Potential factors in England’s issues:
Premier League style - Football styles map to climate, so a style that is suited to cold and wet weather (enabling players to run around a lot more, possibly pitch conditions making it harder to reliably play on the deck) doesn’t map terribly well to hot weather football in the…

I have to respect someone whose digital hatred transfers in to the real world!

The English academy system is a mixed bag, but some parts of it are in really good shape. Chelsea won the UEFA Youth League back to back with almost entirely England eligible players, and in the last year’s final I think they had nearly 100 years at the club between them (a number of the players had been there from…

Abramovich put them on the map with his money, and Mourinho helped to deliver that but whilst other managers have delivered trophies, it doesn’t happen without Roman. Mourinho has been digging at Chelsea all season in interviews which is why they’re turning on him now when they didn’t in his spells with Inter and…

Eva Carneiro?...

The Touolon tournament showed their ability - if you know what you’re looking for, you can spot players who can be breakout talents. Marquinhos was excellent in the Toulon tournament a few years ago. The Chelsea kids were both technically very good, and played with amazing chemistry - do you believe this wouldn’t…

You’re forgetting Alonso, Moses, moving Azpilicueta to a new position, getting Luiz to defend reliably, getting Pedro and Hazard to play well... It’s a very different team set-up to when Jose (or even Hiddinck) was managing. Conte managed to undo the toxic atmosphere Mourinho’s personality created (particularly with…

Playing kids like Baker would be taking it seriously. It’s very different to the way that West Ham mugged off the competition as the Chelsea crop ran riot through the Toulon Tournament in the summer (and no-one will be looking forward to facing them in the Euro u21s this summer). They need game time in adult football,…

I think Chelsea would have benefitted from the Europa League this year. They have a number of players in their loan army who they could do with the opportunity to start integrating, but with how tight the Premier League usually is, it’s hard to give them the time in league games. Look at how a few players at Tottenham…

Can’t think of a manager, but didn’t Newcastle cut a cancer survivor player in quite brutal fashion? I think they were pretty classless in h0w they treated some caoching staff too come to think of it...

The only way this makes sense is if Leicester have someone lined up - otherwise, how many matches are they going to muddle through before the new guy gets there? I can see good arguments for getting a manager in April if you’re dead in the water as it gives them a few matches to evaluate the team prior to the transfer…

There is a chant by opposing fans that points this out - I’d try to link a video of it, but it’s NSFW!

Those clauses aren’t automatically added to every player - a good agent can try to get them removed and a great player can refuse to sign a contract knowing they have the leverage. Those clauses may be why they had weak transfer windows

I feel sorry for defenders - if the people around them don’t do their jobs, every little error they make can be catastrophic. A striker mis-kicks and usually it’s just a goal kick or throw-in that happens. A defender getting a tackle slightly wrong can give away a goal and get crucified. Stones is young, and still…

Sadly, I don’t think there is much the FA or Premier League can do with regards to the bookies, except the ones who operate betting stalls within the grounds. Internet ones attached to major media outlets are almost untouchable, but this bet was unfair on Wayne from the moment it was offered - how many friends would…

You’re fine if you’re a performer as you’re not under any legislation. Sports people however have to be careful because of the impact of corruption and match fixing. It’s a shame this bet has been caught up in the rules, but they exist for a good reason, and it’s better than they are without exemption as the arguments…

They don’t need insurance - bookmakers work to a “round book” so that if all bets are covered, they still make a win. It’s not an exact science as you can’t entirely predict how much each selection will have staked upon it, but even if a heavy favourite wins, they’ve still made a profit on the event (albeit not quite…

You can’t see where he is looking at the moment of contact, he was in the vicinity, but the ref has to look away from the action at times to see where he is running (that close to the play you have to worry about if a player is coming in from ahead of you), and to see if anything is going on with other players. I…

I suspect that the ref was looking ahead of the play and didn’t get a look at the mechanics of the tackle, just assumed it was a cynical trip than the nasty tackle it turned out to be when he saw the player on the ground. The trouble with refereeing soccer is that you’re often asking people to watch in multiple…

I wonder if the stadium funding thing is a side effect of the franchise model - since a team can be relocated almost on a whim, funding to build something like that with the team’s money would leave them exposed and possibly give them a huge financial headache, so the owners will always try to leave the liability for…