8 d. ago It’s so toxic at Spurs even West Ham were shocked: Frank’s race looks run | Jacob Steinberg

Saturday’s visiting fans know a thing or two about being a dysfunctional club but the level of hate inside Tottenham’s gleaming home surprised even themIt comes to something when the level of discontent at Tottenham had people who have spent all season watching West Ham wondering if it was all a bit much. There were cries of mutiny whenever Guglielmo Vicario tried to play out from the back, jeers at half-time and, of course, sustained boos when another home defeat for Thomas Frank’s nervous wreck of a team ended with one last cross from Djed Spence drifting sadly out of play in the ninth minute of added time.At times it felt like not knowing how to leave the room after accidentally walking in on a bitter row between a warring couple. How is anyone supposed to function in such a poisonous atmosphere? Somehow, the malaise at West Ham felt mild by comparison. At least the anger in east London tends to be focused mainly at the board for the failure to kick on since swapping Upton Park f...

Events

1 week ago Sánchez nightmare suggests Rosenior will soon have to show his ruthless side | Jacob Steinberg

It’s damning that Chelsea, despite spending vast sums on their squad, are still reliant on such a skittish goalkeeperMartín Zubimendi had as much time as he wanted against the team forever building for tomorrow. Taking a flick from Viktor Gyökeres in his stride, the Arsenal midfielder danced into the area, weighed up whether to shoot and thought better of it. Instead there was a sauntering move away from Andrey Santos, a feint to throw Wesley Fofana and then, only when Zubimendi had decided he was ready, was there the calm to beat Robert Sánchez and leave Chelsea with a mountain to climb in this Carabao Cup semi-final.It was swaggering from Zubimendi. In that moment it was Arsenal demonstrating why they are so far ahead of this occasionally thrilling but often baffling Chelsea side, who have faint hope of a turnaround after battling to a defeat that was 3-2 going on 4-0. Mikel Arteta’s side had, after all, done the dirty stuff. The first goal came from a corner, the second from Sánc...

Politics

2 w. ago Rosenior needs bright start at Chelsea to avoid being a focus for fan discontent | Jacob Steinberg

The club are in a decent position but there is dissatisfaction with the ownership and the new head coach must not get caught in the crossfireThe way Chelsea are run will come as no surprise to Liam Rosenior. He has longstanding relationships with three of the five sporting directors and will know from his time at Strasbourg, who are part of the same ownership, that the head coach’s best chance of surviving is not to make the mistake of rebelling against the structure.Rosenior will have to show more political savvy than Enzo Maresca, who talked himself out of the job last week. Yet given the 41-year-old is familiar with the working conditions at BlueCo, the investment vehicle that owns Chelsea and Strasbourg, his biggest challenge is unlikely to be managing upwards. Rosenior will know where to train his focus and not to rock the boat. Crucially, he does not inherit a team in crisis. Chelsea are fifth and earned a creditable draw at Manchester City on Sunday; despite the rancour of Ma...

Sport

3 w. ago Another year, another manager – but it is unfair to paint Chelsea’s project as a flop | Jacob Steinberg

Enzo Maresca got the sack because of his actions. That does not mean the club’s structure needs a complete overhaulSome clubs build around their manager. Eddie Howe is hugely influential at Newcastle and Aston Villa are pretty much Unai Emery FC these days. Chelsea, though, have adopted an alternative model. They have a team of five sporting directors, led by Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, and do not want one person to hold all the power.Yet the question many are asking in the wake of Enzo Maresca’s demise is whether the template will yield success at the very highest level. It is never quiet at Chelsea. They are often busy in the transfer market, meaning there is an element of players coming and going, and they are now looking for their fifth permanent head coach since a consortium led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, a private equity firm run by Behdad Eghbali and José E Feliciano, bought the club from Roman Abramovich in 2022. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Liam Rosenior addresses Chelsea ‘noise’, Pascal Gross seals Brighton return: football news – live

⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email JohnEddie Howe is having none of the idea that Newcastle have no plan B, reports PA Media, and rejected suggestions they were under the cosh in their win at Burnley.Howe bristled at suggestions they had come under an onslaught at Turf Moor and there was nothing they could do about it. He said: “An onslaught? What, against us? Have you seen the stats of the game? You must have been watching a different game then. There was no onslaught.“Yes, we had moments, of course. We had moments the other way. I would never describe it as that. If it was an onslaught, I’d give you my opinion and say, ‘Yes, I thought it was’. Continue reading...

Sport

3 w. ago Liam Rosenior on Chelsea ‘noise’, Füllkrug joins Milan on loan: football news – live

⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email TomEddie Howe is having none of the idea that Newcastle have no plan B, reports PA Media, and rejected suggestions they were under the cosh in their win at Burnley.Howe bristled at suggestions they had come under an onslaught at Turf Moor and there was nothing they could do about it. He said: “An onslaught? What, against us? Have you seen the stats of the game? You must have been watching a different game then. There was no onslaught.“Yes, we had moments, of course. We had moments the other way. I would never describe it as that. If it was an onslaught, I’d give you my opinion and say, ‘Yes, I thought it was’. Continue reading...

Sport

3 w. ago Chelsea manager latest, Füllkrug joins Milan on loan, and more: football news – live

⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email JohnEddie Howe is having none of the idea that Newcastle have no plan B, reports PA Media, and rejected suggestions they were under the cosh in their win at Burnley.Howe bristled at suggestions they had come under an onslaught at Turf Moor and there was nothing they could do about it. He said: “An onslaught? What, against us? Have you seen the stats of the game? You must have been watching a different game then. There was no onslaught.“Yes, we had moments, of course. We had moments the other way. I would never describe it as that. If it was an onslaught, I’d give you my opinion and say, ‘Yes, I thought it was’. Continue reading...

Society

3 w. ago Chelsea manager latest, transfer updates and more: football news – live

⚽ Read Jacob Steinberg on Maresca’s Chelsea departure⚽ Fixtures | Tables | Follow us on Bluesky | Email TahaSo Enzo Maresca has left the building. It was a very decent stint on paper, one with two trophies, including a Club World Cup victory which may grow in significance if the tournament becomes a properly serious thing in the future. But it was pretty turbulent, too; Jacob Steinberg has the inside story on what went wrong.Hello, hello, hello and welcome to the first Friday blog of 2026. We’ve already had some drama at Stamford Bridge with the departure of Enzo Maresca, and there’s plenty of Premier League action to review/preview. But let’s just ease up before going full throttle and take in this excellent interview with Jess Carter, the Guardian Footballer of the Year.A lot of people don’t like the way I play football and that’s absolutely fine, but then attacking someone because of what they look like? I can’t do anything about that one, and I wouldn’t want to. I could never ...

Sport

3 w. ago Enzo Maresca forgot Chelsea’s golden rule: the manager does not call the shots | Jacob Steinberg

Manager toed the line at Stamford Bridge with one eye on the Manchester City job, frustrating fans and his employersIt was late on New Year’s Eve when Chelsea’s patience ran out. They knew that Enzo Maresca was attempting to engineer an exit from the club and now they were ready to call his bluff. Midnight was approaching and the fireworks at Stamford Bridge were about to erupt.A baffling story soon had a familiar, predictable ending. Maresca, who is not the first manager to run out of friends at Chelsea, had taken the provocations too far. There was surprise when he told staff that he did not want to conduct his post-match press conference after the disappointing 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on Tuesday night. The official explanation was that Maresca was too unwell to talk in public, despite having just spent the evening coaching on the Stamford Bridge touchline, but the friction was palpable and it was never going to sit well with the Chelsea hierarchy when it took less than 24 hours...

Politics