World news

Leeds United 0-4 Arsenal (Zubimendi 27′, Darlow 38′ OG, Gyokeres 69′, Jesus 86′)

ELLAND ROAD — Arsenal’s last six Premier League goals read as follows: own goal, goalmouth scramble from a corner, a header from a cross, another own goal from a goalkeeper punching the ball into his own net, and two strikes with the game dead and buried.

Before that it was two 0-0s. It seems somewhat churlish to go in on a team opening up a seven-point lead at the top of the hardest league in the world – based on vastly superior spending power alone – with a 4-0 victory. But I just cannot get behind this Arsenal team, not one that wins games like this anyway.

Furthermore, I am more concerned about the general direction our supposed utopian elite division is heading. Especially with this team its market leader, the one fronting the advertising paraphernalia.

The league leaders’ second top goalscorer, one behind a rather uninspiring Viktor Gyokeres, this season is own goals. Going into February. Sir Alex Ferguson had Wayne Rooney or Cristiano Ronaldo. Jose Mourinho Didier Drogba or Frank Lampard. Arsene Wenger lead his line with Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp. Mikel Arteta has deflections off arses and corners.

On initial viewing, this take sounds like it is coming from a position of bitterness or jealousy. It really isn’t. Our beloved game is at stake here.

What Arteta has done, to his credit if only taking into consideration points garnered, is assembled a team of perfect physical specimens. If Sean Dyche was in charge of the Footballer Creation Laboratory, this is what would come out at the end of the conveyor belt.

Almost to a man, Arsenal are littered with six-foot-plus beasts, without an ounce of fat on their torsos, whose piece de resistance is winning duels.

Even the smaller members of the squad, Saturday’s game-clincher at Elland Road, Martin Zubimendi for example, rarely gets beaten in the air. Standing on the shoulders of giants helps, mind.

Flair has been left out in the cold to perish. Guile and ingenuity suppressed by the Arteta Ministry of Truth. Professionalism is mightily effective, but it isn’t fun to watch.

Pep Guardiola has been regularly chastised for doing something similar with more his more flamboyant charges. Jack Grealish was a maverick before he arrived at the Etihad, only to leave a timid, sanitised professional instead.

But even when Tiki Taka was at its most sterile, teams were still passed off the park with a quality befitting of 100-point champions. Goals were coming from all angles, the quality of some taking your breath away.

The only gasps for air on the pitch when this Arsenal team play are winded defenders from deflecting another goal into their own net.

Saturday’s trip to Elland Road was the perfect Arteta performance. Bukayo Saka’s withdrawal in the warm-up did not help matters – even if the England forward is without a goal in his last 13 games, his longest career drought.

Nonetheless, until Zubimendi climbed highest to head home Noni Madueke’s cross 27 minutes in, Arsenal had not mounted a single attack, never mind tested Darlow in the home goal.

Another Set Piece FC goal later and another three points was in the bag. Gyokeres’ third in the second half came about mostly as a result of poor Leeds defending. Enough, however, to edge the Swede ahead of own goal in the Gunners’ goalscoring charts.

Why it is concerning is that this is no slight on the coaching. Arteta has taken years to craft his squad this way. And it is working.

At all levels now, the diminutive playmaker has become a thing of the past. Elite sides, who spend billions on the best talent, have started employing long throw coaches to target their six-foot-plus towers of strength.

Even in academies now, you ask any parents of skilful teens and they are regularly let go, told they are not good enough, in favour of those kids who are simply taller, leaner, and most importantly, more physical.

If Arsenal do go onto win the title this year, at a canter, in the manner they are doing, the onus on players needing to be physical over possessing otherworldly skills is only going to go one way.

And you don’t have to be a samba-football enthusiast for that to be very concerning indeed.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/cRlxJHK

There are five Premier League matches on Saturday with huge consequences at both ends of the table.

Leeds United welcome Arsenal to Elland Road in one of three 3pm kick-offs, with the hosts six points above the relegation zone heading into the weekend.

Leaders Arsenal meanwhile are winless in their last three league games, most recently losing at home to Manchester United.

The pressure is therefore on Mikel Arteta’s side to get a result today before Manchester City and Aston Villa, who are both four points behind the Gunners, play on Sunday. when Villa host Brentford and City travel to Tottenham Hotspur.

