Page 2 - General Sports Stories

Another season ends which can only mean one thing: awards. With each year that passes by, the gap between the top six and the rest of the division looks to be widening in quality and financial resources.

However, as Burnley and especially Leicester have shown in the past few years, there is a chance to rival some of the bigger teams in the country. 

The rest of the Premier League might not get as much attention, so here are the awards for the teams outside the top six: 

Manager of the Year: Rafa Benitez

There are several candidates for this award, but Newcastle United’s Rafa Benitez deserves the plaudits purely because of what he was given at the beginning of the season.

While Brighton’s Chris Hughton and Huddersfield’s David Wagner, too, defied the odds of avoiding relegation, they, at least, had some sort of money to spend in the transfer window. 

It is no secret that the Spanish manager has come to blows with owner Mike Ashley on more than one occasion. Benitez was left without funds

Not all goalkeepers can claim to be the subject of a ‘Top 6 Goals’ highlight reel on YouTube, but then 1990's star Jorge Campos was nothing like all goalkeepers. In fact, watching the aforementioned tribute video, the immediate impression formed is that he was something of a predatory finisher with quick feet and quicker thinking.

Inside his ‘Top 6’ are some majestic finishes. There’s a penalty kick which he shapes to kick with his left foot, deceives the opposition goalkeeper and calmly slots home with the outside of his right. There’s a lobbed strike that he executes immediately after being tackled to the ground. There’s also a magnificent scissor kick, which is the hallmark of only the truly innovative footballing hitmen.

Goalkeeper Turned Striker

Time for some crucial context for the confused: Campos was, at various points throughout his career, a striker. No, he didn’t just go up for the odd corner kick when his team were losing and only seconds remained; he was an actual, bona
fide

It has not been a Premier League classic in terms of any sort of title race given Manchester City’s dominance over the whole country, but that’s not to say there haven’t been great performances elsewhere.

The spotlight is firmly stuck on Pep Guardiola and his men, and rightly so, but three players have performed to a level that looked incomprehensible before the season had begun.

Here are Liam Canning’s three Premier League overachievers this season: 

Mohamed Salah: Liverpool, right wing

It’s not right to call Salah an underrated gem, because he’s not anymore. He was, however, looked at as a gamble when Liverpool decided to spend £35 million on the Egyptian King to bring him from AS Roma last summer.

Questions were being raised, even by Liverpool’s fans, about Salah’s last stint in England at Chelsea, and how it did not go according to plan under José Mourinho. That was putting it kindly.

However, with more experience and maturity in the wide forward, Salah came to Liverpool at the right

Leeds United’s greatest accomplishments are associated with their all-white kit. When in 1969 they won the English top flight for the first time in their history, they wore all white. When they repeated the feat decades later, in the season preceding the First Division’s rebirth as the Premier League, they wore all white. And, when they reached the final of the European Cup in 1975, and the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2000 – you guessed it – they wore all white. But it wasn’t always this way.

It will be hard for any true Leeds fan to read this, but the club’s initial colours were blue and white and based on Huddersfield Town’s design. This link came about through Hilton Crowther, the former chairman of Huddersfield who went on to become a key figure in Leeds’ formative years. His idea was for the two sides to join forces; when this ambition was scuppered, he left the Terriers and became chairman of Leeds.

The Revie Plan

The club wouldn’t wear an all-white kit for the first four decades

3rd January 2018.
These are strange times at Molineux. Wolverhampton Wanderers, three-time champions of England with a proud and rich history and large fan base within a one-club city, have been underachieving for too long; a sleeping giant of a club. As the English game raced towards the riches and acclaim brought by the formation of the Premier League in 1992, Wolves were largely left behind, making just two brief forays into the top flight in that time. But that's about to change.

A takeover by Chinese conglomerate Fosun, brokered by former Manchester United and Chelsea CEO Peter Kenyon, has emboldened the Black Country side with cash. And the new owners' connections with 'super agent' Jorge Mendes has helped Wolves punch way above their weight already in the transfer market as they build towards promotion from the Championship.

The two standout additions of the summer both came from Porto. Mendes leaned on his contacts in his homeland to sign promising international playmaker Rúben

22nd December 2017.

