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When you saw the exercise bikes, you knew they were in trouble.

It was 2009 and Newcastle United were sinking like a stone. Mired in the bottom three, Mike Ashley had attempted to pull a rabbit out of the hat by summoning the inspirational powers of club legend Alan Shearer for his first gig in management.

But away at Stoke, in a proper relegation tear up in his second game, the eye was drawn to Newcastle substitutes Jonas Gutierrez and Fabricio Coloccini sitting on stationary cycles next to the away dugout.

It was meant as one of those bright “marginal gain” ideas that were all the rage at the time – rumour was assistant boss Iain Dowie had come up with it – but instead it offered up the perfect metaphor for a doomed relegation fight.

Pedalling vigorously without getting anywhere? It all felt very familiar at Tottenham on Sunday as Igor Tudor gestured frantically to his players to push up to form a high line to no avail.

Shearer was meant to be the shock treatment that took Newcastle off Premier League life support but it was too late to save them. Tudor – similarly inexperienced in England, without time or authority to make the changes in a disaffected dressing room – might be Tottenham’s version of that doomed appointment.

When you watched Newcastle in 2009, you always assumed they would have enough. There were proper, bona fide international calibre players in that squad (Michael Owen, anyone?) just as Spurs have. The problem was never a surfeit of quality. It was that no one at the club ever really believed they were in a fight until it was far too late.

Sunderland knew. Hull City, who finished 17^th, knew. Stoke certainly did, and scrapped to 45 points in the end. But Newcastle floated, caught up in internecine conflict in the autumn, distracted by takeover talk in the winter and a bunch of outrageous sub-plots that sucked attention from the bigger picture: that they were heading down.

Tottenham is the same. The defenestration of Daniel Levy felt huge at the time, didn’t it? But off-field intrigue distracted from a bigger downward trend. Thomas Frank drinking from an Arsenal cup? Absorbed a bit of attention for a while. But newsflash: Spurs last won a league game on 28 December. That’s the top line here.

What I most remember from 2009 was watching the games melt away. When you first looked at their fixture list there was opportunity and what felt like winnable games. But hope ebbed away. Stoke away? A point from a six-pointer and a false dawn. Portsmouth at home? Another two points dropped after a 0-0. No one expected anything at Anfield so a 3-0 defeat was baked in.

And then it was too late, Newcastle sleepwalking into a situation where they had forgotten the basics of winning. Curating a lead, defending under pressure, forcing the issue either at home or away – they couldn’t do any of them. So even when they got a lifeline on the final day – a point at Aston Villa would have saved them – they lost courtesy of an own goal.

Tottenham have time on their side and are being chased, rather than trying to scrabble some ground back like Newcastle were. But it’s the same issue of complacency – keeping Frank for as long as they did, a quiet January transfer window. Now they have no more aces up their sleeves.

Just win is the simple equation. But do they have that in them? Can they hold off a Nottingham Forest with sharper elbows in late March as the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium frets? Can they win at the Stadium of Light? You wouldn’t bet on it.

Everything we’ve seen recently looks alarmingly like doomed Newcastle did in 2009. The cycle could be repeating itself.

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BRAMALL LANE — Of course it ended here, in the one specific place they wanted it to least. Not in some far-flung corner of the Championship’s geography – Swansea to the west or Norwich to the east – but simultaneously as close to home as it is possible to be and yet a million miles away. 

Only during this Sheffield Wednesday season could they spend their Saturday wishing-but-not-quite-cheering on West Brom to win so that relegation would come a day early and avoid giving them the satisfaction. Of course that didn’t happen either. That is the life of a Wednesday fan in 2025-26: you don’t even get the bad things you want.

I was at Leicester City on the opening weekend of the Championship season, for Sheffield Wednesday protest day. They have journeyed across the country all season and did so across the city on Sunday. They chanted “League One again, ole ole” to take the sting out of the rest of the ground singing it at them.

On social media, there was some astonishment that supporters would fill their allocation given the predictability of what would come and what it would mean. You’re missing the point.

They roared the players before the game and commiserated them after it, because this isn’t their fault. They delighted at the mini-Sheffield United collapse – red card, conceded goal – as if this season could still be saved or they were ever likely to score three times.

