The Queen's passing at the age of 96 has gripped a nation and in the world of football this led to the postponement of all of the weekend's fixtures. Some have respectfully asked if games should have been called off and there are certainly reasons why this was the right and wrong decision from the FA.
Football is by far the biggest sport in England and there was simply too much of a link for the nation to be 'switching off' and getting back to normal only two days after the Queen's death and so it was seen only the right thing to do as a mark of respect to cancel all of the fixtures. Is that not the least we could do, to forget about one weekend's worth of fixtures for the Queen who served her country for 70 years and remained dignified throughout? However one has to ask has the FA missed a chance to reunite the country and have tens of thousands of supporters stand together and pay their respects in the crowd? It may seem shallow to mention that from a financial point of view there have been losses. Not from the clubs of course, but what about the match day security, stewards and back room staff that keep the game ticking over and usually get paid on a day to day basis depending if games go ahead. Then there are the fans, especially the ones travelling to away games and hotels who have lost out.
Perhaps though ultimately football can be a victim of itself. Did the FA decide to call off games and not allow a minutes silence simply because of the nature of a minority of fans who may have not seen the Queen and the Royal Family in the same light as the majority. Could it have been that they would have whistled or protested and how much could that have affected the brand of Premier League football? It surely would have been embarrassing. This isn't to suggest it would have happened and by and large fans have been fantastic in observing minute silences and being completely respectful in the past. However let's remember that clapping for a minute which began in Italy's Serie A league while feeling powerful was only invented by the authorities for quashing out such a minority who wanted to ruin minute silences.
With no football in England taking place this past weekend the biggest story coming out of the Premier League was Thomas Tuchel's sacking and the appointment of Graham Potter from Brighton. Being sacked after just six games is a shocker but perhaps there were other reasons behind Tuchel's dismissal. He has certainly looked angry recently and quite intense in his interviews. Perhaps his run in with Tottenham manager Antonio Conte lately did not go down well with Chelsea's new owners. Perhaps though Tuchel is simply a reminder of the Roman Abramovich era and once the Blues had new owners Tuchel's exit was always going to happen. But the bottom line is that despite starting the season off with no consistency the German did win the Champions League, the World Club Cup and reached three domestic cup finals in 18 months.
Potter has done a very good job for Brighton and the club have had a blazing start to the season and when he left they were in 4th place. Potter is already being seen as a future England manager and he does seem to have an aura about him. He is a hard working manager behind the scenes and could well have a bright future ahead of him. We can be cynical and point out that despite success with Brighton his win rate at the club was only 31% but with Chelsea and the players they have one has to wonder if this is when his talent can be let out of the box? It is encouraging that the board at Chelsea have said that Potter is seen as a long term manager and granted they have given him a five year contract to back that up. They have also said that if the club do not finish in the top 4 in his first season that it wouldn't be a problem. However much that is true Chelsea even under new owners have to be regarded as a club that will not be afraid to chop and change and much will be expected of Potter. In a sense you can't blame him for taking such a big job, but at the same time he had a secure and quite interesting project at Brighton so only time will tell if his appointment is a good one. As for Brighton you really have to feel for the fans in this case, who may just have lost one of the brightest and up and coming managers in the game.
Next Brighton manager: Kjetil Knutsen 3.00, Roberto De Zerbi 5.00, Steve Cooper 6.00, Mauricio Pochettino 13.00, Nathan Jones 13.00
Despite most of his success coming at Real Madrid Cristiano Ronaldo really does have Manchester United to thank for building his career up and being the player he is today and the one that will be remembered as one of the greats. So it is unfortunate that the same club seem to be phasing out his career and Ronaldo is under the threat of his footballing days petering out. Granted Ronaldo is 37 and he isn't the player he was ten or even five years ago but last season at United should have proved that he is a long way off being a player that is suited to the bench and getting a few minutes here and there. The problem with Ronaldo is that when Erik ten Hag has given him the rare start he has failed to impress but this could be simply down to the fact that the Portuguese legend has simply lost the fight and desire at United with Ten Hag in charge. It is odd that United opted to keep a player who clearly wanted away given that time is running out on him and he wanted to play Champions League football. Ronaldo wants success and while United may be going in the right direction under Ten Hag actual silverware seems some way off. It is sad to see Ronaldo being just a bit part player and even though he threw his toys out of the pram in the summer and wanted out of Old Trafford maybe after everything he has done for the club he had earned the right to break contract and move on. There is talk that he could still leave the club in January and his body language at this time seems like a move will be inevitable.
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