#with the league match and fa cup match consecutively

[immortaltale]

two old men r kissing!!!!

not posting this anywhere like ao3 since it's much too short and also unpolished but today i feel like sharing so here we are ✌️

"I don't understand," Jürgen enunciated slowly, "why everybody thinks that to have a rivalry, we have to hate each other."

Only half listening, Pep hummed in acknowledgment, one side of his face pressed tightly against Jürgen's chest. Jürgen absentmindedly patted Pep on the back in comfort. His arms were wrapped around the other man's body, holding their bodies close together. They were both very tactile people, and he knew that this type of sensory stimulation was what helped Pep unwind.

"Who cares if we are friends, if we are not friends, if we like each other, if we don't," Jürgen continued. His built-up annoyance at the media was leaking out, but he didn't try to stop it. He knew Pep understood. "Football is just a game. Why would I want to hate anyone because of that."

"Let those guys say whatever they want." Pep closed his eyes momentarily. "They know nothing. Especially Twitter."

It wasn't the first time Pep had brought up Twitter to the uninitiated Jürgen. Privately, Jürgen wasn't entirely sure why Pep continued to use the site, since it only ever seemed to be a cause for complaint, but he kept these thoughts to himself. "They don't know anything," he agreed. "Not least about how important you are to me.

At this, Pep stirred in his grasp, and Jürgen let his arms gently fall away. Pep moved to look Jürgen in the eye, brown gaze piercing, and stood there for a moment without speaking.

"Thinking again?"

At Jürgen's comment, Pep blinked back into reality. "I was just thinking about how I should say the same to you."

Jürgen felt a smile growing on his face, which was smothered not a moment later as Pep pressed their lips together. He responded immediately and instinctively in kind, raising a hand to the nape of Pep's neck to draw him in closer.

If their football matches were rollercoasters, this was a ride down a lazy river. They kissed slowly but with passion. As opponents, their intensity flowed in opposite directions, but here they combined together to form one. Pep's hand found its way to Jürgen's chest, resting there in support as it often did. It was comfortable and natural.

Their lips separated eventually, hands still placed on each other's bodies and with no intention to remove them. As if neither wished to let go.

"Are you ready for the weekend?" Pep asked. He didn't need to elaborate. They were set to face each other again. Trust Pep to be the one thinking ahead.

Jürgen exhaled heavily. "No," he said. Then he laughed to himself. "No, I am not. So let's not talk about that in this moment."

"Okay," Pep said, and melted back into his embrace.

#two old men are friends #fic #this is not necessarily set in any particular time but i have in mind april 2022 #with the league match and fa cup match consecutively #i feel like my writing for pep is a little wack because i cannot balance the two different parts of his personality #(yes this is what prompted my post earlier) #also I CANNOT write kissing idk i think i suck at it but i wanted to see them kiss so i tried. #also also there is no way i am putting this in the common tags sry #you can tell me i'm awesome or you can ignore this entirely. either is fine #ok *runs away now*

[lovinpelova]

champions | j. fleming

summary; jessie wins two titles and suggests a new way to celebrate. [SMUT]

🎵 weightless - chiiild

it started off with your friend dragging you to a football match even though you weren't particularly interested. (and although you loved football with your whole heart) you were a gunner through and through, your father raising you and your brother that way. the match you'd been dragged to was a chelsea one, the womens team playing had persuaded you a little more but you still weren't particularly happy with having to sit in the home section, meaning people thought you were a chelsea fan.

you were sat right at the front with your friend (taylor) due to her season ticket meaning she had reserved seats, growing gradually more excited for the match as you realised it was still football before your eyes landed on a chelsea team member warming up. the women were sprinting towards you and slowing down just in front of the barrier as taylor watched in awe of being so close to all her favourite players, a certain freckled brunette catching your eye as she smiled at you with bright red cheeks once you made eye contact. you smiled back of course, making the girl next to you rant on about how lucky you were to be spotted by one of their best midfielders.

the game went onto be intense against manchester united, alessia russo undoubtedly catching your attention as you were a massive fan of her, before a duel in midfield meant a chelsea player ran into the stands and tipped over. she landed on her back right by your feet and looked up after coughing since she'd had the wind knocked out of her, yourself and taylor helping her up as she thanked you. only then did you realise it was the one that smiled at you during the warmup.

you let go of her and sat down again, watching her get on with the game whilst insisting your friend tell you her name, birthday, where that accent was from- everything she knew about jessie fleming, she filled you in on.

before you knew it, the game was over and chelsea won 3-1 with your friend jumping up in joy, players making their rounds of the pitch as jessie jogged over to thank you for helping her up. she gave you her match-worn shirt after your denial and taylor grabbed it for you before shoving it into your hands, the canadian asking if she'd see you at their home game next week and smiling brightly when your friend once again answered for you, meaning you'd have to watch another chelsea match as a gunner.

but if it meant you got to see jessie again you really didn't mind it.

it went on like that for a while, jessie making efforts to see you at half-time, before or after the match as taylor watched on in awe. not only was a chelsea player right in front of her, she was blatantly flirting with you. at the end of one match jessie asked if you wanted to go for coffee with her, yourself gladly accepting as your friend squealed beside you when sam kerr arrived to drag the canadian away and ever since you left the coffee shop a couple hours later you'd been able to call yourself jessie's girl. (see what i did there?)

now, just over a year later, you were almost crying of joy alongside taylor as chelsea had just won the fa cup and women's super league consecutively. you were so unbelievably proud of jessie, being allowed onto the pitch as you're classed as close family & friends was the best part of it though, seeing as she picked you up and spun you around before kissing you passionately. both of you squealed in joy, the canadian waiting to greet you until after she performed a secret handshake she'd made with taylor, sam gladly dragging her away and leaving you and your girlfriend for a moment of peace.

"i'm so proud of you baby!"

"won it all for you my girl."

she replied with her hands on your hips, leaning in to kiss you softly as your arms wrapped around her neck and pulled her closer before moving away. you rested your forehead on hers with a grin across your face.

"gonna be some crazy celebrations tonight, eh?"

she commented, her canadian accent popping out as you laughed at how strong it still was, feeling her pinch your hips in response.

"me and you will definitely be celebrating tonight- only if you want to though."

you replied softly with a quiet tone to ensure no one heard, reassuring jessie she didn't have to do anything she didn't want to.

"i can never turn down an offer as tempting as that one."

the two of you were quickly broken out of your bubble by guro calling you over to join in on the fun, all the family and friends eventually needing to clear off the pitch and into the private lounge that had been reserved at wembley for an afterparty. you waited around for an hour or two with jessies family and made smalltalk, loving their accents and how they travelled all the way to the uk for their daughter before chelsea players started pouring in with freshly washed hair and new outfits on, medals adorning their necks alongside sam and magda carrying the two trophies they'd just won.

within a couple hours time the players had ran out of energy completely and piled off the dancefloor to sit with their families and catch up, still light outside as it was the middle of spring and barely 6pm. players started to head home with their loved ones after claiming they'd celebrate again tomorrow or were far too tired to keep drinking, including your girlfriend. you both said goodbye to her family and headed home after planning to meet with them for lunch tomorrow to properly celebrate both of the wins in a more calm setting.

you relaxed in the living room for half an hour or so with jessies head on your lap, your fingers running through her hair gently to calm her down from how overwhelming the social interaction was for her that day. the sun was still shining brightly in the sky at 6:30pm, beginning to move down a little as you got up to close the blinds early, knowing jessie would be going to sleep soon out of pure exhaustion. the brunette decided to get up before you could turn around from shutting the blinds, her arms comfortable around your waist as you leaned back into her embrace with your hands on top of hers.

you sighed at the feeling of her lips softly trailing kisses down your neck before turning around to kiss her gently, jessies hands pushing and pulling your hips as she guided you towards your bedroom carefully. the kiss gradually grew into something more as your arms went around her neck to pull her on top of you after she laid you down on the bed, your legs wrapping around her waist just the way she liked.

jessie sat up to remove her shirt as you did the same, both of you tracing fingers along abs and chests and collarbones and sternums and hips and backs and shoulders. you just wanted to feel each other, be tender and sensual- slow down to be together for the first time in ages. your girlfriend truly loved you and whenever she loved on you it was amazing but recently you hadn't gotten the opportunity to have a moment like this due to how busy her schedule was at the end of the season.

jessie was going to make up for that.

she leaned down to kiss you softly with her hands trailing all over your body, caressing your thighs as her lips trailed down your neck whilst leaving gentle love bites, relishing in the breathy moan you let out. your hands moved along her back and towards her shorts, slapping her bum cheekily as you laughed together before tugging on her waistband to give her a hint. she stood up quickly and took off her shorts as you sat up to take yours off, both of you now only in your underwear.

"i have an idea- something new for us to try. but i don't know if you'll be up for it?"

"tell me."

you spoke gently as she climbed on top of you again, leaning up onto her knees whilst reaching for the bedside drawer to your right and opening it, pulling something out with a nervous expression. you set your eyes on it and immediately recognised what it was - you'd never used one before - but if jessie wanted it and made you comfortable enough then you'd definitely be up for trying it out. you eyed up the strap in her hand and noticed jessie looking at you curiously, watching as you decided between using it and not using it before nodding your head.

"are you sure?"

"yes, jessie. i trust you and you make me feel comfortable enough to know that you only wanna do this because you think it'll feel good for me. i'm sure."

jessie smiled down at you before kissing you sweetly, quickly putting it on comfortably so the matter wasn't spoken about anymore until it turned awkward. you initiated another kiss, a bit more heated but still soft as she slipped her tongue into it, an involuntary moan leaving your lips at the feeling of her completely invading your mouth. the canadian trailed her hands down to your underwear, suddenly too impatient to take off your bra and looked up for a final word of consent, slowly peeling it off with kisses trailing along your thighs before she threw it across the room like the rest of your clothes.

she kissed back up your thighs and smiled against your skin as your fingers tangled into her hair, massaging your hips with her tongue dipping into your heat tentatively. she licked a long stripe up towards your clit and took it into her mouth, switching between gently sucking and flicking her tongue back and forth just the way you liked, internally grinning at the noises of approval you were letting out.

"oh, yes jessie. just like that."

you chanted her name like a mantra with your fingers tightening their grip in her hair, her tongue trailing down towards your entrance and prodding in until her nose was bumping against your clit with her mouths movements. the midfielder adjusted herself to your needs, pushing your legs over her shoulders as she dove in deeper, obsessed with your taste. you looked down once you heard her moan against you pleasurably, expecting her to be touching herself but seeing both her hands on your thighs as her eyes rolled back and her hips completely still.

jessie was getting off from eating you out.

your moans picked up in frequency as she sucked your clit into her mouth again and moved her head up and down alongside her tongues movements, thighs tightening against her ears as you came for the first time that night. jessie smiled proudly to herself as she continued her tongues movements whilst you rode out your high, not letting any of your arousal go to waste as she licked it all up, moving away to kiss your inner thighs before coming back up to your face and kissing you deeply.

"will never get over how good you taste."

"could tell by the way you were getting off just then."

you teased as her cheeks grew redder than they already were, laughing at her sudden shyness before she grabbed your hips to bring you back into the moment. her hand grabbed the strap and guided it towards your entrance, slowly pushing it in inch-by-inch as you exhaled deeply.

"you okay?"

you let out a hum of pleasure whilst nodding your head, arms wrapping around her back to gently scratch at her skin as she bottomed out. when you felt the base of the strap hit your clit you moaned loudly, quickly covering your mouth with wide eyes as you laughed with jessie, your legs tightening around her waist to encourage more movement from her. she understood your request immediately and maintained eye contact as the hand covering your mouth fell to the bed beside you, the canadians hips moving slowly and deeply whilst she laced your fingers together against the comfortable bedsheets, her other one resting on your waist as yours was on the base of her neck.

you pulled her down into a soft kiss as you moaned into her mouth when the strap hit a particularly sensitive spot inside you after jessie readjusted slightly, the canadian taking note of it and moving to stay in that position so she could make this experience as pleasurable as possible for you. she pulled away from the kiss to catch her breath with her head resting on yours, eyes still locked with an intensity you'd never felt before as your eyebrows furrowed and mouth fell open.

jessie smiled and gripped your hand tighter, feeling you do the same as her hips continued their slow movements, so glad you were trusting her with this new experience.

"god i love you. i love you so much."

she whispered as your moans picked up again and you began nodding your head senselessly, encouraging her to keep going.

"i love you jess. you feel so good."

your head threw back lightly as she smiled at your response, kissing along your cheek and jawline before reaching your chest, scattering kisses here and there with her hips moving into you as deeply as possible and upwards slightly. she could tell by the way your back was arching that you were close - really close - and she was so determined to get you to your second orgasm of the night.

"so good to me babygirl, wanna make you feel good all night long. such a good girl."

"jess- kiss me please."

you whined in response to her praise, the canadian immediately obliging and kissing you passionately as your hand squeezed hers tightly and your legs spasmed in pleasure, toes curling whilst jessie pushed you towards the edge and helped you ride out your high. once she knew you were feeling overstimulated she gently pulled out and took the strap off, throwing it to the floor so she could deal with later on as she moved to lie beside you and opened her arms, kissing your head as you fell to her chest with both of you breathing heavily so you could calm down in each others arms.

in her opinion, that celebration was way better than getting drunk with her teammates.

#jessie fleming #canada wnt #canada womens #chelsea wfc #chelsea women #jessie fleming fanfic #jessie fleming imagine #jessie fleming smut #jessie fleming x reader #woso community #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso smut #woso #woso x reader #canada women #chelsea wfc x reader #chelsea womens #sam kerr #guro reiten #magdalena eriksson #magda eriksson #womens fa cup #wsl #jessie fleming x you #woso x you #jessie fleming x y/n #woso x y/n

[new-berry]

Anthony Gordon. Part of his campaign to be selected for England he authorised this - look I follow entertainment, I know when someone has allowed People to leak the story

This is a cut and paste so no pics:).

