August 2017

£198m well spent? The transfer XI PSG could have had instead of Neymar (2nd August 2017)

Using transfer fees for deals completed this summer, Sporting Index have found that for the same £198m used to sign Neymar, PSG could have had the likes of Alexandre Lacazette (£52m), Nemanja Matic (£40m) and Leonardo Bonucci (£35m) in a star - studded team, which boasts 559 international caps, 31 league titles, and four Champions League winners medals.

The question remains whet her PSG fans would prefer that array of talent, or the 25 - year - old Brazilian, who they hope can fire them to a first Champions League trophy.

Sporting Index traders predict a Neymar - backed PSG will finish a full 10 points clear at the top of Ligue 1 this season, on 88 points - comfortably ahead of last season's winners Monaco, on 78.

Ed Fulton, trading spokesman for Sporting Index, said: "Transfer fees have been spiraling out of control for a while now, but Neymar's move to PSG will blow the rest out of the water."

While Unai Emery will be delighted to get his man for £198m, he could have had a full starting XI packed with top talent for that outlay. I'm sure he won't mind spending that much, however, if Neymar can lead them to Champions League glory this season."
 
Managerial Sack Race (24th August 2017)

Leading spread betting firm Sporting Index predicts the first Premier League managerial casualty will be in 50 days, on Friday 13th October.

The first fortnight of the Premier League has produced a few surprising results to leave some managers under pressure, none more so than Newcastle United and Crystal Palace bosses Rafael Benitez and Frank de Boer. Both managers have yet to pick up a single point in the league and could be in for some Friday 13th bad luck if results don't start going their way.

The Magpies suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Tottenham and lost 1-0 at fellow promoted side Huddersfield, doing little to steady Newcastle's already-rocky ship and causing pundits to question the future of Benitez. To make matters worse, the Spaniard saw his underperforming side crash out of the EFL Cup last night to Championship side Nottingham Forest in extra time.

Crystal Palace boss Frank de Boer has recent first-hand experience of the fragility of the job after he was sacked as Inter Milan manager less than three months into the job. The Dutchman could be in for another early exit as his team chase their first goal and point in the Premier League this season.

Unlike Benitez, de Boer did manage to escape a shock cup exit to ease the pressure after the Eagles scraped past Ipswich Town with a 2-1 result on Tuesday, which may keep him safe for now.

In the last decade of the Premier League, only one manager was sacked before October, with Paolo Di Canio shown the Sunderland door in September 2013. The former Black Cats boss was the first of a record 11 Premier League managers to be given their marching orders in the 2013/2014 season.

However, Sporting Index predict that no one will follow in the footsteps of the Italian this year, with October viewed as the month of the first managerial change.

In total, 127 managers have been sacked over the Premier League's 25-year history, and with an average of five managers dismissed from their posts every season, this number is set to surpass the 130 mark this campaign.

Ed Fulton, trading spokesman for Sporting Index, said: "Football, as we know, can be a cut-throat business and even the best managers are only a couple of results away from getting the sack. We saw this with Jose Mourinho at Chelsea and Claudio Ranieri at Leicester, despite both winning the league months before being given their marching orders.

"With nothing to show for after two games, Rafael Benitez's magic looks to be wearing off and a terrible result in the cup has compounded his misery. Meanwhile, de Boer and the Eagles still have to face Manchester City and Manchester United in a pressure-filled September."

"While Premier League sackings have dipped over the last few years, it's rare that all managers are still in the dugout at the end of October, which is when the first sacking has come in the previous two seasons, and we think the trend will continue this year with a benchmark of another 50 days predicted until the first managerial casualty."