The concentration of wealth and attention on a tiny number of globalised superclubs is leading to moments of remarkable drama and quality – but at a terrible priceA recent Set-Piece Menu podcast eloquently made the case for fandom as a broad church. When the Premier League is marketed so aggressively all over the world, when overseas television rights bring it so much revenue, when players and managers and owners are often foreign, they argued – quite reasonably – who is to deny the travelling supporter from Baltimore or Bangalore their seat in the stadium, the right to call themselves a fan? All of that made sense.On an intellectual level I agreed with it. It fitted my general liberal, globalised worldview....
Plymouth’s defence was classy and defiant, Ndidi excelled on Leicester debut, Batshuayi proved little and Stourbridge showed romance is alive, even in defeatThe triumphant celebrations after Plymouth Argyle’s 0-0 draw at Anfield were further confirmation that giant-equalling is the new giantkilling. In the modern world of the FA Cup, it is enough for David to draw with Goliath – especially as it means a second payday for clubs often in need of such a financial boost. For Plymouth’s players, it was about more than that. It’s easy to be sniffy about their ultra-defensive approach against the youngest team in Liverpool’s history, but most League Two teams would not have been good enough to pull it off. Plymouth defended with such...
Sam Allardyce says Bolton was where his dreams became reality but now, in the FA Cup, he wants his first win as Crystal Palace managerAs Sam Allardyce pondered a return to his old stomping ground, he said “it sticks in my teeth” to refer to the home of Bolton Wanderers as the Macron Stadium, then corrected himself when he remembered that the sportswear manufacturer also has its name on the kit of his new club, Crystal Palace. It was an amusing and forgivable slip from a man who had plenty of other things on his mind before an FA Cup tie that gave him cause to reflect on how far he has come in his career while figuring out how...
Some got roughed up by Gary Neville, others had an obsession with Twitter, but from Michael Ricketts to Oumar Niasse, these players all have a dismal January transfer in commonAt 11.30pm on the first ever January transfer deadline day, Middlesbrough sealed the signing of the striker who was intended to revolutionise their team. “I was stuck in a rut at Bolton, training was the same all the time, things weren’t going the way I planned,” he revealed. “Hopefully that’s going to change here.” It didn’t change there: at the end of the following season, 18 months, 12 league starts and three goals after his arrival, he left for Leeds on a free transfer. Related: Premier League’s fear of the drop...
A rousing display from Grant McCann’s side showed the value of youth but Sunday’s chastening defeat may soon be the least of Bolton’s concernsBolton Wanderers may have already eclipsed last season’s miserly tally of 30 points but on this weekend’s evidence they have plenty of work to do if they are to return to the Championship at the first time of asking.Phil Parkinson, the Bolton manager, had warned his players about basking in their promising start but they did just that in a 1-0 defeat at Peterborough United on Sunday, a game they went into after five league wins on the bounce. Among supporters, there is anything but hubris. “The fact we are still here is the main thing,” said...