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Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur (Buendia 90+6 | Gallagher 12’, Richarlison 25’)

VILLA PARK – Had you not watched a minute of this season’s Premier League and were told one of these teams were in a relegation dog-fight, and the other had all but confirmed Champions League football, you would have believed it. You might not have guessed which was which.

No real glory will be gleamed from survival, if Tottenham do get over the line. Yet for once, they were handed all the cards, courtesy of West Ham’s meek surrender at Brentford and Aston Villa’s weakened XI. Mind you, there is looking a gift horse in the mouth and there is still a danger of being gnashed to pieces. The universe owed Roberto De Zerbi this one.

Until now every aspect of his reign had felt fatefully cruel: the deflection at Sunderland, Brighton’s late equaliser, Xavi Simons’ ACL. Despair had become acceptance, that bubbled into something like hope, before crashing back down to its original form.

There is no translation for the noise that erupted from the visiting end at Villa Park after two goals in the first 25 minutes. Whatever you call it, the feeling had been long forgotten. Tottenham away, ole ole.   

A stunning goal from Conor Gallagher has Tottenham Hotspur ahead

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— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 3, 2026

The technique was unlikely, the hero even more so. Conor Gallagher, whose start to north London life has been utter misery, peeled away from his strike at the edge of the box in as heady a disbelief as a Villa midfield shorn of its star power.

Unai Emery has a European semi-final first leg to avenge but the wrath of 40,000 Villains suggested they did not view this capitulation in the same way, Tyrone Mings dithering and Ross Barkley repeatedly dispossessed. By the hour mark Morgan Rogers had a passing accuracy rate of just 50 per cent.

But the most unrecognisable aspect in all this was Spurs’ dynamism. In spite of Xavi’s injury, which threatened to derail De Zerbi’s new tempo, it comes back to that word again – hope. It was to be found in their Brazilian No 9.

Richarlison grabs a second for Tottenham Hotspur and what a huge goal that could prove to be

Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/q1ly6AeE0y

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 3, 2026

In the last half-century, whenever Tottenham have looked in genuine danger of relegation, it has never been for want of a goalscoring saviour.

In 1994, when they only confirmed their top-flight status in May, it was Teddy Sheringham. Four years later, Jurgen Klinsmann returned to yank them away from trouble.

Richarlison may not be considered in that pantheon. However, he is the closest thing today’s squad have to a proper firefighter. Once he had buried Mathys Tel’s cross for the second, he sunk to his knees for what might become the defining image of this torturous Tottenham campaign. It made the knock he suffered at the very end feel particularly brutal.

De Zerbi is managing an unprecedented injury crisis and worse, a kind of spiritual emergency. Richarlison’s 31st goal over four seasons is a reflection of his own injuries and struggles for consistency – Klinsmann, for perspective, hit 38 in 18 months over two spells.

Read more

• Kat Lucas: The strange case of Tottenham’s forgotten man
• Daniel Storey: Arsenal’s great trick, West Ham’s big issue and Slot can’t be trusted

There is no serious analysis to be had in pondering why a team missing six of its attackers have struggled for goals. That is why Spurs are in this mess – before kick-off they averaged around 1.2 per game, lower than the Luton side relegated in 2024 and Leicester who went down in 2023 (both 1.3).

Whatever De Zerbi has locked into, who better to exemplify the change than Randal Kolo Muani – serenaded at the end of one of his best performances in a Spurs shirt.

West Ham must concede that their rivals’ new-found optimism – undimmed as it was by Emi Buendia’s late header – was partly of their own making. That belief is going to be even more valuable than the three points.

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INTRO

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

• Leeds 3-1 Burnley
• Brentford 3-0 West Ham
• Newcastle 3-1 Brighton
• Wolves 1-1 Sunderland
• Arsenal 3-0 Fulham
• Bournemouth 3-0 Crystal Palace
• Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool
• Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham

The day Edwards lost the Wolves fans

Rob Edwards has been dealt a pretty bad hand. Some of the broken elements within Wolves’ hierarchy have been removed, but clearly the full impact of those changes has not been felt because this season is dragging on. And it’s dragging Edwards down.

On Saturday, between Wolves’ equaliser in the 54th minute and a minute before the end, Edwards made one substitution and it was arguably a defensive one. Then in the final minute he took off the only striker. Wolves drew 1-1 and it barely felt like they gave it a go.

