Cultured Football #191

Shaktar Blast FIFA. Transfer Gurus. AS Monaco Build Again. Sacked in the Morning. Chelsea's Ultra Young Team.

Shakhtar boss: 'FIFA has stolen our players and not brought anything good to Ukrainian football'

By Thomas Deterding for Transfermarkt

For the past ten years, Shakhtar Donetsk have been living in limbo; away from the city whose name they bear. Yet the nomads have survived and even thrived, keeping up the development of players in spite of everything. And that includes FIFA that has shown little sympathy towards them. A hard hitting interview.

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Transfer Gurus: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise's Chris O'Loughlin

By Neel Shelat for Analytics FC

It is rather unsurprising that Brighton & Hove Albion’s sister club is good at recruiting players. Yet that does not mean that one’s model is used by the other. Indeed, Royale Union Saint-Gilloise's road to success has been markedly unique and all the more interesting for it.

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Inside Monaco's academy - where future stars are forged

By Luke Entwistle for BBC

AS Monaco has a long history for producing some of football's biggest stars, including Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappe. And it is a tradition that they want to keep alive, with an academy that is currently one of the best in France and is competing in the UEFA Youth League.

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You're getting sacked in the morning

By Paul Simpson for

Pitch

“Data analyst Adam Smith found that 45 (58%) of 78 Premier League clubs which sacked coaches when in the relegation zone still went down.” If you want to challenge a lot of widely held beliefs on the benefits (or not) of changing managers, this is the article for you.

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Have Chelsea assembled the youngest team in Premier League history?

By

Jake Entwistle

for

SCOUTED

It was very easy (and, admittedly, very funny) to laugh at Chelsea last season as the flailed around despite spending a truck-load of money. And there were probably those gearing to do the same this season. Instead, Enzo Maresca has shaped his team into one that is challenging for the title. And doing so with a remarkably young side. A fascinating deep dive and long read of how the side is coming together and why what Chelsea are doing is so remarkable.

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Last Week’s Most Read: Are Chelsea actually good now? How did that happen?

By Ryan O'Hanlon for ESPN

A few months back, Chelsea were the punchline of a joke. Now, however, they find themselves on the verge of a title challenge. Should we be THAT surprised given how much money the club has spent over the past two years?