Relegation-haunted Swansea on hunt for new manager after sacking Paul Clement December 20, 2017 Relegation-threatened Swansea City are on the hunt for a new manager following the sacking of Paul Clement after less than a year in charge. Clement was nominated for Premier League manager of the year last season after guiding Swansea to safety having taken over in January with the Welsh outfit firmly in the relegation mire. [...]
Could a robot replace Jose Mourinho? The growing presence of artificial intelligence and machine learning in football December 19, 2017 If you pay attention to the countless academic studies devoted to the subject or the dire prophecies from Elon Musk or Stephen Hawking, an artificial intelligence (AI) age is rapidly approaching that promises to make most of our jobs redundant. A McKinsey and Company report published earlier this year estimated that more than half of [...]
Roy Hodgson: TV rescheduling over Christmas will take its toll on Crystal Palace squad December 14, 2017 Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson has bemoaned “harsh” fixture re-scheduling for TV that requires his side to play three Premier League games in six days over the Christmas period. The Eagles host Arsenal on Thursday 28 November, two days after most clubs play on Boxing Day, in an 8pm kick-off on Sky Sports. Hodgson’s men [...]
Manchester City obliterate struggling Swansea to maintain their 11-point cushion at Premier League summit December 13, 2017 Runaway leaders Manchester City maintained their 11-point lead at the Premier League summit after chalking up a regulation 4-0 thrashing of bottom of the table Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. City made light work of the struggling Swans as David Silva continued his rich vein of goalscoring form with a double strike – the 31-year-old [...]
Newcastle nearing takeover after positive talks between Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley December 13, 2017 Newcastle are nearing a takeover by financier Amanda Staveley and her investment firm PCP Capital Partners after receiving a £300m offer for the Premier League club. Controversial owner Mike Ashley, keen to sell the club, held talks with Staveley at a London curry house last week that are believed to have reached an amicable conclusion [...]
Huddersfield Town 1, Chelsea 3: Antonio Conte heaps praise on oft-criticised midfielder Tiemoue Bakayoko as Blues cruise December 12, 2017 Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte heaped praise on Tiemoue Bakayoko after the £40m midfielder went some way to silencing his critics as the Blues returned to winning ways at Huddersfield. Bakayoko, who was hauled off at half-time as Chelsea lost at West Ham on Saturday, opened the scoring, while further strikes from the impressive Willian [...]
Football Association chiefs to probe Old Trafford tunnel fracas December 11, 2017 Football chiefs have launched an investigation into the fracas in the Old Trafford tunnel which marred Sunday’s derby between Manchester United and runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City. City coach and former Arsenal skipper Mikel Arteta suffered a cut to the head and milk and water was thrown in the direction of United boss Jose [...]
Ostersunds’ English manager Graham Potter welcomes Arsenal Europa League tie December 11, 2017 The unheralded Englishman who has helped to transform Ostersunds from Swedish fourth division side to Europa League contenders has welcomed the prospect of a David and Goliath tie against Arsenal. The Gunners have been drawn against giant-killing Ostersunds in what is – on paper at least – one of the mismatches of the Europa League [...]
Cristiano Ronaldo wins fifth Ballon d’Or to equal Lionel Messi’s tally December 7, 2017 Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo toasted a year of extraordinary success with the Spanish club after he drew level with rival Lionel Messi by receiving a fifth Ballon d’Or. Ronaldo, 32, retained the award for the world’s best player after he beat Barcelona star Messi into second place in the poll of leading journalists organised by [...]
Champions League last 16: Who could Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City face in the next round? December 7, 2017 For the first time in history, there will be five teams from a single country in the last 16 of the Champions League after Premier League sides reversed years of underwhelming results by collectively booking their place in the knock-out rounds. Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham all progressed as winners of their group, [...]