English Championship
Premier League reject calls for circuit breaker amid Covid-19 fears
The year 2020 has been dominated by Covid-19. Many families have been separated and sadly many lives have been lost. The world has changed drastically. However, in these unprecedented times, the medium of football has brought a sense of normality and comfort in people’s lives. But now, with matches being postponed and cases increasing daily, many clubs believe a circuit breaker is the right option for the safety of the players. However, the Premier League has stated that the show must go on and rejected such calls for a break. But are they putting the players’ welfare at stake by doing so? “I’m 66 and the last thing I need is to catch Covid, probably players will overcome it. But it’s more difficult for someone like me. So I’m very concerned for myself and football in general.” West Brom m...
Out-of-favour 24y/o to start, 33y/o to return: Predicted Spurs XI vs Stoke
Tottenham Hotspur return to action this evening with a trip to English Championship outfit Stoke City in the quarter-finals of the English League Cup, and they will keen to bounce back following back-to-back losses at the hands of Liverpool and Leicester City in the English Premier League. Securing a spot in the semi-finals of the competition and boosting his side’s chances of winning silverware will be of topmost priority to Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, and he is expected to field a strong starting line-up at the Britannia Stadium. Having dropped from top spot to sixth position in the Premier League table within the space of four days, Tottenham will be looking to make a statement of intent with a commanding display this evening. Stoke are pushing for a return to the top-flight and are curre...
Report: Championship club keen to sign £25m Everton forward in January
According to The Sun, English Championship outfit Middlesbrough are plotting a move for Everton winger Yannick Bolasie ahead of the January transfer window. Boro manager Neil Warnock was keen to bring the 31-year-old to Riverside during the last summer transfer window, but the move fell through on transfer deadline day. Bolasie isn’t in the plans of Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti and wasn’t included in the club’s 25-man Premier League squad. The Italian has told him to leave, and while he has continued to train with the team, an exit is very much on the cards next month. The winger joined Everton from Crystal Palace for £25 million in the summer of 2016, but has only played 32 games since his arrival. An anterior cruciate ligament injury ruled him out of action between December 2016 and Dece...
Stoke City 1-2 Cardiff City EFL Championship Match Review
In a game that was not easy on the eye, the visitors Cardiff City came out 1-2 victors at the Bet 365 Stadium. Both sides came into this one in good form. Stoke City were looking for their third win in a row. Meanwhile, Cardiff City were aiming for their fourth consecutive victory. Team News Stoke City Stoke were forced into making two changes to the team that defeated Middlesbrough on Saturday. Sam Clucas was replaced by Josh Tymon, whilst Tommy Smith came in for Danny Batth. Cardiff City The away side remained unchanged for the fourth game in a row. Neil Harris sticking with the winning formula that has improved his side’s fortunes recently. First Half To be brutally honest, this half of football was tough to watch. There was a severe lack of quality on display. Possibly the only br...
Neil Harris deserves more time as Cardiff City manager
There are many issues I have with the modern football fan. The fickle nature and impatience can be intolerable. Taking the helm at Cardiff City on 16th November 2019, Neil Harris has succumbed to such fan behaviour. But are the fans justified? Uninspired appointment? After suffering relegation from the Premier League, fan favourite Neil Warnock left his role as Cardiff City manager on 11th November 2019. It would be a difficult task for any manager to take the reins at the club, with Warnock being such a popular figure in the Welsh capital. Many fans were indeed underwhelmed, with the news breaking just five days following Warnock’s departure, that former Millwall boss Neil Harris was appointed the new Cardiff City manager. Not a glamourous or adventurous appointment by any means, it...
Tammy Abraham responds to Aston Villa tweet about Nottingham Forest game
Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham has responded to Aston Villa’s post on Twitter about a match against Nottingham Forest back in 2018. On November 28, 2020, Villa played out a 5-5 draw with Nottingham Forest at Villa Park in the Championship. Abraham was then on loan at the Villans from Chelsea, and the England international striker was superb on the day. The 23-year-old scored as many as four goals, finding the back of the Forest net in the 11th, 14th, 36th (penalty) and 71st minute. Villa have posted a video from that game today on Twitter, and Abraham has responded to it. Felt like only yesterday! 😅🤯 — Tammy Abraham (@tammyabraham) November 28, 2020 Tammy Abraham’s Aston Villa spell Abraham spent the 2018-19 campaign on loan at Villa from Chelsea and played an important role...
FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year Nominees Announced
The shortlist for the 2020 FIFA Men’s Coach of the Year award has been released. Five managers from Europe’s top leagues have been selected for the award, which has been running since 2010. Some of the world’s biggest names have been excluded from the shortlist, including Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho, and Atletico Madrid’s Diego Simeone. Here’s a closer look at the five nominees. Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich) Hansi Flick is the favourite for the award The obvious favourite for the award is Bayern Munich boss Hans-Dieter Flick. The German took over from Niko Kovac in November 2019, with his side in fourth place. After a mixed start, Flick helped turn the Bavarians’ fortunes around massively, embarking on an incredible 32-game unbeaten run f...
Marcelo Bielsa up against Madrid and Bayern – who was the best manager in 2020?
Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp have been named on the five-man shortlist for 2020 FIFA men’s coach of the year. Bielsa and Klopp have joined the elite company of Hansi Flick (Bayern Munich), Julen Lopetegui (Sevilla), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) for this prestigious award. How did they fare last season? Flick guided Bayern to their seventh consecutive Bundesliga title but winning the Champions League will go down as his finest achievement. The German giants were a class above the rest, with their imperious 8-2 victory over Barcelona at Camp Nou demonstrating how good they had been. At Real Madrid, Zidane returned once again after brief spells from Santiago Solari and Lopetegui and won the La Liga title for the second time in his managerial c...
Cardiff City 3-0 Barnsley Match Review
Cardiff City eased their way to a 3-0 victory against an in form Barnley on Tuesday night. Cardiff City had not won any of their 4 previous home games this season, whilst Barnsley had won their last 2 matches under new manager Valerien Ismael. Cardiff City were quick out of the blocks playing with real intensity and purpose. Barnsley were finding the new 4-4-2 style too hot to handle as Cardiff took an early lead. There was a possible penalty shout for a challenge on Junior Hoilett just before left-back Joe Bennet swung in a cross which Hoilett controlled nicely to slot away. It was the Canadian’s first goal of this campaign and his 50th in English football. This would prove to be bad news for Barnsley as they had lost their last 60 EFL Championship encounters when conceding the first goal...
Who are promotion contenders in the Championship?
The Championship is acclaimed to be one of the most competitive leagues in the world; a league where anybody can beat anybody. But 7 games in, who are the early promotion contenders? Reading have been the surprise package this season so far and they have established a 5-point-lead at the top of the Championship league table. A dramatic turn around in fortunes to last season when under the management of Mark Bowen, they succumbed to a mediocre 14th place. However this season, there is a new man in the dug-out: Veljko Paunovic. The Serbian manager had never previously managed in English football. But, clearly, he is doing something right as Reading are unbeaten and have won 6 out of 7 matches. Reading have only played in the Premier League for three seasons and two of those ended in relegati...
Report: Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose rejected Watford move on deadline day
According to Football Insider, out-of-favour Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose rejected the chance to move to English Championship outfit Watford on Friday’s domestic transfer deadline day. The Hornets were keen on the 30-year-old last summer after he was left out of Spurs’ pre-season tour to Singapore and told he was not part of erstwhile manager Mauricio Pochettino’s long-term plans. However, their bid was knocked back as the North Londoners held out for £20 million. Rose himself was at Watford’s training ground on summer transfer deadline day last summer, but the move fell through and he returned to Tottenham, featuring in 12 Premier League games during the first half of the campaign. #WatfordFC transfer update Rose has now departed TG after two bids rejected by Spurs. https://t.co...
Deadline Day 2: The Biggest Deals in the Championship
Deadline Day 2 has finished and fans of two Championship clubs certainly have plenty of cause for celebration after completing some excellent deals. Blackburn Rovers can be particularly pleased with their business, bringing in four new players as they strive to mount a serious challenge for promotion. Harvey Elliott’s arrival on a season-long loan from Liverpool grabbed most of the headlines and the winger is undoubtedly an exciting addition the Championship. Rovers also sealed loan deals for Tom Trybull (Norwich City) and Barry Douglas (Leeds United), while goalkeeper Aynsley Pears was signed from Middlesbrough on a four-year contract. It was also a busy day for Swansea City, with four new signings compensating for the £15 million sale of Joe Rodon to Tottenham Hotspur. Ryan Bennett joine...
