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 [...]
Harriet film review: Cynthia Erivo gives Tubman the biopic she deserves – no Julia Roberts required November 22, 2019 The story of Harriet Tubman has been waiting to be told for a long time. Shamefully the film has been in the works since the ‘90s, but, as its screenwriter and producer Gregory Allen Howard revealed in interviews this week, it didn’t get off the ground because executives thought the story of the 19th-century American [...]
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 [...]
Judy & Punch review: A traditional seaside puppet show turned #metoo revenge caper November 21, 2019 Punch & Judy, the Victorian puppet show about a child murderer turned serial domestic abuser who loves sausages, is an unlikely candidate for a gritty, live action remake. But this is 2019, all bets are off, and here we are. Set in the town of Seaside, which is nowhere near the sea, we find travelling [...]