The new manager saw his team offer a dogged defensive display at the Etihad that bodes well for their final three gamesSam Allardyce has waited two years to manage a competitive match, and some might suggest that wait will go on for another week. His new Leeds side suffered at the hands of Manchester City at times but there were, in the end, positives to cling on to.The 68-year-old only had three days on the training ground to impart his methods. It would appear those sessions were attack v defence to prepare them for facing an inevitable afternoon of City domination at the Etihad but Leeds used maximum effort, Allardyce’s minimum requirement. Continue reading...
In a saner world it would be possible to decry the hawking of this institution as if it were a piece of knock-off jewelleryThe final deadline for bids to buy Manchester United passed on Friday night. Although in fairness, it feels barely more final than the first two deadlines that passed in February and March. Given the looseness with which the Glazers appear to regard deadlines, (“mufc bid proposal FINAL FINAL USE THIS.docx”) it is possible that when they finally take their leave of the club a lucrative career in column-writing awaits them.And so to the latest and hopefully the last round of a protracted charade that has come to resemble a reality television show in which viewers are sadly...
Fulham did expose one weakness but Pep Guardiola’s relentless side shrugged it off to go top of the Premier LeagueTick. Tick. Tick. At the end of this breezy, fun, quietly feisty 2-1 defeat of Fulham, there was even a sense of super-smart design in Pep Guardiola’s onfield displays of affection.There was a double-hug for John Stones: both hands around the torso plus a final flurry of buttock pats for the key defensive peg on the current eight-match winning league run. Guardiola hugged Jack Grealish, just because he loves hugging Jack Grealish. Continue reading...
A brilliant team are demolishing even closest rivals and can make history. But glory lies in drama as well as excellenceManchester City are brilliant. They can win games with and without the ball. They can stifle teams with possession or eviscerate them on the counter. They can produce moments of breathtaking combination play but also have in Erling Haaland a centre-forward with a set of attributes, physical and technical, that has been seen only perhaps half a dozen times before. They are magnificent and seemingly on course for a treble. They are also a symptom of the financial structures that are destroying the game football was once understood to be.The naive and the wilfully blind will say there have been...
Villa can put wind up Manchester United, a City old boy runs into Haaland and Spurs have an awful history at AnfieldPeople are no longer ignoring the massive turnaround Unai Emery has performed at Villa Park. There were not many personnel changes in January; teenage striker Jhon Durán was signed from Chicago Fire, Bertrand Traoré was recalled from loan at Istanbul Basaksehir and, most importantly, Alex Moreno joined from Real Betis. Lucas Digne has been deposed from the defence and Villa have only lost twice in Moreno’s 15 appearances, with the Spaniard quickly becoming integral to the system. He is popular off the pitch too, ingratiating himself with fans with a recent interview in English, smiling throughout despite not yet...