Valencia v Chelsea preview: Frank Lampard’s side have come a long way since their opening Champions League defeat November 26, 2019 Chelsea were in a very different place last time they took on Valencia. The Blues were just six competitive games into Frank Lampard’s tenure as manager when they kicked off their Champions League campaign against the Spanish side on 17 September. After an exciting but inconsistent start to the season, Chelsea ran into frustration at [...]
New Zealand thrashing shows England’s age-old problems are holding back their desired old-school approach November 25, 2019 This match was supposed to mark the beginning of a new era for England. It proved to be more of the same. Before the first Test against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui, new head coach Chris Silverwood spoke a good game. An old-school mentality was trumpeted. Finding “the method of batting for a long time” [...]
Race To Dubai winner Jon Rahm gets better each year – his first Major is a matter of when not if November 25, 2019 Many a man would have buckled in the situation Jon Rahm found himself on Sunday afternoon at the European Tour’s season finale, the DP World Tour Championship. Chasing a victory that would also earn him the Race To Dubai title and a combined windfall of £4m, the Spaniard made the perfect start, holing five birdies [...]
Sheffield United 3-3 Manchester United: Youthful exuberance and tactical naivety cancel each other out for Solskjaer November 24, 2019 At the end of a Premier League weekend which was defined by damaging results for under-pressure managers, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went through the wringer in an unpredictable, see-sawing classic at Bramall Lane today. The Manchester United manager veered from joining the pending P45 crew of Marco Silva, Unai Emery and Manuel Pellegrini at 2-0 down, [...]
Manchester City stay in the title race – just – and wait for Liverpool’s luck to run out November 24, 2019 When the final whistle sounded on Saturday evening, bringing to a close almost two hours of breathless and unpredictable football in the teeming Manchester rain, Pep Guardiola could afford himself a sigh of relief. Despite seeing Raheem Sterling’s late goal ruled out for offside in controversial circumstances, Guardiola’s Manchester City had done enough – just [...]
Who needs Andy Murray? Davis Cup run offers Great Britain cause for optimism November 24, 2019 If there was trepidation or at least uncertainty in the Great Britain camp on the eve of the Davis Cup last week then it would have been no surprise, given recent developments. A drastic overhaul of the 119-year-old tournament had prompted concerns for the future of the event, while results this season offered little hope [...]
David Pipe: This has always been the plan for Umbrigado November 22, 2019 IT WAS great to saddle two winners at last weekend’s November meeting at Cheltenham. DUC DE BEAUCHENE got the job done nicely in the opener on Sunday and it was particularly special to send out a winner for JP McManus who has been such a fantastic supporter of our yard over the years. As for [...]
Exeter Chiefs are underdogs no longer – they must step up and end their European hoodoo in the Champions Cup November 21, 2019 This season is a big one for Exeter Chiefs. They are no longer an up-and-coming side who can rely on their underdog status to temper ambition. Saracens’ 35-point deduction in the Premiership means they are hindered both domestically and in the Champions Cup and Exeter really should be the team to benefit. Understandably, the Chiefs [...]
Why the Jose Mourinho appointment plays into the hands of Daniel Levy and Amazon documentary All Or Nothing: Tottenham Hotspur November 21, 2019 This week’s abrupt sacking of Mauricio Pochettino and rapid arrival of Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur were not met by universal acclaim from the club’s fans, but there was one party who would have been delighted by the managerial movements in north London. Amazon’s decision to commission a documentary series on Tottenham’s 2019-20 season for [...]
Hiring Jose Mourinho is a roll of the dice, but Daniel Levy must’ve felt keeping Mauricio Pochettino was the bigger gamble November 20, 2019 Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy doesn’t strike me as a gambler but his decision to sack the manager who took the club to a Champions League final and replace him with Jose Mourinho is a roll of the dice. On the face of it, Mauricio Pochettino’s departure is a surprise. While being 14th in the Premier [...]