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City winning five of the last six titles has not diluted interest as the popularity of England’s top flight outstrips its competitors There are concerns in England about whether the increasing dominance of Manchester City will reduce the popular and commercial appeal of the Premier League. The signs in Asia, the biggest overseas market, however, suggest that even a succession of City processions will result in more fans for the club rather than fewer for the league. “Nobody in South Korea thinks that the Premier League will not be competitive, especially if City can also achieve meaningful results continentally and there are still dogfights between big clubs to qualify for the Champions League,” Baek Jung-hyun, head of planning at KBS Sports, South Korea’s public broadcaster, said. “There are enough interesting points in the Premier League for Korean fans. Arsenal could have been champions and nobody expected that at the start of the season.” Continue reading...

Coach and club are not natural bedfellows, so Argentinian will need time and must show he now knows how to tame chaos “Every week I am fired,” complained Mauricio Pochettino last June, a few weeks before Paris Saint-Germain fired him. “I like Manchester City, because they gave Guardiola the opportunity to build. They gave him time. At PSG, you also need that. By giving serenity to this project, we will be close to winning the Champions League.” Serenity. Yes. Well, good luck with that. One of the fundamentals of coaching is that vacancies rarely turn up at clubs where everything is running smoothly. Yet even allowing for this, Pochettino’s appointment at Chelsea carries its own irresistible quantum of jeopardy. A coach who craves order and control, colliding head-on with an organisation that has spent two decades running on the fumes of chaos. A coach who values a tight-knit environment and close personal relationships, entering a club that has spent the last year trying to sign ever

While the players of Newcastle stood in front of the noisy travelling supporters and celebrated qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in two decades, their counterparts in blue wandered sheepishly around the Stamford Bridge pitch and wondered what comes next after the season from hell finally came to an end. The immediate answer was a fond farewell to Frank Lampard after his stint as caretaker with a lively 1-1 draw with Newcastle. In terms of the wider picture, though, Chelsea are in for a long rebuild. They have finished in the bottom half for the first time since 1996 and, while they have convinced Mauricio Pochettino to take over, the reality for Chelsea’s owners, Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, is they will have little to celebrate when they mark the first anniversary of their takeover tomorrow. Continue reading...

This time Rob Edwards really could celebrate. The Luton manager had hared off down the touchline with four minutes of extra time remaining to celebrate what he thought was the winning goal in front of his side’s supporters, eating up 45 yards of Wembley turf, only to retreat to his technical area ashen-faced after glancing up at the big screen confirming Joe Taylor’s extra-time goal, which would have been his first for the club, had been disallowed for handball. Jonathan Panzo, on cold as a substitute, dawdled on the ball and Taylor, a 20-year-old making his sixth appearance, nicked it from the Coventry defender, but surged through on goal with the help of his right hand. Edwards covered his face in disbelief but after 140 minutes of gripping action an agonising penalty shootout followed. Eventually, Fankaty Dabo missed the crucial spot-kick as Luton clinched promotion to the Premier League at Coventry’s expense, capping an incredible rise from non-league to the top flight in nine yea

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! When Frank Lampard was appointed as Chelsea interim manager for the remainder of the season following Graham Potter’s dismissal in early April, he seemed bullish about his chances of making a success of the job. “I am confident in myself,” he rabble-roused. “I have a good understanding of the squad. I’ll do my utmost in this period coming up to give [the fans] what they want with my own hard work.” And while this introductory press conference would have created quite the palaver had he announced: “I intend to mastermind defeat in our next six games, go on a two-match unbeaten run and then lose another two before our last home game of the season,” it was still quite big talk from a man who was sacked after overseeing just four wins in 23 games this season while in charge of Everton. As a lifelong Leeds fan, why am I hoping Leicester beat the drop and we take Everton down with us? What the hell is wrong with me? Why is football so dis

Getting relegated is not the end of the world but whatever happens on Sunday, Leeds, Leicester and Everton need to reset I do not envy the players, staff and fans of the three clubs fighting for Premier League survival on the final day but as a neutral it is very exciting. One of the reasons why we love football is the jeopardy involved with promotion and relegation – it adds drama to the spectacle – but Sunday will be 90 minutes of emotional turmoil for Everton, Leeds and Leicester supporters. I feel quite nostalgic for the days of crackly handheld radios in the crowd, with people desperately trying to find out what was happening in other matches when survival was at stake. That ripple of information when someone scored or there was a penalty was always fascinating to witness. Thankfully, I was never involved in any last-day relegation drama in my career. Continue reading...

