How football found God
As for kick-off timings, don't expect them to get any better. As part of its multi-billion rights deal, Sky will show nearly 100 more Premier League games next season. So get ready for Thursday night football, Friday lunchtime football, breakfast football, elevenses football so Sky can fit the games in somewhere. But it needs to be careful here: eventually fans will give up as the times keep switching. And nothing screws up a broadcast like a half-empty stadium.
There's a good argument today that the most influential figure in modern football is not the manager or agent but the Man Upstairs. You must have noticed how many players thank the Lord Almighty after smashing a 30-yard rocket into the back of the net. The wonderful Palace striker Eberechi Eze is a case in point. Immediately after his beautifully taken winning goal at Wembley he pointed towards the heavens.
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Metro
5 minutes ago
- Metro
Rio Ferdinand says benched Man Utd star 'has to play' despite doubts over him
Rio Ferdinand still has question marks over Amad Diallo, but feels he has to start for Manchester United under Ruben Amorim. The Red Devils were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the Premier League season, edged out by a Riccardo Calafiori goal on Sunday afternoon. There was very little between the sides and Amorim's team looked improved on last season, creating a number of chances as new signings Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha threatened. Amad started the match on the bench, coming on after 55 minutes to replace Diogo Dalot and looked very threatening as well. Manchester United could not find the breakthrough, but Ferdinand feels that in future they will have the best chance of doing so if Amad is in the starting line-up. 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. The only concern is that if the 23-year-old is playing at right wing-back, is whether he is defensively good enough to deal with the opposition coming at the Red Devils. 'Amad came on second half and I think he did enough to show that against any team that you feel you're going to dominate possession, he has to play,' the former Red Devils defender said on Rio Ferdinand Presents. 'I think he'll even be sitting there, Amad, saying: 'Play me against anybody, because I'll get our team higher up the pitch and I can beat people.' 'The way that Amorim plays you need people that are going to beat people with the ball or run beyond people and Amad can do both. It's just, can he do it from a right wing-back position? If Man Utd do get pinned back at any time he's playing, is he able to defend and cope defensively? They're the question marks we've got. 'But if you set out to dominate the game possession-wise, Amad is an absolute must in this team. Whether it's right wing-back or right wing, I think he has to play. 'I think over the last season and even in this one game here today, he's shown that he's got the confidence and the ability to be a game-changer.' The Ivory Coast international is an attack-minded winger, so playing him at wing-back would be an aggressive move from the manager, but is likely one we will see this season. Speaking earlier this summer, Amad spoke of the need for patience as Amorim continues to implement his tactical plan, especially with new signings arriving. More Trending 'I think they have to be patient with us,' Amad said. 'There's a new manager, with new players and new tactics. Apps: 39 Goals: 9 Assists: 8 'We know last season wasn't really good for the team, but I think this season we will win a lot with him and I hope this season we are going to achieve a lot of good things by the end of the season. 'A good season will be top five. I hope we can achieve that top five at the end of the season because I think they deserve.' Manchester United are back in Premier League action when they travel to west London to take on Fulham in the 4.30pm kick-off on Sunday. MORE: Gary Neville rules Chelsea and two other teams out of Premier League title race 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
The Guardian
6 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘I want to keep this club in the promised land': Farke's mission to keep Leeds up
The trampoline man. It sounds like a promising title for a novel, film or even a song but it is a label Daniel Farke remains desperate to avoid. To the Leeds head coach, the term 'trampoline manager' carries no hint of glamour, let alone romance. Farke knows that, after winning three promotions to the Premier League, the first two with Norwich, and enduring two immediate relegations, he could do without his latest bounce into the big time prefacing a swift tumble back to the Championship. No matter that there are persuasive mitigating factors for those two relegations with Norwich – mainly involving a severe shortage of money. Mud sticks. In Farke's case, the received wisdom that he's not quite an elite-level tactician seems unfair but it surely informed the slew of headlines last spring suggesting that his reward for leading Leeds back into the top flight would be the sack. Eventually Paraag Marathe, the Leeds United chair, declared 'He's my man' and calm was restored. But Farke will have noted that, when the rumours first surfaced, Marathe stayed silent for a few days, biding his time before ultimately quashing all speculation. It dictates that the invariably dignified German could do with hitting the road running – and ideally on Monday night when Everton and their Manchester City loanee Jack Grealish arrive at a sold-out Elland Road. 