Juric on Smallbone injury, avoiding 'the worst team' title and Palace's attack
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Metro
14 minutes ago
- Metro
Gary Neville rules Chelsea and two other teams out of Premier League title race
Gary Neville has ruled three teams out of the Premier League title race after an intriguing opening weekend of the new season. Defending champions Liverpool began their title defence with a 4-2 win over Bournemouth and there were also wins for Arsenal and Manchester City. Arsenal ground out a 1-0 victory over an improved Manchester United while Man City put four past Wolves. Neville believes Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City will battle it out for the title and narrowly favours the Gunners after the opening-weekend results and performances. Given the strength of Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City, Neville has already ruled Chelsea, Newcastle United and Aston Villa out of competing for the title. Metro's new weekly football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it's an open goal. Club World Cup and Conference League Chelsea could only draw 0-0 with Crystal Palace in their Premier League opener, while it was also goalless in the Midlands between Villa and Newcastle. 'Between Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City, all of them have got cases to win the Premier League,' former England defender Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast. 'All equal cases as well, I don't think you can look at any of the three and think they're definitely above the others. 'I'm going on Monday Night Football tomorrow and will make a prediction and I'm probably going to go with Arsenal bexause I've gone with them the last three seasons! 'But honestly, Liverpool could easily win the league, especially if they get Alexander Isak, they could easily win the league by five or six points. Liverpool 7/4Arsenal 2/1Manchester City 3/1Chelsea 11/1Manchester United 28/1Tottenham 50/1Newcastle United 66/1 Aston Villa 100/1 (Odds courtesy of Betfair) 'We could be staring the obvious in the face with Man City signing [Tijjani] Reijnders) and getting Rodri back. They've got the best striker in the league and probably the world [Erling Haaland] who scores 40 goals a season. 'We could look back in six months and be saying it was staring us in the face because City have got a treble-winning spine, they've got new players in who look outstanding and they've got the best forward in the league. 'Then you look at Arsenal and think the last two pieces of the jigsaw have been filled with [Viktor] Gyokeres and [Martin] Zubimendi. The defence looks outstanding, they look like a real team and they're tough to beat. 'All three of those teams have got genuine cases, Liverpool may be slight favourites but I don't think any club will be completely confident to win the league even though they all have a great chance. It's really close I think.' Asked whether he believed Chelsea, Newcastle or Aston Villa were capable of mounting title challenges, Neville added: 'I'm not being dismissive but they just haven't got that experience, that maturity, they've title-winning feeling about them yet. More Trending 'Newcastle or Aston Villa are not going to win the league. Chelsea obviously won the Club World Cup and finished in the Champions League positions last season. 'When I look at them, they have a lot of good young players. But you're not looking at [Joao] Pedro or [Liam] Delap in the same way you're looking at Arsenal or Liverpool's forwards, you're just not. 'They're good players and I think Chelsea will have a good season but I don't look at them and see a title-winning spine. They're not ready. That's not just because of the results over the weekend. 'For me, I think Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City will be fighting it out for the title this season.' For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Micah Richards tells Arsenal to sign £80m star after Manchester United win MORE: Arsenal star in talks to leave after being left out of squad against Man Utd MORE: Ian Wright names Man Utd star who was 'nowhere near good enough' against Arsenal
The Independent
14 minutes ago
- The Independent
Anger at Alexander Isak reveals biggest regret from summer transfer saga
Villa Park was emptying when a chant emerged from a corner. 'One greedy ba*****,' they sang, and it wasn't the Aston Villa fans referring to the £77 price of tickets in the Holte End for a 0-0 draw. Alexander Isak, unnamed but the object of the Newcastle supporters' ire, may object to both the noun and the adjective. He might argue that ambition, not avarice, is driving his attempts to leave Newcastle. He will get his way. The issue is when; where, too, depending on if his departure comes in this transfer window, January's or next summer's. By then, Anfield may not be the destination. One weekend does not mean plans are ripped up and nine-figure bids abandoned, but the early evidence is that Newcastle need Isak rather more than Liverpool do. There was a sliding-doors scenario whereby Isak had been allowed to go to Liverpool because Newcastle secured Hugo Ekitike. Instead, the Frenchman is Anfield's new darling. Newcastle can congratulate themselves on their ability to identify high-class strikers and lament their inability to sign them – since Isak, anyway. Now Newcastle have the worst of all worlds: without Isak's services, without a replacement, without an injection of around £110m, without any goals at Villa Park. Eddie Howe praised the players who had made themselves available but, by invoking the word 'distraction', he conceded there was one. Howe called for a 'resolution'. In one respect, he is guaranteed one within 15 days. The transfer window will close and when Howe said the door was open for Isak, he meant to come back into the fold. The striker may have checked out mentally – and moved out physically, from his house in the north-east – but contractually he is still in. Howe has said a lot while saying a little. A recurring theme is that the situation is out of his hands. Yet that could be construed in different ways. 