Anthony Gordon has five days off — not that it looks that way.

The air-conditioning cannot stem the sweat and the whirring of the treadmill does not drown out the thoughts turning in his head.

It is June 2023 and the Newcastle winger is on a short holiday in Dubai. Hours earlier, he scored his first goal for the club against Chelsea, sweeping home on the season’s final day in a 1-1 draw. The next week, he is due to link up with England’s under-21 team at the European Championship in Georgia. Five days — his first break since January’s £45million ($57.3m) transfer from Everton — seems scant respite before a 50-game season.

“It’s tough to get out of bed to do roadwork when you’ve been sleeping in silk pyjamas,” the legendary middleweight Marvin Hagler once said. But Gordon, a boxing devotee, does not yet feel that luxury has been earned.

Friends jog sedately on the neighbouring machines, describing a gym buddy who is “running with a point to prove”. On other mornings, he rises early to put on his football boots and do doggie sprints — a punishing series of shuttle runs — on a patch of grass outside.

Since he was a child in Everton’s academy, Gordon has written down short-term, medium-term, and long-term goals. During this particular cardio session, he runs through his aims as he elongates his strides. Six months into his Newcastle career, it is time to accelerate.

“I’m going to help England win the Euros.”

“I want the No 10 or No 11 shirt at Newcastle.”

“I’m going to score this number of goals.”

“I want a senior England call-up.”

Halfway through the season, the 22-year-old is on track to hit almost all those targets. Despite the club’s difficult winter, Gordon has arguably been Newcastle’s player of the season so far — it took until December before he recorded two consecutive Premier League games without either a goal or an assist. In the FA Cup third round, he delivered the sort of harrying derby performance which begins to stitch names in the fabric of a club. At the club’s Darsley Park training ground, coaches describe a relentlessness to his self-improvement, a player who has to be dragged off the pitch in case of overexertion.

“He’s obsessed with being the best; it physically hurts him if he hasn’t been the best in training,” says a member of his tight-knit inner circle, speaking anonymously to protect their relationship. “He has that personality. Everything’s a game. Everything he has to win.”

That even extended to table tennis matches on his summer not-quite-holiday, chewing out friends who dared to challenge him. Like his adoptive city, he is direct, uncompromising and industrious.

Reader, boxer, aspiring Grandmaster, these are the edges behind this season’s explosion — and the secrets to the psychology which keeps him on the treadmill.

“The biggest thing for me was that he was always searching to go to the next level early,” says David Unsworth, Everton’s former academy head and interim manager. “At under-16s, he was desperate to get into the under-18s. As soon as he was in the under-18s, he was trying desperately to come with me (in the under-23s). As soon as he came with me, he was desperate to get into first-team training.

“That desire to get to the next level is something you can’t really instil in people.”

Gordon has always known where he wants to go. As a young teenager, he spoke in absolutes, with certainty. “When I play for Real Madrid,” was one example of an early dream.

Self-belief is not always easy to come by, especially when you have to fight for recognition. At 11 years old, Gordon was rejected by the academy of his boyhood club, Liverpool. He was not immediately snapped up by Everton either — their development centre initially released him before they were urged to reconsider by respected Merseyside scout Ian Duke.

Goodison Park is just a five-minute stroll from his mother’s house in Kirkdale and ahead of one pre-season game, Gordon was spotted walking to the ground with his boots under one arm. But there were no guarantees he would even make it this far.

Though his attacking talent was always recognised by Everton, there were long-standing doubts over his slender physique and work rate. While several others in his cohort were offered a professional contract by the club, he was initially just offered a lesser scholarship.

On the pitch, he was a match-winner,” says Unsworth. “The biggest problem we had with him was his stamina. So he played a lot of left midfield, on the left of a three, but he would just die on 60 minutes. He would look like he was being lazy and couldn’t get back, but it wasn’t that, he had just emptied his tank because he put so much into the first hour.”

In the summer of 2017, with his charge just 16, Unsworth took matters into his own hands at a pre-season boot camp in Spain. The most common word used to describe these few days was “beasting”. Misplaced passes and minor positional errors brought the burn of push-ups.

“He could be so harsh,” Gordon recalled in 2020. “It felt like an army camp. It was my first involvement with the under-23s and physically and mentally, I was drained. I matured into a man that week. We always had a good relationship off the pitch and (Unsworth) always told me how good I was, although you forget about that when you lose the ball in 80-degree heat and he’s making you do push-ups.”

The results began to follow. Still mostly playing for the under-18s that season, Gordon scored 14 goals in 15 appearances, along with four assists. A trademark attacking move still seen at Newcastle — drifting infield before curling a shot towards the far post on his right foot — was on full display.

He also made his first appearance for the first team — a brief substitute appearance against Apollon Limassol in a Europa League dead rubber. On that night, his callowness was evident— his shorts virtually down to his knees, a pair of Next boxer shorts on full display.

Though there were no issues with Gordon’s display, it would be almost two years before his next first-team appearance. It is hard to break through at Everton. Despite traditionally having one of the Premier League’s stronger academies, the club’s long trophyless run affects opportunities — they are less likely to blood youngsters in the cup, while managerial turnover means coaches are less likely to consider the potential long-term benefits.

In 2018-19, Gordon made the step up to the under-23s, helping Everton win the Premier League 2, and rival clubs were beginning to take notice. Strikingly, the calibre of sides after him included German giants Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, whose interest was firm and sustained.

Gordon decided to stay — a combination of his “homebird” nature and assurances by then manager Marco Silva that he would soon be part of the first-team setup. At Everton’s Finch Farm training ground, Unsworth took the lead in poring over the physical data of the club’s starting attackers with Gordon — the likes of Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin — to provide a model for the teenager’s burgeoning work rate. Director of football Marcel Brands, who arrived in June 2018 having previously overseen PSV’s highly-rated academy, was also a major fan.

The chances, however, did not come. By the time lockdown hit in early 2020, Carlo Ancelotti had taken over from an embattled Silva, but his man-management style typically favoured established professionals. Gordon took matters into his own hands.

Moving out of the family home during lockdown, Gordon shut himself away in a house previously rented by Mohamed Salah with former Liverpool prospect Bobby Duncan and another friend, Callum Webb, who worked as a personal trainer.

For three months, the group did nothing but work — weights, circuits, runs around the local golf course. They hired a private chef to cook meals. Each night, ahead of the next day’s triple session, Gordon brought his notebook so he could research Webb’s planned exercises. For a player not yet established at first-team level, his initiative was striking.

Impressed and with his fitness levels among the best in the squad, Ancelotti handed him his first Premier League start in the first game of Project Restart. This was no easing in — but a Merseyside derby against title-chasing Liverpool. Just over a week after the 0-0 draw, Gordon delivered his first Premier League assist against Leicester.

Yet, that summer, Gordon again found his pathway blocked — this time by a global superstar. When Colombia international James Rodriguez arrived at Goodison Park, the teenager was uncowed. “I’m better than him,” was his attitude, revealing he knocked on Ancelotti’s door, a manager at that time with three Champions League trophies, to ask for more minutes.

Ancelotti admired Gordon’s chutzpah, but with Everton doing well in the league midway through 2020-21, the manager sanctioned a January loan. The reality was closer to a cattle market.

Around 25 clubs expressed their interest, including half the clubs in the Championship. From abroad, Hamburg and Wolfsburg were also serious contenders. Amid the battle was Bournemouth head coach Eddie Howe, keen to take him to the south coast, though the club’s Premier League status meant Gordon would not be assured game time.

On deadline day, the winger elected to join nearby Preston having given manager Alex Neil his word earlier in the window. In hindsight, the decision appeared a mistake. Neil was sacked soon after Gordon’s arrival and despite the teenager winning man of the match in an early fixture televised on Sky Sports, new boss Frankie McAvoy switched to playing five at the back. Gordon ended up appearing in just 11 Championship matches and the Champions League felt a world away.

“There is never a bad loan for a young player in terms of your long-term career,” says Unsworth. “Anthony went there, he was training with the first team, he didn’t play a great deal, and that probably fuelled his desire even more.” He was right on that.

“The Championship is a whole different world to the Premier League,” Gordon said afterwards. “I was getting used to that and thinking, ‘This is not where I want to be’. That’s where you see a lot of young players either push on or fizzle out. I wasn’t going to be the one to fizzle out.”

Back in Liverpool, it is fight night. If Gordon returned to Everton in search of fireworks, then this was a place to find it. Liverpool is a city with a proud boxing history, producing world champions such as John Conteh, Tony Bellew and brothers Liam and Callum Smith, who both grew up in the same Kirkdale neighbourhood as Gordon.

This evening, it is Peter McGrail in the ring, the super-bantamweight and former Olympian boxing to protect his undefeated record. He wins handily, comfortably inside the distance, and trainer Paul Stevenson begins the debrief, wanting to set his fighter free into the night. Afterwards, in walks a teenager.

“Peter is friends with Anthony, but I hadn’t met him before,” says Stevenson. “He just came backstage and asked if he could do some sessions with me. He said he’d done it as a kid, was very enthusiastic, and wanted to improve cross-discipline. So he came in and was good. Boxing is a very technical sport. If you follow advice, you get better quickly.”

When Gordon signed for Newcastle, Kieran Trippier joked that he better be wearing his boxing gloves after a testy duel at St James’ Park earlier that season. In truth, the new arrival had more than a puncher’s chance. Stevenson was impressed with what his new charge showed.

“You’re always careful with new boxers not to overload, but I found he could take a lot on for a novice,” he says, revealing no other footballer had ever come to him for similar training. “He already had some skills which were transferable — agility, athleticism, physical intelligence — but I think the boxing helped his football.

“It’s a very explosive sport, the amount of brain power which goes into it, if you’re doing it properly, there’s no sport like it. The speed of thought and technique — you don’t just think of your own moves, you think of your opponent’s next moves — and you’re doing it quickly and you’re doing it with pain. Then add the amount of determination and resilience you have to have and you can see why he was attracted to it as an athlete and as a performer.”

Gordon credits the sport with helping his confidence and self-esteem as he adapted to senior football, but also more tangible footballing effects.

“A family member actually said to me after I started boxing that my whole football game changed and I didn’t really notice it until he said it,” Gordon told TNT Sports in 2021. “I was like, ‘You’re right’. I like tackles now and I like contact.”

After signing for Newcastle, Gordon asked Stevenson if he could recommend any local trainers to continue boxing and was given the number of a gym in Peterlee, though he has not continued the sport since moving to the north east. But that was still a first-team breakthrough, two years, and £45million away.

Back in the summer of 2021, after Ancelotti’s sudden departure to Real Madrid, strong interest came in again, with Hamburg close to taking him on loan. But after a strong pre-season, new manager Rafa Benitez refused to sanction any departure. For the first time, Gordon was an established first-team player.

What happens when you summit the mountain but cannot see the view?

Everton started to struggle as Gordon began to flourish, slipping from the top half of the Premier League to the relegation zone. Though he only managed four Premier League goals in 2021-22, the eye test showed a player bearing much of the creative burden, with his interventions also including a crucial winner against Manchester United as Everton scrapped for survival.

Shuffled between left wing, right wing, No 10, and even makeshift striker, Gordon was picking up bruises but also bouquets. By this time already a regular of Lee Carsley’s England Under-21 squad, his breakthrough season brought further attention from clubs aware of Everton’s parlous finances.

Chelsea came in with multiple bids that summer, with Thomas Tuchel wanting to transform him into a wing-back. Everton had engaged in negotiations, but it is understood that Richarlison’s sale to Tottenham Hotspur significantly diminished their desire to sell — late chairman Bill Kenwright did not want two stars to leave in a single window.

Nevertheless, things moved quickly by January, with Everton continuing to struggle both on and off the pitch. Newcastle agreed a £45million deal, to be paid in a lump sum to help Everton’s FFP, and amid a situation at Goodison Park which was growing more toxic, Gordon was suddenly no longer a boy clad in royal blue.

The thorny circumstances of Gordon’s exit are still painful for both the club’s fans and the player himself. Everton put out statements saying Gordon had not reported for training while he was negotiating a transfer in London at the request of owner Farhad Moshiri and Gordon admitted his hurt at the club’s curt 59-word departure statement.

Twelve months on, it is evident that the move suited all parties — Everton received a large sum for an academy product and have re-emerged stronger, Gordon had a more stable environment, and Newcastle had a long-term target.

For a little while, however, it looked as if Tottenham were Newcastle’s main rivals. Director of football Fabio Paratici, noticing Gordon’s defiance in a 5-0 loss at Spurs in March, later described the winger in transfer discussions as his “favourite player in the Premier League”. Antonio Conte was also a fan, with multiple discussions taking place between both clubs and Gordon’s representatives.

Ultimately, however, the choice came down to the winger. Gordon was won over by Newcastle’s trajectory — his admiration for Howe, the style being played, and the club’s rapid improvements — and was earmarked by recruitment staff as a priority target.

Some fans were sceptical — seeing a player whose goals and assists record did not match up to their Champions League pursuit and who had been rubbed up the wrong way by his on-pitch scrappiness. But Gordon was betting on himself. He always had.

In many ways, Gordon’s first months at Newcastle were reminiscent of his frustrations at the start of his Everton career. Despite his physical training, Howe’s system demanded a higher work rate still, an evolution of the off-ball skills which initially attracted Newcastle. The tactics also bore a weight — moving to a possession-based side for the first time in his career. The initial minutes were not what he anticipated.

“I would say last year it was difficult because I had to come in and sort of swallow my ego a lot,” he told the Newcastle programme earlier this season. “People talk about ego as a bad thing, but it’s not. None of us get to this level without having an ego.

“But I think I came in and expected a lot of myself and the way the team was, with the momentum they had, it was always going to be difficult. But I was a bit naive to that, so it was accepting that and moving on quickly and just accepting that it wasn’t going to be easy.”

