The City Football Group was formed to oversee the expanding franchise of teams under the "City" umbrella which started with the Abu Dhabi United Group's purchase of Manchester City back in 2008. It has since spread to three continents and has five teams fully under their control and partial ownership of another. The aim does appear to be the creation of a footballing empire and dominance on a global scale where each side could dominate their continents and the Club World Cup could have just "City" teams.
Manchester City - The first team bought by the Abu Dhabi Group and in the years since the takeover, they have established themselves as one of the best in England but so far have struggled to make their mark on the European stage. They are the most successful of the City Group clubs as they've added the 2012 and 2014 Premier League titles, the 2014 and 2016 League Cups, the 2011 FA Cup and the 2012 Community Shield. They did manage to get to the semi finals of the Champions League last season but nobody really believed they could go on and win it so now Pep Guardiola has been brought in to lead them to European glory.
Manchester City Women - In 2012 the already existing Manchester City Ladies was acquired and joined to the Manchester City men so they are linked. They had a slight name change and became the Manchester City Women but the joining with the men was not just for a name change, it enabled the City Group to start pumping money into the side. They quickly became one of the best teams in England with one of the best stadiums in the Women's Super League and also some of the best players because they can offer what few other English women's teams can offer, a professional contract. They have brought women's football into the public eye and helped boost the sport in England. Since the City Group got the team, they've won the 2014 FA WSL Cup and are well on their way to winning their first Women's Super League title this season.
New York City - The MLS franchise was established in 2013 but didn't begin their first season until 2015. In their inaugural season, they finished in a disappointing eighth and missed out on a play off spot. Top players have been brought in like David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo to help get the new franchise up and running. This season has been better as they have guaranteed a spot in the play offs and could still win the Supporters Shield for 2016. With the squad improving so much so quickly, they should be aiming to win the MLS Cup and the CONCACAF Champions League within the next three seasons. So far, they have not won any silverware but it is only their second season and they should be able to start dominating the USA and bringing in the trophies soon.
Melbourne City - In 2014, Melbourne Heart were bought out by the City Group and became the third City team. In their first season under the new ownership, they finished fifth in the regular season and reached the play offs semi finals and in their second season, they improved with a fourth place finish to qualify for the play offs but they once again lost in the semi finals. The side will only get better and will be hoping to push on from their semi final defeats to win the Grand Final and eventually try and win the AFC Champions League. The seemingly unlimited resources available and also the signing of Australian legend Tim Cahil will help improve Melbourne City's stature with fans across the country.
Melbourne City Women - After the success of the women's football team in Manchester, the City Group decided to do the same in Melbourne. Only being founded in 2015, they only have the one season to their name but in their inaugural season last year, they got a clean sweep of trophies by winning the W-League Premiers after winning twelve games out of twelve in the regular season and they also went on to win the Grand Final. Two trophies out of two from the first season and they could easily go on to dominate women's football in Australia for the next few years.
Yokohama F. Mariners - The City Group do not own the Mariners but they do have a minority share in the club and it does appear likely that they will want a Japanese franchise and will probably try and buy the club outright. They could change the name to incorporate them into the group of "City" clubs.
With Europe, North America and Asia all being home to a City club, it wouldn't surprise me if we will soon see a South American or even African club joining the growing group. The aim does appear to be dominance of world football on the men's and women's stages and although dominance is going to be very difficult, the teams are each becoming successful in their own right.
Sunday, 21 August 2016
Thursday, 18 August 2016
Manchester United, The English Galacticos
Since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Manchester United have been quite happy to spend big in order to bring success back to Old Trafford and they have broken their own transfer record multiple times and now even gone and broken the world transfer record with the £89 million signing of Paul Pogba. The trophies have been few and far between and since 2012, there have been four managers at the helm but now with Mourinho, the Galacticos of England might just be able to bring the good times back to the red side of Manchester.
David De Gea - Brought in by Sir Alex Ferguson and has become the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in the years since his retirement. He has been named as Manchester United's player of the season for the last three consecutive years and is now considered to be one of the best if not the best goalkeeper in the world.
Eric Baily - The young Ivory Coast international defender was brought in as Jose Mourinho's first signing for £30 million and has been named man of the match in his first two games for United. He helped lift the first trophy of the Mourinho era in the 2-1 win over Leicester in the Community Shield.
Luke Shaw - The young left back was voted as the best left back in the Premier League after his last season with Southampton and became the world's most expensive teenager after completing the move to United, which was in the region of £30 million.
Paul Pogba - The new world record transfer. The Frenchman rejoined United for £89 million and joined Mourinho's new look side. The transfer dragged on for most of the summer but was finished before the start of the Premier League and there is a lot of expectation on his shoulders to help give United the extra boost in the title race.
Juan Mata - David Moyes' most expensive signing and he even became United's club record transfer after his £37.1 million move from Chelsea in January 2014. He became a key player under Van Gaal and even scored the equaliser during the FA Cup final. He's started this season off well with the opener against Bournemouth.
