Season 2016-2017 Preview

The New Logo

Britain's exit from the EU termed the "Brexit" was a cause of fear, uproar and uncertainty. The predictions were dire consequences for the British economy and seemingly disaster to follow. The footballing scene in the England however, was not in sync judging by the transfer activities. Not only were transfer records smashed, spending again broke record highs. While a weaker Pound took a hit on the purchasing power of British clubs, it was almost unnoticeable based on how things have panned out. The commercial power of the big clubs have got frightening, gone were the days when 30 million pounds was a big deal. When Higuain moved for 72 million pounds from Napoli to Juventus, it was official things have gone haywire.

There have been lots of major changes in the summer, managers have been replaced and some of the biggest players have arrived in the Premier League. The world's most exciting league is living up to its strengths once again. The Premier League relinquished all forms of its sponsorship starting this season in its bid to be independent and clean. It would be a good move as football has been hit with many scandals in recent years from the match fixing in Juventus, the World Cup hosting, the fall of Sepp Blatter and the not so transparent agent commissions from transfers. Football has become the air the fans breathe every day, an important 'economy' of its own, anything that would damage the integrity and reputation of the sport cannot be tolerated.

Since my season review 3 months ago, we had very eventful summer with the Euros in France and the Olympic Games in Brazil. The Euros looked to be an exciting opportunity for England and France considering how much their squads have improved. England look re-energised with some new talents like Dele Alli, Jamie Vardy and Raheem Sterling. However their campaign came to a premature end due to some bad judgments by the now sacked Roy Hodgson. An unexpected defeat to Iceland was disappointing after a promising start. France was flying high all the way in the tournament led by the scintillating Griezmann and impressive Payet. But it wasn't to be for the host, as Portugal, despite some shaky performances during the early stages of the tournament, persevered and won it in extra time. It was a dream come true for Christiano Ronaldo, who also lifted the Champions League in May.

The transfer market this close season was abuzzed with signings of top players and managers. The traditional big clubs had amends to make after a considerably poor season. The surprise top 3 Leicester City, Arsenal and Spurs, found themselves in unfamiliar territory and they too needed to strengthen or have their places wrestled back. Let's see how the teams line up this season.

Ahmed Musa

Leicester City - A Top 4 Target
Nothing is impossible, a mantra they now live by after their fairytale triumph last season. However most Leicester supporters would accept that defending their title is a mountain too high this season. They know their rivals will be coming back with vengeance after their poor showing last season. Despite the pressure of having to live up to their title as Champions, they shouldn't be too concerned and will continue enjoying their football. Leicester has done something out of the ordinary and should be remembered for that. Their owners have rewarded the players and staff handsomely after their triumph, hopefully that keeps the motivation going.

With a good majority of the team in tact, it's a good sign for the Foxes who are looking to extend their stay at the top. They haven't held back their spending this summer, they welcomed notable signings in Ahmed Musa,  Nampalys Mendy, Islam Slimani, Bartosz Kapustka and Luis Hernandez. Musa comes in as a prolific striker who has played his last 4 years CSKA Moscow and Slimani had a 27 goal haul with Sporting Lisbon last season. Both players would add more firepower and help out Vardy with the goals tally. One notable casualty is N'Golo Kante, who moved to Chelsea. Kante had an exceptional season and played a key role in the middle en route to Leicester's success. It remains to be seen how Mendy will be able to fill in that area. It may not look like a big transfer window for Leicester but the key has been their ability to tie down their superstars like Mahrez, Vardy, Drinkwater and Okazaki. This has been the biggest plus point for the Foxes this summer. The 'distraction' of the Champions League will no doubt make it a more strenuous season, hence Ranieri and Co. will need to up their game by a few notches to stay on top.

Prediction: Leicester will win a great battle to stay in the top 4.

Granit Xhaka

Arsenal - Can They Go One Better?
A runners-up finish last season might seem like the club is heading in the right direction. There's no discounting how impressive things look having only signed a keeper for the whole season compared to the other clubs that spent many times more. While Arsenal's usual rivals faltered for numerous reasons last season, Arsenal were on a few occasions, favourites for the title. While I have already described how Arsenal's problems are so deeply rooted in my Season Review, the next question is has there been any progress yet? While Arsene Wenger knows many club supporters are disgruntled by the way he has managed the club, it still hasn't reached the point that he concedes that his tactics and decisions were to be blamed. Or worse still, the fact that he can no longer deliver the title. The beginning of last season saw Arsenal in desperate need of another centre forward and a centre back but we managed to go past the transfer window without an outfield signing. The high dependence on Giroud has been alarming for awhile but Wenger has chosen to fall back on makeshift strikers in Walcott and Alexis. Even as Giroud played through the pain barriers of knocks and bruises, why should Wenger put the club at risk? Something I still can't comprehend. Our defence has been inconsistent and shaky for years, why is there still no improvement? Chambers and Gabriel have arrived in recent years but they have not made the grade.

