The appointments of Allardyce, Pardew, Moyes et al have caught flak but foreign managers from Pep Guardiola to Marco Silva are shining and likewise Englishmen such as Sean Dyche and Eddie HoweIt is a little more than a month since Sam Allardyce appeared alongside Richard Keys and Andy Gray in their TV studio in Doha and moaned, without a hint of irony, about foreigners taking all the plum jobs. Well, more or less. What Allardyce claimed exactly was British managers are viewed as “second class” in their own country and have “nowhere to go” because the Premier League is a “foreign league in England”.Nonsense then and even more so in a week when Allardyce took charge at Everton and Alan...
Is there a possible straw for Manchester City rivals to clutch at? Jack Wilshere has an impact off the bench and Riyad Mahrez is treading water at Leicester• Sign up to our weekly email, The Recap, here, showcasing a selection of our sport features from the past seven daysManchester City proved they possess the spirit to match their skills in fighting back from an undeserved half-time deficit to claim this win. Huddersfield Town, who were again impressive, held the lead for 1min54sec – 20% of the total time City have been behind in their seven away games this season. City’s unbeaten record was briefly imperilled by a poor period of play which had Fabian Delph at its heart. The stand-in...
The sacking of five managers already is in part because Brighton, Huddersfield and Newcastle do not look like relegation fodder – and because Sunderland’s woes show what the drop could meanFive Premier League managers have lost their jobs so far this season before we are a third of the way in, and looking at the bottom three in particular the figure could still rise again before Christmas.To put that into context, this time last season only one manager had been sacked, Francesco Guidolin almost inevitably failing to live up to expectations at Swansea, and it would take until late February and the tear-jerking removal of Claudio Ranieri at Leicester to take the tally to five. Continue reading...
Hugo Lloris’s top-four focus for Spurs is telling, Callum Wilson is making up for lost time and can Paul Pogba yet be compared with Steven Gerrard?After challenging for the title for the past couple of seasons, it was significant to hear Hugo Lloris contemplate looking over Tottenham Hotspur’s shoulder more than in front of them at the end of a derby defeat. “Oh, before we think about [the leaders] Man City it’s important to stay in the top four. This is the main target for our team,” he said. “We heard from outside that Tottenham play for the title, blah, blah, blah. The most important thing is to stay consistent in the league.” The difficulty imposing themselves on the most...
The table doesn’t lie but teams such as Burnley and Brighton are exceeding all expectations while Swansea and Everton have disappointed badly. Here’s how the 20 sides rank based on early-season health and vigourThey say the league table never lies, and this is of course true. What they don’t tell you is that during the dog days of an international break, when nothing falls or rises and hopes and fears are put on temporary hold, the narrative becomes a bit less compelling.You get sick of looking at the same thing, in other words, although Burnley, Brighton, Watford and Huddersfield will probably never tire of waiting for winter and the real meat of the season from a position in the top...