Here are four things that might happen this English Premier League season, courtesy of Mansur Abubakar.
Arsene Wenger finally gives up-after eight years without a trophy and a woeful start to the season, the immense pressure from the fans and media might be responsible for this being Wenger’s last season in charge of Arsenal, I feel the fans frustration will reach a boiling point at the end of the season with possible boycott being touted by some fan groups.
The manager knows how impatient the fans have become and I’m sure he has a plan B lined up in case he fails to deliver a much trophy at the end of this season with reports suggesting Laurent Blanc is only serving as a caretaker since the owners have made it clear remains their first choice for the managerial position citing his love for beautiful football display, eye for talents and financial discipline as a huge turn on, well this might be the year they finally get their man.
If his group of youngsters fails to add to the Emirates trophy cabinet at the end of the season, the pressure might too much for the gaffer to handle and might leave which bring the end of an era and an 8 year project that has attracted heavy criticism by both the media and fans. We’ll be watching but I strongly feel the Premier League will lose another longest serving manager for the second season in a row.
Mourinho’ second spell turns sour- I have this eerie feeling that Jose Mourinho’s dramatic return to Chelsea after a 7-year sabbatical wouldn’t go according to plan. Chelsea owner and fans are hinging their hopes of success based on fond memories of his first spell forgetting that a lot of water has passed under the bridge since that time. During Mourinho’s first spell he had a bunch of hungry players, I never saw groups that were so desirous of success, they all could sacrifice their right arm to hold on to a 1-0 win, their commitment and dedication was unquestionable.
This present Chelsea team unlike the 2004-06 team don’t play as a unit, has too many egos and the dressing room is a bit divided now and above all they lack that hunger that brought much success to the his other Chelsea team. Players like John Terry, Frank Lampard and Ashley Cole are still at the bridge but you’ll agree with me that they’re all past their best. At the end of this season the blues faithful might come to realize the full meaning of the saying “not all that glitters is gold”
Redundant first season for Goal line Technology-after years of controversies, debates and anticipation, goal line technology has become a reality in the English Premier League to put an end to years of injustices in the beautiful game, I still recall the 2005 season when Tottenham’s Pedro Mendes’ shot from just over the half way line that got the better of Manchester United goalkeeper Roy Carroll who spilled the ball 2 yards over his line unfortunately Referee Mark Clattenburg and his assistant Rob Lewis were too far away from the incident to judge correctly therefore Mendes was denied an amazing goal and United escaped with a point.
Since that incident at Old Trafford in 2005,no season has passed without an incident that calls for the need for goal line technology(which incidentally has been used with immense success by other Sports for years) My prediction is this season will be free of any incident that will make us shout “what if it wasn’t there” the guys at Hawk Inc. will be praying this doesn’t happen.
Pellegrini breaks Man city’s CL first round jinx- after investing a fortune on players and wages for 5 years now, the owners desire to see Manchester City join the fray of European power houses, big time. It has become a norm to see the club fail at the first hurdle in their attempt to conquer Europe for the first time in their history.
Last season they were unlucky to be drawn against Spanish giants Real Madrid, eventual finalist Borussia Dortmund and Eredivisie Champions Ajax. This season they’ve spent £100 million on 5 signings which include Brazil International and former Shaktar Donetsk midfielder Fernandinho, the owners, fans and players will be hoping for a kind draw this time around but I really fancy “the Engineer” to guide the club to their first Champions League second round berth.
Mansur Abubakar
mansurabu9@gmail.com/@mansur_112