An impressive start to the transfer window saw the arrival of highly rated Swiss international Granit Xhaka, who is versatile and another fantastic passer of the ball. On the other hand, with a crowded centre of midfield with Cazorla, Ozil, Ramsey, Wilshere, Elneny, Coquelin and Iwobi, it wasn't the most critical area we needed reinforcements. A striker was definitely on Wenger's watchlist but lack of progress can only be down to the 'fair' prices he was willing to pay. Higuain joined Juventus, Vardy turned us down and no improved bid for Lacazette was made after the first. Surely we knew that prices have gone up drastically and don't expect to pay prices from 10 year ago. Story cut short, we couldn't get any of our preferred targets and settled for little known Lucas Perez, for a very affordable £17million. A new striker for us but we need to keep our expectations in check. The defensive reinforcements fared slightly better as we brought it Shkodran Mustafi and Rob Holding to cope with the injuries by Mertesacker and Gabriel. The once highly rated Calum Chambers was sent out on loan as his progress hasn't been up to expectations. Wilshere and Joel Campbell might have played their last games at Arsenal after being loaned out at this stage of their careers.

Prediction: Title ambitions isn't up for discussion as far as I know. Another top 4 finish to aim for. Could miss out this time.

Michy Batshuayi

Chelsea - Can Conte Bring the Blues Back to Picture?
After a bitterly disappointing campaign last season, Chelsea have sprung major changes to their team with Antonio Conte being the heart of it. Chelsea being way off the pace last season was their worst finish since Abramovich took over in 2003. In not so "Special" fashion last season, Jose Mourinho parted with the Champions while their key players struggled to find their best form. Players like Hazard, Fabregas, Oscar and Matic all had a season to forget. They would be key to a recovery this season. Conte's job wouldn't be so much a major transformation but careful steps to get his big players back on track to their best. In terms of new signings, the notables were Michy Batshuayi, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso and the shocking return of David Luiz. Batshuayi would be the key signing as Costa is the only recognised out and out striker. Eventhough John Terry extended his stay, I thought Chelsea could have done better than David Luiz. He does have an attacking side to his game but I don't think that's what Chelsea really needs. Selling a defender for £50million was a great deal of business, but I'm not so convinced about buying him back for £32million.  

Chelsea's squad is full of experience and winners in football, the only variable left is for Conte to rediscover the missing spirit and belief in this team. These players can deliver if given the right strategy and guidance. Conte definitely has those qualities and experience to drive this team in the right direction. As of this writing, the players have already felt the positive influence of their new boss. I think Chelsea will need time to regroup and find their best touches again. It's not time to compete for number one yet.

Prediction: Chelsea is tipped to bounce back into contention. A fight for the top 4.

Vincent Janssen

Tottenham Hotspur - Their Best Team in Decades
Spurs have always dreamed big of breaking into the top 4 and with ultimate ambitions of being the best London's best club. They have improved tremendously over the years despite losing Gareth Bale a few years ago. Last season finally saw a real breakthrough as they kept closest to Leicester overall. Spurs have done it without spending tons of money like their rivals, thanks to some fantastic scouting to unearth some of the best English players today. Players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Kyle Walker, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen have all cost Spurs 'a song' for today's standards. It was the only way they could outsmart their rivals and they've done a fantastic job. Their intelligence and work in the background have paid massive dividends.

Getting to the top is very hard, staying on top is the hardest. Has Spurs done enough this summer? They have brought in Moussa Sissoko, Vincent Janssen, Victor Wanyama and Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. I think they have got the right players as they needed some reinforcements in the middle having most of their midfielders being more offensive. Wanyama and Sissoko will need no introduction and are expected to make an immediate impact. Janssen will be an exciting new striker for them having had an impressive season with AZ Alkmaar, scoring 27 goals and providing 4 assists in 32 games in the Dutch league. He will look to form a fearsome partnership up front with Harry Kane.With Lamela, Son and Eriksen also providing options in attack, this Spurs team will be a tough nut to crack. This season will be the real acid test for Spurs, are they contenders or pretenders?

Prediction:  It's going to be very challenging staying on top, nevertheless the depth of talent will give them a chance.

Leroy Sane

City - An Overhaul at the Eastlands
It must be pretty frustrating for Citizens after spending staggering sums year after year and still need to just to keep up. On paper, this team should have won the title convincingly. But due to the beauty of football, it's never that straightforward. As I mentioned in my Season Review, this team is due for a replenishment in talent pipeline due to ageing of squad members. We've seen some amazing football played by Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany and David Silva over the years. City have to accept that good players do not last forever and need to look for replacements eventually. Players like Joe Hart, Mangala, Bony and Nasri would have been expected to play much longer in this team. However, circumstances haven't worked out as well and it's surprising see them being cut loose. Along with their less noisy neighbours, Pep Guardiola has arguably the toughest job as he not only had to send some big players packing, he also needed fresh proven talent. To have a £32million defender sent out on loan sends the message that he means business. Money isn't an issue in the Eastlands for now despite the weak oil prices, hence another £150million was splashed in the transfer market. The inflated market currently did not help City's causes as they shelled out £47million for John Stones, £42million for Leroy Sane, £21million for Ilkay Gundogan, £17million for Claudio Bravo and £14million for Nolito among the notable signings. They don't look like slowing down, do they?

The fate of City still largely hinges on Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero, they were top draw last season and the team needs both of them to deliver again. Sterling and Otamendi have to drastically improve on their performances this season after a slow start. This very expensively assembled squad is going to feel the pressure more this year with the huge outlay. Their rivals have also spent big so there will be no guarantees for City again. Pep has already made some tough decisions on players and enforced his style of play on this team. Being one of the finest managers in Europe, it's another personal milestone if he were to win in new territory. City has pulled out all the stops to secure the best this season, can they regain the title?

