Eddie Howe missed his own welcome party and his team were far from perfect – but the apathy at St James’ Park is no longerIf this was Newcastle United’s Christmas Day come early, it was more Home Alone than the Queen’s speech – thrilling, dizzying and with a lot of collateral damage to pick through at the end. This day, intended as Eddie Howe’s coronation, did not go to script at all – but does it ever at St James’s Park? From the moment on Friday night it was announced that the new head coach had tested positive for Covid and would miss his own welcome party, one suspected this wasn’t going to be the straightforwardly triumphant start that was...
Arsenal might fancy their chances at Anfield and three new managers begin survival bidsThis will be the fourth meeting between Leicester and Chelsea this calendar year, clubs of differing resources whose fortunes nonetheless seem tangled together. Leicester went top after beating Chelsea 2-0 at home in January, James Maddison scoring the second goal before cheerfully claiming: “We knew they switched off at set pieces,” an observation that felt terminal to Frank Lampard’s employment. Having played some part in Thomas Tuchel’s arrival, Leicester won the FA Cup final against him in May, before league defeat at Stamford Bridge three days later helped to ensure the Foxes would narrowly miss out on the Champions League yet again. Chelsea are now European champions...
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...
The Chelsea midfielder was magnificent against Brentford but must learn to use his sublime gifts more consistentlyThomas Tuchel has always been a puzzle-solver. One early interview lists his chief hobby as “an interest in furniture design”. A famous long afternoon with Pep Guardiola spent furiously shuffling pepper pots around a Munich restaurant table has already passed into modern managerial lore.On a boisterous afternoon in west London there was more evidence of exactly how that restless brain has set to work on a footballer who might qualify as the most bafflingly underexplored all-round talent in England. How do you solve a puzzle like Ruben Loftus-Cheek? And will Chelsea really have the patience to find out? Continue reading...
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...