11 h. ago Replacing a manager midseason is a big call, and not as simple as it sounds | Jonathan Wilson

Liverpool and Tottenham are in different situations but face the same problem: a manager in the hot seat but few ideal optionsSign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson hereAnother weekend, another few days of soul-searching for Liverpool and Tottenham. Liverpool had been on a 13-game unbeaten run before Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth, but nobody could claim a string of results that included home draws with all three promoted clubs was convincing. Spurs had won just two of their 13 league games before Saturday’s away draw at Burnley, which was salvaged only thanks to an injury-time goal from Cristian Romero.For both, European competition had offered some relief – Liverpool looked very good in a 3-0 win away to Marseille while Spurs, at least in the first half, produced probably their best performance since August in beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 – but the sad truth is that the vast majority of European sides these days simply cannot live with the physicality of the Premier League. Th...

Politics

31 h. ago Arteta’s team of ruthless cyborgs malfunction in way that is all too human | Jonathan Wilson

Arsenal let game slip against Manchester United and need to quickly press the reset buttonAnd then the gap was down to four points. It is still four points, but the thought that Arsenal will struggle to suppress is that it could have been more, that it should have been more.Manchester City have won only one of their past five in the league, but Arsenal have not opened up clear water. Against Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, they failed to take advantage of City slip‑ups, drawing both those games 0-0, and that left them vulnerable to a game such as this. From an Arsenal point of view, the title race is disturbingly alive. Continue reading...

Politics

38 h. ago Newcastle v Aston Villa, Crystal Palace v Chelsea and more: football clockwatch – live

⚽ Updates from Sunday’s 2pm Premier League matches⚽ Jonathan Wilson: is Carrick more than the new Solskjær?⚽ Scores | Tables | Mail Daniel with any thoughtsOh, but here’s Rosenior, explaining that Cole Palmer isn’t fit to play today, but has a chance of making Wednesday’s trip to Naples.He notes that the league is close and physical, but he has good players and is excited to see where the project goes – the club “demands winning in this moment”. There aren’t many days on the training pitch, but he hopes the work they’re doing with the team and with individuals are working. Continue reading...

Sport

43 h. ago Arsenal v Manchester United buildup, WSL action and Hearts v Celtic – matchday live

⚽ News, discussion and buildup before the day’s action⚽ Jonathan Wilson’s column | Fixtures | Email us hereFrank calls for ‘calm heads’ as Tottenham fans renew calls for his exitThomas Frank has called for “calm heads” after Tottenham fans urged the club to dismiss him during their draw at relegation-threatened Burnley. The away end sang “You’re getting sacked in the morning” at full time, making their views clear to the hierarchy and head coach. Continue reading...

Sport

56 h. ago Carrick has nailed quick fixes at Manchester United but is he more than new Solskjær? | Jonathan Wilson

Derby victory was undeniably impressive but how will club assess caretaker manager’s suitability to permanent job?The problem Manchester United have – after 13 years and seven managers of failure – is that for whatever action they take now, there is a bad precedent. Keep Michael Carrick on, and it’s just another Ole Gunnar Solskjær situation. But replace him and, for almost whoever they appoint – be it a Premier League veteran, foreign maestro, renowned past-his-best winner, Red Bull-adjacent gegenpresser, austere Dutchman or Portuguese ideologue – they have done it before and it hasn’t worked. It’s almost like the biggest problem at the club isn’t the manager.Carrick’s start was undeniably impressive. There was pace and zip and creativity. The relief of players being released from the 3-4-2-1 was akin to one of those videos of cows being allowed back into the pasture after being kept in a barn over the winter. Who could possibly have predicted that Amad Diallo would excel as a righ...

Politics

68 h. ago Man pleads guilty to having weapons manuals useful for terrorism

Jonathan Wilson will be sentenced later this year

Events

7 d. ago How Sadio Mané’s calm saved the Afcon final from absolute chaos

The veteran is known for his sense of responsibility And it was apparent as his Senegal teammates threatened to quit African’s football’s showpieceSign up for Soccer with Jonathan Wilson hereSadio Mané has done many great things for Senegal and for Senegalese football, but what he did on Sunday evening, in what he confirmed would be his last Cup of Nations game, was perhaps greater than his winning goal in Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final, greater than his penalty to win the World Cup qualifying play-off against Egypt in 2022, greater even than his decisive penalty in the 2021 final.When Senegal stormed off the pitch in protest at the award of a penalty against them eight minutes into injury-time at the end of the Cup of Nations final, African football faced a crisis. For this to happen at all was embarrassing, for it to happen in the final of the confederation’s showpiece would have been a humiliation – not least because many may have felt that Senegal had a point. Refe...

