We’re back…After almost a year’s hiatus due to this blog
becoming overly time-consuming, we’ve decided to return – Possibly for a one
off blog, possibly longer, quite frankly we don’t know at this point in time.
What we will say is that this edition of the blog and potential future editions
will have a somewhat different complexion to the Football Circus you once knew.
Gone will be the Balotelli updates (his HILARIOUS madcap antics gave us a laugh
but a weekly report on a player whose career continues on a downward trajectory,
was a strain to say the least). Also gone will be the Italian Football Story of
the Week and the Artist’s Impression of the week. Instead, whilst we will
continue to scour the internet and media for stories which confirm our fears
that football has indeed gone completely bonkers, the blog will focus more on
opinion. And now that we’ve gotten that
out of the way, let’s proceed to the first edition of Football Circus since
October 2015.
Clown Quote of the
Week
“They’re all just headphones!” – Chris Waddle after England’s Euro 2016 exit.
2015/16 Season
Predictions Review
As the 2016/17 season grows nearer, we feel it only right to
take a look back at our predictions for last season to see how we fared.
1. Manchester United fail to reach the Champions League proper, then
finish outside the top 4 in the Premier League, resulting in Louis Van
Gaal's sacking.
- Well we can feel quite smug about this one. Nail on
head.
2. Arsenal to win the Premier League.
- Nope. Had we any inclination
that Leicester City would go on to win the Premier League we would now most
likely be being lauded as descendants of Nostradamus. Due to Spurs’ end of
season capitulation, Arsenal ended up second. Nearly there never won the
(title) race however and it certainly didn’t do our overall predictions score
any favours.
3.
Juventus to win Serie A.
- Perhaps not our most outlandish prediction but we
definitely got this one right as Juve strolled to another Serie A title
victory.
4. Barcelona to win La Liga.
-
Again, we could hardly be seen as visionaries for this one but right again.
5. Bayern Munich to win the Bundesliga.
- See
above.
6. PSG to win Ligue 1.
- And
see above again.
7. Pep Guardiola to be gone from Bayern Munich by June after again
failing in the Champions League, but he will not go to Man City.
- Hmm. It’s hard to argue with
the first part of this prediction but after leaving Bayern, Guardiola was
swiftly announced as the new City manager. Shame on us for doubting red top
rumours. We’ll give ourselves half a point on this one.
8. Mario Balotelli to leave Liverpool in the last week of the transfer
window but will again fail to make an impact wherever he goes.
- Left Liverpool to join AC Milan on a season
long loan. Check. Date of transfer, 27th August 2015. Check. Brutal
showing in Serie A. Check.
9. Nicklas Bendtner to score at least five goals.
- “Lord” Bendtner only managed a measly return
of 4 goals for the season. Muppet.
10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic to get sent off at least once this season.
- Ibra managed
to keep his temper relatively in check in his last season as a PSG player. Not
a single sending off, unfortunately for us.
11. Rafa Benitez to be gone from Real Madrid by June, but the team will
reach the Champions League final nonetheless.
- Correct on this one. Real went on not only
to reach the Champions League final, but to win it. Meanwhile Benitez moved to
Newcastle where he failed to save the club from relegation.
12. Jose Mourinho to fall out with Roman Abramovich again, blame his
own shortcomings on anyone and everyone but himself and be gone from Chelsea by
June.
13. Ravel Morrison to wow Serie A.
- Eh…No.
14. Harry Kane to have a difficult season and fail to reach the heights
he did last season.
- Young Harry
proved us totally wrong and fair play to him. We hope for Spurs’ fans sake
however that his poor form at the Euros doesn’t continue into the 2016/17
domestic season.
15. A frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo's form will finally start to decline
as age begins to catch up with him.
- This really comes down to a
matter of opinion. Down from 56 goals and 22 assists in 2014/15, to a paltry 53 goals and 15 assists in
2015/16. Let’s be realistic. Real Madrid still could not do without him and he
still rivals Messi’s best player in the world status. That being said, the
common consensus seems to be that Ronnie has lost a certain edge – A downturn
in form may be more apparent in the next two years. Nothing to be ashamed of as
he’s had a stellar career and cemented himself as one of the all-time greats. As for our prediction, we’ll give ourselves
half a point.
Overall score: 9
(including our two self-awarded half
points) out of 15. Not too shabby.