Prediction: City will be a big contender for the title.

Mkhitaryan, Ibrahmimovic, Pogba and Bailly

Manchester United - Devils Go For Broke
United has gone all in this summer, maybe because they haven't got a choice to begin with. The biggest club in the world has gone through some tough times post SAF, with Moyes and Van Gaal unable to deliver the silverware (the ones they want). The patience has run out for the Old Trafford chiefs and only the most effective and aggressive strategies have been pursued this close season. This summer saw United blow everyone away by making one of the most spectacular line up of acquisitions ever seen in the football world, probably only second to Real's splash on Ronaldo, Kaka and Benzema in the same season in 2009. The world record signing Paul Pogba arrived along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly for a cool ‎£156million. All was not complete without the signing of Jose Mourinho, the 'Special One' who will attempt to steer them back on track in his third stint in England. A pat on the back for the United executives for pulling off some of the biggest deals in football, they did their business early and were rewarded.

Now armed with a squad of top talents including the existing players like Rooney, Mata and Martial, can this all star team gel quickly enough to deliver on their first attempt? The early signs look good so far (at this point of writing) and these are exciting times for the Devils. The immense firepower up front and the strengthened back line with the addition Bailly, no one can doubt that they'll be challenging for honours this time around. All eyes will be on Paul Pogba's sensational return after 4 years and his eye-watering price tag. The very talented Frenchman will provide some much needed domination in the midfield while giving the attacking players more freedom to play in their opponent's half. Michael Carrick has been the man for United for years, now they can be more assured handing over his position. Ibrahimovic's arrival is going to give defenders a nightmare with his ever prolific scoring record. One Europe's finest strikers will be looking to replicate his success on English soil. Age certainly is only a number for him as his performances in the last few years has been pretty stunning. Mkhitaryan arrives after an impressive season with Dortmund and will provide the quality on the wing. Now that United have shown all their aces, can they make it count?

Prediction: A superb squad and manager are now in place. They just have to deliver . 

Final words
Predictions and odds always seem likely at the start of the season. But at the end of the season, only one combination will be the right one. If I manage to get the correct 6 teams in the top 6, that will just leave me 720 possible combinations to choose from for their positions (If I got my permutations formula right). Yup, just 720, about a 0.138% chance!

This year I'm going to forget about all the statistics (and most of the things I wrote above) and roll the dice on this one. There will be no need to explain why I selected the team in 1st.

1) Arsenal
2) Manchester United
3) Manchester City
4) Tottenham Hotspur
5) Chelsea
6) Leicester City

Thanks for reading.

~deyao~

2015 / 2016 Season Review

For the people who didn’t agree that the Premier League is the best league in the world, this season set the record straight, it's been exciting and the most unpredictable one yet . The reigning champions fell hard while a team you would never have guessed did the unthinkable. Although Premier League teams have been doing poorly in Europe, it’s arguably still THE best league overall terms of excitement, competitiveness, quality and entertainment value. Fresh from escaping relegation at the end of last season, a ‘reasonable’ 5000-1 to go all the way, Leicester City’s astonishing fairytale win is one of the greatest achievements ever seen in modern football. When Sergio Aguero slotted in the winning goal at the death in 2012, Martin Tyler exclaimed that “I swear you'll never see something like this ever again”. And yes, we might never see the title settled in that manner again, but what we witnessed this season, was like fiction crystallising in slow motion. Leicester went from strength to strength, incredibly resilient in the face of doing the impossible to defeating all the odds stacked against them along the way. They even did it with 2 games to spare. Considering the circumstances where the big teams have long dominated the league by recruiting the best in the world, for Leicester to bring a pretty much unknown team and win the league, you had to see it to believe it. It’s an inspiring tale that will be told for a very long time.

I really love the game of football and I have to admit I didn’t know much about Leicester’s players at the start of the season. I went as far as this. Kasper Schmeichel, I remembered his time back in City when Thaksin took over and they were vying to be the next big thing. He had huge potential at that time but went missing a few years when playing in the Championship. It’s a good surprise he has stepped out from senior Schmeichel’s shadows. Robert Huth, once played for Chelsea and represented Germany as well. Always lacked the consistency and very un-German-like despite his huge presence. Marc Albrighton, I remember him being a rising star in Villa with lots of potential. Then he left Villa and I thought, another unfulfilled one.

How on earth did Leicester build such a good team with so little funds spent? Where did they find players like Kante, Mahrez and Morgan? Should Chelsea have kept Ranieri? How can a good part of England not know who Jamie Vardy is? Were the Foxes on drugs? What miraculous training did they undergo last summer? How they did survive coming out on top against the bigger guns? Did the Buddhist monks play their part? It’s still a shocker as I write this. I can’t quite explain how they went all the way. I’ll leave the discussion on the Foxes later.

The 2015-2016 season has been the most unpredictable ever, putting my early season prediction deep in the dumps, even my ‘clear’ favourites City weren’t even close. A huge hit on my analytical credentials I must admit but a big win for the neutrals that had too long watched the big four or five teams challenging for the trophy every year. I thought I knew football pretty well with 18 years under the belt and seasons like this will be my biggest lesson yet and remind me that the favourites have an equal chance of falling short. The new disruptors in Leicester and Spurs have turned tables on the capitalists of football where the wealthier clubs have dominated for more than a decade. It’s was hard seeing Arsenal doing the ‘usual’ collapse once again in February and March. We finished above ALL our rivals and yet didn’t finish first. So much for an opportunity to end the on-going drought of 12 years! We almost had to give St. Totteringham day a miss this year, luckily for a heroic performance from relegated Newcastle as they bowed out in style. Spurs have been a breath of fresh air this season, having some fantastic players like Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen. They fancied their chances during the latter stages in the season but just couldn’t keep up the consistency at the end.

