so many things to say. none of them good

I do not particularly like or respect Liverpool football club

I can't read the athletic article about Hannah. What were some of the stuff in it?

I'll copy below some of the main points of interest in the article!!

The date was March 11 and Hampton’s Birmingham City were hosting Everton in the Women’s Super League. Hampton, the squad’s resident DJ, was blasting her music through the speakers when the song skipped and the email tone rang out.

“I didn’t open it (the email) — I got one of the girls to — and then, obviously, like… You know what it’s going to be anyway. Wardy (Birmingham’s manager, Carla Ward) then found out just because I was just so annoyed that it came through at the time it did.”

Ninety minutes before kick-off of her club’s latest match, Hampton was told she had not made the shortlist for Great Britain’s squad for the Olympic Games in Tokyo this summer.

Two hours on, by which time Birmingham had lost 4-0 and Hampton had delivered what her manager described as a “performance which isn’t Hannah Hampton-esque”, morose images of one of the country’s most talented goalkeepers crumpled wearily in the centre circle were being slapped all over newspaper pages and topping sports websites across the world

...

There is a part of Hampton that blames herself — “looking back, I’m probably more annoyed at my performance than the actual call itself” — and she has directed any reflection on that Thursday night almost exclusively inwards. “I probably shouldn’t have: one, gone on my phone, or two… I don’t know… let affect me as much as it did.

“After the game, it gives you a bit more time to think. I’ve got no problem in not being selected for the squad, because it comes with the game. You just get on with it and try to get into the next one. I think the problem that I’ve got is just then receiving so much hate through social media. That’s the problem. What I think people don’t understand is you’re human. You’re not just a player.”

One corner of social media — Hampton’s own Twitter mentions, thankfully, were overwhelmingly supportive — devoted itself to a veritable character-assassination and the comments below BBC Sport’s tweet on the story make for particularly grim reading.

One orders her to grow up. Another tells her she never stood a chance anyway. Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope wouldn’t cry if he’d missed out on England selection in similar circumstances adds a third, citing this as proof that women’s football will never be taken seriously. They call her weak. One tells her it was obvious to everybody that she never would have made the squad. On and on it churns and screeches and spits, a toxic conveyer-belt delivering bile directly onto her phone.

“Social media is the problem,” she says quietly. “Just a lot of hate. Just a lot. I just got on with it. Now I’ve just literally been off my phone for about five weeks.” She gestures to her agents, who are listening in on our Zoom call. “You can ask Brad and Luca — I’ve not responded to them so many times. I think it was a bit of an eye-opener for me that a story so little could become so big.”

...

Here’s another thing Hampton has never spoken about before: she has no depth perception. Never has. It is a great paradox that someone who is one of the WSL’s most agile goalkeepers sometimes cannot even pour a drink of water without “completely missing the jug”. In many ways, she has defied medical science to play football professionally.

She was born with a severe squint and by the age of five, had undergone three operations on her eyes “just to try and get them straight”. She only remembers the last one, and, specifically, waking up to find that her eyes had been temporarily glued shut. Her eyes, each vying for independence from the other, do not work together: “I can’t really judge distances and it gets very noticeable when I’m so tired. My left eye will just start wandering.”

Hampton herself is not quite sure how she does it and coaches and team-mates have been baffled, amused and impressed in equal measure. “A lot of people just go, ‘It’s mad to think our goalkeeper can’t see a thing’. All the time, they laugh about it. I’ll think you’re closer than you actually are, or I don’t know how far away you are from me.”

...

When she was aged five, the Hamptons moved to Spain just so that their children would experience another culture (it paid off, as Hannah speaks fluent Spanish after spending five years there). Hampton’s mother and father found work as PE and maths teachers respectively at the school attended by the offspring of the Villarreal men’s team. The Argentinian centre-back Fabio Fuentes, while collecting his own children, observed Hampton’s skills on the playground and implored her to have a trial for the academy. “I knew no Spanish then,” she says, “so I had to get the translator over.”

She was a nimble right winger in those days and trained with the boys’ academy. The adage goes that champions are made on cold, rainy nights in Stoke and thus it has proved for Hampton, who, having moved back to England and joined Stoke’s centre of excellence, deputised for their injured goalkeeper in a youth game against Liverpool.

She so thoroughly deceived the onlooking England scout, who had no idea he had just watched a moonlighting striker have a stormer between the sticks that, at age 12, she got called up by England Under-15s. “I just thought, ‘I’ll give it a go if I’ve just been spotted off one game’,” she says.

This England team has shown us all what the power of sport really means

There have been a few times in recent years where the entire nation has appeared united and optimistic – and almost all of them have been connected to sport.

The World Cup in Italy in 1990, the EURO 96 in England and the London 2012 Olympic Games all come to mind as moments that will endure as epochs that transcend everything else going on in the world.

England has been particularly divided in recent years as the Leave and Remain factions argue; the challenges facing the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic; and the economic struggles that so many have encountered pretty much since the financial collapse a decade ago.

At Calacus, we work with organisations who see the value of sport to positively transform society and the England team has shown that throughout the build-up to EURO 2020 and beyond, they have brought the nation together in a way little else can.

Granted, it helped that England did so well, reaching the final of the tournament. It is hardly a new phenomenon that the squad is so multi-cultural, with players with family heritage from around the world.

While the aftermath of the defeat to Italy has shown the unpalatable side of society, the way in which the England manager and players have conducted themselves has been a masterclass in authentic communications.

STAY TRUE TO YOUR VALUES

Taking the knee has been part of football tradition in England for more than a year now, highlighting inequality and promoting diversity.

The England team have been criticised by many, with the Conservative MP for Ashfield, Lee Anderson, announcing that he would not watch “his beloved England team” while the players took the knee; Home Secretary Priti Patel suggesting that it was nothing more than “gesture politics.” and Prime Minister Boris Johnson refusing to criticise those who booed the team.

Given the racism that the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and others have suffered, particularly from online trolls, it’s remarkable that politicians sought to condemn them and accuse the team of Marxist tendencies and BLM affiliation rather than a compassionate plea for solidarity and equality over division.

England defender Tyrone Mings said: “Everyone’s entitled to their opinions. The home secretary is one of many, many people who oppose us taking the knee or refuse to defend it . . . we [have tried] to educate and inform the minority who refuse to acknowledge why we take the knee and want to boo it.”

Notably, the boos faded as the EURO 2020 tournament progressed and the team got to the later stages and it speaks volumes that many of those politicians who criticised the team then tried to associate themselves with them through staged photography that fooled no one.

CELEBRATE INCLUSION

This England team are no strangers to speaking up for those who don’t have a voice.

Marcus Rashford has campaigned for an end to child hunger and has twice forced the government to make u-turns over free school meals.

Raheem Sterling, one of the stars of the tournament for England and who has been vilified himself by media and fans alike, has fought hard to call out bigotry in the fight against racism.

EURO 2020 started during Pride month and saw players wear rainbow laces and captains use rainbow armbands, despite some mixed messaging from UEFA.

When England played Germany in the round of 16, captain Harry Kane joined his counterpart Manuel Neuer in wearing a rainbow armband with England's official Twitter account saying: “@HKane will join @DFB_Team 's Manuel Neuer in wearing a rainbow captain’s armband for tomorrow’s game at @wembleystadium to mark the end of Pride month, as the #ThreeLions stand in allyship with LGBTQ+ communities around the world.”

Kane himself explained: “From our point of view, it is a show of solidarity with the German national team from all of us at the England national team to be united in trying to kick out all inequalities there are. We’re on a huge platform on a big stage so it is obviously a great opportunity to do so.”

Jordan Henderson has shown himself to be a captain on and off the field, supporting local charities during lockdown as well as leading his Liverpool team to success over recent years.

He is thought to be one of the main drivers behind the team planning to donate its EURO 2020 prize money to good causes.

Their donation – which could be in the millions – will be made to NHS charities now that the football tournament has concluded.

The team made a statement last May which said: “Following positive discussions with the FA, the England senior men's squad are pleased to confirm that a significant donation from their international match fees will be made to NHS Charities Together via the #PlayersTogether initiative.

“This contribution will be taken from a fund already set aside to support a variety of worthy causes using all match fees collated since September 2018.”

While England supporters still let themselves down by booing national anthems at times during the tournament, it shows the progress that this England team has prompted that Joe White, an England fan who co-chairs Gay Gooners, Arsenal’s LGBT+ supporters group, attended the England v Germany match at Wembley Stadium “in full makeup.”

They wore red lipstick, shimmery eyeshadow and mascara along with a rainbow flag and England flag painted on their face to complete the look.

They tweeted: “This is a really small and personal point but today was my first game at Wembley in full makeup and overtly queer (as opposed to just camp). Absolutely no issues from fans and some lovely chats.

“Despite being absolutely petrified pre game, really proud of our fans”

Henderson responded: “Hi Joe great to hear you enjoyed the game as you should. No one should be afraid to go and support their club or country because football is for everyone no matter what. Thanks for your support, enjoy the rest of the Euros.”

How refreshing that the LGBTQ+ community can now support the national team with no fear of abuse or intimidation and that the Three Lions Pride can display positive banners – understandably celebrating Henderson’s goal against Ukraine.

ENCOURAGE TEAMWORK

England manager Gareth Southgate arguably had one of the most talented England squads in recent memory.

The team’s headquarters at St George’s Park became a centre of fun with photocalls featuring the likes of Bukayo Saka jumping into a pool on a flying unicorn inflatable and Ed Sheeran playing a special concert for the team not to mention a preview showing of Top Gun Maverick and call with its star Tom Cruise.

While early on, there was uproar among fans over players who had been left out of the starting XI or even the squad, with flair giving way to pragmatism, Southgate showed how much the team ethic mattered to him.

After the 4-0 victory over Ukraine, Southgate paid tribute to the members of his squad who had not featured much during the tournament.

He said: “I am thinking about the players who I had to leave out of the 23 because they have been such a massive part of what we’re doing. It is so difficult to keep a group of this size feeling valued and yet those guys have been phenomenal about how they have sacrificed themselves for the group.

"I feel the responsibility keenly. But it is these challenges that make us."

Not once during the tournament did any stories leak of disgruntled players, while the players reflected the afore-mentioned values by resisting well-trodden paths of nationalism that previous encounters with the likes of Germany may have engendered.

In fact, this England team have shown dignity in the face of criticism and the very definition of what it means to be a team – there are no egos, no vested interests.

Where once supporting England meant violence and xenophobia, this England team has inspired a new identity with a commitment to diversity, inclusion and a more tolerant society, which is a credit to them all.

SHOW REAL LEADERSHIP

It was quite telling when, during the celebrations following England’s win over Denmark, former international Gary Neville said: “The standard of the leaders in the past couple of years in this country has been poor but look at that man there... he’s everything a leader should be: respectful, humble, tells the truth, genuine. He’s fantastic, Gareth Southgate.”

Southgate has been humble, engaging, honest and resolute that he knew what he wanted to do and would not waver, even when senior politicians criticised some of the decisions made by him and his management team.

Ahead of the tournament, in an essay on patriotism, titled Dear England, Southgate linked football and national identity and underlined why the game means so much more than just sporting excellence.

“I have a responsibility to the wider community to use my voice, and so do the players. It’s their duty to continue to interact with the public on matters such as equality, inclusivity and racial injustice, while using the power of their voices to help put debates on the table, raise awareness and educate.

“On this island, we have a desire to protect our values and traditions – as we should – but that shouldn’t come at the expense of introspection and progress.”

Southgate has been calm and assured throughout his tenure, ensuring that he and the team are consistent in their focus, messaging and conduct. There have been no scandals, no drama and every press conference or media opportunity has been assured and engaging.

FACE ADVERSITY HEAD-ON

Losing on penalties is part of football, but it’s also something that England have encountered at a number of major tournaments.

The backlash after England’s defeat was brutal, with the three players who missed penalties, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka all targets of racist abuse.

Some MPs also used the defeat as an opportunity to tell players to keep out of politics, such as Andrew Rosindell, who tweeted: “We are all proud of our England team, who have had the support of the whole country over recent weeks, but please focus of football, not politics. If you win for England, you win for everyone!”

Home Secretary Priti Patel expressed her outrage at the racism, prompting Mings to again address her double standards.

He said: “You don’t get to stoke the fire at the beginning of the tournament by labelling our anti-racism message as ‘Gesture Politics’ & then pretend to be disgusted when the very thing we’re campaigning against, happens.”

Soon after the game, the mural in tribute to Rashford was vandalised, prompting hundreds of positive messages and fans voicing their support for the Manchester United forward.

Rashford tweeted: ““I’ve grown into a sport where I expected to read things written about myself. Whether it be the colour of my skin, where I grew up, or, most recently, how I decide to spend my time off the pitch.

“I dreamt of days like this. The messages I’ve received today have been positively overwhelming and seeing the response in Withington had me on the verge of tears. The communities that always wrapped their arms around me continue to hold me up.

“I’m Marcus Rashford, 23-year-old black man from Withington and Wythenshawe, South Manchester. If I have nothing else I have that. For all the kind messages thank you. I’ll be back stronger. We’ll be back stronger.”

CONCLUSION

The England team have shown without doubt the power of sport to unify – and while EURO 2020 is now over, we have the Olympic Games coming up where athletes will come together in the spirit of competition and camaraderie.

As Southgate put it: “The reality is that the result is just a small part of it. When England play, there’s much more at stake than that.

“It’s about how we conduct ourselves on and off the pitch, how we bring people together, how we inspire and unite, how we create memories that last beyond the 90 minutes. That last beyond the summer. That last forever.”

While the positivity has proved to be a brief moment in time, the England squad showed society how to empathise, respect and engage in a way that has been in short supply for so long.

