Chelsea 1-1 Leicester: Blues will need to show patience with Lampard ironing out his team’s kinks August 18, 2019 It was always going to take time for the Frank Lampard era to get going and, on this evidence, all parties will need to show the patience promised to the new Chelsea manager. Much like in their first two games of the season, Chelsea showed promise, offered excitement and displayed evidence of taking on board [...]
Clear and obvious cases of misplaced outrage as VAR and new handball rule deny Manchester City against Tottenham August 18, 2019 Another weekend of Premier League football, another batch of outrage at the correct implementation of new rules. This time at Manchester City, where Gabriel Jesus’s stoppage-time would-be winner was disallowed after consultation with the video assistant referee. Jesus’s strike was chalked off because it hit City defender Aymeric Laporte’s arm on its way to the [...]
Ollie Phillips: England’s World Cup hopefuls face baptism of fire in Cardiff against Wales August 15, 2019 Eddie Jones is keen to have a good look at new recruits in the warm-ups ahead of the World Cup, and after missing out last weekend through injury, what a baptism of fire it will be for Ruaridh McConnochie in Cardiff on Saturday. Barring glaring omissions in Danny Cipriani and Alex Goode, Jones has committed [...]
Batting failures once again define England’s performance in second Ashes Test at Lord’s August 15, 2019 We don’t yet know the exact nature of the position England find themselves in after the first day’s play at Lord’s against Australia – being Test cricket it could be anywhere from disastrous to advantageous on the sliding scale – but what we can be certain of is that the same frailties were evident. England lost [...]
Once Upon A time In Hollywood review: Another classic from Quentin Tarantino August 15, 2019 Even in a summer dominated by Disney, the 9th film from Quentin Tarantino demands attention. The promise of the Pulp Fiction director’s take on The Manson Family has resulted in the biggest opening weekend ever for a Tarantino film, giving a small flicker of hope to anyone who sees a cinematic future beyond remakes and [...]
Brainiac Live review: Anarchic science stunts for kids who are really into loud noises August 15, 2019 Sky One’s Brainiac television show feels like it aired approximately one hundred years ago, in the foreign land that is the years 2003 to 2008. Fronted by Top Gear man Richard Hammond, and then later by the excellent Vic Reeves, it was a vehicle for pop-science tomfoolery and explosive hijinkery which deftly walked the intellectual [...]
Adrian the hero but Pulisic and Firmino impress in Liverpool’s Super Cup victory over Chelsea on penalties August 14, 2019 Adrian played just five times for West Ham last season – all cup games, the last of which was a miserable FA Cup defeat against AFC Wimbledon in January. Over the summer he was without a contract, training alone. Fast-forward to just his second game for Liverpool, and his first start for his new club [...]
English footballers are back in vogue in the Premier League: Why a no-deal Brexit means it is a sign of things to come August 14, 2019 “That is a conundrum that we have to solve,” said Gareth Southgate in December last year, addressing the increasingly marginal status of English footballers in the Premier League. The England manager was speaking after the number of native players hit an all-time low, with just 54 of the 220 who had been named in starting [...]
Evita at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre review: A gripping, modern revision of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s classic August 14, 2019 The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is ending this summer’s season with a bang – quite literally. Within five minutes of this new production of Evita – the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical about the rags-to-riches story of Argentina’s 1940s first lady – the audience is jolted by fireworks, towers of flames and football-match-style flares. It [...]
Chris Tremlett: England need classic Lord’s conditions to level the Ashes against confident Australia August 13, 2019 Spring-like weather has hit London over the last few days and, with the second Ashes Test starting tomorrow morning at Lord’s, England will be hoping April showers don’t ruin their chances of levelling the series. Having been beaten by Australia at Edgbaston, England really need the conditions to be on their side over the next [...]