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Rise of David Brooks shows big clubs that less really can be more | Paul Wilson

The 21-year-old has been a revelation since joining Bournemouth for £10m and proves to such clubs as Manchester United they do not have to spend big to succeedBournemouth have been one of the stories of the season and one of the stories behind the Cherries’ rise to sixth place in the table has been David Brooks’ almost instantly establishing himself as a Premier League performer.The Warrington-born midfielder is a big Manchester United fan, despite starting his football career in Manchester City’s academy, and when José Mourinho and his players pitch up at the Vitality Stadium for Saturday’s early kick-off, Brooks will get a bigger thrill than most from the fact Bournemouth are currently three points and two places better off...

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Woefully leaky Fulham are on course to concede 100 goals, and is it nearly time for Álvaro Morata and Chelsea to part ways?On the eve of the new season Slavisa Jokanovic said Fulham “don’t have to change much but we need to be intelligent. We need to grow up.” Two months down the line and either Jokanovic underestimated how much Fulham needed to adapt to be ready for the Premier League or his players are not being as smart as he had hoped. Whatever the answer, Fulham did not spend more than £100m in the summer to be languishing in the relegation zone with one win from nine games and a defensive record that is in danger of becoming an...

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Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Liverpool’s tiredness could play into Manchester City’s hands, Newcastle should throw caution to the wind and Harry Winks must take his Tottenham chance“It’s a game of small margins,” said Vincent Kompany of the season’s standout fixture to date between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday. If the teams are as closely matched in quality as Kompany thinks then he can only have been heartened by the weary look of many of Liverpool’s players as they struggled with Napoli’s intensity in their 1-0 defeat on Wednesday. Jürgen Klopp’s midfielders create chances by harassing opponents out of possession and shuffling the ball forwards quickly but in Naples they looked heavy-legged. Liverpool’s past three fixtures read: Chelsea, Chelsea, Napoli; high-profile, energy-sapping...

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Ramsey needs to discover his inner Lampard, Shaqiri deserved more time and Traoré has become a specialist substitute Related: Unai Emery’s system beats out a dull rhythm that fails to entrance | Jacob Steinberg Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best Premier League photos Related: Record-breaking Jorginho the beating heart of Chelsea’s mangled midfield | Barney Ronay Continue reading...

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Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend’s action

Ryan Fraser ran Leicester ragged; Neil Warnock will not tolerate more Cardiff mistakes; and Rafael Benítez needs a new planJürgen Klopp was asked to describe his emotions during stoppage time in the 2-1 victory at Tottenham. His dominant Liverpool team had led 2-0 going into it but they conceded to Érik Lamela in the 93rd minute to set up a nervy finale. “I would love to say it is the first time in my life I have been in a situation like that but it happens so often,” Klopp said. “My wife hates it.” The Liverpool manager would not have gone through the wringer if some of his players – Sadio Mané, in particular – had played in a teammate...

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