And so, that brings us to the 2016/17 season. Despite
Leicester catching us completely unawares with their Premier League triumph
last season, we somehow don’t envisage a repeat performance…
2016/17 Predictions
1. Chelsea to win the Premier League.
2. Juventus to win Serie A.
3. Real Madrid to win La Liga.
4. Borussia Dortmund to win the Bundesliga.
5. PSG to win Ligue 1.
6. Liverpool to secure a Champions League
spot.
7. Leicester City to finish in the bottom half
of the Premier League.
8. Arsene Wenger will finally call it a day at
Arsenal.
9. Luis Enrique to be sacked as Barcelona
manager.
10. Joey Barton to be sent off at least twice
for his new club, Rangers.
11. Mario Balotelli to be transferred out of
Liverpool again and not be on the books of his new club come the end of the
2017/18 summer transfer window.
12. Wayne Rooney to lose the captain’s armband
for England.
13. Lionel Messi to come out of international
retirement.
14. Rafa Benitez to be gone from Newcastle by
the end of the season.
15. Football Circus to return in the form of a
podcast / video podcast.
Yes you read that last one correctly. We’ve been mulling
over the possibility of developing Football Circus into a podcast / video
podcast for quite some time. Whether it comes to fruition or not is as good a
guess as anyone’s, but it is certainly an avenue we’re eager to explore. Quite
whether you would be able to tolerate our voices / mushes, is another issue
entirely. As for predictions 1-14, there are few that could be rendered totally
audacious, certainly not as audacious as our “Bendnter to score at least five
goals” prediction last year, but we’re confident of equalling or bettering our
previous tally of 9 from 15.
Football Circus
Roundup
Pre-season never fails to throw up a few ludicrous scenarios
and once the last ball of the domestic season is kicked, we’re inundated with
what is essentially, nonsense. If you’ve clickbaited your way through more
transfer rumours than you thought imaginable, fear not. There’s plenty more
going on in the world of football to kick your filthy, football-addicted brains
ticking over and the red top journalists in employment. For example, here’s
Arsene Wenger being presented with a sword, before Arsenal took on Norse side
Viking in a friendly.
Over in Italy, a Napoli restaurant, bitter Gonzalo Higuain
for joining Serie A rivals Juventus, are offering a €1 pizza every time the
striker gets injured for his new club.
Will Ferrell has told CNN he could play Jamie Vardy in the
Leicester striker’s biopic (albeit his “later, fatter years”)…
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/sports/2016/08/03/will-ferrell-happy-to-play-jamie-vardy-interview.cnn
Fallen great Adriano is reportedly back living in the
favelas of Brazil…
And Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest fashion statement is eh…painted
toenails.
Fantasy Football
Last but not least on this edition of Football Circus, we’re
going to delve into the gravely frustrating world of Fantasy Football. Many
football fans will attest to the fact that Fantasy Football points can make or
break a weekend. At this stage of the season, you’ll find yourself drafting and
re-drafting your team, only to find yourself using your wildcard after the
first game week. In an effort to alleviate your stress, we’ve scoured through
the players on offer to suggest a few potential bargains.
Goalkeepers
Victor Valdes £4.5m
– Cast aside by Louis van Gaal and latterly, Jose Mourinho, the ex-Barca shot
stopper is a sure fire starter for Premier League new boys Middlesbrough. With Boro investing heavily over the summer,
they’ll be unlikely to get caught in a relegation dog fight, barring a QPR-like
disaster. With that being said, their goalmouth could be barraged with shot
attempts, increasing Valdes’ potential for saves.
Kasper Schmeichel £5m – In spite of Ron Rob Zieler’s arrival
at the King Power Stadium, Schmeichel Jr. is expected to start the season as Leicester’s
number 1. With the majority of higher-ranked keepers being priced at £5.5m, the
Dane could prove a shrewd investment at half a million less.
Defenders
Bacary Sagna £5.5m
– Luke Shaw aside, starting fullbacks for the top seven or eight Premier League
teams appear to cost a minimum of £6m. What differentiates Sagna from Shaw is
that he racked up 116 points last season and has a superior injury record.
Likely to start for City as well, as Guardiola has spent Sheikh Mansoor’s cash
on other areas of the team.
Wes Morgan £5m –
Although it would surprise us to see Leicester repeat their 2015/16 heroics and
equally surprise us to see Morgan amass the 139 points he earned, at £5m the
Leicester captain could be a quite a purchase.
Danny Simpson £5m
– See above.
