West Ham win simply has to be the turning point for Everton and Marco Silva October 22, 2019 When you break it down, Everton’s weekend win over West Ham – ending a run of four Premier League defeats with victory over a team with similar ambitions – could prove absolutely massive. They mustn’t celebrate it too much, though. For the sake of their season and Marco Silva’s prospects of still being manager in [...]
Sheffield United 1-0 Arsenal: Five things we learned as Blades cut Emery and Gunners down to size October 21, 2019 That Arsenal come unstuck against opponents they would expect to beat, particularly away from home, should no longer be a surprise; it is as predictable as their pedestrian build-up play. Following this defeat at Sheffield United, they have taken just two points from their last four Premier League games – a sequence that has dragged [...]
French win can spark resurgence for Nicolas Colsaerts October 21, 2019 Until Sunday, Nicolas Colsaerts had not won anywhere for seven years, since beating Graeme McDowell to win the Volvo Match Play Championship in May 2012. A few months later the Belgian would make his Ryder Cup debut, holing eight birdies and an eagle in an amazing fourball in the week that Europe pulled off the [...]
Man Utd 1-1 Liverpool: Five things we learned as the leaders stumbled October 20, 2019 It would be a stretch to call this a slip for Liverpool, yet it was a stumble of sorts in their quest to become champions of England for the first time in 30 years. Instead of equalling Manchester City’s record of 18 consecutive Premier League wins, they had to battle back from Marcus Rashford’s opener [...]
Out of Order at Southbank Centre review: It’s hard to stay focused on this experimental, dialogue-free play October 18, 2019 If you’re going to see Out of Order, the latest project by experimental theatre company Forced Entertainment, you’ll need to leave your understanding of what constitutes a play at the door. There’s no dialogue – instead, you watch a group of six mime-clowns in tartan suits repeatedly trying to sit down at a table as [...]
The outsider: England coach Eddie Jones ready for Rugby World Cup showdown with homeland that divorced him October 17, 2019 There can be few matches that stir as many emotions for Eddie Jones as tomorrow’s. On Saturday in Oita, Jones will lead his adopted nation of England into a Rugby World Cup quarter-final against his native Australia, a tie being staged in his mother’s homeland, Japan. But the match is more than just a collision [...]
Goal drought dragging Manchester United towards relegation zone October 17, 2019 Manchester United welcome Liverpool to Old Trafford on Sunday already 15 points adrift of the Premier League leaders. If there was any lingering debate among United die-hards over a shift in power between England’s two most successful teams last season, that has surely been laid to rest this campaign. While European champions Liverpool look to [...]
The Hundred draft: How it will work, when it is happening and where to watch it October 16, 2019 English cricket is set to break new ground this weekend when a draft process takes place for The Hundred ahead of next summer’s much-anticipated start date. The look of the new eight-team, 100-ball competition, due to run from 7 July to 16 August 2020, has been gradually rolled out. Over recent months, the format, team [...]
‘I was suffering with OCD, which was horrific’: Former England scrum-half Kyran Bracken opens up over his mental health problems October 15, 2019 Kyran Bracken played professional rugby for 14 years. As a scrum-half he won 51 caps for England and was part of the famous World Cup-winning squad of 2003. That much is well documented. What wasn’t known, until now, was that he has struggled with mental health problems. But 13 years on from his retirement, Bracken [...]
Improving Ross Barkley should strive to be England’s Kevin De Bruyne October 15, 2019 Only two competitive fixtures stand between England and their opening Euro 2020 match at Wembley next summer, yet Gareth Southgate’s jigsaw is still missing a piece. The one glaring weakness is the midfield combination and, specifically, the lack of someone to take a hold of games when the chips are down. A midfield general, in [...]