Minamino’s Merseyside derby baptism, Woodgate’s Tottenham reunion and non-league Fylde take on Sheffield UnitedConsidering they have been fairly regular visitors over the years, Derby’s record at Selhurst Park is pretty miserable. Indeed in their past 15 trips – a run stretching back to 1983 – they’ve won only once. That victory came in 2002 when Georgi Kinkladze scored the only goal of the game. A big-name big-money player past his peak helping the Rams to an unlikely win in south London? You might be able to spot where this is going. Wayne Rooney made his playing return to English football on Thursday night and played a full 90 minutes in the 2-1 defeat of Barnsley in which his free-kick supplied...
Lamptey may not last long at Chelsea, Leicester can be regular title contenders and have Pereira and Ndombele finally arrived?Welcome to the Premier League, then, Tariq Lamptey. And – quite possibly – farewell. For the 19-year-old right-back, the Emirates Stadium was some place to make a professional debut. He rose to the challenge, keeping Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang quiet and making one thrilling foray into Arsenal territory before playing in Tammy Abraham. It says plenty about Chelsea’s short-term youth policy that Lampard felt able to throw an untried teenager into a game of this magnitude. It says plenty about Chelsea’s long-term youth policy that they may not be able to keep him. Lamptey’s contract is up at the end of the season,...
Leicester’s title hopes are fading, Danny Ings makes his England case and John McGinn’s absence is a huge blow for VillaAt this rate there is every chance two of the Premier League’s deadliest English strikers will not be part of Gareth Southgate’s squad at Euro 2020. Jamie Vardy is unlikely to be tempted out of international retirement and then there is Danny Ings, the Southampton striker who took his tally to 13 goals for the season with a double. Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Tammy Abraham and Callum Wilson may be ahead of Ings in the pecking order but seven goals from his past seven games means it is impossible to ignore the 27-year-old’s credentials for a recall. Ings’s only cap...
The sport has a duty to police racism within its own boundaries, but this divisiveness comes directly from elected politicians“Ladies and gentlemen, this is a security announcement Racism is interfering with the game.” You can say that again. Welcome to Great Britain, 2019, a place of division and ugliness, a place where a Premier League football match can end with eight minutes of added time for time‑wasting, VAR and monkey chants; and a place where racist behaviour is most definitely interfering with the game.This was a wretched occasion for Tottenham in ways that go some way beyond a 2-0 home defeat by an impressive Chelsea team. You can raze the old structures, you can build a beautiful, gleaming stadium. Unfortunately,...
For all their attacking vim Chelsea are vulnerable to rapid counterattacks, and José Mourinho’s Spurs can take advantageW hen José Mourinho arrived at Tottenham a month ago, his side trailed Chelsea by 15 points. Six league matches later, Spurs will go above Frank Lampard’s side if they beat them at home on Sunday. The turnaround has been remarkable, not only in the way Spurs seem to have rediscovered their edge but in the withering of Chelsea. From apparently clear skies a crisis is approaching and the next two months feel critical for Lampard’s managerial future.Nobody at Stamford Bridge is grumbling too much yet. Lampard, as one of the club’s greatest heroes, was always going to be indulged more than some...