Frank de Boer was let go by Crystal Palace this weekend after losing 1-0 to Burnley. It was just his fourth league match in charge, and his fifth overall. Granted, he lost all four of those league matches, only winning a Carabao Cup match against Ipswich Town. In memory of de Boer's time at Palace, we ranked his five matches in charge from worst to best. And no they weren't just all the worst.
There’s no question that Diego Simeone is the best thing to ever happen to Atletico Madrid. The Argentine’s appointment in December of 2011 ushered in the club’s most successful spell in the modern era. That Simeone has been able to accomplish as much during the height of Lionel Messi’s powers at Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo’s at Real Madrid only adds to his legend.
Finally, a bit of good news for Newcastle United supporters around the world. After a net spend of around $26 million in the summer transfer window (or roughly one-tenth of a Neymar if you prefer), The18 can confirm that the club have steered cleared of a dreaded investigation from UEFA over financial fair play.
This will undoubtedly bring great joy to manager Rafa Benitez, who was promised “every last penny” by owner Mike Ashley back in May and then landed Jacob Murphy from Norwich City as the club’s marquee signing.
Arsenal's 4-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool Sunday has had Arsenal fans' heads spinning around like they've been possessed by demons. And those demons want Arsene Wenger to be fired.
I have already discussed the notion that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is a hit man, and soon the whole world might get the proof it needs to accept this idea.
Here's Conte when asked about striker Diego Costa, who is currently pining as hard as he can for a move to Atletico Madrid, so much so that instead of flying from Brazil to Chelsea to report for training like he was told, he got on a plane to Madrid instead.
Before Pep Guardiola came down from the mountaintop proclaiming the new age of the 4-3-3 with attacking width providing by the wide defenders, nobody knew what a full back was. Sure, Roberto Carlos once struck a football so hard that we all admitted their existence, but that was all anyone knew about the position. What did they do? Why were they there? It was hard to know and even harder to explain.
Manchester United have reportedly offered Zlatan Ibrahimovic a contract to play for them when he's done rehabilitating the knee injury he suffered at the end of last season, with an eye toward a transition to a coaching role.
It never ceases to amaze me that with a 23-year-old Lionel Messi entering the height of his powers as a footballer, the Argentine Football Association decided to put Diego Maradona in charge of the national team for the 2010 World Cup. In his previous managerial experience, Maradona had collected three wins, eight draws and 12 losses, good for a win percentage of 13%.