Trevor Steven: Leaving Maddison out of England World Cup squad would be mistake November 9, 2022 I’m hoping that James Maddison is among the 26 names when Gareth Southgate announces his England squad for the World Cup on Thursday. Maddison is at the peak of his powers and is, in my view, the country’s most in-form midfielder at the moment. The Leicester man has a rare ability to find pockets of [...]
Exclusive: Tougher Brexit transfer rules not helping English players in Premier League November 8, 2022 Brexit has drastically shrunk the pool of footballers available to English clubs without having any clear benefit to the prospects of homegrown talent in the Premier League. The findings are revealed in a major new study by football consultancy Analytics FC and law firm Fragomen shared with Morning Wire and due to be published this [...]
World Cup advert review: Pepsi beats Coke as brands grapple with Qatar controversy November 8, 2022 Steve Howell of creative agency Dark Horses picks the best and worst World Cup adverts ahead of the month’s tournament in Qatar. ‘Tis the season with a World Cup unceremoniously stuffed in the middle like the turkey in a Pret Christmas sandwich. The 12 years since Qatar were awarded the tournament have been full of [...]
Not Real Madrid again: Liverpool get Euro nemeses in Champions League last 16 November 7, 2022 Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has urged the club to embrace their Champions League last 16 tie with old foes Real Madrid, despite it representing one of the toughest draws. The Spanish giants beat Liverpool in last season’s final to become kings of Europe for a record-extending 14th time. They also denied Klopp’s men in the [...]
Liverpool FC up for sale: Fenway Sports Group hire bankers amid boom in valuations November 7, 2022 Liverpool FC’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, has hired bankers with a view to selling the Premier League football club. FSG has retained Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and produced a sales presentation for potential suitors. The American group, which also owns baseball’s Boston Red Sox, confirmed it was open to offers for a shareholding in [...]
Chelsea 0-1 Arsenal: Gunners restore grip on top spot in the Premier League November 6, 2022 The style may have evolved from the days of George Graham but the scoreline is familiar: 1-0 to the Arsenal is a regular sight once more and it’s giving rise to title hopes again. For the fifth time in their last eight games the Gunners won by a single goal at Chelsea on Sunday, scored [...]
Ed Warner: English football of all levels penetrating hyper-commercial US sport November 3, 2022 Does anyone in England call the Premier League the EPL? I ask because I had a random encounter at Heathrow last week with one of a group of five Crystal Palace fans headed to Selhurst Park for their “first EPL game”. The Ted Lasso effect maybe? I only hope they made it to the Clifton [...]
Trevor Steven: Eddie Howe can lead Newcastle back into Champions League November 1, 2022 Next week marks a year since Eddie Howe took over as Newcastle United manager and what has happened since is bordering on the miraculous. When he arrived the Magpies were second bottom of the Premier League. Now they are fourth and have given themselves a chance of Champions League qualification. The only way you could [...]
Spotlight on Antonio Conte as Tottenham’s Champions League D-Day arrives October 31, 2022 Subplots abound in Tottenham Hotspur’s final Champions League group game at Marseille on Tuesday night. Among the most conspicuous is the potential for Spurs to be dumped out by opponents littered with former Arsenal players. But should the worst happen, the spotlight will rightly fall on the north Londoners and their manager Antonio Conte. Tottenham [...]