These exasperations came to a head against Brentford in April, when Gordon, having delivered an impressive cameo off the bench, was substituted himself with moments remaining. He cast off Howe’s attempted greeting and threw himself into his seat, seething. Howe ground his teeth at the impudence. Sources from both the player and club side insist the incident was forgotten about within 24 hours, but its symbolism remained — the impatience of unfulfilled expectation.

It is undeniable, despite his goal on the final day of the season, that it was a frustrated Gordon sprinting on the hotel treadmill, running towards a future which he cannot bear to wait for. This is the natural by-product of a psychology which the player himself describes as fixated, with his obsessive, driven personality leading to an intensity which can be misperceived from afar.

As well as the Brentford incident, take the ire among Newcastle fans after his win-at-all-costs display at St James’ Park for Everton last season, or the anger from Everton supporters when he was open to furthering his career in the north east.

“I get really obsessed with things,” he told Newcastle’s website in September. “Whatever is on my mind for those couple of weeks, I’ll buy all the gear, research every detail of it — it’s just my personality.

“I think that’s a good thing because I don’t just settle for being average at something — I want to be the best at everything I do. It’s a good mindset to have, but I think it stresses the people around me out.”

That manifests itself in physical preparation — holiday doggie sprints before breakfast — but also his downtime. While on international duty at the Euros, Gordon replaced black and white stripes with black and white checks, challenging the entire squad to games of chess.

Several footballers play — AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic a notable example — with the blitz and rapid formats pushing players to make quick decisions. That chess is boxing without the violence also appealed. The only opponent he could not vanquish was team doctor Matt Perry — who was on a “different level” to anyone else in the squad.

In Georgia, staff members were impressed with the extent to which Gordon had matured since his early days in the international setup. Reflecting his importance to the squad, Lee Carsley trusted him with a crucial tactical brief — a false nine role which did not come naturally. The tournament, however, was a blinding success — securing two goals and an assist, the tip of England’s spear as they won the tournament.

Most encouraging of all was the development of two areas of his game — link-up play and finishing — which playing through the middle forced him to develop. UEFA awarded him player of the tournament, joining a list of luminaries such as Petr Cech, Fabio Cannavaro, Luis Figo, Andrea Pirlo. Goal one — complete.

“I’ve always said he can play left, he can play right, he can link, he can play 10,” says Unsworth. “He can actually play in the midfield three. But when he develops physically, upper-body wise, when he becomes a real mature man, I think he’ll actually end up as a striker if I’m being honest with you because he’s got everything and he’s good in the air as well.”

He pauses, before adding: “You know, the thing with Anthony, he’s a very intelligent footballer both on and off the pitch. I found that quite endearing to be honest. He would always ask the question ‘Why?’.”

It is a question Gordon has never stopped asking. He is a voracious reader, constantly making his way through sporting biographies, psychology manuals and leadership theory, with a half-finished text always found on some surface at his home.

Kobe Bryant’s book, The Mamba Mentality, is a particular favourite, outlining not just his dedication, but also his resilience — the NBA’s all-time leader in missed shots, but also fourth on the all-time scoring list. In the difficult periods of the past 18 months, one suspects it helped.

Another of Gordon’s hobbies is snooker — the winger playing a range of cue sports from a young age — with seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan another hero, despite his clear differences from Bryant.

The Chimp Paradox, written by O’Sullivan’s sports psychiatrist Steve Peters, is another well-thumbed book, which has helped him separate the emotional side of his brain (the chimp) from the analytical part (the human). Pivotal, Gordon found, was how to control and train the chimp — making instincts your best friend rather than worst enemy is pivotal to a footballer forced to make both quick decisions and exist in the public sphere.

It is a window into his process. After completing each book, Gordon will steal nuggets of information he feels can help him — a magpie mentality as well as a mamba.

“I found it to be very easy to try and get Anthony to focus because he was desperate,” says Unsworth. “And when you are desperate to do something, certainly when you back that up with the individual talent, 99 times out of 100, you will succeed.”

In the past year, the 22-year-old has left his boyhood club, acclimatised to another, brought himself to the edge of the England squad and, in recent months, become a father.

Life, like Gordon himself, is relentless. But this is a psychology that knows little else. There is nothing to do but get back on the treadmill and start sprinting. It is not yet time for the silk pyjamas.

#fic rambles

[alexbkrieger13]

https://www.svt.se/sport/fotboll/magdalena-eriksson-om-att-fira-tredje-raka-fa-cuptiteln-infor-rekordpublik

Magdalena Eriksson about celebrating the third straight FA Cup title in front of a record crowd

When Magdalena Eriksson bowed out after the FA Cup final, she did so in front of a record crowd: 77,390 spectators were present at Wembely in London.

- It is such a clear sign of how women's football is only getting bigger and bigger, says Chelsea's team captain to SVT Sport.

Last year, the most watched soccer matches in Europe were women's soccer matches, according to ESPN .

87,192 spectators were on hand at Wembley when England beat Germany 2-1 in the European Championship final. 91,553 people watched Barcelona take on Real Madrid at the Camp Nou in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Even more – a whopping 91,648 football fans – then watched Barcelona crush Wolfsburg 5-1 in the semi-final a couple of weeks later.

During the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Chelsea yesterday, another attendance record was broken. 77,390 people had made it to Wembley, where they got to see Australian Sam Kerr seal Chelsea's third consecutive FA Cup title when she scored the only goal of the game after just over an hour.

"A clear sign of how women's football is only getting bigger and bigger"

- It feels fantastic to win the FA Cup for the third year in a row. It is incredibly strong of us to keep winning titles and I feel so damn proud, says Magdalena Eriksson to SVT Sport.

When Chelsea won the title last year, there were "only" 49,094 fans in attendance. That record thus blew the whole world's way during the 2023 final, which made a big impression on the Chelsea captain.

- The atmosphere and the audience were also completely crazy. For every FA Cup final I've played, there have always been higher attendance figures. It is such a clear sign of how women's football is only getting bigger and bigger, says Eriksson.

#swewnt article #magdalena eriksson #chelsea fcw #swewnt

[jrpneblog]

When Saturday comes....

It is the FA Cup 3rd round this week and with it comes a trip to Stamford Bridge for North End to face Chelsea. The tie comes on the back of two horrible league defeats, at home to Sheffield Wednesday and away at Sunderland. There seems to have been more focus on Ryan Lowe and his ill thought out press comments than on the performance of the team but one way or another the club is sliding at the moment and that must be halted quickly. Lowe said after the game at the Stadium of Light, on New Years Day, that his focus was on the Bristol City game a week on Saturday and that the game of Chelsea was "the least of our worries". Well the 6,033 travelling to the smoke on Saturday may well have a slightly different opinion and with the cost of transport, ticket etc I think it was well out of order to dismiss the Chelsea game as almost a nuisance fixture. Big games and days out are few and far between for a mid table Championship side and Lowe would do well to remember that.

Last Friday evening we undid all the good work we had done against Leeds on Boxing Day by being beaten at home against lowly Sheffield Wednesday. Lowe kept the same side and formation as the Leeds game but this time the visitors literally snuffed Liam Millar out of the game and with it went North End`s best chance of getting a result. Wednesday scored the only goal of the game ten minutes from the break and really never looked in danger from that moment on. Lowe, once again, could not instigate an effective plan B and you really do worry just what goes on in training at Euxton during the week. It was a very poor defeat on a night when a win would have put us just one point behind the play offs.

North End started 2024 with a visit to Sunderland on Monday morning with a 12.30 kick off just to add insult to injury for the travelling fans. North End started ok with the three changes but once the Black Cats had taken the lead after just ten minutes there was only ever going to be one result to the game and a second goal just before half time made sure that Sunderland could just cruise through the second half as North End looked embarrassingly short of guile and ideas on the field and rolled over fairly easily for a second consecutive league defeat. This game will probably remember more for what was said at the end of the game off the pitch than the action during the 90 minutes as the North End manager once again put his size nine in it big time. The really cannot go on much longer as our club is fast becoming a joke in the Championship.

So we come to the game at the Bridge on Saturday tea time with a 5.30 kick off. The game will be shown live on the BBC iPlayer for those not making the trip to Stamford Bridge. To be fair Chelsea are not breaking any pots this term under  Mauricio Pochettino but such is the gulf in class between mid table Championship and mid table Premiership that it means North End`s odds of 9/1 just about reflect our chances of pulling off a shock. Chelsea start as 1/5 favourites, and rightly so, but this is not quite a David and Goliath cup tie although an away win would certainly make National headlines. All the travelling faithful can hope for is that North End give it a real go and not roll over to have their tummy tickled like we did against Spurs in the Cup more recently at Deepdale. Going to keep the score down is not what North End fans want to hear ahead of this game. "We are going to give it a real go" is much more like the pre-match narrative that we want to hear.

.

MATCH PREDICTION -

CHELSEA (A) FA Cup - Home Win

.

JR`s HIGH FIVES

Arsenal to beat Liverpool 1/1

A £5 Stake returns £10.00 on bet365

SEASONS STATS

Returns £86.00 Stake £110.00

Percentage profit+/-loss - 21.82%

Predictions 22 won 8 lost 14

[evertonfcblog]

Everton's 2023/24 preseason recap

Everton Football Club are preparing for a vital 53rd consecutive season in the Premier League and FA Cup as the season commences this weekend with the FA Cup round 3 matchup against Fulham at Goodison Park. Tickets still available at https://www.evertonfc.com/tickets/prices-seating-sale-dates Starting from £12, selling out fast! Get closer to the Club you love by signing up as an Official Member for the 2023/24 season! 

Official Membership unlocks a wealth of exclusive benefits, including early access to tickets for home matches and priority access to the Club’s Season Ticket waiting list as well as a new-look welcome pack featuring Official Member merchandise to help you show off your love for the Blues!  

With new signings Arnaut Danjuma and Beto joining an exciting forward line for the Toffees, there's never been a better time to support the club with a club membership.

Sign up here: https://www.eticketing.co.uk/evertonfc/Memberships/List

Arnaut Danjuma finally joins the Blues!

Talented and versatile forward Arnaut Danjuma has signed for the club on loan from Spanish club Villareal, only a year after the club's deal with Danjuma broke down at the final hurdle.

The Dutch international, at just 26 years of age, has achieved so much, scoring 72 goals and assisting 37 times in the 8 years he has been a professional footballer including spells in the Premier League with Bournemouth, and the La Liga and Champions League with Villareal CF.

Danjuma adds his services to an already strong looking winger group, joining the likes of Alex Iwobi, James Garner and 2022 Club Player of the year Dwight McNeil.

Everton sign star Portugeuese forward to bolster striker ranks

The club recently announced the signing of Beto (25) from Italian club Udinese on a deal worth £25 million.

The Portuegese number 9, who stands tall at 1.94m, has shown he can match it with the world's best, scoring 11 and 10 goals respectively in the past two seasons in the Serie A.

Beto said in his first Everton interview: "I have grown up an Evertonian, idolising Eto'o [as a striker] and Lukaku in more recent years." "I can't wait to get started with the club I love". he continued.

It is a signing that fans have been patiently waiting for after the club's struggle with forward injuries and a proper goal scoring threat last season following Dominic Calvert-Lewin's long term knee injury and Richarlison's departure from the club.

777 takeover Everton following sale by former owner Farhad Moshiri

Everton have agreed on a deal with 777 Partners, as the U.S. private equity firm is looking to taking over from former long-term owner Farhad Moshiri.

Founded in 2015, 777 Partners is an alternative investment platform that helps bold entrepreneurs transform visions into enduring value. The Miami-based company has subsequently branched out into sports club ownership with a vision to play a key part in football in the near future as mentioned on their website.

CEO of 777 Partners, Josh Wander expressed his excitement at securing ownership of their first Premier League side.

"The Premier League is the biggest league in the world and Everton are a club with a storied history that are in need of a quick fix" he said in a statement to Evertonians.

"With the season starting, it's important to set an early foundation of succees after years of hardship on and off the field".

777 Partners have a number of clubs in its portfolio that have all been acquired over the last four seasons, including Italian side Genoa and Belgian team Standard Liege, while they also have stakes in Bundesliga 2 club Hertha Berlin and more recently A-League side Melbourne Victory.

Club mourns the death of Chairman Bill Kenwright OBE

Everton Football Club is in mourning following the death of Chairman Bill Kenwright CBE, who passed away peacefully last week aged 78, surrounded by his family and loved ones.

The club released a statement commemorating the hard work Bill put into the club. 'Everton’s longest serving chairman for more than a century, Bill Kenwright led the Club through a period of unprecedented change in English football.

In his 19 seasons as Chairman, the Club secured 12 top eight finishes, including a top four finish in 2005, a run to the 2009 FA Cup final and European qualification on 6 separate occasions.

The club has lost a chairman, a leader, a friend, and an inspiration. The thoughts and prayers of everyone at Everton are with his family at this tough time.'

The club will hold a minute of silence before Saturday's game against Fulham at Goodison Park to commemorate his passing.

#EFC #TheOriginals #Premier League #Youtube

[donotscratchyoureyes]

Vendilo, Gino

As you might be aware, I coined the phrase #parlacigino (talk to us Gino) back in March after the diabolical QPR match. It felt like a natural line in the sand after two seasons of what can only be described as attritional football played by uninterested players, too many head coach sackings, crass stadium measures, a tone deaf comms policy and, lest we forget, a badly executed and poorly communicated ‘fans forum’.

This lead to some fans feeling disconnected from their club and an air of frustration gave way to low level demonstration.

This was met by the club enforcing measures so draconian that it took everyone by surprise. A towel that had ‘Pozzo Out’ written on it saw it’s owner being ejected from the ground, spoken to by the police and then banned from buying any further tickets until he ‘came in for a chat’.

Another banner with the same message was met with the phrase ‘there’s no free speech in this stadium’ as the owner was frog-marched out.

Stewarding levels were ramped up in both number and snarly attitude and the PA volume was increased to 11 to drown out the very small pockets of ‘get out of our club’ vocal dissent.

The original family club, everyone.