Barca’s new manager

So Barcelona fired their manager for the last two and a half years, Ernesto Valverde. This is due to their disqualification from the Spanish Supercup against Atletico, which will lose the final against Real Madrid on penalties. I think this is curious because this trophy is not a particularly important one, not at all, given that Valverde had some other failures in his reign, particularly in the Champions League: they were eliminated in the quarter finals of 2017-2018 by Roma after having a 4-1 advantage in the first leg and in the 2018-2019 semi-finals against Liverpool, not being able to maintain a 3-0 lead from the first game. They also lost the Spanish Cup final last year againt Valencia, BUT, and this is a big but(only on T :(, unfortunately), he managed to win the League twice and the Spanish Cup last season, honorable achivements. Therefore, the trophies somehow supported him, but the fans wanted the Champions League, this was their focus, and they were close to get to the final last year, which is still a great achievement.

 Now, he was sacked because of the... game... their gameplay was awful, not pleasant at all and against the Barca’s philosophy and most of their attacking opportunities came from the quality of the attacking players. I am not getting into the transfers they made because i really do not think he had a word to say on that matter. 

Now comes the new manager, Quique Setien by his name and at the most the third option Barcelona’s managerial board had on their table(maybe fourth if we do not count Koeman), as they were refused by both Pochettino and Xavi. Pochettino previously said that he would never manage Barcelona, so this was not as big of a surprise. 

The big surprise was Xavi’s decision, he said that he does not have the necessary experience to manage Barcelona, which of course, it’s true, but... what he has, it’s the respect of the players. This respect sometimes means more that the tactical approach when you have such big names at your disposal. You cannot ask Messi to do something he doesn’t want to because you are tactical genius, but you can if he respects you, and this is valid for the rest of the team. Simple tactics, great motivation, great mentality is sometimes all that you need, maybe it wouldn’t have worked, but he would have gotten it pretty easy, maybe until the end of the season, the fans love him anyway and i do not think that they had very high expectations from this season with valverde anyway. But maybe it would have worked, maybe he would get into the final of UCL, or maybe even win it, by simply motivating the players he had as his disposal. Just watch the first season of Zidane for Real Madrid, he won the UCL and came very close to the title by sheer force, not by implementing revolutionary tactics.

Finally, the Setien

Quique Setien managed Betis and Las Palmas, this were the biggest two clubs he managed, and he is not a young manager, he is 61yo. Until now, he has not won a single piece of trophy and that may give hime some trouble with the more experienced players of the squad( Pique has a bit of history on that matter). The main thing that was attractive to Setien was the gameplay of Betis, they play attractive football, and most of their players are spanish. Last season they finished 10th in La Liga and this season they currently are 12th. They are not doing very well, given that their squad is pretty good. Also that Suarez is injured for the rest of the season, the attacking options of Barcelona are limited. Given all that, if Setien doesn’t manage to win the first 5-6 games, he will not have the leverage to control the dressing room to implement his tactics and will probably be fired. Even if he would be a great tactical manager, which he isn’t, he depends on the first games to get the players on his side. The first game is against Granada(10th) at home, followed by an away game to Valencia(6th), which will be the main test for Quique. Setien at Betis played a 4-1-4-1, with which he will stick at Barcelona, too in the form of a 4-3-3, he has not the squad to play 3-4-2-1, the formation he likes the most, unless he playes Busquets as a central defender. I do think this is a good idea, with alba, de jong, arthur(rakitic) and semedo in that line of four, but i doubt he will have the balls to do it. 

Thomas Partey: Arsenal's £45m midfielder a 'physical marvel' who 'does everything well'

After joining Mallorca on loan from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2013, a 20-year-old Thomas Partey would always introduce himself with a smile and the same phrase.

"I'm Thomas Partey," he would say, "not fiesta!"

The play on words -fiesta means party in Spanish - immediately endeared him to his new colleagues. "Whenever our paths crossed in the years after that, he would always say that same thing and laugh," José Luis Oltra, Mallorca's manager at the time, chuckles down the phone. But it was Partey's footballing ability that made the most lasting impression.

Partey arrived on the island as a highly-rated but untested midfielder. He left it a year later having taken an important step on a road that would eventually lead him to the top. From Mallorca, he went to Almeria, again on loan, before returning to Atletico to become a key player under Diego Simeone.

Now, the Premier League beckons with Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta hopes Partey will transform his midfield and those who have followed his career from the start understand why.

Precision passing, tactically aware

At Atletico, his ability was apparent long before he was sent on loan. In fact, Javi Baños, a former youth coach there, only needed to see him play once, in a friendly for their U18s against Getafe, to be convinced that his trial period should be made permanent.

"You could quickly see that he was a player with attributes which were very advanced for his age," Baños tells Sky Sports. "Above all, it was the precision of his passing. He was very effective in terms of his delivery. He also covered a lot of ground and positioned himself well on the pitch tactically."

Until then, Partey had been playing for a side called Tema Youth in Ghana, where he came to the attention of an agent named Jose Jimenez, who offered to organise a trial for him at Atletico. Partey, determined to seize the opportunity, would later recall packing his bags and leaving without even telling his family.

It was a leap of faith but he would not regret it. Partey signed for Atletico soon after his trial and before long he was excelling in their academy.

"Atletico Madrid always have strong players in their youth teams," says Baños. "Over the years I was fortunate enough to coach guys like Lucas Hernandez and David de Gea. But the truth is that Thomas was a player who made the difference. He had great potential."

Partey was swiftly promoted to Atletico's Juvenil A (U19) side and soon enough Simeone and his assistant German Burgos became aware of the youngster's talents. At the end of his first year there, Partey even joined the senior squad on a pre-season trip to Colombia.

"He was a very attractive player to them because he was different for his age," says Baños. "He was a very disciplined player, as he is now, and he was very grateful and respectful too.

"I always remember that every day after training, he would shake your hand and thank you for the session and the advice you had given him. He has always been a very good player to have in the dressing room."

Those traits are now part of the appeal to Arteta, who values team spirit and togetherness highly, but for Partey at that age, the competition for places at Atletico was such that it was not easy to see a route into the first-team. Simeone could already call on experienced trio Gabi, Tiago and Mario Suarez in central midfield. Koke and Saul Niguez were next in line.

Learning on loan

So, at the start of the season in which Atletico would go on to win an historic title, Partey ended up joining Mallorca, who had just been relegated to Spain's second division after a 16-year spell in La Liga.

Partey's only previous senior experience had come with Atletico's B team in Spain's third tier but he quickly established himself there, displacing experienced club captain Jose Luis Marti in central midfield and going on to make 38 appearances over the course of the campaign, scoring five goals.

"He ended up being an undisputed starter," Oltra tells Sky Sports. "He worked hard and showed very good things."

For all his undoubted quality, however, Partey still had much to learn.

"There were times when he would lose the ball in dangerous areas, close to our central defenders," says Oltra.

"He found turning in that zone difficult and the first pass wasn't always easy for him. He made some errors but we were always on top of him, showing him videos. He was very receptive to our advice and to everything we tried to teach him.

"He already had a lot of great attributes, but he was a boy who wanted to grow and improve. He was an excellent professional, which is vital for any footballer. He looked after himself, he loved football and he lived a very organised life. Those factors have helped him reach the level he's at now."

Partey soon cut out the mistakes and there was a concerted effort to bulk up physically too. "He is a physical marvel now but he didn't have the strength he has now back then," adds Oltra. "He worked hard on that, and on his stamina as well. His ability to withstand pressure improved and soon he was able to do more things with the ball, like trying long-range shots."

That eye for goal would become a feature of Partey's game - "he now scores six or seven times per season, which is great for someone who starts the build-up play and operates in front of the defence," notes Baños - but the circumstances were not easy at Mallorca. Instead of the anticipated fight for promotion, the season became a brush with relegation.

The exposure helped Partey's development, though, and the same was true of his season with Almeria in La Liga. It turned into another battle against the drop - a battle they eventually lost - but Partey made 32 appearances, scoring four goals and impressing again.

"He's a boy who understands football well," reflected former Almeria manager Sergi Barjuan in a recent interview with El País. "I used him as an attacking midfielder, a central midfield and even a centre-back."

Partey was developing well, his ability to slot into different positions a reflection of his tactical intelligence, but back at Atletico the competition for places remained fierce. In the two seasons after his loan spell with Almeria, Partey made only nine La Liga starts for Simeone's side and many of them came on the right rather than in the middle.

Another player might have sought an exit. Instead, Partey resolved to prove himself.

"Thomas has good people around him," says Baños. "His agents always give him good advice and he's a player who knew how to wait for his chance. There were players who were ahead of him and he understood that. He is very serious player and what's important is that he's also a team player."

Breakthrough at Atletico and praise from Simeone

Partey's versatility has long been a useful asset to Simeone, but last season, following the departure of Rodri to Manchester City, the Ghanaian was finally able to nail down his preferred position in the side, as a deep-lying central midfielder.

The role came with considerable defensive responsibility but Partey continued to contribute in an attacking sense too.

"I think the thing he has improved most in recent years is his final pass," says Baños. "He is not just a defensive midfielder. He is now a more adventurous player, with freedom in his movements and scoring ability."

Oltra sums it up succinctly: "He's a boy who does everything well."

His completeness could be seen throughout last season but it was particularly apparent during Atletico's Champions League campaign.

Partey, who shone in both legs of the last-16 win over Liverpool, made more tackles than any of his team-mates during Atletico's run to the quarter-finals and yet also ranked top for chances created from open play and passes into the final third. Only two Atletico players attempted more shots.

It's little wonder Simeone has come to value him so highly. "Thomas is an extraordinary player," he said last year.

More recently, the Atletico boss added Partey is good enough to play for "any of the best teams in Europe". "Thomas is the one who best understands his position," he said. "The transition from defence to attack, shooting, scoring, providing assists and playing passes between the lines."

Suited to the Premier League

His Atletico team-mates feel the same way.

"I'd seen him play for Atletico but I didn't realise how good he is," said Kieran Trippier, who joined the club from Tottenham last year, during a recent appearance on The Beautiful Game podcast. "He's unbelievable, his physicality, how he breaks up play. Technically he's got everything. I don't think he would have a problem with the Premier League."

It's a view shared by Baños, who admits he would be happy to see him join Arsenal having also worked as a scout for the Gunners.

"I have always said that he is a perfect player for the Bundesliga or the Premier League because of his style of play," he says. "He is a player who is ready and well-suited to succeed at a club like Arsenal."

Baños can testify to Partey's leadership as well as his talent. Baños is involved at Alcobendas Sport, a fourth-tier club based in Madrid in which Partey and his representatives have a stake and where, with the 27-year-old's guidance, talented young players from Ghana and other African nations are offered the opportunity to launch their careers in Europe.

"He wanted to help others do what he did," explains Baños, "to bring over players from his country and give them the opportunity to succeed in Spain."

Partey has certainly made the most of his own opportunities. There is no question about that. But those mentoring duties will have to take a backseat now that a move to Arsenal has materialised. It is time for Thomas Partey - "not fiesta!" - to take the next step of his journey in the Premier League.

How Arsenal by-passed Atletico to land Partey

Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth explains how Arsenal dealt with La Liga, rather than Atletico Madrid, to seal the signing of Thomas Partey:

"A constant throughout this transfer window has been Thomas Partey. The one constant from the Atletico Madrid side was they would not be negotiating unless a club met the £45m release clause. The way the release clause works in Spain, Arsenal didn't have to negotiate directly with Atletico Madrid.

"All they had to do was get one of their lawyers or officials to go to the La Liga headquarters, put down £45m and they had permission to talk to Thomas Partey."

Source: skysports.com

source: https://footballghana.com/

Premier League restart: A big week ahead for the future of football ahead, says Sky Sports podcast | Football News

This is ‘a significant week for the future of football in this country’, according to Sky Sports’ latest podcast.

In an in-depth preview, Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Bryan Swanson and reporter Kaveh Solhekol explain where Project Restart – the plan to resume football in England – is up to, what needs to happen before football can return and the hurdles which must still be overcome.

Read on for an edited version of their explainer or listen to their analysis in full on a special Sky Sports Football podcast below.

Download the Sky Sports Football Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox | Spreaker

Why is this an important week for Project Restart?

Bryan Swanson: This is a significant week for the future of football in this country. We’re going to be learning in detail about how the UK intends to come out of these restrictions, whenever that may be. Boris Johnson has said the government will be publishing a comprehensive plan, with full details expected by Sunday.

According to the medical experts, the pandemic is past its peak in the UK but we know there’s going to be no quick way back. The Premier League clubs remain committed to finishing this season. That position hasn’t changed since English football was suspended on Friday 13 March. First, the league was suspended until April 4, then April 30, then indefinitely – a sign of just how unpredictable the last seven weeks have been.

The Premier League are going to be guided by what the government say and that should give us the answer of how the game can return.

Bryan Swanson

The problem is football has no control over this situation. Everyone is extremely mindful that this is a desperately sad situation. More than 28,000 people have lost their lives in the UK with coronavirus. Family and friends have lost loved ones and, as much as we all love sport and football, we all know that it doesn’t matter compared to public health.

But it is still important to plan for the future and that’s where the Premier League, in particular, are going to be guided by what the government say and that should give us the answer of how the game can return. There’s going to be a further meeting planned after the government announcement and then clubs are due to meet again on Monday 18 May.

What might a Premier League return look like? 0:59 Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Bryan Swanson and reporter Kaveh Solhekol look ahead to a key week for football as the government announces its latest plans over the coronavirus pandemic

Sky Sports News’ chief reporter Bryan Swanson and reporter Kaveh Solhekol look ahead to a key week for football as the government announces its latest plans over the coronavirus pandemic

Kaveh Solhekol: Not all the 20 stadiums would be used. They’re looking at using between eight and 10 neutral venues. This is quite contentious because some of the clubs, especially the clubs near the bottom of the Premier League, are not in favour of using neutral venues because obviously in those games they would be losing home advantage.

