The cherubic figure is gone as he helps transform his new club from serial strugglers into well-organised, battling contendersRemember the Eddie Howe of a decade ago? Remember how pleasant he seemed, with his ruddy cheeks and blond hair, how he looked less like a football manager than a minor character from Downton Abbey? Remember the compelling interviews, the articulacy and understated charisma that seemed to emphasise his fundamental niceness?And the poor love hated leaving Bournemouth. As a player, two games at Portsmouth were quite enough and he was soon back to his spiritual home. As a manager, well, Burnley, with its wild moors and dark energy, never seemed a natural fit. Best to stay amid the familiar beaches and boarding...
Newcastle need to invest in squad depth, Bryan Gil is in derby contention and Coventry count cost of ‘embarrassing’ lossHalf a week is a long time in football. On Thursday, for 45 minutes, Chelsea were good enough to make Manchester City look pedestrian. On Sunday, they were so poor that City located their unstoppable mode, which had gone missing since mid-October. Chelsea are now out of both domestic cups, and in the Premier League, after scraping one win from their past eight games, they are closer to the bottom (13 points ahead of Southampton) than the top (19 behind Arsenal). Top four? They’re not even in the top four in London, with Brentford and Fulham lording it over them, never...
Arsenal and Newcastle played out an entertaining goalless draw, personified by the visitors’ defender, who seems always to be hurling himself into an offshore headwindIt seemed fitting that the Newcastle’s final active part in this game, deep into stoppage time, should feature Dan Burn wheeling away deep on the left wing, bouncing red shirts out of his orbit, cheered wildly by and away support led by a pink, shirtless quivering man who seemed utterly intoxicated by this spectacle, mainlining it, high on that sweet, sweet Big Dan Burn energy.This was a thrilling, messy, infuriating 0-0 draw; a messy, shirt-grappling, highly entertaining wrestle of a game. This was the kind of game where half of the stadium crowd screams and punches...
The season’s first Merseyside derby, an Old Trafford blockbuster and crunch time for Bruno Lage at WolvesSeven games into the season in all competitions and Frank Lampard can finally select a recognised striker he wants in an Everton shirt. Providing someone at the Premier League has registered Neal Maupay in time for the Merseyside derby, that is. Lampard and Jürgen Klopp will be relieved to concentrate on the renewal of old rivalries after the distractions of a transfer window that both believe dragged too long into the season. Everton are without a win in the Premier League but building gradually. A derby debut for Maupay, signed from Brighton last Friday but not cleared to play at Leeds on Tuesday, would...
Newcastle and Manchester City entertained in a six-goal draw but the club’s owners and history will not be forgottenPep Guardiola was agitated. He stalked the touchline, hands on hips, brooding. He gestured at Bernardo Silva and, during a break for an injury, gave him lengthy instructions. Manchester City were 1-0 up and creating chances, but Guardiola often serves as his own canary in the mine, his agitation indicating long before it becomes apparent in concrete actions that something was amiss.When Ilkay Gündogan put City ahead in the fifth minute, the assumption was that Eddie Howe was on his way to a 11th defeat in 11 games against Guardiola. Everybody knows the drill: Guardiola praises Howe for the football his side...