Category: Football

There is a scene in the Sherlock Holmes’ short story A Scandal in Bohemia where the protagonist has deduced something meaningful based on apparently incidental observations, and Dr Watson declares himself to be extraordinarily impressed. “When I hear you give your reasons,” Watson tells Holmes, “the thing always appears to me to be so ridiculously simple that I could easily do it myself. Though at each…

There was always destined to be refereeing controversy when Manchester City hosted Liverpool at the Etihad. Before a ball had even been kicked, Liverpool fans were raging about the appointment of Anthony Taylor as referee. Taylor, from Wythenshawe in Greater Manchester, seemed like an unnecessarily controversial choice, though he has refereed both Manchester clubs before and the record states that he supports Altrincham. While…

Invincibles no longer, yet enhanced in defeat. Manchester City inflicted on Liverpool a first loss of the season. Liverpool inflicted on City the more powerful idea that they might just be the better team, the side against which all others must now be measured. They require the confirmation of a Premier League title to substantiate that impression, of course. Still four points to the…

Leroy Sane grabbed the winner as champions Manchester City reignited the Premier League title race with a tense 2-1 win over leaders Liverpool, but who were the standout performers and who let themselves down in the season's biggest game so far. Manchester City Fernandinho was one of Manchester City's standout performers in the win over Liverpool (Getty Images) Ederson Beaten by Mané before near…

Despite losing to Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Wolverhampton Wanderers are enjoying a fine season back in the top flight. However, they will have to go on a remarkable run in the second half of the season to better the achievements of these four promoted outfits… Nottingham Forest 1994/95 After finishing bottom of the Premier League under Brian Clough in 1992/93, Nottingham Forest bounced back…

The year was 1985. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, the Live Aid movement was in full swing and, unthinkably, the Scottish championship had been won by a club outside the Old Firm for the third year running. For a team other than Celtic or Rangers to mount a prolonged title tilt may seem scarcely believable nowadays, but for a time in the mid-80s it…

No one wants to be shocked by the unexpected arrival of transfer deadline day, like a sex toy hitting the back of a reporter's head. Thankfully, like Harry Redknapp winding down a car door window, we are prepared for all your questions. So, scroll down, and prepare yourself for a window full of panic buys and commercially-motivated moves. When is the January transfer window open?…

I'd like to start with an apology. I was away in Gameweek 21, leaving you in the hands of i Sports News Editor – Evan Bartlett: an FPL manager not even in the top-300 of the i sport readers league. This will not happen again. In order to reconcile I would like to offer the following surefire tips that should see you catapult up your own…

ST JAMES' PARK, NEWCASTLE — And so the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer red revival rolls on. Four games, four wins and for the first time, a clean sheet to go with it. Solskjaer said beforehand that he rarely enjoyed going to Tyneside but he was punching the air here when Marcus Rashford scored the visitors’ second. That was with 10 minutes left and drained some…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became just the second Manchester United manager to win his first four games in charge as his side defeated Newcastle. It didn't all go the visitors' way, with Solskjaer's opposite number Rafa Benitez setting his side up in a very defensive 5-4-1 and the sides going in level at the break. But a tactical tweak by Solskjaer early in the second-half,…

Prior to New Year’s Day, Cardiff City were the only Premier League opponent who Harry Kane had failed to score against. It took the Tottenham Hotspur striker just two minutes and 21 seconds to add the Bluebirds to a list which now features 28 clubs, as Kane’s early effort set Mauricio Pochettino’s men on their way to a comfortable 3-0 victory. There was an…

Welcome to the BetBright STATZONE, where we give you the stats and you make the decisions! After the busy festive period in the league the focus switches to the FA Cup third round this weekend with the English top-flight sides entering the competition for the first time. We’ve two all-Premier League clashes too as Bournemouth host Brighton, while Liverpool travel to Wolves. The games…

For Claudio Ranieri and Unai Emery, the critical difference is time. Where Emery’s mission plan is to oversee the biggest cultural change at Arsenal in over two decades, to sweep away the stagnation of the late Wenger era and reinvent the team as a force for the modern age, Ranieri has a little under five months to fulfil his primary purpose at Fulham: saving…

The FA Cup third round is soon to be played, and with its advent comes the fourth round draw. Some tantalising matchups will await us with the prospect of the first Premier League teams exiting the competition by way of relative minnows. Defending champions Chelsea host Nottingham Forest on 5 January, while non-league Woking will host Watford as the top-flight Hornets travel to Surrey.…

New year, same old Spurs. Should they ever get that fancy new gaf finished on the Tottenham High Road, Spurs might be onto something. The 45 points registered in 2018 were the most of any Premier League team on the road. Few came easier than the three with which they began 2019. Whether the Wolves defeat might have signalled a deeper malaise linked to…