But mostly they just wanted to be there because no club should fall from a division without those who love it most being present to pay their respects. Our lifetimes with our football clubs contain dozens of mileposts, “I was there then” afternoons for better and much worse. This was one.

This relegation has been signposted in neon lights since when… August 2025? June? The end of the season before?

The lowest points total in English football history is eight and Wednesday are on -7 with 13 games left. They have broken records for the earliest relegation and will break more by the end of May.

The waiting is always the worst bit, made 10x more galling when the conclusion is so miserable and so inescapable. Waiting to learn the extent of your eventual punishment. Waiting for the winless run to ever end. Waiting for the owner to leave. Waiting for his name to be taken off the seats. Waiting for the takeover to be completed. Waiting for League One again.

But not waiting for long at Bramall Lane. It took 72 seconds for Sheffield United to score and kill a contest that was never a contest at all. A brainless clearance, an overlap, an easy finish from Patrick Bamford; just another disappointment for those 100 yards away. The only respite came through red-and-white self-implosion but even that soon subsided. Wednesday ended with 10 too – nobody does self-implosion like them.

There is an inglorious irony to Wednesday’s fall back into League One. The manner of their escape into the second tier was magical and miraculous – the Peterborough comeback and the 123rd-minute goal at Wembley. It was held up by those who desperately wanted to believe in the ability of good to find a way, whoever’s name was above the door and however much they were letting everybody down.

And now, Wednesday fall back not with fizzes and bangs and improbable endings that will be replayed on a loop forever, but with a sorry whimper and with half a first-team squad. And the man responsible for this monstrous mess, the architect of misery, is no longer here.

That is the impact of gross mismanagement, carelessness and stubbornness. Even at their very worst, football clubs should compete. Here, even the victories came laced with depressing twinges. They celebrated the move into administration even though it effectively confirmed that they would go down. They celebrated exclusivity being given to the consortium led by James Bord, although few could pretend that it sounded ideal.

One of the biggest tragedies when a club’s survival is seriously threatened is how expectations slide down a greasy pole. As supporters, you know to be watchful and remain on high alert, yet must treat anyone who says they have money and good intentions as potential saviours. Certainty becomes an eternal impossibility. You are beggars and will not be given the freedom of choice .

The takeover, if and when it happens, may mark a line in the sand for English football. If it completes before May, the EFL will determine the appropriateness of the potential owners and the sources of their money. After May, it will be the new Independent Football Regulator (IFR) that decides.

That would seem highly appropriate, if it happens. Because if Sheffield Wednesday could be the first test case for the IFR’s new powers, they are also the best argument for its existence.

The most meaningful weapons of the IFR are its ability to force mediation and the sale of clubs by owners in the most extreme cases and to push for greater wealth redistribution that increases the sustainability of a league pyramid that cannot claim that characteristic now.

And that’s the point. Supporters of every club knew that Chansiri wasn’t fit for purpose long before those seats were removed from Hillsborough’s North Stand. An ongoing Fit and Proper Person Test would help. But the saga also asks serious questions about the financial risks taken to compete below the Premier League and its inflated broadcasting revenue. Attack this two-headed beast from only one end and we will likely fail.

Because this isn’t sport. The 2025-26 Championship season has contained 23 clubs and one shell, decimated to the point that even competitiveness lay beyond them. At Bramall Lane it hurt most, but there is also a numbness amongst this fanbase. It is an act of emotional self-preservation and it is a stain on English football. Never again, we always say. Let this catastrophe be the start of a new beginning, here and everywhere else.

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An “as you were” weekend in the title race, for what feels like the first time in ages. Manchester City and Arsenal both had tricky assignments that they ultimately dealt with relatively comfortably. After the Molineux mess, Arsenal supporters will certainly feel happiest having brushed aside a wretched Tottenham Hotspur.

The last fumes of Aston Villa’s title race have gone, if they ever really existed, while Leeds, Palace and Brighton all eased any lingering concerns of being dragged into trouble. Forest losing in the last minute to Liverpool means that there are now four points separating them, West Ham and Tottenham. Is it one from three now?

