute not appealing

Watching the PSG celebrations having scored the late winner against a demoralised Atlanta team felt quite sickening. This was not a deserved victory for PSG and there was a sense of unfairness to it all. We know there is an unfair financial playing field in the game but seeing it so in your face as a player who cost £222m and another £160m one jump around with joy wasn’t pleasant. Atlanta, a team from an area that was so badly hit by the virus, and whose entire yearly wage bill of £39m were out. They have been a joy to watch this season with the expansive football and will no doubt have become a lot of supporter’s second european team. The good news is that they will be in the champions league next season so all is not lost. Luckily we will not see a Man City vs PSG final which would have been even more distasteful in the middle of a global recession. Money may buy you success but not class, that belongs to Atlanta.

More humility needed at United

Sevilla are an ageing team but still very good. United are a young team but not very good. That their captain thought they were the better team was not a honourable response. At best, the game was evens but the reality was that Sevilla was the better team. They passed better, attacked with incisiveness and their substitutions were more influential. United have a long long way to go before they can match Liverpool and Manchester City in their domestic league and the sooner that is acknowledged by those within the club, the better. When Germany had a poor Euro’s in 2000, they took a step back, realised that their entire system needed reconstructing and went about the process. That road led to becoming world champions in 2014. But the important first step was to admit things were not well. Sure, things have improved since Bruno Fernandes has come in but the fluency of the team is not there. Issues in defence, a weak midfield, goalkeeping questions and maybe a manager that is not good enough at the highest level. Off the pitch, they are still not astute in the transfer market and there is still no logic to their spending. All this will only change once the admittance is there that there a long way to go and then with humbleness, learn from successful teams of ways of getting back to the top.

New Format is way too good

The games come thick and fast, one off matches, winner takes all, great teams all with different styles. This has been so much fun and we really need more of this. The government need to make it compulsory for tournaments like this to happen more to ensure the nation can gain morale in these difficult times through the escapism that football provides. This is also a real leveller of teams from a sporting perspective. Get your tactics right, work really hard and finish your chances and you may well beat a team who is technically much better than you. However, we know this cannot last. Soon, we will have the predictable group stages back, two legged games deep into the season where the clubs with the biggest squads win and well, a lot less fun. Let’s enjoy this whilst it lasts and the reality of September bites in.

Defenders worth more than Attackers

Leipzig lost their main attacking force in Timo Werner, yet they were still able to get through to the semi final. Why? Because it takes only one goal to win a match if you can keep a clean sheet. Look around the leagues and we find that there are loads of attackers around. Need an attacking winger? Well we have Havertz, Torres, Zaha, Sancho, Koke, Traore, Coman, Dembele, Hudson Odoi, Sane, Sarr…the list goes on. Actually, I need a proper centre half who can defend like John Terry…mmm…we got Upemecano, Koulabaly, ummm…Ake? So why do clubs ask for £100m+ for attacking players and some teams think it’s a good idea to pay so much for them? Surely, there must be some sort of economics in football where if supply is low, prices should be high. Very few defenders win the ballon d’or as they also don’t seem to be rated by the coaches of the world either. However, without these selfless players whose aim in the game is to stop goals going in despite all rules favouring the attackers, their teams would not be successful. It’s time for clubs to start respecting the art of defending and appreciate the need to pay the right fees for these players.

How good is Alphonso Davies!

That assist, picking the ball up on the left wing in your own half, skimming the touchline and gliding elegantly past the opposition right back, getting into the box and then playing the perfect simple pass to your opposite in Kimmich. In that moment, Alphonso Davies confirmed himself as the best left back in the world. He is so young, so fast, so skilful and normally, a sentence like this would end with “if only he had a better final ball” or “only if he could shoot better”. In this case, those sentence’s do not happen. This kid has everything and more. He also loves defending, has bottle and game management. Having gained a yellow card, he even curbed his game to ensure that the referee did not get a chance to send him off. There may be no more Messi or Ronaldo to watch soon but with talent like this coming through, football will still be fun to watch.