An impending appointment at Spurs has been met with near universal acclaim in his home country, although the coach is not without faultsAnge Postecoglou will finally get an opportunity to exact revenge on Manchester United. Just over 23 years after Quinton Fortune’s brace condemned his South Melbourne team to a 2-0 defeat in the 2000 Fifa Club World Championship at the Maracanã, the Australian is set to become a Premier League manager, with Tottenham expected to offer a two-year contract with an option for a further season.Reaction to Postecoglou’s impending appointment in north London has been mixed among Tottenham fans, even if it has become somewhat more favourable as the doubters learn more beyond the information on his Wikipedia page....
Sam Allardyce’s back five failed to keep Tottenham’s potent strike force at bay but poor recruitment has been the problemAs kick-off approached the strains of Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds drifted over the sound system. Maybe it was the acoustics, but the lyrics sounded particularly plaintive.By the final whistle no song would have been sufficiently forlorn to match the mood as wholesale boos signalled that Leeds had just experienced football’s equivalent of stepping off the edge of the world. Continue reading...
There is something magnificent about the Roma manager’s Europa Cup final date with Sevilla on WednesdayPerhaps it’s different if you live in Italy or if Serie A is the league you follow most closely. Perhaps, then, José Mourinho is still a cussed ball of fury, bearing ancient grudges, determined never to relinquish a slight, real or imagined, the Keyser Söze of the dugout, the Karla of the press conference, manipulating and plotting, radiating paranoia as he insists his club is the victim of a conspiracy by the referees, the media and the football authorities.But if not, there was something almost heartwarming about Roma’s 0-0 draw at Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final. He’s still doing...
Everton have relegation battle in their own hands, Aston Villa fans face a dilemma and there will be emotional farewells galoreFor the third time in 29 years, Everton’s Premier League status is on the line on the final day at Goodison Park although, unlike against Wimbledon in 1994 or Coventry in 1998, survival is in their own hands. The task sounds straightforward enough: beat a Bournemouth team with nothing to play for and a 70th consecutive season in the top flight is guaranteed. Everton, though, have an aversion to the straightforward. Sean Dyche does not have a decent striker available with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has been integral to the team’s recent improvement, hamstrung again. Unless Vitaliy Mykolenko recovers from a...
Jürgen Klopp’s side looked impressive at times during their helter skelter 4-3 win, but defensive frailties remain a concernWithin 15 minutes Trent Alexander-Arnold had helped to create two goals in what looked set to be a thrashing of Tottenham. But then Liverpool stopped, and a madness of their own making ensued.Alexander-Arnold’s new hybrid role showed once more the benefits it could provide to Liverpool as he secured his 53rd Premier League assist, but Jürgen Klopp’s side need to learn how to compensate when the defender drifts from right-back into midfield. Continue reading...