This ‘Pozzo Out’ sentiment, I felt, was premature. We’ve enjoyed 5 consecutive seasons and some famous victories in the premier league under Gino’s tenure. We do have, at last, a fully completed stadium which had previously looked like a building site with a condemned stand. So what had changed for some fans to want the owner out?

It seemed clear we needed to see the whites of his eyes, hence one small hashtag posted on the ‘Do Not Scratch Your Eyes’ twitter by myself. Obviously I was expecting for it to be lost in the sea of ‘Pozzo Out’ sentiment that was permeating, but it got a small amount of traction and within a week we were gathering like-minded folk together to work out how to get Gino and supporters in the same room after the club cannily chucked it over to the fans to organise after their disastrous cock-up the previous season.

I’ll not go into the machinations of how the event in June finally happened as this has been discussed to death elsewhere and I don’t think my mental health could take it, but happen it did. Gino met the supporters.

And again, I’ll not go into details of what was said at the meeting, you can find the live blogs and the full transcript elsewhere. However at the end of the meeting it did feel like some air was cleared and that there was an understanding of what Pozzo was trying to achieve. We finally had a clue about his personality and crucially his philosophy after 11 years of his club ownership.

Four months later we have had a terrible (in my view) transfer window in terms of players coming in and we are watching what is now, worryingly, looking like relegation form football. Yes, we are sitting a few places off League One as this is being typed.

‘Oh’ say some supporters ‘but what about the January window? Maybe he’ll bring in the right players then!’ I doubt that. It hasn’t happened for the past, what, five windows has it? And now the person responsible for bringing in the talent has been sacked. Goodbye Ben Manga.

Enough now. Enough. The slippery slope we have found ourselves on since the 2019 FA Cup final shows no sign of abating; in fact it looks like it’s taking steeper turns.

Pozzo heard the hopes, expectations and concerns of Watford fans at that meeting in June and should have left feeling buoyant but also humbled having been handed a second chance whilst having to tiptoe on the thinnest of ice.

That ice is showing signs of cracking now. Previously staunch supporters of Pozzo are turning against him and if things on the pitch don’t improve dramatically (and the fan reaction to that isn’t handled in a more measured way by the club this time around) it could be that he is inching towards demonstrations that could well be more vociferous this time around, too.

So here’s a new hashtag: #VendiloGino (‘Sell Gino’). Sell whilst your legacy is relatively untarnished. Sell whilst the supporters might still think of you as the second greatest owner after Elton John. Sell before it’s too late and further damage is done. Sell before your bloody-mindedness sees our club drop down to the third tier of English football.

Sell to someone with a spark of enthusiasm. Someone willing to throw more than £50k on Tom Ince after reaping tens of millions in transfer fees. Someone who will hire the right recruitment team and not rely on peculiar looking deals with less than reputable looking agents.

We were here before you arrived. We’ll be here after you go. Don’t worry about us. We’ve seen all this before. But nothing changes until it changes at the top. It’s time for that change.

#VendiloGino

#watford #watford fc #do not scratch your eyes #watford podcast #football #pozzos #pozzo

[totosafedb10]

EPL's most legendary duo, "Son-Ke Duo," is now in history

The "Sonke Duo," which was called the strongest combination in English professional football Premier League (EPL) history, has gone down in history.

Harry Kane, a "special striker" who has only played in Tottenham since he was young, moved to Bayern Munich, the strongest team in the German Bundesliga.

Kane, who gave Tottenham a transfer fee of at least 100 million euros (about 146 billion won), received the number 9 and signed with Munich until June 2027.

Including various options, the transfer fee is expected to be close to 200 billion won.

As a result, a joint goal with Son Heung-min, who was called a "soulmate" in the EPL beyond Tottenham, will no longer be seen.

Kane is the top scorer with 280 goals in 435 official Tottenham games. He scored 213 goals in the league alone, ranking second in all-time in this category, behind Alan Shearer (260 goals).

Kane was responsible for 30 goals alone even when Tottenham was sluggish in eighth place in the league last season, but if Kane stays in the Premier League, it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Shearer's record.

He also made history working with South Korean soccer player Son Heung-min for eight seasons from the 2015-2016 season.

The two helped each other score and together scored a total of 47 goals. Son Heung-min scored 24 goals and Kane scored 23 goals.

It has been a long time since he surpassed Chelsea's Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard (36 goals), who scored the most joint goals before Son Heung-min and Kane met.

Elling Hollan and Kevin De Bruyne, who led Manchester City (Man City)'s third consecutive EPL victory last season, have only scored 10 goals yet.

The first joint goal of the Son-Ke duo was in the Europa League group stage match against Karabakh (Azerbaijan) in November 2015. Kane finished the pass that Son Heung-min headed with a corner kick chance.

It was the first time in the EPL that Kane finished off Son Heung-min's cross with his left foot against Stoke City in September 2016.

The first time Son Heung-min scored with Kane's help was against Manchester City in January 2017, when Son Heung-min kicked Kane's sensational pass with his right foot. It was their third joint goal.

It is from the 2019-2020 season that the Son-Ke duo started to show off their perfect compatibility. With the departure of Christian Eriksen and the decline of Dele Alli, the chances for the two to match increased.

In particular, in the 2020-2021 season, he scored 14 goals, setting the record for the most joint goals ever in an EPL season.

That season, Son Heung-min exploded a whopping 4 goals in a match against Southampton, all with Kane's help.

In the match against Manchester City in February last year, Kane scored with Son Heung-min's help and tied with Drogbar-Lampard, followed by Son Heung-min finishing Kane's help in the match against Leeds United.

Son Heung-min and Ke Combi's joint goal, which seemed to continue, has just come to an end, and Kane finished Son Heung-min's help with the last joint goal in the final match against Leeds in the 2022-2023 season.

By season, there are six in the 2016-2017 season (6), 2017-2018 season (6), 2018-2019 season (4), 2019-2020 season (4), 2020-2021 season (14), 2021-2022 season (7), and 2022-2023 season.

Including UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, and League Cup, 54 goals will be combined in official matches.

Regarding the transfer of his brother Kane, who shared his soul on his Instagram on the 12th, Son Heung-min said, "It was a pleasure for me to remember playing together from the first day as a leader, an older brother, a legend. There are so many," he said goodbye.

He said, "Harry, thank you for everything you've given me, our team and our fans. I wish you luck in a new chapter in your life. Good luck, brothers."

by: 안전놀이터

[liamhaydn-blog]

The Madness of Manchester City

The Treble

On Saturday the 10th of June Manchester City became just the second English team ever to achieve the treble. Though for all intents and purposes, the treble was secured weeks before when Real Madrid was beaten 4-0 at the Etihad, the only team left in their path with the tournament pedigree to believe they could beat City, without requiring the miracle Manchester United and Inter Milan would have needed. From that point onwards it always felt like a mere formality. There was an inevitability in the way in which the Manchester City machine motored towards the treble. This was after all the third successive season in which City won the Premier League and reached the Semi-Finals of both the FA Cup and the Champions League. The treble has been within touching distance for quite some time.

And that as much as anything else is perhaps what differentiates this version of the Treble from Manchester United’s of 24 years ago. United went into the 98/99 season trying to wrestle the title back from Double winners Arsenal who were looking to form a dynasty of their own. In Europe, United had been knocked out of the previous year’s Champions League at the Quarter-Final stage by AS Monaco, which represented a backwards step from reaching their first Champions League Semi-Final under Ferguson in 1997.

Both United and City suffered indifferent form by their own differing standards on route to the treble. United won just 9 of their first 19 league games in the first half of the season, drawing 7 and losing 3. In December they won 1 of 8 matches across all competitions, going 6 without a win and winning just 1 of their 6 league games. This had United in 4th place at the end of 1998. Manchester City were also considered to be playing well below their best level, yet they still never dropped points in consecutive league games even once, their worst run of form coming either side of the winter World Cup, when they won 2 of 5 league games, losing 2 of them which represented a crisis for them. Despite Arsenal posting their highest ever points total at the halfway stage of a season with 50, an underperforming City were still only 5 points behind them, with 2 meetings between the sides still to come.

With 8 games to go in 98/99, United led Arsenal by 4 points, however in those last 8 games Ferguson’s side were only able to win 4 of them, none of them back to back. This made for an incredibly tight race which went right to the wire, with momentum swinging back and forth on an almost game-by-game basis. A 1-0 win away at Middlesbrough for United meant that with just 2 games to go they and Arsenal were dead level on not just points, but goal difference as well. United topped the table for having scored more goals, but it was Arsenal who had the superior form having won their last 5, scoring 16 in the process and letting in only 3. 

It was a victory for another United, Leeds over Arsenal which was the key result in the run-in, swinging the momentum back in United’s favour and though it wobbled still with United only managing a draw at Blackburn and then falling a goal behind at home to Spurs on the final day, it remained in United’s hands and they got the job done. A 2-1 win over Spurs secured the first part of the treble, they had bettered Arsenal by a solitary point and as well bettered them on goal difference by a single goal. Incredibly Arsenal conceded just 17 goals all season and managed the exact same total of points as the previous season with 78. Last season it had won them the title by a point and this time they had missed out by a point, the margins could not have been any tighter.

At the beginning of April, City trailed Arsenal by 8 points with 11 games to play, one of them a game in hand. Before City had even notched their 12th successive win of a run that had begun at the back end of February, they had already been declared Champions for the third successive season. The title decider between City and Arsenal proved an epic mis-match, the meeting between the league’s two best teams resulting in a 4-1 win for City, the same margin by which they had earlier that month already beaten the league’s worst side Southampton and aswell City’s toughest and only challengers of the previous 5 years, Liverpool. By this stage City’s superiority over the rest was such that the opponent just did not seem to matter, they were dispatched in exactly the same manner. 

In winning the FA Cup, City did not concede a single goal from open play, a Fernandes penalty in the final proving the only blotch on their copybook. They themselves managed 19 goals across 7 games, reaching the final by scoring 17 and conceding 0. Arsenal were the only side to not concede 3 on City’s route to the final, as they hit Chelsea for 4 and Burnley for 6 in the Quarter-Finals. That United didn’t suffer defeat of a similar margin after falling 1-0 down just 13 seconds into the final (the fastest final goal in FA Cup history) was something of a shock. 

In comparison United of ‘99 were minutes away from exiting the FA Cup at the 4th round stage at home to Liverpool. They had trailed for 85 minutes when with 2 minutes of normal time remaining Yorke equalised. Then deep in stoppage time, United avoided a replay back at Anfield courtesy of a winner from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They could not avoid the cup replay in the Quarter-Final against Chelsea, needing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge to advance after a scoreless draw at Old Trafford. In the semi-finals against Arsenal, 120 minutes could not separate the sides, so they met back at Villa Park to do it all again 3 days later. Again the game went to Extra-Time, though only after Schmeichel had repelled a Bergkamp penalty which had been awarded late on, but the odds remained against United. They were down to 10 men, without their captain Roy Keane who had been dismissed and were against a team they had failed to beat in their last 6 attempts, 4 of which had taken place that season. 

Then of course Ryan Giggs stepped up and scored the greatest goal of his career at the best possible time to put United into a final they won 2-0 against Newcastle to secure the double. The margins again had been so tight, Bergkamp scoring a penalty and the knock-on effect of Arsenal progressing to the FA Cup final may well have seen them go on to win back-to-back Doubles. As it was, the Double was this time United’s, yet they still wanted more. 

Such has been City’s recent results at the Round of 16 stage of the Champions League, a 1-1 1st leg draw away at RB Leipzig represented a novel occurrence. A round of 16 tie involving City which was still alive after the first leg. However City returned to their usual selves in the 2nd leg, winning 7-0 with Haaland grabbing 5. There was another 1-1 draw away in Germany in the Quarter-Finals, though this time coming after City had already effectively killed the tie against Bayern Munich with a 3-0 home win. 

Their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid was nicely balanced after a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu but in the second leg City produced a vintage Guardiola team performance, winning 4-0. It wasn’t just the scoreline, but every single statistic which outlined City’s surreal dominance over the defending Champions and a team which featured multiple players who had won the Champions League 5 times. By half time City had mustered 13 attempts to Real Madrid’s 1 and 196 touches in the final third compared to 10 for Real. It took twenty four minutes for Real Madrid to complete a pass in City’s half, a pass which came immediately after City had opened the scoring. City then immediately won the ball back. In the final City met Inter, a club who had spent less money in the last 5 years than Brighton & Hove Albion. The 3-time European Champions were amongst the biggest final underdogs there has ever been in the competition but they fared well, surprising many by only losing by a single goal.  

Back in 1999, it was again Inter who stood in the way of a Manchester club in the Champions League, then at the Quarter-Final stage. A 2-0 home win gave United a good platform to build on for the 2nd leg, but they had needed a miraculous save from Schmeichel and an inspired goalline clearance from Henning Berg to deny Inter a precious away goal. In the San Siro, United fell behind in the 63rd minute and were not safely through until the 88th minute when Scholes’ away goal made sure of their progression. In the Semi-Final, United met Juventus, who were looking to reach their 4th successive Champions League final. United needed a 90th minute goal from Giggs to get a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford, but in the first 11 minutes in Turin Juventus appeared to wipe away that goal’s importance by going into a 2-0 lead. United looked momentarily dead and buried against a team who made Champions League finals for fun, whilst United were attempting to reach their first in 31 years. 

Goals from Keane and Yorke gave United the edge on the away goals rule  before Andy Cole made their progression certain in the 84th minute. For the final though they would be without their two first choice centre midfielders, Keane and Scholes both ruled out due to suspension. United’s makeshift midfield saw Beckham move centrally to play alongside Nicky Butt, while Jesper Blomqvist came in on the right. United faced Bayern Munich who were on course for their own treble. The two sides had already met in the Champions League that season in the Group Stage and there was more deja vu for both as they also returned to the Nou Camp, home of FC Barcelona, who had also been in the “Group of Death”. Both of the sides earlier meetings had resulted in draws, but it was Bayern who struck first in the final leading after just 6 minutes. 