As the January transfer window is just around the corner, clubs all over Europe will be discussing their plans to bring in the targets they have identified.

Historically, January has been a time period where you might find a bargain in the market, due to the player forcing his way out of the club, or because their contract is expiring in six months' time.

With that being said, here are the three best free transfers available in Europe right now:

Mesut Özil Arsenal

The German's next club, should he leave Arsenal, will realise that they have secured one of the biggest bargains of the last decade.

It has been surprising to see the Gunners allow Mesut Özil to run down his contract with no contingency plan involved, and so there is no surprise to see a number of teams interested in signing the World Cup winner when his contract expires next June.

Özil is in the position now, coming into January, where he can sign a pre-contract with a foreign club, which states that he

8th December 2017.
In anticipation of Russia 2018 next summer, a host of new soccer jerseys are being released for the team's that have secured qualification. German sportswear manufacturer Adidas has got ahead of the game, and began launching shirts toward the end of 2017. The FIFA World Cup 2018 Adidas football shirts released to date are all home edition jerseys, and the designs embody the strengths, passions and heritage of each nation involved, with a clearly retro look. Below we take a look at some of the Adidas 2018 World Cup kits launched so far.

Argentina 2018 World Cup Home Kit

The advertising campaign launching the Argentina home kit for the 2018 World Cup was fronted by the infamous Lionel Messi. Messi, one of the greatest footballers to have ever graced a soccer field, and an icon in the history of Argentinian football, has never won a major trophy with his country. This disparity, in an otherwise unblemished career, is clearly referenced with the design of the Argentina 2018

23rd August 2017. By Ryan Baldi.
With the 2017/18 season now under way in the major European leagues, all eyes are focussed on the stars of the previous campaign, many of whom have switched clubs for huge fees, to see whether they can maintain the form shown last term.

Kylian Mbappe was undoubtedly the youngster who made the biggest impact in 2016/17, breaking into the Monaco first team to star domestically and in the Champions League, helping the Monegasque side earn a first Ligue 1 title since 2000, when the prodigious forward was only 18 months old.

But the new season also presents a chance for new stars to emerge, young hopefuls primed to take the next step in their development and establish themselves as genuine stars of the game.

Here are seven young players from across Europe set for breakout campaigns this season.

Adam Ounas Napoli

Before his move to Napoli this summer in a deal which could reach up to €12million depending on conditional add-ons, Ounas was already a semi-regular

3rd March 2017. By Edward Stratmann.
Despite Crystal Palace enduring a very challenging season to date, it was encouraging to see one of their undisputed stars in Yohan Cabaye commit himself to the club in January.

Leaving would've been an easy way out for the Frenchman, especially with Marseille, who are coached by his former Lille manager Rudi Garcia, showing heavy interest. A return home and working under the familiarity Garcia could offer might have been enough to lure most players in his situation away, but Cabaye admirably decided to stay, desperate to help his team fight to avoid relegation.

"It's flattering, because OM are one of the great French clubs. I have immense respect for Rudi, the coach and the person he is. But my life is in London, my club, and I'm focused on that," he insisted.

"We're in a difficult situation. I'm trying my best to help my team as best I can. I have immense respect for the coach, but today that's the reality with my club. We're in a complicated situation."

26th September 2016. By Edward Stratmann.
After putting in such an outstanding shift in Watford's stirring 3-1 victory over Manchester United from his holding midfield station, it's amazing to think that just a couple months ago Valon Behrami was seriously considering leaving the Hornets.

Under the stewardship of the now departed Quique Sanchez Flores last season, the Swiss international endured a nightmare campaign. As the season went by his relationship with the Spanish manager deteriorated at a rapid rate, especially after his sending off against Swansea in September 2015. Feeling unwanted, untrusted and unfairly treated by Sanchez Flores, the fiery midfielder, who also had to contend with frustrating injuries, didn't even speak with his coach during the final third of the season.

"We didn't find the way to speak to each other and have a common target," Behrami told the BBC. "I have my character and he has his own and we didn't talk for the last two or three months."

But with Sanches