Elsewhere, Chelsea host a West Ham side looking to boost their survival prospects at 5.30pm, while Liverpool take on Newcastle United at Anfield in an 8pm kick-off.

Beyond football, Elena Rybakina beat Aryna Sabalenka to the Australian Open title, while Harry Brook’s lies “to protect” his England cricket teammates have led to further calls for coach Brendon McCullum to go.

Follow The i Paper’s live updates below…

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/ErgY1KU

Friday marked 250 days since Raheem Sterling’s last competitive match but that stretch in the wilderness is coming to an end.

Sterling agreed to terminate his Chelsea contract 18 months early and with that termination went a cool £325,000-a-week, which would have banked Sterling another £25m by summer 2027. Instead there is a determination from the 31-year-old to actually play football again.

Arsenal offered the winger his last reprieve, having gone on loan there last season – playing his last match in May 2025 – but there were no takers in the summer as Chelsea looked to offload Sterling and other members of their “Bomb Squad”.

As a free agent he remains an attractive option, so too his willingness to take a pay cut.

Where Sterling could end up

Burnley are said to be keen, where Sterling could link-up with former Manchester City teammate Kyle Walker, while Fulham could offer him the chance to remain in London.

However, intrigue abounds over the reported seven Champions League clubs interested, a list not fully known but one that includes Tottenham Hotspur, who have defied their Premier League form with their performances in Europe.

Sterling’s Big Six bingo card would almost be complete if he joins Spurs, with only Manchester United left.

Spurs supporters are unlikely to warm to the prospect, unless Sterling is there to warm the bench and lend his experience. It hardly screams ambition from the club, either, while if he wants actual warmth he may fancy Italy, where Napoli and Juventus are said to be weighing up a move.

Five other transfers to watch

Jean-Philippe Mateta

The striker’s future has been unclear all January but he looks set to follow Marc Guehi in leaving Crystal Palace.

Jean-Philippe Mateta

Losing Mateta would represent another blow for the FA Cup holders, who are slowly being dismantled with manager Oliver Glasner also off in the summer.

However, selling Mateta now offers Palace their best chance of making a significant fee. His deal expires in summer 2027, and the Eagles hope to get £40m for the France international with AC Milan and Nottingham Forest interested.

Jorgen Strand Larsen

There are complicated moving parts to this window and it appears the fates of Mateta and Strand Larsen are intertwined.

That has put a staggering £50m transfer (that’s £50m per league goal Strand Larsen has scored this season at Wolverhampton Wanderers) on hold for now, with Leeds United also monitoring the striker.

Jesse Lingard

It looks like the 33-year-old is heading back to Europe after he left FC Seoul in December following two seasons at the South Korean side.

Lingard has not played Premier League football for three years, when he was at Nottingham Forest, but the former Manchester United and West Ham United winger has admirers.

He is reportedly considering offers from clubs in both the Premier League and Italy’s Serie A.

Harry Wilson

A fine Premier League season has seen the 28-year-old winger score eight times for Fulham, and now both club and player have a decision to make.

The Welshman’s contract expires in the summer, and amid reported interest from Aston Villa, Everton, Leeds United and Sunderland, Fulham must either reluctantly sell for a fee in the coming days or accept he is leaving for free at the end of the season. That is unless they can tie him down to a new deal.

Omar Marmoush

The revolving door at Manchester City rarely slows down and with winger Antoine Semenyo coming in, it could be at the expense of Marmoush.

The Egyptian joined City for £59m last January, but just 550 minutes across all competitions this season – including three Premier League starts – has prompted Marmoush to be linked with a move away.

That said, City boss Pep Guardiola has given Marmoush a start in their most recent league and Champions League games. Chucking him in the shop window amid talk of Spurs, Aston Villa and interest from Turkey? Perhaps.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/ls0YReP

You know what they say: if you can’t do, teach. Or in Roy Keane’s case, if you can’t do, slag off your fellow former players who can.

Keane has been on a one-man propaganda mission to undermine Michael Carrick since his erstwhile midfield successor took over as interim Manchester United manager.

If we were being generous, it could be because Carrick is relatively inexperienced – and Keane is acutely aware that United are a massive institution and as such require a manager with a long list of achievements and accolades to lead them.

Or maybe it is because Carrick’s wife called him a rude word on social media 12 years ago when Keane criticised his post-match interview following a Champions League game.

