Chelsea v Tottenham: London derby offers early clue to capital’s top team August 12, 2022 Tottenham have the chance to justify pre-season talk of eclipsing Chelsea with victory over their manager Antonio Conte’s old team at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, writes Frank Dalleres. It is notoriously futile to the point of being foolish to attempt to divine anything approximating the final Premier League table from the opening skirmishes of the [...]
Trevor Steven: Manchester United must use transfer window to fix serious problems August 11, 2022 The Premier League season may have started but the transfer window remains open until the end of the month – and Manchester United have already shown that they have the greatest need of the top teams to make use of the market. Sunday’s home defeat to Brighton in their opening game served up the familiar [...]
Lessons from Lionesses: What English rugby can learn from Euros for 2025 World Cup August 9, 2022 The iconic Chloe Kelly goal celebration, the record attendance for a final, success on home soil; England Women’s Euro 2022 victory felt like a watershed moment for women’s sport. But in a few years’ time England will be doing it all over again. This time, however, it will be with the oval ball. It was [...]
Premier League clubs bounce back from pandemic but Championship crisis deepens August 9, 2022 Premier League football clubs have recovered from the financial effects of Covid-19 just a year after stadiums were reopened, according to a new survey compiled by accountants BDO. But that is in stark contrast to the fortunes of teams in the Championship, whose money worries have deepened since the pandemic, the business advisory firm found. [...]
Over 60 per cent of Premier League contracts open to abuse, research suggests August 8, 2022 Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs believes that a “significant number” of Premier League football clubs and players are underpaying tax, new analysis from law firm Pinsent Masons will reveal today. Pinsent Masons says that 64 per cent of Premier League footballers’ contracts now take a form which HMRC says is open to abuse. This follows [...]
Premier League: Haaland shines for City while Man United get wake-up call August 7, 2022 Only one club have managed to win three Premier League titles back-to-back – Manchester United, twice – but Manchester City made the perfect start in their bid to be the second club to do so when Erling Haaland became the second City player after Sergio Aguero to score two goals on his league debut. Haaland’s [...]
Trevor Steven’s Premier League preview: Big seasons in store for Liverpool and Tottenham August 5, 2022 It pains me to write this as a former Evertonian, but I think it could be Liverpool’s year again in the Premier League – although they and Manchester City will find Tottenham Hotspur snapping at their heels. Most of the big clubs have been quick to strengthen ahead of the new season, making early signings [...]
Main stream: AFTV founder Robbie Lyle on taking football fan channels overground August 4, 2022 Robbie Lyle, the avuncular face and founder of Arsenal fan media platform AFTV, was walking through New York City when he truly realised what a phenomenon he had created. On his stroll Lyle came across activists marching on Times Square in protest at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, each with their mouth taped up in a symbol [...]
Advantage or hindrance? Why home comforts can be a burden August 4, 2022 England’s Lionesses surfed a tidal wave of expectation to win the Women’s Euros – a wave that would have engulfed athletes with lesser mental resilience, however great their physical and technical qualities. Who knows whether they would have triumphed had the tournament been overseas? And who cares? It was on English soil with all the [...]
Gambling sponsors back on the up in sport despite continued threat of a ban, study finds August 4, 2022 Gambling sponsorship in English sport is back on the rise despite the threat of a potential ban, according to a new study. The number of betting companies with front-of-shirt sponsorship deals at leading clubs appeared to be in terminal decline just a year ago, having plummeted 48 per cent from 2019 to 2021. Premier League [...]