Football Blog (Page 52)

[ad_1] Chelsea are weighing up their options regarding the redevelopment of their Stamford Bridge stadium. The Blues’ 40,341-capacity home is the smallest among the Premier League’s big six, while it is currently the ninth-biggest stadium in the entire division. The club have long sought to address this problem. Under Roman Abramovich’s stewardship, they considered redeveloping Battersea Power Station into a football stadium, while plans were also afoot to demolish Stamford Bridge and build a state-of-the-art 60,000-capacity arena on the same site. While those plans did not come to fruition under the Russian, current co-owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake are keen to overcome several obstacles inRead More →

[ad_1] A stunning run of form in the second half of the season has lifted Middlesbrough firmly into promotion contention with a Championship play-off spot looking more likely each week. Boro’s fortunes have been revived by manager Michael Carrick, who replaced Chris Wilder in October, and while leaders Burnley may be too far ahead to catch, Sheffield United’s recent stumble has opened the door for second place. Here are the biggest games remaining for Middlesbrough as fans hope for automatic promotion. Chuba Akpom missed a penalty at Burnley / Cameron Smith/GettyImages Middlesbrough return to Championship action following the international break with a trip to strugglingRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson is adamant their struggles this season are not because of Sadio Mane’s departure last summer. After a six-year stay at Anfield, Mane opted to join Bayern Munich at the end of the 2021/22 season having won every trophy available to him during his time on Merseyside. In his absence, Liverpool have underwhelmed. The Reds went into the 2022/23 campaign as one of the favourites to win the Premier League title, but will now do well to finish in the top four. Jurgen Klopp’s men were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League following a 6-2 aggregate loss to Real MadridRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has opened up on what he told his players following their elimination from the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night. The Gunners returned to the Emirates Stadium for the second leg of their last 16 tie with Sporting CP having drawn 2-2 in Portugal seven days earlier. Granit Xhaka gave Arsenal a first-half lead back in north London, before Pedro Goncalves scored from the halfway line after the break. Sporting goalkeeper Antonio Adan made several saves to ensure that the tie went all the way to a penalty shootout, with Gabriel Martinelli’s miss sending Arsenal out. Arsenal were considered oneRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has revealed that he has been impressed by the development of club captain Harry Maguire this season. After a dreadful 2021/22 season, the England defender became a rather unpopular figure at Old Trafford, consistently making errors and sometimes dismissing valid criticisms of his own game. His role has been significantly reduced under Ten Hag, who has favoured Raphael Varane and summer signing Lisandro Martinez at centre-back instead. Though Maguire has been largely limited to a bench role – he has made just five Premier League starts all season long – Ten Hag has admitted that the 30-year-old’s progressRead More →

[ad_1] Chelsea head coach Graham Potter insisted that there were plenty of positives to take following their disappointing 2-2 draw at home to Everton on Saturday. The Blues spurned the chance to head into the international break off the back of four straight wins, with Ellis Simms grabbing an equaliser for the visitors in the dying embers of the game. After Aston Villa beat Bournemouth earlier in the day, Chelsea are now only in the top half of the Premier League table by virtue of goal difference. But while Potter recognised that such a disappointing ending to this game leaves a sour taste in theRead More →

[ad_1] With the final two months of the Premier League season approaching, the margins are razor thin in the title fight, the top-four battle and the relegation scrap. At this stage of the campaign, gathering real momentum and the confidence that goes with it is more important than ever for all of those left with something to play for, which just so happens to be the vast majority of sides in the league. Who is building up that momentum at the moment and who is sorely lacking it? Well, here’s how many points each team has amassed in their last six league games…. Position TeamRead More →

[ad_1] Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte made explosive comments about the mentality of the club and his players in the wake of Saturday’s 3-3 draw with Southampton in the Premier League. Conte has been under increasing pressure in recent weeks, but Spurs were leading 3-1 against the Saints and looked to be heading towards an important victory until conceding twice late on – including a 97th minute equaliser from the penalty spot. A visibly annoyed Spurs boss wasn’t shy about giving his true opinions afterwards, labelling players as ‘selfish’, accusing them of not working as a team and even suggesting that Spurs are ‘used to’Read More →

[ad_1] A trophy is out of the question, but Tottenham can still make the 2022/23 season a relatively successful one by securing a top-four spot. Most of the talk around Spurs at the moment is of the future with it being very much unclear whether Antonio Conte and Harry Kane will stay at the club beyond the current campaign. Whether they do or not could largely depend on whether Champions League qualification is secured, making the upcoming games hugely important ones. Spurs don’t have a great record at Goodison Park / Clive Brunskill/GettyImages After some time off thanks to the international break, Tottenham will returnRead More →

[ad_1] It hasn’t been a good season for Chelsea, but they could still change that if they finish it with a flourish. A top-four spot looks out of reach for Graham Potter and co, but they could still qualify for next season’s Champions League by winning it this year. With a tough draw making that a tall order though, they’ll be giving their all in the Premier League too to try and ensure they at least secure a Europa League spot. Emery has done well at Villa / Dave Howarth – CameraSport/GettyImages Both Chelsea and Aston Villa appointed new managers early on this season, butRead More →