Potential upsets, Premier League clubs needing to take it seriously and old foes meeting after taking diverging pathsSwindon and Manchester City were regular combatants in the 1990s, meeting in the second tier and during Swindon’s one season in the Premier League, 1993-94. Friday’s visit to the County Ground will be a first meeting in 20 years. On 5 January 2002, former Swindon man Kevin Horlock scored the second in a 2-0 home win at Maine Road. The years since have seen the clubs move in radically different trajectories, and they now operate on different planets. Swindon arrested a slump with a 5-2 defeat of Northampton on New Year’s Day, and lie in the League Two play-off positions. The club have...
Ironic cheers mocking the opposition and losing control of all senses for goal celebrations returned effortlessly at the stadiumThere was a point during the first lockdown, when I’d daydream about becoming a “yes man”. I’d think to myself “I got too sucked into the rat race, man. If this thing has taught me anything, it’s that life is about experiences. I’ve spent too much time on my phone. As soon as I’m able to I’ll say yes to that bungee jump. I’ll say yes to that National Trust dry stone walling course. Life is lived on the margins so I’ll take up kickboxing and enter a dialogue with pain.” As you can imagine, this nettle grasping lasted about 30 seconds...
Nketiah shows rich promise, Chelsea may rue Fàbregas’s exit, things about to hot up for Solskjær and what next for Carroll? Related: FA Cup third round serves up shocks as Barnet, Oldham and Newport shine Related: The Dozen: the weekend’s best FA Cup photos Continue reading...
Club hope little-known manager José Gomes and promising youngsters can stave off relegation after a historically bad 2018With 2019 merely hours old, trite platitudes and empty resolutions are all the rage. “New Year, New Me” and all that, but no team will be more desperate to usher in a new era than Reading, who, for a while, have wanted to see the back of the worst year – statistically – in the club’s history.The Royals picked up a miserly 36 points (from 138), the lowest tally in the Football League over the past year. The numbers make grisly viewing, yet things may get worse before they get better. Related: Reading sack Paul Clement after poor start to season Related: Derby’s...
Big-spending Nottingham Forest will hope they can do a Wolves but the English second tier remains unpredictable Related: League One 2018-19 preview| Ben Fisher Related: League Two 2018-19 season preview | Ben Fisher Related: Number of clubs sponsored by betting firms is ‘disturbing’, say campaigners Related: Football League 2018-19: 20 things to watch out for this season | Jacob Steinberg Continue reading...