Trouble In Belgium?

Finally, O'Neil!
If it's not broken, why fix it? I was bewildered when I learnt Bournemouth were exploring the possibility of signing the legendary, Marcelo Bielsa. Though Gary O'Neill is nowhere near a competition for the eccentric Argentine, he has done incredibly well since taking over from Scott Parker last August. The two consecutive impressive wins against Everton before the World Cup break definitely strengthened Gary's case for the position, but Bournemouth have been relatively impressive since he took over temporarily. Also, a deal till the end of the season is a wise one from the board with the sole aim of the season being to avoid relegation. If Bill Foley's proposed takeover is finally ratified, Bournemouth will have more money to spend on new players next summer. The new owners can go for whatever manager they deem fit without having to dole out compensation for sacking anyone.

Trouble in Belgium?
Who would've thought a couple guys who've been representing the national team together for a decade will publicly tear into each other at a major tourney? Well, that's what it seems like if Jan Vertoghen's comments after Belgium's loss to Morocco are scrutinized. De Bruyne had earlier said the team is probably too old to win the World Cup. Vertoghen fired back by saying they're definitely too old to score a goal since they lost 2-0 to Morocco. Well, De Bruyne is tasked with creating and scoring goals so that looks like a straightforward dig at the Man City playmaker. What baffles me is that De Bruyne never attacked the defensive unit of the team, he talked about the collective. Of the 26 players in the Belgium squad, 11 of them are 30 years old and above, four of them are a couple months away from the dreaded 30-year mark. Also, seven of the starting 11 against Morocco are aged 30 and above; two more, Thorgan Hazard and Batshuayi are 29. Onana (21) and Castagne (26) are the two players in the starting 11 who are still relatively young. Against Morocco, two of the players introduced to change the tide of the game (Lukaku and Mertens) are also on the wrong side of 30. Jan Vertoghen may feel compelled to fire back at De Bruyne because he (alongside Mertens) is the oldest guy in the squad at 35. Belgium has entered tournaments as the dark horse on a couple of occasions. This time, they will need to beat a way better Croatia to make it beyond the group stage. Whatever happens, there is trouble in the Belgium camp. And, we've not heard the last of this brewing storm.

Messi to MLS will be groundbreaking!
America has seen football talents coming in from Europe to MLS before, but they've never seen 'anything' like Messi. Even at 35, Messi is still comfortably in the top 10 best players in the world right now; MLS has never had anyone in the top 50 switching to their side. Can David Beckham pull this off? If there's anyone out there who can do it, it has to be Beckham. Will the Arabs willingly lose Messi to the Americans? That's up for debate. If Messi moves to America, Europe will miss him. Well, Ronaldo will be happy to see the guy who's after his Champions League record depart the European scene. I hope Messi stays in PSG, or moves to Man City since Guardiola has signed a two year extension. He will be a massive hit in the Premier League playing alongside De Bruyne and Haaland.

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