20 h. ago Rangers set piece guru funded players night out as Scott Fry's obsession earns him acclaim

The 47-year-old has only been at the club for six weeks but has already had a big influence.

Sport

44 h. ago What I have learned from watching all 20 Premier League teams this season | John Brewin

Set pieces on the rise, fans transformed to customers and conspiracies seen in every decision – is football losing its fun?English football has always mirrored the passions, conflicts, identities and inequalities of the age. After the golden 1960s, the decay of the 1970s and ensuing disasters of the 1980s came the cap-sleeved, rebounding self-confidence of the 1990s. The 21st century so far has taken in globalisation and wanton commercialism. After that rabid, often reckless push for continued growth, society and the game alight on the uncertainties that encapsulated 2025.To catch the 20 Premier League clubs in live action this season, and this writer completed the full set on Tuesday witnessing Arsenal’s second-half demolition of Aston Villa, has been a study in that uncertainty. From the grumbling of fans, to the ever-fragile egos of managers, to players slugging through the gristle of 90 minutes of hard-pressing slog, a leading question comes to mind: is anyone actually still enj...

Politics

68 h. ago Why ‘Big Gabi’ is so important to Arsenal’s chances of ending 22

Arsenal 4-1 Aston Villa: Gabriel got the ball rolling from another set piece before Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus sealed a terrific win to end Villa’s winning run

Politics

3 d. ago Liverpool sack coach in Arne Slot reshuffle after nightmare start to season

Liverpool have confirmed their set piece coach is leaving the club after a disastrous start to the season in which they have conceded 12 goals from set-pieces and scored only three

Politics

3 d. ago Liverpool sack staff member after Virgil van Dijk and Arne Slot air frustrations

Liverpool have decided to sack a member of Arne Slot's coaching staff after identifying a major problem that both Slot and Virgil van Dijk have recently addressed

Society

5 d. ago Archie Gray heads Spurs to victory at Crystal Palace to ease pressure on Frank

Eighteen months can be a very long time in football – especially if you are still a teenager. After a mixed start to life in north London, Archie Gray could not have picked a better occasion to score his first Tottenham goal since joining from Leeds in the summer of 2024 than his 60th appearance. With Thomas Frank already showing signs of not being the first Spurs manager to have been overwhelmed by expectations after a run of just one win in their previous eight Premier League matches, Gray’s scrappy header in the first half ensured that a topsy-turvy year ended with a victory that lifts his side to within one point of Crystal Palace in the table.Of the 20 goals that Oliver Glasner’s side have conceded this season in the league, 12 have come from set-pieces and Palace have now failed to win any of their last five matches as a packed schedule has finally caught up with them. But this was all about Gray as the 19-year-old midfielder who left the pitch to a standing ovation and big hu...

Events

5 d. ago Virgil van Dijk makes brutally honest admission over Liverpool issue

Liverpool skipper admits his side still have a problem with conceding goals from set-pieces after Wolves made it a nervous second half at thanks to a strike that came from a corner

Events

5 d. ago Virgil Van Dijk identifies solution to Liverpool’s biggest weakness: ‘It’s a killer’

The Reds have struggled at set-pieces throughout the campaign and Van Dijk has underlined how they can save their season by eradicating a worrying trend extended in the victory against Wolves

Events

6 d. ago Monolithic belief of Guardiolismo has fractured in new era for tactics | Jonathan Wilson

The old ways are over and nobody is entirely sure what is to follow but football revolutions once experienced are never forgottenIf you want a picture of the future, imagine Michael Kayode winding up to take a long throw – forever. Or at least that was how it seemed in October. Already, though, the picture has begun to change. This was the year of the backlash, and then a bit of a backlash to the backlash.For almost two decades football had accepted the guardiolista consensus. Football was about possession, about the press, but most of all about position, about the careful manipulation of space. Much-improved pitches meant first touches could be taken for granted: players receiving the ball didn’t have to focus on getting it under control but could instead be parsing their options. The game had become chess with a ball, a matter of strategy more than physicality. Continue reading...

Politics

6 d. ago Rayan Cherki grabs Manchester City winner to deny bold Nottingham Forest

Judging by the way Gianluigi Donnarumma celebrated Rayan Cherki’s late winner at Nottingham Forest, this was a significant victory for Manchester City. Donnarumma hurtled towards the bench where Pep Guardiola was being mobbed by his coaching staff, including Kolo Touré, Pep Lijnders and the set-piece coach James French, seemingly the architect behind Phil Foden’s corner that led to the goal. Cherki smacked a right-foot effort through the legs of Morgan Gibbs-White and into the corner of the Forest goal, to put City ahead of Arsenal for a couple of hours at least. Earlier, Forest’s Omari Hutchinson had cancelled out Tijjani Reijnders’ second-half opener.Guardiola had warned his squad against overindulging on Christmas Day, promising to weigh his players on their return to training and before they departed for Nottingham. “Only the manager is overweight – the rest are perfect,” the City manager, fresh from a couple of days in Catalonia, said with a smile before kick-off. City arrived ...

