With Newcastle enriched and the middle tier confident, Aston Villa’s new manager enters an extremely tough-looking leagueWhen Ray Wilkins left Paris Saint-Germain in 1987, it seemed entirely natural that he should join Rangers. He was, after all, joining two England internationals in Terry Butcher and Chris Woods at Ibrox. A year later they would be joined by another in Gary Stevens. There was the immediate context of the Heysel ban on English clubs competing in Uefa competitions but, still, that is another world.It seems almost incomprehensible in today’s financial environment that top English talent would flock to play in Scotland. And that perhaps is the most significant aspect of Steven Gerrard’s appointment as manager of Aston Villa – less what...
Solskjær pulls off a tactical trick, Potter gives Brighton fans a treat and De Bruyne endures a rare horror showOle Gunnar Solskjær deserves credit for Manchester United’s win over Tottenham. The switch to a back three worked and a front two with a combined age of 70 proved far too good for Spurs, whose defenders were thoroughly outclassed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Edinson Cavani. Ronaldo opened the scoring with a banger and Cavani was impressive on his second start of the season, offering intelligent movement and producing a cool finish after being set up by his strike partner. The question now is whether this is sustainable. Is the 3-4-2-1 system the way forward for Solskjær or an emergency solution? Will...
Three successive losses have changed the mood music as the manager struggles with his post-Grealish tacticsAmid the cacophony surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s future, or apparent lack thereof, as Manchester United manager, chatter regarding his Aston Villa counterpart, Dean Smith, has barely registered on the football decibel scale. Speculating on the bookmakers’ sack race market might seem ghoulish but a small investment on Smith being handed his P45 before the white-hot Norwegian favourite may not constitute the world’s worst wager at double-digit odds.His team go into Sunday’s home game against in-form West Ham on the back of three successive defeats, the most recent a surprisingly feeble capitulation at Arsenal. Despite taking the scalps of Newcastle, Everton and Manchester United this season,...
Bruce potentially set for his final game at Newcastle, Ranieri begins tough spell at Watford and Guardiola has Sterling decision It feels trivial discussing mere football matters when set against the ethical concerns arising from Newcastle’s Saudi takeover, but it feels as if whatever happens on the pitch against Tottenham will accelerate Steve Bruce’s departure. He is unlikely to get much credit if his side record a first league win of the season; instead it will only heighten the sense of “new broom” momentum that would require a bigger-name manager as soon as possible, while defeat would only serve to demonstrate the immediate need for change. It helps Bruce that Newcastle’s first opponents of the new era are a side...
Romelu Lukaku returns for Chelsea, Raphaël Varane set for United bow and Burnley test Virgil van Dijk’s aerial mettleArsenal beat Chelsea twice last season, including a victory at StamfordBridge three months ago. Since then they have spent heavily on transfers including a £50m centre-back. Their fans must be super-confident as they prepare for Sunday’s Emirates clash, especially those who have blanked out last week’s fiasco at Brentford. But Thomas Tuchel is sure to bear that match in mind as he prepares his strategy for Sunday, and his pre-match pep talk is likely to begin with a good old-fashioned “get into ’em”. Ben White performed no worse than many teammates last week but the expectation on him is higher following his...