Final bridge burned?

Defending champions Chelsea had a season to forget, with plenty of infamous events that brought unnecessary attention to the team. Jose’s controversial behaviour and comments finally caught up with him, his foolish attack on the Chelsea physio and then losing the support of the dressing room ultimately led to his expected dismissal. Chelsea were much unchanged from the last season so definitely plenty had went wrong for them to be the worst defending champions on record. The first half of their season was nothing short of appalling. From the signing of Falcao and Pato, selling Cech, Hazard’s drastic drop in form, Costa’s erratic behaviour, Zouma’s terrible injury to John Terry’s decline, it was the worst finish for the Blues for a long time. There was little to cheer during the whole season, Courtois, Willian and an exciting Loftus-Cheek were the only handful to have made the grade. Kevin De Bruyne’s stunning move and magnificent debut at City summed up the bad judgements during Jose’s turbulent second spell. Second marriages seldom work and this was no exception. Guus Hiddink did his best to turnaround the team once he arrived, but the damage was already done and only could pull through a lowly 10th finish. Antonio Conte will have to take charge of a massive rebuilding next season and it's going to require some big names wiling to come in without European football. Roman’s desire for success after taking over 13 years ago would also be a huge factor on how much funds would be committed in the transfer window.

Impressive debut season for Kevin De Bruyne

Manchester City, in my opinion, had all the ingredients and the right chef to bring the ‘pizza’ back to the Eastlands. While the rest of their rivals strengthened marginally, City went on a shopping spree that left Europe in awe. Big money moves for Sterling, De Bruyne and Otamendi signalled to Europe that they were looking to conquer beyond England. The end result however, was vastly underwhelming and disappointing. Like Chelsea, many factors contributed to the poor finish for City’s standards and level of spending. The biggest one was the woeful record against the top 8 teams, managing only one win from a possible 14. This perhaps was worthy of losing out on a Champions League spot, but they manage to scrape through ahead of their less noisy neighbours. I underestimated the effects of an ageing City squad with Kompany, Demichelis, Clichy, Sagna, Zabaleta, Yaya Toure, David Silva, Kolarov, Navas and Fernandinho all above 30. However age alone should not be blamed for the poor form shown by some of these players especially Kompany and Yaya Toure, who have been brilliant over the years. Their decline is a big concern for City as they don’t have players within their team to fill in their roles. The question is now whether these players would be kept to play at a title chasing level. Otamendi was a let-down as he struggled to cope with the Premier League’s while Sterling just didn’t live up to all the hype with his below par showing overall. City announcing the appointment of Pep Guardiola as their manager in the middle of the season wasn't the right move in my opinion. I am not fan of telling people they are sacked 6 months in advance when there is still a lot at stake. The morale of the dressing room would be affected and the respect of the players for their coach would inevitably be somewhat lost. The sheer determination of City in securing Pep’s services was handled more in his favour rather than City’s and that level of desperation was obvious. Pep has got a long summer of work to replenish the talent pipeline and I would estimate at least 5 new faces. City has definitely got the right person to takeover, albeit without a track record here. It wasn’t all doom and gloom at the Etihad, we saw the emergence of young attacker Iheanacho, who scored some pivotal goals during the season. Sergio Aguero again was a standout whenever he played while new signing Kevin De Bruyne, delivered a superb first season with some exceptional goals and plays. So far, his record price tag has been justified. Joe Hart was again solid on the line but was no longer well protected like before.

New sensation Marcus Rashford

I tipped Man Utd for an improvement at the start of the season as Van Gaal would have settled with his team and went one step further. I wasn’t impressed with their signings in the summer as there was not enough a big name for a big impact. Anthony Martial proved me wrong with his impact already felt on his debut game and went on to create and score many vital goals during the season. He is a huge talent for his age and has done an exceptional job for a first season in England. A comparison with Thierry Henry would not be far off with his great finishing and opportunities created for his team mates. He would have done even better had he been playing up front all season. Schweinsteiger was average as he got injured for a long spell while Depay struggled to follow up with a good start. The story of Utd’s season has been Van Gaal’s questionable style of play and management style which left many fans dazed and confused on his intentions. The lack of creation of chances due to his methodical and rigid methods led to some defeats that were most unlikely in previous years, not to mention the numerous dismal performances during the season. Losing to Norwich City at home was clearest signal too much has gone wrong. From his infamous 3-5-2 to playing players out of their position, the Devils have caused many sleepless nights for their fans.It was like a bunch of talented players playing their second favourite sport. The long injury list also hit the Devils very hard as they lost players like Shaw, Jones and Rojo.  Despite that, Van Gaal was not a complete disaster from a neutral point of view. Utd, despite some poor performances, was able to grind out narrow wins from games and kept in the touch with the top 4 throughout the season. There were some glimpses of the dominant giants when he got it right. He gave opportunities to players like Rashford, Fosu-Mensah, Lingaard and Borthwick-Jackson which could pay dividends in the coming seasons. Rashford has been the story of the season and has even been included in the Euro 2016 team. As of this writing, Van Gaal has just been replaced by Jose Mourinho. It wasn’t all surprising at the end despite winning the FA Cup. Now it’s reached a certain tipping point where Jose has to salvage his and his club’s reputation at the same time.

