Evaluating the transfers of the “big clubs” in the English Premier League.

Hi guys, so this is the second edition of the series and I will be focusing on the EPL. I will be giving adept analysis on the big six clubs in the English top flight league concerning the transfers they made, how they fared and possible ways to improve. I will be looking at Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham. Your opinions are appreciated so leave them at the comments section.

LIVERPOOL: After winning their first league title since 1990, it was all songs and drinks for the scousers but come next season they will be the team to beat, teams will love to frustrate them next season and steal points off them hence there is a need to continue improving. Having missed out on Timo Werner who has been linked to the club for most of the season it speaks volumes about the Liverpool hierarchy, the decision makers at the club who seem to prefer the trio of Mane, Firmino and Salah with Origi providing cover, but they need to realize that it is a team with quality squad depth that can challenge for trophies all round and all season, take for example the Real Madrid team that won the UCL 3 times on the bounce, so it is important they invest while also promoting their youth players. Clyne has gone, Lallana and Shaqiri are expected to follow suite, Minamino is expected to kick start his Liverpool career fully next season but they still need more. Honestly, I would endorse a return for Coutinho, his skill set would be needed when it comes to unlocking stubborn defenses next season. A replacement for Dejan Lovren is needed and they should promote players, under Klopp this season, their academy players have shown first team promise though they need to be introduced gradually.

MANCHESTER CITY: Attacking-wise they are one of the best in Europe, bar the exit of Leroy Sane and the immenint departure of David Silva they are still explovise going forward, although they should maybe add Valencia's Oliver Torres for depth and Rodri should have wonderful understanding of the league come next season. City just needs a Vincent Kompany figure in the team, a leader, and a total defensive overhaul bar Laporte, Walker and Cancelo. Benjamin Mendy as well as Stones and Otamendi are too culpable to individual mistakes and it is evident that another spending spree to bolster their back line is in the pipeline.

MANCHESTER UNITED: The club that my heart beats for, it would be a delight to see them at the very top of European football once again, one thing Man utd need to do is to spend, but spend wisely. The team is in desperate need for depth, quality ones to be exact. From Attack, Jadon Sancho should be an all in for them no matter the cost except they can find a cheaper option with equal or more talent and drive to play for the club, and strikers should be signed to back up Martial because I don't see Odion Ighalo staying past January. In Midfield, Grealish and Van de Beek should be added, I don't see Lingard and Pereira as players for a title change, Pogba and Bruno won't play all matches that where Grealish comes in, just like with their noisy neighbors have KDB, Bernardo and David Silva, Mahrez, Sterling, Gundogan and Rodri even Fernandinho and any choice made by the manager, the style of play and intensity does change that how to keep it at the top. Matic also needs an understudy, he is the only specialist defensive midfielder at the club as it stands, Fred is too attacking-minded and McTominay seems to also prefer the attacking freedom though due to his physicality he can be retrained as on to save cash. To defence, as it stands only Maguire and Wan-bissaka are guaranteed starters, Lindelof is more of a defensive midfielder than a centre back for me, Bailly and Tuanzebe need to sort out their fitness and Phil Jones is just a meme for social media, Brandon Williams and Diogo Dalot need to really up their games, give them manager a selection nightmare for full backs. I would endorse a move for Nathan Ake to partner Maguire as Bailly can not convince with his fitness levels, Ake is acclimatized to the league and is an aerial threat and is also difficult to bully around. The De Gea and Henderson debate will keep intensifying if performances like the semi-final repeats itself, De Gea needs a break to evaluate himself, convince himself that he is still capable for reclaiming his title as the best in the business. If not I believe a change of scenery is due say PSG and let Dean Henderson have his shot at the number 1.

