Williams’ triumph at the Crucible, and Charlie Austin’s performance for Southampton, showed how top performers shrug off pressure by concentrating on what they do bestOn Monday evening I stood adjacent to history. Waiting for the delayed evening session, I was pouring myself a Britvic J20 in the Crucible press room when Mark Williams walked in. The 43-year-old was three frames away from winning his first World Snooker Championship in 15 years and prize money of £425,000. It was perhaps the most pressurised moment in his entire life. The Welshman wandered over to where I was standing and spotted a game of micro pool. “I’m good at this,” he said. With a tiny cue he lined up a shot, only for...
Southampton’s manager went for the jugular with three centre-forwards and Saints are as good as safe after a wonderfully chaotic relegation showdownIt is a league of billions, of the most famous managers in the world, which prides itself on being the shiniest show in town, that moneyed owners seeking a splash of reflected glory flock to. Who knew the biggest game of the season would be between Swansea and Southampton?It was not so much a game of football, more a 90-minute test of constitutions. The top division of English football hasn’t seen a relegation play-off match in 30 years but purely on the basis of this chaotic affair it might be an issue to reconsider. Because this was essentially a...
Aubameyang can revive Arsenal, Butland lays bare Stoke’s shameful truth and West Ham would be foolish to ditch MoyesPierre-Emerick Aubameyang might not be a classic Arsène Wenger signing because he cost a lot of money and is already close to his peak but at 28 he is certainly a man who can lead the next incarnation of Arsenal. Alongside Alexandre Lacazette the duo showed how exciting Arsenal can still be even if Burnley looked like a team packed for their summer holidays as they made up the numbers, offering less energy than the post-match speeches, in what was effectively a testimonial at the Emirates. Wenger might rue the fact he missed bringing the Gabonese international Aubameyang to England earlier –...
As the fight to avoid the drop intensifies, we look at why the affected clubs are struggling, what will decide their fate and whether their managers are to blamePl 35 GD -15 Pts 37 Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend Related: Leicester City v West Ham United: match preview Related: Bournemouth v Swansea City: match preview Related: Stoke City v Crystal Palace: match preview Remaining matches Continue reading...
There is precedent for survival when all appears lost with Sunderland’s relegation escape under Gus Poyet in 2014 a beacon for fans of the Premier League clubs facing the dropLike the hapless Brian Stimpson, so splendidly portrayed by John Cleese in the 1980s farce Clockwise, most football fans can take the despair; it’s the hope they cannot stand. With only three or four fixtures left to play in this season’s Premier League, fans of West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City and Southampton can almost certainly feel the headmaster’s anguish. Most are perfectly well equipped to deal with the trauma of relegation to the Championship but it is the possibility of avoiding it that drives them to the brink of madness.For West...