Red hot Chilean Alexis Sanchez

Arsenal finished higher than most could have predicted this season, and yet it was another season of failure. We failed to defend the FA Cup, put up a tame effort in the title race and another campaign in Champions League with no improvement. It wasn’t poor by Arsenal’s current standards and that’s the sad part. People now expect people NOT to challenge for league as they know the Gunners will somehow falter in one period in the season and screw everything up. That hasn't changed this season. Arsene Wenger has been in charge for two decades now and perhaps he doesn’t know how to get us up there again. It couldn’t have been a better opportunity this season, Chelsea out of contention from the start, Utd, Liverpool and City struggling, why on earth did Arsenal not do it this time? There were enough positive signs this season for Arsenal to go all the way, Ozil and Sanchez were playing their best seasons, Bellerin was fantastic, Cech was what we needed years ago, Monreal was good and Giroud was scoring. Arsenal took 6 points from Leicester City and yet lost the title by 10 points. The season was another one that started very well and then when fixtures started to come thick and fast, Arsenal 'customarily', lost steam. Arsenal have run out of excuses of not achieving more, money has been available and spent, so many tough lessons over the years, but it’s still the same old Arsenal. Injuries to Cazorla, Sanchez, Ramsey, Welbeck and Wilshere have also adversely affected the team during the campaign. We can't blame injuries forever and the real reasons why Arsenal's struggles will continue would be because of the following

1)       The defence needs fixing, it’s been leaking for too many years from Senderos, Squillaci, Djourou, Silvestre to Mertesacker. I am absolutely disgusted our defence is still the problem after all these years. Hiring Steve Bould is not cutting it, the vulnerability of our defence is still there, we need world class, now!

2)       Weak mental strength and wrong mentality. Successful athletes will tell you mental strength is the defining line between good and great. Arsenal just don’t have enough resilience and mental toughness when things don't go their way, players go missing in big games and a few weak performances is all it takes to eliminate us from all competitions. The 4-0 loss to Southampton on Boxing Day is a good example how we can't adapt to an unusual day at the office. The amount of times Arsenal have surrendered leads is also a big concern, can we stop playing complacent football when in the lead and focus on killing the game off?

3)       Same strategy to achieve better results? The 'Professor' from France has officially run out of ideas, he doesn’t know how to win anymore. His instincts have not produced results worthy of his experience in managing a football club. He continues to overplay players who are in-form and wearing them out, his approach of beautiful football is pulling the hair out of supporters as we don’t create enough chances and too often overplay football that do not translate to goals. His predictable tactics are well known and not getting the results, so why continue with it?

It’s been pure frustration this season with the highlights being the loss to Watford at home in the FA Cup where we started to play in the 88th minute in the game, the loss to Utd when our opponents struggled to field a recognisable first 11 and how we let our lead slip against Crystal Palace and Liverpool. Arsenal deserve to be where they are because they’ve done things the same way all over again and repeated the same mistakes made in past. Why are we not learning?
 

Dele Alli has arrived!

The other North Londoners Spurs finally made their mark in the title race, they were the final hurdles of Leicester’s bid for the crown, a big step forward for them. Spurs have suffered the middle class syndrome for a very long time. They were always close fighters for a top 4 finish but always lived under shadows of the bigger teams. Many years of optimism and promises couldn't be fulfilled. There was one major piece always missing and they finally got it. Mauricio Pochettino has managed to lift Spurs to greater heights this season with his visionary management. We have seen some sublime performances and stunning goals from Spurs this year, I am pretty envious how well they worked as a team compared to Arsenal. My highlight would be the incredible goal by Dele Alli against Crystal Palace and Harry Kane's strike against Arsenal. Both will be part of the Euro 2016 England team. Lamela was the most expensive acquisition from the Gareth Bale sales proceeds but never quite made the impact. This year he’s finally showed what he capable of with some very impressive displays. His contribution this year has been a big improvement with assists and offensive threats he posed. Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Eric Dier, Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld have been standouts for Spurs. There seems to be a great balance in this team with their defence having conceded the least goals this season while their attacking artillery is mouth-watering. Hugo Lloris has also been a key figure on the Spurs line. Although they too missed out on a glorious opportunity, they have played much better football and were the more improved team compared to Arsenal. With new foundations built this season, it looks like Spurs will look to go one better next season.

Morgan scoring before being crowned Champions days later

Last but not least, Champions Leicester City, my oh my, how did they manage to barged into this part of the table and crash the party? It was not the usual giant killing act we’ve used to see on and off where smaller teams knock out bigger teams in cup competition. Leicester’s triumph in the league was a complete category on its own. Coming out tops after 38 games is no fluke. The success of Leicester this season was an equation made of a group of players that played incredibly well together, a great deal of consistency,  players playing their best football of their lives, a manager’s magical touch and some good fortune along the way. What was spectacular about Leicester is they had such spirit and momentum that they never looked like they were going to slip up. They topped the table for most of the season and their grit to hold on despite a few bumps along the way and how they kept their nerves was pretty amazing. It is by far many times more incredible than Atletico Madrid topping Real and Barca in Spain. We’ve seen different champions over the years and some of the key factors that differentiated champions are being able to squeeze out 1-0 wins on their toughest days (Leicester had 7), making effective substitutions, new talents emerging, a top striker, deadly combos, a mean defence, quick recovery after a defeat etc. Leicester has ticked off all the boxes during the course of the season, the combos of Vardy, Mahrez and Okazaki blew even the biggest teams away. The goal from Mahrez against Man City, Vardy’s record breaking 11 consecutive games of scoring and THAT stunner against Liverpool, pretty much wrote the story of Champions.