The Germans were the better side for much of the contest, with the usually deadly combination of Yorke and Cole failing to trouble Kahn very often. It had been a difficult season for Sheringham, he’d scored just 4 goals all season but one had come the previous weekend in the FA Cup final and he got another cup final goal here to equalise for United in the 90th minute after Bayern had failed to clear a Beckham corner. Sheringham was not done yet and he got on the end of another Beckham corner almost immediately, flicking the ball on for Solskjaer to plant in the roof of the net in the dying moments of injury time.   

To achieve the treble Manchester United went unbeaten for the last 33 matches of the season, they won 23 and drew 10 including 2 FA Cup games in which they required replays to progress.13 of their 23 victories came by one-goal margin and aswell they trailed in 11 games, being behind for a total of 396 minutes, not including additional time. In City’s last 28 games of the season, they lost just once, on the final day of the league season away at Brentford with the title secured and 2 cup finals looming ahead. City won 22 of their last 28, and just 6 by a one-goal margin, including both finals. Guardiola’s team trailed in just 3 of those 28 games, including the one they lost. Not including additional time, City were behind for just 46 minutes across the final 28 games of their season. 

For Manchester City fans, it had been a fairytale season. In fact, if they could write the script themselves they would have come up with something like this. City trailing leaders Arsenal for nearly the whole season, but City’s never say die attitude and relentless pressure forcing the Gunners to fold and in the end finish a distant 2nd best to the Champions who made it 3 in a row. An FA Cup final victory over Manchester United, giving their hated rivals the chance to deny them a treble and then taking that chance away by beating their much inferior opponents, then finally conquering Europe by beating the giants of Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. You’d be within your rights to ask what can top/match this for City? Why doing it all again next season, and that will be the target of the manager and owners, who will firmly believe in their capability to do it.  

Domination

In the first part of their treble, Manchester City became just the third English club since the Second World War to win 3 league titles on the spin, with Liverpool doing it between 81/82 and 83/84 and United doing it twice under Ferguson, first between 98/99 and 00/01, and then again between 06/07 and 08/09. They also became just the third team in this country to win 5 league titles in 6 years after Liverpool did it between 78/79 and 83/84 and United did it between 95/96 and 00/01.

Liverpool dominated the 70′s and 80′s, aswell as winning 3 in a row they also won back-to-back titles on two other occasions. Between 1975 and 1990, they never went longer than a single season without winning the title back. However despite Liverpool’s long period of dominance, it was still possible in this period for Nottingham Forest to win the title in their first season after promotion from the Second Division, Aston Villa to win their first league title for 71 years using just 14 players as Liverpool finished 5th, Everton to be crowned champions twice in 3 years and Arsenal to win the title at Anfield on the last day of the season by the two-goal margin they required to snatch the Division One trophy from Liverpool.

Shortly after Liverpool’s reign ended, the Premier League began as did Manchester United’s era of dominance under Alex Ferguson. In 21 Premier League seasons under Ferguson, United won 13 league titles becoming the only English club to win the league title 3 years in a row on 2 separate occasions. There was however still room for Arsenal to win 3 league titles in 6 years, 2 as part of a double and the other with an unbeaten league campaign. Chelsea also won 3 and Blackburn and Manchester City won maiden Premier League titles. The closest an English team has ever come to winning 4 in a row came in 2010, when United’s title race against Chelsea went to the final weekend of the season.

City will next season have the chance to do what those great Liverpool and United sides were never able to do by winning the title 6 times in 7 years for their 4th league title in a row. In fact since English Football’s first top-flight campaign was won by Preston North End 134 years ago, no English team has ever won the league 4 years in a row. It is the longest run of any major top-flight European league and this record has played a big part in establishing the English top division as historically the most competitive anywhere in Europe. 

With its “Big 6″ the English league has been well positioned to avoid becoming the kind of “one-team league” which is so looked down upon. As well as the massive, historic institutions of Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal who have won over 50 league titles combined, there’s Chelsea who have won 5 league titles aswell as 2 Champions League’s this century and the Premier League also had the shock story of 5,000/1 underdogs Leicester City becoming champions in 2016. There is something fitting about Leicester doing that the season before Pep arrived in England, as since then the Premier League’s position as the most competitive, winnable league has become illusory. 

United have not finished above Manchester City since winning the league in Ferguson’s final season 10 years ago. Arsenal have finished above City just once in the last 13 seasons, that being the season before Pep took the job. Liverpool have been Pep’s main rival since he arrived in England, yet even they have finished above City just once in 14 seasons, the year they won the league. Since winning the title in 2017 and finishing 15 points above Pep’s City, Chelsea have finished at least 15 points behind City every season since, this past season the gap was 45 points. Spurs finished above City in back-to-back seasons in 15/16 and 16/17, every season since then they have finished over 20 points behind. 

Gary Neville, whose Salford City team quickly rose 4 divisions thanks to heavy investment, has been a regular critic of the FFP model, bemoaning that it does not give smaller clubs the chance to compete against the historically big clubs. He argues that FFP makes football “a closed shop”, whereas heavy outside investment means we get a more competitive game where other teams can win. This argument is damaged by the fact that not only can City win now that they have been the benefactor of significant investment, but we have reached the stage where virtually *only* they can win, if you look at how far ahead they are of all their domestic rivals. 

Points amassed since the start of the 17/18 Premier League season:         

1. Manchester City 547 2. Liverpool 499 3. Manchester United 420 4. Arsenal 403 5. Tottenham 400 6. Chelsea 393         

In the last 2 seasons alone, 7 different clubs have finished in the top 4 in the Premier League. Meanwhile Manchester City have finished in the top 4 for each of the last 13 seasons, coming in the top 3 in all but one of them. In 10 of the last 12 seasons, they have finished either 1st or 2nd. As worry of Manchester City’s dominance has grown in recent months, on the final edition of Monday Night Football of the season, Neville took to assuring us that City’s dominance is nothing new for English Football, pointing out that we have seen similar dominance from Liverpool in the 70′s and 80′s and Manchester United in the 90′s and 00′s. He pointed out that City have won 7 league titles in the last 12 years, whilst in the same timeframe Liverpool (between 72-73 & 83-84) and United(between 92-93 & 03-04) each won 8. 

However City’s dominance in England goes beyond just the domestic league, it of course stretches to the two domestic cup competitions. This was not mentioned by Neville. In 12 seasons between 1972 and 1984 Liverpool won 13 major domestic trophies (8 leagues, 4 league cups & 1 FA Cup), so 13 out of the 36 available over 12 seasons. In 12 seasons between 1992 and 2004 United won 12 major domestic trophies (8 leagues, 4 FA Cups), 12 out of 36 available. City in 12 seasons between 2011 and 2023 have won 15 major domestic trophies (7 leagues, 6 league cups and 2 FA Cups), 15 out of 36 available. However that includes a 5-year stretch which takes in the Pellegrini era and the first and last seasons of Guardiola and Mancini’s reigns, in which time City only won 1 league title. In the last 6 seasons alone, City have won 11 major domestic trophies (5 leagues, 2 FA Cups and 4 league cups) so 11 of the last 18 available. Meaning that in 6 years, half the time of the Ferguson period Sky Sports used to show this domination is nothing new, City have won just 1 less major domestic trophy. 

City will be overwhelming favourites to make it 4 Premier League’s in a row, and we have seen recently the damage one-team domination has done to other leagues. In Germany, Bayern Munich have won the Bundesliga for 11 successive seasons. Even this year when Bayern sacked a manager mid-season, a dressing room fight between two star players made headline news and Bayern’s CEO and Sporting Director were both sacked in the immediate aftermath of the season’s conclusion, Bayern still won the league. Juventus’ stranglehold over Serie A lasted 9 seasons in which the league rapidly lost relevance as it became a foregone conclusion. The last 3 seasons has seen 3 different winners, none of them Juventus and it has done wonders for the leagues popularity, with the joyous scenes of Napoli fans celebrating their first Scudetto since 1990 viewed all over the world. 

PSG have reached just 2 Champions League Quarter-Finals in the last 7 years, but they have won their domestic league in 9 of the last 11 seasons, which has led it to be spoken of derisively as a “Farmers league”. But since Pep’s arrival in England for the 16/17 there’s been exactly the same number of Premier League winners as there has Ligue 1. City and PSG have won 5 each, whereas Liverpool and Chelsea have been able to nick one each, as have AS Monaco and Lille in France. City have won 5 of the last 6 Premier League title’s and their era of dominance looks far from over.  

After going top of the league with a win away at Arsenal, City then dropped points away at Nottingham Forest which allowed Arsenal to regain top spot. City had wasted many opportunities to run out of sight as we have become accustomed to seeing, and this surprising slip-up strengthened some people’s belief that this was not the usual City, there was something wrong. In fact a lot of the media attributed Arsenal being top of the league to the fact City were misfiring. After the Forest game, the players talked and decided that enough was enough. It was time to as they themselves put it “stop messing around.” Just for there to be a title race in England, City were required to not hit top gear for the first 24 games. In the end them just being at their best for 11 successive games was enough, as they amassed maximum points in them to win the league with 3 games to spare.   

Arsenal led the table for 93% of the season, 247 days, but they didn’t last long once City hit top gear. One draw at Anfield from 2-0 up was enough to dislodge Arsenal’s confidence as they felt Manchester City gathering speed and unstoppable momentum behind them. City just did what they always do, put together a winning streak which noone can match, in the past it’s been as many as 18, this time 12 was enough as City could let their last 2 games go. The story of this season has of course been Erling Haaland, a player who more than any other before him epitomises the machine of Manchester City, he has even been nicknamed a “Robot” by fans of rival clubs, a name that is part derogatory and part begrudging respect for the prolific 22-year olds goalscoring exploits which saw him break the record for most Premier League goals in a 38-game league season with 7 matches to spare. 

Why City will continue to Dominate

There are countless reasons why City’s domination will continue. One is their squad depth. Squad depth is what ultimately wins league titles over a long, hard season and nowhere is that more evident than with Manchester City. City’s squad depth makes for seamless rotation which ensures fatigue is avoided in the final months of the season where trophies are won. City had just 1 player (Rodri) in the Premier League’s top 100 for most minutes played by an outfield player. In comparison, Arsenal had 7, which goes some way to explaining why in the end they had nothing left, they were physically and emotionally shattered. Meanwhile City were peaking. Whilst other teams suffered at the end of a gruelling season, City’s ability to rest players throughout the season due to their incredible strength in depth meant that their players still appeared fresh and therefore less susceptible to pick up injuries which increase in likelihood when players are fatigued.

 Bukayo Saka and Phil Foden are two young English talents, both of similar exceptional quality. For Arsenal, Saka started all but one league game, appearing in all of them for a total of 3,194 minutes. Foden in comparison only started around half of City’s league games and played a total of 1,842 league minutes. City’s strength in depth is such that Foden was more often than not an option of the bench, whereas Saka was so essential to Arsenal that when his goals and assists dried up at the end of the season, Arteta felt he could not rest him even when out of form, such is his superiority to Arsenal’s bench players.

 Last summer Kalvin Phillips was signed for £42M from Leeds United. He was a regular starter for the England national team, starting in the Euros final in 2021, a year in which he was later voted England player of the year. He made his first Premier League start for City in their 36th league fixture, after the title had already been wrapped up. Fellow new recruit Julian Alvarez scored 4 goals in 5 starts in the mid-season World Cup his country won, with 2 of his goals coming in the semi-final. Before the Premier League was secured, he started just 11 league games. It is not controversial to say City’s squad depth is on another level entirely to the rest. 

Another reason City will continue to dominate is of course, their manager Pep Guardiola. In his career thus far he has managed 11 38-game league seasons, and has reached the 90 point mark 6 times. This season he reached 88 with 2 games to spare, and had City been pushed by Arsenal to need to reach 90, they most certainly would have done, which would have meant a 7th 90 point season.  Bundesliga seasons are shorter at 34-games long, but despite this Pep added another 90 point season there for a total of 7 90 point or above seasons in his career so far. This has helped Guardiola to achieve 11 league titles thus far in 14 years. That is by far the most of any manager in that time, in fact it as many as the 2nd and 3rd most successful managers Max Allegri and Antonio Conte have combined (Allegri 6 and Conte 5).

Guardiola has ruthless, unmatchable standards. He refuses to allow complacency and accept bad results. After a game in which his side won 4-2 from 0-2 down at home to Tottenham, Guardiola hammered his players to the media, claiming the fire had gone and that he saw that old fire now in Arsenal’s team, whilst his had become what he termed “happy flowers”. Laporte, Walker, Mahrez and Foden have been huge players for City over the years and all of them have done very little wrong in that time. But this season they have been confined to the bench for much of it, as Guardiola holds zero sentimentality about what has gone before, he cares only about the next result, getting the next win. Pep’s ruthlessness stands in contrast to for example Jurgen Klopp who has been sentimental with players he’s had success with and allowed them to stay too long without replacements, which has led to a sharp downturn in the teams results this season. 

Another reason City will continue to win is their ownership model, which runs at a level of efficiency on a different level to any in history. In the past there was similarities and comparisons to be made with the ownership of PSG, in that they are both state owned clubs, but in recent years they have taken two very different paths. They were once comparable, but now City care only for winning and dominating the competition, whereas PSG have gone down the path of attempting to grow their brand, which has been successful but has come at a cost of going backwards on the pitch. 

City’s squad building is the best ever, they solve problems before they even materialise before our eyes, the opposite of Liverpool whose midfield problem sprung up on them suddenly due to neglect. Even when City appear to have got a rare signing wrong, they work out eventually. For the majority of his first 2 seasons with the club, Nathan Ake was either on the bench or out injured after his £41M move to City, but in this now his third season he’s been a key player for them. Kalvin Phillips has been widely mocked this season, but so was Jack Grealish last season, so who knows he may be another one who eventually comes good. 

