Veinte Futbol

Last season Charlton were only 1 point away from getting promoted behind champions, Crystal Palace and coming into this season they looked poised to make another push for promotion. They started this season in strong form picking up 4 wins in their first 4 league games in the Championship. In this span they only conceded 1 goal from 20 total shots, while scoring 8 times. Ever since their 2-1 loss in the league cup against Spurs - Charlton have slid all the way down to 8th place in the table, failing to win a single game since the 2-0 win over Blackburn at the end of September. It's also worth pointing out that - at the time of writing - the parity in the league is pretty strong, as only 5 points separate 1st place Birmingham City (19)and 8th placed Charlton(14). This is in part down to clubs like London City Lionesses and Newcastle investing smartly in the summer window. The quality of teams they have faced in this 5 game stretch have all overtaken Charlton and they all...

Leicester have so far played four times in all competitions this season and have scored a grand total of 2 goals. In one sense, having 1 point in the league after playing Liverpool and Arsenal while looking pretty solid in both games is not the end of the world. But against Crystal Palace,(a team that shipped 11 goals in their first two games)the Foxes only managed 7 shots and barely tested Palace keeper, Shae Yañez. In all fairness to Palace they were very defensively disciplined throughout most of the game, forced Leicester into their sloppiest performance so far and really limited the amount of time Leicester were able to be in the final 3rd while only giving up 2 big chances in the second half. In terms of the two big chances in the second half, Leicester's first saw Jutta Rantala slipped in by, half time substitute, Shana Chossenotte inside the box only for her right-footed, far post, shot to be cleared by Yañez's right foot. The second involved Noemi Mouchon ...

The Women's Championship has now been back for three weeks as of writing. Here are two of the many players that have stood out to me so far in the early weeks of the season. Neve Herron  Neve Herron (21) joined Birmingham in 2022 from hometown club Sunderland and has been played as a left-sided CB this season. In the 23/24 season she was voted as Birmingham's young player and player's player of the season. Defensively, Herron is very proactive in pushing out of the defensive line to intercept passes into the player she's marking. She's also got solid positional sense, which sees her track across horizontally when Birmingham are defending transitions. She's made some really important blocks already this season  such as this one against Bristol City . Aerially, Herron is pretty solid although I wouldn't necessarily call it a strength of hers as her positioning helps when dealing with off-target passes to head the ball on, and she has g...

As a relative Serie A newbie (I started in 2022/23), Hellas Verona didn't initially interest me that much as they dont carry the same flashy name appeal that either of the Milanese clubs or Juventus carry.  That said, since the turn of the calendar year, I've actually found the club's project to be quite interesting, as they're very willing to flip players after a short stint with the club.  Over the past decade or so they have also played a part in the development of plenty of top level players such as Jorginho, Destiny Udogie, Sofyan Amrabat and Mattia Zaccagni. The main player that inspired me to write this is Isak Hien (25).  In August 2022 Verona signed Hien from Sweden's Djurgårdens IF for a reported €4m and just 18 months later he was signed by Atalanta for roughly €8m.  For Atalanta, Hien has looked like a truly top level CB, whose tenacity in aerial and ground duels has helped him bed in perfectly into the centre of Gianpiero Gasperini's 3 m...

Kiera Skeels is a very bright CB prospect at 22 years-old playing for Charlton in the Women's Championship.  She recently signed a 1-year contract extension with Charlton to keep her for a 4th season with the Addicks.  Skeels actually made 10 appearances for then WSL side Bristol City in 2021 on loan from Reading, where she came through the academy. Player profile Pros: . Physicality/aggressive defending. . Confident on the ball w/ both feet. . Leadership. Area for improvement: . Acceleration. Skeels is a very front-footed/proactive defender, recovering the ball 13 times a game, who will push out of the defensive line to contest aerial balls, and follow her marker when they drop deep.  This allows Charlton to win the ball back closer to the opposing goal, as they look to play down the wings at pace.  A confident header of the ball, Skeels is useful at dealing with long balls and defending set-pieces, winning 2.5 aerials per 90.  The 22 year-old is st...

Ella Morris arrives at Spurs with over 100 appearances for Southampton after making the jump from their youth teams to the senior team in 2019.  The 21 year-old defender certainly fits head coach, Robert Vilahamn's, idea of being a quick, attacking player, who is confident on the ball.  Pros: . Plenty of senior experience (100+ games already). . Pace (useful offensively and defensively) . Can get past her opponent 1v1. Looks comfortable when in central positions (really impressive ball retention) . Decent defensive instincts. Cons: . Final ball still needs some work and is a spotty crosser. . Game time might initially be difficult to come by. Morris is an explosive runner and eats up ground on and off the ball, which is stylistically perfect for a full-back/wing-backs in the modern game.  When Southampton would turn the ball over, Morris has shown that she can quickly close down the space in behind.  Using her long strides, she can either close off the sp...