Another incredible stat I’ve discovered from Leicester would be how they were able to select their best players for more than 90% of their matches.

Appearances in 38 games in league (game starts + substitute in)

Kasper Schmeichel: 38 starts

Wes Morgan: 38 starts

Marc Albrighton: 38 (34 + 4)

N'Golo Kanté: 37 (33 +4)

Riyad Mahrez: 37 (36 + 1)

Shinji Okazaki: 36 (28 + 8)

Jamie Vardy: 36 starts

Robert Huth: 35 starts

Danny Drinkwater: 35 starts

Christian Fuchs: 32 (30 + 2)

Considering they won the league in 36 matches, they were able to pick 10 of their key players at least 90% of the matches. I believe there is a very successful fitness and training regime behind the scenes to be able to keep all their key players available. The opposite view should also be considered Leicester had no part in European football and only played 5 matches in domestic cup competitions, allowing significantly more recovery time. The lower fatigue levels most likely also played its part when compared to the bigger teams who play around 50 matches a year. The injury record for the teams below Leicester would show a sharp contrast. The big notables this season would be the defensive qualities of Kante, Wes Morgan and Robert Huth who have conceded only 36 goals, leading to having the second best goal difference. Schmeichel junior has followed the foot steps of his dad to to win the Premier League with his fine display all season. And of course, all of this would not have happened if not for Ranieri's mastermind tactics and strategies. After his disastrous stint with Greece, his appointment wasn't viewed positively. His most notable comments were how he was targeting surviving relegation despite them clearly in the running for the titile. He was written off early with many pointing to his lack of success in his CV. How he has managed to defy all the criticism by delivering silverware just shows that even the most established experts in the game can get it wrong. Hats off to Ranieri on the historic win!

Final words
The outcome of this season has surely has left many people including myself dumbfounded. Leicester's success was not forthcoming in any way. Mid table teams can now draw on this inspiration next season and certainly dream bigger. It's still a stretch to put money on Leicester to win the league again, even I would be very hesitant. Come next season, they would need to accustom themselves with the bright lights of Tuesday and Wednesday night, it's going to be a real culture shock on a grandest stage of all. Nevertheless, the neutrals will be very happy with their breakthrough and be looking forward to seeing them in Europe's elite competition. Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Aston Villa's decline will continue to remind people that success is temporary and it all reverts to zero the following season. You can never be sure of your future regardless how many times you've done it before or how much you spend. Villa's 30 year stay in the top division came to an end. What history has also taught us is to always have plans for the future and be ready to change as good things may not last. While the flow of money in football seems to be indefinite now, understanding financial sustainability will differentiate great and good clubs in the future, even more so when the hot flows of investment takes a break. Leeds and Portsmouth are prime examples of that. More changes in managerial positions have been confirmed as of now while new signings have started to flow in. With the European Championship happening in the summer, let's see whether new talents can be unearthed in France. 

A special mention would be the two important improvements in league which have improved the quality of our game for the second year running. From resolving dubious decisions on ‘goals’ and distance of the wall from a free kick. Goal line technology has been the most important development in the modern game, effectively making goal line decisions with precision within seconds. A major burden is off the referees allowing them to focus on other crucial areas like offsides and fouls. The vanishing magical spray also deserves an accolade for saving precious time between fouls and free kick taken. This is crucial for a sport that rides on momentum with only one official break, as compared to other sports.

For the love of the game, enjoy your summer. Thanks for reading.

~deyao~

Things you can do for a better 2016 and beyond

Starting the year with a bang!

Rich Dad from Robert Kiyosaki's books said the difference between the rich and poor is that the rich use leverage. Leverage as he defines it, means doing more with less. Timothy Ferriss from his world changing book 4 Hour Work Week proved in many ways so much can be done if we leverage on our minds and knowledge we acquire. He has changed the way I looked at productivity forever. I like the example how Rich Dad described how people spend the extra hours to save hundreds on their grocery bills by analysing the weekly specials for groceries. It does seem like a good idea (I actually do it), what can be wrong with spending less on the same quantity of supplies? It isn't wrong but there is not much leverage in doing that. Can I actually save more ? Yes and No. Yes, by using that same time to do something else. And No, you probably found the lowest price and the savings have peaked. The real issue is how people are pouring time and resources but not getting enough returns for their time. For example, how about using that same time looking for a 'undervalued' property? With market knowledge, you may be able to find a property of let's say 10% lower than its 'real' market value. If the property is 'worth' $1million, perhaps you just 'saved' $100,000. But people prefer to leave it to the 'experts' and spend their hours looking for the best deal on items like the ones on Groupon. Hence sometimes we got to think, is it penny wise, pound foolish?