We don’t know which grounds would be used but it is safe to assume they would be grounds away from city centres that are not in an area where there’s lots of housing. You’re talking about grounds such as West Ham, Brighton, Leicester and Manchester United. They also need grounds that are quite modern, so it will be easier to have social distancing between the players and all the other people who will be at those games.

It’s quite contentious, this issue of playing at neutral grounds, but it’s the only way football can restart because you wouldn’t be able to get licenses to play games at all 20 grounds at the moment. It would be much easier for the authorities if games were just played at eight or 10 grounds and much easier to make those grounds safe.

Swanson: One of the key considerations here is the police and I think there is a nervousness that, although supporters will be told not to go anywhere near grounds, some of them will be tempted to do that, particularly as lockdown eases.

I also think Wembley will be under consideration because the FA will also have one eye on hoping to resume their FA Cup ties and if you look at some of those remaining games – potential semi-finals and final – Wembley could be key to that. I do think the police will be extremely aware of the potential for supporters around grounds, like it or not.

Are the clubs in agreement about how the return could work?

Swanson: What is clear is there’s a difference of opinion about the best way to return, in particular on the issue of neutral venues. It’s an emotive one because it strikes at the very heart of the notion of home and away games. But something has to give, compromises must be made.

This is all about accepting the least worst-case option. There’s no perfect solution here and that’s something the clubs will be mindful of. It has been telling that after every major meeting, there has been a statement that says the clubs unanimously agree that they want to finish the season. The issue of how is ultimately still up for discussion.

Solhekol: It’s emotive, it’s controversial but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with teams at the bottom of the table having concerns about it. Because if you’re relegated from the Premier League, it’s an incredible financial hit. And being relegated in the current circumstances is unthinkable for these clubs. So they do have to look out for their own interests as well.

Being relegated in the current circumstances is unthinkable for these clubs. So they do have to look out for their own interests as well.

Kaveh Solhekol

If you look at Brighton’s fixture list, they have five games to play at home. Four of them are against Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United. You’d have to say, they’d have a better chance of winning some of those games if they were playing at a full Amex stadium, instead of playing at a neutral venue.

You have to respect why teams like Brighton have doubts about playing games at neutral venues. But then, on the other hand, you have to respect that if this is the only way the season can be completed then it’s got to be give and take. And some of those clubs who have concerns have to put them to one side and trust in the Premier League and the advice they’re getting from the government and authorities and trust their own players for them to go out on the pitch and represent their clubs and try to get a result.

Could the season still be cancelled, as we’ve seen in Holland and France?

Solhekol: I think there’s a chance the season won’t be completed but all 20 clubs absolutely and totally want to finish the season if at all possible.

If you look at the league table, some of the teams towards the bottom, surely they would prefer it if the season was cancelled and there was no relegation and they stayed in the Premier League for another season and they got all the money in the future that that entails. People can assume that. But from all the people that myself and Bryan have been talking to, the information we’re getting is that as a whole, the Premier League is totally committed to finishing the season whenever possible, when it’s safe to do so.

I don’t think the Premier League or the clubs will take the decision to cancel the season. I think if it happens it will be a decision taken by the government – as it was in France, where the Prime Minister announced there would be no sporting events until September. From what we’re hearing from the government here, that is not going to happen. They seem to think that it would be good for the Premier League to start again, good for the morale of the nation if football restarted.

It is possible the season could be cancelled but at the moment the clubs want to restart, the Premier League wants to restart and the government wants to restart.

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So what can we expect over the coming days?

Swanson: Football is now being entirely guided by the government. By the end of this week, we will be a little clearer, about how the UK intends to begin to exit this period of lockdown, this period of restrictions. And what they will give is some sort of clarity for football, in particular the Premier League, in particular the EFL, about the next step.

And the next step is allowing players to return in group sessions and allowing contact between players. And that’s the thorny issue. They will want some assurance from the medics that that is safe. And only when they’re told that is safe training schedules can perhaps resume, the idea being they want there to be a three-week run-up in training before any matches resume.

But this is going to be a phased process. It’s a difficult process, it’s complicated, it’s emotive, but the game is doing it’s best to plan, to try to help those clubs have a structure going into the summer.

To listen to Bryan Swanson and Kaveh Solhekol in full on the proposed restart and the dilemmas ahead, download the Sky Sports Football Podcast on: Spotify | Apple | Castbox | Spreaker

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I do not particularly like or respect Liverpool football club

Pints, Pub Quizzes, Personality—How Jurgen Klopp Has Embraced Liverpool Life

The Tuesday night quiz at the Freshfield public house on Massams Lane in Formby, England, is a popular affair. Teams of five or six huddle around wooden tables and hush descends upon the bar, with its award-winning selection of 14 cask ales, as a quizmaster clearly enjoying his authority reads out teasers. On busy nights at the 'Freshie,' as it is known locally, up to 100 residents pack this space. Bowls of curry, mini-hamburger platters and nacho sharers wait uneaten. Mobile phones are forbidden; concentration is absolute.

And then Jurgen Klopp walks in.

Liverpool's manager lives just around the corner in Victoria Road, a three-minute stagger from home to pub. If Liverpool aren't playing—if there isn't a game to prepare for later in the week—this is where he sometimes spends his evenings. He's sometimes with his wife Ulla, sometimes with other members of Liverpool's coaching staff, but he sometimes comes alone as well. He doesn't just sit there quietly sipping a pint, collecting his thoughts. He politely asks to join one of the quiz teams at random, whoever happens to be congregated closest. One quiz regular revealed he is good at answering questions about music, geography and politics. He buys a round of drinks, not to say thanks but because this is the cultural norm where groups are concerned.

Klopp has reached the point where he is now accepted as a member of the community. Neighbours like to speak to him, but they respect his privacy. They respect his humility, that he hasn't tried to be different to anyone else. At the beginning, though, when Klopp appeared on the boundaries at the nearby Formby Cricket Club with his pet dog Emma, a seven-year-old retriever cross named after former Borussia Dortmund striker Lothar Emmerich, word quickly spread across the town. It had been his first public sighting. Crowds did not surround him; rather, they watched him from a healthy distance, as if a prophet had appeared on their land. That was how it widely felt when Liverpool appointed him as manager: Klopp had come to save a fallen club.

"He's very tall and striking," recalls one onlooker who was watching cricket that day but asks not to be named here. Formby, 14 miles or so north of Anfield, where Liverpool play their home games, is small enough for everybody to think they know everyone else's business. However, conservatism (with a small "c") exists emphatically, so being seen to shout about it is about frowned upon on a social level.

"I've seen him a lot around Formby since," the onlooker adds. "He's usually with his dog on long walks. He hasn't kept himself away from anyone. He's always very relaxed and approachable. He'll talk about football. But he has other interests too. He's worldly."

Victoria Road is known as millionaires' row. In 2016, Land Registry data named the boulevard as the most expensive in Merseyside, according to Josh Perry of the Echo. During The Open in July, eventual champion Jordan Spieth rented the property next door to Klopp's family home while he was away in Hong Kong conducting Liverpool's pre-season schedule. This is a private area, where mansions have names rather than numbers—where beautiful willow trees overhang entire streets, where there are high walls and big cars.

Klopp had considered settling in Sefton Park, south of Liverpool's city centre—the bohemian enclave where Gerard Houllier used to live until his reign ended in 2004. While Liverpool's other foreign manager, Rafael Benitez, had set up base in prosperous Caldy across the river Mersey where the views are of north Wales, Klopp ended up moving into the home of his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool's former captain, had sold the property to Rodgers in 2015 after signing with the Los Angeles Galaxy. Since returning to Merseyside, Gerrard has bought a plot of land further up Victoria Road, closer to the coastline where the pinewoods meet the Irish Sea.

"Formby has been a popular place to live for Liverpool players since the 1970s," says David Fairclough, the ex-Liverpool forward who is famous for his goal against French champions Saint-Etienne in 1977. That goal added to the lore of Anfield, as many believe that moment injected Liverpool with the confidence to become European champions for the first time in the club's history a few months later.

"Emlyn Hughes was here back then," recalls Fairclough, who has lived in Formby for 28 years. "Phil Neal's still here—has been ever since he moved to Liverpool from Northampton Town. Ray Clemence was another back in the day, along with John Toshack. Tosh has got his name on winners' board at Formby Tennis Club. He won the singles' tournament one year."

In the 1980s, Liverpool's players started moving further up the coast to Southport, Ainsdale, Hillside and Birkdale. Kenny Dalglish and Alan Hansen are still there, on Selworthy Road. Hansen's home is particularly striking, an art deco design which overlooks the town's aforementioned famous golf course. The shift from Formby began after Dalglish signed from Celtic.

"Players are like penguins in that sense," Fairclough adds. "When new players join the club, they ask other players about nice areas to live. Before you know it, a honeypot develops."

Until recently, Adam Lallana had lived closest to Klopp—directly across the road, in fact. The midfielder tells an amusing story about his young son, Arthur and how he would react whenever he saw Liverpool's manager.

"Arthur, from the landing, would shout, 'Klopp, Klopp!' and give it the fist pump [like Klopp on the touchline during matches]," he says. "Jurgen looked back smiling and gave him a wave. Arthur was delighted."

Lallana has since moved some 50 miles away to Cheshire—along with captain Jordan Henderson, his closest friend in the Liverpool squad, who also lived on Victoria Road—because it had been decided that Arthur and Henderson's daughter Elexa should start school in that area.

Fairclough is ideally positioned to speak about the personality of Klopp, his suitability as a Liverpool manager and how he is fitting into Formby life. Fairclough's professional football career began just after Bill Shankly's retirement as manager, but having grown up closer to Anfield than any other player in the club's history just at the time Liverpool's fame was growing under his guidance, he understands more than most the impact Shankly had. It is Shankly's personality and skills, of course, that every Liverpool manager since has been measured against.

"There is a certain Shankly-ness about Jurgen," Fairclough believes. "I didn't play under Shankly, but he was still around the club when I was breaking into the team, and I encountered him at Melwood on the training field. Hearing the players from the 1960s speak about him in this way says to me that there is something in the comparison because they knew him so well. He was a father figure to many of them.

"There's a magnetism to Jurgen because when he says something, you listen. Steven Gerrard said that when he played for Liverpool in Australia in an end-of-season friendly, he couldn't believe the atmosphere inside the dressing room before the game. It was a friendly, but he said that Jurgen had the players focused and pumped up as if they were playing an FA Cup final. He reminded the players that 80,000 people had paid a lot of money to see Liverpool play all the way over in Australia. Bob Paisley would never have said something like that. Joe Fagan would never have acknowledged it either. Perhaps Kenny Dalglish might. But I know for certain, Shankly would.

"As much as Shankly wanted to make the players feel that they were the greatest, he wanted the fans to feel like they were the greatest as well. He had a deep conviction that Liverpool people were smart and understanding. His doctrine was about the fans feeling a part of everything he was doing. He really was a man of the people. Kenny [Dalglish] comes close to Shankly in terms of his relationship with the fans because of the support he gave in the aftermath of Hillsborough. But nobody has been as natural as Klopp has been.

"I remember reading an interview with the president of Mainz, and he was saying that appointing Jurgen as manager even though he had no experience at the time seemed like the perfectly natural thing to do. That says to me that he's not an average individual. Some people are natural leaders, like [Horatio] Nelson or Napoleon [Bonaparte]."

It is not uncommon for Liverpool supporters to speak about the team's players and managers on first-name terms even if they have never met them. Shankly created a marriage between those standing on the terraces, those chasing about on the pitch and the person directing this way and that from the dugout.

"Jurgen waved at me a couple of times, and I didn't know absolutely for certain whether he knew I played for Liverpool," Fairclough admits. "I've got a pug and I take it for a walk a couple of times a day. So our first conversations were about dogs—the best walks to take around Formby. That's the first thing he usually asked, 'How's the dog?'

"In fact, I was walking the dog the other night, and he was just there outside the Freshie enjoying a pint, eating fish and chips in the sun with his wife and dog, of course. I know him reasonably enough to say hello now, to go and shake his hand and talk about other things as well as dogs. I asked him about fish and chips, what he thought. 'I love it!' he told me with a great deal of enthusiasm, as if they were the greatest portion of fish and chips he'd ever eaten."

Fairclough believes Klopp's friendliness amongst strangers has endeared him to the public the most. It's what makes supporters that encounter him believe he could be the next Shankly if his results as well as longevity end up matching his charisma and warmth.

"A friend of mine was walking his dog and the rain came down really heavily," Fairclough suddenly remembers. "He decided to take shelter under an old oak tree until the rain stopped. A few minutes later, a figure appeared, running towards him. The figure was also walking a dog. It was Jurgen Klopp. For the next 15 minutes or so, the two of them stood under the tree talking about dogs."

One of the first decisions Bill Shankly made as Liverpool's manager after his appointment in 1959 was to alter the team's training pattern. He insisted the players assemble at Anfield in the mornings for breakfast before boarding a bus to Melwood, as the short journey would engender camaraderie. The facility, three-and-a-half miles to the east of Anfield, will be sold in a couple of years when Liverpool's training base moves further east to Kirkby, where the youth academy has been since 1998.

Klopp realised the need for change during his earliest days in charge at Liverpool. Expanding Melwood to accommodate the academy's 170 youngsters wasn't an option, though. The West Derby complex is surrounded by houses, while the academy is located on the edge of a council estate, with green-belt land on three sides.

