Tottenham overtake Juventus and close in on Arsenal in Deloitte Football Money League January 23, 2019 Tottenham’s emergence as one of Europe’s growing powers is paying dividends off the field, with the club now placed among the top 10 richest football clubs in the world. Spurs overtook Italian giants Juventus to take 10th place in Deloitte’s Football Money League 2019, as revenue leapt to €428.3m (£379.4m) last season from €359.5m in [...]
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has chosen a dangerous time to gamble on his criticism provoking a positive reaction January 20, 2019 Conventional wisdom dictates that football managers shouldn’t criticise their players in public. Point out their flaws, tear strips off them and give them the hairdryer treatment behind closed doors, but in front of the cameras it’s generally regarded as counter-productive. Maurizio Sarri has never been one for convention, though. The Chelsea manager, who had a [...]
Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgley on Brexit, buildings and bonus backlashes January 16, 2019 Tony Pidgley is a staunch defender of his trade, as you would expect Britain’s best-known housebuilder to be. So it comes as something of a surprise when, asked about the huge row that hit his sector last year when fellow housing boss Jeff Fairburn took a £75m bonus, he does not come down on Fairburn’s [...]
Old friends become foes as Arsenal legends Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira face each other as managers for the first time January 15, 2019 They stood side by side for club and country over a decade ago, winning just about every trophy there was to be won, but on Wednesday evening, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira will put their playing pasts behind them as they go head to head as managers for the first time. The Arsenal and France [...]
Arsenal’s slump in form is making Unai Emery’s omission of Mesut Ozil harder to justify January 13, 2019 Nothing fortifies a manager’s decision-making like wins, and when you are on a long unbeaten run you can do much as you please. Change formations week to week? Sure. Leave it late to take the points? No problem; never in doubt. Freeze out the club’s top earner, indeed one of the best paid players in [...]
Weekend football talking points: Ralph Hasenhuttl makes Southampton mark; Tottenham super-subs; Leroy Sane shines in Benjamin Mendy’s absence; Rangers make Celtic sweat December 16, 2018 Southampton’s first home Premier League win since April, a harum-scarum 3-2 victory that ended Arsenal’s 22-game unbeaten run in all competitions, was a day to remember for new manager Ralph Hasenhuttl. The impact of the Austrian, known as a task-master who favours a high-intensity approach, was evident on Sunday as the Saints gave the Gunners [...]
Unai Emery enjoys his finest hour as Arsenal overpower Tottenham in pulsating derby December 2, 2018 If the jury has been out on Unai Emery’s ability to reverse Arsenal’s fall from the Premier League’s top four then this was the most compelling evidence yet that the Spaniard’s methods are working. His team’s deserved 4-2 win over Tottenham in Sunday’s pulsating north London derby was their first over another team from the [...]
Outgunned: Arsenal head into North London derby with dismal Big Six record and now Tottenham could cement their dominance November 29, 2018 Tottenham’s victory over Chelsea last weekend served as a timely reminder to the red half of north London of the challenge that awaits them when Spurs visit the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Long gone are the days of Tottenham being pushed aside by their neighbours from N5, or any of the Premier League’s top clubs. [...]
Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke has seen his biggest teams rejuvenated this season, hinting at a change in approach November 29, 2018 Stan Kroenke has had to become accustomed to criticism from supporters of his under-performing sports teams on either side of the Atlantic. For years, Kroenke’s outfits – among them Arsenal, NFL side the LA Rams and the NBA’s Denver Nuggets – have fallen short of competing for the top prizes, while the 71-year-old has shown [...]
Europa League: What Chelsea and Arsenal need to do to win their groups November 28, 2018 Chelsea and Arsenal may have already guaranteed their progress to the knockout rounds of the Europa League, but there is still something to play for in both of their fixtures on Thursday evening. What Chelsea need The Blues can clinch top spot in Group L and, in theory, an easier draw in the last 32 [...]