'We are respectful,' Farke said as he spoke to reporters at his squad's weekday HQ amid the calm of the North Yorkshire countryside near Wetherby last Friday. 'We know how difficult it will be. Everton are a good side and had a really good second half of last season. But our mindset is to win games and be the better side.' Aesthetics have always mattered to the Leeds manager and his faith in controlled domination of possession and patient build‑ups served the 48-year-old very well in the Championship. Yet Farke remains acutely aware that Russell Martin's flawed vision of Southampton passing and moving their way to survival last term proved a cautionary tale. He has responded by embracing compromise. Three eminently respectable pre‑season draws against Milan, Villarreal and Manchester United suggest that the decision to spend the summer creating a taller, tougher, harder‑to‑beat side with a new‑found aptitude for set pieces could pay dividends. 'I've always been in the mindset not to do the selfish things in my career but to do things when I'm convinced 'I need to do this',' Farke said. 'I want to leave this club in a better place than when I arrived. I'm just focused on taking the next step for Leeds United. I want to keep this club in the promised land. It's a club which belongs in the Premier League. The fanbase is second to none.' His eight summer signings stand on average just over 6ft 2in and only two, the 5ft 11in former Lille left‑back Gabriel Gudmundsson and the similarly sized former Newcastle midfielder Sean Longstaff, are under 6ft. While the 6ft 4in former Hoffenheim defensive midfielder Anton Stach is expected to anchor that department against Everton and the 6ft 6in former Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perri will start in goal, the 6ft 3in Slovenia centre-half Jaka Bijol is suspended after a sending off for Udinese late last season. 'Being without Jaka is not ideal,' said Farke, who seemed rather more upbeat when he dismissed concerns that part of his attack is now staffed by two injury-prone strikers. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion After leaving Wolfsburg and, by coincidence, Everton this summer, Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are now on the Leeds payroll and will compete to replace Patrick Bamford, who has been told to find a new club. Given that the decision to offload Bamford had nothing to do with his, very real, ability but was all about a catalogue of recent injuries, the recruitment of Calvert-Lewin in particular looks a high-stakes gamble. Lucas Perri: £15.5m from Lyon. The 27-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper stands 6ft 6 and is regarded as the long term replacement for the increasingly error -prone Illan Meslier. Jaka Bijol: £15m from Udinese. At 6ft 3, the 26-year-old Slovenia international was regarded as being among the most commanding central defenders in Serie A last season. Gabriel Gudmundsson: £10m from Lille. In contrast to his attack minded Elland Road predecessor Junior Firpo, the 26-year-old Sweden left back is primarily a defender and is much more about goal preventing interceptions than assists. Sebastiaan Bornauw: £5m from Wolfsburg. A calf injury denies the 6ft 3 26-year-old Belgium centre half a potential debut against Everton. Anton Stach: £17.5m from Hoffenheim. A defensive midfielder, the 6ft 4 Stach has impressed in pre-season. The 26-year-old German is expected to anchor Leeds this season. Sean Longstaff: £12m potentially rising to £15m from Newcastle. The former Newcastle midfielder brings invaluable Premier League experience. At 27, Longstaff has already made 171 top tier appearances and possesses an eye for goal. Lukas Nmecha: Free agent. Nmecha has seven Germany caps. The 26-year-old striker joined as a free agent after leaving Wolfsburg. He almost certainly has the talent for the Premier League but can he remain injury free? Dominic Calvert-Lewin: Free agent. The holder of 11 England caps, the 28-year-old centre -forward was a much in demand free agent after departing Everton. But, like Nmecha, injuries have at, times, de-railed his career. Can Daniel Farke get him back on track? Farke demurs. 'Dominic has all the skills you'd like your striker to have. It's a chance for him to revive his career and reach those former heights when he was outstanding at Premier League level. The key for him is not to be over-motivated. We'll build his fitness step by step so he can find rhythm and confidence in his body. If we do so, he can be outstanding for us. But I wouldn't rule out another striker signing. There's no doubt we need attacking reinforcements. Dominic is the first step but we need more.' With the impressive Tottenham loanee Manor Solomon no longer at Leeds, Farke is very much in the market for another winger. For the moment at least Jack Harrison has a chance to re-establish himself – the only problem being that, after spending the past two seasons on loan at Everton, he is extremely unpopular with his parent club's fanbase. 'Jack's a top player,' Farke said. 'He's definitely won all the players and staff here back during this pre-season. Now he has to win the supporters back. It's up to him.' Upstaging Everton's new Jack would be a good start as Leeds aim to prove hostile hosts. 'It's crucial to have a good home record,' Farke said. 'We made Elland Road a fortress last season. We know it will be more difficult now but we have great unity and a great bond with our supporters. We will need them this season.'
