GOODBYE 19-20, HELLO 20-21!!
‘And the seasons, they go round and round; and the
painted ponies go up and down; captive in a carousel of time; can’t return, we
can only look behind from where we came; and go round and round and round in a
circle game!’ – Joni Mitchell,
“Circle Game”
When does the year
begin? Is it 1st January, as per the calendar? Or 1st
April, as office budgets, performance appraisals and, last but not least,
income tax wallahs decree? Or is it a function of one’s religion or
community (as those of us who scour for those that fall on Fridays or Mondays
for inclusion into the official holiday list can attest to – I remember
celebrating Tibetan New Year once under this pretext)?
As a football lover, I
have a clear answer! It is mid-August, when the English Premier League (EPL)
begins – when the sun finally rises after a long and lonely off-season of weekend
socializing, when we can bunker down in front of our TVs on Sat/Sun evenings,
and when our internet chat-rooms and WhatsApp groups burst into life.
It’s later this year for
pandemic-related reasons, and we also have to get used to empty stadiums, no
pre-game handshakes, subdued goal celebrations and other assorted crap, but hey
– it’s back!! What do we have to look forward to this season?
Here’s my list!!
1. Watching a Bielsa team play, week in and week out!
While many claim to
eat, sleep, breathe and dream football, there is one person to whom this
actually applies – the coach Marcelo Bielsa. He was not a significant
player, has never managed a big club, and has never won anything significant, but
his coaching philosophy is as influential as that of the legendary Johann
Cruyff. “El Loco” or “The Madman”, as he is called (for good reason), prefers
to work with small teams and unknown players, mold them to his ways, and then
make something of the team and the players before moving on. He began working
with Leeds United (a large but traumatized club mired in mid-table mediocrity
in England’s second division) in 2018 and led them to promotion into the EPL this
year. Three games in, and watching Leeds is like watching basketball; end to
end action, calamitous defending, goals galore; its match against Man City was
the first time I have seen a Pep Guardiola team concede possession to an opponent.
I can’t wait for more!
2. Seeing
the ‘superstar freshers’ settle!
Three big guns have arrived; James Rodrigues, Thiago
Alcantara, Gareth Bale.
James, the Golden Boot winner of
the 2014 World Cup who Everton bought from Real Madrid, is already setting the
league alight with his silky left foot. His new teammates are responding by
lifting their own standards, making for an Everton team that looks like it will
do serious damage to the ‘Big Six’ this year. As an aside, Everton has other
assets as well – a coach with serious pedigree, two other new signings (Allan
and Doucoure) who provide the steel in midfield to complement James’
creativity, a young centre forward who is looking to make his name, et al.
Thiago is the son of WC winner
Mazinho (of the baby goal celebration with Bebeto and Romario in USA 1994) and
a key member of an all-conquering Bayern Munich team (his purchase by Bayern was
a condition for Guardiola to move there himself). He comes to Liverpool, itself
an all-conquering team, and the little that he has played thus far showcases
what Liverpool have missed – a midfield creative genius. His no-look assist for
Sadio Mane’s goal against Everton (ruled out by VAR for a hairline offside) is
a harbinger of things to come. Can Liverpool get even better this time?
It is difficult to term Bale a fresher – he spent 6
years with Spurs before moving to Real Madrid and winning everything there is
to win at club level (including 4 Champions Trophy winner medals and 2 La Liga
titles) – and his presence in the EPL is more a ghar wapisi. Despite all
the achievement, he has much to prove!
3. Wondering
whether the ‘old boy’ coaches will last the distance!
In the recent past, three big clubs have torn up their strategies
and called up fan-favourite ex-players to coach; Ole Solskjaer
(Manchester United), Frank Lampard (Chelsea) and Mikael Arteta
(Arsenal). History is mixed on this – some ‘old boys’ have flourished (Zidane,
Guardiola) and some have been misdirected short-term fixes to long-term
problems (Daglish’s second spell as Liverpool’s manager). This season will be a
time of reckoning for Ole, Frank and Mikael, when social capital will not be
sufficient cover for lack of performance. Ole is already odds-on favourite
in the ‘sack race’ (the betting on which manager gets sacked first), and Frank
is getting there (Chelsea’s recent purchase spree may prove a mixed blessing
for him on this).
4. Correlating
big coaches and boredom!
This is the first time that Pep Guardiola will spend
a 5th season at a club – does he have it in him to rebuild a team
(as he will need to do with Manchester City) and also go for the elusive Champion’s
Trophy? Jurgen Klopp has had three extraordinary seasons at Liverpool
(he begins his sixth season here) – can he coax one more out of the crop of
players at his disposal, or will he discover that winning the EPL is one thing
and retaining it is quite another? Will Jose Mourinho rediscover his
mojo at Tottenham Hotspurs, or is he ‘yesterday’s one’? Will the big-name
coaches perform?
5. Continuing
the ‘The man is the club’ syndrome!
Some players embody their club! Well known examples include
Messi – Barcelona and Totti – Roma! I can think of three such in the EPL this
season, Jamie Vardy (Leicester City); Wilfried Zaha (Crystal
Palace) and Jack Grealish (Aston Villa). All neutrals love Leicester
City for what they did in 2015-16 (win the EPL at 5,000 to 1 odds) and Vardy,
a critical component of that fairy tale, continues to bang them in (he won the
Golden Boot in 2019-20 for the most goals scored). Zaha continues to
terrorize defences, particularly those of big teams, and contribute to the
Eagles’ unpredictably – when they play well, they don’t just win – they blow
you away. And Grealish, an Englishman with the ball-playing abilities of
a Spaniard, was the main reason for the Villans escaping relegation last season.
How will they fare this time?
My predictions for the year are in the appended table!
|
Predictions – EPL 2020-2021 |
||
|
Champions League Qualification |
Europa League Qualification |
Relegation |
|
What I Would Like to Happen |
||
|
1. Leeds United 2. Everton 3. Leicester City 4. Liverpool |
5. Wolverhampton Wanderers 6. Brighton and Hove Albion |
18. ?? 19. Chelsea 20. Manchester United |
|
What I Think Will Actually Happen |
||
|
1. Liverpool 2. Manchester City 3. Chelsea 4. Tottenham Hotspurs |
5. Everton 6. Leeds United |
18. West Bromwich Albion 19. Fulham 20. Sheffield United |
|
5 Best Signings: Timo Werner (Chelsea), Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Tottenham Hotspurs), Ferran
Torres (Manchester City), Cengiz Under (Leicester City), Alphonse
Areola (Fulham) |
||
|
3 Bad Signings: Edinson Cavani (Manchester United), Thiago Silva (Chelsea), Willan
(Arsenal) |
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3 Players Who Will Achieve Their Potential: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kalvin Philips (Leeds United), Bukayo Saka
(Arsenal) |
||
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3 Unknowns Who Will Become Known: Tariq Lamptey (Brighton and Hove Albion), Timothy Castagne
(Leicester City), Patrick Bamford (Leeds United) |
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