Presently, first-team development coach Pep Lijnders is the key figure between the two bases. The Dutchman oversees the progression of what he calls the 'Futures Group,' which features the best players in the academy aged 15 and upwards. These players are invited to Melwood for one session a week, giving them the opportunity to impress Klopp.

Klopp, however, wants quick access to all of Liverpool's players. For the development of Liverpool's youngest, he believes it is necessary for them to witness the elite professionals, who set the standards that everyone else should follow. With all of Liverpool's players on the same site, he believes it will create the 'one-club' mentality that was present at Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.

Leaving Melwood would be a historical moment for Liverpool, considering it has been home since the 1950s when the land was bought from St Francis Xavier, a nearby school. After Shankly's achievements led to it being regarded as sacred ground, coaches from across Europe visited and studied Liverpool's methods, particularly during Paisley's era. Houllier—one of those earlier students—brought it into the 21st century when he oversaw a major redevelopment in 2001.

Klopp gets frustrated—as were his predecessors—that his team selections have been leaked due to the low walls that protect Melwood, which have allowed fans to use bins, cars and ladders to prop themselves up and watch. Though Brendan Rodgers had a 4.5-metre privacy screen installed in 2015 in a bid to stop people spying—whichKlopp uses for closed sessions—information still occasionally gets out.

What happens at Melwood, though, is not always easy to explain to the untrained eye. It's where Klopp trains his players to master his legendary gegenpressing tactic, where mannequins are placed at equal distances on pitches split into thirds. It's where Liverpool's players are taught the difference between high, medium and low pressing.

Before games, Klopp might target a pressing victim. If an opponent is considered vulnerable in possession of a ball, Klopp wants five or even six of his team to hunt down the prey.

As noted in the Independent, "Klopp will halt training and detail exactly where he wants each of his players to be when gegenpressing is employed, because he knows the risk is great. His team has to be compact, because if gaps are left it becomes easier for the opposition to break, leaving the defence light in numbers. If five go and one is not quite at the same level of concentration, then Liverpool are in real trouble."

"It is not easy to explain in words but very easy to understand in practice," says Georginio Wijnaldum, the Liverpool midfielder signed from Newcastle United in the summer of 2016, as he sits in Melwood's bright foyer one early summer's afternoon.

Wijnaldum speaks with a smooth assurance about his own responsibilities within the framework of Klopp's Liverpool's team, reflecting that he knows exactly what is expected of him.

"Jurgen wants me to penetrate the spaces between the opposition defenders and midfielders," he continues. "It is very important in the home games when teams play with four defenders and five midfielders. If you find the space, you might score the goal that influences the result."

This happened when Liverpool defeated Middlesbrough 3-0 on the final day of the 2016/17 Premier League season. Wijnaldum's opener, thumped past Brad Guzan in front of the Kop, eased the tension inside Anfield during a fixture Liverpool had to win to qualify for the Champions League.

The way Wijnaldum talks about Liverpool's style of football under Klopp, you would think a Dutchman is in charge at Anfield. The basic requirement for players to "appreciate space" was at the root of the Total Football which the great Dutch sides of the 1970s displayed. And yet, there is always the reminder of the physical requirements—the typically German levels of power and energy involved. Two days after a game, Liverpool's squad rest, but sessions thereafter are expected to take place at match speed. Wijnaldum denies that being a Klopp player can lead to exhaustion.

"The mind is free, and that is the most important thing," Wijnaldum believes. "The manager does not overload the players with information. Every game is different because opponents have different qualities and different threats, but the consistent element to our approach is, we do not man-mark. It would be difficult to counter-press if we man marked. This means we mark spaces."

Wijnaldum says Klopp is "the only manager in recent years that has regularly played me in my best position. Despite starting in a deeper area of the pitch now, he says there is an expectation to "play in front of the goal—choosing the moments when to attack according to the opportunities."

He also insists Klopp is more technical in his coaching than many observers might appreciate, but he agrees Klopp's personality—his straightforward honesty—makes players want to perform for him.

"A friend, but not a best friend; I think that is the easiest way to describe him," Wijnaldum says. "He really cares about the welfare of a player and wants to know you away from football. His memory is very long as well. One of my first goals as a professional footballer came for Feyenoord against Borussia Dortmund during a friendly match in Rotterdam 10 years ago. I think Jurgen told me it was his first season as a trainer at Dortmund. This was the thing we spoke about when I came to sign for Liverpool. He remembered me from that day and had followed my career ever since. He could describe the goal—who passed to me—every detail. It showed me that this guy is really serious.

"When I met with Jurgen, we had a good conversation, not just about my football but my life away from football as well. I liked him. It was clear he wanted to sign the person as well as the football player. This was important for me because these conversations do not always happen between manager and player. Jurgen is a manager that wants to have a connection with the players. If you only talk about football, it can become too professional, and then sometimes you can have problems. If you have a problem, if something is on your mind, you can go to him and speak.

"His strength is his ability to read a situation and react in the best way. When I made the mistake against Bournemouth [passing the ball backwards, allowing Joshua King to score] in the locker room at half time, he said, 'Hey, it's over. We cannot change this. Let's just focus on the things we can do to change the game for the better.' He will only be mad if you do not use your quality or you do not try 100 per cent. When this happens, he will say things to you. Otherwise, he is always trying to help. As a player, he makes you feel as though he has your back."

The grainy black-and-white images from 1973 make the thousands of small faces in the Kop seem like one mush. Liverpool had won the old First Division title for the first time in seven seasons. The architect of the achievement, Bill Shankly, was greeting his people, who were desperate to get as close as possible to him. When a teenager threw a scarf in Shankly's direction, a policeman kicked it away only to be admonished by the figure standing like a head of state in front of him.

"It's only a scarf to you," Shankly said, "but it's the boy's life."

With that, Shankly responded by picking the scarf up, placing it around his neck and pulling tightly, as if he was never going to let go. The communion between supporter and manager was at a religious level.

"The moment had a massive effect on my life," reflects Peter Hooton, who later became the lead singer of a Liverpool band, The Farm, but then was nine years old. "The relief was enormous. I thought to myself, 'This fella is the messiah—he is the second coming.'"

Hooton's first Liverpool game had been watching the reserves perched precariously on one of the Kop's crush barriers, from where he fell, cracking his head. Hooton's father knew the son of Albert Shelley, the legendary trainer who used to pose for team photographs at the start of every season wearing a distinctive white coat, making him seem like a mad scientist. The relationship resulted in tickets and a safer position higher in the southern corner of Anfield's main stand. It meant a prime view of the pandemonium elsewhere in the stadium.

"As a kid, I was obsessed with the Kop, looking at it as much as the game," Hooton continues. "The pitch looked magnificent, and the all-red kit looked fantastic, but what was happening to the right of us in the Kop was even more interesting. Steam rising from the middle of the terraces, thousands of people swaying—and the noise, of course. I was fascinated by it. That was what I was looking forward to in my life: being able to stand in the Kop one day."

Hooton fulfilled his wish, as his path into adulthood coincided with Liverpool's greatest period of success. In the 17 years between 1973 and 1990, Liverpool won 11 First Division titles and four European Cups. Liverpool have not been champions in the Premier League era, which began a quarter of a century ago this August, partially explaining why the atmosphere on the Kop is different now.

"Hillsborough, all-seater stadiums, Sky television's investment, random kick-off times, high ticket demand, corporate ownership, commercialism and globalisation have all had an impact as well," Hooton says rapidly. "The problems run deeper than many would like to recognise, and that means the solutions are complex, too. Jurgen Klopp came here sold on the reputation of Anfield—and the Kop in particular. I suspect he was astounded by the lack of atmosphere."

Klopp may have made an impression on his neighbours in Formby. His power at Melwood might already be absolute. It is at Anfield, though, where his reputation and legacy as Liverpool's manager will ultimately be defined.

The old main stand is gone now, replaced by a new giant structure completed in the summer of 2016. If Hooton were to situate himself in the position where he used to gaze down at the Kop in awe as a child, what would he see in 2017?

"People sitting down," he says. "Unless it was a big European match or a key Premier League game against a rival when, as everyone knows, fans stand up. Against the West Broms or the Stokes, you see disengagement. The Kop is a twitching corpse. Only now and again, it springs to life."

When Klopp was appointed as Liverpool's manager, he spoke about his determination to turn "doubters into believers," as he was aware of the frustrations of Liverpool supporters after decades without a title. Over the years, the Kop's belligerence has been worth so many points to Liverpool, with noise seeming to rise from the bowels of the stand at crucial times, overwhelming the opposition, pushing Liverpool towards victory. And yet, the Kop has the ability to undermine the pursuit of glory as well, perhaps now more so than ever.

"I think the difference between a good atmosphere and a bad atmosphere is felt more acutely inside Anfield than anywhere else," believes Mike Nevin, a respected author and writer with the popular Anfield Wrap fanzine and podcast. "My season ticket is at the back of the Kop in Block 306—the singing section, which was created to try and make the mood a little bit more like it used to be. The fact that a singing section was created in the first place tells you that a problem was recognised. Yet the block is too high, and basic science tells you it's difficult to project noise downwards."

Anfield also has an ageing fan base.

"When I look down, all I can see is row upon row of seated bald or grey heads," Nevin continues. "As much as I have loads of respect for those people—and I'm one of them, age-wise��you're not as energetic as you get older. You're not quite as positively passionate and are more cynical about the world. Other areas of life take over—kids, marriages, jobs. Football was an escape as a 20-year-old—becoming emotionally engaged in a football match, a distraction from realities. Later on, you see things differently. And in the modern game, the cost of going has become an extension of the financial concern.

"Everybody said that Klopp was a natural fit for Liverpool, but through no fault of his own, I'm not sure that he actually is. At Dortmund, he had the Yellow Wall, which predominantly was made up of young men with their tops off, a few beers inside them. Most of our crowd are in their mid-40s at youngest. They're driving to the game and having one pint before and shooting off straight after the game to meet their families. Liverpool isn't really the same as Dortmund."

Nevin and Hooton are not alone in believing there is a demographic issue inside Anfield, which ultimately does not help Klopp. In Shankly's era, football was affordable. Youngsters could stand together in big groups behind the goal and sing their way through the games, determining the mood on the terraces. In Klopp's era, friends are spread out in different sections of the ground, and Liverpool supporters, as Hooton puts it, "are still war-weary and suspicious" from the disastrous reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett as owners, which took the club close to administration.

Fenway Sports Group, which replaced the pair in 2010 in what Hicks then described as "an epic swindle," have since helped stabilise Liverpool's financial position, with the Massachusetts investment company leaning heavily upon statistics when it comes to decision-making. When Anfield's reputation is sold on its atmosphere, though—to new fans from across the globe, to commercial partners and even to Klopp—perhaps analysis goes too far when there are investigations into the average 'yield per seat,' which in basic terms translates as how much each supporter inside the stadium on a matchday is likely to spend in addition to their ticket. When wealthy tourists spend more on official merchandise than, say, working-class kids, is it a surprise that a generation of local youngsters find themselves marginalised from the ground?

"You do sense that some who turn up at Anfield for the day want to be entertained rather than get behind the team," Hooton says. "There's a fine balance to be found at Liverpool. Liverpool is a global brand now, and you can't stop tourism in football. I actually like that people from all over the world come to the city because of the Beatles and Liverpool FC. But you've still got to keep your heart and soul. When that goes, it's difficult to rediscover. And at the moment, a lot of people who might create the atmosphere Klopp craves are outside the ground."

To watch Klopp during a match is to watch a cross between a conductor at the Royal Albert Hall and a lion in a cage. He does not pay much attention to the restrictions of his technical area and often strays, usually when a goal goes in, proceeding to celebrate like he thinks it might be the last goal one of his teams will ever score.

The Kop indeed loves him. "For the first time—as far back as I can remember—everyone is behind him," Nevin recognises. "He's got an unshakable belief amongst the fans, and he's got the track record that Brendan Rodgers never had, though he is still calling on that record because he hasn't won anything yet despite the progress that's been made."

And yet, it does not always feel like Klopp loves the Kop. When the Kop sings his name, he tries to ignore it, believing it is the team that needs support. When they sing his name in the final minutes of a game, it visibly riles him, particularly if a game is not yet won. He thinks it might encourage Liverpool's players to drop their concentration levels.

He was mocked, in fact, for celebrating with the Kop during his first months in charge following a 2-2 draw with West Bromwich Albion. Liverpool had not won, but Klopp believed a mental obstacle had been hurdled in the form of Tony Pulis' notoriously obdurate side, and so he engaged in a communion that not everybody understood.

"Since then, he's become reticent to get too close to the Kop," Nevin thinks. "There seems to be an invisible line around the 18-yard box where the players nor the manager will pass after games. Why not come a bit closer? Players are such mythical creatures these days, you can't touch them. Perhaps it would be an idea, after a good win, at least, to embrace with the fans. Perhaps he's waiting to win a trophy. Then nobody will be able to argue with him."

Calacus Weekly Hit & Miss – Kiyan Prince & Liverpool FC

Every Monday we look at the best and worst communicators in the sports world from the previous week.

HIT – KIYAN PRINCE FOUNDATION

Kiyan Prince was young teenager with significant footballing talent who played in the youth academy at Queens Park Rangers.

His life was tragically cut short in 2006 when he was murdered as he tried to break up a fight at school. Sadly, his potential was never realised.

To mark the 15th anniversary of his death, Kiyan is fulfilling the life dream he should have been allowed to achieve.

As a result of an incredible initiative called ‘Long Live the Prince’ led by the Kiyan Prince Foundation, Kiyan has been brought back to life into the virtual world.

By using a combination of AI technology and old photos, a lifelike image of Kiyan has been developed to generate how he would look like today. The campaign has been orchestrated by the likes of QPR, EA Sports and other major brands including Adidas and JD sports who are now supporting it.