Daily Mirror
6 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Roy Keane makes brutal Man Utd Premier League prediction and disagrees with Gary Neville
Manchester United opened their Premier League campaign with a 1-0 defeat by Arsenal at Old Trafford and Roy Keane is not expecting much improvement from them this season Roy Keane has punctured the feeling of optimism around Manchester United after their opening match of the Premier League season ended in defeat. United were beaten 1-0 by Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday as two familiar problems continued for Ruben Amorim's side. Riccardo Calafiori scored the only goal of the game with a close-range header early on after Altay Bayindir flapped at Declan Rice 's corner. There were United Premier League debuts for £200million new signings Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko, but David Raya left with a clean sheet. United struggled in the goalkeeping department last season, where Andre Onana was inconsistent, while they managed just 44 goals in 38 matches in 2024/25. Nevertheless, Amorim sounded a note of optimism post-match, claiming 'we were not boring' – an analysis which was quickly dismissed by Keane. Asked on Sky Sports if there was grounds for optimism, Keane replied: 'Yeah, I think with the couple of signings that have come in and we saw today, I was encouraged by that. They looked like Man United players, they were happy to deal with the pressure, they're good characters. 'But we've mentioned it many times before, there are problems at the back. We've heard noises about them not being boring, but ultimately you've got to score goals to win football matches or you're constantly under pressure. 'The expectations around the club are so low now that everyone is almost happy.' Later he was asked to predict where his old club would finish. 'Mid-table – 10th, maybe ninth,' he said. Summing up his feelings, he added: 'The expectations at United now are so low, that even Gary [Neville] said on commentary, everyone is OK with a 1-0 defeat. They've got to do better. It does worry me. 'Some of the new signings, there was encouragement with that. They were getting you up the pitch with a bit of power. Things will improve, it's tough against Arsenal, but no goals and another defeat. There's still problems there with Man United.' Mbeumo and Cunha troubled Arsenal's defence and showed signs of a good understanding before Sesko came off the bench in the second half. Amorim has now won just seven of his 28 league games and after finishing 15th last season, Keane explained what should come next. "I think it's about trying to rebuild the team, get some confidence, get some momentum early in the season. Last year, obviously nowhere near good enough, we know that,' he said before kick-off. HAVE YOUR SAY! Where will Manchester United finish this season? Comment below. "The biggest issue they had all season despite chatting about the goalkeeper and the defence, they didn't score enough goals. When you're not scoring enough goals, particularly if you're Manchester United when they've invested so much money, you're constantly under pressure. "They've obviously tried to fix that this summer. The signings, looking at them in pre-season, I know it's still early but yeah, the signs are good. "They've obviously brought two players in who know the Premiership, they're robust enough to deal with the challenge of that and obviously they needed a goalscorer, so they were constantly under pressure. Looking at it, I like the look of it." Join our new MAN UTD WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Manchester United content from Mirror Football. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