Here is one piece of analysis on each of the top flight clubs who played this weekend (in reverse table order)…

This weekend’s results

• Aston Villa 1-1 Leeds
• Brentford 0-2 Brighton
• Chelsea 1-1 Burnley
• West Ham 0-0 Bournemouth
• Man City 2-1 Newcastle
• Crystal Palace 1-0 Wolves
• Nott’m Forest 0-1 Liverpool
• Sunderland 1-3 Fulham
• Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal

Wolves endure the worst away day of all

We have all experienced terrible away days and we keep going knowing that more will always follow. God only knows Wolves fans understand more than most after this dire season.

But there was something particularly cruel about a defeat at Selhurst Park that breaks any sense of momentum and confirms what we already knew: Wolves are down and Rob Edwards’ positive impact has been mitigated by his side’s continued tendency to trip themselves up and fall onto their faces.

There was the imperfect hat-trick: the penalty miss that kills your spirit because you thought you were going to see your team take the lead; the needless, brainless sending off that makes a hard job more difficult; the last-second goal that makes the long journey home ten times worse. They deserve better than this.

Burnley’s lingering question

Welcome back to Burnley’s Premier League season, which has been impossible to get a handle on. Whenever you consider it an act of carelessness to leave Scott Parker in charge, he finds a result or two. Whenever you think Parker is justifying his position, something mad happens.

Burnley have now drawn two of their six away games against Big Six clubs, an acceptable return for most promoted clubs. Between those matches they have lost at home to West Ham and shambolically gone 2-0 down at Palace. They then scored three times in six minutes to win away for the first time since October, promptly lost at home to League One Mansfield Town and then rescued a point at Stamford Bridge.

Parker’s point about continued fight, given Burnley’s last two away games, appears perfectly reasonable. His team sat deeper than deep, tried to stay in the game and hoped their opponents would make a foolish mistake; they did exactly that. It all leaves one lingering question: what might have happened if the best defence in the Championship had kept hold of James Trafford and CJ Egan-Riley?

West Ham’s margin for error is narrowing

On Saturday, West Ham recorded an xG of 2.87 and failed to score. It was the highest figure by a scoreless team in a Premier League match since 2022 and the fifth highest since those statistics became available.

That is annoying, but it happens. West Ham had their best chances early on, Djordje Petrovic had an excellent game, a touch too many of the shots were speculative rather than crafted and being the better team throughout didn’t end in victory. Put it down to bad luck.

The point is this: failing to beat Bournemouth at home despite being on top, and extending their run to one defeat in eight games, is not the reason that West Ham are in trouble. Their margins have been reduced because they first appointed Julen Lopetegui, then Graham Potter and stuck with him too long so that the summer transfer business became a mess. It is the lack of effective leadership that may cost West Ham, not Nuno Espirito Santo.

Nottingham Forest’s new problem

Forest have started well under Vitor Pereira. They outplayed Fenerbahce in Istanbul on Thursday and were the better team against Liverpool in the first half on Sunday. Their fatigue in the game’s final 20 minutes was punished by a desperately cruel ending that makes relegation look more likely. Performances definitely matter under a new manager, but in their situation the results are king.

Forest’s new problem? A complete failure to take their chances and score when on top. Over their last two-and-a-bit Premier League matches, Forest have taken 55 shots and failed to score a single one. Do that and you create far greater potential for those cruel moments.

Next weekend’s trip to Brighton is now monumental, coming as it does before Manchester City away. Win there after a full week on the training ground and there is room for optimism. Lose and Pereira is already fighting fires.

Worrying signs for Tottenham

This will not be the fixture that determines whether Igor Tudor is a success or failure at Tottenham, but I think there were some very concerning signs (admittedly against the best team in the league).

The back formation did not work at all. They played a back three but Viktor Gyokeres had about 25 minutes to take a touch and score his first goal. The wing-backs did not work at all because Djed Spence got pinned back by Bukayo Saka and Archie Gray isn’t one. Spurs started with four central midfielders and yet there was loads of space in midfield.

Randal Kolo Muani is denied a second after this push on Gabriel pic.twitter.com/0aGFfxnLPx

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026

Spurs did score, but that was only from a mistake. Most of the time their attacks were one playing dribbling forward without any support and eventually getting crowded out, or a wing-back or central midfielder begging for a passing option. That is worrying…

Late goals continue to cap Leeds’ ceiling

Without doubt another step towards safety, given the difficulty of the fixture and the inability of West Ham to narrow the gap. Daniel Farke’s shift in style and personnel continues to pay dividends and I can see no obvious way that Leeds get dragged into trouble in this form.

