Arsenal 3-1 Leicester: Five things we learned as Ozil and Aubameyang lead Gunners to 10th straight win October 22, 2018 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang came off the bench to score twice in five minutes against Leicester and earn Arsenal a 10th straight win for the first time in 11 years. After an even first half, Unai Emery’s substitutions helped the free-flowing Gunners hit their stride and make up for their still error-prone back line. Read more: Five things [...]
Five things we learned from the Premier League this weekend: Hodgson too cautious, Lamela back in business, United need to be unshackled and more October 21, 2018 Crystal Palace have many problems but leaving scoring goals, over-relying on Wilfried Zaha and not converting penalties aside, Roy Hodgson’s reluctance to make changes hurt them in the 2-0 defeat by Everton. Luka Milivojevic’s lazy central spot-kick left Palace flailing, but had Hodgson followed Marco Silva’s lead and switched systems who knows what might have [...]
“There are no longer pointless matches” – Gibraltar’s first competitive wins demonstrate the objective of Uefa’s Nations League October 18, 2018 Bored of the international break? Not drawn in by the Nations League? Counting down the hours until the Premier League resumes on Saturday? England’s exciting 3-2 win over Spain may have brought around some people, but there are plenty who view Uefa’s idea to brighten up international football as an unwanted distraction from more important [...]
Wembley Stadium sale called off as billionaire bidder backs out of £600m deal October 17, 2018 American billionaire Shahid Khan has withdrawn his £600m offer for Wembley Stadium, saying the bid does not have enough support within the Football Association. Khan, who owns Premier-League side Fulham and American football team Jacksonville Jaguars, said he believes the FA would not vote to accept his offer. Read more: Trevor Steven: England win in Spain [...]
UAE T20x: Icon player Kumar Sangakkara and chief executive Salman Butt on Twenty20’s latest league October 16, 2018 You might think that Twenty20 cricket has reached its saturation point. Since its advent in 2003, the game’s shortest format has gone from strength to strength, culminating in a point now where it dominates agendas both domestically and internationally. Its success has seen tournaments spring up all over the globe in an attempt to catch [...]
Trevor Steven: England’s win in Spain was better than 5-1 in Germany or anything at the 2018 World Cup October 16, 2018 It’s difficult to recall a game in which England have played better than they did in Monday’s hugely encouraging 3-2 defeat of Spain in the Nations League. The 5-1 win over Germany in Munich back in 2001 is one that springs to mind, but that England team was much more experienced than the one that [...]
Can elite-level footballers like Thierry Henry and Steven Gerrard dominate the managerial landscape again? October 15, 2018 When Kevin Keegan signed for Liverpool from Fourth Division side Scunthorpe in May 1971, he reportedly agreed a contract worth £45 per week. Inflation-adjusted, one of the brightest prospects in English football accepted a salary of little more than £30,000 a year to play for a top-level club, an offer comparable to a mid-ranking human [...]
Danny Welbeck a golden oldie among England’s young lions October 11, 2018 Gareth Southgate's calling up of precociously talented young guns Mason Mount, Jadon Sancho and James Maddison dominated the headlines when the England manager last week named his squad for upcoming Nations League games against Croatia and Spain. Their addition to an already youthful party is partly a consequence of injuries to World Cup picks such [...]
NFL in London: Are October’s matches the final hurdle in bringing a franchise to the capital? October 10, 2018 When the NFL returns to London on Sunday for the first instalment of a Wembley triple bill over consecutive weekends, it will represent more than just a battle for supremacy between the Seattle Seahawks and the Oakland Raiders. It will also mark the final stage of the NFL’s attempts to gauge the feasibility of a [...]
Pretenders Liverpool miss chance to put pressure on champions Manchester City October 7, 2018 On an afternoon of few chances at Anfield, Riyad Mahrez was guilty of the most conspicuous miss, blazing a late penalty high into the stands when a winning goal and all three points beckoned for Manchester City. But in a few months’ time, when the battle for Premier League supremacy between two of the three [...]