Their transfer dealings run like clockwork, legends of the club such as Sergio Aguero and David Silva were moved on before they could decline, De Bruyne is turning 32 this month and should be difficult to replace but City always seemed to find the best possible replacement, such as the man who replaced Aguero, Erling Haaland who is 22 and will get even better. Whilst their rivals have weaknesses they have to wait to address, as there is so many squad deficiencies they can’t possibly deal with them all at once, instead having to prioritise, City deal with theirs ahead of time.  

City have become beyond a football team, where the usual pitfalls that befall others just do not apply to them. Arsenal fans were happy to see City progress in the cup competitions, the expectation being that playing more games would increase pressure on them and give them more stress. A trip away to Goodison Park should become trickier sandwiched in between two ties with Real Madrid. But City are immune to such things, they can play flawlessly every 3 days. If anything being in the cups actually helped City in the league, they were able to land psychological blows on Arsenal outside of the title race with thumping wins, such as when they scored 13 goals in 4 days against RB Leipzig and Burnley. 

Arsenal were City’s only really challengers this season, and with 84 points they managed their 3rd highest points total ever in the Premier League and their highest since winning the league in 2004. But that total is only 1 win higher than what City consider an off-season, with it being just 3 points better than City’s total in 19-20, the only season they failed to win the league in the last 6 years and comfortably their lowest points tally in that time. The best Arsenal team of the last 15 years being just 3 points better off than a “poor” version of Guardiola’s City, shows the enormous gulf that has emerged between City and the rest.

City have spent billions to catch up with the European elite, and now they are ahead of the pack. But they will not rest in the lead and wait for others to catch up, Guardiola will not allow it, he will always want more players and always strive for improvement. And they are currently so far ahead of the rest. Playing twice a week for 3 months, they’ve been behind in 3 games. In that time they’ve played Liverpool, Arsenal, United, Bayern twice, Real Madrid twice and Inter Milan. In the Etihad games against Arsenal and Real, the then league leaders and defending European Champions, they were so much the better team it would be redundant to analyse the visitors’ performances. As there was no performance, you need the ball in order to do things wrong with it, and neither team could get it until they were 3-0 down. Real Madrid and Arsenal are both blessed with excellent young wingers in Rodrygo, Vinicius, Saka and Martinelli. Rodrygo didn’t touch the ball until the 14th minute, the other 3 wingers scarcely fared better. As journalist Colin Millar put it “the games are largely non-events. Often ludicrously lopsided, non-competitive and entirely drama-free.” 

The Champions League is a difficult competition to dominate. As a knockout competition factors such as luck, the draw you are dealt and refereeing decisions have a much bigger impact than they would over a 38-game league season. Guardiola’s Barcelona team was until now the best team there’s ever been, but they still only managed 2 Champions League’s in 4 years, and required an outside the box wonder strike from the unlikely source of Andres Iniesta with virtually the last kick of their 2009 semi-final with Chelsea to win the first one of them.

The margins are much thinner for winning or losing a Champions League than they are for the domestic league where there is always enough time to right wrong’s and with a length of 38-games the best team should ultimately always come out on top in the end. However in the Champions League, those fine margins have cost Guardiola, such as in 2012 when Messi struck the crossbar with a penalty in the semi-final against Chelsea whilst the tie hung firmly in the balance, in the end it went Chelsea’s way. Guardiola has also suffered with fine margins in the Champions League whilst at City, being knocked out at the Quarter-Final stage by Spurs in 2019 due to Aguero being stood in a marginally offside position before Sterling seemed to have put City through in stoppage time. Pep has reached the last 4 of the Champions League in 10 of his 14 attempts, with his 4 failures coming in his first 4 seasons at City, where he may feel he got all his bad luck and marginal losses out of the way, falling at the Quarter-Final hurdle 3 seasons in a row.  

Real Madrid were fittingly the first team to win back-to-back Champions League titles since the competition shifted to a Group Stage format in 92-93. They went on to win 3 in a row, being the first side to do so since Bayern Munich in the 70′s, for what was their 4th Champions League in 5 seasons. Strangely this period never felt predictable nor as dominant as the history books would suggest when only noting the eventual winner. That Real Madrid group is not really thought of as one of the best and most dominant teams in history, partly because in that 5 year period where 4 Champions League’s were won, they only won their domestic league once. Partly also because they were involved in so many compelling Champions League ties which swung this way and that before in the end landing in Madrid’s favour. This of course reflected their winning mentality and resilience but also the fact they had plenty of weaknesses and vulnerability, they undoubtedly had to rely on plenty of luck too.

5 of the 8 quarter-final and semi-final ties Real Madrid played in those winning campaigns were won by a margin of a solitary goal over the two legs, aswell as being taken to extra-time 3 times including in 2 finals. The Spanish giants had so many tight games in this period, it would not be an accurate reflection to call it “domination” as they were often won by the smallest of margins, a penalty or offside decision given or not given and a couple of these ties could so easily have gone the other way.

In their 7 knockout stage games including the final, City scored 19 goals and conceded just 3. They were trailing in just one of the games, falling behind at the Bernabeu. They then scored 5 unanswered goals across the tie to go through 5-1. Domination is felt more in the manner in which Champions League titles are won, rather than necessarily just being about how many of them are won, and due to this City may quickly begin to feel a more dominant Champions League team than Real Madrid did. 

Though City will also feel capable of putting a run together similar to Real’s 4 in 5 years. Europe is weaker than it’s been for a long time, next seasons competition will take place without recent winners Liverpool and Chelsea, Barcelona haven’t made the round of 16 since Lionel Messi played for the club, Bayern Munich just had their worst season points wise since 2011, PSG look further away from winning the Champions League as they have perhaps ever looked under the Qatari’s ownership and Real Madrid will need something of a rebuild as they embark on a new era without long time forward Karim Benzema. In this climate, City will be overwhelming favourites to retain the crown. 

The Champions League has given Guardiola lots of pain, the 2 narrow semi-final defeats with Barcelona, 3 successive semi-final losses with Bayern Munich, and then falling short in the round of 16, quarter-finals (3x), semi-finals and final with City before finally getting over the line at the 7th attempt. Now he has the chance to do something not even his great Barcelona sides were able to do, retain the Champions League and perhaps then go on to equal Zidane’s Madrid with 3 in a row. To do that would be a huge dream and motivator for Guardiola, who’ll feel he should already have more than 3, as he hunts down Ancelotti’s record of 4. 

What ends City dominance?

No matter who City get to replace Pep (the likeliest candidates right now are Roberto De Zerbi and Vincent Kompany, but that may have changed in 2 years time) there will be a drop off. A decline is inevitable, for the players and as well the hierarchy, as they would have to adjust to life post-Pep. City would of course be much better placed to deal with the loss of Guardiola than United were after Ferguson, but there’s no denying that for the first year or two it would feel very strange. There are other intense, demanding managers out there with great tactical acumen but there is not another Guardiola. There is no other manager so set on dominating the field and prepared to take such ruthless actions to ensure it. So the board will no doubt be using all tools of persuasion at their disposal to keep Guardiola for as long as possible.

And they will have lots of strong arguments to make. There’s no other inviting club projects currently, and the other leagues are struggling financially compared to the booming Premier League. So winning leagues in those other countries will not win Guardiola the same respect he gets for winning the English league. Due to the money now invested by the big clubs in the Premier League, Guardiola will always have a rival that presents enough of a challenge to keep him engaged, for years it’s been Liverpool, now it’s Arsenal, in the future it could be Newcastle or United. The league continuing to improve in a way benefits City, as the competitive top 4 and top 7 races will mean all those teams take points off each other regularly, whilst City remain head and shoulders above the pack. The competitive nature of the league has also meant clubs having to pick and choose their games, unable to go for all of them. Noone will ever pick City as the game to go for as beating them is a long shot, so instead teams may look to let that one go (as West Ham did, resting Rice for their trip to the Etihad). Brighton on the other hand targeted Arsenal away winning 3-0 in between heavy defeats at home to Everton and away at Newcastle.

After 7 years at City, Pep has built his best team yet, a team completely without weakness. Next season City have the chance to become the first English team to win 4 straight league titles, the first English team to retain the Champions League since its format altered in 1992 and the first team anywhere in Europe to retain the treble. By winning the Charity Shield, UEFA Super Cup and World Club Cup, City can also become the first English club to hold six trophies. With his 5th league title in England, Pep recently equalled Busby. Next season he can equal Paisley and then it is only Ferguson ahead.

In the aftermath of finally winning the Champions League with City Pep has hinted that this 2-year contract with City will be his last. He undoubtedly felt a lot of pressure to finally win City their first Champions League, it would have taken its toll on him, the embarrassing exits in his first 5 years then falling painfully short against Chelsea and Real Madrid. Getting that monkey off his back will have given him considerable peace of mind. He will want to win another Champions League with City and once he has, he may feel there are not many more ways he could add to his legacy there.

In the summer of 2001 Alex Ferguson announced his retirement from management. His United team had taken 7 of the last 9 Premier Leagues, recently winning the treble and a threepeat of league titles, taking the title by 18 points in 2000. Ferguson felt there was nothing left to achieve and it had become too easy. Of course what happened next was Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal hit top stride becoming a very worthy adversary again, then Chelsea arrived on the scene followed by Manchester City. The thought of retiring became a distant memory, Ferguson stayed at United until 2013.

But if Guardiola adds the UEFA Super Cup and World Club Cup to his City collection and another Champions League aswell as a further Premier League title or two by the time his current deal ends in 2025, he may be having similar thoughts to the ones Ferguson had in 2001. He will be too young for retirement, his need for Football is too strong, but he may feel it’s time to step down from City, with there being nothing left to conquer, at the top of the mountain the only way is down. 

As you’d have to be living under a rock not to know by now, Manchester City face over 100 charges from the Premier League. They are accused of 50 breaches of providing inaccurate financial information, 8 breaches in relation to manager remuneration, 5 breaches linked to UEFA financial regulations, 25 profitability and sustainability breaches and 30 breaches of assisting the Premier League investigation that has concluded after more than four years. The case has now been referred to an independent commission and should City be found guilty they could face a multitude of punishments ranging from fines to points deductions to relegation to being stripped of their honours. 

The Premier League’s investigation took 4 years to conclude, we are looking at another wait of around 2 to 4 years before the conclusion of the independent commission will finally give us a final verdict. Armed with the best lawyers money can buy, City will fight the charges tirelessly as they did back in 2014, when they had their first brush with UEFA over financial fair play regulations. City’s legal counsel revealed in an email that City Chairman Al Mubarak “says he would rather spend £30m on the best 50 lawyers in the world and sue them [UEFA] for the next 10 years” rather than agree to a financial penalty that UEFA were proposing. UEFA initially imposed a 2-year Champions League ban upon City, but CAS overturned the verdict with some of the charges being time-barred. In the end a fine of around €9M was paid by City for lack of cooperation. 

Jamie Carragher said recently that “Manchester City don’t want this hanging over them.” and Pep Guardiola expressed his wish that the outcome comes quickly. But this would be to misunderstand City’s response over the years against charges from both UEFA and the Premier League, which has to been to delay and hold-up the cases for as long as possible. In fact the Premier League was so frustrated with City’s delaying tactics that it went to the Court of Appeal two years ago, accusing the club of “making as many procedural applications and complaints as it possibly can to slow the day when it will actually have to provide the information”.

Carragher went on to say there is something of an asterisk over City’s achievements at the moment, but clearly they don’t agree. City will argue that the asterisk only comes if/when they are found guilty, otherwise why would they want to delay? They don’t care if no outsiders believe they are innocent, City believe it. And for as long as there is no proof of wrongdoing and the punishment that comes with it, they will always maintain that. This season saw Italian giants Juventus docked 15 points for rule-breaking, this was then revoked before a new punishment of 10 points came in before the end of the season. Meanwhile in England, charges against City beginning back in 2009 and extending to 2018 have been allowed to drag on for years with no end in sight.

Manchester City seemed to use the coverage of the Premier League charges levelled against them to their advantage on the pitch. It galvanised the club into an ‘Us against the World’ mentality. Pep was trying desperately before it to get his players riled up enough to take the threat of Arsenal seriously, but it was the public announcement of the charges that seemed to shock City back into life. The Premier League announced their charges on the 6th of February and City didn’t lose again in any competition until the final day of the league season, after they’d already been handed the trophy of the competition charging them for the 5th time in 6 years. 

The accusations of wrongdoing united the club, bringing the fanbase, players and manager closer together. City fans quickly made their position clear, booing the Premier League anthem, holding up banners for £5,000 an hour lawyer Lord Pannick (known recently for advising Boris Johnson over the ‘Partygate’ inquiry), and singing the name of club owner Sheikh Mansour, the current Vice President and Deputy Prime Minster of the UAE. In buying Manchester City, Abu Dhabi made the perfect choice in a club with a relatively small local fanbase that had achieved no success since the 1970s. This has kept them outside of the ingrained tribal rivalries of English football, which has meant fans of other clubs will always take them winning trophies over the likes of Liverpool, United and Arsenal. They also have appointed the perfect manager in Pep Guardiola who is worshipped for his methods, and seems to have a messianic-like pull for many football watchers, which takes attention away from any other reasons why City might be so dominant. Perhaps no Football manager has ever been so highly thought of by the media, who seem endlessly fascinated by Pep’s methods. 

And for as long as he is City’s manager, the club will not be knocked off their perch. It’s possible someone else might get 1 Premier League, if Arsenal’s young players and manager can continue to improve, or if Klopp, who has already built one great Liverpool team can build another. The Saudis are making huge investments at Newcastle, and United will be under new ownership eventually, but none will keep Pep’s City off top spot for longer than a single season. 

If City are found guilty of all or at least some of their charges, we have to be realistic about what that will likely mean. Will they be relegated or stripped of trophies they’ve won under one of the best managers the league has ever seen? It’s highly doubtful. The most likely on pitch punishment (I.E not including fines) would be a points deduction. A points deduction for City would likely see one of the best Premier League title races in history, with clubs who have been starved of winning the league seeing this as their best chance to win in years. It would have to be a significant deduction though to stop City winning the league, if it was 10 or even 15 points you can picture Guardiola staving off sleep and food until City return to a positive points total and with that added motivation they’d likely find a way to win the league anyway. 

