England stun Spain and and show that World Cup run was no fluke October 15, 2018 So, it wasn’t a dream after all. At times during the last three months we have had cause to wonder whether the World Cup really happened, whether England really did rediscover their swagger and a place at international football’s top table, as Gareth Southgate’s team made a stuttering start to the Nations League. Tonight in [...]
Saudis eye bid for Manchester United in attempt to beat Abu Dhabi’s Manchester City on the pitch October 15, 2018 Manchester United’s New-York listed shares have surged amid talks Saudi Arabia’s crown prince could launch a multi-billion pound bid for the footballing powerhouse. Mohammad bin Salman, the leader under fire over the death of a Saudi journalist, is reportedly considering a £3bn takeover of the club from the American Glazer family. Read more: Manchester United [...]
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 [...]
Spain v England: Gareth Southgate could use a Nations League win to revive World Cup feel-good factor October 14, 2018 Three months ago, as England sweltered in its endless summer, the nation was giddy at the prospect of a World Cup semi-final and Gareth Southgate was enjoying his unlikely ascension to the status of national treasure. Five matches on, the Three Lions have mustered just one more win and are in real danger of being [...]
Croatia v England: Gareth Southgate’s side must prepare for the eerie atmosphere of Rijeka’s empty stadium October 11, 2018 Strange. That’s the atmosphere, or rather lack of it, England must prepare themselves tomorrow. Gareth Southgate’s side are in the port city of Rijeka on the Adriatic Sea to face Croatia in the Nations League for the first time since suffering defeat in the semi-final of the World Cup in the summer. So far, so [...]
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 [...]
Trevor Steven: Young call-ups make perfect sense in Gareth Southgate’s England masterplan October 9, 2018 Leading England to their best World Cup finish for 28 years not only proved Gareth Southgate to be the right man for the job, it also earned him a new contract until 2022 and carte blanche to fully realise his vision for the national team. It is in that light that his latest squad selection [...]
Legal Q&A: Why has Eleven Sports breached the UK Saturday afternoon live football blackout? October 8, 2018 The traditional Saturday afternoon restriction on broadcasting live football in the UK has been challenged by online-only subscription broadcaster Eleven Sports. Lawyer Satish Khandke examines the implications. What are the legal restrictions that Eleven Sports has challenged? Uefa regulations allow the member associations of football’s European governing body to designate a blackout period of two and 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 [...]
Fulham 1-5 Arsenal: Gunners’ rampant attack helps optimism return under Unai Emery October 7, 2018 “We’ve got our Arsenal back.” That was the chant coming from the away end at Craven Cottage after Aaron Ramsey flicked in his side’s third goal in a 5-1 rout of Fulham. Ramsey’s improvised finish at the end of a flowing team move was the apex of a heady second half in which the Gunners [...]