Ahead of every weekend this season, I will answer questions from Sportsnet.ca readers on a variety of topics on the Premier League. If you’d like to ask me a question, hit me up on Twitter at @jamessharman, and be sure to use the hashtag #SNAskSharman.
Let’s dive into this week’s mailbag…
From @agnelli1897j: How big of a blow is the death of Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha to the club? What was his influence?
Sharman: On Saturday’s Sportsnet broadcast we will be reading out the statement that Kasper Schmeichel released last weekend – it is a wonderful eulogy and takes us inside the club. It appears that under Srivaddhanaprabha’s leadership, Leicester City was one big family.
So often we see foreign ownership have a detrimental effect on a club by not doing their due diligence, and not respecting or researching the culture around the team, but Srivaddhanaprabha was different. When he took over in 2010, Leicester was a mess, and on the brink. The Thai businessman came in and paid off all debts, and then listened to the fan base. He was ambitious, publicly stating at one point Leicester would be in the Champions League within five years. Everyone laughed. Leicester then won the Premier League, and played Champions League football.
It appears he was a true father figure, someone the players talked to and trusted, and how rare that is in modern sport? Thankfully this was a family business, and he appears to have groomed his son to continue and build on his legacy.
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From @mlward54: Shouldn’t somebody have done something to prevent Tottenham and Manchester City from even stepping on the field a day after the NFL played at Wembley? I know Spurs are in a bind because of their stadium delay, but there had to have been a better option?
Sharman: Yeah, it was a disgrace, and hardly befitting the richest league in the world. Unfortunately games likes these are the collateral damage from Tottenham’s stadium delay. Now, if this was cricket there could be points docked due to a poor pitch, but as far as I know that cannot happen in the Premier League. Having said that, Eric Lamela will argue that if not for the ball bobbling on him late in the match against Man City, he would have won a point for his club. So, perhaps Spurs have lost points because of the state of the pitch.
Mauricio Pochettino’s comments before the match were alarming too – he said that despite this being the best start to a season for Spurs, he has never felt worse. He didn’t explain why, but are the stadium delays a reason? Is the lack of transfer activity (which can be linked to the new stadium) a reason? Perhaps the Wembley pitch is a metaphor for what is happening behind the scenes at Tottenham.
From @fulhamfan2001: What do you make of how well Jadon Sancho is doing at Borussia Dortmund? Should other young English players who don’t get playing time in the Premier League consider moving abroad?
Sharman: For generations, English players refused to try their luck overseas. They were such home-bodies that players such as Gary Lineker, Chris Waddle and Paul Ince were few and far between. The difference between them and Sancho, however, is that they were established players when they made the switch. To do it at such a young age has been rare, but what an opportunity it has been for Sancho. It should be remembered that Sancho was a top prospect at Manchester City, but like so many young domestic players at top English clubs, he could not be guaranteed a first team squad place.
Weeks after moving to Germany, he became a starter for one of the Bundesliga’s top sides. In fairness to City, I am sure they would admit privately that they misjudged the situation with Sancho. I believe young English players should absolutely consider moving abroad gain playing time, not to mention the life experience.
From @CatenaccioNA: Where do you rank Maurizio Sarri among Italian trainers such as Roberto Mancini, Claudio Ranieri?
Sharman: It’s still early, but how can you not be impressed with Sarri? He has brought the exact same methodology he had at Napoli, and implemented it at Chelsea with aplomb. Given the off-season turmoil, and how poor last season was for the Blues, Sarri has to be in consideration for manager of the season so far in the Premier League.
Now, the other Italian managers you mentioned were Premier League champions, so we’ll need a much bigger sample size to judge. However, Sarri has brought a brand new philosophy to English football that perhaps Mancini and Ranieri did not. Conte certainly did, and it worked with the same Chelsea team for over a year, so time will tell if Sarri can keep this up longer than Conte did.
Over the next few months it will be fascinating to see if he can rebuild Alvaro Morata, or continue to re-design Eden Hazard as a centre forward, while continuing to re-shape N’Golo Kante into a forward thinking midfielder, or will he just change formations instead? So many questions with Chelsea, but so far I am a huge fan of “Sarri ball.”
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