Form beats the firm.
The English Premier League is now the best in the world, in a clear-cut way, as Il Calcio was in the second half of the 1980s and the 1990s. Anyone who looks comparatively at the big leagues of Europe sees immediately: the hard work of the footballers, their commitment, their level of strength and speed. Almost any other achievement in a big-league pales in comparison to the determination with which they play in the Premier League.
How would Bellingham have fared at Birmingham?
Sure, Bellingham is having a formidable season at Real Madrid, but he wouldn’t be the same Jude at Birmingham, where he went on to glory. Jude Bellingham would be a cut above many Premier League footballers, but it would have been interesting to see him perform in the rain at Brighton, for example.
And Mbappé is wasting his career in Paris and would waste away in Spain too. The real stakes, beyond the Champions League, is the Premier League. Haaland made the right choice in coming to Manchester.
And while we’re on the subject of Manchester, let’s note the good news for the Premier League: it’s no longer a league dominated by ManCity, who are putting up barbaric budgets. Of course, it’s still possible that in the end City will come out champions, but at least they still have two opponents. And not from the recent rich arrivals, but from the teams with great tradition: Arsenal and Liverpool.
The manager makes the difference: the case of Unai Emery
What happened in the last round of the Premier League shows us this: form increasingly beats the firm. That explains why Aston Villa won (and quite fortunately) against Arsenal London to take a fabulous home series. It has strung together fifteen wins in a row! Such a thing has never happened in the one hundred and fifty (!) years of the club’s existence. And the architect is clearly the emeritus coach Unai Emery. Who has taken a well-deserved revenge on Arsenal, where he was not valued enough.
And it also explains why United lost to Bournemouth at home in the Theatre of Dreams, which has become, in recent seasons, the Theatre of Shame: 0-3.
Manchester United (like their fellow sufferers, Chelsea London) are no longer scaring anyone in the Premier League. Unlike Chelsea (also beaten by Everton!), they still play to win, even if they happen to lose 3-0 at home. They have no draws this season, and that says something about the Red Devils’ style: all or nothing. Unfortunately for them and their glorious history, lately it’s more and more about nothing. And Hojlund is more than a few letters short of Haaland. He hasn’t scored a goal in the Premier League now, and Haaland scores even when he’s not playing – we mean the whole team is straining to make up for his absence, as just happened in the narrow win at Luton (who lost just as badly to Arsenal).
So, it’s not exactly a fluke that Manchester City are flying and Manchester United are collapsing. For one thing, since Sir Alex Ferguson they haven’t found a coach who is truly compatible with the club and its great history. All that’s left of Manchester United is the firm.
And remember when you bet: form beats the firm!
