He is in no way qualified but bringing Rooney back to Goodison Park would deliver the rush of authentic emotion we all craveIt was interesting this week to see the fascination on social media with close-up clips of the celebrations after Tottenham’s 3-2 win at Leicester.This stuff is very popular right now. The digital eye has detected a hunger out there, a shared sweet spot for footage of unbound emotion, feelings-porn: players and fans lost in the moment, Antonio Conte baying and leaping and glowering like a bear startled by a hornets’ nest. Continue reading...
There is far more than romance to make the case for Rooney’s Goodison return after the way he has coped in a storm at DerbyThere is a lot of romance in the idea of Wayne Rooney returning to Everton to become manager – and I am in love with the thought – but it makes a lot of business sense, too.After Rafael Benítez’s brief, unhappy spell, the club need to reconnect with the fans, and the appointment of a hero is a good way of going about it. It is fair to say a lot of the fanbase were not enamoured of the appointment of a former Liverpool manager, so going in the opposite direction would be a smart move...
Arsenal should stay positive, Potter shows Benítez a trick and VAR makes refereeing harderOn the first Sunday of 2021, a first-half Chelsea capitulation against Manchester City hastened Frank Lampard’s exit and deepened a despondent mood. Twelve months on, Liverpool’s two early goals at Stamford Bridge could have induced Groundhog Day feelings. Instead, Thomas Tuchel’s side roared back and showed that, whatever other problems have recently beset the Chelsea manager on and off the field, this is a team that plays for him. Though they did so in a rather un-Tuchel-like manner. The intense atmosphere generated by the Premier League debut of safe standing was met with the kind of front-foot, high-tempo performance more associated with a Jürgen Klopp side. Chelsea...
After reclaiming their seats, the dissidents ended in ebullient mood, thanks in part to Farhad Moshiri’s most controversial callPerhaps it was the first protest to be delayed because Richarlison won a corner. Militancy was put on hold for 30 seconds or so until it came to nothing. And then the stream to the exits began. Not all Evertonians, not a majority, but enough to leave the Gwladys Street End and the Park Stand looked more deserted than usual. While the cynics wondered if, as thousands remained seated, Everton could not even stage a convincing mutiny, this was a movement with a difference.It was a cry for competence. Everton have had a surfeit of ambition and a shortage of good judgment...
Derby defeat was chastening in almost every aspect and Everton must hope Dominic Calvert-Lewin regains fitness soonDerbies, if received wisdom is to be believed, can be very handy for arresting a slump. They can jolt players out of a rut, or the heightened passions can occlude differences in class. Not at Goodison on Wednesday night, though: not only did the form book not go out of the window, not only did it stay resolutely in the room, but it made itself a feature and across its pages in enormous letters was written the simple message: Everton are in trouble.Perhaps that’s unfair on Liverpool. They tore into faltering opponents from the off. They racked up a greater xG in the first...