Anthony Martial - Widely regarded as a panic buy by the English media, the £36 million United paid Monaco for him was quickly forgotten about as he scored on his league debut against Liverpool and went on to became United's top scorer for the season. The young French international became the world's most expensive teenager, taking the title from Luke Shaw and was voted as the best young player in Europe.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - The serial winner was brought in on a free after his contract with PSG ended. Mourinho reunited with Ibrahimovic after their time together at Inter Milan and the former Sweden international managed to score United's winner on his debut to lift the Community Shield and also scored on his league debut in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth. Zlatan is looking to add to the trophies he's won in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France.
Falcao and Di Maria - Both brought in by Van Gaal but unfortunately only stayed in Manchester for one season. Both were regarded amongst the best in their positions and were seen as excellent purchases for United. Di Maria became United's all time record transfer but is considered as a flop after being sold for around £10 million less a year later whilst Falcao was loaned in from Monaco but injuries ruined any real chance of securing a permanent move to Manchester.
With all the money in the Premier League and with United's sponsorship deals with the likes of Chevrolet and Adidas, it looks like there will be more superstar signings in the next few years to help United get back to the top but it is the mixture of world class and homegrown players like Lingard and Rashford that really mirror the original Galacticos from Madrid. The Mourinho era has started with the Conmunity Shield and he will be hoping for much more with his record breaking side.
David De Gea - Brought in by Sir Alex Ferguson and has become the best goalkeeper in the Premier League in the years since his retirement. He has been named as Manchester United's player of the season for the last three consecutive years and is now considered to be one of the best if not the best goalkeeper in the world.
Eric Baily - The young Ivory Coast international defender was brought in as Jose Mourinho's first signing for £30 million and has been named man of the match in his first two games for United. He helped lift the first trophy of the Mourinho era in the 2-1 win over Leicester in the Community Shield.
Luke Shaw - The young left back was voted as the best left back in the Premier League after his last season with Southampton and became the world's most expensive teenager after completing the move to United, which was in the region of £30 million.
Paul Pogba - The new world record transfer. The Frenchman rejoined United for £89 million and joined Mourinho's new look side. The transfer dragged on for most of the summer but was finished before the start of the Premier League and there is a lot of expectation on his shoulders to help give United the extra boost in the title race.
Juan Mata - David Moyes' most expensive signing and he even became United's club record transfer after his £37.1 million move from Chelsea in January 2014. He became a key player under Van Gaal and even scored the equaliser during the FA Cup final. He's started this season off well with the opener against Bournemouth.
Anthony Martial - Widely regarded as a panic buy by the English media, the £36 million United paid Monaco for him was quickly forgotten about as he scored on his league debut against Liverpool and went on to became United's top scorer for the season. The young French international became the world's most expensive teenager, taking the title from Luke Shaw and was voted as the best young player in Europe.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic - The serial winner was brought in on a free after his contract with PSG ended. Mourinho reunited with Ibrahimovic after their time together at Inter Milan and the former Sweden international managed to score United's winner on his debut to lift the Community Shield and also scored on his league debut in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth. Zlatan is looking to add to the trophies he's won in The Netherlands, Italy, Spain and France.
Falcao and Di Maria - Both brought in by Van Gaal but unfortunately only stayed in Manchester for one season. Both were regarded amongst the best in their positions and were seen as excellent purchases for United. Di Maria became United's all time record transfer but is considered as a flop after being sold for around £10 million less a year later whilst Falcao was loaned in from Monaco but injuries ruined any real chance of securing a permanent move to Manchester.
With all the money in the Premier League and with United's sponsorship deals with the likes of Chevrolet and Adidas, it looks like there will be more superstar signings in the next few years to help United get back to the top but it is the mixture of world class and homegrown players like Lingard and Rashford that really mirror the original Galacticos from Madrid. The Mourinho era has started with the Conmunity Shield and he will be hoping for much more with his record breaking side.
Tuesday, 16 August 2016
Will Newcastle win promotion this season?
With the Championship season now underway, Newcastle started as favourites to go on and win it and when you look at the squad that they've assembled, you can see why. They have arguably the best squad in the league, most experienced manager and history is on their side as well. It'll be a long season but a lot of people do believe the title is already decided and it's only promotion for the rest to play for. Last time Newcastle were in the Championship, they bounced straight back up by winning the league with 102 points. Despite all of the positives leading up to the season, it's been a disastrous start. They are still many people's favourites and they could very possibly still go on to win the league but they will have to improve.
Their squad is surely the envy of all of the other Championship teams. Although they have lost a few top players like Wijnaldum, Cisse, Coloccini, Townsend and Taylor and they seem likely to lose more players like Krul, Tiote and Sissoko before the transfer window ends, their recruitment to replace them has been impressive. Hanley from Blackburn and Clark from Aston Villa will help boost the defence, Hayden, Ritchie and Diame bolster the midfield and Dwight Gayle has been brought in to lead the front line. With the likes of Shelvey, Perez, Mitrovic, Colback, Janmaat and Dummet all staying despite relegation and with younger players hoping to make it into the first team like Aarons and Armstrong, there is a good mix of international quality players and young players eager to prove themselves.
