Opinion

Swansea appointed former USA boss Bob Bradley to try and attempt to move the team forward. The Swans experienced a poor start to their Premier League campaign under experienced Italian boss Francesco Guidolin.

Qualifying for the 2018 World Cup resumes this week and with only one team to automatically qualify from each group, every match counts.

Chelsea went into Saturday’s late Premier League kick-off against Everton looking to answer some questions. Everton duo Romelu Lukaku and Yannick Bolasie presented the Blues with a big defensive challenge.

Prior to yesterday’s game at Bournemouth, Sunderland looked doomed to the drop to the Championship. The Black Cats had shown little spirit and even less quality for much of their Premier League campaign so far.

If last season didn’t prove that Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is one of the best strikers in world football, then his goalscoring exploits since the new Bundesliga season kicked off surely have. The Borussia Dortmund front-man scored 25 times in 31 league appearances last season to help the club finish second in the Bundesliga. However, he has stepped it up this season, having netted 11 times in just 9 league appearances.

The Fa Cup first round proper holds a special place in the hearts of English football fans.  It’s a great opportunity for clubs outside the football league, to step up, take on famous clubs and cause an upset. For many teams, a win in the first round of the FA Cup can provide financial reward which will keep them going for the rest of the season.  For others, it’s a chance to get their name in mainstream media coverage, from radio to television.

It has been a long, frustrating few decades for Feyenoord, as their wait for a Eredivisie title nears 20 years. The last time the Dutch club lifted the cup was way back in 1999, when they stormed to the title, 15 points ahead of second placed Willem II.

The finalists for the 2016 Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player award have been announced after a number of players, staff members and journalists voted for their star of the season.

With the addition of Jose Mourinho as manager and top players coming in to the club, such as Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Manchester United were expected to challenge on all fronts this season.

In his early football career, Ilkay Gundogan was regarded as the player that made the Dortmund midfield tick. He was often linked with big-money moves to the Premier League, with Arsenal reported to have been interested in signing the star on a number of occasions.

It seems that Tottenham’s season has slightly hit the buffers after a bright start. The north London side suffered a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Wembley against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Borussia Dortmund sealed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Sporting Lisbon but one man was notable by his absence.  Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was forced to watch the match from the Signal Iduna Park stands, as his team went on to defeat the Portuguese, in what was generally a poor game.

It isn’t often that a teenage boy makes the headlines in the world of football. It’s a rare occurrence and one usually reserved for the very best youth prospects. A 16-year-old Wayne Rooney after breaking into the Everton first-team back in 2002, for example, or Martin Odegaard debuting for the Norwegian national team aged 15.

Following the 1-0 defeat at Sampdoria on Sunday night, Inter Milan have been left languishing in the bottom half of the Serie A table, as pressure mounts on manager, Frank de Boer.

Watford have now gone four games unbeaten in the Premier League after beating struggling Hull City 1-0 at Vicarage Road on Saturday. The win moved the Hornets up to seventh in the table, as Walter Mazzarri’s side shows signs of quiet progression.

Manchester United were billed as one of the favourites to win the Premier League title this season. The summer arrival of high-profile figures like Jose Mourinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba were supposed to be the catalyst for a title challenge.

Having lost to AC Milan last weekend at the San Siro, it was always going to be a big week for Juventus, as they aimed to return to winning ways.

Edinson Cavani has been at Paris Saint-Germain for three years, having joined from Italian team Napoli in 2013. The Uruguayan striker moved for a fee of around £50 million and there was huge expectation on his shoulders at the Parc des Princes.

It’s emerged in the press this week, that former Barcelona and current Manchester City boss, Pep Guardiola, was approached by Real Madrid to become their manager.  The move reportedly happened prior to the dismissal of Rafael Benitez, which happened in January 2016.

If you cast your mind back, only a few years, several player’s spring to mind, who spent their whole careers at one club.  Manchester United is a great example, where the likes of Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville remained throughout their whole careers, despite interest from clubs throughout Europe.