That said, the continued issue of conceding late goals is not allowing Leeds to pull themselves fully clear of trouble. After Saturday, they have now allowed their opponents to score 14 goals in the last 15 minutes of matches. That’s more than every other team in the division.

There are supporters who label this as a Farke problem, the result of defensive substitutions and a tendency to sit back on what they have. That may well carry some weight, but I actually think it is merely an inevitable symptom of this new style.

Leeds expend so much energy in pressing and physically imposing themselves in central midfield that they simply look knackered late on. It is a wholly acceptable balance as long as they keep picking up unexpected points.

A significant milestone for Brighton’s loyal servant

Firstly, Brighton and Fabian Hurzeler badly needed this. I wrote last week about the club’s desperate form and the danger of drift, but Saturday released the shackles. Despite the evident personal significance of the match to one player, James Milner was at pains to point out that he has always prioritised the team over the individual.

But this was Milner’s day. Given the rise in physical intensity and the continued ability of the Premier League to attract elite young talent, to be still a part of a first-team environment and contributing as an outfielder at the age of 40 is an astonishing achievement.

Milner has not been a regular starter for some years – he last started 20 league games in 2016-17. This creep towards the record owes as much to his faintly ludicrous experience before turning 21 as the longevity aided by a smaller workload. But he is an impeccable professional, a lovely bloke and a phenomenal servant to the division. Milner is uncomfortable in the limelight for sure; he more than deserves it.

Crystal Palace’s civil war is getting worse

A win is a win, however it happens. Crystal Palace are almost certainly now safe from relegation. They were fortunate that Wolves squandered a penalty and fortunate too that they arrived at a point of outright mutiny with the worst team in the division at Selhurst Park.

But confirming their safety only strengthens the argument to get rid of a manager who doesn’t want to be there and is leaving in May anyway. Were Oliver Glasner playing his part as he should, running the show and keeping supporters onside, fine. But he has incited a civil war with his comments.

Evann Guessand scores his first goal for Crystal Palace and what a time to get it pic.twitter.com/Jmr2DyepSD

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026

Having already tried to make peace once after a public tantrum, Glasner should not be allowed to deteriorate relationships further. Palace are a club where each of the stakeholders seem to be ill at ease with each other. If that continues until May, the summer only gets harder.

Sunderland’s wheels are coming off a little

This is absolutely the first time that we have said this all season, but Sunderland look a little shaky. They have lost four of their last five league games and the end to their unbeaten home run has been backed up with their worst performance at the Stadium of Light this season.

I don’t know if it is fatigue or Sunderland’s opponents working them out and not taking them lightly – they have not done the double over anyone yet. But there is something aimless about Sunderland all of a sudden.

They play slow passes that end not with knitted moves through midfield but direct balls down the channels that wingers are struggling to do anything with. Brian Brobbey had two touches of the ball in the penalty area and zero shots.

Newcastle have another goalkeeper issue

Nick Pope has this weird characteristic where, when not at his best, he makes shots look better than they are. I am not sure whether there is something in his footwork that disallows him into full-stretch dives or a tendency for shots to slip past him even when he gets a touch (see Nico O’Reilly’s first goal for details), but it is very much not ideal.

Here is the other thing: another Premier League goalkeeper who I think can sometimes share this characteristic is Aaron Ramsdale, Newcastle’s No 2 who was signed on loan last summer and wholly failed to take Pope’s place.

Newcastle have another goalkeeping problem this summer. I don’t think Pope is good enough for their ultimate goal. Ramsdale’s loan will surely not be made permanent. Odysseas Vlachodimos has had a fine season at Sevilla, but the circumstances of that signing suggest he will not become No 1. Do you go back in for James Trafford and hope that this season has not set him back?

Fulham’s penalty king

I am not a Premier League data analyst and I would make a terrible one I am sure, but there is a little secret that I have picked up along the way: do not give away penalties against Fulham.

On Sunday, Raul Jimenez took his 13th penalty in the Premier League and scored his 13th penalty in the Premier League. Only two players in the history of the division have taken nine or more and scored them all – Dimitar Berbatov with nine and Yaya Toure with 11.

