Tottenham are a machine. The North London side— led by crafty, third-year head coach Harry Redknapp— has been amassing cogs to their attacking, adventuresome machine of a side for some time now. But it’s this season where their goal scoring has become systematic. No, make that automatic. Indeed by evidence thus far, they might be the best attacking team in the world besides Barcelona. Spurs currently sit in fifth in the Premier League and on Tuesday they ensured themselves first
Blame is the name of the game. Such is the current state of affairs at one of English football’s most sacred sites: Anfield. Liverpool Football Club’s season has gotten off to a conspicuous start; of that there’s no doubt— the worst start to a league campaign since 1953, to be exact— but whose fault it is depends greatly on who you’re talking to. And after Aaron Lennon’s late winner for Tottenham on Sunday, there can be little doubt the blame will merely
When was the last time one could equate Bolton with terms like beautiful or bountiful? The conventional answer is probably not a while. A more accurate claim could be 2006, the last time— and only the second time in club history— Bolton were in European competition. Yet perhaps the best answer lies in a staggering statistic that came into play following Bolton’s 5-1 thrashing of Newcastle on Saturday: the result marked the first time the Wanderers had scored four goals in consecutive
For Manchester City boss Roberto Mancini, it was all about going with his Hart. The Italian tactician— now in his first full season as the Sky Blue’s manager after taking over for Mark Hughes in the middle of last season— has seen hundreds of millions shelled out by the new owner, Sheikh Mansour, to shore up seemingly ever position on the pitch. With that, Mancini knows that to whom much is given, much is tested. Even with a squad that some are
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Newly promoted and highly discounted Blackpool and their manager Ian Holloway proved as much in their 4-0 annihilation of Wigan Athletic when the Premier League started Saturday. The scene made for a Tangerine Dream among (tangerine-clad) players and supporters and sent a club that hadn’t won a top-flight game since 1971 into opening-day delirium. Deliriousness was an equitable assessment of the Lactics, too, on the day— theirs however, for all the wrong reasons. Roberto Martinez’s
By: Adam Stern Washington Freedom forward Abby Wambach is arguably the best women’s soccer player on the planet, but these past two months have proven even one of the world’s greats can be subjected to the worst of times. With the Freedom mired in a five-game losing streak in the midst of a 10-match winless rut—both of which having the unsavory distinction as WPS all-time records—some weight had definitely been added to the American superstar’s shoulders, one way or the other. So when
No, it’s not a World Cup or Olympic final— heck, it’s not even a playoff or anything proportionate. Yet if one gets the feeling they’re witnessing something much more extraordinary than a run-of-the-mill regular season match up between Washington Freedom and league-leaders F.C. Gold Pride Saturday afternoon, that’s because they’re right. On the field, the world’s current two best players, Freedom’s Abby Wambach, whose leading the league in goals and assists, and Gold Pride’s four-time FIFA Player of the Year, Marta, will