Trevor Steven: Manchester City’s make-or-break week in their quadruple bid starts against Tottenham April 16, 2019 Last week I was lucky enough to visit Manchester City’s training facilities and witness how they are building not only success on the pitch but also a global brand. It was mind-blowing; they are so ahead of the game, I have never seen anything like it. Winning the quadruple would be the ultimate endorsement of [...]
Tottenham v Manchester City: Quadruple talk masks the fact that only Champions League glory will do for City April 8, 2019 Is it possible to enjoy resounding success, to set new standards of achievement not just for your club but for the very competitions in which they play and yet still leave a nagging sense of hopes unfulfilled? It’s a question Bayern Munich must have wrestled with in the last days of Pep Guardiola’s tenure as [...]
Five things we learned from the weekend football: Gutsy Watford rip up the script; Everton turning a corner; Arsenal wretched on road; Liverpool bust a gut while Man City cruise; Foxes have tails up April 7, 2019 On paper, this looked like the less appetising of the two FA Cup semi-finals. On paper, Watford looked like underdogs against a Wolves side who were in the ascendancy and possess star quality. But on Sunday at Wembley, Watford – and particularly Gerard Deulofeu – ripped up the script and dragged the Hornets from two [...]
Trevor Steven: It’s time for Mohamed Salah and Liverpool to show they are winners March 12, 2019 For a few minutes of Liverpool’s Premier League win over Burnley on Sunday I kept my eyes trained solely on Mohamed Salah. In that brief spell he must have lost the ball four or five times. In the previous game at Everton, Salah wasted a couple of one-one-one chances against Jordan Pickford in which he [...]
With nine games to go, the battle for the Premier League Golden Boot looks set to go down to the wire March 7, 2019 At the front of every great team there is a goalscorer, charged with converting the team's chances into goals and delivering moments of quality that can change the course of a game. While the battle for the Premier League crown looks set to go down to the wire, there is another race that is starting [...]
Puma claws Manchester City away from Nike to grow their consumer impression March 6, 2019 Premier League champions Manchester City have signed a long-term shirt sponsorship deal with German sportswear brand Puma, ending a 7-year agreement with Nike. The move will put a different logo on players’ chests but also affect loyal fans. Media reports suggest the deal could be worth up to £65m a year over 10 years. Puma [...]
Jurgen Klopp blames windy conditions after Liverpool blow chance to regain Premier League lead March 3, 2019 A prickly Jurgen Klopp preferred to focus on the blustery conditions inside Goodison Park after his team drew 0-0 with Everton on Sunday but there is no escaping the conclusion that the Premier League title that Liverpool so crave is slipping from their grasp. Having fuelled hope of a first top-flight crown since 1990 by [...]
Has Liverpool’s new-found solidity turned Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal football into pedestrian dad-rock? February 24, 2019 When Jurgen Klopp fine-tuned his Liverpool team in preparation for this season, he focused on making them more robust. Following the January 2018 signing of Virgil van Dijk, last summer saw the arrival at Anfield of an elite level goalkeeper in Alisson and an accomplished defensive midfielder in Fabinho. Until then devastating in attack but [...]
Our cup runneth over: Five reasons why the FA Cup has been a treat this season February 17, 2019 If unpredictability is at the heart of the FA Cup’s appeal then there is much to love about how this season’s competition is unfolding and the composition of the last eight. For the first time in five years – and only the second time in a decade – there will be just two teams from [...]
Never mind the Big Six, it’s all about the Premier League’s Big Three as Manchester City, Liverpool and Tottenham underline gulf in quality February 10, 2019 We all know about the Big Six, the Premier League’s half a dozen richest clubs who monopolise the top places in the table, effectively creating a two-tier division of haves and have-nots. It’s plain to see in the current rankings, with the biggest gap between positions anywhere in the top flight being the 12 points [...]