Romelu Lukaku is weighing in with some key contributions, Christian Benteke is not and Tottenham are showing how much weaker they are without Christian EriksenSergio Agüero has had a curiosity of a campaign. He has been injured, benched and below par at times. He has been outscored by Raheem Sterling for much of the season. Yet his hat-trick on Saturday meant he has scored 20 goals for a fifth successive campaign. Further milestones await: Agüero is nine away from becoming the first man to score 200 for City. He is 11 behind his career-best tally of 33 and, with successive cup ties against Championship opponents, Bristol City and Cardiff, he has the chance to make further inroads before Gabriel Jesus...
Seeing Andy Carroll or Peter Crouch at Chelsea is too good to hope for as it could confirm suspicions about the basic numbers of effectiveness and opportunity in elite teamsIt is nearly 40 years since a famous photo emerged that left the nascent Indian space programme an object of widespread mockery. The photo, published in 1979, showed India’s brand new state-of-the-art communications satellite being wheeled out for its launch – on a bullock cart.For political opponents the picture exposed the space programme as a matter of grandiose ambition undercut by agricultural thinking, a bullock cart culture. That same year the Indian government announced it would also be spending $6bn on bullock cart research, with the idea of entering the white...
Arsenal have hit an all-time low under Arsène Wenger, Chelsea could go for Andy Carroll and Sam Allardyce needs a resultChelsea have endured three successive goalless draws for the first time and it is inconceivable the scouting department is not exploring forward options. Something has clearly put them off the pursuit of Alexis Sánchez, whom they courted in the summer. Perhaps they believe he is set upon a reunion with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. Maybe they feel they cannot compete with the financial package Manchester United could offer. Possibly they deem the costs excessive. Yet, if that avenue is blocked, and with Crystal Palace unlikely to entertain offers for Christian Benteke, there remains the possibility Chelsea will explore Andy...
Paul Hurst’s high-flyers have been defying expectations all season and will offer a stern FA Cup test for a side with both eyes on Premier League safetyA funny thing happened when Shrewsbury Town played at Wigan on Boxing Day. The visitors earned a goalless draw to end a run of five straight wins by the League One leaders, though that was not entirely unexpected. What was odd was that when the home crowd chanted: “We are top of the league,” the away fans responded with: “We are staying up.”At that precise point Shrewsbury were second in the table, as they are still, about to reach the same points total by new year as they managed in the whole of last...
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...