United had lost to Olympiakos and Carrick was hauled in front of the cameras to face a typically robust line of questioning from Gabriel Clarke. He did not look happy – and let’s face it, those old enough will know that Carrick has never been the most dynamic interviewee.

‘Anything to provoke a reaction’

But Keane laid into him, saying the interview was as flat as the performance. Carrick’s wife Lisa then called Keane a see-you-next-Tuesday, adding “anything to provoke a reaction”.

Which was not very civil – and Lisa must have known because the tweet was swiftly deleted and she apologised. But for Keane to bear a grudge over an emotional tweet in 2014 is childish in the extreme. We know she still lives in his head rent-free because he said she “has a big mouth, she will probably do the team talk” on a recent podcast. How the other “lads” on the podcast laughed.

Keane’s beef is almost as infantile as flouncing out of your international team’s pre-World Cup training camp because the cones are set up the wrong way and players are being too nice to each other. Which of course he has also done.

He has had managerial experience, of course. He got Sunderland promoted, but his exit was met with celebrations from a significant portion of the playing staff. And his spell at Ipswich was underwhelming. So after a stint as assistant Republic of Ireland boss, it was back to punditry. If you can’t do…

His role as irascible rent-a-whinge in a pundit’s chair is obvious in its intent to “get people talking”, rather than provide valuable insight. Sorry, Roy, but saying things like “shame on them”, “they’re mentally and physically weak” and “he should have been drowned at birth” (OK, we may have made up the last one) is not astute punditry. But it does look great on Sky’s TikTok feed. And we as consumers know what we are getting – Oscar the Grouch sans trash can.

But his repeated swipes at Carrick are odd – especially given that he sang the praises of one of his predecessors, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, despite his lack of experience and frankly terrible start to his first full season in charge.

Compare Keane’s latest dig: “So Michael Carrick is going to be the manager of Man Utd? He hasn’t got enough experience. I don’t think he’ll have enough football knowledge.”

Football knowledge, eh? Carrick’s coaching career began in 2018, as an assistant at Old Trafford under Jose Mourinho. He also won two games in his first stint as caretaker manager at Manchester United.

He then took over at Middlesbrough, when they were 21^st in the table. He led them to fourth, where they lost in the play-offs. The following season he took them to the Carabao Cup semi-final. Not bad for someone with no football knowledge.

And, let’s not forget, that Carrick won his first two games as United manager this season – against the oil-fueled juggernaut Manchester City and Arsenal, the Premier League leaders.

Solskjaer vs Carrick

But Keane was not convinced. “Anyone can win two games,” he sputtered. “Even if they do get into fourth [at the end of the season], I wouldn’t be convinced he is the man for the job. Absolutely not.”

Which is fair enough. Until you read what he said about Solskjaer, a former teammate and similarly callow manager when he was appointed in 2019.

To set the scene, Solskjaer had signed a deal to manage United four months previously. They had just drawn at home to Arsenal and were sitting in 10^th place on nine points. It was their worst start after seven games for 30 years. They had won just one in their last six games.

Did Keane turn up the grump-o-meter to 11? Did he demand that a horse’s head be left in Solskjaer’s bed and that he be subjected to a daily waterboarding? Not quite.

“I think he has been brilliant, a good honest guy,” Keane gushed. “We are all very impatient, we want success yesterday, but you have to give the man time.

“They have given him the job. Support him in a couple of transfer windows. Are there more tough days ahead? You bet your life, but you need to stick with it.”

Which begs the question: if Solskjaer can be given time after a dreadful start, why can’t Carrick after a good one? It is worth pointing out that the former led United to a second-place finish in the Premier League and got to four cup semi-finals, so Keane was correct in his analysis.

The reason why he is not offering Carrick the same amount of benevolence is painfully obvious. Keane has no time for Carrick. He has let an ancient personal feud cloud his judgement. The fact that Manchester United are looking the liveliest they have done for years under the stewardship of a man whose wife had the temerity to call him out for hyperbolic punditry must make Keane’s head explode.

And the worst thing for him is that his rage is plain to see.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/bVqWMLw

Seven years ago, Frank Lampard earned a promotion when his club did not, with Derby County remaining in the Championship before he took on the job of his dreams at Chelsea.

A lot has happened since. Early promise, two January sackings, an ill-fated caretaker spell back at Chelsea, and then 17 months out of work – until Coventry City came calling in November 2024.

