Delays to the new White Hart Lane have resulted in Wembley – even for big games – becoming an unwelcoming venueFor a long part of the night, the vibe here was not good. It wasn’t exactly bad either, but it did lack a lot of the elements that, were you to observe them, might make you think: “Ah, this is an important match, the crowd is desperate for their team to win and I’m falling in love with the drama of elite European competition all over again.”In front of a half-full stadium, Spurs laboured against a PSV side with no pressure on their shoulders and a raucous pocket of support behind them. Related: Spurs cling on in Europe after Harry...
Liverpool to reveal how good Arsenal really are, Lukaku to be on the bench again and Hart has a point to prove at West HamAfter the Unai Emery era opened with defeats by Manchester City and Chelsea, it was hard not to wonder if Arsenal were going to endure another uncertain season. Yet a kind run of fixtures has allowed confidence to grow and Arsenal’s players are gaining a strong understanding of Emery’s demands. They are unbeaten in all competitions since losing to Chelsea on 18 August and find themselves four points off the top of the table, with optimism flowing thanks to the goals of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lucas Torreira’s snappy contributions in midfield. But just...
Overrun on White Hart Lane has begun to affect an overachieving manager who may tire of austerityFootball fans. Save money on expensive TV subscriptions. Create your own Sky Sports Monday Night Football debate by standing behind a desk shrieking “Twenty‑nine million pounds net!” and “Five hundred million on a stadium!” in a voice so high-pitched it’s audible only to fish, dogs and snails, before almost coming to blows during a metaphysical debate over the meaning of success in an essentially meaningless world.Among the many oddities of Tottenham v Manchester City at the Wembley multisport complex on Monday was the sight of Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher being drawn, with a commendable degree of feeling, into the general uncertainty around where...
The pitch looked terrible and the match was patchy but the Manchester City forward showed what a top performer he isRaheem Sterling spent a fair amount of his childhood dodging potholes and wrong‑footing passers-by as he kicked a ball around Wembley. So no real change there on a strange night when Manchester City eked out a brittle, angsty 1-0 win against a brittle, angsty Tottenham team in front of a brittle, angsty Tottenham crowd.It is hard to think of many stranger Premier League fixtures than this, though this 1-0 victory for the champions was strange in an understated, slightly dreamy kind of way. For most of the first half it was almost impossible to look past the wretched spectacle of...
Tottenham came unstuck when they pressed high at the Etihad last season but it was preferable to their timid performance against Manchester City at WembleyTottenham would press them, push high up the pitch, even from goal-kicks. They’d be aggressive and adventurous. They’d stop Manchester City playing out from the back. This would be a proper test of Pep Guardiola’s side. Related: The Pep commandments: how lessons learned at Bayern stymied Liverpool | Jonathan Wilson Related: Pep Guardiola admits he was wrong to call Spurs the ‘Harry Kane team’ Continue reading...