That’s dangerous at Molineux right now. They are angry, bitter and are prepared to be nasty. Their world is already too small for them to cope; they don’t need a manager who squanders any hope of a win with perceived negativity. The chants labelled Edwards a “w**ker” as he went down the tunnel. Ouch.

Burnley go back to the drawing board

What a thoroughly weird season for Burnley and those who make the decisions in its supposed best interests. We worried that Scott Parker would struggle in the Premier League, so the club watched him struggle, gave him barely any meaningful help in the transfer market and then failed to make a change with Burnley sinking without trace.

Fine, you think, Parker is a very effective manager at getting clubs back into the top flight. So the club waited until relegation had been confirmed and then Parker left. Rather than give themselves a chance midseason – as many of the clubs above them did – Burnley accepted their fate and made their move with the game finished.

So now they have a squad presumably low on morale, a club that needs a guarantee manager having got rid of the closest thing they had to one and must presumably take a gamble on a new way of playing. Time to find another Vincent Kompany, basically. And it might be Craig Bellamy, his apprentice.

West Ham’s midfield looks too skewed

It was interesting to hear West Ham supporters criticising Nuno Espirito Santo after the defeat at Brentford for his tactical naivety. I don’t think that’s the issue at all.

Firstly, this was the ultimate fine-margin match: disallowed goal for a marginal offside and the woodwork hit three times. But my issue is how open West Ham’s last two games have felt because that’s not how Nuno usually operates.

West Ham played with Taty Castellanos and Pablo Fornals up front, Crysencio Summerville and Jarrod Bowen wide and a midfield pair of Matheus Fernandes and Tomas Soucek in midfield. Now Fernandes is excellent, but you want him higher up the pitch to play passes through the lines. And if he’s doing that, you’re effectively picking a one-man midfield consisting of a fairly immobile Soucek.

Perhaps Nuno reasons that roll-the-dice football is the way to get points now. But it’s risky, it didn’t work and next they have Arsenal.

Now there is life at Tottenham

The fixtures now seem to have fallen deliciously for Tottenham. They followed up a grubby victory against the worst team in the league with a serene win against a team doing their best impression of Wolves.

Tottenham were better, even if it was signposted by their opponents. The team still lacks creativity with all the injuries, but there is endeavour and energy at last. Conor Gallagher could play higher up the pitch and that suited. Richarlison is exactly the type of striker you want in a battle because he treats every tiny setback as a personal affront and vendetta. They were the two goalscorers.

Richarlison grabs a second for Tottenham Hotspur and what a huge goal that could prove to be

Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/q1ly6AeE0y

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 3, 2026

And now Spurs have a chance to keep their head above water, with West Ham facing Arsenal next weekend while a now safe Leeds come to north London. The loudest sirens have been quelled for a few days.

Nottingham Forest

Play Chelsea on Monday afternoon.

Crystal Palace have rightly thrown in the towel

“I think today the tank was empty,” Oliver Glasner said after the game. “The players tried and again I think the second half was much better, but in the first it was just too much, we couldn’t get the turnaround from Thursday evening.”

I think he’s broadly right apart from the bit about players trying. Crystal Palace’s Premier League performance doesn’t matter a jot now because they are two games away from a European trophy and you can see that on the pitch.

Jefferson Lerma puts the ball into his own net against his former club! pic.twitter.com/wkK6oF1u5A

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2026

The good news for the top flight is that both title challengers still have to play Palace, so nobody gets an advantage. But Glasner would likely have rested 10 players if he had the squad depth. And rightly so.

Farke finally gets his flowers at Leeds

It hasn’t always been easy to be Daniel Farke this season. His own reputation – two failed Premier League relegation battles – and the psychodrama of supporting Leeds United created an environment in which 2025-26 and his tenure felt destined to end badly. Throughout his time at Elland Road, Farke has had to deal with cynicism and doubt.

And now both of those have been emphatically proven wrong. The two home fixtures against Burnley and Wolves were always likely to provide a buffer, but Leeds have won eight (and drawn one) of their 11 home games against teams outside the top eight. That is the backbone of their survival.

Leeds rank ninth in the Premier League over the second half of the season. Their owners can now invest in the squad and manager and the stadium work can continue in earnest. It’s a good time to call this club home.