* Tottenham forward Kane top of Erik ten Hag’s striker wishlist * Napoli’s Victor Osimhen valued at €150m by Italian champions Manchester United will attempt to smooth negotiations with Tottenham by bidding as quickly as possible for Harry Kane this summer, while they are also preparing to step up their interest in Chelsea’s Mason Mount. Erik ten Hag is keen to sign a new striker and Kane tops a shortlist that also includes Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Rasmus Højlund of Atalanta. United have been quoted €150m (£130m) for Osimhen, which would put the Nigerian out of their reach. Højlund, the 20-year-old Denmark striker, would be seen as one for the future if he moves to Old Trafford this summer. Continue reading...

* Manager names party for Euro 2024 qualifiers on Wednesday * Southgate will make call after talks with Chelsea winger Gareth Southgate will assess whether Raheem Sterling would benefit from a rest before naming his squad for England’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia. Sterling has endured a disappointing first campaign at Chelsea and it is understood that he could be absent from next month’s England camp. Southgate is believed to want to include the winger, who has been one of his key players, but the head coach will make a final call after holding talks with the 28-year-old. Continue reading...

* Club objected to two decisions in draw with Aston Villa * Referees’ body to rule both as plausible interpretations Liverpool’s frustration over key refereeing decisions during the Premier League draw with Aston Villa on Saturday is set to be rebuffed by Professional Game Match Officials Limited, with the referees’ body backing the interpretations of its officials. The club wrote to PGMOL at the weekend asking for clarity on why Cody Gakpo had a goal ruled out for offside and Tyrone Mings received only a yellow card for a high challenge on the forward. But PGMOL sees both decisions as plausible interpretations of subjective rules. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! As they wrapped up the title with three games to spare, it seemed vaguely fitting that Manchester City prefaced their coronation as Premier League champions with victory over the kind of cautionary rabble they could become themselves at some point whenever Pep Guardiola decides to leave the club. Chelsea weren’t as dreadful as they have been at many points throughout a season of violent self-sabotage, but for months they have been considerably less than the sum of their many very expensive and talented parts; a massive source of mirth for everyone but their own disbelieving fans. In much the same way as it seems inconceivable Chelsea will be as awful again when the new season dawns, given the excellence of some of their performances it seems similarly unlikely City will be quite as good. But assuming Guardiola isn’t tempted to walk off into the sunset like Kwai Chang Caine at the end of an episode of Kung Fu if his side wins Big Cup,

* Manager unhappy as 3-1 loss leaves survival out of Leeds’ hands * Rodrigo and Bamford doubtful for key final game against Spurs Sam Allardyce criticised his substitutes for failing to step up against West Ham and admitted that Leeds, who are facing the prospect of relegation from the Premier League, will struggle to beat Tottenham on the final day of the season after losing Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo to injury. Leeds would have moved out of the bottom three with a game to go if they had beaten West Ham and they looked to be on track when Rodrigo gave them the lead. But Allardyce’s side failed to hold on and remain two points behind Everton after losing 3-1 at the London Stadium. Everton host Bournemouth on the final day. Leicester, who visit Newcastle on Monday night, are a point below Leeds. Continue reading...

Beth England has proved an inspired signing for Tottenham and two goals from the striker inspired her team to secure their Women’s Super League status with an emphatic victory over Reading. Ten goals in 11 league appearances since her winter move from Chelsea have been invaluable in keeping them in the division. Reading’s future appears bleak though after a fifth successive defeat and they will be relegated on Sunday today if Leicester defeat West Ham. Continue reading...

Manchester City can clinch the title in front of their own fans on Sunday while the battle for survival reaches a climax Saturday 12.30pm BT Sport 1 Venue Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Last season Tottenham 2 Brentford 0 Continue reading...