It all means while Lampard is now more than 250 games into management, he has only overseen two full seasons – his first two (2018-19, 2019-20) – and in what is set to finally be his third, the 47-year-old hopes to end it with Coventry’s return to the Premier League.

Promotion would help him prove a point, but those are hard-earned in the Championship. As Coventry stumble into a defining stretch of their title push, so too does Lampard in his managerial career.

These next four months could dictate his next two decades in the dugout.

Few could blame Lampard for accepting the Chelsea gig in 2019 and even fewer were surprised by how it panned out. The club’s thin patience – they are now onto their fifth permanent manager since sacking Lampard in 2021 – was at odds with a young coach still learning his trade (good luck, Liam Rosenior).

What followed left Lampard’s reputation bruised, but in joining Coventry he showed grit, returning to the league where it all began as many of his former England teammates gave up on management entirely.

Lampard’s biggest test

Now, the reward is in sight – and reality is kicking in. Coventry may be top, but a lead that was 10 points in November has been cut to three, prompting the full spectrum of emotions among the club’s supporters.

“It’s pretty nervy right now,” Dominic Jerams, who runs the Coventry City fan website Sidewayssammy.com, tells The i Paper.

Josh Shale of the All Things Sky Blue podcast adds: “We are still in very high spirits. We have full belief that Frank Lampard will take us to the promised land.”

Coventry supporters are right to feel nervous and hopeful at the same time. It has been 25 years since they were last in the Premier League, relegated the same summer Lampard joined Chelsea as a player.

Since then, they have experienced life in League Two and more recently two painful defeats in the Championship play-offs – the final under Mark Robins in 2023 and then the semi-finals under Lampard last season, when a goal in the 123rd minute of the second leg sent Sunderland to Wembley.

And from a foregone conclusion after 18 games – when only Wrexham had beaten them – a nerve-jangling campaign has transpired, with four wins, three draws and four defeats quietening talk of records.

Still, Coventry remain the country’s most potent attacking side – their 62 goals unmatched in the top four tiers – but it is in defence where worry is creeping in.

“Whenever we lose the ball, you just close your eyes,” adds Jerams. “The defensive line is so high up the pitch and the midfield is wide open.”

End game: promotion and a stepping stone?

In the past two seasons, 91 points were enough for automatic promotion, and Coventry are currently tracking slightly above that pace – on course for 92.

Middlesbrough are not far behind, but with the prospect of silverware driving Lampard on, he will know the importance of how these final 17 games pan out. His reputation depends on it.

It is also clear what this potential success might bring. Promotion would earn Lampard recognition and once again turn heads elsewhere.

That, Jerams says, would be a “fair trade-off” provided Coventry get to mix it with the big boys first, with supporters understanding that progress comes with consequences.

That said, Lampard is exactly where he needs to be, and one hopes he sees value in taking this stepping stone slowly. Another giant leap could spell curtains, especially when there is still so much to gain at a club who gave him this shot at completing his redemption arc.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/X5AL96S

It is two years since Lewis Hall played his last game for England but he surely has to be on Thomas Tuchel’s teamsheet when their World Cup campaign kicks off in Dallas.

On a night that renewed hope for Eddie Howe and Newcastle, Hall – for once – did not swipe the headlines. Perhaps a rare early misstep that allowed Vitinha the space to fire past Nick Pope prevented him from collecting the praise his performance warranted.

But in many ways it was his ability to bounce back from that setback which set this display apart. Up against some of the best attackers in Europe on the biggest stage in club football, Hall came through another examination with flying colours.

For Tuchel it should be a no-brainer. With apologies to Nico O’Reilly, who did little wrong in England’s World Cup qualifying victory lap back in November, Hall is putting together a body of work that makes him the outstanding left-back in England. There’s an argument that there aren’t too many playing better across Europe right now.

As good as he has been, Newcastle’s increasing reliance on Hall in the biggest games presents a double challenge for director of football Ross Wilson.

First off, he is the club’s only recognised, specialist left-back. There are a few days left for Newcastle to change that but sources have told The i Paper that there is little chance of substantive progress on business before Monday’s deadline.

It is a responsible stance given Newcastle’s long-term plans and PSR position. It was a position signposted way back in December, too, but it is a risk given Hall’s injury record. February already looked like an exhausting fixture list and now they face the sapping prospect of two Champions League play-off games in a run that begins at Anfield on Saturday night.

