1 week Ago By [email protected] (Chris McKenna)
in the Far East this week. They and Chelsea will head off for the Club World Cup in June. That’s before all the English big boys head .
Then it will be a few weeks into the new season when managers start moaning about fixture scheduling by the broadcasters who pay billions for the right to choose games they wish for live coverage. Over and over again. Nobody ever seems to say enough is enough when it comes to the amount of football.
Oh, and there’s a World Cup across three countries next summer. And people wonder why the form of some of England’s top stars have dipped this season. Let’s just look at the outfield players who started last summer’s Euro 2024 final for the Three Lions.
Kyle Walker was one of the back three. He’s now playing at AC Milan because he struggled at Manchester City this season. John Stones has missed 29 games and counting for club and country through various injuries.
Marc Guehi has been one of the exceptions as he has been impressive for Crystal Palace but his side are not in Europe so less games. Moving into midfielder, Bukayo Saka has just returned from a hamstring injury which kept him out for three months and 19 games. He’d also had a thigh problem earlier in the campaign.
Declan Rice has been relatively injury free and had some impressive performances but could anyone say they’ve seen him play his best football this season? Kobbie Mainoo hasn’t played since February in what is his second stint on the sidelines this term and when he has featured, he’s yet to hit the heights of last season. While Luke Shaw has not played a game of football since the defeat by Spain in Germany on July 14. Although, his problems are not down to too much football, maybe the opposite.
Then there’s Phil Foden who is probably having the worst season of his career in terms of performance since he broke into the Manchester City team. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham have continued to impress but they play their football abroad. Even if you look at the subs from the Euros final, Cole Palmer has been struggling recently for Chelsea and Ollie Watkins has not had his best campaign for Aston Villa.
Oh, and the other Premier League player on the pitch that night was Rodri and he suffered an ACL injury at the start of the season. Is it all a coincidence? Maybe. But maybe all this football is catching up on players.
Hey, at least PSR worries will be eased by a few million quid on the balance sheet even if it means a few more players on the treatment table. Want to be on the ball with all of the latest football news? Well then sign up for the brilliant Daily Star Football email newsletter! From the latest transfer news to breaking stories, get it all in your email inbox. It only takes a matter of seconds.
Simply , then provide your email address and that's it, job done. You'll receive an email with all of the top football stories. You can also sign up for our sport email, Off the Ball, for all the latest darts, boxing, snooker, F1 stories and more, *************************************************************************************** Spare a thought for those Leicester City fans who continue to show up every week.
They’ve not seen their beloved Foxes score a league goal on their own patch since December 8. That’s eight successive games home and away that they’ve lost in the Premier League without scoring. Yet thousands still show up and pay their money - or make use of their season tickets - to sit through it and support their team.
Sometimes you think football fandom should be studied relentlessly. Inside the minds of the mad men and women that no matter how bad it gets they won’t give up. Ruud van Nistelrooy could score for fun but his team certainly cannot.
ONSIDE Scott Parker. What a job he has done at Burnley. 27 league games unbeaten.
OFFSIDE Southampton appointing Ivan Juric. Whoever approved that should also walk after pathetic relegation..
