During one famous scene in 1980s BBC sitcom Yes Minister, two civil servants – Sir Richard Wharton and Sir Humphrey Appleby – discuss how to advise a Prime Minister during a crisis. “In stage one, we say nothing is going to happen,” Wharton beg...
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti will sign Swedish international keeper Robin Olsen on a permanent basis – to keep the pressure on number one Jordan Pickford. England keeper Pickford has endured some shaky moments over the opening months of the season...
Manchester United will finish 2020 with the third-best points haul in the Premier League over the past 12 months – a good achievement for a manager in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who is supposedly fearing for his job right now. Sitting high in the Prem...
In many ways, Manchester United finished 2020 in a style which epitomised their year – far from at their best, but finding a way to pull themselves back from the brink just when it mattered with a late 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite th...
The top of the mountain is visible once again to Manchester United. The question is not so much can they climb it against Aston Villa, but if they do, how long can they tolerate the rarefied air? The visit of Villa concludes a calendar year of tidy p...
Edinson Cavani has been banned for three matches and fined £100,000 following his Football Association charge for misconduct. Manchester United will not contest the decision over an offensive Instagram post in which he used the term “negreto”, despit...
As the UK deals with the second wave of Covid-19 and the new strain, it is becoming increasingly apparent that professional football is not exempt from the havoc it is causing on all other sectors of life. Tottenham Hotspur v Fulham was postponed on ...
True to form, 2020 ended in chaos for many Fantasy Premier League managers. Mo Salah followed up a blank against West Brom with another poor showing against Newcastle, bringing an end to the Liverpool forward’s run of five goals in his last four leag...
Manchester City‘s opening day Premier League fixture against Aston Villa has now been rearranged for 8.15pm on Wednesday 20 January. The match was due to take place at the Etihad on 12 September but was postponed because of City’s progress in last se...
Manchester United‘s opening day Premier League fixture against Burnley has now been rearranged for 8.15pm on Tuesday 12 January. The match was due to take place at Turf Moor on 12 September but was postponed because of United’s progress in last seaso...
Burnley’s new owners officially took charge of the club with a ringing endorsement for manager Sean Dyche and the guarantee of cash for the January transfer window. Protracted talks for the Clarets concluded late on Wednesday with US investment compa...
Newcastle United goalkeeper Karl Darlow kept a clean sheet and pulled off a save of the season contender to frustrate Liverpool and boost his hopes of an England call-up. The 30-year-old has been one of the bright sparks in what has been a fairly dra...
ST JAMES’ PARK — England would appear to have a title race. Liverpool flew back from Tyneside on Wednesday night on top of the Premier League, which is where they were when entering 2020, but whereas 12 months ago Jurgen Klopp’s team had a 13-point l...
The action on the pitch wasn’t much to write home about but viewers of Amazon Prime’s coverage of Newcastle vs Liverpool were enraptured by the commentary of Ally McCoist and his old pal Jon Champion. The pair aren’t regulars on Premier League covera...
At precisely 2.02pm, Jose Mourinho was sitting with his feet up. With just under four hours until kick off against Fulham, he and his coaching staff should have been making their final preparations. Instead, they were slouched on communal sofas, buri...