He has also been recreated as a playable character for QPR in the world’s most popular sports game, FIFA 21. Match Attax will also issue a special Kiyan Prince playing card.

Elsewhere, a short film has been created to help vulnerable young people engage with the key principles of the Foundation across social and earned media, along with a series of ads fronted by virtual Kiyan in the media, social media and advertising, including at the billboards in Piccadilly Circus.

This campaign is one that brings so much positivity to light. It has gained considerable media coverage through the press and online sources through the brands involved.

But the real impact of this campaign comes from the use of unconventional PR techniques, which target an audience who probably wouldn’t see it via traditional means.

By using something as big as FIFA 21, a game played by millions of children, to bring an issue like knife crime to the forefront of their attention, is so effective.

Kiyan’s father, Dr Mark Prince, who set up the Foundation in 2008, and was awarded an OBE in 2019 for his charity work through the Foundation, believes the campaign’s brilliance lies in the way it is helping to inspire young people.

He said: “I want my son to be remembered not for the tragedy of his death but for the triumph of his achievements. Through this campaign my hope is that the world finally gets to glimpse Kiyan’s incredible potential fulfilled.

“We get to honour his talent. And, hopefully, we can inspire other kids to honour their won talent, too – whatever their own strengths might be.”

All proceeds raised during the campaign will go straight to supporting the work of the Foundation; raising awareness for the dangers of knife crime and helping young people fulfil their potential.

Having renamed Loftus Road in honour of the Kiyan Prince Foundation in 2019, the collaboration was an obvious next step for QPR. 2021 would been Kiyan’s 30th birthday and his former club have listed him as an official squad member, giving him the squad number ‘30’ for the 2021/22 season and have added him to all matchday programme team sheets. A lovely touch from the Championship side.

Paul Morrissey, QPR Head of Media and Communications said: “We are very keen to help support this campaign. It’s such a wonderful innovative idea and it’s really reaching the people that Mark’s work tries to reach.

“This campaign is creating a conversation around who Kiyan is and within the FIFA 21 game we wanted Kiyan to be a player that people would want in their team.”

In such a challenging period for so many people, this campaign is built on hope, optimism and collaboration, shining some positivity on what can happen when major brands work together.

It’s not only honouring the life of Kiyan but sending a powerful message on the issue of knife crime, the role of sport in helping change the lives of young people, as well as the vital the work of the foundation.

A fitting tribute to Kiyan. Long Live the Prince.

MISS – LIVERPOOL FC

There’s a lot to like about Liverpool FC.

Even before their charismatic manager Jurgen Klopp too over and guided them to the Champions League and Premier League titles, they have been renowned for a culture of community and inclusivity.

Just as with some of the other biggest clubs in the Premier League, their values and reputation have taken something of a knock after they initially joined the ESL.

One thing Liverpool have prided themselves on is looking after their own, so it’s a surprise to see their own internal communications fall short with regard to the Women’s team player contracts.

Kirsty Linnett and Becky Jane have criticised the club after learning that contracts they had been offered were being retracted.

Linnet posted on Twitter: “My time at Liverpool has come to an end... I have seen a lot of similar experiences to what I have explained below in women’s football recently.

“Something needs to change, people need to be treated better, it’s not good enough.

“"It would have been nice if someone from the club had the decency to tell me that they were retracting the contract offer they'd previously sent my agent.

"I felt that after three years the least I deserved was a face to face meeting the moment they knew they wanted to let me go.

"Football is football but where does this stop? I've no hard feeling with being let go, it's part of the game.

"What upsets me is the club support campaigns for mental health yet treat their own players with such little regard and respect.

"Let's hope clubs can do better by their players during these difficult times and act with more care for the people involved as manners and morals cost nothing."

Linnett makes a strong and reasonable statement about the communications lapse from the club, which was compounded by her team-mate Becky Jane.

Defender Jane wrote: “Unfortunately, similar to @kirsty_linnett the club have retracted my contract offer in a similar way.

“As female footballers with zero security as it is; the least we deserve is to be treated better and with respect. It takes nothing to be kind.”

Liverpool, who were relegated from the Women's Super League in 2019-20, finished third in the Women's Championship this season.

They re-appointed former boss Matt Beard as their new boss last week and the manager has been making decisions on his squad for next season.

The club did at least make a statement in response to the players’ claims and said: "Like all professional clubs, Liverpool Women are in the process of compiling their retained and released list for the forthcoming season.

"With the players two weeks into their off season holidays, the club has been informing all affected players of decisions as early as possible. With players contracted until the end of June this gives them the best possible chance of securing new clubs and making plans for next season. Players' agents have also been informed as is standard practice.”

Although the response is polished, the fact that not one but two players have spoken out like this underlines the shortcomings in Liverpool’s internal communications activity.

Clear and consistent communication is essential, particularly in relation to staff departures to limit the sense of shock or anger that those affected may feel when being let go.

There’s also a strong argument that this lack of communication would not occur for the Men’s team and no doubt Liverpool will undertake a review to ensure no such repeat of this in future.

1) Flaky defence meets toothless attack at St James’ ParkSteve Bruce said Newcastle were too passive during Monday’s sorry defeat at Aston Villa. One thing he can actively do about that is drop Jonjo Shelvey, who was irrelevant in midfield at Villa Park. With Sean Longstaff available again after suspension, and Matty Longstaff in line for a return to the starting lineup, Shelvey should be parked on the bench. Bruce probably wishes he could also make changes up front to try to exploit City’s defensive flakiness. There is not often a good case for starting Andy Carroll but this time there are two: City’s fragility and Joelinton’s haplessness. At least Allan Saint-Maximin shows signs of menace, even if his finishing so far has been down there with that of the bewildering Miguel Almirón. Mind you, Gabriel Jesus has not been looking sharp recently for City. So even though injury deprives both clubs of their best centre-backs (Jamaal Lascelles and Aymeric Laporte respectively), this match has the potential to end in a ridiculous 0-0 if midfielders do not step up to score. PD • Newcastle United v Manchester City (12.30pm, all times GMT, Saturday) 2) Diop’s absence gives Pellegrini unwelcome defensive optionsManuel Pellegrini has spent the season vacillating between áBalbuena and Angelo Ogbonna in his search for the centre-back he dislikes the least as Issa Diop’s partner. Pellegrini picked them both five times last season – the only league matches Diop didn’t start – of which West Ham lost four and drew one. Last weekend, when Diop was taken off with just under half an hour to play, Pellegrini was so loth to play them both he brought Carlos Sánchez on and shifted Declan Rice into the back line. At Stamford Bridge, with Diop suspended, he must choose either to pair them both or start Rice in defence for the first time since the end of the 2017-18 season. With the 33-year-old David Martin expected to make his top-flight debut in goal in place of the underperforming Roberto, the fourth-worst Premier League team will head to the division’s fourth-best side with a reshaped and under-strength backline, in which not even the manager has confidence. SB • Chelsea v West Ham United (3pm, Saturday) Fabián Balbuena (left) and Angelo Ogbonna try to deal with Eden Hazard’s threat during last season’s clash at Stamford Bridge. Photograph: Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images 3) Potter’s steady Brighton rebuild deserves rewardAccording to Graham Potter it was “a little bit strange” to be awarded a new six-year contract at Brighton because “we haven’t done anything”. Potter’s modesty is not an affectation and it is true that, six months into his tenure, Brighton have not quite stopped the world turning on its axis. But there are still times in football when slow and steady can win the race, and Potter’s reconfiguration of the Seagulls’ approach – adopting a progressive, modern style while sitting comfortably in mid-table – has gone exactly as Tony Bloom would have wanted. There have been fluctuations along the way but when Brighton lose they usually do so creditably, with Pep Guardiola making a point of praising Potter’s methods after Manchester City defeated them in August. They will undoubtedly set up to ask questions of Liverpool too. Brighton are in the middle of what, on paper, is a tough run of fixtures but their long-term commitment to the blueprint Potter has put in place gives them considerable cause for comfort. NA • Liverpool v Brighton (3pm, Saturday) 4) Time running out for Silva to recapture early swaggerEverton are not the only club that might feel shamed by the quality of work done by Brendan Rodgers within nine months of his arrival at Leicester, but a comparison with the last time these two sides met at the King Power Stadium highlights their wildly divergent directions of travel since. In October 2018, with Marco Silva still getting his feet under the table, Everton produced an exhilarating away performance, winning 2-1 and threatening more. “This is our image,” Silva said afterwards. “It will be so in the future and more.” Saturday’s rematch would be an apposite occasion for Silva to prove he can keep his promises, then, given that anything bar a rapid upturn in form and performance is likely to spell the end of his tenure. It is difficult to know what to make of Silva as a manager: there was always the sense that his talents were overhyped somewhat after he made an admittedly respectable fist of keeping Hull in the top flight two and a half years ago and he has shown little to suggest any extraordinary talent since then. Time is running out for him to change that opinion but a repeat of last season’s showing against opponents in irresistible form should buy him a little bit more. NA • Leicester City v Everton (4.30pm, Sunday) The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email. 5) Intriguing duel of England’s two fastest-progressing clubsWhen Wolves thrashed Sheffield United 3-0 at Molineux in February 2018, no one was talking about Chris Wilder’s team “doing a Wolves”. And, well, they haven’t, not exactly. But here both clubs are less than two years later, meeting with each side perched just outside the Champions League qualification places. Wilder and Nuno Espírito Santo have done superb jobs in different ways and a whole raft of players have risen to heights they were not widely expected to reach. Wolves’ Matt Doherty and United’s Enda Stevens, for instance, both played in that game in 2018 and now can be classed among the best wing-backs in the Premier League. In fact, the only members of United’s likely rearguard on Sunday who did not play on their club’s last visit to Molineux are John Egan and the goalkeeper Dean Henderson. They have made huge impacts since joining the club and, assuming they play on Sunday after missing last week’s draw with Manchester United, they will be big factors in ensuring Wolves do not have it so easy this time. PD • Wolverhampton Wanderers v Sheffield United (2pm, Sunday) Sheffield United’s Dean Henderson makes a save during the Premier League win over Arsenal at Bramall Lane. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images 6) Only a miracle can save Emery nowArsenal stagger to Carrow Road to face opponents who, in some ways, present a miniature version of what they ought to be. Norwich may well be relegated this season but there is so much to admire about the uncompromising belief in high-tempo, fluid attacking football held by Daniel Farke and the club’s sporting director, Stuart Webber. In fact Webber, who is just 35 but one of the most impressive executives around and surely destined for a top job, is precisely the kind of figure Arsenal would have benefited from employing in a high position but instead they lurch on in hope more than expectation. It is getting to the point where Unai Emery needs something approaching a miracle; Arsenal may well win at Carrow Road but the cracks it would paper over are huge. • Norwich City v Arsenal (2pm, Sunday) 7) Will Mourinho stick with Winks or twist with Ndombele?The last time José Mourinho faced Eddie Howe was last November, when Bournemouth dominated the first half against Manchester United – even if the score when it ended was 1-1. “At half-time I thought I was the luckiest manager in the Premier League, to be at 1-1 in a half in which it should be 5-2 or 6-2,” Mourinho said afterwards. “We were really lucky because we were really poor.” In the second, however, United took control, even if it took until the second minute of stoppage time for Marcus Rashford to score the winner. The tactical switch that worked for Mourinho then was to exactly the system he has so far favoured at Spurs, bringing Ander Herrera on to form a double pivot with Nemanja Matic at the base of midfield, just as Harry Winks and Eric Dier have done at Tottenham, in an out-of-possession 4-2-3-1. Received wisdom seems to be that Tanguy Ndombele will replace Winks for this game, but the Englishman might be better able to replicate the deep-lying, match-turning display from Herrera that Mourinho is unlikely to have forgotten. SB • Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth (3pm, Saturday) Harry Winks has formed a double pivot with Eric Dier in José Mourinho’s first two matches in charge of Spurs. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images via Reuters 8) Watford’s misfortunes continue, in fitness and formLast week Watford extended to six their run of successive matches in which they have been forced through injury to make a first-half substitution, and in all competitions there have been eight in their past 10 games. This statistic is extraordinary: no other team has made more than three first-half substitutions in this season’s Premier League, and Southampton are one of four sides (the others being Burnley, Leicester and Arsenal) not to have made any at all. The other 19 top-flight clubs have made a total of 688 substitutions so far this season, of which 3.9% have been before half-time. Watford’s figure is 16.2%. Having won only one league game so far, the Hornets’ tactics have clearly been failing this season – but so have their bodies. SB • Southampton v Watford (5.30pm, Saturday) 9) Wesley needs to enhance his game with goalsThe last time Aston Villa travelled to Old Trafford – in April 2016 – they lost 1-0 and were relegated. Hear this now: Villa are too good to go down this season, especially if Jack Grealish stays fit. Their prospects would be even brighter if Wesley started scoring regularly. The striker does plenty of admirable work but has had opportunities to score much more than four goals in 13 league games. Villa could pose United a lot of trouble in midfield on Sunday, particularly if Scott McTominay is not in top condition, but they will probably need Wesley to be clinical if they are to complete a significant victory. PD • Manchester United v Aston Villa (2pm, Sunday) 10) Burnley bear down on fifth as Dyche’s stock rises againOn recent form this would be a home banker, but these are two of the division’s streakier sides. What an opportunity this is for Burnley, though, especially given that the two sides directly above them – Wolves and Sheffield United – face each other on Sunday. They could finish the weekend in fifth spot and the way Sean Dyche has cajoled his team back to their old levels over the last 12 months cannot be understated. Burnley could have sunk but instead a largely unchanged squad looks stronger than ever. Their centre-forward pairing, Ashley Barnes and Chris Wood, make an unorthodox sight in modern football at 6ft 1in and 6ft 3in respectively but, with six goals each already, perfectly embody Dyche’s ability to extract the maximum. It is no surprise that the clamour for him to be presented with an opportunity at a bigger club is getting louder and a third successive victory on Saturday would add to the noise. NA • Burnley v Crystal Palace (3pm Saturday) Source link The post Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend | Football appeared first on 10Z Soccer. #PremierLeague #NorwichCity #CrystalPalace

Chelsea Vs Liverpool - Two youngsters who can save millions for Chelsea football club and Marina Granovskaia

The Blues have spent large effectively on Romelu Lukaku could in any case take a few actions with six days of the summer move window remaining. At the point when you take a look at the youths Chelsea football club have on their books that might save them a large number of pounds throughout the most recent six days of the exchange window, it merits thinking back over the summer for reference.

