Letters to Santa (Premier League)
Christmas is just moments away, and the football calendar and fixtures come thick and fast at this time in the Premier League, meaning many managers will be hopeful that Santa Clause comes to the rescue and can deliver what they need this winter. The January transfer window is on the horizon as this hectic schedule ploughs on, and many clubs throughout the league will be looking for specific support or results coming out of this time.
In this post, I will take 5 clubs and discuss what I believe is on their managers Christmas list this December. For some, they are more desperate and urgent, whilst other just need some time off. Meanwhile, some managers are eyeing up the finances for January. We will have a little look through some of our most likely Christmas gift wishes in this one.
If you enjoy his post, please do let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog), and we will make a part 2 with some more managers across Europe and what they will have hoped for this Christmas.
Arsenal: Mikel Arteta – Some Wins, Points and Goals… On the night before Christmas, Arsenal sit in 15th, a shocking and incredibly poor position for a club of their stature, however it is reflective of their dreadful recent performances, as they haven’t won in their lost 4 league games (losing 3 and drawing 1), and received 2 red cards in those fixtures. They haven’t won a Premier League game since the 1st of November and the 1-0 penalty assisted victory over Manchester United. Although they have come up against some tough teams in this period, their record and form in the league is truly woeful. The only green on their record is from the Europa League group games, however unless they sort their league form out, they genuinely could be battling in the knockout rounds of Europe alongside a relegation battle.
So, for Christmas this year, Arteta has to be wishing that Santa Claus will deliver some Premier League points, and soon. In order to do this, he needs his top attacking talent to get firing and get themselves up and running with the goals, as realistically they have at least 3 attacking players in the side that could be 15+ goals a season attackers. However, the club have managed just 4 league goals in the 8 games since they last took 3 points from a Premier League match. This is arguably what they need to overcome in order to fly back up the table, however as time goes on and the games and schedule piles up, some players need to really be playing themselves into form. On Arteta’s Christmas list, we have simply stated he wants, wins, points and goals in the league. However, if Santa just delivers goals, I do think the rest will follow.
Burnley: Sean Dyche – Takeover Complete… This one is something that admittedly I haven’t read too much in to, however one thing that stuck in my mind towards the end of last season was Burnley vs Manchester City, in which Dyche had to put out a bench half-filled with young players. For me this summarises where Burnley are at as a side. They have a great solid manager, a decent squad of players, however there’s not much in the way of ambition. And of course I don’t mean they aren’t trying, however after spending the last few years in the top-flight, it would be expected that a side would try and push on to become more established and confident of their position. With Burnley, this attitude might just be on it’s way, as they are on the verge of a takeover by American Businessman and former Wall-Street banker Alan Pace.
Pace has already outlined how how wants to be a hands-on owner and get fully involved in Burnley life. This is a unique approach from the standard modern football club owner, however he does have history of football club ownership, having previously been a president of MLS side Real Salt Lake.
Dyche will be hoping this deal is sorted as soon as possible for his Christmas present, as we are days away from the January transfer window opening, and this Burnley side will be excited to have new backing in terms of transfers.
Currently sitting in 16th, it’s fair to say that Burnley are completely in a relegation battle, along with 6/7 teams. Therefore, the new owner will be expecting that his investment will be remaining in the Premier League, or some players and particularly Dyche might not be able to rest easy on his previous successes. Of course, Burnley won’t simply go out and buy Neymar or Mbappe, however with a hands-on owner that is excitable and invested financially and emotionally in the project, Dyche will surely be keen on getting this admin business sorted, allowing him clarity as he leads the Clarets through a tricky back-9 of the season.
Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp – A Break… Some managers have been outspoken in the past about the Premier League not joining fellow European leagues in having a Christmas break, and this year more than ever, Klopp may just be wishing that his side are given a little bit of a break as their gift this Christmas. Having played 26 games in total this year (including 3 friendly matches), after what was the longest football season last year, it’s clear why the break might be a needed thing for the Liverpool side. Additionally, the possible fatigue of game after game and travel and everything entailed in this, has led to an injury list that would rival any first team in the world. Of course, that could be purely bad luck, however the recovery period being so short is going to impact many squads this year, and ultimately we are seeing a weird season in which teams are conceding more and being forced to live the ‘lockdown life’ whilst still having to travel the country and Europe in some teams’ case to fulfil this packed schedule.
This year then more than ever, Klopp will be asking for a Christmas break as his present, in order to rest his current squad and assist others with returning from injury. Like all these Christmas lists, it’s incredibly unlikely, with Liverpool still set to play 2 more games this month, before January and February where Liverpool will be faced with the FA Cup and Champions League commitments. However, with the Euros being postponed till the summer, we must hope that some of our favourite players avoid fatigue and injury in order to ensure the league stays at this high standard, and we are still fortunate enough to have a fantastic Euro 2020/21 tournament.
Manchester United: Ole Gunnar Solskjær – Spending Money… It’s so well documented that United were moments (or a few million pound) away from getting Jadon Sancho in the club over the summer, and this January, with a mixed start to the season given some solid results, a decent league position and sadly a Champions League exit, Ole might just be ready to get those big transfers through the door that could genuinely turn his side into title contenders.
Sitting in 3rd before the big day, United are in genuine contention of catching a clearly weakened Liverpool side without VVD. However, if they are to realistically be in that position, they need to strengthen certain areas of the side. On paper, and with the money they have spent already, their squad is stacked with talent. However, the defence is showing serious frailties and on the right-wing, there isn’t a cemented player in that role. Consequently, they are at times a mixed group, as nobody can really pick their best starting XI, however they have immense talent in most positions.
Therefore, for Christmas, Ole might just be asking Santa Clause (or Ed Woodward) for that cheque that will get the Sancho deal done, and add one of the world’s most exciting players to their attacking line-up, and if he is asking for gifts, he might just ask for another £30-40million to sign a CB in the shape of Upamecano or another solid and reliable CB to create a strengthened partnership. This one isn’t the most likely, as Santa / Woodward are well-known to be a bit stingy with their money. So Ole might have to ask for maybe just a £20million defender this Christmas, and try again for Sancho as his birthday present later in the year.
Sheffield United: Chris Wilder – Some Wins, Points and Goals (More Urgent)… In a very similar vein to the Arsenal wish and Arteta’s hopeful Christmas gift, Chris Wilder and Sheffield United are even more desperate for wins, points and goals. Sitting in an abysmal 20th spot and in a complete turnaround from last years’ success, it appears as though Wilder’s magic is wearing off. His squad just haven’t gotten firing this year, and simultaneously the defence are struggling to keep clean sheets which would at least be picking up the occasional point here and there.
As a result, Sheffield United have not won a single game all season, with their last victory coming in a friendly match against Derby County on the 1st of September. In the Premier League, they have only 2 points, collected from draws against Fulham and Brighton. They are genuinely at risk of becoming the leagues worst ever performers if things don’t turn around quicker, hence the urgency of this Christmas gift coming good for Wilder’s men.
These poor performances are really lacking due to their failure to score goals this season. They only have 8 goals in the league across the entire season, which simply isn’t good enough for a top-flight side. With some decent attackers in the side and the introduction of Brewster in the summer, they need to realise they are at genuine risk of an embarrassing record.
So, the leagues’ worst side, are asking for points and goals this Christmas. It’s fairly obvious why, however it’s a gift that I’m note sure Wilder is going to find under his tree this Christmas day. With their 2nd point of the season coming in the last few days, things are looking up, but Sheffield United won’t be looking too far up just yet.
If you enjoyed this post, let us know and we will continue into a part 2. Head over to Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) and let us know what you think.