The chairman operates a small circle of loyal nodding dogs and his unchecked power is draining away the hope at SpursLike the proverbial tree falling in the forest, or the sound of no hands clapping, the prospect of Antonio Conte not joining Tottenham Hotspur has a certain paradoxical quality to it. Conte joining Tottenham: on some level, I suspect we all knew how this would pan out. The initial fire-streak of success; a brief title challenge; the inevitable implosion and acrimonious divorce, leaving only bittersweet memories and a squad packed with unshiftable 29-year-old wing-backs.But Conte not joining: somehow this feels meaningful and epic in itself, a mini-tale of clashing egos and competing ambitions and insecurity and longing all packed into...
Exits for Conte and Zidane, together with talk of Pochettino returning to Spurs, epitomise the chaos of modern football At first glance, Antonio Conte leaving a club in dispute with the owners soon after leading them to a league title may not seem particularly significant. This is what he does. His departure from Internazionale follows ostensibly similar departures from Juventus and Chelsea, and he left the Italy national job early as well.But this is about far more than Conte. What is happening at Inter is emblematic of the chaos of modern football and the struggles of an industry that had become a stage for the soft-power machinations of various states and oligarchs and was in need of major financial recalibration...
Chelsea and Liverpool aim to seal their Champions League places as Sergio Agüero bids farewell to the Etihad StadiumIf Harry Kane really is making his Tottenham swansong at the King Power Stadium, he will have wished it could come with stakes rather higher than a fraught battle to cling on to seventh place. The emotions will be inescapable and the motivation to provide one last star turn presumably huge. Winning at such a difficult venue would be bittersweet for Kane and Spurs, given how costly the collapse of their away form has been to their campaign, with only two wins in their last nine. Such an outcome would also be deeply frustrating for Leicester, who are still in with a...
At a time when money is tight the club need six new players and another new manager, and doubts surround Kane and SonFans from both sides at a game between two English clubs? Nature is healing. Delays on the Jubilee and Metropolitan lines on Cup final day? Nature is healing. Manchester City winning the League Cup, again? Nature is healing. Everywhere you looked on Sunday, English football was returning to normal. And there is nothing, perhaps, quite so familiar in English football as the prospect of Tottenham wondering where they go next.If they still had hope in the final 10 minutes it was only because of the eternal truism that a side that have had dozens of chances and failed...
The Carabao Cup final brought fans back inside a stadium again and they saw City dominate Spurs on the way to victoryAfter the leave of enforced absence, after that failed heist masquerading as a Super League, after a year and counting of isolation and anxiety. Well, here comes everyone.With 34 minutes gone at Wembley there was a moment of authentic match-going beauty. João Cancelo played a wondrous fizzed, flat, crossfield pass to Riyad Mahrez. He took the ball with a super-soft touch, jinked inside – as he must always jink inside – then spanked a thrilling shot back on the same zigzagging angle just past the far post. Related: Manchester City win fourth Carabao Cup in a row as Laporte...