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While there is no question there is as yet an enormously skilled harvest of youth players around Cobham, there has been for a couple of years at this point, this late spring saw a smaller than expected departure of players from west London.

The individuals who were amazingly exceptionally respected inside the dividers of the preparation ground like Tino Livramento and Lewis Bate have continued to Southampton and Leeds separately. Armando Borja is still at the club yet is borrowed at St Mary's this season as he acquires first group insight after writing his new five-year bargain.

The distance away from the principal group any semblance of Xavier Mbuyamba, Tino Anjorin, and Dujon Sterling are is down to the choice of Thomas Tuchel yet you presume they will not be a piece of the Premier League football matchday crew any time soon. Anjorin could be set for a transition to Lokomotiv Moscow before the finish of the exchange window either borrowed or maybe forever.

There are however two champion players who could be the player that could save Tuchel and the club millions going ahead. One has effectively been included in the primary group this season while another is right now borrowed in the Championship.

The undeniable response to the feature question is Trevoh Chalobah. Regardless of whether you can class a 22-year-old as a "young person" nowadays when players are making senior introductions as youngsters is easy to refute yet Chalobah surely has a great deal of time on his side. Having had a phenomenal pre-season crusade, Chalobah exploited the summer global competitions and in this manner, players returning late to include intensely in the Blues pre-season crusade.

Regardless of at first watching prone to take off borrowed, the middle back has constrained his direction into Tuchel's first group designs and was given a beginning against Crystal Palace in the Premier League football recently. He covered off a fantasy debut by scoring the Blues' third objective, arrowing a perfect strike into the base corner from a distance as Chelsea football club started their season with a 3-0 triumph.

As more youthful players advancing in the game frequently discover, he was back on the seat the week after for the 2-0 success at Arsenal. Brutal maybe yet you were unable to contend with Tuchel's strategies on the day as the rampaging Reece James, another institute graduate, destroyed Arsenal by helping Romelu Lukaku's opener and crushing home the second objective just for himself. To know more about Chelsea Football Tickets click here.

Another Blues young person is leaving his imprint at a senior level who is as of now away from west London however has partaken in an exceptionally solid beginning to live borrowed in the subsequent level - Levi Colwill. The protector sprung up in the fourth moment of injury time to score the champ for Huddersfield Town against Sheffield United, starting disorder in Yorkshire for the home side.

Colwill has played an hour and a half multiple times as of now for the Terriers this season to solidly set up a good foundation for himself as the main decision in the focal point of the guard for Carlos Corberan's side. The one time he was put at left-back, his side transported five in misfortune to Fulham.

Naby Sarr, who has been playing close by Colwill in the Huddersfield back three, has hailed the Chelsea foundation item, saying of the youngster:

“It's insane, it resembles he's been playing in the expert game for a very long time as of now and he's just 18 – I imagine that is a super decent player. Just 18, previously playing like this… with this development, he's great ready and protectively, he has everything to have a splendid future."

Colwill himself said that a portion of his partners at Cobham effectively urged him to take the jump and head out borrowed in the Championship to get some genuinely necessary senior football experience. I addressed a couple of players (at Chelsea) and they advised me to simply go to the Championship since it will be an extraordinary move. It will be extreme, don't question that, yet in case you're adequate, you'll venture through. Then, at that point, if I progress nicely, that could be my following stage.

" It’s going to be a big, big season and that’s what they all reminded me."

Chelsea football club is as yet being vigorously connected with a move for Jules Kounde of Sevilla this late spring, himself just 22, however, any move for the safeguard will be dependent on Kurt Zouma leaving the club, and West Ham are exceptionally enthused about getting that going. To know more about Chelsea Football Tickets click here.

Yet, assuming Zouma doesn't go, Chelsea football club could well tie down an arrangement to sign Kounde the following summer as close to home terms are relied upon to be a custom to get it for the Frenchman done. Nonetheless, they may now need to look excessively far from two institute players and protectors that are having acceptable beginnings to the new season sometime later, particularly with contract restorations among the Blues guarded center approach.

Andreas Christensen is probably going to pen new terms not long from now however it's not clear with Antonio Rudiger, who is out of agreement toward the finish of the period. So is Thiago Silva and Zouma's future appears to be away from SW6. Kounde's potential exchange could be an indication of future-sealing for Chelsea football club which is surely no terrible thing, yet there are additionally two players on the books as of now who could do that in Chalobah and Colwill.

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Is Solskjaer the man to lead this Man Utd side or does Woodward need to sack him now? | Football | Sport

Is Solskjaer the man to lead this Man Utd side or does Woodward need to sack him now? (Image: GETTY)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is under pressure to turn Manchester United’s poor form around.

Since becoming permanent United manager in March, Solskjaer has won just five games in all competitions.

United failed to impress during their dismal 2-0 defeat at West Ham last weekend but is Solskjaer’s time up?

Express Sport writers have delivered their verdicts.

Jim Holden

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was a perfect interim manager for Manchester United last season, a popular figure to bring stability to the club after the turbulent period under Jose Mourinho, but he should never have been considered for the job long-term.

There was nothing in his managerial CV to suggest he was the man for the huge task of creating a new champion team. Nothing.

After a strong honeymoon start, the results and performances dipped under Solskjaer in the later part of last season – and that should have been a signal to everyone that United had to look elsewhere. The folly was that they did not, particularly when there are some fine managers available like former Juventus chief Max Allegri.

Surely, they should also have tried to lure Mauricio Pochettino from Spurs during the summer.

Ed Woodward is clearly culpable for this, as he was for giving David Moyes too little time when he was chosen to replace Sir Alex Ferguson, and then making a double error in appointing the dull Louis Van Gaal and the provocative but fading force of Mourinho.

United certainly need a director of football to take charge of these matters, and put Woodward in the background. But the pressing requirement is for a change of manager because if Solskjaer stays at the helm they are heading towards mid-table irrelevance.

Gideon Brooks

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains in considerable credit with Manchester United fans and Ed Woodward will be well aware of that.

It was, after all, the reason for his appointment – both interim and permanent – in the first place.

But the patience at board level will not be inexhaustible if results do not improve on the pitch and on the evidence of this season so far, the break will probably come at some stage.

Since confirmed in the job in late March Solskjaer has not led United to consecutive wins in the league, winning four, drawing four and losing six.

A run of WLLWLLLDDL-WDLDWWL (in all competitions) has been bewilderingly inconsistent leaving no one with any clear idea which United will turn up.

The return of some key players might address some shortcomings but players like Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial (and to an extent Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard) have never really screamed consistency.

That is the key issue for United and if Solskjaer cannot address that he will not deliver a top four finish, a top six finish, or, more pertinently, last the season.

Woodward will be keen to give his big statement signing every chance to succeed so it is premature to be writing Solskjaer’s United obituary.

But the longer the inconsistency continues the deeper the malaise sets makes is more not less likely that he will revisit Mauricio Pochettino with another offer before long.

Is Solskjaer the man to lead this Man Utd side or does Woodward need to sack him now? (Image: GETTY)

Jamie Anderson

Manchester United need to part ways with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

I’m sorry, but how much longer can supporters, pundits and ex-pros pretend he’s going to turn things around at Old Trafford? There’s been no obvious upturn in performances even with £143million spent over the summer.

Since that famous Champions League victory over PSG, the Red Devils have lost seven of their 15 Premier League fixtures, drawn four and and won four.

That’s relegation form.

Everyone, including myself, wanted the likeable baby-faced assassin to succeed but it’s time to close the chapter on Solskjaer’s reign.

Ed Woodward needs to do what he should have done after reliving Jose Mourinho of his duties – get Mauricio Pochettino through the door.

Konstantinos Lianos

It starts to seem like Manchester United’s problems don’t lie within the dugout anymore after the arrivals and departures of experienced managers like David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho ever since Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

Let’s say Ole Gunnar Solskjaer leaves now and the Ole Out brigade get its wish, then what? Who can promise that the next manager will do a better job and bring titles back to Old Trafford? How do we know he won’t get unceremoniously removed just like his predecessors?

Solskjaer is an esteemed personality who knows the club inside out and had a very impressive run as caretaker manager last term, which is why he earned his permanent role.

The United legend also has plenty of respect and confidence from the board, players and former stars, like Rio Ferdinand who is strongly against his dismissal, which is something the previous managers lacked.

Ed Woodward, on the other hand, has failed to put together a strong side similar to rivals Manchester City as he splashed buckets of cash for superstars who failed to deliver like Alexis Sanchez, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Angel Di Maria, Radamel Falcao and Bastian Schweinsteiger in recent years.

To wrap up, Solskjaer shouldn’t leave before Woodward.

Is Solskjaer the man to lead this Man Utd side or does Woodward need to sack him now? (Image: GETTY)

Adam Powers

There’s no real evidence to suggest that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is the man to lead this Man Utd team – but that does not mean Ed Woodward should now sack him.

Given the knee-jerk, typically naive decision to appoint him two months before the end of last season, he now deserves time to see whether he can do the very least and build a side fans are once again proud to support.

Unfortunately, Solskjaer has so far failed to even inspire 11 players to work hard each week (for which they should accept as much blame), nor has he got the team playing in an entertaining way; counter-attack seems the only way of scoring.

Mauricio Pochettino should be closely monitored at Tottenham Hotspur, for he has made a side add up to more than the sum of their parts in an entertaining way.

With a large warchest behind him, I have no doubt he will fill up a trophy mantle. He seems more and more disenchanted in north London and United must be ruthless and get him in.

Luke Gardener

The Manchester United squad is simply not good enough. Everyone knows that and everyone knew that the moment the transfer window shut.

United had a good summer with their three new recruits arguably the best performers for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer so far this season.

They also got rid of Romelu Lukaku who didn’t want to be at the club and Alexis Sanchez who flopped after moving from Arsenal.

But this is a long-term project and one which needs stability with a manager and constant backing with funds from Ed Woodward.

If United sign two to three players in the next three transfer windows that improve the squad like Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Daniel James and Harry Maguire have, then they will be on their way.

A striker should be a priority with a couple of central midfielders also needed urgently especially if Paul Pogba decides to move on.

Whether Solskjaer is good enough is difficult to say. For my money he’s playing better football than Jose Mourinho did that’s for sure.

And you can’t just forget how well he did when he replaced the so-called Special One.

For now United are threadbare with injuries and their lack of squad depth was taken advantage of by West Ham.

But time and patience is needed at Old Trafford. Why can we not be speaking about this side in two or three seasons like we do Liverpool now?

Jurgen Klopp inherited a squad in a similar situation after all.

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“So are you United or City?”

This is the inevitable follow-up question after, on clocking my accent, someone has asked me where I’m from. I always say that I’m from Manchester. I feel there is a reasonable expectation that they might know where that is or maybe have at least heard of it.

And I enjoy that follow-up question. It shows interest and knowledge that Manchester is, at least these days, probably best known as a football town. But I never like my answer.

“Well, actually, I’m from a town a few miles out of Manchester called Bolton, and it has its own team, Bolton Wanderers, they used to be in the Premier League a few years but now…”

I try to stop myself at this point. The poor questioner was anticipating a simple one-word answer but is now being faced with the prospect of having to feign interest in far more information than they expected going in.

“Oh.”

I’ve found that striking up a conversation whilst watching games in bars over here is almost inevitable. I moved from Bolton to San Diego, CA, just over ten years ago. Since then, I have spoken to many people with varying exposure to football. One aspect that seems to fascinate those not used to the sport is the idea of promotion and relegation in club football.

“If you’re not good enough, you get kicked out the league. My team were relegated a few years ago from the Premier League.”

“Oh right. So who’s your team now?”

This question stems from the fact all the major sports in the US don’t have the jeopardy of falling out of the league and that even the franchises themselves can be moveable feasts. Sometimes the sports fan in the US are asked to change allegiances.

“Oh, no, It’s not a case of that. I just follow them in whatever league they are in.”

Bolton Wanderers: A club that very few choose for. Manchesters United and City have, respectively, established and growing international fanbases because of, respectively, historic and current successes. It is extremely unlikely that Bolton Wanderers will ever garner anything like the attention that their noisy neighbours attract.

So why do I bother? Why do I follow this team in lower leagues, where the standard is awful and the coverage is limited. What has got me to the point where I, as a moderately-intelligent forty-two-year-old, more than five-thousand miles from home, still get all hot and bothered about a team that has only ever brought me disappointment? Well mostly.

I want to explore the origins of my love for Bolton Wanderers. The memories that have formed it. These memories are genuine, with the only research undertaken was to make sure timelines are correct.

oOo

In early 1987, Bolton Wanderers are struggling. A once mighty club1 are in a bad way financially and in the bottom third of the old Third Division. Relegation to the old Fourth is a very real possibility.