Secondly Wilson needs to start engaging Hall on new terms as a priority. While his contract – never fully disclosed other than being a “long-term deal” – is understood to have multiple years left it needs to reflect his growing importance to the Howe project. Renewing while Newcastle have momentum is a sensible strategy.

And momentum is what Newcastle recovered in Paris, even if they emerged from a big European night with only a moral victory to show for their heroic efforts.

It has been a difficult, knotty season where faith has sometimes been required in the face of inconsistency and some average performances. But if anyone deserves that time and patience it is Howe, who would be scratching his head at some of the online vitriol if he ever consulted social media.

The Newcastle manager provided evidence of his progress – both in his team and as a coach – by rotating his line-up and refreshing his system at the Parc des Princes.

The flurry of games has robbed Howe of the ability to make changes on the training ground this season, which is undoubtedly the biggest strength of someone who loves to coach, but there was a clear and defined gameplan in Paris. After a rocky start as players got to grips with the intricacies of it against excellent opponents, they flourished.

Jacob Ramsey rose to the occasion. His role was two-fold: to squeeze Vitinha and then be brave on the ball going forward. He did both brilliantly. It was a reminder not to rush to judgement on some of the summer signings, who are still adapting to Howe-ball.

It is not an easy thing to do. As Anthony Gordon, who struggled at first, admitted on Monday physically it is a big challenge to press as he wants but there are also movements and patterns that need to be digested.

Once upon a time it was Hall who was in that category. Two years ago when Newcastle were last in Paris in the Champions League he couldn’t even get on the pitch, despite his team running on fumes. He wasn’t trusted then and it felt like Newcastle – who had an obligation to convert his loan into a £35m permanent deal – had misstepped.

His progress since then is another reminder that Howe deserves trust.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/x3mjn7g

It is a good time to be a Millwall supporter. On Saturday, they won a London derby 4-0 against Charlton Athletic to cement a place in the Championship top six. It was the first time that home supporters at The Den have seen their team score four times in almost four years. Something special is building.

To have predicted this five months ago would have taken a double dose of faith. Millwall were 1-0 up on the final day of last season; a victory would have secured a play-off place then. They conceded three times, sold their Player of the Season to Sheffield United and, at the start of 2025-26, lost three of their first four home games: 0-2, 0-3, 0-4.

But this club is used to making the most of itself. Millwall have lost once at home since. They have forced fine margins their way: no team in the Championship have won more games by a single goal. At the end of January, Millwall are one point behind Ipswich Town. Given everything, it is a mighty achievement even if it is only half an achievement so far.

On the pitch, Alex Neil’s most impressive move as manager was to embrace a “Millwall” style of play. Only one team in the division has scored more set-piece goals and only two have more counter-attacking goals. Neil is happy to sacrifice possession and soak up pressure, even at home, but he demands full throttle when they win the ball back.

There is a Millwall type of goal this season, a midfielder driving forward on the break, a winger receiving possession and crossing for a forward to score. And this is rarely a hit and hope exercise. They have the most accurate crosses per game in the Championship by such a distance that the difference between them and second on that list is the same as between second and 10th.

They also work hard and long, as is the expectation from this crowd; desire is a non-negotiable. It is something far too many managers – in the age of the tactical dogmatist and philosopher – miss: if a club has an identity, then matching the football to it creates immediate buy-in. None of your “sideways and backwards” grumpiness in SE16.

“Just the other day, we were discussing how enjoyable it has become watching Millwall play – that’s a sentence that few of us expected to write!” Nick Hart of the Achtung! Millwall podcast says.

“Alex has proven to be the ideal appointment for the Lions. His combination of realism in defence – soaking up possession and hitting at pace on the counter – suits the Millwall style perfectly.

“The quality of some of the football we’ve played this season has been amongst the best I’ve ever seen at The Den. Fast-paced football with decisive passing movements that never falls into route one-style.”

Just as impressive is how Millwall have evolved as a club to make this possible.

Since the start of 2025, the club have recorded three of the four highest individual sales in the club’s history (Romain Esse, Zian Flemming and Japhet Tanganga).

They reinvest in younger players and recruit experienced heads on free transfers. Millwall have the fifth youngest average XI in the Championship but have signed Barry Bannan from Sheffield Wednesday. The balance works.

Millwall have always been a selling club, but generally through necessity. Now it forms the backbone of genuine, sustainable progress.

