Tottenham’s right-back crisis to blame for defensive issues as they keep conceding from crosses October 21, 2019 Tottenham resume their Champions League campaign with Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night on the back of their worst run in recent memory. They have won just three of their 12 matches in all competitions this season and conceded 22 goals. The excitement of moving into their new stadium and reaching a first Champions League [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
What football can learn about the implementation of VAR from the Rugby World Cup October 15, 2019 Since the video assistant referee’s introduction to the Premier League this season, the technology seems to have caused as much controversy as it was intended to resolve. The current Rugby World Cup, which has shown the benefits of a sport accustomed to an additional match official overseeing a feed of the action, has only thrown [...]
Bulgaria 0-6 England: Racist abuse in Sofia proves Uefa’s protocols are not strong enough October 14, 2019 Tyrone Mings made his international debut tonight, a moment the 26-year-old must have dreamt of since childhood. But rather than remembering it for the proud occasion it should have been, Mings will instead reflect on a night on which he was subjected to racist abuse while simply doing his job. The Natsionalen Stadion Vasil Levski [...]
Player ratings: Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley shine for England in Bulgaria October 14, 2019 England thrashed Bulgaria 6-0 in Sofia tonight in a Euro 2020 qualifying match overshadowed by persistent racist abuse from the stands. Here is how the visitors rated on a dark night for European football. Jordan Pickford: 6 Saved what came his way, which was very little in an embarrassingly one-sided match. Some wayward kicking. Kieran [...]
England have a midfield quandary but the system needs fine-tuning, not dismantling October 13, 2019 Overreaction clings to international football, where the relative infrequency of fixtures lends absurd weight to every result. So it was inevitable that England’s flat performance and surprise defeat in Friday’s European Championship qualifying match against the Czech Republic prompted not only justifiable soul searching about the team’s level but also some wild calls to abandon [...]
European Championship revamp keeps football open to all October 13, 2019 Every time Indiana Jones takes a plane, his journey is illustrated by a red line moving gradually towards its destination, the aircraft pivoting now and again to refuel as it traverses continents. For those still recovering from trying to understand the Uefa Nations League, the Raiders of the Lost Ark motif helps explain what will [...]
Czech Republic v England: Mason Mount deserving of a first start ahead of Ross Barkley October 10, 2019 Tournament qualifiers hold a strange significance for England. On the one hand they are fully-fledged competitive internationals which need to be won in order to reach World Cups and European Championships. But on the other hand, England haven’t lost one in 43 instances – an unbeaten streak which dates back almost exactly 10 years, since [...]