'Alex has to decide what he wants to do. He is in control of what he does,' his manager said on Saturday. But only in the sense that Isak could opt to come out of his self-imposed exile; he is not in control of an exit. Not mentioned as explicitly, but with their own form of control over Isak's destiny, are Howe's ultimate employers, Newcastle's owners. Yasir Al-Rumayyan and the Saudi Arabian PIF have adopted an uncompromising stance so far; they may be a regime unaccustomed to backing down. Perhaps Liverpool have not endeared themselves to a club they hope to raid – signing Ekitike, noting that Newcastle also wanted Giovanni Leoni – which could make them still more determined not to grant the Premier League champions their wishes. So it would represent a U-turn if Newcastle suddenly opted to sell. Some would say that, of everyone, the club that had the tag of the world's richest has the least need to. Yet Howe raised the subject of PSR at Villa Park; it has been a constraint on their spending and Newcastle would have considerable leeway if they cashed in on Isak. That said, they are struggling to spend on strikers, regardless of budget. One interpretation is that Isak is bringing his price down, his actions rendering it less likely that Newcastle can command £150m. Yet he is not in the strongest bargaining position. If Newcastle do not relent, the eventual verdict on his summer may be that he miscalculated: by making his efforts to go public knowledge, he alienated the Newcastle public; by stepping up his attempts to leave when Arsenal were closing in on Viktor Gyokeres and Liverpool on Ekitike, he may regret not being more militant earlier in the summer. Has he misread Newcastle? Would he have been better coming to an arrangement where he was permitted to go in 2026 for an agreed fee? If he stays against his wishes, it will be instructive if he has burnt his (Tyne) bridges. The relationship with the fans who used to borrow from Abba to sing about a 'striker from Sweden' has altered irrevocably. Perhaps it can be patched up, but the love feels gone. Two players scored in the final as Newcastle won their first trophy since 1969, which should have secured legendary status. One, Dan Burn, is a lifelong fan. The other soon sought to join the beaten finalists. If Isak is proof that football can be fickle, he is not alone in that. He scored 21 and 23 goals in the last two Premier League seasons. If he is reintegrated, if there is a pragmatic recognition that he is stuck at St James' Park, and finds similar form, supporters may celebrate his goals, and maybe even the player himself, without the love really returning, and Newcastle will benefit in the short term. But if so, will Liverpool have blinked first in the Isak impasse and brought in another attacker, rather than sitting and waiting? So someone won't get their perfect resolution. Perhaps no one will. But the greatest risk may be for Isak himself. He might not get his, whether now or even next year. He might have played his last game for Newcastle. He may not enjoy the soundtrack in their next game. Because they face Liverpool and it feels a certainty that he will line up for neither of the clubs at a standstill in a tug of war.
Scottish Sun
14 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
Roy Keane launches into ‘garlic bread' rant as Sky Sports capture awkward moment between Marc Guehi and Oliver Glasner
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ROY KEANE thinks managers should talk to their players in private rather than hashing things out on the pitch after an awkward moment between Marc Guehi and Oliver Glasner was caught on camera. Crystal Palace boss Glasner appeared to be ignored by Guehi following the Eagles' 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Sunday. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 Roy Keane launched a rant about managers trying to hash things out on the pitch after matches Credit: Sky Sports 8 Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner tried to talk to Marc Guehi on the Stamford Bridge pitch after their 0-0 draw with Chelsea on Sunday Credit: Sky Sports 8 Guehi appeared to ignore his manager and walk down the tunnel Credit: Sky Sports 8 Glasner seemingly spoke to Jean-Philippe Mateta about the situation Credit: Sky Sports 8 The French striker looked back at Guehi after the brief chat Credit: Sky Sports Guehi, who is subject to heavy transfer speculation regarding an exit from Palace, headed straight down the Stamford Bridge tunnel while Glasner tried to get his attention after the game. While teammate Jean-Philippe Mateta even seemed to realise something was off between the pair when shaking hands with Glasner moments later. The uncomfortable moment, which could be related to Guehi's seemingly imminent departure, led Manchester United legend Keane to launch into a rant about managers being on the pitch in the first place. Defending Guehi's decision to head straight down the tunnel, Keane said: "Why has this happened over the last year or two? READ MORE IN FOOTBALL 'LESSONS FROM ARTETA' Fans joke as Amorim makes bold claim after Man Utd's loss to Arsenal "Where managers come on to the pitch and shake hands with everybody and the opposition players." Adding: "A player has just had a tough match, he's physically exhausted, and the manager is just trying to go and have a little chit-chat knowing that there's talk of him leaving. "As a player you don't want to get involved in that as well. "I've had managers come up after the game and you're going, 'what's up with you? Let's get down the tunnel. If you want to have a chat, we will do it inside'. 8 Marc Guehi has been subject to swirling rumours about his future at Palace Credit: Getty BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS "Managers are always wanting to do something on the pitch. That's all come in the last few years. "What happened to years ago when the manager would shake the other manager's hand and walk down the tunnel? Roy Keane clashes with Micah Richards on Sky Sports but fans distracted by Daniel Sturridge "It's the new thing. It's the new garlic bread. Just get down the tunnel, it's just a league match." Keane, who spent five years in management as boss of Sunderland and Ipswich Town, doubled down by claiming he would never have entered the pitch to shake hands during his time in charge. Asked if he would, he replied: "No. Why? You're going to see them in the dressing room afterwards. "It's bad enough that your own manager is shaking your hand, why is the other manager shaking your hand? You're the enemy!" The incident has only fuelled the rumours that Guehi could be heading for the exit door at Selhurst Park before the transfer window shuts. The England international has just one year left on his contract and Palace chiefs would prefer to sell him if they are unable to tie him down to a new deal to avoid him leaving on a Bosman next summer. 8 TRANSFER NEWS LIVE - KEEP UP WITH ALL THE LATEST FROM A BUSY SUMMER WINDOW If he is to leave this summer then it appears Liverpool are leading the race for his signature. Speaking after the game, Palace boss Glasner hinted that Guehi and Eberechi Eze - who is rumoured to be joining Tottenham - could both stay put. He said: "It's good advice to the kids to not always believe what you read, especially on the internet. Who knows if the rumours that are written are the truth? "Everybody tells people things for their own advantage. I watch the players every single day in training, if most of the things that are written about them are true, the team couldn't perform like this, be together and committed to each other like they are – it's just not possible. "The 15, 16 players who had the most minutes last year are still here. "There are a lot of rumours about Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi but they were 100 per cent with this group in Crystal Palace and they have proved that in a big way.'