The manager is on board with it. The supporters are on board with it. Everyone can see the success of the “B” brigade – Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton – and can dream of their own similar path. It is only January, but why not?

The poignant aspect of this story is the man who is not here to see it play out. It is now two and a half years since John Berylson, then Millwall’s owner, passed away in a road traffic accident. His death brought sorrow and then immense gratitude. It also brought his son to the forefront of football club life.

James Berylson is not his father, but he would welcome any similarities. After promising that Millwall would continue to be funded, James declared his desire to create a new era for a club in a bid to strive to fulfil everything his father sought to achieve here. He has done so; the changes are obvious and are impactful.

“We are so fortunate at The Den to have had the involvement of the Berylson family over the years,” Hart says.

“Jimmy Berylson’s more ambitious model of player development, combined with the off-field project around the ground, has put us in a position of looking at Premier League football as being something attainable.”

Millwall may never be popular; they would hardly wish to lose that niche. But there is a great deal to admire here in 2026: investment in infrastructure, progress on the pitch, growth as a club and the work of a family to honour a man they lost. The point is this: nobody wants to play Millwall now. That is exactly as it should be, for all the right reasons.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/XtcFHUi

Centre-back to right-back to central midfielder to centre-back to other centre-back to left-back to goalkeeper to centre-back to right-back to central midfielder to the same centre-back who started with the ball 30 seconds and most of a paragraph ago. Welcome to football, more expensive and more… err fun than ever before?

Scientific research – my own poor memory plus some social media trawling – suggests that Bolton Wanderers were the first supporters to sing “Sideways and backwards, everywhere we go” back in January 2025. Which proves either that Bolton is a vibrant hub of supporter imagination or that their fans are merely the grumpiest.

Now it is the viral hit of 2026. I have heard Tottenham supporters sing it at Burnley, Southampton supporters towards Tonda Eckert, Leicester fans at Wrexham before Marti Cifuentes was sacked, Forest fans in Braga at Sean Dyche, Huddersfield to manager Lee Grant. There are more: Bristol City, Birmingham City, Charlton Athletic a couple of seasons ago.

It strikes as a distinctly modern phenomenon to chant about your own team being bad or unwatchable. I don’t know when it started exactly, but the roots are in growing sarcasm: “How shit must you be, we’re winning away?”, “You’re going down with the [insert name of own club]”, “We’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal, we’ve scored a goal”.

“Sideways and backwards” is a little different, because it is the first one that focuses not on the team being poor – although that is clearly part of it – but on the style of football being boring and unadventurous. Still, play this football when your team is trailing and witness how the chant rises in volume and ferocity. 

It is an accusation of managerial cowardice: you do not dare to take risks and so you don’t deserve to manage our club. It is typically reserved for managers under huge pressure after failing to impose their style. In the vast majority of examples above, that manager was quickly sacked. 

The reason for the chant’s virality is obvious. Twenty years ago, a sarcastic barb might be restricted to one club or even one section of a crowd once only. Social media preserves and multiplies them because they are a) recorded on phones and b) widely shared because they become popular on large fan accounts.

Before you know it, 75 clubs in the 92 are singing “Putting on a show” and you are sick of waking up in the middle of the night with it in your head.

“Sideways and backwards, everywhere we go…”

The chant of 2026 already pic.twitter.com/JsocbFFDxp

— Football Chants (@FootyFansChants) January 3, 2026

Again, “Sideways and backwards” is unique. It is a protest against a growing style of football that is aesthetically grim. Entire minutes pass by with the ball barely changing hands between two teams and neither entering the opposition penalty area. It is like watching a video on loop, a glitch in the sport. 

Football is at its most entertaining when it contains surprise. A 15-pass, 45-second move that literally ends up back where it started is the antidote to entertainment.

Supporters are not thick; they know about baiting a press and waiting for a lapse in concentration. They know that it might make sense in certain circumstances. It is just that it is not fun to watch.

When this style of football is successful, you will get few arguments. But it is the combination of safe passing and very little end product that irks the most, particularly in lower leagues where often the best chance of success is to take chances and play direct.

Watching Newport County pass it amongst themselves towards the bottom of League Two under David Hughes, before inevitably making a catastrophic mistake, was one of my great moments of 2024-25.