CHELSEA: They have set the pace for next season transfers by already completing some exciting attacking deals for Ziyech and Timo Werner, hopefully we would get to see more of Mount, Pulisic and Hudson-Odoi, the midfield looks and seems balanced bar any departure but their problems line in their defense, Kepa is no longer convincing as the heir to Petr Cech's throne and Andre Onana has been whispered as a possible replacement. I see Kurt Zouma as an accident just waiting to happen, Rudiger and Christensen have not helped their cause and Tomori is just becoming a regular, against teams with a pacey frontline Azpilicueta struggles and is always targeted, a change of his role to centre back would be welcoming, The sale of Victor Moses is still absurd to me hence a new right back, Alonso and Emerson are both linked back to Italy so and attempt should be made for Ben Chilwell and another centre back should be signed.

ARSENAL: After making what was deemed excellent transfer business in the summer, bringing in David Luiz, Nicolas Pepe, Gabriel Martinelli, Dani Ceballos (on loan), Kieran Tierney while promoting a handful of youngster they seemed ready for the task, but series of managerial error marred with individualistic mistakes mostly by the defenders lead to very poor performances and a poor league position, Unai Emery was sacked, Freddie Ljunberg did a professional job with the four games he was in charge then came the shining light Mikel Artera who returned to the club as a manager and breathed a much needed lease of life to the club. But the errors still surfaced, Luiz and Mustafi culpable for most and the ostracization of Matteo Guendouzi have seen Arsenal still struggle. Come next season, Artera needs to show the balls of a manager of a big club, keeping Aubameyang most be priority and clearing out as much deadwood as possible while bringing in players with the desire to win.


TOTTENHAM: After signing only Lucas Moura in the past 24 months the coys finally got an injection of new bloods, on the back of a UCL final defeat and the opening of their refurbished stadium big money was spent to bring Tanguay Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon, Giovanni Lo Celso and Jack Clarke in the summer with Steven Bergwijn coming in the winter window. The last 24 months eventually started telling on everyone at the club, uncertainty about the future of key players like Christian Eriksen amongst others coupled with fatigued performances lead to their Argentine manager being dismissed. Jose Mourinho was surprisingly appointed as his successor, he brought a level of stability which they would need to build on next season. More funds need to be invested in the squad, players like Ndombele and Danny Rose need to prove their commitment or be sold because Mourinho does not manage players with a 'chicken-hearted' approach and the creativity that Eriksen brought to the team needs to be replaced urgently. The over dependence on Harry Kane and Son hueng min should also be reduced. 

