Jadon Sancho can relieve England’s reliance on Raheem Sterling if given chance ahead of Marcus Rashford September 8, 2019 It sounds pernickety to demand more from a football team that has just won 4-0, taking their record in the current competition to: played three; won three; goals for: 14; goals against: one. But such is the nature of major tournament qualifying matches that England did not need to conjure an abundance of chances to [...]
Home affairs: All five British Isles teams can still reach Euro 2020 and lend tournament a distinctly British flavour September 5, 2019 For a tournament that is supposed to be pan-continental there is already a distinctly British flavour to next summer’s European Championship. Of 51 matches, 10 will be staged in London or Glasgow, with Wembley hosting both semi-finals and the final. But the Britishness could yet go up several notches, with all five British Isles teams [...]
The great Premier League giveaway: Why Sky Sports are handing over free highlights on YouTube September 4, 2019 Premier League football is an expensive commodity and to extract every ounce of its value broadcasters need to innovate. In February last year Sky Sports pledged £3.6bn to buy 128 live matches per season in the 2019-22 rights cycle. That might have worked out as a reduction from its previous deal – £4.2bn for 126 [...]
Are England and Jamie Vardy missing a trick or are they better off without each other? September 4, 2019 When Gareth Southgate reconvened his England squad this week ahead of the Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and Kosovo he did so without one notable absentee: Jamie Vardy. With two goals for Leicester against Bournemouth on Saturday, Vardy took his tally to 12 in his last 14 Premier League appearances and underlined his claim to [...]
Economic theory can offer a lesson to struggling football clubs September 4, 2019 The expulsion of Bury FC from the English Football League last week continues to generate a huge amount of sound and fury. Regardless of the apparently dodgy nature of some of Bury’s transactions, the simple fact is that the club overspent massively in order to gain promotion from League Two last season. The surge in [...]
Gareth Southgate has tactical decisions to make after picking young England squad September 2, 2019 It will come as no surprise to see that Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad contains some fresh and exciting faces and the emphasis firmly fixed on youth. During his tenure in charge of the Three Lions he has never shied away from selecting youngsters and in his latest squad a number of the country’s best [...]
Arsenal 2-2 Tottenham: Honours even as Eriksen shines in frenetic north London derby September 1, 2019 This was a result that both teams would probably have taken beforehand but truly satisfied no one – except perhaps the neutrals, who were treated to an early contender for most breathless, frenetic and combustible Premier League match of the season. Arsenal would have settled for a point and improvements in all departments on last [...]
Premier League talking points: Struggling Solskjaer, prolific Vardy and naive Chelsea September 1, 2019 “We have dominated the last three games and we know we are on the right track, we’re getting used to that way of playing,” said Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after his team’s 1-1 draw with Southampton on Saturday. The problem is that at a club like United you aren’t afforded much time to [...]
Kevin De Bruyne: Manchester City’s playmaker is back and assisting the champions towards a third successive title August 29, 2019 They don’t need any help, but Manchester City are enjoying a competitive advantage this season which they couldn’t always call upon in the last campaign. When you have the luxury of a squad packed full of some of the world’s best players one man shouldn’t make too much of a difference. But Kevin De Bruyne [...]
North London derby is a chance for Tottenham to forget their terrible form August 29, 2019 Last week ended in defeat for both Tottenham and Arsenal, placing perhaps more significance on this weekend’s north London derby than there would have otherwise been – if that was possible. Both sides endured their first loss of the season, although Arsenal’s came away to European champions Liverpool while Tottenham suffered a shock reverse at [...]