Cool as you like from Raúl Jiménez pic.twitter.com/oF1iq7PIpc

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026

Why is Jimenez so effective? There is the set routine, the two steps to the side and the slight stutter in the runup, although not enough to make him stop near the ball. He has hit seven penalties to one side of the goalkeeper and six to the other, so you cannot really predict where he will go next; he is also prepared to go high and low. Good luck to all goalkeepers; maybe have a word with Mark Crossley.

Everton

Play Manchester United on Monday night.

Petrovic proves his worth to Bournemouth

It is not Djordje Petrovic’s fault that he was signed for £25m, but it is certainly true that he has struggled a little at Bournemouth this season. Petrovic has underperformed his shot numbers and, in December, Andoni Iraola admitted that he was still waiting for a standout performance from his goalkeeper. That came at West Ham on Saturday.

At which point, it is probably worth pointing out how difficult it is for a new keeper when there is so much change in front of them. Join a club with a settled defence and that continuity makes it far easier to focus on your individual tasks with communication and positioning largely taking care of itself.

Bournemouth lost two central defenders and a left-back last summer. That made Petrovic’s job doubly hard and we should probably have cut him a little more slack earlier this season.

An odd pattern is emerging at Brentford

An annoying rather than angering home performance. Brentford started brightly against Brighton, but as soon as their visitors scored they managed the game effectively. In the second half, Brentford had more of the ball, territory and shots but couldn’t make the breakthrough and were mostly limited to half chances.

The reason to mention all that? It is becoming a pattern. Six of Brentford’s last seven league defeats have been 2-0 (the exception was 2-1, when Igor Thiago scored a penalty). In four of those 2-0 defeats, Brentford have recorded 65, 54, 66 and 52 per cent of the ball, all significantly higher than their season average of 46.6 per cent.

In the last three 2-0s, Brentford have had 38 shots without scoring and conceded in the first 30 minutes before slightly labouring to create clear chances despite having lots of the ball. Shifting this type of match will be the puzzle for Keith Andrews to work on over the summer.

Ngumoha deserves more of a chance at Liverpool

When Mohamed Salah saw his number displayed to bring him off the pitch with Liverpool needing a goal, he gave a laugh as to suggest either disbelief at the decision or frustration at his own performance. Let’s be generous and call it the latter, because the former makes no sense at all.

In 20 minutes on the pitch, Rio Ngumoha did more than Salah and Cody Gakpo did in their 154 combined minutes. He dribbles directly, crossed excellently and essentially changed the game in Liverpool’s favour. Yes he was running against tired defenders who played in Turkey on Thursday evening, but it was still a stark contrast.

Alexis Mac Allister scores in stoppage time for Liverpool!

Vitor Pereira is FUMING! pic.twitter.com/mdmYzYUBMg

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026

If Arne Slot wants to keep his job beyond this summer, he should make this forward line a meritocracy. Right now that means leaving Salah (soon surely to be the past) on the bench in favour of Ngumoha, who may well be the future.

Man Utd

Play Everton on Monday night.

Chelsea’s same old problems return

The two standout issues of Chelsea’s season: 1) They have had eight players sent off in all competitions, the most of any Premier League club in a season for a decade; 2) they have dropped 17 points from winning positions at Stamford Bridge in the league this season.

Both combined against Burnley, Chelsea coasting before Wesley Fofana’s silly challenge gave the opposition hope and then Liam Rosenior’s late changes – most notably bringing off captain Reece James off for a teenager with two minutes of normal time left – invited pressure that they could not fend off.

Rosenior was visibly angry at full-time: he said his side had “set fire” to four points in recent home games against Burnley and Leeds. But this is a problem that neither of Chelsea’s managers has got to grips with this season. There is still a chance that it costs them a Champions League place.

Aston Villa are now out of this title race

Aston Villa were probably never going to win the title anyway, but those faint hopes have evaporated at Villa Park over the last month. Villa have won only one of their past four Premier League home games, each of them containing reasons to be frustrated having built up such strong momentum previously.

There is a pattern to this performance too: sluggish, lethargic first halves. Their last four half-time scores in the league at home are a messy binary message: 0-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1. The last time that Villa scored in the first 30 minutes of a league game at home was 9 November.

The lack of intensity, as if Villa are waiting to see how a match unfolds, is in complete contrast to the manner in which Unai Emery’s side seized the initiative in the first half of matches for several matches before that and have continued to do away from home. They are now the 13th best team in the Premier League over the first half of their matches; you struggle to maintain a title challenge with that imbalance.

