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In the eternal circle that is the Premier League season, we have revolved back around to the January transfer window. Like a snake eating its own tail, football is doomed to repeat itself forever. So we must tolerate the return of gossip, speculation, transfer live blogs, warchests, raids, swoops, wantaway players and spending sprees. Given […]

There he stood in a corner of the ground, the Salford Warhol in a beanie hat. Paying tribute to the astonishing transformation of his home town club, Charlatans front man Tim Burgess chose Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium to push his Bands FC initiative, a funky project aimed at bringing together through the trading of badges […]

A small, puffy weal of skin just under Brad Barritt’s left eye is the only outward sign of the ironmongery and embroidery that have mended the face of the Saracens captain. A crack in his cheekbone last season needed a metal plate inserted, and Barritt played a European quarter-final away to Leinster a few days […]

Deciphering whether 2018 was a good or bad year for Real Madrid is difficult. On one hand, they claimed their third successive Champions League title, taking the club’s total number of European Cups to 13 – almost double the number of their nearest competitor, AC Milan (seven). And yet on the other hand, 2018 witnessed […]

For all that links the two, there are many differences between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, not just as players, but as people do. Of course, much of what we know about the character of the duo comes through the prism of public perception. It’s difficult to know what is real and what is merely […]

Ascot 1.50 – De Dollar Man The selection here is De Dollar Man who has been quite lightly campaigned over the last couple of seasons and showed an encouraging performance on his comeback at Newbury. He just needs to sharpen up his jumping a little but I’m sure softer ground is what he needs. It’s […]

Odds and preview for Premier League clash We could be in for an early Christmas cracker when Wolves host Liverpool tonight. The home side have held their own against the big teams this term. They beat Chelsea at Molineux earlier this month. And they’ve taken points off Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United too. Can […]

The latest insight from the Tizzard stables King George VI – Thistlecrack and Native River Both horses are in lovely form. Tom Scudamore came down and schooled Thistlecrack on Wednesday and he jumped really nicely. It looks like the ground at Kempton is going to be genuinely good to soft which should play to his […]

Racing ambassador discusses his weekend rides Saturday – Haydock 12.25 – Go Long My first ride of the day is Go Long in the Novices’ Chase.  I wouldn’t have many rides for Evan Williams as he has plenty of good jockeys riding for him, so this is a nice one to pick up.  He’s only […]

It’s the final gameweek of Bundesliga football before the winter break kicks in and the headline act is on Friday night where leaders Dortmund host Borussia Monchengladbach. Our midweek acca was ruined by Borussia Dortmund failing to score a second goal at relegation-threatened Fortuna Dusseldorf — suffering a first defeat of the season in the process — but we’re […]

We’ve reached the penultimate week of the regular season. The playoff spots are beginning to get booked and the battle for the wild card spots is getting hotter and hotter. Last week we saw the three leading teams in the league struggle. The Chiefs and Rams lost whilst the Saints stumbled to a narrow victory over […]

Before Trent Alexander-Arnold missed Gameweeks 16 and 17 he was one of the most reliable sources of points in defence, scoring 73 Fantasy Premier League points in just 13 appearances. But during Liverpool’s crucial win over Napoli he picked up a nasty foot injury. Over 21 per cent of Fantasy Premier League players still own […]

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given his first taste of management at Manchester United as a youth coach. Winning trophies back in his previous coaching involvement at the club, as well as his work with young players in Norway, means Solskjaer understands the process of shining gems and helping prospects develop to the point where they […]

“I’d love to see two or three — and not players you have to Google and say, ‘Who’s that?’” is one of the great lines in modern English football. It had a bit of everything: the spice of an ambitious player calling out his own club for their lacklustre signings, contextualised by a current, technological […]

Spurs return to Premier League action after a victorious north London derby in the Carabao Cup, hoping to build upon their recent good form and ignore the rumours circulating around manager Mauricio Pochettino and Old Trafford. They’ll fancy their odds, considering Everton have not beaten them in the league in the past 12 attempts. However, […]