Zinedine Zidane’s exit from Real Madrid on the same day Frank Lampard took over at Derby County underlines the insanity of the world the former Chelsea midfielder is enteringFrank Lampard was minutes into his new job as Derby County manager when the news came through that a vacancy had just cropped up at Real Madrid. “He certainly quit at a good time,” Lampard said, thinking on his feet. “I don’t know Zinedine Zidane’s plans but he will want a holiday, I’m guessing, before he does anything else. You can’t beat that for going out at the top, though. Maybe that’s a lesson to us all.” Related: Frank Lampard spoke to other clubs before becoming Derby County manager Related: Zidane is...
Slavisa Jokanovic’s men have history on their side but there are reasons to believe for Middlesbrough, Derby and Aston VillaSome teams flourish, some fret and some freeze but there is nothing quite like the pressure-cooker that is the Championship play-offs, where promotion and almost £200m are at stake. By June, one of four reasonable heavyweights – Aston Villa, Derby, Fulham or Middlesbrough – will be back in the Premier League.Four legs and a final, at Wembley, will decide who that is but until then, let the brave, often defeatist, meaningless rogue predictions, mind games and number crunching commence. Now is the time to be choked by cliche; how form is temporary, class is permanent and how head-to-head records and the...
Mark Robins’ eye-catching Coventry deserve their headlines, Liverpool have a bargain in Andrew Robertson and Wolves are already good enough for top flightAmid all the hoopla over the departing Mark Hughes, it is right to take a moment to praise Coventry City. They were deserved winners of the third-round tie at the Ricoh Arena, despite giving up the greater number of chances to the visitors. The Sky Blues played with a determination and energy you might expect of a team assuming the David role in a Goliath encounter. But they were also calm on the ball and often quite cute on it, too. Their play was all the more striking, given the starting XI had an average age of 24...
A pioneering scheme run in partnership with the local university is offering promising female players the chance to have a career in the gameWhile many have concerns about the Football Association’s restructure of women’s football and this blog has highlighted many of them, others, such as Derby County Ladies, who have had long-held WSL ambitions, have thrown their support behind the plans. Related: Switch to winter season boosts Manchester City and Chelsea in Europe | Suzanne Wrack Related: Speed of change in women’s football is leaving some clubs behind | Suzanne Wrack Continue reading...
From Ipswich’s play-off hoodoo to a youthful Nottingham Forest, half a dozen teams who have been on the fringes of the Premier League partyMillwall have only ever had two seasons in the top flight of English football. Founded in 1885, it took them more than 100 years to reach the elite and they were understandably determined to make a strong first impression after going up as champions in 1988. They looked like First Division naturals at first, finishing 10th under John Docherty, thriving thanks to the goals of Tony Cascarino and Teddy Sheringham. They were top after five games of the 1989-90 campaign, but second-season syndrome bit real bad and they straggled home in last place. Related: The Joy of...