Man City’s World Cup certainty

Left-back is England’s most obvious problem position. In their World Cup qualifiers and 2025 friendlies, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Tino Livramento, Djed Spence, Reece James and Nico O’Reilly all started in that position.

O’Reilly is the most in-form and most regular in that position of all the options. Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw come into the mix, but neither have the positional flexibility of O’Reilly and international managers usually crave that.

Nico O’Reilly at the double

Man City restore their lead just minutes after Newcastle levelled it up. @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/dUOWyuLC2k

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 21, 2026

The bigger question, after O’Reilly’s excellence against Newcastle, is where O’Reilly plays. Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford are both liked by Thomas Tuchel on the left, but O’Reilly offers something different as he provides cover and thus could effectively cover an entire flank and allow the advanced central midfielder to stay high up the pitch. Get him on the plane.

Gyokeres’ coming of age for Arsenal

I would struggle to believe that Viktor Gyokeres will ever play against three central defenders who give him more space on the edge of the box or allow him to run the channels with such abandon, but this might be the day that he finally made his mark on Arsenal’s team.

Gyokeres’ first goal was reminiscent of his Sporting Lisbon goals, finding space and hitting a powerful shot almost without thinking. But the link-up play was there too. The first goal was his first from open play in the Premier League that changed draw into lead or deficit into draw. That is why he was signed.

Credit to Mikel Arteta, for there were calls to start Gabriel Jesus in the derby. Instead, Gyokeres now has eight goals in his last 12 games and Arsenal have their lead again.

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Nott’m Forest 0-1 Liverpool (Mac Allister 90’+7)

CITY GROUND — At one point, he was hot on the heels of Kevin De Bruyne as the Premier League’s hottest attacking midfield metronome. Now Alexis Mac Allister looks spent. Jack of zero trades. To be this ineffectual all season is less of a blip; it is much more terminal than that.

Going into Sunday’s trip to Nottingham Forest, the struggling Liverpool playmaker had mustered the most shots of any player yet to score a league goal this term. Two assists hardly negated the profligacy. Neither did the fact he does not even rank in the top five Liverpool players for tackles or passes completed.

Liverpool's late goal is ruled out after a VAR check! pic.twitter.com/xAUhPhb0d3

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 22, 2026

It appeared that barren run had been brought to a fortunate end as Ola Aina’s clearance in his own six-yard box went in off Mac Allister’s back to hand Liverpool the luckiest of lucky late winners at the City Ground.

A VAR reprieve was congruous with Mac Allister’s wretched season. The 97th finish from close range that did secure a last-gasp victory count was not. The run finally broke, in the most dramatic circumstances.

A thoroughly undeserved victory could save Liverpool’s season, with a top-five finish imperative for the reigning champions and their besieged manager. The undeserved winner needs to have an equally galvanising effect on the goalscorer.

In Florian Wirtz’s absence, the German injured in the warm-up, Liverpool were as poor as at any point this season in the first half.

Shorn of ideas and, more alarmingly, energy, despite having a much longer break between games than their opponents, Liverpool were second best from the first whistle. They faced the most shots they have conceded in the first half of a Premier League game since the famous Stoke City match in May 2015, a 6-1 defeat in Steven Gerrard’s Liverpool bow.

Crucial to that was how Elliot Anderson, who could usurp Mac Allister in the Anfield engine room next season, dominated his Liverpool counterparts in the Nottingham sunshine.

As well as mustering four shots at goal, double the entire Liverpool first-half output, Anderson completed eight more passes than Ryan Gravenberch and Mac Allister combined.

Arne Slot shuffled his midfield around in the second half, with Mac Allister playing off the front three. The improvement was marginal, without causing Forest any problems.

To Mac Allister’s credit, he kept coming. But the passes were just not coming off. Nerves set in with the ball at his feet – not what you want from your chief creator.

Time and again he was dispossessed, seemingly unable to keep the pace with Ibrahim Sangare opposite. Approaching the supposed age where the peak is firmly in view, being a yard, or two, off the pace against relegation candidates is cause for serious concern.

VAR was not ready to release Mac Allister from his burden, with one of those handball calls that would not have been a thing a few years ago seemingly denying Liverpool a vital three points.

