Opinion

Thanks to the late finish of the 2019/20 Premier League season, some clubs have already agreed the transfer of players ahead of the next campaign. One of those teams is Chelsea and having been banned from buying players they now have access to the transfer market.

Since Michael Lewis’ seminal book Moneyball was published in 2003, the idea of professional sports teams using the strategy to build their teams has been used many clubs with a range of results from good to bad.

On Thursday night, Southampton striker Danny Ings scored his 19th Premier League goal of the season in a 1-1 draw at Everton. The goal has kept the former Burnley striker right in the race for the golden boot in the English top-flight.

The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti as Everton head coach was met with understandable fanfare. The Italian is one of the most successful bosses of his generation. However, the job on Merseyside may be the veteran bosses biggest managerial challenge in a long-time.

The sale of Eden Hazard brought about the end of an era at Stamford Bridge. The Belgian had been Chelsea’s talisman for many years. But when he joined Real Madrid for €100m last summer, the Blues needed to find a replacement.

With 33 games played by each team in the 2019/20 English Premier League, the gap between champions Liverpool and second place Manchester City is 23 points. It is a huge difference and while Liverpool have been excellent this season, Manchester City have seen a severe drop in the level of their performance across the campaign.

According to reports from the Scottish media, SPL champions Celtic are in advanced talks with former England international goalkeeper Joe Hart. The 33-year-old is a free agent after his contract with Premier League Burnley expired.

Since the restart of the Premier League campaign, some teams have continued their pre-COVID-19 form, while some teams form has dipped and some improved.

It is no secret that Leeds United and West Bromwich Albion have led the way in the Championship throughout the 2019/20 season. The top two have been miles clear of the chasing pack for much of the campaign, but the gap between second and third has gradually been shortening.

For all of the success and praise Brendan Rodgers has received this season at Leicester City, the club are on the verge of ending the season in a bad way. The Foxes were eliminated from the FA Cup on Sunday by Chelsea in the quarterfinals, 1-0, which was their third straight match after the restart without a win.

As of the 29th of July 2020, we have seen two completed rounds of the English Premier League since the restart of the competition. In addition, at the time of writing there have been two additional games played in the third round of matches involving Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Watford and Southampton.

On Thursday night Liverpool officially won their 19th English top-flight title. It was certainly not in the circumstances they would have hoped, with a Chelsea 2-1 victory over Manchester City sealing the title, but it still brought great joy to Liverpudlians.

On Tuesday night Tottenham recorded a 2-0 home win against West Ham in the Premier League.

Real Madrid secured a vital 2-1 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday night at the Anoeta Stadium. It was a good victory at the home of a team who are hoping to qualify for European competition next season. However, the most important aspect of the victory was the fact it moved Real Madrid above Barcelona in the league table.

For the last few transfer windows, Chelsea have not strengthened their squad. Of course, last summer the Blues were banned from making transfers.

The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated many things in football, including that many players contracts end at the end of June. Many players have agreed to extend their contracts on a short-term basis, meaning they can play for their club until the end of the season.

With football leagues around the globe returning, North America’s Major League Soccer has taken steps to resume the campaign. It is a convoluted plan and like all things MLS, shows the league taking a simple idea and making it far more complex than it needs to be.

Since the Premier League instituted a hiatus to the season in mid-March, one of the common cries from fans, coaches, players, and club executives has been to void the 2019-20 season.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused mayhem with the lives of worldwide. Not only has it sadly brought fatalities around the globe it also brought the beautiful game to a virtual standstill. However, the Bundesliga in Germany and Spanish La Liga are back.

The date has been set and the English football League Championship will resume on the 20th of June. Both promotion and relegation will be decided in the usual manner, with all matches being completed before the end of the campaign.