Politics

7 d. ago Man Utd take Arsenal’s set piece crown as shock stat shows how Ruben Amorim is showing up Arteta

MANCHESTER UNITED have scored more set piece goals than any other team in the Premier League this season... including Arsenal. The Red Devils defeated Newcastle 1-0 at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. Patrick Dorgu's first half volley was enough to see Ruben Amorim's side squeeze past the Toon. The Dane, who featured as a right...

Events

7 d. ago Arne Slot believes ‘best is yet to come’ as Liverpool look to end set

‘Difference between us and other teams is too small’Liverpool have conceded 11 league goals from set piecesArne Slot has claimed Liverpool have much more to offer this season and can become the dominant team he envisaged, although only once their set-piece failings have been eradicated.Liverpool have stemmed a damaging sequence of nine losses in 12 games – the club’s worst run in 71 years – to climb to fifth in the Premier League, level with fourth-placed Chelsea. But Slot, who admits Liverpool’s position remains below expectations, insists he will not get carried away by an unbeaten run of six matches because the team’s performance level requires big improvement. Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago The Bondi attack has desecrated our most joyful festival. My anger burns white hot | Jonathan Seidler

On the final night before it returns to the shelf, our hanukiah blazes. Being Jewish in Australia feels increasingly hazardousTen minutes of terror: how the Bondi mass shooting unfolded in real time – videoFollow the latest live updatesOur hanukiah is ridiculous. I love it precisely for its absurdity; a chunky, oversized piece designed by a dear friend and crafted from aircrete. It looks like a forgotten set piece from The Flintstones. In a family home that also contains challah covers, mezuzahs, kippot and Shabbat candles, our menorah is easily the most overtly Jewish thing we own. Its presence badges us immediately. Brash and proud. Up until last week, this never struck me as a problem.In my many overlapping circles of friends and collaborators, I am one of the only Jews they know. I spend a lot of time explaining our traditions to film directors, musicians, editors and producers. Why we fast on Yom Kippur. How often we observe Shabbat. How kashrut works, even though I am partial ...

Events

2 w. ago Watch Bruno Fernandes tell Lammens where to stand for Bournemouth free kick – seconds before it flies into Man Utd net

THIS is the moment Bruno Fernandes tells Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens where to stand for Bournemouth's free kick - before Marcus Tavernier converts the set-piece anyway. United drew 4-4 with the Cherries at Old Trafford on Monday night in a frustrating result after taking the lead three times. It was a crazy contest that...

Politics

2 w. ago Add an extra festive flourish to your Christmas dinner with this top

This highly-rated 12-piece tableware set features a festive Christmas Tree design and there's still time to get it delivered before the 25th

Politics

3 w. ago Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta set for transfer 'gift' as Pep Guardiola fires warning shot

The good news keeps coming for Arsenal after an emphatic Champions League win over Club Brugge, with the club set to be boosted by one piece of January business

Events

3 w. ago ‘Charge out like Zaire in 74’: how footballers really train for set pieces

I’ve spent too many wet and windy Friday afternoons preparing set-piece routines and it’s not a pretty sight By Nutmeg magazineSet pieces, eh, those brief but frequent interludes that sporadically pockmark our weekly sacrament, filling our heads with daydreams and fantasies of intricately worked ruses or 30-yard thunderbolts. Quite often the unintentional birth child of an ugly hacked clearance or theatrical swan dive, they ordinarily result in nothing more than a rudimentary blemish upon hallowed turf canvas but, sometimes, just sometimes, we are treated to strokes of genius that become as entrenched in the memory as is the Lord’s Prayer.When asked to provide a dose of professional insight detailing the fastidious workings that go into each and every single stoppage in play, it got me to thinking: have we lost an element of ingenuity in the pursuit of perfection? My dad has always warned me against the pitfalls of starting a game slowly so, with that pearl of wisdom well heeded, I’...

Politics

3 w. ago Peter Crouch 'walks out and slams door' on Abbey Clancy in tense moment

Abbey Clancy says she is "trying to train" her ex-footballer husband Peter Crouch to be "more emotionally intelligent" - but her attempts are not always met with success

Politics

3 w. ago Fury as prison bosses splurge £700 on giant chess set despite Govt pledging to crackdown on spending

PRISON bosses bought inmates a giant £700 outdoor chess set. The purchase was revealed after the Government pledged a crackdown on spending. Other departments splurged on designer water bottles, staff trophies and presentation courses. The chess set, with 2ft high pieces, was bought off Amazon by the Ministry of Justice and delivered to the Isle...

Economics

4 w. ago 'Trump and Infantino are turning the beautiful game ugly with unsettling alliance'

Tomorrow’s World Cup draw, staged just a mile from the White House, is set to unfold as an unprecedented piece of political theatre, with what should be a global celebration of football instead becoming a showcase for the increasingly unsettling partnership between Donald Trump and FIFA president Gianni Infantino

Politics