Fans’ fury at Daniel Levy is understandable – the on-pitch stagnation is only highlighted by the luxury surroundingsThere were always going to be boos from one end of the ground or the other and, as Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side pulled off another of those increasingly familiar job-saving victories, they came from Spurs fans. At half-time, at full time and, probably most significantly, when Lucas Moura was taken off for Steven Bergwijn. By the end there were chants against the chairman, Daniel Levy. It seems absurd to say it 11 games into the manager’s reign but already for Nuno Espírito Santo the situation is critical.Manchester United were more solid than they have been. There may be problems ahead if Marcus Rashford,...
Centre-forward’s sensational performance seemed to step outside Old Trafford’s doom-laden tides of the past weekMoney won’t make you happy. Money won’t solve all your problems. But it certainly helps. Or at least, it does when that weekly debit comes in exchange for talent on the Cristiano Ronaldo scale.Ronaldo was sensational here, producing a performance that seemed to step outside the doom-laden tides of the last week, most notably in a startling finish for Manchester United’s opening goal. Continue reading...
Slow tempo is hindering Tottenham’s attacking thrust and a change is needed to get the best from Harry KaneThere are no two ways about it, I found it hard watching Tottenham at West Ham on Sunday. They have scored nine goals in nine Premier League games and their defeat in east London tells us why.Tottenham’s tempo is slow and although it may allow them to control play it hinders their ability to attack. Despite having more than 60% possession against West Ham, Spurs managed four shots on target – without troubling Lukasz Fabianski – because they are not using the ball quickly enough to create chances. Continue reading...
Nuno seems scared of his Spurs bench, Manchester United players must stand up and Joshua King haunts Goodison ParkSubstitutions have been permitted in English league football since 1965, but maybe nobody told Nuno Espírito Santo. The Tottenham manager has been curiously reluctant to use his well-stocked bench in recent weeks, and even as his side sleepwalked to defeat at West Ham, he waited until the 84th minute to make changes. Even if the likes of Dele Alli and Steven Bergwijn have hardly sparkled of late, a worrying gulf is opening between the first XI and the rest. Meanwhile, Nuno’s continuing stubbornness – “The game was under control,” he explained curtly – is hardly likely to endear him to the fanbase....
David Moyes’s side have lost at home after their previous two Europa League wins, though face Spurs in confident moodIt is too early to say whether following their first two European assignments with a couple of late home defeats is part of a worrying trend for West Ham, who have every reason to feel confident before hosting Tottenham at the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon.These are unusually heady times for the east London club, who maintained their perfect record in the Europa League by beating Genk 3-0 on Thursday night, and David Moyes hopes his side still have plenty left in the tank before facing Spurs. “I want to try and challenge on all fronts if I can,” West Ham’s...