* Relegated club expected to agree a deal for Martin next week * 37-year-old has one year left on his contract at the Welsh side Russell Martin is in line to become the new Southampton manager. Martin was due to fly to Washington DC to meet Swansea’s American owners on Thursday for talks over his future but has remained at home. Martin has one year on his contract. Southampton, who were relegated from the Premier League last week, are expected to formalise a deal to make Martin their new manager next week. Swansea are awaiting a formal approach for Martin, who has developed a fine reputation there in the second tier after leaving MK Dons. Continue reading...

* Premier League, FA, EFL and PGMOL have met to tackle issue * 534 cards shown for dissent in top four divisions this season English football’s governing bodies are in talks to bring in measures to clamp down on dissent due to concern over the rise in bad behaviour towards officials. With two weeks of the season remaining, 534 cards have been issued to players for dissent in the top four flights of English football, according to Opta – easily surpassing last season’s tally of 477, as well as the 421 cards shown in 2020-21. Talks are under way between the Premier League, Football Association, Football League and PGMOL, the body responsible for referees, to address the issue. Continue reading...

* Klopp wanted to keep Milner, who is expected to join Brighton * Firmino should be fit for emotional Anfield farewell on Saturday Liverpool have confirmed that Roberto Firmino, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keïta will be leaving the club when their contracts expire this summer. The departure of the quartet was expected, and already confirmed in the case of Firmino, the only one of the four to be offered a contract extension. Nevertheless, Liverpool’s announcement marks the end of a glittering era with the Brazil international and Milner, and the beginning of their midfield overhaul. Continue reading...

* Fifa approves US Soccer request to change forward’s eligibility * Balogan has scored 19 league goals on loan at Reims this term The Arsenal forward Folarin Balogun has opted to represent the United States at senior level, with Fifa approving a request from US Soccer to change his national eligibility from England on Tuesday. Balogun, who has starred in Ligue 1 with Reims on loan this season, has played for England up to under-21 level but now looks set to play for the US national team, who are co-hosting the next men’s World Cup in 2026. Continue reading...

* Former Liverpool sporting director Edwards among candidates * Hammers yet to make decision on future of David Moyes West Ham are set to appoint a director of football in an attempt to address misgivings over their recent transfer strategy. A recruitment process is under way and changes are expected at the club this summer. Potential candidates have been identified and include the former Liverpool sporting director Michael Edwards, Monaco’s Paul Mitchell, Brentford’s Lee Dykes and Atalanta’s Lee Congerton. There have been discussions with Victor Orta, who recently parted company with Leeds, but the Spaniard is regarded as an unlikely appointment. Continue reading...

* Players taken off twice before game ends after nine minutes * Crowd trouble a growing problem in Dutch football The Dutch league match between Ajax and already relegated Groningen was halted and then called off with only nine minutes on the clock, after fireworks were twice thrown on to the pitch on Sunday. In the sixth minute of the clash in Groningen smoke bombs were thrown on to the field. Shortly afterwards, a supporter ran across the pitch with a banner calling for the Groningen board to go. The referee reacted by taking the two teams off the pitch. Continue reading...

Eberechi Eze’s double spoiled Bournemouth’s ambitions of guaranteeing Premier League safety as the midfielder inspired Crystal Palace to a 2-0 victory. Gary O’Neil’s men needed just one point to make certain of another season in the top flight and looked bright to start with, but fell behind when Eze fired his side ahead late in the first half. Eze added a second for Crystal Palace after the break to wrap up the points . The only negative for Roy Hodgson’s men was seeing Wilfried Zaha forced off through injury. Continue reading...

Nottingham Forest did not know whether to celebrate the comeback or rue the wastefulness. A point gained or two dropped? It was their seventh on the road this season and, given this game could have run away from them after Chelsea found a sudden burst of energy at the start of the second half, the optimists in the away end were entitled to feel positive when the host’s hopes of a second consecutive win were ended by Taiwo Awoniyi heading in his fourth goal of a productive week. There was character from Forest, resilience when they trailed, and this draw could be vital in the final reckoning. Yet if there was a worry for Steve Cooper, it will be his side’s failure to secure their second away win of the campaign. Forest, who had led after Awoniyi punished an error from Édouard Mendy, could have moved five points clear of the bottom three with two games left; indeed they probably would have done if Moussa Niakhaté had put them 2-0 up shortly after half-time. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! With several weeks of nothingness looming, bar the odd bit of transfer-related tumbleweed rolling across the football landscape until the Women’s World Cup takes the bare look off the summer, it’s important we enjoy the last few weeks of the season before everything shuts down after Big Cup final next month. This weekend the action ramps up another few notches as the Premier League inches closer to its denouement with the title and a couple of top-four places up for grabs, while the unseemly scramble to avoid – with apologies to not-officially-doomed-quite-yet Southampton – the two remaining relegation spots continues to enthral. It looks almost certain that two of Leicester, Leeds, Forest and Everton will be joining Saints as they go marching in to the Championship, in a race to the bottom that has eclipsed even that of the Tory party. Continue reading...

