The Devil's Den

Football is Dead [viz. by Varun Sangwan] Yesterday, the footballing world was shaken to its core by the announcement of a European Super League, potentially disrupting the existing European competitions, i.e., UEFA Champion's League and The Europa League. Gone will be the days when any team could dream of playing in the European competitions as an attempt to challenge the status quo about the big teams in their respective leagues. Teams who have done well recently - the likes of West Ham, Leicester, Real Sociedad, Atalanta, and so on, who rose above expectations to challenge the top tier teams in their divisions will probably find their herculean efforts to have been in vain because the owners of the so-called big clubs have decided that football is just supposed to make money and shouldn't mean anything to the fans. WHAT IS THE EUROPEAN SUPER LEAGUE? What is the European Super League? [via GiveMeSport] The European Super League is an initiative lead by the biggest teams in wor...

Manchester United come into the game in top form, having not lost their last 19 games in all competitions, with the previous seven being victories. The red devils are currently second in the league and are set to qualify for the Champions League quite comfortably next season. Key to all proceedings this season has been the Portuguese magnifico - Bruno Fernandes, who has been in sensational form this season, averaging a goal involvement per game. Manchester United will be looking to capitalize on this recent form, and a win against Burnley will further cement their place as the second-best team in England at this moment in time. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will also be looking to break the Burnley jinx, whose record at Old Trafford in the past five years has been exemplary.  Sean Dyche's men, on the other hand, will be looking to stay up in England's top tier as they are currently 7 points off 17th placed Fulham with a game in hand. They are unlikely to get relegated, but as long as t...

Solskjaer's turn to get his revenge? [via Football.London] Manchester United are set to face Jose Mourinho’s Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in a clash which is important for both Mourinho and Ole. Winning the game will help the Red Devils reduce the gap to 11 points between the noisy neighbours at the top of the table. Man City dropped points against Leeds United (beating Bielsa ball isn't for everyone), allowing Solskjaer a glimmer of hope to close the gap between the two. United have a game in hand over the Blues and could possibly reduce the deficit to 8 pts. Just saying, Manchester City were 8 pts behind Manchester United with 6 games to go when they won the 11/12 Premier League Title. Mourinho has been under intense scrutiny this season [via Techno Trenz] Mourinho needs the win to keep Spurs Champions League hopes alive, which would be the least Spurs' fans would expect of him. After all, they saw their club crash out of both the Europa League and the FA Cup to...

Should Manchester United Let Eric Bailly Go? [viz by The Devils Den] Bailly Arrives At Manchester United Eric Bailly signs for Manchester United [via Daily Express] On 8th June 2016, Eric Bailly became the first signing of the Jose Mourinho era when he was signed from Villarreal on a 4-year contract for a fee of €30 mn. The promising young Ivorian was regarded as the "next big thing" at the heart of the central defence for Manchester United. But his ride has been rough in England. A host of consecutive injuries have halted the Ivorian's career growth at Old Trafford. The Ivorian Came With A Reputation Bailly established himself as one of the best CBs in La Liga [via BBC] Eric joined the Red Devils as one of the best center backs in the La Liga during the 2015-16 season and playing a key role in the impressive Europa League run of Villarreal seeing them progress to the semi-finals. With a United Defence which lacked a strong, physical and brutal defender at that time, the...

Europe’s Most Wanted Defender An analysis on one of the world’s most sought-after centre back, and no it's not Phil Jones Not many players are privileged to play for their hometown club, many youth players may not be good enough to make the grade and hence, released once their youth contract expires. The demands of a footballer are high, especially in Europe where money can be spent seamlessly to fill a hole in the team. That said, when Torres became Villareal’s first local debutant in 13 years against CD Toledo in the Copa del Rey in the 2016/17 season, expectations on him were high and we can see him relishing his potential today.   Pau Torres is currently living the dream as a boyhood Villarreal fan, playing regular football for both club and country whilst being amongst the radar of Europe’s elite. The centre back has impressed alongside Raúl Albiol at the heart of defence for the yellow submarines, as they chase European football for the second successive season, this tim...

Manchester United beat West Ham 1-0 Manchester United won their home game against West Ham to go 2nd in the Premier League table on Sunday night. A Craig Dawson own goal in the 53' from a Bruno Fernandes corner kick sealed the win for The Red Devils against The Hammers. Having avoided conceding a goal, we attained a 4th clean sheet in a row in the league, the first time they have achieved that under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. West Ham never really threatened Dean Henderson until the introduction of Said Benharama. Though they did try to break the fort, MUFC defence stood tall and strong. Antonio and Bowen were West Ham's biggest threats but were kept quiet by our backline [via Sky Sports] Both sides started the game energetically with West Ham winning a corner in the first few minutes. West Ham seemed happy with United having most of the possession. David Moyes' game plan was to sit back and hit United at the break with the pace of Antonio and Bowen. United had 61% possession ...