The King is Coming

                                                                   
Growing up, we were taught the importance of reading the bible as it holds God’s directions and instructions for our life, but of all the chapters (books) of the Bible I found the Book of Revelations to be scary, I think I read it just once while growing up, this was due to the fact that like most readers we imagine the things we read and those in the Book of Revelation I assure you are horrific to think about. This brings me to the topic, THE KING IS COMING. I am trying to create awareness about the second coming of Jesus Christ. All my Bible readings are from the new living translation (NLT).
“Jesus Christ is coming soon” is a well-known statement all over the earth, it is been said and acknowledge by both believers and most times unbelievers. What we all need to know that first of all no one knows when that day would come for the world, 1 Thessalonians 5:2 says “For you know quite well that the day of the Lord will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night”. Many people thus have a very wrong perception about this, the day of the Lord is not like a planned event like the UCL Final or Final year exams etcetera, the day of the Lord comes at different times for most humans, the day the Lord for both believers and unbelievers is that faithful day when the mortal body dies, that is why that day is unknown and unexpected because no one can predict correctly the day they die.
The Bible speaks further about the individualist nature of the Lord’s Day, In Hebrews 9:27,”And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment”.  It then depends on where you stand with God based on how your lived your life here on earth. At death, believers leave the body to be with Christ. Apostle Paul refers to it as being away from the body and at home with the Lord  (2 Corinthians 5:8). The mortal body “sleeps” the sleep of death, but not the spirit which at death goes immediately to heaven to be judged. The Books of Hebrews refers to “the spirits of righteous men made perfect” in heaven (Hebrews 12:23). When the Lord returns, we will receive a new spiritual body-“It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body”, (1 Corinthians 15:44) - to be joined without redeemed spirits. United in spirit and in body, we shall ever be with the Lord. Another confirmation of the Judgment after death is cited by the bible in Luke 16:19-31.
In the book of Matthew 16:26, it says “And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your soul in the process? Is anything worth more than your soul?” It is also repeated in the books of Mark 8:36 and Luke 9:25. That is the million dollar question, is anything worth more than the soul? Knowing fully well that the soul lives on even after death, Revelation 20:14-15 clearly points out what would happen to those who had valued their lives here on earth over their soul, it says “And death and the grave were thrown in the lake of fire, this is the second death”, it goes further to say that “Anyone whose name is not found recorded in the book of life was also thrown into the lake of fire”, this fire is eternal and also has tormentors that torment the inhabitants (see Revelation 14:9-11).
It then brings forth the important question, after knowing not the day when we would die and after being made aware of the two routes after death, how are we living our lives, some people spend their money as they earning it, without thinking about the next day, I believe that that is how a godly life should be lived, every day should be lived like God would take you the next moment, be overly conscious about your life, Psalms 139:23-24 also highlights it (Ps. 139:23: “Search me, O God and Know my heart, test me and know my thoughts, 24: “Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life” ). It is important that this is done daily do reaffirm our stand with God. We may think or believe that because we are from bible reading homes or church going families that we know God , the most important thing is for God to know you in Matthew 7:22-23, God denied who did miracles in his name because they were done with our his permission,  it is not because you answered that altar call that immediately secures your salvation, you don’t win league title or cups by winning just one match, same with the heavenly race, it is a process and surrendering your life to Jesus is just the first step, and every necessary step is written in the bible, God desperately wants us to succeed in this race and his has done quite enough frankly for us to win the race, he sacrificed his only son for our sins,( both the ones committed and yet to be committed, both for the living and the ones yet to be born) and he also provided the holy spirit as a guide for us, to help navigate us through the treacherous paths of this life, it is just like in an exam, the questioner spends a teacher to assist all the students who are sitting for the exam in order for them to succeed in the examination, that is what the holy spirit is like for us and even much more and all we need to do is just to claim what has already been purchased for us by our lord Jesus Christ, we just need to honestly come to God in humility (not putting up a show, come in sincerity, because God checks the motive of everything we do) and say just say this short prayer, Lord come into my heart, be the lord of my life, I accept that Jesus Christ, you son died for my sins and I am ready to accept him as my Lord and personal savior. Then start changing your ways, treat people better and equally, doing the commandments that the Lord has spoken about in the Bible and that which he gives through revelations and keep pray daily without ceasing for his mercies and grace because we cannot win this race by our own power alone.   Also find a Bible believing church to attend because your spirit man needs to be feed just as your mortal body eats, if you are in Enugu state, Nigeria, you can join me and worship @ 154 Zik Avenue, or any Chrismatic Renewal Ministries (CRM) close to you. 

Evaluating The Transfers of The 'big clubs' : Italian Serie A.

The prolonged 2019/2020 season is finally coming to an end in most countries, so I decided to write about how the big teams in the top five leagues, fared transfer-wise hence this series about completed transfers and how the players have had an impact or who should have been bought instead. This is my opinion on these, if you have an opinion that is contrary, please make use of the comments section. I will be focusing on Juventus, Inter Milan, A.C. Milan, A.S. Roma, Napoli and Lazio.