Newcastle’s post-match photos return

To call this good timing for a home win is a little much; that would probably have been three weeks ago. But with Yasir Al-Rumayyan in town for talks about Newcastle’s future that involved some presumably pointed questions towards Eddie Howe, he was pictured in the middle of the post-match dressing room photo.

Most interesting was the reaction to it amongst the fanbase online. Some felt it inappropriate to celebrate being 13th in the league quite so readily. Others point out Nick Woltemade’s smile-less face on the fringes. A few were still wondering how Yoane Wissa had managed to miss another good chance.

It’s rare to see Howe concede so honestly that the pressure had been affecting his sleep and pre-match preparation. But if the reports that he will keep his job next season are true, it’s time to unite a fanbase in disagreement about stick or twist.

Sunderland can have no complaints about Ballard’s red card

You can disagree with the notion that pulling someone’s hair is automatically considered violent conduct and thus will result in a red card, although I think it’s a flawed argument. You can act annoyed and surprised when a player on your team is punished for “only a slight pull”.

But if you’re a Premier League footballer, you know the rules now because you have seen peers sent off for the same thing.

So if you go up for an aerial duel, as Dan Ballard did on Saturday, do you not have the presence of mind to avoid pulling a bloke’s hair? Ballard acted innocent and confused; it was a cut and (blow) dry case.

Everton

Play Manchester City on Monday night.

Illness renders Fulham’s energy helpless

Arsenal won’t mind, but Fulham were in no fit state to compete on Saturday teatime. A virus had laid a number of players low. The lack of energy was a) understandable and b) obvious in two particular positions:

1) Antonee Robinson’s decline is a little sad, but losing Ryan Sessegnon changes this team because the lack of threat down the left allowed Bukayo Saka to stay high up the pitch and have a lovely time in the process. Even when Robinson did provide crosses into the box, most were poorly directed.

2) Harrison Reed and Sasa Lukic is not a combination that works well (which is probably why they haven’t started a league game together in more than two years). Lukic stayed a little too deep and so became one-dimensional. Reed doesn’t win the ball often enough and Fulham had too little possession and territory for him to be active enough with it.

Chelsea

Play Nottingham Forest on Monday afternoon.

Brighton’s new revelation

Jack Hinshelwood turned 21 a few weeks ago and is already established at Premier League level; so far, so impressive. He’s also – and this is a hot take – potentially the most fascinating player in the division for how his next three years pan out.

So this season, only including starts and only including the Premier League, Hinshelwood has been picked as a right-back, a holding midfielder, a regulation central midfielder and as an advanced attacking central midfielder. Last season he was also picked to start at left-back and as a striker.

Hinshelwood is like the inverted full-backs revolution turned up to 11. As a novice, the assumption is that you learn on the job in one role. Hinshelwood has four or five and he’s being moved higher up the pitch because his composure, passing and shooting is improving at a phenomenal rate.

Brentford’s marvellous season continues

Brentford still have a decent shot at Champions League football, which is an extraordinary thing to be writing about Keith Andrews’ first season as a football manager. Facing Liverpool and Manchester City in their final three league games isn’t ideal, but Brentford are more likely than not to make Europe for the first time in their history.

It has been platformed by a home record that Andrews deserves enormous credit for maintaining. Only Arsenal, Manchester City and Bournemouth have lost fewer home games in the Premier League this season. Only Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle have scored more home goals, a ludicrous statistic given the loss of Bryan Mbeumo and Wissa.

And here’s the best statistic. Brentford have now scored three or more goals in seven home league games this season. That’s more than every single Premier League side bar Manchester City (who have done it once more than Andrews’ side). Phenomenal.

Bournemouth are brilliant fun

When Andoni Iraola announced his departure, working alongside the club rather than taking passive aggressive shots at it in public, I wondered whether that might spur Bournemouth on to give Iraola the perfect send-off and provide European football for the first time as the present for those left behind. They haven’t lost since.

Bournemouth probably only need six points from their remaining three matches to finish sixth. They can beat Fulham and they can beat Forest on the final day, presuming the home team don’t need anything. But then this Bournemouth can beat anyone because they defend smartly, are combative in midfield and are exceptional at finding space and creating chances.

