Despite a dismal run of form caused by injuries and rivals countering Jamie Vardy, reaching Europe signals a triumphant season, even if they miss out on the Champions LeagueIt is the age of data and yet it is also the age of impatience. It is an age when Match of the Day provides the xG and yet a manager can come under pressure after three defeats. It is the age when most people understand the phrase “regression to the mean”, yet it is also an age when mayflies have begun using “Watford head coach” to denote something with a short lifespan. There is something deeply paradoxical about the present era of football.Which brings us to Brendan Rodgers. Leicester will qualify...
Leicester and Chelsea managers have set out their stall with attractive football thanks to the likes of Maddison and PulisicGareth Southgate was probably right to play down the significance of last weekends Liverpool v Manchester City showdown from an England point of view. Only three members of his present squad played at Anfield and featured in the starting lineup against Montenegro, even if one more came on as a substitute, and as the England manager pointed out there might have been double that number in times gone by.Yet despite most predictions, the Premier League is not turning out to be quite the two-horse race originally envisaged. Leicester City and Chelsea stand between the leaders and the defending champions, and by...
Victory over Arsenal keeps Foxes in title hunt and shows how manager has brought light back into a club struck by tragedyIn a side room at the King Power Stadium, Brendan Rodgers was allowing himself to reflect. Only eight and a half months had passed since he joined Leicester City but the 90 minutes everyone had just witnessed felt among the most significant of that time. Leicester had just outmanoeuvred Arsenal, their claim to a Champions League spot looking increasingly hard to resist, and the atmosphere around the stadium bore resemblance to the near-disbelieving euphoria that helped sweep them to the title in 2016.“I felt the opportunity to hook into an emotion here for a number of reasons,” Rodgers said....
Celtic’s interim manager has secured an eighth straight title and looks the right man to target 10 in a row – but there are recruitment questions once the celebrations are overCeltic’s retention of Scotland’s Premiership, with two games to spare, makes a mockery of the notion – prevalent after Rangers won an Old Firm game on 29 December – that their domestic dominance might end any time soon. The rush to frame a title race – involving Celtic and Rangers only, of course – remains a desperately predictable business. Celtic remain, by a considerable distance, the finest team in Scotland, with more than enough resource to ensure that continues.To many, praising Celtic for winning the league – accomplished with their...
Hibernian and Aberdeen have also risen to the occasion as Celtic prepare to set out for an eighth title in a rowThe swagger returned to Scottish football in recent days. A close battle between Aberdeen and Burnley, Hibernian’s success over the fifth-ranked team in Greece last season and Rangers’ victory over the fourth-best team in Croatia triggered giddy excitement. Celtic had already taken a further step towards the Champions League with their defeat of Rosenborg. Glory, glory hallelujah. Related: Scottish Premiership 2018-19 preview: Celtic favourites but focus on Gerrard Related: Europa League: Burnley’s Cork and Barnes sink Aberdeen in extra time Continue reading...