Sunderland’s relocation from the Academy of Light and from their ground makes them the first casualties of the switch to a winter Women’s Super League season but the parallels with PSG show this is a wider issueThe decision of Sunderland to relocate their women’s team miles from home – turfed off the Academy of Light training pitches and out of their Hetton Centre home ground – follows a worrying pattern. The move, from the club that kickstarted the careers of a host of England internationals now laden with silverware such as Lucy Bronze, Jill Scott, Demi Stokes, Jordan Nobbs and the Manchester City and England captain Steph Houghton, is a further blow to a team who seemed to be thriving...
Recent events suggest promotion may not happen any time soon and if Sunderland are to exit the Championship this season their trajectory is more likely to be downwardIn an English league with no shortage of dysfunctional football clubs, few match Sunderland in terms of consistency when it comes to blasting themselves repeatedly in the foot. After a decade in the Premier League during which they survived assorted unsavoury scandals and brushes with the drop, they finally sleepwalked out of the top flight last season under the disastrous stewardship of David Moyes. Related: Sunderland appoint Simon Grayson as manager after shelving takeover talks Continue reading...
Relegated, managerless and up for sale for half the price of 12 months ago, two consortiums are apparently giving the club the once over, one a group of Sunderland fanatics who want to give Tony Adams a key roleDuring an often proud history, featuring the collection of six English league titles, Sunderland have variously been dubbed “the team of all the talents” and the “Bank of England club”.These days the latter – attached in the 1950s – seems something of a sick joke. After a decade spent in the Premier League, the newly relegated Wearside club somehow find themselves at least £110m in debt, up for sale and managerless. Related: Toxic mood at relegation-threatened Sunderland is helping nobody | Louise...
All eyes will be on Poland for a fortnight from 16 June when many of the continent’s most talented young players will contest the 12-team competitionDeemed not good enough for West Bromwich Albion by Tony Pulis less than two years ago, Gnabry’s move to Bayern Munich last week after he activated a clause in his contract with Werder Bremen showed that Arsenal may have been hasty in their decision to let him to leave. The 21-year-old scored 11 times in the Bundesliga last season and will be a major threat in attack for a German side missing the injured defender Jonathan Tah. Borussia Dortmund’s new signing Mo Dahoud will provide thrust from midfield, while the Mainz winger Levin Öztunali is...
John Terry will say goodbye to Chelsea with the title, José Mourinho will pick his weakest team yet and Manchester City should tread carefully at WatfordThe best team in the league face the worst team in the league in a match that will be played in a carefree atmosphere by everyone except John Terry, whose 717th and final Chelsea appearance will end with him – together with Gary Cahill – lifting the Premier League trophy, followed by a teary-eyed farewell speech to the fans. Sunday is the end of an era for Terry, his club and their opponents Sunderland, relegated at last after 10 successive top-flight seasons. Terry’s beer-glass-emptying, disabled-bay-filling, rival-abusing, full-kit-wearing past means he gets little love from rival...