Chelsea v Liverpool to mark return of safe-standing in the top flight November 8, 2021 Chelsea FC will host the first safe-standing football match in the top flight for nearly three decades. The London club will play Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on January 2 with thousands of fans able to stand up throughout the game. The Blues’ application to be part of a safe-standing trial has been approved by sports [...]
West Ham in wonderland and Alisson in blunderland as Hammers stun Liverpool November 7, 2021 Almost two years into his second coming at West Ham United, David Moyes has never had it so good. This afternoon they ended Liverpool’s 25-match unbeaten run with a 3-2 victory that lifted them above the Reds into third place. No wonder Moyes was beaming amid the bubbles at full-time. What’s equally impressive is the [...]
Mikael Silvestre interview: Cut-throat Solskjaer’s neck shouldn’t be on the line November 4, 2021 Under-fire Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job should not be on the line in Saturday’s derby against Manchester City, says former Old Trafford team-mate Mikael Silvestre. Criticism of Solskjaer reached fever pitch after last month’s 5-0 humiliation at rivals Liverpool, and subsequent results – a win over struggling Tottenham Hotspur and the last-gasp draw [...]
The impossible job? Upgrading manager proving no easy task for Newcastle owners November 3, 2021 Twenty-eight days on from the club’s takeover, Newcastle United are still to make the managerial upgrade that was widely anticipated. Steve Bruce was put out of his misery two weeks ago, yet the club’s new majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have not yet settled on a successor. The wait illustrates the scale of [...]
Cherries on top: Bournemouth and Scott Parker the perfect match November 3, 2021 Tonight on the south coast, AFC Bournemouth will be looking to continue a start to the Championship season that has gone from impressive to record-breaking. Heading into their match against struggling Preston North End, the Cherries have amassed 37 points from their opening 15 games, with a positive goal difference of 18. That’s the best [...]
Editorial: Sports fiascos remind City of importance of governance November 2, 2021 The world of sport has always been something of a wild west when it comes to corporate governance. The propensity to hire ex-players to sit on governing committees doesn’t help, as if the ability to play with head over elbow when batting out the day or pick-and-go from the back of the scrum will somehow [...]
Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini charged with fraud over £1.35m payment November 2, 2021 Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, the former presidents of Fifa and Uefa, are facing trial after being charged with fraud by Swiss prosecutors. The charges relate to a payment of 2m Swiss francs (£1.35m) made by Fifa to Platini in 2011, when Blatter ran football’s world governing body. Blatter, who was forced out of Fifa [...]
Tottenham Hotspur ambition excites me, says new manager Antonio Conte November 2, 2021 Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the appointment of Antonio Conte as their new manager. Former Chelsea boss Conte, who replaces the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo, has signed an initial 18-month contract. “I am extremely happy to return to coaching, and to do so at a Premier League club that has the ambition to be a protagonist [...]
Smart shin guards: the latest weapon in football’s wearable tech arms race November 2, 2021 Football is no stranger to wearables, as evidenced by the ubiquity of GPS vests, but it is about to get a new weapon in the technology arms race: smart shin guards. Italian sports tech and analytics company Soccerment will today launch their pioneering protective gear, which captures data on every run, pass, shot and change [...]
Antonio Conte is a gamble Tottenham Hotspur can’t afford not to take November 1, 2021 “It’s time to stop being so crap,” was Tottenham Hotspur manager-in-waiting Antonio Conte’s rallying cry to the Juventus squad he inherited, according to his former player Andrea Pirlo. A similar sentiment would not be inappropriate at Spurs if, as expected, Conte is named the successor to Nuno Espirito Santo, who was fired after just four [...]