Thrashing at Tottenham showed Everton’s early-season failings have returned and Allardyce must fix them quick if he hopes to have a future at the clubAs Everton’s players headed towards their supporters shortly after the final whistle had blown, it was not immediately obvious who there were more of. The exodus in that corner of Wembley was stark and had started some time before the end of proceedings, with many of those who had travelled from Merseyside and elsewhere clearly keen to get away from the misery taking place in front of them.It was hard to blame them. There is, after all, only so much any fan can take. The despair has been long-standing but this season particularly so given the...
West Ham have found great discipline under their new manager and it paid off again with another positive result against a side in the top sixIf he paid any attention to the scoffing that greeted his appointment as Slaven Bilic’s replacement two months ago, David Moyes would be entitled to hold up this game of attack-versus-defence and wonder goals at either end as evidence that reports of his demise were premature. Son Heung-min blasted Tottenham Hotspur level just when it seemed that West Ham were going to pull off one of the great Wembley heists, but Moyes could still reflect on another minor tactical triumph.There will be a temptation to belittle West Ham’s approach, even though they were confronted by...
This January transfer window will be as frantic as any and an attempt to hijack Real Madrid’s expected move for football’s hottest property can’t be ruled outThe transfer window officially opens on Monday, though this one has been so eagerly awaited that some clubs have jumped the gun. It is slightly odd that this should happen in a season when all interest in the title race will most likely be over by the end of January but, perhaps because they feel the deal properly belongs to last summer, Liverpool went ahead early with the announcement that they had agreed to pay Southampton a record £75m for Virgil van Dijk. Related: Ten January window transfer targets – from Griezmann to Lozano...
Carvalhal needs immediate impact at Swansea, Schmeichel seeks redemption and Chelsea’s Azpilicueta-Morata combination threatens StokeThe wisdom of appointing Carlos Carvalhal as Swansea’s new manager is, to say the least, questionable: a man who was dismissed on Christmas Eve for underachieving with Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship does not inspire confidence. Still, he may prove successful: many doubted him when he arrived at Wednesday in 2015, and he started well there, reaching the play-offs in his first two seasons. But if he is to change things at the Liberty Stadium, he needs to do it immediately. After Saturday’s game at Watford, three of Swansea’s next four league games are against Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Liverpool. If they do not beat the...
How will Arsenal cope with Liverpool’s fearsome foursome, the Mark Hughes ultimatum and whether Sam Allardyce will ever win over Everton fansIt would be a dereliction of duty if Arsène Wenger has not spent the past few days coming up with a way to stop Liverpool’s fearsome attack from running riot at the Emirates Stadium on Friday night. Arsenal’s manager cannot say that he has not been warned. He knows how much his team has suffered against these opponents since Jürgen Klopp’s arrival on Merseyside in October 2015 and nobody could say it was a surprise when Liverpool hammered Arsenal 4-0 at Anfield in August, with Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mané and Mohamed Salah inspired and Philippe Coutinho not even involved....