After Virgil van Dijk’s header was saved, Mac Allister arrived right on cue to settle the contest with the last kick of the match. The scenes were of jubilation and mighty relief.

Mac Allister lingered longer than anyone else, coming back to salute a fervent following one more time.

“What he needed was what he showed in the last six, seven or eight games, a run where he is slowly getting back to his usual level,” Slot said.

“I see much more consistency. It is always nice for a player to score, especially in extra time of extra time.

“We needed to be on the right side of things once in a while. Today it felt we have been lucky.”

How Mac Allister harbours that winning feeling and utilises a change in fortune will determine whether he can reach his previous heights again. And how much renovation Liverpool will do to their midfield in the summer.

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Manchester City increased the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal by beating Newcastle and reducing the Gunners’ advantage to just two points.

Elsewhere in the Premier League, West Ham were held to a 0-0 stalemate by Bournemouth as they continue their battle to escape the relegation zone.

England were thrashed 42-21 by Ireland as Steve Borthwick’s side suffered back-to-back defeats in the Six Nations.

Their hopes of achieving a first title since 2020 now seem incredibly slim, with difficult games in Italy and France coming up.

In the Six Nations, Scotland beat Wales, who were looking for their first win in 14 games in the competition.

In Saturday’s other Premier League games, Burnley held Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, Tammy Abraham netted a late equaliser as Aston Villa drew 1-1 with Leeds, and Brighton beat Brentford.

Team GB missed out on the opportunity to pick up another gold medal as they were beaten by Canada in the final of the men’s curling. Britain’s Zoe Atkin will take part in the women’s halfpipe final following its postponement.

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In the enclosed away end at HSK Zrinjski Mostar on Thursday, Oliver Glasner’s once peerless relationship with Crystal Palace supporters was left beyond repair.

It seems inevitable that Glasner’s departure, originally scheduled for the summer, will be accelerated and Palace will sever ties with the manager imminently.

The chants in Bosnia & Herzegovina were damning: “sacked in the morning”, “we want Glasner out” and “zero games undefeated, playing football the Glasner way” – a stark contrast to the 19 games undefeated chant in Lublin in October 2025.

The Palace supporters, who have often been split, were unanimous in their contempt. When asked about the sentiment on Friday, Glasner responded: “Maybe I would sing the same”.

That furore kickstarted a chaotic 24 hours that put Glasner’s immediate future in doubt. The direction of travel now is that he will struggle to make it to the end of the week, let alone the end of the season.

How Glasner’s reign reached breaking point

This situation has been simmering for a while. Supporters, whether right or wrong, began to lose faith in Glasner when he announced he would leave at the end of the season on the same day he confirmed club captain Marc Guehi would join Manchester City.

The following day, he launched an attack on the club’s hierarchy that could have been a sackable offence, suggesting they had “abandoned” him and his side. His arguments may have merit, but he publicly dragged the club’s name through the mud and his card has been marked since. The spiritless draw against Zrinjski was just the latest episode and the noise now appears too loud for him to survive.

Every mistake, poor result and misplaced word in a press conference is pounced on to argue that he has checked out of the job. Glasner himself admitted that results have not been good enough.

“I take responsibility, I’m just not good enough right now to replace the players we sold, integrate the new players and cope with the schedule,” he said on Friday.

His team have lacked purpose and their counter-attacking identity has been lost in a flurry of aimless passing. The moment teams get in their faces or there any signs of adversity, Palace crumble. They have notoriously struggled to break down low blocks throughout his tenure – the consensus among supporters is that he is too rigid in his approach, and too devoted to his 3-4-2-1 system.

Oliver Glasner does not look happy following the 1-1 draw with Zrinjski.. @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/PzjYzW2q83

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) February 19, 2026

If Palace decide to pull the trigger, it will be due to a combination of the team’s torrid form, growing toxicity among the fanbase, and his own critical comments.

Chairman Steve Parish is not usually reactive in such situations, but he does tend to follow the mood of the supporters. When they turn, it usually signals the end for a manager – as was the case with Roy Hodgson and Patrick Vieira.

What they do between now and the end of the season is tricky, as several of Palace’s favoured candidates to succeed Glasner would not want to come into the role mid-season.

