Kevin De Bruyne shines as Manchester City beat Liverpool to the Community Shield at Wembley August 4, 2019 They say you can’t read too much into the Community Shield, especially when it’s won through the lottery of penalties, but Manchester City’s victory over Liverpool at Wembley still meant something. The two sides returned to action after battling it out last season, matching each other goal for goal and result for result, only for [...]
Salford set sights on League Two promotion as club stick with ambitious approach August 1, 2019 On a cold October’s night in 2013, just 65 people turned out to watch Salford City host Cammell Laird in the Evo-Stik League Division One North, the eighth tier of English football. It was the season before the club was taken over by a consortium that includes former Manchester United stars Gary and Phil Neville, [...]
The Community Shield has been called a glorified friendly but what is it worth to the winners? August 1, 2019 It has been 61 days since Liverpool lifted the European Cup in Madrid and this weekend the wait for club football to return will be over. August has arrived, the sun is shining and on Sunday we’re heading back to Wembley. It can only mean one thing: the Community Shield. The traditional curtain-raiser to a [...]
Brentford are getting Premier League ready behind the scenes as they prepare to bid farewell to Griffin Park August 1, 2019 The beginning of a new season is a special occasion for every football fan, but for those at Brentford, Saturday’s Championship fixture against Birmingham will hold extra significance. It will be the final time the Bees kick off their campaign at Griffin Park before moving on to pastures new – 0.5 miles up the road, [...]
QPR season preview: Youth is key as R’s rebuild from financial chaos July 30, 2019 Five years is a long time in football, particularly for Queens Park Rangers. And five years on from their last promotion to the Premier League, the club are still suffering from a failed shot at the big time during five manic seasons that saw them go up and down twice. QPR took the promotion gamble [...]
Millwall season preview: Lions sticking to their own path in bid to avoid costly Championship drop July 29, 2019 Millwall are playing a different game to the majority of their competitors in the Championship. Financially restricted and strategically conservative, the Lions are the antithesis of those former Premier League clubs spending big, desperate to make it back to the promised land. While others have shown little patience, chopping and changing managers, Millwall have stuck [...]
Championship favourites Fulham ‘cautiously optimistic’ of bouncing back to Premier League July 28, 2019 A year ago Fulham were about to embark on a keenly anticipated return to the Premier League with the full weight of billionaire owner Shahid Khan behind them. They had been promoted via the play-offs, but a 23-match unbeaten run, football that Pep Guardiola would have been proud of and an injection of cash for [...]
The Bowyer effect: Charlton boss has restored belief and can steer his side clear of the drop July 25, 2019 With the dawn of another season brings a renewed sense of optimism for many football fans, despite the tribulations they may have endured over the course of the preceding months and years. Down at The Valley things are no different. Charlton may have endured a turbulent time in the last half decade under unpopular owner [...]
Untapped potential: Why Premier League clubs are flocking to China for pre-season tours July 24, 2019 The Premier League may not kick off its new season for another fortnight but the fight for supremacy has already been raging elsewhere. On the pitch pre-season tours may be primarily about players building fitness and whetting the appetite of fans for the coming campaign but it is away from the pitch further benefits lie. [...]
Laurent Koscielny: a pre-season protest that threatens to worsen the leadership void at Arsenal July 15, 2019 Arsenal captain Laurent Koscielny’s attempt to force a move away from the club by refusing to travel on their pre-season tour of the US has been greeted with shock and deja-vu in equal measure. Shock that such an unapologetic show of petulance would come from Koscielny, who, in his nine years at the club, has [...]