🚨 Who should be Manchester United's next manager? Eddie Howe? Cesc Fàbregas? Julian Nagelsmann? Fabian Hürzeler? Antonio Conte? I've assessed all five candidates, their tactical philosophies, strengths, weaknesses, and suitability for the biggest job in English football. One stands out to me. Full analysis available at EBL2017.com/p/who-should-be-… and X Subscriptions! 👇

Xavi Hernandez did say that the third man run is the most unstoppable tool in football 🤷‍♂️

Mbappé is the most devastating player in the world. Does that make him the best? Maybe. Yamal can be a little inconsistent in the biggest games.

Jude Bellingham. Ballon d’Or winning level footballer.

Still need to see Arteta’s Arsenal vs Flick’s Barca.

Mourinho masterclass with and without the ball tonight. Write him off in one-off games at your peril.

Over the course of a league season, Hansi Flick and Barcelona will blow Jose Mourinho and Real Madrid out of the water. But we knew that before the season. What’s more interesting with Mourinho’s Madrid is how they compete in one-off games, particularly in the Champions League.

One thing I’m noticing with projects that fail is that their physical level is not up to speed. We can talk about technical and tactical skills all we like but you are doomed if you cannot handle the physicality of the opponent, particularly in a sport that is increasingly man vs man.

Le Bris and Sunderland might be 20th as it stands but they reduce games to fine margins and excel in all game-states as they press man-to-man high, defend zonally low, can build against a zonal press or play direct against a man-to-man press, and attack well in a 3-1-6 with decent quality + profile balance across the thirds. Combine that with the support of the fans at the Stadium of Light and I don’t expect them to be relegated this season. I actually back them to go far in Europe and to stay up comfortably. They have a talented and big squad, even if the summer window just gone was a little underwhelming.

Manchester United fans are some of the very best in the world. As loyal and as patient as it gets. A credit to themselves. Commiserations to Michael Carrick in the face of the inevitable. No matter who it is, I feel for managers when they are sacked.

Like it or not, it's the hardest working and most humble team that Carrick could have picked. Martinez, Bruno, and Cunha have either publicly downed tools or done so on the pitch (Bruno did both). Back to basics. Let's see how it plays out 🤞

Bruno Fernandes benched. Bombshell news. With a clear week ahead, it's do or die for Michael Carrick. Bournemouth are no mugs.

Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali today. FINALLY playing in suitable roles, and you can see how special they are, both individually and as a duo. Fernandes ran the game whilst facing the play with his passing (instead of being cramped away in tight spaces as the #10). Also monstrous defensively. Tonali similar - covered the most ground. Maddison was also top until he went off. He constantly overloaded Chelsea in midfield as Lacroix was reluctant to follow him. It was a man-to-man vs man-to-man game so it ultimately came down to technical security + winning duels. More so on the players than the coaches considering the unique nature of the game. Similar to PSG vs Bayern in the Champions League style-wise, but obviously with a lot less quality. Ultimately, Spurs’ individuals delivered and Chelsea’s didn’t. Wouldn’t look too much into the game-model of either Xabi Alonso or Roberto De Zerbi off the back of this game. It more so reveals the level of these players relative to one another, and you can see that Spurs have lots of top players. Chelsea missed Enzo Fernandez massively today. Henderson a top professional but not up to par. Acheampong also struggled. Only made 5 passes. In man-to-man games it’s all about the individuals but Chelsea’s didn’t deliver (whether that be because they’re not good enough or because they simply underperformed on the day).

Arsenal. By far and away #1 (assuming justice is served and City are rightfully banished).

Gabriel. His signing was one of the early indications that Arsenal were changing from boys into men.

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Gvardiol is better in the opposition’s box than in his own.

Another one Chelsea were wrong to sell.