We had a great time in the last month of winter.
IN Premier League determined the list of contenders for February’s best coach award. Above – Fulham mentor, never ceases to amaze, top 3 helmsman Manchester United and the Tottenham manager who is back in the area Champions League. We tell you what arguments each of them has in favor of winning the nomination.
Antonio Conte
At one point, Tottenham swam and fell to 5-6th place, then it seemed that the Londoners would miss the opportunity to fight for the top three and, at best, would claim the periphery of the Champions League zone. But all this remained in January (3 defeats in 5 league games in one month).
Apparently, the Italian coach still found a way to cheer up the team, because in February the picture changed. It all started with a sensational victory over Manchester City a couple of weeks after a serious defeat against the “citizens” (2:4). 1:4 from Leicester smeared the impressions, but the next 6 points in the matches with West Ham and Chelsea allowed the Londoners to add the February segment of the calendar to their assets and get into the zone Champions Leaguebeat Newcastle.
Now Tottenham are 4 points clear of the Quaranta and sit 4th in the league – of course there is a clause in the form of 2 spare games for Newcastle, but that doesn’t stop Conte from claiming the prize for the coach of the month.
Marco Silva
Fulham have been a phenomenon throughout this season. Already after the sensational draw with Liverpool it became clear that the summer residents were not going to whip the guys. In February, this feeling strengthened.
The London team took advantage of Chelsea’s weakness and drew, scored points with Nottingham (2:0) and Wolverhampton (1:1). Still, the most important result in this segment is the victory over Brighton (1:0). For a long time, the teams maintained a stubborn struggle, the difference in points did not exceed 3-4 points, and according to the results of the direct confrontation, Fulham took the lead. Now the Londoners are 4 points ahead of the Seagulls and the gap from the top 5 is only 2 points.
Under certain circumstances, we could even see Fulham in European competition next season. League Cup won Manchester United (3rd place No Premier League according to the results of 25 rounds) – if the Mancunians remain in the Champions Cup zone at the end of the season, the team from the 6th line will also be able to qualify there. If a team from the top 5 becomes the owner of the Cup of the country, then 7th place will be enough for summer residents. However, they themselves continue to fight for the FA Cup.
Marco Silva’s team fully meets the needs of the coach and embodies his ideas, although the club almost did not invest in strengthening (by the standards Premier League 70 million euros is not enough). A team with a modest selection of performers bravely comes under pressure and scores more than the wealthy Newcastle – isn’t this an indicator of Silva’s success as a manager?
Eric ten Hag
Manchester United are in excellent form under The Hague: the Dutch manager manages to infuse his style into the team and at the same time find compromises when the players cannot meet his needs. The Red Devils are doing a great job of masking their problems and are once again in contention for medals in the Premier League.
The only failure in the new year so far remains the match with Arsenal – at the end of January, the Gunners achieved a strong-willed victory in a goal match. And even in a duel with the leader of the national championship, United maintained parity on the scoreboard until the 90th minute.
There was not a single defeat in February: 2:1 against Crystal Palace, 2:2 and 2:0 against Leeds and a sure victory over Leicester (3:0).
Maintaining the set pace, the Red Devils still caught up with Newcastle, who for some time maintained their position in the top 3. Now Manchester United chasing Man City and Arsenal with 1 game in hand. Under those circumstances, the 6-point delay doesn’t seem so terrible – you just have to win the rescheduled fight.
Klopp is missing
Determine the best coach in Premier League according to the results of February, it is hardly worth evaluating the achievements of the team in order to go beyond the limits of the championship of England. Liverpool fell to Real Madrid in the round of 16 Champions LeagueJanuary has been extremely uncertain and the entire current season is going wrong.
But specifically in four meetings in February, the Merseysiders have lost only once – to Wolverhampton in the 22nd round (0:3). After that, Jurgen Klopp’s wards ended with Everton (2:0), Newcastle (2:0) and shared points with Crystal Palace (0:0).
This is an important result on the way to the goal that Jurgen Klopp has set for the team:
Sure, we want to be in the top 4 and qualify for the Champions League next season, which is a challenge, but that’s the goal in every season. But the most important thing we strive for is winning football matches by pleasing the fans who come to our home arena or follow us wherever we go. We want them to come to the stadium excited and go home with something to celebrate and be happy about. So these reasons are enough for almost everything.
After repeated attempts to storm the top 5, the Reds are close to success – now the team is 2 points behind Newcastle. Of course, for the first Liverpool such a result cannot be called a success, but by today’s standards this is the optimal task.
