Broadcasters regularly tell viewers the Premier League is the greatest league on Earth. However, as Lionel Messi’s hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League demonstrated this week, for all its riches, British clubs fail to attract the very best players. While Messi, Neymar, Luis Suarez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale have been praised for […]
Football
Hart facing an uncertain future
Pep Guardiola, the new Manchester City manager, has long been rumoured to be unconvinced by Joe Hart. Certainly, if Guardiola was unsure about the England goalkeeper’s ability, Hart did not help his cause by exhibiting some fundamental handling errors during Euro 2016. For a player who has been at the club since 2006 and who prides […]
Why Vardy should leave Leicester
It’s easy to sympathise with fans who cry foul at the frequency with which players have their heads turned by another club. Although football players’ careers are short, few acknowledge the loyalty their club show them in times of injury or loss of form. The latest indications are that Jamie Vardy will buck the trend […]
Why Giggs should stay at Old Trafford
During the torturously laboured contract negotiations between Manchester United and Jose Mourinho, one of the most frequently discussed topics in the media was the potential impact the deal would have on Ryan Giggs. It is widely believed that as Mourinho puts his faith firmly in a close circle of lieutenants, Giggs will almost certainly be […]
Dilemmas start now for Roy Hodgson
With the exception of 18-year-old Marcus Rashford, who will almost certainly be jettisoned when the final squad is announced, Roy Hodgson’s England squad contained few surprises. Two main questions need to be resolved in the three friendly matches before the European Championships begin. Firstly, can England’s defenders learn the art of defending? After years of […]
Transfer tribunal fails to show its teeth again
The Professional Football Compensation Committee has ruled Liverpool must pay Burnley £6.5m plus a potential £1.5m fee in add-ons following Danny Ings’ move to the club last summer. Although a record figure, it seems a relatively paltry sum for a 23-year-old England international who would have expected to gain further honours had his season not […]