The announcement last August that CVC Capital Partners wanted to invest €2.7 billion in La Liga was a bombshell in Spanish football – for many different reasons. LaLiga Impulso, literally “boost” or “shot in the arm,” is the first big deal that sees an investor take a stake in the business of a leading soccer … Read more
Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority yesterday issued a landmark ruling over Arsenal’s promotion of Socios “fan tokens”, arguing that the club had “reduced investment in crypto assets and exploited consumer inexperience or naivety” in a Socios promotion that featured three first-team players. The ruling could have major ramifications in the league working to deepen ties with … Read more
You can be sure that when Pep Guardiola is asked about Jack Grealish and Phil Foden at his next press conference, he will regroup and move on. This is how he usually deals with these situations and, it must be said, is the right way too. There’s no point in going into the kind of … Read more
“Choose a winner from this group!” BBC presenter Adrian Chiles said at the time. Fifteen years ago, Today’s Game of the Day goal competition reached its climax. Forget the art of dribbling and dancing around players like Mohamed Salah or scoring team goals that involve an intricate pass from one end of the field to … Read more
With Arsenal qualifying for a 3-1 win over Aston Villa in October, there was one first-half moment that was particularly memorable. In an attempt to escape Villa’s pressure, left-back Nuno Tavares turned on his weaker right foot and hit a high cross to the opposite full-back, Takehiro Tomiyasu. When Villa moved across the road to … Read more
After tight matches between the two sides using a similar formation, the two sides are often said to have “knocked each other out”. There are some merits to this phrase – in some instances, the systems seem to match up very closely with each other. Neither side has a clear advantage in any area of … Read more
Tomorrow, Premier League clubs will discuss whether to postpone a full round of festive matches as the Premier League battles to keep the domestic season running amid the latest wave of the pandemic. Athletic could reveal that Round 20 – matches on December 28, December 29 and December 30 – is the round of matches … Read more
Ah, the life of a goalkeeper. Sometimes you are the hero, you have to do a lot of screaming and one mistake makes you a standout villain. It’s a strange life. In better news, you can wear the gloves in cold weather without any of the older boys asking if you’re ‘soft’. On top of … Read more
According to the source, the decision is a precaution as it is believed that the lunch will jeopardize the Christmas arrangements of many people if it goes ahead. The source added that while there was “regret” for the lunch cancellation, there was a belief that it was “the right thing to do” for all involved. … Read more
The most important things first. Let’s not pretend this is serious business in journalism. It’s a game, a bit of a fun distraction to get us all to argue with each other and scold other people’s bad opinions. So, please, enjoy it for what it is and join the discussion – but be kind. It’s … Read more