Another day, another hard-fought defeat in the intensely weird progress of Manchester United's season. £150 million spent, and the back four that finished the match consisted of Luke Shaw, Michael Carrick, Paddy McNair and Antonio Valencia. In the event, this back four held a City with a numerical advantage for most of the game, while Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Angel Di Maria, Adnan Januzaj and Juan Mata struggled to create a chance between them.
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Speaking of Van Gaal, he may find a kindred soul at White Hart Lane, even if this weekend Mauricio Pochettino managed the opposite, scabbing a win while putting in a generally diabolical performance. Yet if the two men are proving one thing, it's that the greatest curse and the greatest gift is to follow an absolute clown. Coming into a squad recovering from the reign of a no-hoper has left both with a bit of catching up to do, but some serious mistakes in the transfer market and beyond have been overlooked because of their predecessors.Really, Van Gaal's every complaint about poor defending should be followed with, "Well, why didn't you find room for a proper fucking defender out of that £150m then?" and anything Spurs can say is tempered by the fact that this was the one season they decided not to gut their team and instead went for incremental change, albeit from the starting position of having a shit squad full of tossers. But hey, you didn't come out on camera and basically say, "I've lost the dressing room." You didn't say, "We're going to make it as difficult as possible for Newcastle," and you managed to leave the press conference without your trousers falling down and you wear a suit like a proper grown-up, so you're better than the last guy.Spurs aren't in a bad run or struggling to adapt to a high-pressing game. Van Gaal has abandoned his early talk of imposing his own, very distinct philosophy. They're just bad. They might not always be bad, but there's no point making excuses. Think of it as an opportunity for personal growth - no football fan is truly an adult until they have accepted that their team is simply, purely terrible and made peace with the fact. United and Spurs fans: your childhood is over.
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It all seemed fun last season, didn't it? We were all marvelling at how Sean Dyche looked like Vladimir Lenin starring in The Bill, cooing at Anthony Knockaert and praying Harry Redknapp fucked up the playoffs. But now the misery for the promoted sides has really set in, and despite their varying levels of spending and the Stadium of Light apparently being built on some sort of ancient Brythonic burial ground, it looks like all three are in the process of being fucked off back from whence they came.It's only a few years since Swansea, Stoke, and the like were able to come up and establish themselves in the top tier. Blackpool and Owen Coyle's Burnley made valiant efforts too, going down in blazes of glory. And in that time, the Championship has become a great league with genuinely good players and has produced two of the most exciting season finales in English footballing history). It remains a big step up but surely at least one of this season's promoted sides should be handling themselves a little better.
Arsenal: Still Arsenal
Arsene Wenger's judgement of big buys appears to have improved, as Alexis Sanchez looks like the player who is making the impact Mesut Ozil should've. Where Ozil looked about as excited to be at the Emirates as Frimpong did to be at Barnsley and hid in difficult games, Sanchez has been willing to carry the team on his shoulders when necessary, and came up with a vital goal again at the weekend. It looks like being a great signing.
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We end, though, on a happy note. It's not every weekend that the most exciting moment comes in the draw for the Scottish League Cup, but finally, Rangers and Celtic will be reunited.
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