Rayan adds Bournemouth's third! pic.twitter.com/eTGi6clzBh

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2026

And for the rest of us, Bournemouth are just brilliant fun. They have conceded three or more goals eight times this season (only Wolves, Burnley and West Ham with more). They have scored twice or more in 20 of their 35 league matches. Do you know which teams can beat that? None.

Emery is taking an enormous risk with Aston Villa

This may be the biggest calculated gamble of Unai Emery’s Aston Villa tenure. In rotating his team heavily and seeing that side play slowly, defend poorly and generally look half bothered, Emery is banking on a) Villa taking four or more points from their final three league games and b) this sorry defeat not impacting upon Thursday night.

It’s the second point that is the most interesting because Villa Park got pretty toxic on Sunday evening as the home side had just three shots for a combined xG of 0.03 before second-half stoppage time began. Emery has repeatedly stressed that the fans have a role to play, but they pay a lot of money to watch sacrifice football. There was no obvious urge to change the pattern of the game.

Win on Thursday and that will be forgiven quickly, of course. But if Villa start slowly, the nerves and groans will be displayed far earlier than if they had approached the Tottenham game with a little less stink of the match not mattering a jot.

Why Liverpool can’t trust Slot

There have been caveats to the criticism all season; the latest is to arrive at the biggest away game of the season with no Mohamed Salah, no Hugo Ekitike, no Alexander Isak and thus no striker. Arne Slot came up with a system that he believed could trouble United and, on that point, was proven correct.

But there’s something about the personality of this team that isn’t right. They are too accommodating to the strengths of every elite opponent. They have spells where it looks like every defender has been banned from talking to one another. They create moves that seem to fizzle out because nobody really knows what comes next.

A fabulous solo goal from Dominik Szoboszlai and Liverpool are in the contest! pic.twitter.com/qy0XNLki2g

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2026

If this is only because of the injuries and the need to rebuild the team shape and the defence; fine. If this is because Slot is having more impact upon what this team looks like, I wouldn’t trust him to have another £200m spent on it.

Carrick brings the chaos at Man Utd

Manchester United are brilliant to watch under Michael Carrick. They try to stretch the pitch, try to get Bruno Fernandes between the lines to play smart curled passes and try to build up a head of steam. They’re also never totally safe in a match because there exists a gap between defence and midfield and thus the opportunity for opponents to overwhelm them if they win the ball high.

Which reminds me of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United when he was temporary manager. You listen to Kobbie Mainoo saying the players would die for Carrick and you’re persuaded that he has to get the job. And then you wonder whether his role was to make this club look attractive to a manager with a better CV, more experience and who struggled less in his previous job in the division below.

Kobbie Mainoo rattles it in at the Stretford End! pic.twitter.com/3HDRLnyC4D

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2026

The answer? I’ve no idea. And neither do you. And neither, probably, do United.

Man City

Play Everton on Monday night.

Arsenal are in the driving seat again

Here’s the inimitable Kat Lucas to explain:

“Mikel Arteta left it until the last month of the season for one of his biggest – and the rewards proved greater than the jeopardy. Martin Zubimendi had played over 4,000 minutes, more than any outfield player, before he was replaced against Fulham by Myles Lewis-Skelly, making his first start in midfield.

What a half for Arsenal!

Gyökeres grabs his second! pic.twitter.com/KDRxCMFzuN

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 2, 2026

“The Lewis-Skelly trick was double-sided. On the ball he was a roaring success. He proved a far greater protector than a half-exhausted Zubimendi, shrugging off Sasa Lukic and Harrison Reed. He completed 97 per cent of his passes – four of them into the final third. Off the ball, the need to overlap with Riccardo Calafiori sometimes meant being pulled out too far.”

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Man Utd 3-2 Liverpool (Cunha 6′, Sesko 14′, Mainoo 77′ | Szoboszlai 47′, Gakpo 56′)

OLD TRAFFORD — “Manchester born and bred” is how stadium announcer Alan Keegan chose to reveal the identity of Manchester United’s match-winner against bitter rivals Liverpool, pandering to a crowd who love nothing more than a local hero inspiring them to glory.

What a moment. What a finish. What a player. Kobbie Mainoo finished off the week of his life after penning a five-year deal at his boyhood club, with his first Premier League goal in two years to earn United a first league double over Liverpool in a decade.