They have a manager who has won promotion a couple of times in Spain and gone on to win major tournaments such as the Europa League and Champions League and was even the manager of Real Madrid only a year ago. Rafa is the most experienced manager in the Championship and has about seven years of managerial experience in English football with Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle last season. There aren't many other managers in the Championship with the same level of top tier experience. Reading have Jaap Stam who has had a few years coaching in the Ajax system and Aston Villa have another Champions League winning manager with Di Matteo. The competitiveness and quality level in this years Championship might mean that Benitez will have to use all his experience from getting promoted during his time in Spain more than competing at the highest level to help his Newcastle side bounce back up.
Now two games into the season, they find themselves at the wrong end of the table without a single point. It is early days but the Newcastle fans would expect results from day one. Newcastle have one of the biggest fan bases in England and are always very demanding. Perhaps their expectations are too high because over the last twenty years, they have seen their team go through highs and lows. The mid nineties saw Newcastle achieve multiple second place finishes and more top six finishes. From 2002 to 2004, they managed to finish in the top five for three years in a row. Even more recently in 2012, they finished fifth in their second season back in the top flight. They are capable of being a top ten team in the Premier League and should really be pushing on from that to try and win domestic cups and try to get a European place but instead they find themselves constantly flirting with relegation and competing in the second tier of English football.
The recent poor seasons at St James' Park have seen the fans turn on owner, Mike Ashley, for his lack of funding and poor footballing decisions. The appointment of Benitez and the money spent during last season show that Ashley was trying to turn things around. Over £75 million spent last season and over £40 million spent so far this season shows that it isn't for lack of trying but maybe the problems cannot be solved just by throwing money at them.
It's easy to get carried away after a couple of poor results but if Benitez's men don't turn things around soon and pick up some points, there will be plenty of angry fans asking questions. They ended last season with a 5-1 win over third place Spurs so the squad do have the ability but they just need to use it in the games that matter. If they can't, they could decline quite quickly and find themselves at home in the Championship like other former Premier League teams like Fulham, Blackburn, Wolves and Leeds who have fallen and been unable to drag themselves back into the top flight. Whatever happens, this could be a year to remember for Newcastle fans, for better or for worse.
Their squad is surely the envy of all of the other Championship teams. Although they have lost a few top players like Wijnaldum, Cisse, Coloccini, Townsend and Taylor and they seem likely to lose more players like Krul, Tiote and Sissoko before the transfer window ends, their recruitment to replace them has been impressive. Hanley from Blackburn and Clark from Aston Villa will help boost the defence, Hayden, Ritchie and Diame bolster the midfield and Dwight Gayle has been brought in to lead the front line. With the likes of Shelvey, Perez, Mitrovic, Colback, Janmaat and Dummet all staying despite relegation and with younger players hoping to make it into the first team like Aarons and Armstrong, there is a good mix of international quality players and young players eager to prove themselves.
They have a manager who has won promotion a couple of times in Spain and gone on to win major tournaments such as the Europa League and Champions League and was even the manager of Real Madrid only a year ago. Rafa is the most experienced manager in the Championship and has about seven years of managerial experience in English football with Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle last season. There aren't many other managers in the Championship with the same level of top tier experience. Reading have Jaap Stam who has had a few years coaching in the Ajax system and Aston Villa have another Champions League winning manager with Di Matteo. The competitiveness and quality level in this years Championship might mean that Benitez will have to use all his experience from getting promoted during his time in Spain more than competing at the highest level to help his Newcastle side bounce back up.
Now two games into the season, they find themselves at the wrong end of the table without a single point. It is early days but the Newcastle fans would expect results from day one. Newcastle have one of the biggest fan bases in England and are always very demanding. Perhaps their expectations are too high because over the last twenty years, they have seen their team go through highs and lows. The mid nineties saw Newcastle achieve multiple second place finishes and more top six finishes. From 2002 to 2004, they managed to finish in the top five for three years in a row. Even more recently in 2012, they finished fifth in their second season back in the top flight. They are capable of being a top ten team in the Premier League and should really be pushing on from that to try and win domestic cups and try to get a European place but instead they find themselves constantly flirting with relegation and competing in the second tier of English football.
The recent poor seasons at St James' Park have seen the fans turn on owner, Mike Ashley, for his lack of funding and poor footballing decisions. The appointment of Benitez and the money spent during last season show that Ashley was trying to turn things around. Over £75 million spent last season and over £40 million spent so far this season shows that it isn't for lack of trying but maybe the problems cannot be solved just by throwing money at them.
It's easy to get carried away after a couple of poor results but if Benitez's men don't turn things around soon and pick up some points, there will be plenty of angry fans asking questions. They ended last season with a 5-1 win over third place Spurs so the squad do have the ability but they just need to use it in the games that matter. If they can't, they could decline quite quickly and find themselves at home in the Championship like other former Premier League teams like Fulham, Blackburn, Wolves and Leeds who have fallen and been unable to drag themselves back into the top flight. Whatever happens, this could be a year to remember for Newcastle fans, for better or for worse.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)