My New Admiration For Ligue 1

Due to financial reasons I have never, in my 24 years on this earth, had Sky Sports on my T.V for a prolonged period of time.

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5 Defenders Who Could Replace Patrice Evra

It's never easy replacing a player that has been consistently brilliant at the club for a number of years. You get so used to seeing that player on the team sheet and what they bring to the team, the kind of things that make you go 'Wow, we're so lucky to have him'. Patrice Evra is one of those players because he combines attacking and defending excellently to make him one of a special breed of left-back. Not many can combine the two well and often a player excels in just one of the areas.

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FIVE Central Midfielders Who Could Replace Steven Gerrard

Liverpool fans have enjoyed watching Steven Gerrard dominating the centre of midfield since 1997 after he was promoted to the first team straight from the U18's. Gerrard is one of England's greatest central midfielders and a Premier League legend to go with it. It's fair to say that Gerrard is deserving of a place in the football players hall of fame. However, at his age, 33, it'll be hard for him to keep going for much longer as a regular. If Liverpool are serious about their ambitions then they must find a player who can replace Gerrard, for now and the long term.

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3 Creative Midfielders Who Tottenham Should Be Looking To Recruit In January

In my previous article I suggested 3 strikers that Tottenham could buy in January to help give them the firepower they need in front of goal. However, it's all very well and good buying a striker but if they don't have a supporting cast good enough to give him a consistent supply of chances, then what's the point?

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4 Defensive Midfielders That Should Be On Arsenal's Radar Next Summer

You might say that this article has no relevance or is just plain stupid considering the amount of depth Arsenal have in midfield, but just hear me out. Every club who wants to challenge for the title must have two or three players in every position capable of making the starting line up. Arsenal do have that in midfield, but when you need consistency and you look at who can actually play defensive midfield well, then you'll realise that Arsenal are quit bare in that position.

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8 Ligue 1 Players Whose Contracts Are Ending Next Summer

In the final article on players whose contracts expire next summer, I will be taking a look at Ligue 1. The French premier division is a pool of talented, up-and-coming players that often look for a route out of France to join bigger teams in bigger leagues. However, with the arrival of billionaires to clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Monaco, players are becoming more inclined to stay due to the fact that Ligue 1 is growing in popularity and ability. The stranglehold on the league held by Marseille and Lyon has been broken by these two clubs and now we have a four or five horse race for the title. This is one of the reasons why the league has grown in popularity, with the increasing uncertainty around who could potentially win adding more excitement. However, many players still look for a way out and a few of those could make this list:

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3 reasons why Southampton are flying high this season

The usual suspects are vying for the title of Premier League Champions this season: Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, and oh wait…Southampton?! How can a team that was languishing near the bottom of the table last season under the hapless Nigel Adkins be in the top four with virtually the same squad of players over a quarter of the way into the season?

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Why PSG would be mad to force Adrien Rabiot out

The problem with a young player at a big club with huge spending power is that they may not get the chance they deserve, mainly because their club has bought a player in their position which would obviously halt their development. Now, some players would be happy with that because their at a big club and they earn big money. Other players, like Rabiot, are not content with just picking up a wage packet at the end of the week and getting little or no game time to show for it.

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5 players Arsenal should sign in January

We are entering that period in time when we can properly analyse the impact of signings made in the summer but also look forward to who clubs will try and sign in January. There is always speculation, it just isn't football without rumours, and plenty have been flying around at Arsenal. It started out with Marco Reus, Ilkay Gundogan and Lars Bender being lined up for potential moves in January but those rumours quickly dissipated. However, the Marco Reus rumour stuck around for a little while longer. Jackson Martinez, Miroslave Klose, Karim Benzema and Robert Lewandowski have also been in the news recently with Arsenal said to be interested. Anyway who should Arsenal try and sign?

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Why do defenders cost less?

I’ve never understood why the most expensive defender in footballing history is half the price of the most expensive attacking player in the history? Are they not just as important?

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What has happened to Roma?

After seven Serie A games we had expected two time defending champions Juventus to be sitting top of the pile and if not then probably one of Napoli, Fiorentina and AC Milan – nobody would have predicted it would be Roma who would be topping the pile at this stage.

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The Story So Far In Ligue 1

With four games now gone in the French topflight, we take a look at whether the expected dominance of money bags Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco has already began to take shape.

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Champions League Preview – The Dark Horses

According the bookies, the side picking up the title of kings of Europe is likely to come from one of the following; Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Here we identify four sides who will carry visions of upsetting the apple cart.

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A Closer Look At Nicolas Anelka

If you find yourself stumped on a football question in a pub quiz, the answer could well be Nicolas Anelka. One of the game’s most successful journeymen, let us take a look back at the Frenchman’s career. The list of top European clubs the striker has played for is almost endless: PSG, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City, Fenerbahce, Chelsea, Juventus and Bolton. Okay, maybe not Bolton, although he did lead the Trotters into the UEFA Cup for only the second time in the club’s history.

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Is There Trouble In Monaco?

Now that Monaco have failed with their appeal regarding tax benefits, and therefore must comply with French law and income tax rates - will they end up having to sell star players that only a few weeks ago had signed contracts, because of the promise of huge wages and a project that was going to be the envy of the football world?

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