Delphlyx: The start-up offering football bosses data analytics for dummies October 8, 2021 From Harvard graduates building bespoke programmes for Liverpool to the video analysis tools now available even to Sunday league coaches, 21st century football is awash with data. But what might have been overlooked is that some are drowning in it; while today’s club analysts and scouts may be data-literate, their older superiors frequently are not. [...]
Confirmed: Saudi Arabia-led £300m takeover of Newcastle United completed October 7, 2021 Newcastle United have confirmed that a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has completed its takeover of the football club. The deal, which sees retail mogul Mike Ashley exit the club after 14 years as owner, is reported to be worth around £300m. The new owners said: “An investment group led by the [...]
Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle United is about far more than football October 7, 2021 After years of speculation, prevarication and consternation, Saudi Arabia has at last sealed the purchase of a Premier League football club, something it has long coveted. With a deal for Newcastle United finally set to be announced, one of the most tumultuous episodes in English football history is apparently drawing to a close. Rumours have [...]
Premier League footballer arrested after alleged attack on woman in Brighton October 7, 2021 Police in Sussex said late last night that a Brighton and Hove Albion footballer has been arrested on suspicion of sexual assault after a woman was allegedly attacked in a Sussex town. Sussex Police said a man in his 40s and a man in his 20s were arrested following the alleged incident at a Brighton [...]
Crystal Palace owner Josh Harris tips Premier League rights to rise in value October 6, 2021 Crystal Palace co-owner Josh Harris has predicted that Premier League media rights will continue to rise in value, defying forecasts that football’s bubble may be about to burst. The league’s domestic broadcast revenues appear to have plateaued for now and the global sports rights market has cooled, in part as a result of the pandemic. [...]
Saudi Arabia’s £300m Newcastle United takeover revived by truce with beIN October 6, 2021 Saudi Arabia has signalled the end of its long-running stand-off with Qatari broadcaster beIN, in a move that could revive its £300m takeover of Newcastle United. The U-turn would involve unblocking beIN’s channels in Saudi Arabia, cracking down on any pirating of the network’s output and settling a $1bn lawsuit, sources close to the talks [...]
The hangover: Why aren’t England’s stars of Euro 2020 shining this season? October 5, 2021 It is less than three months since England, propelled by the goals of Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane and fortified by the defending of John Stones, got to within touching distance of victory at Euro 2020. For those players in particular, it must feel like far longer. Each of that trio, firmly established as key [...]
Liverpool 2, Manchester City 2: Neutrals win stalemate between clinical Reds and blunt Blues October 3, 2021 As they caught their breath following this whirlwind contest at the top of the Premier League, Manchester City supporters could be forgiven for feeling conflicted. Glass-half-full Blues will point to the fact that they twice came from behind at Liverpool, where they have won just three times in 49 league games. Pessimistic City fans, on [...]
Why Spain’s LaLiga believes Uefa and other leagues should follow its lead October 1, 2021 Spain has a long and rich tradition of shaping how football is played. It has given us the great Real Madrid sides of the 1950s; Pep Guardiola and his all-conquering Barcelona; the national team who swept all major men’s international tournaments from 2008 to 2012; tiki-taka. Britain may be the birthplace of the game but [...]
Leicester City and JD Sports probed by watchdog over merchandise September 30, 2021 The Premier League’s Leicester City and retailer JD Sports are being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over suspected anti-competitive behaviour relating to merchandise. The watchdog said in its case that it has “reasonable grounds to suspect one or more breaches of competition law” and that the CMA “has not yet reached a [...]