Midweek Guff.

Good afternoon and welcome to a midweek Strike, there were some absolute cracking games over the past couple of nights, We had everything from world class goals to phenomenal goalkeeping. So Let's start at The King Power where Leicester are looking more and more like Champions every week, they are just fantastic and Jamie Vardy is having the season of his life. 4 years ago, he was playing for Fleetwood and who would have thought he would be the leading goal scorer in the Premier League. I am still waiting for the wheels to fall off and for The Foxes to start dropping points but it just isn't happening, they just keep getting stronger. I think it is a bit unfair to call them a two man side because they do have some unsung heroes like Danny Drinkwater and N'golo Kante who have been just as consistent. When Claudio Ranieri took over, I was expecting a season of struggle but he has got to be a contender for manager of the year and who could argue if he did. Leicester do have a couple of real hard away days coming up, starting with a trip to The Etihad on Saturday lunchtime and I think they can get a result up there because Man City aren't exactly in brilliant form and Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy will definitely believe they cause a lot of problems for whoever is at the back for City. Next week they travel to The Emirates where anything could happen, earlier on the season Arsenal romped to 5-2 to win over The Foxes but this game is going to be a very close one to call. Arsenal aren't in great form at the moment and it could be a nervy one but if Leicester could get 4 points from these two games then I don't see anyone else winning the title.


On Tuesday night, you saw the most stupidest red card given to Aston Villa's Jordon Ayew for a silly elbow, I am still struggling to understand what was going through his mind. He has since said sorry but it has gone now and Villa are in more trouble, I mean I do feel sorry for the Villa fans because they are a passionate fan base but how can they continue to support the team when certain players make silly decisions like that and cost the team a result. Villa weren't terrible and had a couple of chances but when you're struggling for results and you lose a man then it makes it very difficult. West Ham on the other hand are looking brilliant at the moment and they could get a Europa League place or even better because this season is so wide open. I am a massive fan of Payet and he makes The Hammers tick and I think in the summer, there maybe some interest from other clubs.




Arsenal's season has hit a bit of a snag at the moment, no goals in three games and not looking as good as they were a few weeks ago. I know a lot of Gooners will blame the manager for not splashing the cash in the transfer windows but one of the players they did buy was Petr Cech who is probably the reason why Arsenal are in a title race this season. As an Arsenal fan, I have been critical of Wenger in the past and I do think that maybe it is time for him to step down but and there is a big BUT, who do you get in to replace him? Pep Guardiola was linked with the job let's get one thing straight here, Pep only goes for the jobs where he has copious amounts of money to spend and has players where he can literally sit back and not do an awful lot. I am not saying that Arsenal don't have some fantastic players because they do like Ozil, Sanchez, Cech and some bright young talent such Bellerin, Iwobi and Campbell. I am not denying he isn't a good manager because he record speaks for itself but I would love to see him at a club where money is a bit tighter and the players aren't as special as to what he is used to.



In other news, Gary Neville is under massive pressure at Valencia after they were smashed 7 nil by Barcelona in the Cup. I have a little bit of sympathy for Neville because he has inherited a lot of problems and I don't think it is all his fault. I saw on Twitter last night that some people are glad he is struggling and I don't really understand it to be honest. As a player, Gary Neville was a bit on the rough and definitely not one of my favourite players but as a pundit I think he is brilliant and the way he used to talk about certain things was very good. I think maybe the job is too big for him but I do still think he could be a successful manager somewhere. Valencia have a must win game against Real Betis over the weekend and if they don't pick up points there then I think he could be out of a job. I do think managers get a very rough deal these days, I know they pick the players and formation and implement their own philosophy but once the players cross that white line then the manager is pretty helpless. Look at Chelsea, the players under Jose Mourinho were terrible and they made it very obvious that they didn't want to play for him which is very wrong. If a player has a run of bad games where he makes mistakes or doesn't perform then he gets dropped for a game but if a manager has winless streak of 6 games then he is under scrutiny which is a bit unfair if you ask me.


Well that shall do for now! Have a nice afternoon.