It was anything but simple, as United almost became masters of their own downfall once more, but the rejuvenated giants snuck over the line, Michael Carrick punching the air throughout a full lap of honour upon the final whistle.

With every victory, Carrick knows he makes the United hierarchy’s managerial decision all the more straightforward. Especially as we continue to see the beginnings of a side being formed who can finally restore this global footballing behemoth to its former glories.

Kobbie Mainoo rattles it in at the Stretford End! pic.twitter.com/3HDRLnyC4D

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 3, 2026

Carrick was soon thinking way beyond the end of this season as United raced into a two-goal lead inside 14 minutes – the earliest they have held such an advantage over Liverpool in top-flight history.

Matheus Cunha’s scuffed opener from the edge of the penalty area set the ball rolling, before Benjamin Sesko thought he had earned Bruno Fernandes that Premier League record-equalling assist, only for it to be taken away from the captain due to Freddie Woodman’s parry.

In an act of self-sabotage, something they have made their calling card in recent times, United gifted Liverpool a route back into the contest, as Amad Diallo, only just introduced as a half-time substitute, was guilty of a tepid crossfield pass that Dominik Szoboszlai cut out, sashayed past two, before slotting home a fine finish.

One of the few United records still standing – their unbeaten home run when winning at half-time, which stretches back until 1984 – was under major threat after an even more generous gift, from goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who has not put a foot wrong since arriving on our shores, set Cody Gakpo up for a chance he simply could not miss.

Step forward the man of the hour. In the week the red side of Manchester breathed a collective sigh of relief as Mainoo put pen to paper, the 21-year-old, against a team he has something of a penchant for a stunning strike against, settled the thrilling encounter.

Arriving right on cue as the ball rebounded out to him, Mainoo was under immense pressure from onrushing defenders, but instead of hitting and hoping, he expertly guided a side-footed winner into the net to fire his side to a victory that guarantees them a top five finish and a return to the European promised land next term. Something few thought possible as early as the turn of the year.

In Mainoo, Ayden Heaven, who was excellent again at centre-back and blame-free as United almost threw the game away, an ever-more-exciting Cunha, blossoming Benjamin Sesko and several others, built around their inspirational totem Fernandes, Carrick has plenty of young, exciting talent with which to work with.

Read more

• Rio Ferdinand: The best advice Sir Alex Ferguson gave me was quite simple
• Daniel Storey: Nottingham Forest’s humble tiger is becoming the best in England

The board is divided. Sir Jim Ratcliffe is understood to be dubious over whether Carrick has the personality to front the Ineos revolution. Others, with more of a footballing track record than a man who plumped for Ruben Amorim and fought hard for Gareth Southgate, are convinced.

Supporters have seen enough, with Carrick’s name echoing around Old Trafford as he added to a points total no other manager has bettered since he took the United hotseat.

The tools are there for a sustained title tilt next season, nonetheless. Led by the kind of talent United supporters can pin their hopes and dreams on for years to come.

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Newcastle 3-1 Brighton (Osula 12′, Burn 24′, Barnes 90+5 | Hinshelwood 61′)

ST JAMES’ PARK – This one had a bit of everything.

For the Eddie Howe enthusiasts, proof of his enduring ability to conjure big moments when it matters. A risky team selection, turning back to trusted lieutenants over more talented teammates, paid off and the crowd sang his name lustily a couple of times in front of a beaming club chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the rest of the PIF bigwigs.

There was even a question about Europe in the post-match press conference – seven days after he was asked if they were safe from relegation.

It’s been that kind of season and you came away hoping that, exhilarating as this win was, no one is fooled into thinking they’ve discovered a blueprint for future success. Because it was also a nerve-shredding, scrappy sort of second half that suggests there is still so much work to be done if Newcastle are to meet the lofty aims of their ownership.

In the short term, though, it feels like the win gave us some certainty over Howe’s position. Newcastle’s hierarchy have stressed privately that no one has a “free pass” to underachieve but it’s never felt like there’s any enthusiasm for making a change either. No alternative plan has been worked up, no managers quietly tapped up. Belief in him remains, as long as Howe is prepared to make the necessary adjustments and accept the club’s recruitment pivot.

That stance is all well and good but it needs wins to give it credibility. So defeat against Brighton felt unthinkable and the fact Howe admitted afterwards that he was up during the middle of the night on Friday suggested he sensed that too. For a normally sound sleeper, it was a telling admission.