JUVENTUS : With Cristiano Ronaldo in his second year at Turin, Juve were strong favorites to retain the scudetto(Serie A league title), but their main target was obviously the UEFA Champions League, many believe that was the main reason behind CR7'S transfer. They appointed Maurizio Sarri to replace M. Allegri. Sarri signed Aaron Ramsey and Adrien Rabiot on free transfers, Matthijs De Ligt from Ajax, Danilo from Manchester City, Dejan Kulusevski from Atalanta and now Arthur Melo from FC Barcelona. The Old Lady New transfer approach was excellent benefitting from Arsenal and PSG's sluggishness, stealing the centre back revelation from Barcelona's grasp, and also signing more players for the future. In my opinion the Danilo and Cancelo swap was not so convincing Champions League-wise. It was like swapping a Ferrari for a not so super car. But were their transfer genius was evident was in the Arthur Melo transfer, Miralem Pjanic in his 30's for Arthur Melo in his mid 20's was genius, and not to undermine Pjanic's excellent abilities but I think this was a steal. They are gradually chopping off the 'old logs', as a manager I would relish the dilemma choosing from a midfield that includes Bernadeschi, Bentancur, Arthur, Rabiot, Ramsey, Matiudi, Kulusevski. Another area Juve needs to address is their defence most especially the left back position, Alex Sandro needs competition, whenever he is injured and unnatural left backs are used Juve tends to suffer. Raiding Chelsea for either Marcus Alonso or Emerson would be a nice idea will also grooming someone from the youth ranks.

INTER MILAN: The club after my heart in Italy, the glory days of Diego Milito, Wesley Sneidjer, Samuel Eto'o, Javier Zanetti, Maicon seemed to be long gone till Luciano Spaletti and now Antonio Conte. Spaletti performed pretty well after Jose Mourinho, he is the 3rd best manager of Inter Milan since 2009. Antonio Conte, fresh from a sabbatical, was out to redeem his name after his dismissal from Chelsea. He signed Romelu Lukaku from Manchester United, Stefano Sensi on loan with an option to buy, Nico Barella, Christian Eriksen, Victor Moses and Ashley Young in January and more impressively Achaf Hakimi whose goal all but knocked Inter down to the Europa League. Lukaku was an instant hit, scoring on his debut, important goals and assists like against AC Milan, he was looking like the 'hungry beast' Mourinho signed for Manchester United, Ashley Young is a good short term fix to the left wing back position, Eriksen would settle soon enough and join the likes of evergreen Candreva and Co. in supplying Lukaku and Martinez the balls to score, For all Mauro Icardi's achievements, Inter seems to have moved on well and fast too, their early season form was a delight to the fans till the exhausting from working under Conte cut up with them at the vital moments, but not withstand, next season holds much more promise, If they can keep hold of Lautaro Martinez, keep their midfield fit and with Hakimi coming they would be a force to reckon with.

NAPOLI: This season also held much promise for the guys from Naples but it all went wrong due to a lack of reinforcements, Ancelotti got his man in Hirving Lozano but it was not enough to push for the scudetto and coupled with the sacking of Carlo Ancelotti, rumors linking Koulibaly and Fabian Ruiz to transfer elsewhere and the imment departure of Jose Callejon, Napoli look set for a spell with out European football with the likes of Inter, Lazio, Atalanta and AS Roma failing to slack.

A.S. Roma: THE 2019/2020 season was a relatively good one for A.S. Roma, they had some very impressive performances during the season but to be honest they do not have the funds or pull power to sign players to help them secure the scudetto, if they fail to sign Chris Smalling and Mhkitaryan permanently it would mean another building process which shifts the scudetto farther away from them. While I expect them to qualify for Europe next season, they would need to be smart as well as lucky both on and off the pitch.

Lazio: As one of the major entertainers of the league like Atalanta, they should look back on their season and smile and takes courage that the summit is in their sights. Going by their business game by game until Inter Milan started to slip up, they grabbed the opportunity and climbed up to 2nd. If they can keep the core of this current team, then next season would be one to look forward to with relish.

A.C. Milan: The major issue with A.C. Milan in the 2019/2020 season had to come from above, I understand their expectations for the team in which they invested quite a large amount but making knee-jerk decisions does not help matters either, From Club icon Maldini resigning to the premature announcement of a new coach. Although their problems started before all these dramas, it could be narrowed down to the slow gelling process of the new signings like Ante Rebic. It wasn't until after the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the Corona virus break did the team start to reap fruits take for instance their spirited comeback against Champions Juve. Next season holds another rebuilding process for the Rosseneris but ultimately a top four finish for them next season still looks quite impossible.