Watchdog bans Paddy Power ‘anti-loyalty’ ad starring Ryan Giggs’s brother May 8, 2019 The advertising watchdog has banned a Paddy Power advert starring the brother of former Manchester United footballer Ryan Giggs over complaints it glamourised gambling. The TV campaign, which promoted the betting firm’s rewards scheme, featured Rhodri Giggs in a pub and later driving a sports car. Read more: Vodafone broadband advert banned by watchdog for [...]
Trevor Steven: Premier League title rivals Manchester City and Liverpool united by outstanding coaches and refusal to give in May 7, 2019 However the Premier League concludes on Sunday, I don’t think the competition has ever seen two better teams than Manchester City and Liverpool. Both are a credit to the division and could easily be champions in any other season. And thank goodness for Liverpool for hanging in there and keeping pace with City until the [...]
Tottenham and Ajax’s Champions League success serves as a reminder that there is more to football than money April 29, 2019 It is the semi-final that no one saw coming. Two teams with limited financial resources who were supposed to struggle to make it out of their Champions League group. Instead, Tottenham and Ajax have claimed some of Europe's biggest scalps on their path to a final-four clash that will see two of the competition's surprise [...]
Premier League given profit warning as rising wage bills eat into margins despite record revenue April 25, 2019 The Premier League may be experiencing a vintage season on the pitch, with a title race for the ages, most key positions in the table still undecided and English clubs dominating in Europe once more. But off the field the picture appears to be taking a turn for the worse, with top-flight teams’ most recent [...]
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 [...]
Trevor Steven: Tottenham stadium move timing seems strange when they should be focusing on top four race April 2, 2019 Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has born the brunt of the criticism for a loss at Liverpool on Sunday that leaves them fighting to stay in the Premier League’s top four, but I believe their problems lie elsewhere. Two stats tell the tale of Spurs’ season. First, they are in double figures for defeats, which is [...]
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 [...]
Improving Arsenal aiming to repeat finest hour of Unai Emery’s reign against stuttering Tottenham February 28, 2019 This was more like it. After a sticky opening double header, Unai Emery had crowned a 19-game unbeaten run with a watershed 4-2 triumph over Tottenham that suggested not only a challenge to Spurs’ new-found superiority in north London but also a successful transition to the post-Wenger era at Arsenal. It wasn’t just the result, [...]
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 [...]
Trevor Steven: Gonzalo Higuain can save Chelsea’s top four hopes, Ivan Perisic is the boost Arsenal need and Tottenham’s inactivity is mystifying January 29, 2019 Smart signings are possible in the January transfer window, such as Tottenham’s purchase of Dele Alli from MK Dons in 2015 and Leicester’s recruitment of Riyad Mahrez from Le Havre in 2014, but they don’t tend to be big names. Chelsea’s loan deal for Gonzalo Higuain is one of the few; it’s rare to get [...]