da pinnacle： None of us really like the international break. The long two weeks without top-level club football leaves everyone wondering why we even bother with the tedium of England squeaking past a supposedly far inferior side, or Spain annihilating another opponent.
da bet esporte： Premier League teams are largely decimated during these spells, with players flying off to all corners of the globe to play matches of various competitiveness at varying standards. In the footballing wasteland, there are managers holidaying, working and playing golf (probably). Said managers don’t have the trauma of long-haul flights, the pressure of a nation or any players to work with at their training ground.
For many, it is an opportunity to regroup. A brief time away from the intense flow of games provided by domestic football can often allow teams to stop a slump, as players return with the scars of previous failings faded.
Several Premier League managers are already at the point of crisis, and here are THREE clubs that need this break…
Stoke City
Mark Hughes earned a little extra credit with the Stoke fans thanks to a late equaliser against Manchester United, although the result does not paper over the cracks of another feeble defensive display that was only disguised by Lee Grant’s astonishing goalkeeping.
Stoke have started this season like they finished the last one, poorly. Three points from seven games leaves Hughes’ side in the relegation zone, with a softer run of fixtures approaching that should give the Potters the opportunity to kick-start their campaign. Whether new plans can be devised to avoid the same defensive lapses or some time for the squad to move on from their previous calamities will be enough remains to be seen, but the break has to give Stoke a new impetus, both offensively and defensively.
Sunderland
Sunderland are on course to replace their manager yet again, with David Moyes one of the favourites to face the sack. Another dire start to the season that has seen them notch only two points in their opening seven games leaves the Black Cats battling relegation already. Goals from Jermain Defoe are the saving grace for this current Sunderland side, while the defence looks short of the sort of organisation that was synonymous with Moyes’ Everton side.
Facing Stoke, West Ham and Southampton in their next three league games, the Wearsiders are teetering on the brink of a collapse. The Potters will be a definite challenge, while West Ham showed flickers of turning their season around last time out. This will all be made markedly more difficult without Jan Kirchhoff, who was such a key element in Sunderland’s late season improvement in 2015/16.
With Arsenal following their clash with Southampton, Moyes is in desperate need of a win in his next three.
Middlesbrough
After going unbeaten in their first three league games, Aitor Karanka’s side have claimed only one point from their last four. That solitary point was, albeit in an improved performance, won against West Ham when they were only denied victory by a piece of Dimitri Payet brilliance.
Only one clean sheet this season might not be a concern at this point, but, combined with the fact Boro have only scored more than one goal on one occasion, it is. An inability to shut the opponent out can be accounted for if the side are scoring regularly, yet the current Middlesbrough side is caught between two philosophies.
The creative, talented front four that has been favoured by Karanka has suffered from a shortage of pace at times, despite the technical ability they possess.
With Watford and Bournemouth in their next four fixtures, Karanka needs at least one victory. The other two upcoming games are against Arsenal and Manchester City, where it could easily become a case of damage limitation.