It was fascinating, then, that when he needed a win he turned to his old faithfuls. Howe is adamant he is ready to change his approach but when the pressure is on, his tendency is to revert back to what he knows. So Dan Burn kept Lewis Hall out at left-back, Jacob Murphy remained at right-back and Joe Willock – another survivor from the Steve Bruce era – was handed a role in front three that you’d never have guessed back in August would have been finishing the season.

It didn’t feel much like a team for the future but it did the trick in the present day. Will Osula, who really is getting better, opened the scoring with a header from a brilliant Murphy cross and then Burn glanced a Bruno Guimaraes corner past Bart Verbruggen, one of Newcastle’s goalkeeper targets for the summer. That eased the anxiety after a challenging start and suddenly the Magpies had their energy and zip back again.

In a season of second-half dips, Brighton threatened to inflict more late pain. Jack Hinshelwood prodded past Nick Pope, who had another Jekyll and Hyde afternoon, and then Yankuba Minteh missed from five yards. But Newcastle didn’t buckle for once, and a late Harvey Barnes goal was greeted with a wave of relief and euphoria around St James’ Park.

Read more

• Mark Douglas: Inside Newcastle’s ‘no bulls**t’ Saudi talks and the mood on Howe’s future
• Mark Douglas: Newcastle prepare to build ‘a Howe team’ – with one major sale planned

Howe won this battle and with it cast aside any lingering fears that they could be dragged into the relegation fight. But it would be churlish to suggest Newcastle have answered some of the deeper questions about what got them into this mess – and how they can get out of it.

Al-Rumayyan’s presence this week has focused minds. He was in the dressing room after the win reassuring the players about PIF’s big plans and ambition. Howe repeated that “exciting times” are ahead for the club. But it can’t get lost in the joy of victory that things have to change.

Experience was the answer on Saturday but perhaps relying on it in recruitment and team selection has been part of the problem this year. Difficult decisions await and Howe’s willingness to make them might decide whether the problems of this season are a temporary blip or stretch into next year.

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PORTMAN ROAD — The build-up to this moment was 87 minutes in the making, a countdown extended almost to its maximum. No late drama, no mania – simply a team passing for time as their congregation sang oles and waited impatiently to exalt. Ipswich Town are Premier League. Again.

At each end of Portman Road, an eternal leader of Ipswich Town looks down. Bobby Robson and Alf Ramsey: two stands, two sirs, two managers who forged heroship in Suffolk, two inspirational leaders against whom everyone else is destined to be compared unflatteringly here. On sunny days like this, the pillars of history literally cast shadows.

Kieran McKenna knows that only too well. On a wall outside his office in Portman Road, a framed photograph of Sir Bobby offers a friendly glance every time he goes to work. You can allow majestic history to hang around your neck as a millstone or you can recycle it into fuel. There was never any doubt which option McKenna would take.

McKenna now stands with Robson and Ramsey on the podium. He took over a club drifting nowhere pleasant. He has overseen three promotions in four seasons, two of them to the Premier League. He was the fastest manager in Ipswich’s history to 100 wins. He stayed when many, maybe even most, made peace with a probable departure.

Ipswich town centre was transformed for destiny day. McKenna’s greatest achievement may be moving the football club back into the bosom of its public. The town hall had been lit up in blue this week. Shops and local businesses put up balloons, posters and bunting. If the size of the team drives the outcome, McKenna had 150,000 on his side.

An early kick-off preempted celebration. Roads closed early. Groups of mates mused whether it was too early for a settler with the taste of breakfast still on the lips. Thousands lined the streets on the entrance to Portman Road for the arrival of the team coach, provoking a vast fog of blue smoke.

The wall of sound before the game was something else. As the players walked onto the pitch, one or two looked up and around, caught off guard by an atmosphere that demanded their performance meet their public halfway. Portman Road’s West Stand is brilliant at retaining noise that circles and swirls. Not even the waving of 15,000 white flags – to accompany the blue – could summon a decent jinx.

Queens Park Rangers were all that stood in the tractor’s path, here on the back of three straight defeats and a repeat of their lower-midtable obscurity. Some clubs are destined to rise, fall and rise again. QPR have finished between ninth and 20th in this league for the last 11 years. They were malleable and gloriously acquiescent, to the extent that some away fans nipped out for a pint after nine minutes.

