English football loved the assassin‑faced baby but what we are left with now is a fading pro, approaching his 31st birthdayIt has all seemed so joyless at times, with so many long, difficult periods when it has seemed like a black drape could be placed over the entire team it might surprise you to learn that when Gareth Southgate took his seat in the Stadion Stozice and set out his reasons for dropping Wayne Rooney it was seven years to the day since England had lost a qualifying fixture.It can seem almost a trick of the mind to remind yourself that England are unbeaten in all qualifiers since a 2009 defeat in Ukraine when Rob Green was sent off and, losing...
First meets second as Manchester City visit Spurs, Theo Walcott looks to continue his hot streak and will this be the last we see of Francesco Guidolin?Given that the tactic of trying to absorb pressure had not worked for any of Manchester City’s opponents, it made sense for Swansea to try something different last weekend, as the Welsh side attempted to disrupt the league leaders’ momentum by squeezing their centre-backs when they had the ball. It did not work, of course, because City were still too sharp in attack. Yet Tottenham Hotspur’s feverish high press could yield greater rewards at White Hart Lane on Sunday. Both sides are without key attacking players – Harry Kane for Spurs, Kevin De Bruyne...
Displaced Ukrainian club are delighted to be heading for their Europa League game at Old Trafford, a fixture they had scarcely imagined was possible“I’m very pleased with the fact that United sent their scout to watch our game against Vorskla,” the Zorya Luhansk coach, Yuriy Vernydub, said this week, which makes a change from those managers who try desperately to hide themselves away from future opponents. “Before, they used to say that no one knew about Zorya, whereas now scouts are watching our boys. It means that the players deserve that.”Zorya have particular reason to want to be known: their very existence in European competition feels like a triumph. In June 2014, the Ukrainian club were forced to flee Luhansk...
Son shines again for Tottenham, Chelsea and Leicester need defensive shake-ups, Palace signings prove their value and Southampton are ticking over againThe moment that summed up the discord in the Chelsea defence came on 64 minutes, when Gary Cahill wanted Thibaut Courtois to come to collect; the goalkeeper stayed on his line and Branislav Ivanovic bludgeoned the ball into touch. Cahill and Courtois argued. But errors had disfigured the performance to leave Chelsea 3-0 down at half-time: it was shocking, for example, to see how easily Mesut Özil accelerated away from the defensive midfielder N’Golo Kanté before he scored Arsenal’s third. Antonio Conte did not cancel his players’ day off on Sunday but they can expect a video inquest when...
Manchester United manager protests too much and sounds more than a little paranoid as he seeks to find the best blend for his teamManchester United’s mini-crisis seems to be over. This was a comprehensive and crowd-pleasing dismantling of the defending champions, with the home side playing the sort of football and scoring the type of goals that Old Trafford wants to see, trashing Leicester’s reputation for doughty defending in the process.Never mind that three of the four first-half goals came from corners – although Claudio Ranieri certainly will – here was United looking more balanced, mobile and adventurous. Paul Pogba came into his own for perhaps the first time this season and one goal of the season contender he almost...