Crystal Palace’s next manager – the options

German manager Roger Schmidt, who has not stepped back into the dugout since leaving Benfica in 2024, is on Palace’s shortlist to replace Glasner. Rayo Vallecano boss Inigo Perez and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola are also ambitious options.

A lack of immediate options that align with the club’s long-term vision may force Palace to employ a stopgap manager until the end of the season. One possible avenue is former Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou, who boasts experience winning European silverware and is seeking to rebuild his reputation after a calamitous spell at Nottingham Forest – though it may be difficult to land a manager of his stature on a short-term deal.

The focus at Selhurst Park until the end of the season must be winning the Conference League, although Palace are not yet safe in the Premier League. The current instability may see them dragged back into a relegation battle and that would make Glasner’s position untenable.

His legacy as the club’s most successful manager is already secure – he bucked trends, shattered the glass ceiling and delivered moments of glory that will always be treasured. Yet it now comes with the caveat of the disarray that followed, including a run of just one win in 15, including defeats to Burnley, Macclesfield and Leeds.

He arguably still has the tools to deliver both safety and push for the Conference League title. However, his increasingly downcast demeanour suggests he may no longer have the will to achieve those things. Among the supporters, that belief has all but evaporated. Now it is over to the hierarchy.

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As Newcastle United planted one foot in the last 16 of the Champions League with a swaggering display in Azerbaijan, they looked like a club who could get used to this kind of thing.

Barring a disastrous collapse in the second leg against Qarabag next week, Eddie Howe’s side will create another little bit of history by going further in the competition than any other Newcastle team has managed.

But the Magpies’ north star is to make this kind of thing routine.

The next step on the journey, to quote one insider, is to be at the business end of Europe’s elite competition every year.

Until now it has felt precarious, reliant on Howe’s ability to overachieve annually.

Behind the scenes there is talk of an ambitious business plan, signed off by majority owners Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) at the turn of the year, that can provide them with the armoury to support Howe, viewed as an elite manager who retains the faith of the board.

Underpinning that confidence is a new set of financial rules, known as squad cost ratio (SCR) that are coming into force next season and which Newcastle campaigned hard for before a Premier League vote back in November.

Senior figures at St James’ Park, it is safe to say, are big fans.

While its predecessor profitability and sustainability rules (PSR) became synonymous with holding Newcastle back, there is a belief that the new regulations give the club the chance to upgrade the stadium, build an elite training ground and super-size operations without impacting on transfer funds.

It may not unlock an immediate splurge – sources suggest the impact will be more medium to long-term – but it could be significant.

“We worked hard for SCR, we advocated for it,” an insider told The i Paper.

Why SCR is good news for Newcastle

While PSR was tied to profits, limiting clubs to a rolling three-year loss of £115m which Newcastle nearly breached in 2024, SCR is related entirely to football-related revenue.

“The pluses outweigh the minuses for Newcastle because they’ve got a fanbase which is big enough to fill an enhanced or new stadium and plenty of capacity to increase revenue as their international profile grows,” football finance expert Kieran Maguire explains.

What it means for the summer

Newcastle are going to have to box clever on transfers due to the new rules.

In the short term, they can only spend 70 per cent of their revenue – whether on wages, transfer fees, or agents fees.

Given they are seeking squad upgrades or competition in at least four positions this summer (goalkeeper, left-back, central midfield and maybe a new forward), player trading feels inevitable to finance their recruitment plans.

They have worked hard to comply with Uefa’s 70 per cent limit, and believe they won’t follow Aston Villa and Chelsea down the route of breaching financial rules, which landed both with fines and restrictions on spending.

Long-term impact

If revenue grows as chief executive David Hopkinson predicts – and the team continue to do well – that pressure should ease.

The new regime believe Newcastle haven’t been pulling some of the levers they should when it comes to revenue.

A renewed focus on the US and the Middle East might pull in more big name partnerships.

Insiders point out that SCR also means Newcastle can add new staff in a variety of non-football roles without exceeding the limit.

The appointment of a chief strategy officer, seen as key to pushing growth, is close.

And on the bigger ticket stuff like the stadium and training ground, there is more freedom around how they finance such projects.

Previously, any interest payments from loans taken out to pay for the stadium would have counted towards their running PSR total.

“We don’t want a [financial fair play] regime that will constrain our ambition,” is the message from inside Newcastle.

It is why they believe they won an important battle in pushing SCR through.

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