By then Millwall and Middlesbrough were already preparing for the playoffs. Ipswich were ruthless and relentless, right on queue. They scored after three minutes and that wasn’t even their first clear chance. Attacking players dipped into space and dovetailed, bamboozling a defence playing at half speed in sliders. Jeopardy was forcibly evaporated in seconds; it’s overrated anyway.

This bend of the Ipswich Town rollercoaster has hardly been easy. The last time they were a Championship team it was as an upstart, bruising noses and upturning expectations having arrived from League One. This season only the pressure felt relevant. McKenna’s team were the preseason title favourites.

Ipswich didn’t always cope well. They didn’t win until their fifth match of the season. Their two most expensive summer signings – more than £30m between them – have started 32 combined league matches. Ipswich have spent less time in the lead than anyone else in the top six and won only nine of their 23 away games. They took 12 fewer points than two years ago.

But who cares now? They rediscovered their verve in 2026, an automatic promotion race muscle memory, and lost one of their final 15 league games. If the two most expensive signings haven’t quite soared, there are other heroes: captain Dara O’Shea, monumental at the back; Azor Matusiwa, who breaks up play for fun in midfield; Jack Clarke, super-sub extraordinaire.

There is a belief inside Ipswich Town that they belong in the Premier League, given the work, the ambition and the standards of excellence set. O’Shea explicitly said as much this week. There will be a determination to improve upon their previous experience, 22 points and limp relegation after early promise.

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That presents promotion not as the pinnacle, as it may have felt two years ago, but merely a further step along the journey to a different destination than before. It will be the message of McKenna to those who stay and those who join this summer.

Still, days like these demand that you take a step back to appreciate the view in wider focus. In September 2021, less than half a decade ago, those inside Portman Road watched a team managed by Paul Cook lose 5-2 at home. Ipswich were winless and in the bottom three of the third tier.

The six opponents that Ipswich couldn’t beat at the beginning of that season: Morecambe, Burton, Cheltenham, MK Dons, AFC Wimbledon, Bolton Wanderers. Thanks to McKenna and those who allowed him to flourish, those are now two different worlds.

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Only in the English Football League could a relegation season featuring a minus points total and not a single home win conclude with the “mother of all parties”.

At Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday a sell-out crowd of almost 35,000 will gather to celebrate the end of their worst ever campaign, but also the start of a new era under US owners Arise Capital Partners LLC.

Lawyers worked through the night on Thursday to complete the takeover deal on Friday. A public announcement was due to follow but got pushed back to Saturday with assurances that “nothing sinister” was delaying the confirmation. Now the hard work starts.

While the group will finally get the keys to Hillsborough on Saturday morning, work has been going on furiously behind the scenes for months to piece together a club left broken by former owner Dejphon Chansiri.

Consortium members David and Michael Storch – alongside business partner Tom Costin, who has experience of football through his Blue Crow Sports Group – have impressed with both their industry and willingness to engage with the fanbase.

Big day tomorrow… pic.twitter.com/PFFCsa6tTl

— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) May 1, 2026

They’re already “along the way” with a director of football appointment, a new CEO is lined up, and potential signings are understood to be in the pipeline too.

“They’ve not put a foot wrong. They reached out to us in the early days when the club was for sale and talked to the Trust,” says Rob Brookes, a board member at the club’s Supporters Trust.

“They’re very engaged, they want to engage the Trust, all the fans, the artistic and music community. They’ve been in touch with the Mayor of South Yorkshire, the leader of the council – they’ve been all over the place, they’re so energetic.”

On Saturday fans will don Hawaiian shirts to celebrate “Honolulu Wednesday” – a tribute to a song sung on the terraces since the eighties – but the challenges really are considerable.

As it stands the club will start next season in League One with a 15-point penalty and the EFL were also planning to restrict the club to a £7m-a-year wage budget, with a maximum of £7,000-a-week for any player. Given the Owls have to rebuild an entire squad, that feels fairly onerous.

Sources indicated that detailed conversations with the EFL – described as “hard bargaining” – that have taken place over weeks have reduced those penalties, although part of the discussions has been strict secrecy over what has been agreed.