As a ten-year-old however, I was blissfully unaware of all of this. All I knew was that I liked football and I liked watching football matches. My first interest in the sport was being allowed to stay up for the 11 pm kick-off to watch the instantly-forgettable nil-all bore-off that was England’s group stage match versus Morrocco at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. A game in which nothing happened, save England’s captain, Bryan Robson, being carried off and England’s vice-captain, Ray “Butch” Wilkins getting sent off for throwing the ball in the general direction of the ref. Awful. Loved it2.

A combination of our enthusiasm for football and the dire situation in which Bolton Wanderers found themselves must have been the catalyst for my dad to take us to some home games. Usually, this would be the point in the piece where I am supposed to wax lyrical about my first game. The intoxicating aromas of wintergreen, second-hand pipe smoke and the half-time pies. The roar of the crowd. The elation of seeing my first goal. None of that. I can’t bring it to mind at all. I assume that we did go to some home games before the first game that I do actually recall, which was an away game. And it’s not a particularly cherished memory.

Looking back, I’ve no idea what my dad was thinking really. One of Bolton last few away games of the ill-fated 1986/87 season was at York City. As a family, we had been to the city of York many times. So, the plan was that we would drop my mum off in the city centre to do some shopping, whilst me, my dad and my younger brother would head over to Bootham Crescent for the 3 pm kick-off. We parked up around the corner from the ground and found our seats in the away end. My only recollections of the game were that the real Robbie Savage3 had his shirt ripped and that he refused to replace it. And that we were one-nil down at half-time.

This, apparently, was all that was needed for some Bolton fans to start causing mither4. The seated section of the away end was separated from the terraced area by railings to our right. Some Bolton fans started to climb them. An image that is seared on my retina is a deranged face poking through the railings, as he swung on them to force them to fall over. Other fights broke out behind us. This was Bolton fans against each other. I was frightened. As was my brother. I recall my dad asking for calm. I don’t recall if there ever was. We left the game before the second half started, as my brother and I were in a pretty inconsolable state. We picked up my mum and headed for home.

This incident is consistent with a fairly stereotypical view of football crowds in the late Eighties. It is the only time that trouble has happened so close to me at a football ground, but it must have had an impact, as I didn’t go to any other away games until my adulthood.

Bolton were relegated a few months later. The fourth division. A historic new low for the club.

Bolton Wanderers as a football club didn’t have a great deal going for it at this time. Burnden Park was an outdated stadium and in order to pay off debts, a corner of the ground was sold to the Co-Op so a Normid supermarket could be built. Sympathetic away fans would later chant “You only sing when you’re shopping”. The club asked regular supporters for financial help. They set up what they called Lifeline. Supporters could set up a monthly direct debit to donate money to the everyday running of the club. They needed fans to step up, and they did. Amongst those fans was my dad and I remember helping him spend his winnings from the monthly draw on the occasions his numbers came up. And I think it was in this spirit that he decided that buying season tickets for the first ever season in the fourth division was the right thing. It was this idea that, I believe, triggered my love of Bolton Wanderers.

As a young fan, the fourth division would be a baptism of fire. We were at our lowest ebb. In theory, things should only get better but certainly not get worse. We should have a good season.

The manager, Phil Neal, England and Liverpool legend, was able to bring in new players. I actively followed the moves made before the start of the season in the Bolton Evening News, the local paper. We had signed an impossibly-bronzed right-back from Halifax Town called Phil Brown5. A frontman from Bristol City called Trevor “Sumo” Morgan, who’s backside had its own gravitation pull. A striker from Preston, John Thomas, who seemed like he might score goals. The new home shirt6 was great; the best one there ever has been and since. I definitely recall a sense of optimism around the place when the first match of the season finally arrived. A home game against Crewe Alexandra.

And we scored first. The goal came from another new signing, from Grimsby Town, the box-to-box midfielder Gary Henshaw7 with a volley. We were cruising this division, right up until the point that Crewe equalised, by some no-mark called David Platt8. One-all, the final score. Ah well.

This was, and hopefully will forever be, the only season Bolton Wanderers spent in the lowest professional league in England. We gained automatic promotion to the third division by clinching third place on the last day of the season.

During this season, a matchday routine was crystalised. Parking up on the same street and then walking on the ground, buying the matchday programme from the same corner and asking my dad where on Earth Scunthorpe or Hartlepool or Darlington is.

Inside the Burnden Park itself, the amenities were less than salubrious. We sat in the Great Lever end which was nominally designated as the family end, although I was never sure what it was that made it family-friendly. It was dark, had just-about serviceable toilet facilities and a portacabin serving your half-time Bovril. As season ticket holders, we had designated seats which were right behind the goal almost all the way towards the back of the stand. In actuality, we could have sat anywhere we chose, but we always very deliberately sat in “our” seats. There was no earthly reason to do so, as in the seat in front of us, was a very elderly gentleman, complete with flat cap, who sat quietly on his own but would chain-smoke his way through every game. Looking back, we must have been a persistent annoyance to him also, as we would bring along a genuine World War Two ARP rick-rack, which we had painted club colours. On the appearance of the teams, we would swing that thing around for all our worth, making, on reflection, a very unpleasant noise. But neither side relented. Every week, same spot.

What I do remember with fondness about Burnden Park were the times, as a family, that we would go to lunch to what was dubbed the “Executive Lounge”. This is where the top brass of visiting clubs would be entertained and what passed for the fancy-eating quarters for the players after training. But during the day, any old scruff could avail themselves of the plentiful buffet for a very reasonable price. You would often see the players tucking into their lunches and best of all, the club legend and lifetime president of the club, Nat Lofthouse would be there. A nicer, more considerate and conscientious man I have yet to meet. Sir Nat had time for everyone.

In his pomp, he was the most feared striker of his generation. After scoring two goals against Austria whilst playing for England, he earned the title, The Lion of Vienna9. To this day, Bolton’s six-foot-plus furry mascot is named Lofty the Lion. As a tribute to the great man and this epithet, local folk band, The Houghton Weavers produced a song of the same name which they released on 7-inch vinyl. Sir Nat was gracious enough to sign my copy even as I interrupted his meal one day. My mum has kept our copy10.

Nat Lofthouse was an important part of why Bolton Wanderers survived as a club. And for him to not mind some oik asking for an autograph, and in fact made to feel actually welcomed, meant a great deal. Even in the moment, but probably more so now.

It was around this time that I must’ve had it bad. With definitely my dad as the enabler. The whole family would often go to see the stiffs11 play on cold midweek evenings. Even travelling to Blackburn’s Ewood Park and Oldham Athletic’s Boundary Park to see youth team cup games. I enjoyed that a typewriter had been used to produce the teamsheets that were handed out at these games, that you could hear the players’ voices as they hurled insults toward the ref, as well as the creek of the wooden stairs in the Manchester Road end12.

There were other occasions, such as the day, we all woke early on a dreadful Saturday morning to go see a Bolton A13 team match against Manchester United at their old training ground, The Cliff. It was a disgusting day; the type when the rain drives at you sideways. It also happened to be Christmas Eve! The redeeming aspect of this adventure occurred before the game even kicked off. Manchester United’s first team were there for a light training session before their Boxing Day game. I was able to get the autographs of players that I’d seen on the telly and who I knew were really good. Gordon Strachan, Paul McGrath, Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce and, best of all, Bryan Robson14. A hero. Amazing. Then Bolton A played in a match.

As I planned this piece, my research revealed that I had misremembered gaining promotion to the third division in the same year as we won a Wembley final. That glorious day in North London remains the best I’ve had as a Bolton Wanderers fan. Alas, that happened in May 1989. Eek. I had remembered us fighting on all fronts, cup and league when in reality, we had clinched mid-table mediocrity by February and had only the Sherpa Van Trophy to play for in the rest of the season. These were the years when only clubs from the third and fourth divisions could enter15, so after we had beaten Blackpool over two legs in the semis, I felt confident that we could go on to beat a fourth division team, Torquay United, in the final. That final was at Wembley.

It probably goes without saying that I had never been to Wembley before. In those days, there were only a handful of games shown live on television. A few hand-picked first division matches on a Sunday. And, of course, the FA Cup Final. At Wembley. Where it was always sunny. The field, implausibly green and twice the size of any other. The crowd, unfeasibly large. I really couldn’t wait to see my team down there.

We stayed overnight at my auntie’s in Stevenage and, as a family, marched on Wembley Way, bathed in the prerequisite sunshine. It was the time when supporters had started to bring inflatable objects to games; a craze started by Manchester City fans, who honoured their striker, Imre Varadi16, with inflatable bananas. Bolton produced their own inflatable, a pig, as we are known as the Trotters (Even though it is believed that the nickname doesn’t actually relate to pig’s feet, but to a colloquial term for a practical joker). I had brought one of these for the big day, but when it was made clear that I would be responsible for carrying the thing all day, a decision was made to leave it in the car. However, the rosette created especially for the game did make it to the ground. I miss the use of a rosette for finals, I think they look smart and are due for a revival.

Bolton won. But not before conceding the first goal of the game. Four different scorers for Bolton made it four-one at full-time, which included one of the best goals ever scored by a centre-half at Wembley17. To this day, I remember Dean Crombie cushioning a pass on his chest after making a lung-busting 50-yard run and then slotting home like it was his job. Everyone around me was understandably ecstatic and were stood up during the trophy lift. I decided to stand on my seat, the kind that flips up, to get a better vantage point. So what I remember most about Bolton receiving the coveted Sherpa Van Trophy is the excruciating pain of trapping my leg in the seat after losing my balance. Even now, this mental scar twinges whenever I’m navigating a partially-empty sports stadia.

Looking back, I’ve used the word “we” a great deal. We won the cup that day. It was an important day for the club, as it reminded the whole community how important it was to the town.

Bolton were bang average for the next few seasons after the Sherpa Van Trophy success. Phil Neal was never able to gain promotion to the second division after several attempts. These seasons have, over time, merged into nothingness. It was only after the appointment of Bruce Rioch did the club start challenging for promotion. Under him there were great cup runs, defeating, most notably, Liverpool at Anfield in a FA Cup replay, and promotions to the second division and ultimately the Premiership/Premier League18 through the playoffs.

oOo

It was my dad’s enthusiasm for his football club, and his sense of civic pride, that first nudged me down the path towards Bolton Wanderers fandom. Continuing what he started is a huge part of why I still care.

I support because of the great days the club has afforded me. I support because of the sense of sharing with friends and family and with absolute strangers. I support in hope, rather than in expectation.

Bolton Wanderers has always been a club that represents the town. I take pride in how our 1958 FA Cup win was achieved by 11 blokes who were born and raised in the town. That has not happened since by any club, and will probably never happen again. Nat Lofthouse epitomised that. His love of the club meant that he would do whatever was asked of him. Filling in as manager if needed. For our club to be associated with a great figure like Sir Nat is a privilege. His example is one that we as Bolton fans should always be mindful of. Throughout its history, the club has existed for the fans, and also because of the fans. Currently, the club is in a difficult period. We need to be watchful and supportive in ways that might extend further than simply cheering on the team on a Saturday afternoon. It should be treasured, and we must not be complacent. The club should be maintained so that it can thrive and remain the great representation of our town into the future.

Bolton Wanderers is a significant, historical sporting institution. As I Boltonian, I am extraordinarily proud of it.

Footnotes

1 Founding member of the Football League; scored the first-ever goal in that League; Four-time FA Cup Winners; Winners of the first FA Cup Final held at Wembley in 1923

2 On the back of this, me and my brother both got full England kits, which we both wore out of the sports store in York.

3https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Savage_(footballer,_born_1960)

4https://www.yourdictionary.com/mither

5 Now famous for being impossibly-orange in management at Hull City et al and number two to Sam Allardyce at Bolton.

6 Alas, my replica of this shirt is lost. Either at an Airbnb in Milwaukee or Chicago. Tragic.

7 On my first day of a summer job as a driver’s mate for a local delivery company, to my surprise and delight, Gary Henshaw was the driver of the van. Together, we made sure the good folks of Scunthorpe got their fridges and washer-dryers that day. I was definitely star-struck.

8 A few years later, David Platt went on to play for Aston Villa, then, Arsenal, Juventus, Sampdoria and of course England. He scored “in the last minute of extra time”.

9 For more reading about Nat Lofthouse, this is a fabulous article from TheseFootballTimes.com https://thesefootballtimes.co/2017/09/29/nat-lofthouse-the-lion-of-vienna-and-the-gent-of-bolton/

10 The photograph courtesy of my mum; note that Sir Nat signed with Thanks.

11 The reserve team.

12 So here’s where I allow myself to wax lyrical, about reserve team games.

13 A third-string team of reserves and youth players.

14 This photo courtesy of my mum who still has the autograph book.

15 In its current iteration, the Checkatrade Trophy, Premier League and Championship clubs can submit academy teams (if they wish).

16 Some kind of corruption of Varadi into Banana. No, I don’t either.

17 All views expressed are my own.

18 Delete as appropriate for that year.

New Post has been published on https://toldnews.com/sports/rams-owner-faces-rebellion-from-english-soccer-fans/

Rams owner faces rebellion from English soccer fans

Arsenal, the English Premier League club that billionaire businessman Kroenke has owned since 2011, will travel to play Manchester City on Sunday in a showdown between two soccer teams at very different junctures in their respective histories.

Arsenal, meanwhile, is in the midst of another season where it is battling for a top-four finish rather than the title, and is once again struggling to keep pace, both on and off the pitch, with big-spending rivals.

The Londoners’ notoriously leaky defense could be humbled at the Etihad on Sunday — the Gunners lost 5-1 in December to league leaders Liverpool — making Sunday a two-fold referendum of sorts on Kroenke the sports owner.

With the Rams, Kroenke finds himself on the brink of the American sporting summit, a win away from a championship three years after he helped engineer the team’s move from St. Louis to southern California; at Arsenal, the American is viewed increasingly as the man who has overseen the club’s wayward drift.