Owners of Bournemouth, Newcastle and Wolves are circling the Belgian club, with American incumbents willing to sell Other than a stadium that turns into a nightclub after matches and stays open until 5am, there is not much going for KV Oostende these days. De Kustboys, who reached the qualifying rounds of the Europa League in 2017 after losing in the Belgian Cup final during their first season at the Diaz Arena, were relegated last month after a decade in the Jupiler League and attracted an average attendance of only 3,700 at their 8,400-capacity home. KVO briefly had their professional licence withdrawn in 2020 after financial difficulties under the previous regime, before being purchased by Pacific Media Group, a US-based investment fund that sold Nice to Sir Jim Ratcliffe in 2019 and has stakes in several other European clubs including the League One side Barnsley, Nancy in France and Kaiserslautern in Germany. With KVO’s debts reported at €6m, there were fears recently that their

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! While it may not have matched the nerve-shredding whiteknuckle ride of last season’s thriller at the Bernabéu in terms of excitement, Tuesday night’s Big Cup semi-final first leg between Real Madrid and Manchester City was not short on drama or controversy and leaves the tie finely poised before what one hopes will be a nerve-shredding whiteknuckle ride at the Etihad Stadium next week. Completely dominated by their visitors for the opening 36 minutes, Real Madrid bided their time before going ahead through a Vinícius Júnior surface-to-air screamer from distance that threatened to rip the goal-net from its moorings, only for City to restore parity courtesy of a low-trajectory Kevin De Bruyne howitzer against the run of play, after the hosts had abandoned their meek approach and begun to dominate proceedings. Continue reading...

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! Ah, Bank Holiday Mondays – the traditional cavalcade of woefully overdone sausages, dangerously underdone chicken legs and ill-advised experiments with vegetables. And this Monday the glorious chaos of inexpert barbecue chef-ery was matched by the glorious chaos of inexpert defending in the Premier League, with 21 goals squirted across three fun-packed affairs like a deluge of lighter fluid across a rack of uncooperative briquettes. In the early kick-off, as the coals began to flame and a few exploratory sausages were sent to a fiery grave, Leicester added another lowlight to their season of shambles at Craven Cottage, the 5-3 scoreline flattered by a couple of late goals as Fulham eased off the throttle. “It’s been one of those seasons,” sighed James Maddison, stretching that particular idiom beyond its usual boundaries. “We were not good enough today and we’ve only got ourselves to blame.” Continue reading...

Dress rehearsals come in many forms but they are rarely as downright strange as the dry run staged here. Given that Mark Robins’s Coventry required a point to guarantee a playoff place it was not quite a phoney war but no one expects things to be quite as politely low tempo when they meet Middlesbrough again in an impending two-legged Championship playoff semi-final. Continue reading...

* Last-day drama sees 10-man Derby miss playoff spot * MK Dons, Morecambe and Accrington all relegated Plymouth secured the League One title with a 3-1 win at Port Vale on the final day. Argyle finished the season three points clear of second‑placed Ipswich, who were held to a 2-2 draw at Fleetwood, as they came from behind to win at Vale Park and move on to 101 points. Plymouth fell behind three minutes in as James Plant slotted home for the hosts, but Adam Randell levelled before Joe Edwards put them in front and Finn Azaz added a third. Continue reading...

The new manager saw his team offer a dogged defensive display at the Etihad that bodes well for their final three games Sam Allardyce had waited two years to manage a competitive match and the wait will arguably go on for another week, after he witnessed his new Leeds side suffer at the hands of Manchester City. But there were, in the end, positives to cling to. The 68-year-old had been given three days on the training ground to impart his methods. It would appear those sessions were attack v defence to prepare them for facing an inevitable afternoon of City domination but Leeds exerted maximum effort, Allardyce’s minimum requirement. Continue reading...