The Trust have previously suggested starting with those “Draconian” penalties would be a threat to the club’s very survival. But the fact Arise stayed at the table suggests there has been progress with the EFL.

“We hope they give us a fair fighting chance. It would be so unfair to impose those conditions on a new group of owners – especially when we’ve got to essentially rebuild an entire squad,” Brookes says.

The consortium have deep pockets and will need them. “Coming out of administration is almost the easy part for Sheffield Wednesday,” says football finance expert Rob Wilson, who provided advice and counsel to some of the interested parties in the early days of the takeover saga at Hillsborough.

“The club has decayed over the last decade and the stadium needs serious work. This is a £100m project at a bare minimum – that’s in terms of acquisition, redevelopment of infrastructure and more.”

The new owners have been undeterred. “Arise are going into this with their eyes wide open,” Brookes says.

“They know the club needs serious financial investment to get anywhere close to being back to being a competitive force.”

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My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, we speak to former England footballer Rio Ferdinand, widely considered one of the best centre-backs of his generation, who is best known for his 12-year stint at Manchester United, where he won six Premier League titles and one Champions League trophy.

Making my debut for West Ham is probably my proudest moment

From the age of seven I was hell-bent on being a professional footballer. I worked for the majority of my life trying to get there. It’s difficult to pin it on one match.

I made my debut for West Ham at 17. So that meant a great deal to me. Playing for England was another one, and then becoming a winner at Manchester United.

As a player, there are things that you absolutely want to achieve. You want to become a professional, you want to play for your country and you want to win trophies. And I managed to achieve all three, luckily.

Iain Dowie was a good mentor to me at West Ham

He was a centre-forward but I think he spotted some potential in me. He was always giving me pointers. Obviously he used to play against me in training a lot, so he would tell me about certain things I should be doing to look my best.

The door was always open with me at Manchester United. I don’t think anyone found it difficult to talk to me. If you speak to any of the players, they would say I was one of the most easygoing guys in the changing room.

If a young player needed to talk or had a problem, they knew they could come to me for advice.

Joe Cole wouldn’t touch a football in the changing room

I didn’t notice it at West Ham, more so with England. It’s quite rare when you consider you’re going to go out and play football, you need to get a good touch of the ball and understand it and get used to playing with the football. But he made sure he never got near a ball.

If you rolled the ball towards him he would jump out of the way. He wouldn’t touch it. So quite weird.

We used to just play games and try and make him touch the ball. We used to roll the ball at him all the time. He never got the hump to be fair to him. He would laugh. But he just made sure he wasn’t going to divert from his ritual.

The best piece of advice Sir Alex Ferguson ever gave me

It was the first thing he said to me, actually. I remember we were sat in his office. It was quite simple, really – he told me to work hard.

I’d been given a great opportunity. People would give their right arm, a limb, to go and put the shirt on and play football. And I carried that with me throughout my whole career, to be a professional is a privilege.

The ones that think they’ve made it don’t last long at the top. Just keep maintaining that hunger and that desire and that kind of attitude of “I haven’t made it yet”. There’s always things to learn. So to rest on your laurels is something that I wasn’t able to do. I didn’t let myself slip into that mindset.

I only had two roommates – Roy Keane and Frank Lampard

They were both very different. I can’t tell you why [laughs]. I controlled the remote control in both cases, so that was good for the TV.

Frank was a bit more noisy. Whereas Roy, I would just turn around and he would be stretching his hamstring all the time. He was just mad, but it was great.

They are both great guys. I still speak to both of them now, actually, so it wasn’t too bad. We still keep in touch.

My kids take the mick out of my YouTube channel

I love it. It’s something that I’ve always been interested in. I’m not scared to dip my toe into new things.

I was one of the early adopters of social media, definitely in the football world. Now I’ve got a business that’s doing really well, but I’m enjoying it at the same time. It’s like the best of both worlds.

Failure is a part of life. If it doesn’t work out, it’s not that bad. I’ve always been one to take risks.

Airbnb and Rio Ferdinand are launching a once-in-a-lifetime football experience, where fans can go behind-the-scenes at a podcast recording of “Rio Ferdinand Presents”, meet Rio, and attend a Fifa World Cup 2026 quarter-final match in Los Angeles. Fans can request to book “The Ultimate Quarter-Final Getaway” for free from 12 May at 10am BST at airbnb.com/rioferdinand

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