Events

9 d. ago Only a thrilling final can save a predictable Africa Cup of Nations from being forgotten | Jonathan Wilson

Despite high-quality matches, Senegal’s meeting with hosts Morocco may pale with the World Cup loomingSometimes a tournament’s greatest strength can be its greatest weakness. In part because of the excellent playing conditions, this has been an Africa Cup of Nations devoid of shocks. The better teams keep winning. There has been a lot of good football, but not a huge amount of memorable football.And the consequence is that, in the final, we have the two best teams, or certainly the best team in north Africa against the best team in sub-Saharan Africa: the hosts and World Cup semi-finalists Morocco against Senegal, who have reached three of the past four Afcon finals. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Afcon special: Morocco’s moment, Nigeria’s surge and more: Football Weekly – video

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Wilson and Osasu Obayiuwana as the Africa Cup of Nations reaches its last four.On today’s pod: it’s an Afcon special as the final four are decided. Hosts Morocco look increasingly like favourites after seeing off Cameroon; the panel asks whether Brahim Díaz’s remarkable form is a surprise, and questions how far long-term investment has taken them. Nigeria, meanwhile, remain perfect so far as they brush aside Algeria to set up a heavyweight semi-final clash.Elsewhere, the panel discusses Egypt's chances as Mohamed Salah looks to enter African football folklore by winning the tournament, after Egypt beat Côte d’Ivoire. The panel ask if Senegal overthink their midfield after they squeezed through against Mali to tee up another chapter in the Salah v Mané rivalry.Plus, a wider look at CAF’s decision to move Afcon back to a four-year cycle, the impact of winter scheduling, infrastructure in Morocco before the 2030 World Cup, and more C...

Politics

2 w. ago Salah inspires Egypt with energy recalling golden generation to evoke recent history | Jonathan Wilson

Liverpool forward will face his former teammate Sadio Mané in Afcon semi against Senegal after arguably the Pharaohs’ best performance since 2008It is a long time since Egypt had a night this good. There have been two World Cup qualifications since their golden age of three successive Cups of Nations came to an end in 2010, and they’ve got to the finals of two Cups of Nations since, but this had a different feel to the knockout phases in 2017 or 2021 (played in 2022). This wasn’t grinding through, doing just enough (across the knockouts in 2017 and 2021, Egypt won one game without needing extra time or penalties; a grim 1-0 against Morocco in the 2017 quarter-final). It was taking on one of the giants of African football and beating them well. A 3-2 victory over Côte d’Ivoire was probably Egypt’s best single performance since they beat the same opposition 4-1 in the semi-finals of Ghana 2008.That game in Kumasi was always going to cast its shadow over this quarter-final. Saturday’s ...

Politics

3 w. ago Ruben Amorim is gone, but Manchester United’s forever crisis rolls on | Jonathan Wilson

The head coach (or manager?) fired cryptic shots at his bosses, then was fired himself. Amorim sacked after power struggle over transfersLatest updates and reactionDiscontent at Manchester United these days is only ever deferred. Ruben Amorim’s departure from the club on Monday was long anticipated and came, in the end, with a weary sigh. He had made a half-hearted protest about the recruitment structure after Sunday’s draw at Leeds, but it felt even at the time like barely more than a gesture. And so another manager, the seventh since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013, falls victim to the United meat-grinder.Everybody at United, fundamentally, is unhappy. And not unhappy in the sense that Alex Ferguson used to be unhappy, when the club was essentially fuelled by his volcanic rages, but enervated, frustrated by the realisation that this is not how things used to be, that this was once the biggest football club in the country and now they keep failing to get the win they need to lift th...

Events

3 w. ago Premier League’s warped economics make £65m fee for Semenyo a snip | Jonathan Wilson

Price tag for winger’s move to Manchester City would make headlines in any other country but not in EnglandAntoine Semenyo, it seems likely, will soon join Manchester City from Bournemouth for a fee of £65m. Given how well Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden have played from the right this season, it is not immediately obvious why City need him, but the modern game is the modern game, the rammed calendar makes large and flexible squads essential and Pep Guardiola may have some esoteric plan for the Ghanaian anyway. But perhaps what is most striking about the deal is the fee – or, more precisely, how little attention it has drawn.English football has become inured to big transfers. The fee feels about right. Semenyo is 25. He has four and a half years left on his contract. He is quick, skilful, intelligent and works hard. He is disciplined, but has the capacity to do the unexpected. Of course a player of his ability costs that much. Yet £65m would make him the third-most expensive player in ...

Economics

4 w. ago Aston Villa defy gravity again as winning run rolls on at Chelsea | Jonathan Wilson

Villa keep coming from behind, keep winning by the odd goal and keep confounding the numbers. At some point it must stop – but not yetIt can’t go on. It makes no sense that it goes on. And yet it goes on.Aston Villa went into Saturday’s Premier Leage game at Chelsea having won 10 games in a row, looking to match a record set in 1897 and 1914. For an hour there seemed no chance they would achieve it, as Chelsea outplayed them, took the lead and could have had several more. But Chelsea are vulnerable with a lead, especially at home, and Villa have developed a baffling habit of winning away games having gone behind.This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition. Continue reading...

Politics