However, nobody has much faith that the Premier League charges will lead to anything significant. We have seen in recent years how much our systems struggle with holding power accountable and upholding rules. With a Tory Government in power for 13 years, our society has become desensitised to corruption and come to accept that “money talks”. In Sport that is the case even more so. There wasn’t rules in place to stop Chelsea from doing whatever they wanted in the early years of Abramovich, and City have consequently seen it as “if they can do it, why can’t we?” 

The media in this country loves winners and sporting excellence regardless of its cost and the reasons for it. They were cheerleaders for Abramovich breaking up United and Arsenal’s hold on the Premier League without asking any critical questions about who he was and why he was doing it. This lack of scrutiny went on for nearly 20 years until Russia’s invasion of Ukraine led the Chelsea owners’ assets to be frozen, due to his association with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Abramovich for years had been praised for his ambition and love for Chelsea Football Club, and now suddenly Chelsea fans weren’t allowed to purchase a pie in the stadium.

Lessons have seemingly not been learned, and much of the media remains wilfully ignorant of what the ownership model of Nation States means for football. In 2018 Amnesty International said, “the success of the club(City) has involved a close relationship with a country that relies on exploited migrant labour and locks up peaceful critics and human rights defenders.” Football has less control over its own governance than ever before, the sale of Newcastle United to Saudi Arabia was pushed through by the UK Government as the Saudis threatened to pull UK investment if the Premier League resisted the takeover. Under the ownership of Todd Boehly, Chelsea has been handing out 8-year contracts to players to help bypass FFP and reportedly promised to invest in Sporting Lisbon in exchange for them agreeing to sell them Manuel Ugarte.

Going back to the charges, the perception seems to be that there’s only a problem if City are found guilty. People are thinking about what the consequences would be if a club had won all these trophies and received all this praise whilst cheating rules all the way. But if the charges don’t stick, there is still another huge problem and that is that because of City’s ownership model, they could only be consistently beaten to the Premier League title by other Nation states. And even then they have a huge head start on Saudi Arabia at Newcastle and potentially Qatar at Manchester United. When Abu Dhabi came in at City, they were aiming to catch Liverpool and Arsenal teams in decline and a United team with lowered spending under the Glazers. Saudi Arabia and Qatar would be aiming to catch City, and the type of spending required for that would be mind-blowing. 

As journalist Miguel Delaney put it what Guardiola has at City is “the perfect sporting infrastructure, constructed to his specific preferences. This (the domination) is what happens when you give a genius these pristine laboratory conditions. It has eroded the likelihood for human failure that actually enriches our sport. City have brutalised the very idea of sporting competition. There’s been no tension. There’s been no drama.” For as long as that is the case, no matter the outcome of City’s case, difficult and uncomfortable questions will persist. 

#premierleague #pep #epl #ucl #championsleague

[tennisciler]

Manchester City

The History of Manchester City Football Club - From Small Beginnings to Record-Breaking Greatness

Manchester City FC is one of the most famous and successful clubs in world football today, but their journey to the top was far from easy. Founded in 1880 by a group of young men in West Gorton, Manchester, the club has come a long way over the years, facing numerous ups and downs before finally becoming the dominant force we know today. In this article, we will take an in-depth look at the fascinating history of Manchester City and how they have risen to prominence within the beautiful game.

Early Years (1880-1950)

The origins of Manchester City date all the way back to 1880 when a local church clergyman, Reverend Arthur Connell, helped form St Mark’s Church of England Cricket Team. A year later, the team changed its name to the more familiar Manchester City and began playing football matches against other amateur teams across Lancashire. They first entered the FA Cup competition in 1887-88, losing to Bolton Wanderers in round two. However, despite early setbacks, Manchester City gradually improved and became well known in local football circles for their strong performances.

After several near misses in the FA Cup and First Division championship, Manchester City secured their first major trophy win in the 1904 FA Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers. This success marked the Asyabahis beginning of a golden era for the Blues, who went on to win five First Division titles between 1907 and 1937 under legendary manager Ernest Mangnall. Despite suffering some tough times during World War One and the Great Depression, Manchester City maintained their place among English football's elite clubs, finishing second in the league table three consecutive seasons prior to World War Two.

[alovingheartblog]

Manchester City win Premier League title for fifth time in six seasons

Manchester City win fifth Premier League title in six years after Arsenal's 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday; Pep Guardiola's side will lift trophy after Sunday's match against Chelsea, live on Sky Sports.

Manchester City have won the Premier League title for a fifth time in six seasons after Arsenal's defeat at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

The result leaves Manchester City with an insurmountable four-point lead at the top of the table over the Gunners, who have just one game remaining this season.

A sensational run of 11 consecutive wins in the final weeks of the season has seen City dismantle Arsenal's charge for a first Premier League title since 2003/04.

At one stage in January, City trailed Arsenal by eight points but the reigning champions have remained unbeaten since a 1-0 loss at Tottenham on February 5, during which time Mikel Arteta's side stuttered.

Pep Guardiola's team face Chelsea on Super Sunday - live on Sky Sports - in their final home game of the season, where they will once again lift the trophy they have retained for the third season in succession.

City are now two victories away from completing a Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League treble, a feat only achieved once in English football by Manchester United in 1998/99.

City face Manchester United in the FA Cup final on June 3, before playing Inter Milan in the Champions League final on June 10 as they look to lift the European Cup for the first time.

Source: https://www.skysports.com/

[pavspatch]

Tigers and Nash seek FA Cup glory

CURZON Ashton and Hyde United should in the peak of condition for tomorrow (Saturday's) FA Cup fourth qualifying round ties. Both are rested and at full strength.

The Tigers' scheduled league game at Whitby was called off on Tuesday, which allowed for a rehabilitation session which manager Nick Spooner described as really useful. Two masseurs were brought in to assist physio Lucy Graves with stretching and recovery exercises.

Curzon faced neighbours Ashton United in the Manchester Premier Cup. But, making no secret of his priorities, boss Adam Lakeland fielded what was effectively a youth XI only to be delighted with their performance in holding the Robins to a 1-1 draw before losing on penalties.

Post-match, Lakeland told the in-house media team: "I thought we were outstanding. I think everybody connected to our club should be incredibly proud of all those who played tonight against a pretty-much full-strength line-up.

"It was a game we could have probably done without but the young lads who played needed the minutes and it was an opportunity for us to have a look at some of them. Now, I'm please that we played the game.

"The lads who weren't involved trained and worked hard and now we go into our final preparations. We've got to work hard and make sure we're ready to go come 3 o'clock on Saturday.

"It's a really important game, one that we're looking forward to, but one that we know will be very, very difficult for us. We're going there as the underdogs, but we're 90 minutes from the first round proper and we've got to go there and give everything we've got."

Earlier today, Lakeland tersely confirmed his squad's status for the trip to the Bee Arena as "full squad, full bill of health".

Peterborough Sports, who were promoted to National League North at the end of last season via the Southern League play-offs after finishing second in the premier division, go into the tie on the back of three consecutive victories and having won their last six home games.

Sports, nicknamed the Turbines, have centre-back Connor Johnson available after he completed a three-game ban last weekend. They are also hoping right-back Isaiah Bazeley will be fit to return after injury.

Manager Jimmy Dean has signed Australian right-back Luca Doorbar-Baptist on a two-week trial and the former Nottingham Forest youngster could be involved against Curzon. Former Italian Serie C midfielder Diadier Camara appeared for Sports in Tuesday's 4-0 Hillier Cup defeat of Wellingborough.

Dean told the Peterborough Telegraph: "Curzon will be tough. They are enjoying a similar season to us and they obviously have big performances in them as they’ve won at Kidderminster and knocked out Scarborough in the last round. "We have played well against good sides as well and we are on a great run at home so hopefully that will work in our favour."

The Turbines' top scorers are former Gainsborough Mark Jones, with seven goals, and winger Jordan Nicholson with six. Jones has an impressive pedigree having played for Peterborough United, Nuneaton, Barnet, Brackley and Darlington.

HYDE UNITED fans will be looking for a much more upbeat performance than their team provided last Saturday when they lost 3-2 to Colne at the Project Solar UK Stadium. The general feeling was that the players were distracted, with their minds on the FA Cup tie at Buxton rather than the FA Trophy tie they were involved in.

Questions were also asked about Spooner's decision to drop popular left-back Javid Neavin to the bench, replacing him with new signing Josh Askew. Craig Ellison came into the side for star keeper Gio Bellagambi who had been recalled by parent club Huddersfield who promptly loaned him to Spennymoor. However, this morning, the Yorkshiremen supplied the Tigers with a new loanee, 18-year-old midfielder Sonny Whittingham.

Spooner insists his full-strength squad are ready for the fray after their restful week, adding: "We're really looking forward to the cup-tie. We know we're underdogs but it's a great opportunity for the lads to win and go through to the first round where they could come up against a professional club from the EFL. They're raring to go."

When the draw was made, Buxton looked to be beatable opponents. Promoted last season as NPL champions, their form was mixed and they were hovering above the relegation places. However, a 1-0 win at Spennymoor — their first away victory of the season — has transformed the atmosphere at the Tarmac Silverlands and provided an injection of confidence.

A lot of the credit was given to former Notts County midfielder Sam Osborne who was making his first appearance after being signed from Fylde.

Manager Jamie Vermiglio, who admitted he was impressed by Osbone's debut, put the much-needed victory down to spirit, saying: "We weren't brilliant with the ball. There were moments when we were really sloppy, but fans could see the desire, the heart, the roll your sleeves up mentality, and that's what wins you football matches."

He sees the FA Cup as a means of providing the team with some momentum to propel them up the league table but has warned that Hyde mustn't be underestimated.

The tie will be segregated and Tigers fans should enter the ground by the Mill Cliff turnstiles. Given the importance of the match, Hyde and Buxton being relatively close to each other, and a history of meetings that dates back to 1891, a big crowd is expected.

Winning clubs receive £9,375 while losers get £3,125.

[your-mail]

Women's FA Cup final: Everything you need to know as Chelsea play Manchester City at Wembley

Will it be Chelsea or Manchester City who are crowned Women's FA Cup winners when the two sides face each other at Wembley Stadium on Sunday?

Holders and three-time winners Chelsea are going for the double, having lifted the Women's Super League title last Sunday.

Manchester City are also aiming for their fourth FA Cup triumph and second piece of silverware this year after their thrilling 3-1 Continental League Cup final victory over Chelsea in March.

The past five finals have been won by Chelsea or City, but it will be the first time the teams have met in the showpiece event, which will be shown live on BBC One.

For the first time, the men's and women's finals will be played across the same weekend, with Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea taking on Liverpool the day before.

Why Wembley is fitting stage for Ji's Chelsea exit

Quest to uncover mysteries of Women's FA Cup

New crowd record?

The current record for a Women's FA Cup final stands at 45,423, which was set when Chelsea beat Arsenal at Wembley in 2018.

A record attendance looks on the cards, with the FA announcing on 11 May that more than 50,000 tickets had already been sold.

The FA had been optimistic of breaking that record in December for the final delayed from the previous season, but after issuing more than 45,000 tickets for the match the attendance on the day at Wembley was 40,942.

'Open-top bus together?' - Chelsea's Mount and Cuthbert dream of FA Cup double

Double-double for dominant Chelsea?

Chelsea are aiming to lift the trophy for a second consecutive season, after they beat Arsenal in the final for last year's competition.

Victory five months ago handed the Blues their first domestic treble, joining the WSL title and League Cup they had won in 2020-21 to wrap up a dominant campaign.

Should Emma Hayes's side triumph this season, they will have won five of the past six domestic trophies on offer.

In this league campaign they beat City 1-0 at home in February and 4-0 away last November, although that latter match took place when Gareth Taylor's team was plagued with injuries.

Chelsea have been sensational in the WSL this campaign, winning 18 of their 22 fixtures, including their past nine in the top flight.

In-form City aiming for number four

Since losing 1-0 to Chelsea in February, City have won 13 straight games in all competitions - a run that includes March's League Cup final win over Sunday's opponents.

In the league they claimed the final Champions League spot, finishing third, above Manchester United, despite a torrid start to the season.

Last November, after a 4-0 defeat by Chelsea, City sat in ninth place, a distant 12 points off the top.

It has been a remarkable turnaround and now the the three-time-FA-Cup-winners can move one clear of opponents Chelsea in the record books if they secure a fourth title.

The North West outfit have won three of the past five FA Cups and have never lost an FA Cup final.

Unstoppable in attack and immoveable in defence

Chelsea's route to Wembley saw them edge past Aston Villa and thrash Birmingham City and Leicester City, before a feisty last-four encounter with Arsenal was settled thanks to goals by Guro Reiten and Ji So-yun.

Despite facing WSL opposition at every stage of this year's tournament, they have conceded only one goal and scored 17 across their four ties.

Gareth Taylor's City team have also been dominant in the cup this season. They beat third-tier Nottingham Forest 8-0, embarrassed rivals Manchester United 4-1 and defeated Everton 4-0 in their first three rounds.

The 4-1 semi-final win over West Ham United was emotional for City, with forward Chloe Kelly scoring her first goal since returning from a serious knee injury.

City last lifted the FA Cup in November 2020 thanks to late extra-time goals from Georgia Stanway and Janine Beckie against Everton in a behind-closed-doors tie.

Route to FA Cup final

Stage Chelsea Manchester City

Fourth round 3-1 v Aston Villa (a) 8-0 v Nottingham Forest (a)

Fifth round 7-0 v Leicester (h) 4-1 v Manchester United (a)

Quarter-finals 5-0 v Birmingham (h) 4-0 v Everton (h)

Semi-finals 2-0 v Arsenal (a) 4-1 v West Ham (a)

FA Cup final coverage on BBC

Live BBC One coverage of Sunday's tie between Chelsea and Manchester City starts at 13:50 BST, with kick-off at 14:30.