Leverage isn't just about money and can be a lot more. Taking the plane instead of driving may cost more, but the time saved is something that cannot be bought, that's leveraging to save time. The theme today is about time, how we spend our time defines our lives. Our comfort zone can leave us doing very little and our minds will in time give us plenty of reasons to be unproductive, leaving us to feel better of ourselves. If you look back in the last few years and can only think about a handful of things that you can be proud of, maybe you haven't leveraged on your time enough. Nobody in this world has the extra hour in a day so within the given 24, how much have you done? Put aside work, what have you done that you can proudly tell people or even proudly remind yourself? Rich Dad says people get rich at home, not at work. And yet, rich does not necessarily point to only money. Rich can also mean feeling the sense of fulfillment of what you value. So by no particular order, here are 10 things I think people should do for a more fulfilling 2016 and beyond.

1) Exercise and eat healthy
People who know me can easily associate me with being more health conscious compared to the average human being (although I might not be on the best side of the health charts). They tell me I only live once so I shouldn't think too much about what I eat. That will hold true in the short term. Having a longer view, you only live once, so don't mess it up with poor decision making. I've seen so many people regret things they have done in the past and there was no chance to recover from it. Knowledge and resources about good health are free over the internet, so the access to information is not the problem. The problem is getting people to understand the implications with their actions before it's too late. There are countless of articles about having a healthy intake. Don't worry, eating healthy and paying more attention to your food is not going to make you less happy, take my word for it. A little less fat, oil and sugar is going to make you happier than you know. Making it a habit of taking control of what you eat will feel effortless as time passes. The theme of food these days is to 'eat clean' and that's a great way of improving the quality of our intake. The same holds for exercising, there is no need to explain the benefits of exercising but the push to get people to do it. Exercise can take so many forms and is not necessary expensive. Last but not least, all will not be good without enough of the ZZZs. Staying healthy will be make everything better, yes, everything.

2) Be able to explain your financials in one minute
Savings, investment, insurance, loans, credit cards, emergency fund, retirement, good debt, bad debt
If you know what the above items mean, congratulations, you have paid some attention or immersed yourself with knowledge. But let's go one step further, can you locate all of the applicable items to you easily? Now that's where people get stuck. In her book Women & Money, Suze Orman says a person's life can be defined by how well they organise their belongings. If their things are in a mess, it probably reflects their life. That statement made such an impact on me that I made big changes after that. The idea is to clear all the clutter in life and consolidate all your important belongings, only then you'd be in a position to make a good plan. When your things get organised and you'll find new spaces in your life, house or room, that's when you will realise you've been surrounding yourself with a lot of deadwood and preventing better and newer things from coming into your life.

To do list
- If you have more than 5 bank accounts, it's highly likely some of them are inactive. Close all of them which you have not used in the last 6 months.
- Know every investment you have and consolidate all the latest statements to know the current market value. Reviewing your position and investment strategies comes next.
- Gather every insurance policy you have and summarise all the benefits and current cash value of each policy. Pay extra attention to insurance policies you are STILL paying every year. Seek the help of a financial planner or a knowledgeable person to evaluate whether what you are paying for is still relevant and sufficient with your current state. Review all policies every five years.
- Know exactly how much you are owing on every loan you have. Compile all the latest statements and know the latest balance. Have a look whether the current interest rate you are paying is competitive. Ensure all your loans are promptly paid. For 'bad debt' (as defined by Rich Dad) loans, if you happen to have any, pay extra attention to it. Try to restructure them to obtain the best effective rate. Review your commitments to see whether they are still manageable.
- Treat credit cards like bank accounts, cut up those you have not used in the last 6 months (of course remember to call up your bank). Less statements, less junk mail, less charges, less cards in your wallet, less security worries and more space in your mind for better things. Know your latest balance on your existing cards and make sure they are fully settled by the due date.
- Suze Orman defines an emergency fund as 8 months of your living expenses, including your loan installments . If you have that already, good on you. If you don't, it's time to build one.
- Compile all the statements of your retirement funds and know exactly the latest balances of the last 12 months. Review your retirement contributions yearly.

Taking control of your financials and facing the reality will give you the best chance to improve your financial position regardless where are you now. Time to get organised and you can definitely describe your financials in less than one minute!

3) Network
If there's is a recipe for success, networking will be very high up the list. If there is a way of getting up the 'ladder' in the corporate world, politics or society, networking would be most pivotal to getting there. Today, the internet is the most powerful tool in the world because it connects the entire world. By being the largest network in the world, the ability to leverage on it creates unlimited potential. Like how politicians attempt to network with people during their political campaigns, it's pretty obvious what they are trying to achieve. But networking doesn't have to be for a specific purpose, it can be something open ended. Some people boast about how many Facebook friends they have, but how many of them have they spoken to in the past year? Or how many of their phone numbers do you have? That number probably comes to half the 'actual' network that person has. Networking provides opportunities and references which makes life a lot easier. Think about the successful people that made it where they are because of one person in their life. It's only possibilities with networking and it's your effort to make it happen.

4) Read, more
The newspapers are a requirement so that's not sufficient to go further. Warren Buffet learned investing from Benjamin Graham's The Intelligent Investor and the rest is history. Successful people read lots on their way to success and still do when they become successful. It is by no means a perfectly lit path to success after reading, but the enrichment from the content will get you far ahead and quicker. I've personally have been inspired by some fantastic books in the last few years. My best tip is to summarise the takeaways from books after intervals and that allows you to keep the positives you have read. Have a read at books that can bring you forward and get you to the next level. It's truly one of the biggest open secrets out there.