Midfielders
Leroy Sane £8m –
After spending £40 million on the Schalke winger, Pep Guardiola would have
quite a few questions to answer were he not to start the German. For that
reason, we believe Sane could be worth a gamble.
Nathan Redmond £6m
– Joining Puel’s revolution at Southamption, Redmond will anticipate a starting
berth in the Saints’ lineup. Accumulating 110 points from a relegated Norwich
side was no mean feat and if Southampton somehow continue to impress as they
have done in the past few seasons, £6m spent on Redmond could be a snip.
Jesse Lingard £6m
– This could be a shot in the dark. Lingard’s place in United’s starting eleven
is far from guaranteed, particularly with the signing of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
However after the winger scored in the FA Cup final and Community Shield, in
addition to him being one of the few United players to impress in pre-season,
Jose Mourinho’s hand may forced to play him.
Darren Fletcher
£4.5m – A total of 103 points saw the Scot finish last season as West Brom’s
top points scoring midfielder. As a guaranteed starter for the Baggies,
Fletcher’s £4.5m pricetag makes him a must have as a backup midfielder and will
free up much needed funds for the rest of your team.
Stewart Downing £5.5m
– Hear us out on this one. When Downing joined Middlesbrough from West Ham last
summer we thought it was pipe and slippers time for the winger and he’d taken
the easy option by dropping down a division. However he’s only spent one season
in the Championship and was a vital part of Boro’s promotion. What’s more
intriguing is that in the 2014/15 season, Downing’s Fantasy Football points
totalled a whopping 160. On closer inspection, we found that he’d finished six
of his nine Fantasy Football seasons on over 100 points. Definitely worth
consideration.
Forwards
Divock Origi £7m –
Bargains appear hard to come by in the forwards department this year and it
seems to be the position which has most fantasy managers scratching their
heads, with a lot of untold forces in the mix. Liverpool fans seem to be quite
keen on the Belgian striker though. With Daniel Sturridge perennially injured (picking
up a knock against Barcelona at the weekend, in fact) and Christian Benteke set
to be shown the door by Jurgen Klopp, Origi’s game time could increase at
Anfield.
Marcus Rashford £7m
– The United youngster burst onto the season in the latter stages of last
season but will find it difficult to hold down a starting place at Old Trafford
after Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s arrival. With that being said, if Rashford’s form
continues, he may see more game time than expected.
Andy Carroll £6.5m
– Drafted into many fantasy football team’s towards the end of last season
after a scoring streak, Carroll will continue his attempts to force his way
into Slaven Bilic’s West Ham team. Should he do so, it will be down to one
reason – Goals. Unorthodox he may be, but if he hits a run of form, Carroll
could be a great buy at just £6.5m.
Ahmed Musa £7.5m –
Brought in by Claudio Ranieri as a partner for Jamie Vardy, Musa looked
explosive in pre-season, notching up a brace against Barcelona. Having arrived
from CSKA Moscow, Musa would be a gamble as he has not yet proven himself at
the top level, but if he hits the ground running his price could sky rocket.
Others
There a handful more potential bargains to be had should
certain players be transferred in the coming weeks.
Juan Mata £7.5m –
The Spaniard’s time at Manchester United looks to be drawing to an end and were
he to move (Everton have been linked), he’d walk into most Premier League
teams’ first eleven. At £7.5m, Mata could be worth a punt.
Christian Benteke
£7.5m – If Benteke secures a move away from Anfield and replicates the form
he showed at Aston Villa, the Belgian striker could be a steal at £7.5m.
Saido Berahino £6.5m – West Brom seem loathe to part
with the stroppy striker but if they do and his new club get the best from him,
we could see an influx of goals. He managed 148 fantasy points in 2014/15.
Using some of our suggestions, here’s how your team could
look…
Football
Recommendation of the Week
- SkySports’ “Manchester Divided” video, featuring friend of Football Circus,
Michael J Browne.
Non-Football Recommendation
of the Week
- The Night Of; HBO’s latest offering is quite simply stellar. Originally due to
feature James Gandolfini before his untimely passing, then Robert deNiro (until
he allegedly fell out with the makers), The Night Of casts John Turturro as
lawyer John Stones. While Turturro’s performance alone makes this gritty
mini-series worth watching, this thrilling murder investigation will have you hooked
from the start.
That’s it from us for this week…keep checking back or follow
our Facebook
page or Twitter for future
editions.
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