Gabby Logan will present coverage from Wembley and is joined by three former winners of the competition - Alex Scott, Fara Williams and Izzy Christiansen.

BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra will have full commentary of the final. Former England defender Laura Bassett, who won the Cup with Birmingham, will join Vicki Sparks.

The BBC Sport website will also show live TV coverage, alongside text updates.

[aus-wnt]

Hey can you post this

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/05/13/sam-kerr-interview-risk-taker-life-lived-edge-either-go-big/

Sam Kerr interview: 'I'm a risk-taker, my life is lived on the edge - I either go big or go home'

Chelsea striker's outrageous swivelling volley secured the WSL title for her side - now she has her sights sets on retaining the FA Cup

In front of goal her decisions are instinctive and she describes herself as a "risk-taker", but when it comes to making big life choices, the WSL’s Golden Boot winner Sam Kerr takes her time. Two years, in fact, is how long it took her to mull over joining Chelsea.

The Australia superstar has revealed she came close to signing for the London club a season earlier than she eventually did, after being courted by manager Emma Hayes for two seasons.

Three consecutive WSL titles later, it is safe to say she feels she made the right decision in the end.

"Now that I'm here I can't imagine playing for any other club in the league, or Europe for that matter. I suit playing for Chelsea. I love the club, it's definitely the best club I've ever been part of," the 28-year-old proudly declares.

"I spoke to Emma [Hayes] two years before I chose to come here and the year before I signed I was close, but then I chickened out a little bit. I thought ‘I’ve got one more year’. The communication with Emma was long and I feel like we did it in the right way when it was both right for us. We both made the right decision.

"She gets the best out of me and we have a really open and honest relationship. When I was just meeting her over the phone it was a little bit more serious; She was trying to impress me and I was trying to impress her. Once I got to actually meet her the relationship relaxed a little bit. Now we take the p--- out of each other all the time. It’s chill now.

"I’m not someone that likes to beat around the bush. She just tells me how it is and I tell her how it is and I think that we just have this mutual respect. I'm just a straight-to-the-point person. That works for her because she can just tell me exactly what she wants from me. When you have such high respect, working towards the same goals, it just works."

It would appear to be a match made in heaven so far, after Kerr topped the WSL’s scoring charts for the second season in a row with 20 goals in 20 WSL games.

The last of those 20 strikes defied belief, as she swivelled in the air to volley Chelsea 4-2 ahead against Manchester United on Sunday's final day with what she says is one of the best goals she has ever scored.

"That's just who I am, I do that stuff in training all the time. Sometimes the girls get annoyed at me and sometimes it looks good, but it's just who I am. I'm a risk-taker. I just do what I feel, whether it's right or wrong, and I'm very strong-willed, very stubborn," said Kerr, who became Australia's all-time leading scorer earlier this year.

"There was no doubt in my mind that I was just hitting that ball once it came off my chest and I think that's what I mean when I say I'm a risk-taker. My whole life is lived on the edge, I either go big or go home.

"The commentator made it even better because the way she said 'it's so Sam Kerr' - I just laughed because I thought 'that is so me' because I don't know if any other player would try that. The moment was sick. And just the importance of the goal that made it even better."

Kerr is the newly-crowned Football Writers' Player of the Year and many are tipping her to claim a clean sweep of this season's individual honours. Part of her form is down to her feeling "settled" in London, but also the WSL is helping her improve.

After all, Hayes’ persuasion wasn’t the only reason that Kerr - who remains the American NWSL’s all-time top scorer - moved to England, and she feels the WSL has made her a "smarter" player.

"[Being closely marked] is one of the reasons why I came to this league, because I wanted to expand my gameplay. This league made me transform into a different type of player, a smarter player. I love the challenge.

"But if they're double-marking me or man-marking me then there's someone else free. That's the amazing thing about this team. If I'm having a bad game normally someone else is having a worldie, so we share the load pretty well. We're on a bit of a roll at the moment."

Their hot streak has seen Chelsea notch up 11 straight wins in all competitions ahead of Sunday's Women's FA Cup final at Wembley, for which more than 50,000 tickets have been sold. But opponents Manchester City - who inflicted Chelsea's most recent defeat, in March's League Cup final - are themselves on an even longer 13-game winning run.

"We have a lot of respect for City, they're a great team," said Kerr, who scored twice in the victory over Arsenal in last season's delayed FA Cup final, a day she describes as "one of the best experiences of my life".

Kerr's mum, dad, brother and two friends have travelled across the world to see her play under the arch this weekend, along with more members of her family from the UK. The final will see both teams trying to lift the cup for the fourth time in their respective histories, but Chelsea do so with their tails up after defending their league title.

"We have probably the best mentality in the league," Kerr added. "We were chasing this whole year and then once we got ahead no one was going to get it off us. We went down to 10 players [against Tottenham] and I kid you not, in that changing room it was just calmness, no one was stressed. We all knew it was going to be fine."

Manchester City will do everything they can to stop the holders celebrating again come Sunday night, but with Kerr on the field, expect flair, expect confidence, and expect goals.

#Sam Kerr #Chelsea Women #Chelsea WFC #Chelsea FCW #Matildas #AUSWNT

[jrpneblog]

Big week for Ryan Lowe and PNE

A big week ahead for North End and manager Ryan Lowe as we travel to Burnley on Saturday followed by a home game against Luton Town on Wednesday evening. On the field North End will be going all out to get something from the toughest fixture in the league at the moment, away at the Clarets. However I think a bigger game, particularly for the manager, is the home game against Luton Town. Defeat against the Hatters would see North End losing six consecutive home games on the trot for the first time in the clubs history. This is on the back of North End losing, again at Deepdale, last Saturday against a rather mediocre Bristol City. Under normal circumstances the game at Turf Moor would be a free hit but it would appear the manager has alienated some of the fan base this week so I think it adds a little more spice to the pot in terms of North End getting a result.

Reflecting on last Saturday`s defeat to Bristol City I really struggle in terms of where North End go from here in terms of home performances. The Robins looked a very average side to me with the exception of Alex Scott yet found themselves two up at half time through self inflicted errors. Yes we had a few chances and we didn't quite get the run of the decisions but any side with play off intentions must put in consistently better performances than North End have being doing at home this season. In fact in all my 58 seasons watching North End I can barely remember a season that has created less excitement for the home support and ironically in a season with more season ticket holders than we have had for 15 years or more.

On Saturday we make the short trip up the M65 to take on Vincent Kompany's boys who are currently seven points clear at the top of the division. When I saw Burnley at Deepdale early in the season I thought they were the best footballing side in the section and nothing I have seen since has made we change my mind. North End really will have their work cut out to take anything from this fixture and the news coming out of Deepdale that Ched Evans has picked up a four game retrospective ban will not have done much to help North Ends cause. We have an excellent record away from home this season, which is just as well considering our home form, but this will be the toughest test of the season for North End`s counter attacking game away from Deepdale. Im hopeful more than confident and anything other than a defeat would be a bonus.

Following on from the trip to the leaders we host Luton Town at Deepdale next Wednesday evening with Luton sitting in fourth place in the Championship table, eight points clear of North End, ahead of the matches this weekend. Down at Kenilworth Road in August we saw a goal of the season contented win the points for North End with Brad Potts smashing home a Robbie Blake cross. My goodness that game seems a long time ago now. Luton have an away record very similar to ours and have won eight of their fourteen games on the road losing only four. Personally I think this is a massive game for Ryan Lowe and playing a Hatters side who have won four out of their last five it wont be easy. Whatever happens at Turf Moor on Saturday the Luton game is an absolute must not lose for North End and the manager and staff need to be very aware of that and of the undercurrent of apathy sweeping through the fan base at the moment.

And finally this week:- huge congratulations to the Youth team who have progressed to the last 8 of the FA Youth Cup after beating Luton Town 3-2 on Monday evening down in Bedfordshire. North End now face Southampton at Deepdale on Thursday March 2nd with a 7pm kick off to try and get through to the semi-finals. It will be a tough task for the lads but not impossible. The game will be comparable to a League 1 side being at home to a Premiership side in terms of Academy status. Good luck to the boys and if we could get 1,000 fans on to cheer them on then that would be fantastic.

.

JR`s HIGH FIVES

Morecambe to beat Forest Green Rovers 6/4

A £5 Stake returns £12.50 on bet365

SEASONS STATS

Returns £142.63 Stake £125.00

Percentage profit+/-loss + 14.10%

Predictions 25 won 13 lost 12.

[victimhood]

Nicolò Di Genova: “Football is my faith, San Siro is my church”

The Guardian, 22 May 2028

“I have no regrets, not even the World Cup.” Inter Milan captain Nicolò Di Genova has announced his retirement from club football. He will play on with the national squad for the 2028 Euros this summer, where his country plays host, his swan song before the final bow.

The man and the mystery started out as a 7 year old with the youth side of Genoa Cricket and Football Club, the oldest football team in Italy. He played with his hometown club for 10 years, making nearly 30 appearances for the under-17s before moving on to the Primavera side, where he established himself as a regular starter at the center of defence. Before the age of 18, he was named to the first team bench, and after only 3 starting appearances, he was snapped up by Inter Milan for €30 million.

A crowded roster meant that he was loaned out to get playing time, and he made his way to England, for the Wolverhampton Wolves under the prophetic Nuno Espírito Santo. The Wolves were a well-regarded team of underdogs, and during his spell, the team reached the semifinals of the FA Cup and achieved a 7th place finish, sneaking into the Europa League under special circumstances.

He was recalled to Inter Milan from the 2019-2020 season onwards, a season of unusual circumstances when the COVID-19 pandemic spiraled in Italy, leading to the declaration of a total lockdown in early March 2020 that delayed the season end until August of the same year. The pandemic also meant that the 2020 Euros were postponed to the following year. Where the early buzz was that this player might be Chiellini’s heir in the lineage of great Italian defenders, it was the summer of 2021 that he sealed his place as the heir apparent.

Against a host of superstars old and new, in a tournament star-studded with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, and Erling Haaland, one man rose to brutalize them all. Fearless, reckless, and with a single-minded focus on preventing a goal at all costs, Di Genova was the insatiable black hole to these superstars, swallowing all their light and shine, with no regard to the entertainment value of TV audiences worldwide. Quickly building a reputation as a fearsome menace and a bully, his playing style did not make for attractive viewing, at times defying the stereotype of the measured Italian defender with his English-style grit as if in homage to the origins of his boyhood club.

Then again, the best central defenders make the most natural candidates for captaincy, and this is where Di Genova’s reputation acquired some polish. After a league-winning 2020-2021 season beset with financial problems, in which the majority of Inter players went unpaid for months, the older players and bigger names were sold to keep the club liquid. Di Genova found himself in the fortuitous position of going from substitute captain to a permanent one, at the tender age of 24. Blessed with a chiseled face like a Roman statue, emanating a raw, unbridled masculinity and sporting a fresh haircut that signaled the beginning of the post-vaccine era, his popularity began to surge on account of being the subject of viral memes.

Adversity sometimes breeds success, and in the midst of Inter Milan’s financial turmoil, together with Yusuf Al Kaysani and Dominik Brunczvik, he formed the steadfast backbone of Antonio Conte’s old-school catenaccio-flavored 3-5-2. Discipline, organization and solidity were key values, leading to a consecutive scudetto win even as the club had to undergo financial restructuring. His partnership with Yusuf Al Kaysani in particular withstood the onslaught of uncertainty that plagued the club for years, and a revolving door of managers who flip flopped between a back three and back four lineup. At Inter, they were the new “silk and steel” in the tradition of Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea, with Di Genova providing the mettle and Al Kaysani the flair.

Though he is not a one club man, his near decade of service at Inter Milan have made him the bastion of loyalty, earning the undying adulation of all Interisti. Other clubs have tried to come knocking, and yet those efforts to lure him away never amounted to much. His devotion to the club is such that even rival fans cite him as a player with old-school values they truly respect, in a world where money speaks loudest.

For all his loyalty to his club, there is one other that takes precedence—the national team. Sometimes seeming like he stepped off from a different era into the modern game, Di Genova radiates the energy of a classic man-of-the-people footballer for whom a call-up to the national team is the highest honor. Putting in solid performances in the 2022 World Cup, Italy made it to the finals with the fewest goals conceded, only to lose the trophy to Germany in a penalty shootout. By Euro 2024, he was named captain of the Azzurri, and he took his team to an inspired victory over Belgium. As for the 2026 World Cup, despite the controversy of the final, it was his ability to stop important goals that brought the Azzurri there, and he has a winner’s medal to prove his worth despite being unable to lift the trophy.

A fiercely private individual, he keeps his personal life strictly out of the public eye. This hard boundary only serves to further the enigma and mystique, such that he is spoken of with the kind of mythos usually reserved for the ancient gods. He started out as a brute and a bully, the burden of captaincy taming his wilder impulses, with years of dependability to burnish his credibility. He now has the unassailable reputation of a great military general, a charismatic leader able to command authority over a field of jostling, overinflated egos.

Never one to shy from an ugly victory when the circumstances call for it, he provided the grit and backbone to Andy Skifska’s glitzy, fast-attacking team. Trusted by Skifska to lock the deadbolt across goal, he finally achieved the coveted Champions League in the 2026-2027 season, with a garnish of the Club World Cup in 2028.

He retires as someone who has taken his team to victory in every major tournament, the faithful servant of club and country. Within Italy, he is an undisputed national hero with a permanent spot in the pantheon of calcio greats. To his legions of adoring fans, he remains a former heartthrob, or absolute beast, depending on who you ask, and a role model and cautionary tale at the same time.

It is difficult to get any quotes from the man himself, but when asked about his retirement plans at the final league match of the season, he coyly replies, “I am going to take a long holiday, and then, we will see.”

(taken from Chapter 103 of The Beautiful Game)

#the old guard #football!AU #nicolo di genova #tog: the beautiful game #tog fc #tog fanfic #THIS IS A FAKE ARTICLE #it looks a bit too real lmao #or maybe i am overthinking #but this is just fanfic!!! fanfic!