AG's Football Reports

NEWCASTLE  have named Steve McClaren as their new Head Coach. Steve McClaren Newcastle Head Coach McClaren who was sacked by Championship side Derby last month returns to the Premier League after a 9 year absence.  McClaren has singed a 3 year deal with the option of a further 5 years. McClaren is the formal successor of Alan Pardew as John Carver was put caretaker charge from January.  McClaren joins a side that survived relegation to the Championship on the final day after beating West Ham 2-0.  McClaren started his career as an assistant at Derby before moving to Manchester United where he was number 2 to Sir Alex Fegurson in his first season United won the the treble. In 2001 he took over as manager of Middlesbrough.  During his first two seasons at Boro they finished 12th and 7th in the Premier League. They won the League Cup and reached the last 16 of the Uefa Cup. In January 2006 Sven Goran Eriksson announced that he would l...

John Carver - Newcastle Head Coach Jan - Jun 2015 Sources understand that John Carver and Steve Stone have left their posts at Newcastle United.    Carver( above) was placed in interim charge until the end of the season after Alan Pardew left the club to join Crystal Palace. Sources also understand that Steve McClaren will be named as the clubs new Head Coach on Thursday. Newcastle survived on the final day of the season after beating West Ham 2-0 at St. James's Park. Carver's record spoke for its self with 13 defeats out of 20 including 8 in a row. However, his job was made extremely hard with the loss of experienced players and suspensions to key players including Pappis Cisse. Carver also wasn't helped by off the field problems with Supporters and Mike Ashley. Carver was backed by the fans but it does not look like he will be the man to take the club forward or be part of the future in any way. His record John Carver - Newcastle Head Coach Jan 2015 -...

Slaven Billic - West Ham Manager WEST HAM have named former defender Slaven Bilic as the clubs new manager. He succeeds Sam Allardyce on a three year deal. Bilic has had a number of successful managerial posts the most notable being his time in charge of the Croatia national team. During his reign they piped England to Euro 2008 qualification. He spent 6 years in charge of the national team before leaving after Euro 2012 to manage Locomotiv Moscow but after finishing 9th in the Russian league the worst placed finish for Locomotiv since the Championship began Bilic was sacked in June 2013. He was out of work for just 8 days as he became Head Coach of Turkish side Besiktas, He managed the side for 2 years before resigning at the end of this season.

Chelsea recorded their 5th English title and their 4th Premier League title in the 2014-15 season. They also secured the League Cup. This season was the second successive season that the Premier League winners had won the League Cup. But did they Underachieve/Achieve/Overachieve this season? Chelsea celebrating League Cup success Chelsea lift the Premier League Trophy Team Competitions  Barclays Premier League 1st - Champions F.A Cup: Fourth Round ( lost 2-4 against Bradford)  League Cup: Winners  Uefa Champions League: Round of 16 ( lost on away goals to PSG) High Point: Beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to secure the Premier League title. Low Point: Being beaten by Bradford in the F.A Cup Overall Chelsea have had a very successful season beaten just 3 times and have 2 pieces of silverware in the cabinet. Winning 26 of their 38 games Chelsea didn't play the most attractive football but...

The 2014-15 season was Burnley's first season back in the Premier League following promotion from the Championship last season. Did they Underachieve, achieve or overachieve this season. Team Competitions  Barclays Premier League: 19th Relegated  F.A Cup: Third Round ( lost 4-2 to Tottenham) League Cup: Second Round (lost 0-1 to Sheffield Wednesday)  High Point: The high point of Burnley's season was beating Manchester City 1-0 at Turf Moore keeping the hopes of survival alive. Low Point: Losing 0-1 to Leicester which all but condemned the side to relegation back to the Championship after just one season in the top flight. Overall Burnley achieved what many thought they would. There was not one game that they did not go out and give it there all. Even when it looked like the game was over they still fought and continued to stay in the game. A prime example is Man City away 2-0 down at half time and they earned a point out of the game. It was cle...

The 2014-15 season was Aston Villa's 23rd season in the Premier League. They competed in the Premier League, F.A Cup and the League Cup. But did they achieve or underachieve this season? Team Competitions: Barclays Premier League: 17th F.A Cup: Runners Up League Cup: 2nd Round ( lost 0-1 to Leyton Orient)  High Point: Beating Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley to progress through to the F.A Cup final. Low Point: Losing 0-1 at home to Leyton Orient in the second round of the League Cup. Overall it has been a mixed season for Aston Villa. They performed well in the F.A Cup but league form was poor after picking up 3 wins in their first 4 games they only went on to win 7 more times all season. This included runs of 6 straight defeats and a run of 8 straight defeats meaning the end for manager Paul Lambert. It was clear their problem was goalscoring managing just 31 goals. For me Villa have underachieved this year I expected more of them. Underachieved /...

Arsenal secured the F.A Cup and a third place finish in this years Premier League below is their review did they achieve or did they underachieve? Team Competitions: Barclays Premier League: 3rd F.A Cup: Winners League Cup: Third Round: ( Lost 1-2 to Southampton) Uefa Champions League: Round of 16 ( lost on away goals to Monaco)  Arsenal celebrate winning F.A Cup High Point: Winning the F.A Cup for a second successive season. Low Point: Losing 1-3 at home to Monaco in the first leg on the Champions League last 16 Overall Arsenal have had a fairly successful season with two trophies in the cabinet and securing automatic qualification through to the Champions League group stages. This year they achieved what was expected of them. Overachieved/ Achieved /Underachieved