5) Learn a new skill
Sometimes what we don't know can be a source of our weakness and confidence. If one day at work they organise a salsa dancing competition, how would you feel? For a person like me who has zero dancing capabilities, I would be terrified and be feeling insecure. For people who are self-conscious (like me), I would be in a mental struggle. But what if you spent a month learning to dance factually learned how to? That feeling of accomplishment can be very positive for yourself mentality. Using a different part of your brain and having an additional skill will give you a feel good factor for a long time. When you reflect on it in the future, you'd be so glad you did it. Whether it's public speaking, playing a music instrument or even getting your car into a side parking, think about how good you'll feel once you could do it. Learning to cook and learning to change a guitar string by watching videos are some of things I've experienced and felt good about in recent years. There are many things you can do where failing doesn't cost much, so go for it!

6) Invest smart
The world revolves around money and undoubtedly having an extra digit in your bank account can change your life. Investing should not be confused with gambling although both carries risk. The biggest reason anyone should invest is to achieve financial freedom or at least financial security. There is no superior investment in this world, only superior investors. Asia's queen of property Renesial Leong is a great example of how wealth can be accumulated through real estate. She doesn't believe in the stock market, but does it mean it's not a good place? Well no. In fact, many billionaires in this world made their fortunes from listing their companies in the market. Of course, to them listed or not doesn't bother them too much as long as the business is doing well. Investing carries risk and that puts a lot of people away. From my point of view, risk of investing can be managed through proper education and experience. It's the investor who is risky, not the investment. People like Yap Ming Hui has pushed for money optimisation, which is the heart of financial planning. In short, money optimisation is to maximise your dollar given a certain amount of risk and that can even prevent any losses. Investing by using the proper tools and skills will reduce risk to manageable levels, while being able to generate most optimised returns. So if you intend to have fruits in your garden, it's time to plant the seeds and take good care of it. 

7) Understand people
People skills bring people from good to great. Humans are by far the most complicated living creatures to understand because everyone is so different, even twins can be quite different. The skills of understanding people starts with empathy - the ability to share someone else's feelings. Empathy is the foundation of communication. I've learned from John Maxwell how people successfully communicate and how it made them great and effective leaders. Having the ability to understand people will get you closer to people and will give you a better perspective of YOURSELF. You'll start to understand which areas you are good and weak at. Taking steps to change yourself and understanding others for the better will ultimately lead you to having good people in your life. (This helps you with number 3 as well). Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John Maxwell is a fantastic read to improve on this aspect.

"People don't know how much you know until they know much you care.". - John Maxwell

8) Be generous
It may sound counter-intuitive, but giving, not receiving, makes you happier. Firstly, a word about giving. Think about a type of business, what is the key function of that business? It's providing something, and that's giving (I didn't say for free). Let's say the business is a restaurant and it serves decent food for good value and serves hundreds of patrons a day, wouldn't 'giving' make the owners happy people? If the Apple iPhone inventors decided to keep the phone to themselves and be the few 'cool' ones on earth, how would their life turn out? Luckily for their generosity, everyone now knows Apple in a non-fruit definition. Being charitable, a form of giving, means we don't hope for anything in return, but rather we seek the satisfaction and happiness in giving. Giving is something that has to come from the heart, it needs to be real. When companies do CSR activities, people will think whether they are doing it for a good cause or trying to improve their image. But regardless which way it is, the act of giving is already a good step. For those of us who are lucky to be where we are, how about making an impact by giving back to cause that we care about. Not everyone in this world is naturally generous, but it doesn't take one to give back.


9) Bring those dreams back
If there is a reason why we don't do things what we love, I can assure you one of the answers is not having the time. Dreams will remain dreams if we do nothing about it. Do yourself a favour and write down or even draw out what you dream of. Do you dare to describe your dreams? If you can't, then achieving it will have zero chance. Think about your childhood or even times that have passed, is there anything you've always wanted? Like a trip to Maldives or meeting someone famous. You'll be surprised that you could struggle to put a list out because you never put enough believe in it. Time to remind yourself of your dreams and take action! 

10) Practice Buddhism
For the benefit of doubt, I used the word Buddhism instead of meditation because Buddhism is a 'state of mind' or a 'way of life'. To my understanding it does not relate to a religion. Robin Sharma's The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari taught me about building spiritual strength and how we take control of our minds to achieve happiness in life. The 'state of mind' achieved by Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Buddha) remains the pinnacle of what the people practicing Buddhism are trying to achieve. The state of Enlightenment is achieved through the practice and development of morality, meditation and wisdom. Only our actions, what we say and what we do, can determine whether we are practicing Buddhism, not merely how consistent we are with our prayers (That's my view).  In short, always do what is right in life and meditate for good spirituality.

Bonus: Be Thankful

The past few years in our lives would be very different if we compared with different people. What I realise over the past few years is how infrequent we take the time to count our blessings and express our gratitude towards people who have helped us along the way. We've seen so much agonising and horrific events taking place in this world. It's become too easy to take what we have for granted. Let's take the time to be grateful with what we have and make the extra effort to show people that we appreciate and are thankful to them.


It has taken awhile for me to learn life lessons along the way and I'm glad to be quoting from some of the best lessons I've acquired along the way. I hope the ideas I have put forward will be of good value to you. Have a great 2016! Thank you for reading.

~deyao~