Tom Williams – Football Scout

Arsenal were famously “invincible” in the mid-2000s. What the hell happened?

Arsenal’s attack has always been exciting, but their inability to defend and their lack of physicality have made them harmless in top competitions.

Lee Hendrie scored in the third minute to put Aston Villa in front, but it didn’t matter. Arsenal would score and score again, and Arsenal would win. Because Arsenal always won.

Sure enough, Robert Pirès equalised from the penalty spot, and after Thierry Henry had given the home side the lead on the stroke of half-time, Pirès swept home his second goal to seal a routine 3-1 victory. “I don’t think they would have panicked at even two goals down,” beaten manager David O’Leary said. “They’ve…

Liverpool make experience count to take control, hold off Chelsea charge

After losing 2-1 to Liverpool, ESPN FC’s Craig Burley says Chelsea’s biggest problem so far this season is finding the back of the net.

League leaders Liverpool stay five points clear of Manchester City after the Reds held off Chelsea for a 2-1 win at Stamford Bridge.
LONDON — It pays to be on guard when Liverpool are preparing to take a set-piece.
Divock Origi’s Champions League semifinal-deciding goal against Barcelona last season was the result of a quick-thinking corner by Trent Alexander-Arnold and it was with similar dead-ball creativity that the European champions accounted for Chelsea in a hard-fought 2-1 Premier League win at Stamford Bridge.
Both of Liverpool’s goals were scored in the first half and both came from free kicks that saw back-heels change…

Spurs are lost without Eriksen’s creativity; will they have to get used to his absence?

Shaka Hislop weighs in on Jamaal Lascelles’ challenge on Harry Kane that wasn’t given as a penalty, in Tottenham’s 1-0 loss to Newcastle.

LONDON — This was supposed to be the match that would kickstart Tottenham Hotspurs’ season.

After needing a Harry Kane rescue act to overcome promoted Aston Villa on the opening weekend and then somehow coming away from Manchester City with a statistically miraculous 2-2 draw, this game, against a Newcastle United team who were without a point and had just lost 3-1 at Premier League new boys Norwich City, would be the one where the shackles came off. Or at least, that was the theory.

Instead…

David Luiz’s shocker proves it’s the same old calamitous Arsenal

Craig Burley feels Liverpool strengthened in all the right areas this summer after being critical of Arsenal’s David Luiz and Dani Ceballos.

Mohamed Salah put on a show for the fans at Anfield scoring twice, in a 3-1 thrashing of Arsenal.

LIVERPOOL, England  — It was as if David Luiz felt so embarrassed by the damaging recklessness of what he had just done that he felt some kind of knee-jerk moral compulsion to acknowledge his mistake.

The second half was two minutes old at a warm, summery Anfield and Arsenal, though 1-0 down, were just about holding their own. That’s when Mohamed Salah made a move to latch onto a prodded pass by Roberto Firmino and Luiz instinctively yanked at the Liverpool No. 11’s shirt. The Brazilian…

Serie A Preview: Juve remain favourites, but Napoli, Inter poised to pounce if Sarri experiment backfires

ESPN FC’s Serie A correspondents Gab Marcotti and Mina Rzouki discuss the teams who have the best shot at stopping Juventus this season.

Alejandro Moreno says Juventus need more from Cristiano Ronaldo in both the Champions League and Serie A this season.

Gab Marcotti and Mina Rzouki are at odds about how far Carlo Ancelotti and Napoli can push Juventus in Serie A in 2019-20.

Gab Marcotti delves into the faith Inter have placed in Antonio Conte to get players like Romelu Lukaku to shine this campaign.

Mina Rzouki breaks down the race for fourth place in Serie A, which looks set to be a season-long battle between Milan and Roma.

After a three-month hiatus, Serie A returns this Saturday, starting with Juventus at Parma, while every game in Italy’s top flight can be seen live in the United States on ESPN+ this season.

On the eve of the 2019-20 campaign, there is hope for all 20 clubs and questions abound: Will Juve win a ninth consecutive Scudetto? Who will qualify for the Champions League? Can Mario Balotelli keep his hometown club Brescia from being relegated?

Tom Williams is here to answer those questions and examine…

How France became football’s ultimate talent hotbed

When Tottenham Hotspur’s new recruit Tanguy Ndombele made his professional debut for Angers three years ago, in a French League Cup game against Clermont, there were just 1,508 people in attendance. Only 4,436 spectators saw a tall, elegant striker called Olivier Giroud make his first-team bow for Grenoble in March 2006, while scarcely five thousand people watched Kylian Mbappe’s first run-out for Monaco in December 2015.

There’s not a great deal of glamour to go around when you’re starting out…

Kompany delivering Man City the title would be a fitting farewell for the captain

Manchester City are back in the driver’s seat ahead of the final day of the season after Vincent Kompany’s long-range shot put the defending champions back on top of the table.

The FC crew discuss Vincent Kompany’s moment of magic for Manchester City and how an unlikely strike from the defender could decide the title race.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany says ‘belief and desire’ are what led to his game winner against Leicester.

MANCHESTER, England — Vincent Kompany obviously wasn’t going to score from there. His teammates knew it, his manager knew it and, crucially, Leicester City’s players seemed to know it as well.

There were 20 minutes remaining in a match of cloying tension at the Etihad Stadium on Monday when Aymeric Laporte squared the ball to Kompany midway inside the Leicester half. This is where Manchester City were. Their centre-backs camped on the halfway line, their forward players clustering ineffectively…

Hazard’s performance teases bright Chelsea future that might never arrive

Eden Hazard scored two brilliant goals for Chelsea in a win over London rivals West Ham that puts the Blues in third.

Following another dazzling display from Eden Hazard, the FC crew explain why his form dictates the direction of Chelsea as they fight for top four.

LONDON — The good times never last long at Chelsea, and this was a tantalising glimpse of a future that the club’s fans will probably never see.

Eden Hazard’s immaculate performance in Chelsea’s 2-0 victory Monday over West Ham United inevitably left every other player on the pitch in the shadows. Between the flames that danced around him whenever he took up possession, there were sparks of nascent connections that seem destined to fizzle into smoke.

There is now widespread expectation that…

Rodgers shows Leicester how to play ‘without fear’ as Vardy stars vs. Fulham

Jamie Vardy’s second-half brace secured a 3-1 for Leicester over Fulham giving Brendan Rodgers his first victory at the helm

Jamie Vardy’s second-half brace secured a 3-1 for Leicester over Fulham giving Brendan Rodgers his first victory at the helm.
LEICESTER, England — There is never a danger that you won’t be able to hear Brendan Rodgers.
Claude Puel, Rodgers’ predecessor as Leicester City manager, spoke in such a whisper that even the journalists sitting in the front row of his news conferences had to crane their necks and strain their ears in an effort to pick up what he was saying.
The timorousness of Puel’s discourse found an echo on the pitch, where a dismal run of seven defeats in nine matches cost him his job at the end of February….

Millwall living FA Cup dream amid harsh reality of impending Championship relegation fight

Millwall’s FA Cup dream remained on track with a headed goal from Murray Wallace securing a place in the sixth round.

LONDON — For two clubs who have caught the attention of Hollywood scriptwriters, this Fifth Round FA Cup tie was a rather low-key affair.

The story of AFC Wimbledon, the phoenix club formed by fans after the original Wimbledon FC relocated from South London to Milton Keynes, is being turned into a film by American studio Fox 2000.

Millwall’s reputation for fan violence earned the club’s fans the dubious honour of a depiction in the much-mocked 2005 hooligan hagiography Green Street Hooligans.

But…

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