The midfielder failed to seize his chance against Norwich and his time at Manchester United might be running outThere was a moment early on in Manchester United’s drawn-out win at Norwich when Jesse Lingard picked up the ball on the edge of the box, feinted right, jinked left and, with a rapid shuffle of his feet, glided past Timm Klose. It was a welcome reminder of the player he used to be. What followed in a generally drab United performance was a less welcome reminder of the player he has been over the past year.It was only last June that Lingard was having a goal for England against the Netherlands in the Nations League semi-final ruled out for the tightest...
West Ham’s win was all the more memorable because their talented group of youngsters were soon to be broken upThey moved the ball quickly and gracefully, the three kids at the heart of West Ham’s midfield. There was no hint of any fear, no sign of Michael Carrick, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard shrinking.They took the ball in difficult areas and it was impossible not to admire how they determined they were to seize the moment against Manchester United, who would exit the FA Cup after Fabien Barthez’s foolhardy decision to impersonate a man hailing a cab allowed Paolo Di Canio to steal a famous win. Related: Di Canio - Barthez didn't confuse my brain Continue reading...
The former England striker is a throwback to the ITV Digital age but can still caress a football like few have in this countryGive me the ball, he says. He doesn’t need to say the words. There’s an opening of the hips, a broadening of the chest, like a bird unfurling its plumage, that makes it clear exactly what is wanted, and who wants it. There’s a little glance over the shoulder to make sure he’s in as much space as he thinks he is. Now the eyes widen, the arms spread. Give me the ball, he says again with his body. And Max Lowe gives him the ball.Then again, as anyone who has had to sit through one of...
Three defeats in four games for Jurgen Klopp’s side hint at a vulnerability to be found on the flanksEnter: the wobble. On a chilly, slightly wild night at Stamford Bridge Chelsea progressed to the quarter-finals of the FA cup at the expense of the team previously known as Jürgen Klopp’s Irresistible Red Machine.Sport loves a premature note of crisis. Perhaps one or two will now be offered, although Klopp has probably earned a little breathing space before the cleaver is unsheathed. Liverpool played well in patches and might have wrenched the game their way with better finishing. But there was something else here too, a sense of a pattern emerging. Even, whisper it, of some more systemic vulnerability being winkled...
A winter break is more valuable than Cup traditions – everyone can win if the team lifting the trophy takes a smaller cutThe Premier League’s winter break is coming, and it’s a bit of a mess. I’m a firm believer that a break is necessary: footballers aren’t superheroes, they are humans competing in a sport more physically demanding now than it has ever been. The pace of English football is the reason Sky, BT and broadcasters around the world are paying billions to show it, but that is only possible thanks to the supreme fitness of those competing in it. If there is no consideration for their bodies and minds, sooner or later it will have an impact on the...