Julen Lopetegui believes keeping Wolves in the Premier League will be his biggest achievement as they all but ended any relegation fears and damaged Aston Villa’s European dream. Wolves edged their derby rivals with Toti Gomes’ first goal for the club securing a fourth straight home victory and moved them 10 points clear of the relegation zone. It would now take a staggering set of results to send Wolves, who were bottom at Christmas, down on 40 points. Continue reading...

The bruising striker who grew up playing for money in tough Rosario neighbourhoods faces Real Madrid in Saturday’s cup final “I wouldn’t call it pressure now: I love it.” Chimy Ávila, the Osasuna striker and human wrecking ball whose astonishing story is written all over his body and who tells it brilliantly too, unfiltered and funny despite the sacrifice and suffering, pictures himself on the penalty spot. He sees himself in Seville at the Copa del Rey final against Real Madrid, with one shot to deliver his club’s first ever trophy. And, inevitably, he sees Empalme Graneros in Argentina, where he took so many, already playing for a living long before becoming pro. “It’s harder in the hood,” he says. On Saturday night Thibaut Courtois won’t be carrying a gun, for a start. One of nine children, Ávila grew up in north-east Rosario in a neighbourhood where, he says, you never knew when the bullets would fly, gangs fought and he, too, went armed. His home had a tin roof that leaked when

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now! When Leo Messi hoisted the World Cup trophy towards the sky a week before Christmas, he had the air of a man who had no more effs left to give. And why would he? Like a combination of Eric Bristow and Alexander the Great in an overblown Sid Waddell simile, the man had no more worlds left to conquer … unless of course you count Saudi Arabia, who are paying him £25m per year to shill for them as a tourism ambassador, a sum not even a man richer than Scrooge McDuck doing the backstroke in a pool full of gold doubloons would turn down lightly for an occasional enforced invasion. It’s an ostensibly cushy gig; bank the loot, then travel en famille to pose for a series of photos in which you grin alongside some palm-weavers, gazelles and an underwhelmed falcon at the behest of the Saudi Tourism Authority (STA). Job done. Continue reading...

* Allardyce replaces Javi Gracia for final four games of season * New manager claims he is equal of ‘Pep, Klopp and Arteta’ Sam Allardyce claims there is no better manager in world football after taking over at Leeds with the aim of keeping them in the Premier League. The 68-year-old is starting in bold fashion in an attempt to bring back confidence to a team sorely lacking it at the wrong time of the season after collecting one point in their past five matches. The former England manager has four games to maintain Leeds’s top-flight status. Allardyce starts his tenure with the unenviable trip to Premier League champions Manchester City, followed by matches against former clubs Newcastle and West Ham, before finishing the campaign at home to Tottenham. It is a tough run-in for Leeds, who are currently out of the relegation zone on goal difference, sitting one place above Nottingham Forest in 17th, but Allardyce knows what he is getting into and wants six points to keep Leeds up.

Gianni Infantino threatens a World Cup blackout yet Fifa is the architect of the chronic underfunding in the women’s game Prepare the spandex: women’s football superman Gianni “I have four daughters” Infantino is here to save the day. The president of Fifa has threatened a broadcasting blackout of the Women’s World Cup in the “big five” European countries of England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France, blaming bids for the broadcast rights for the tournament that he said were a “slap in the face” to the players and “all women worldwide”. Continue reading...

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Barney Ronay and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to discuss all the top-flight drama Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email. Today: despite a brilliant Spurs comeback they somehow came away from Anfield with zero points after a very late Diogo Jota winner. The panel ask whether this is peak Spurs and whether Jota should have been on the pitch to score it. Continue reading...

Party fever grips Naples, a southern city long derided by Italy’s northern powerhouses, as Serie A football crown all but certain Naples has exploded into delirious celebrations as its football team edged closer towards clinching its first Serie A title in 33 years – a victory that would resonate well beyond football for this often-derided southern Italian city. Napoli had hoped to claim Scudetto glory with six games still to play, but a 1-1 draw against Salernitana meant it has had to delay the official party by a few days. Continue reading...