Arsenal fans rooting for Patriots

Kroenke has become so unpopular among Arsenal supporters that even those who might otherwise be indifferent to American football suddenly have a rooting interest in Super Bowl LIII.

“A lot of fans over here are backing the Patriots,” said Robbie Lyle, the host and proprietor of the YouTube channel AFTV, which bills itself as the “unofficial voice of Arsenal fans around the world.”

AFTV has built an enormous following since it launched in 2012, boasting more than 900,000 subscribers who tune in following the team’s matches to watch Lyle interview fans, many of whom use the opportunity to rant and rave about the club’s shortcomings.

Lately, most of the ire on the channel has been directed at Kroenke. In a video this week following an underwhelming Arsenal victory over lowly Cardiff City, an AFTV regular known as Troopz expressed his annoyance with Kroenke.

“He don’t care, bro,” Troopz said of the owner. “Until he goes, it’s going to be the same sh*t.”

Public enemy No.1?

In the passionate world of English soccer, a careless owner is public enemy No. 1.

Supporters of Newcastle United, a team that regularly fills its 52,000-seater stadium but only this week broke its transfer record that had stood for 14 years, have staged protests against owner Mike Ashley for years over a lack of proper investment.

At Blackpool F.C., a club in England’s third division, fans have boycotted matches over displeasure with the club’s owners. Some fans of Manchester United were once so infuriated by ownership that they formed their own club in 2005; F.C. United of Manchester are currently competing in the sixth tier of English football.

“The biggest problem for an owner of a club,” Lyle told CNN in a phone interview this week, “is when fans here in the U.K. think you don’t care.”

While owning a team may represent a savvy investment for a billionaire like Kroenke, it’s considered more than mere business in Europe, where many soccer clubs have been around for more than a century.

Owners of Italian soccer clubs still regularly offer comments after their team’s matches, and Arsenal (founded in 1886) was traditionally owned by locals who grew up supporting the team.

“The idea of what ownership represents in an old fashioned English football club is maybe a little different than what an owner represents in American sports,” said Amy Lawrence, a soccer writer for The Guardian who specializes in coverage of Arsenal.

Kroenke, 71, has a portfolio of sports teams to his name. Along with Arsenal and the Rams, his holding company, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, also oversees the NBA’s Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Rapids of MLS and the Colorado Avalanche of the NHL.

The Rams are, it would seem, Kroenke’s crown jewel. In 2016, he uprooted the franchise from his native Missouri to bring the Rams back to their original home in Los Angeles. The move left fans in St. Louis bitter, but the NFL’s power brokers celebrated the league’s return to the country’s second biggest market.

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones lauded Kroenke for having the “the vision, resources, inspiration and creativity to create the right setting for the NFL in Los Angeles.” Bill Plaschke, a sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times, gushed in August that Kroenke was the Rams’ MVP. “He gets Los Angeles. He understands its fans. He knows what works, and, man, he’s been working it,” Plaschke wrote.

Convincing soccer fans

Fans in England still aren’t convinced that Kroenke gets Arsenal, and his perceived indifference toward the club can be chalked up to a number of separate but related factors.

There is his reticence, a quality that has earned him the nickname “Silent Stan” and has left Arsenal supporters mystified over his plans for the club. He has professed a commitment to winning titles with the club, but such rhetoric is seen by many as perfunctory lip-service. Kroenke’s absenteeism has also rankled fans. Lyle lamented that Kroenke failed to attend Arsenal’s FA Cup tie with Manchester United last Friday.

“That was the biggest match in Europe [last weekend], and he’s not there,” Lyle said. “He’s never there.”

Kroenke’s silence and poor attendance record have helped shape the unfavorable perception of him, but it’s the club’s stinginess that has cemented the fans’ belief that the owner lacks competitive ambition.

That point was driven home last month, as Arsenal waded into the January transfer window — the period of the season when European soccer clubs are able to sign new players — operating yet again on a relatively shoestring budget.

The club brought in midfielder Denis Suarez on loan from Barcelona, with an option to make the deal permanent in the summer, but its ability to sign new players has been dwarfed in recent years by other big English clubs like City, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.

Under the ownership of Sheikh Mansour of the Abu Dhabi royal family, City have transformed from a relative afterthought to one of the best teams in Europe with more than a billion pounds spent on players over the last decade.

Arsenal, on the other hand, have continued to follow a “self-sustaining model,” under which the club doesn’t spend more than it brings in.

The approach is admirable to some fans who scoff at the idea of a club “buying a title.” But with players commanding higher transfer fees and salaries, that parsimonious strategy hasn’t yielded much silverware for Arsenal in recent years — other than the FA Cup in 2014, 2015 and 2017.

Lawrence said that “the whole idea of being self-sustaining faced a massive challenge when the Sheikhs took over at Manchester City.”

“It’s quite difficult to compete at the highest levels when you’re not playing the same financial game as your peers,” Lawrence told CNN. “It’s not impossible, but it’s really, really tough.”

Spending rules

In the NFL, as with other major American sports leagues, teams adhere to a salary cap that limits how much they can spend on players — a factor that complicates the comparison between Kroenke’s ownership of the Rams and Arsenal.

UEFA, European soccer’s governing body, has instituted financial fair play regulations that ostensibly prohibit clubs from spending more than they earn, but there has long been a sense that the policy might be toothless. A report last year by Der Spiegel claimed that Manchester City circumvented the financial fair play rules, which former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger once dismissed as effectively meaningless.

Those differences aside, Kroenke has still demonstrated a significant financial commitment to the Rams with a $1.6 billion investment in the team’s stadium complex (total cost: $5 billion), which will open in 2020 and play host to the Super Bowl in 2022.

“I would love for him to do for Arsenal what he’s done for the Rams,” said Lyle.

Arsenal have been crowned champions of England 13 times — more than any other club save for Manchester United and Liverpool — but the team hasn’t finished atop the Premier League since the 2003-04 season.

According to soccer finance expert Swiss Ramble, Kroenke hasn’t invested any of his own money into the club, a stark contrast from Manchester City’s Mansour, who has invested nearly £1.3 billion of his own fortune since 2008.

City have won the league three times in that span. Arsenal’s lack of investment has particularly annoyed fans who point to the club’s staggering revenues, which are driven in part by the fact that the team’s ticket prices are the highest in England.

On AFTV, some fans have argued that they have spent more money on the club than Kroenke, and there are growing calls to boycott the team’s official merchandise as a form of protest against the owner.

A spokesman for Arsenal pushed back on the suggestion that the owner isn’t committed to the club, saying that Kroenke’s son, Josh — who sits on the club’s board — has attended a number of the team’s matches in his father’s stead.

The spokesman also argued that, despite being subject to financial fair play rules, Arsenal has invested heavily in new players, including last January’s acquisition of star striker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, who was signed for a club-record £55 million.

“Stan and Josh Kroenke have been clear with everyone at the club and our fans that their ambition is for Arsenal to compete for and win the top trophies in the game. This includes the Premier League and Champions League,” said Mark Gonnella, Arsenal’s communications and community affairs director.

“The Premier League and UEFA Financial Fair Play rules which apply to all clubs essentially require clubs to operate on a self-funding model, in particular for the P&L impact of player investments.

“In the last three transfer windows we have invested significantly in our playing squad both in terms of transfers, contract extensions and player wages, including twice breaking our transfer record. This has been done with the full support of the owners who are regular visitors to the club and our matches and are in contact with us on a daily basis.

“As a club we’re confident we can reach our goals to compete for and win the major trophies but recognize this will take time and hard work in what is the most competitive league in the world.”

Low approval rating, 100% ownership

Still, there is no denying the frustration from Arsenal fans toward the owner, which manifests itself when Kroenke does turn up to games.

He was booed loudly when he attended the final home match of Wenger’s 22-year managerial reign at Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in London last May. Fans have hurled invective in Kroenke’s direction by displaying signs and singing profane songs at games, calling for him to leave.

After last year’s resignation of Wenger, who also faced calls for his departure over the club’s declining performances, a plane flew over the stadium during Arsenal’s final game of the season carrying a banner with a warning for the owner: “KROENKE – YOU’RE NEXT!!”

Lyle estimates that Kroenke’s approval rating among Arsenal supporters hovers around one percent.

The fans may be stuck with him for a while, though. Kroenke assumed full ownership of the club last year after spending $2.3 billion to buy up all of the remaining shares, including the roughly 800 that were owned by fans.

Ian Wright, a former Arsenal striker who is now a soccer commentator in England, called the takeover “absolutely disastrous” and said he wondered if it meant “the days of seeing [Arsenal] challenging for top honors on a regular basis may well have come and gone.”

The Arsenal Supporters Trust, a group founded in 2003 to broaden supporter ownership of the club, likewise bemoaned the move.

Nigel Phillips, a board member of the trust who owned shares of the club for 25 years before being forced to sell them in September, said he was “devastated” by the takeover. “The fox really now is in the hen house,” Phillips told CNN in an email.

The weekend may bring yet more despair for Arsenal fans, just as the Rams could be entering a glorious new era.

“Come Monday morning, Kroenke might have won the Super Bowl in America,” Lyle said, “but we might have been pummeled by Manchester City.”

Whoever is in the Celtic squad when we take to foreign fields for the Champions League qualifiers, we’re facing a task that although relatively straightforward on paper has amongst its games a number of potential banana skins.

But with respect to the teams involved, if we do our business promptly and well there’s no reason we can’t go into those ties better prepared than we’ve ever been for a quest to reach the Groups. We’ll be seeded at every turn, which is decent enough, but this campaign looks set to begin without us having any key players, which gives us continuity and stability.

When Brendan took over, there was natural concern that it might take his squad too long to get up to speed. I don’t think many of us expected Champions League qualification last season. There were too many unknowns. Lincoln Red Imps suggested we were grossly unprepared. Astana gave us a scare, especially at Celtic Park. The team soared against Hapoel at home, but came back to Earth in Israel and got through as a result of some shrewd tactical moves.

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And there we were. We’d made it.

Making it this year, with everyone knowing his role and everyone at the top of their game, should be easier. In theory. But football matches are not played on the chalkboard where theories play out. To go through will be tough, and no mistake.

The first round for us – which is actually the second qualifying round – should be straightforward enough, and should represent no major threat. But the trouble is, even in last season’s campaign we all thought that about the match in Gibraltar. There’s no way we can take it easy and assume that the first qualifier will be easy, and that would be the case whether Jonny Hayes started on the right hand side or Edison Cavani.

But there are no real teams in there to fear; only Dundalk may prove a surprise package after their exploits last season when their run in Europe was frankly astounding and but for a few lapses late in games would have been even more impressive.

Interestingly, we could well end up traveling to Linfield for that round which I’m sure would guarantee an interesting time if not a particularly challenging one.

The teams available to us in that round are the champions from nations like Ireland, Macedonia, Finland, Bosnia, Luxembourg, Faroe Islands, Montenegro, Andorra, Georgia, Latvia, Malta and of course Gibraltar. Yes, we could heading back out to face the Red Imps all over again, a prospect that would be less worrisome as simply bloody boring.

It’s the second series of games – the 3rd Qualifying Round – which provides some tastier encounters, and I would argue that if we get through that we might even feel fairly confident of making it to the Groups themselves, because their we’ll face one of the following sides; Astana, Partizan Belgrade, NK Rijeka (Croatia), Rosenborg, Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova), Hapoel Beer Sheva, Slavia Prague, FH Hafnarfjardar (Iceland) or Viitorul Constanta (Romania.)

There are a number of potentially dicey encounters in there, and we’ll have to play well to go through, whoever we get. Even the Moldovans and Icelandic teams are no mugs, and little needs to be written about Astana or Hapoel, although we’re better prepared and readier to acquit ourselves in those matches than we would have been last season.

The final round to navigate, providing that the seeds win their ties in the previous round, gives us a limited number of choices; we can get BATE Borisov, APOEL Nicosia, NK Maribor and Quarabag. There’s also the deadly possibility that this draw could pitch us into battle against a team from Greece, Turkey or even sent us to Nice.

But with some proper signings and the marshalling of our resources there’s a very good chance that this Celtic side will progress. We should be confident of beating those sides when it comes right down to it, and booking our place in the Groups themselves.

There things look a little less sure; there’s talk of us winding up in the third pot, which would be a tremendous boost to the club. But it looks unlikely bordering on impossible, and the reason is that for it to happen three teams would need to drop out of the following sides; Liverpool, Sevilla, Olympiakos, Ajax, Dynamo Kiev and Napoli.

Dynamo Kiev and Ajax very well might; they are in the “non-Champions” section and would face a tougher passage through to the Groups. They will also play two qualifying rounds to get there. The calibre of opposition they could meet is easily capable of beating them. Olympiakos face exactly the same journey to the Groups as we do, and could slip, but it seems improbable.

It’s difficult to see Liverpool, Sevilla or Napoli losing their way and failing to make it; as it stands they would face sides from the following; Viktoria Plzen, CSKA Moscow, Brugge, Hoffenheim and Sporting Lisbon. I’d suggest that at least one would have to fall to give us a chance.

The Groups themselves are one Hell of a challenge, but because of the vagaries of the competition this year there are opportunities. From Pot 4 the ideal group would be either Spartak Moscow or Shatkhar Donetsk from Pot 1, realistically Porto from Pot 2 and Basle, Olympiakos or Anderlecht from Pot 3. From a Pot 3 start, clearly the teams to avoid from Pot 4 if we wanted the best possible chance would be Feyenoord and RB Leipzig. One would have said Roma but in the event we’re in Pot 3 they’ll have moved up with us.

The passage won’t be easy – it never is – but it isn’t terrifying. There’s no reason why we can’t look forward to it with some optimism … even if getting Barcelona again feels kind of inevitable already.

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