Another important point: football invited this form of mutiny. The only times I have heard “Sideways and backwards” live have been from visiting supporters, who have spent an inordinate sum of time, effort and money (the latter increasing all the time) to watch their team. If you charge people more for the same product and that product then becomes lethargic and listless, do not expect them to cheerlead it. 

Like every football chant – I am looking at you “Football in a library” – we will soon reach the point of weary overuse. It will get misused for a team just being bad at football. Some wag will have to come up with a new ditty (“Fans just wanna have fun” to the Cyndi Lauper hit, or something) and we will do the same cycle again. 

But, for now, “Sideways and backwards” is the football song of 2026. People are tired of controlled possession with no purpose. They are tired of head coaches telling them things in post-match interviews that have been disproven by what they just watched. They are tired of going here, there and everywhere in England just to go sideways and backwards before they leave.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/23IGYNH

“Interim” may not have been in the job title, but it was very much implied. No rocking of any boats was therefore the assumption from Michael Carrick’s five-month stint at Manchester United.

With senior Old Trafford officials already compiling a list of marquee managerial names to follow, the task for Carrick was simple: be better than the worst head coach in the club’s non-wartime history for a few months before quietly moving aside.

Yet, despite the lack of long-term incentive, Carrick has undertaken the role with the joie de vivre of a revolutionary. He looks intent on making lasting change to this stuttering, malfunctioning giant.

The i Paper has spoken to those behind the scenes at the club’s revamped Carrington training base and discovered the remarkable opening pair of results against Manchester City and champions elect Arsenal were no fluke.

Sources close to the players have talked of a figure with a calm authority around Carrington. Carrick “coaches like he plays” one said – making it look far easier than it is, with a class and composure others could only wish to possess in such a scrutinised position.

His predecessor, Ruben Amorim, had helped rejuvenate the atmosphere this season. Despite results remaining below par, the mood around the camp had markedly improved. After a positive pre-season where the players became closer and unlikely friendships formed, the new, state-of-the-art training facility helped provide space for psychological nourishment.

However, you don’t beat Pep Guardiola’s City so convincingly before securing a first away league win at Arsenal in almost a decade, without making some changes.

Insiders have described how the energy around training immediately changed upon Carrick’s arrival, with the players impressed by the level of detail the former midfielder and his team of assistants went into.

There is now more focus on individual work as opposed to Amorim’s attempts to force his charges into that beloved 3-4-3 system.

Training is shorter, more intense, increasing the levels of focus. Carrick’s new-look team have what sources describe as a great blend of skillsets and experiences, with Steve Holland’s savoir faire crucial to helping guide the new team. A “strong dynamic” is developing.

It says much about Carrick that one of the big question marks around him at Middlesbrough has already been addressed with Holland’s appointment. As results deteriorated in his second season at the Riverside, influential voices at Boro urged him to appoint an experienced assistant to help him with “in-game” decisions, which started to become a problem. Carrick’s side had lost more points from winning positions than any other team in the Championship.

Carrick demurred, preferring to retain his brother Graeme, who had been an academy coach at Newcastle. While his loyalty was admirable, sources believe it hurt him in the long run and the speed with which the experienced Holland was added to his coaching staff suggests Carrick has had time to reflect.

Tactically he had good ideas. He bristled when people put a label on his formation – which looked suspiciously like 4-2-3-1 – but there was innovation there, encouraging his left-sided forward to drop into pockets of space when in possession. That worked very well during his stunning start, which saw Boro rise from the bottom of the Championship to the play-offs.

And he certainly departed with credit in the bank for owner Steve Gibson, who still believes he has the makings of a world-class coach. Carrick is credited with developing Morgan Rogers during his time at Boro as well as Hayden Hackney, who is now arguably the best player in the Championship – he was viewed as collegiate, calm and unaffected by the outside noise. Useful for his current role.

Carrick and his team have been keen to reiterate just how privileged his players are to be at a club of United’s grandeur, urging them to soak up every minute. Something easily forgotten as the club has fallen on such hard times.

Results like the previous two have certainly helped with that. Carrick has also rammed home the point that a club like United shouldn’t be getting carried away by such victories either.

There have even been tweaks to the matchday routine, such as allowing players to arrive 30 minutes later, to avoid them having more time to kill pre-match. They may not bring league titles back, but these little changes are helping Carrick to stamp his authority and make his mark. He is here for an impactful time, not a long time. As it stands…

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/YAp073G