Football News

Tensions appear to be rising between three of the country's finest youth academies, with scouts denied access to their rivals' matches, according to reports.  The quality of players being produced by some of England's leading academies appears to be at an all time high, with the average ages of most teams regularly dropping given the young talent top teams can call on.  With homegrown player registration a particularly thorny issue for those qualifying for continental qualification, the need to produce top quality youngsters that can make the step up is more prevalent still.

SIMON JORDAN: Thomas Tuchel; elite coach, wins things, bit of trouble off the field. Google his name and you'll see he's fallen out with people everywhere he's been. Maybe The FA have been living under a rock - which is not that an outrageous suggestion - but even they must be aware. His appointment is a roll of the dice and surprisingly bold and assertive for an organisation that has allowed the Premier League to run riot for 32 years.

NATHAN SALT: There will be those that point to the necessity in cutting 82-year-old Ferguson loose amid 250 job cuts of individuals who were far much more dependent on their earnings from the club than the Scot. And there will be others that point to the largely insignificant amount paid to the Scot who, through the dynasty he created, helped to shape Manchester United into the commercial behemoth folk like Ineos can now benefit directly from. What the decision around Ferguson showed is that Ratcliffe and his aides are relentless in pursuit of cutting the fat from the balance sheet. Only last month, United posted losses for the year ending June 30, 2024, of £113.2m. Over the past two years it is a figure closer to £160m.

Rio Ferdinand believes that Ineos are 'sending a message' to everyone at Manchester United following their decision to axe Sir Alex Ferguson's lucrative ambassadorial contract.  Ferguson became a global club ambassador and club director after stepping down as manager in 2013 after a 27-year reign. He reportedly received £2.16million-a-year to serve as a global ambassador for the club in an agreement which has continued for over a decade. But United's legendary manager, 82, has lost his contract following a face-to-face meeting between Ferguson and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.

JEFF POWELL MBE: When Sven-Goran Eriksson was appointed England manager I wrote words to the effect that the birthright of the country which gave football to the world was being sold to someone from a nation of cross-country skiers who spend half their lives in darkness. It took a while for that sentiment to be proved correct, and during his era of World Cup failure the Swedish lothario endeared himself sufficiently to our big-hearted people to be given a sentimental send-off when he passed away in sad circumstances this year. May he rest in peace and his family live happily ever after on the generational wealth lavished upon him by the FA.

LEWIS STEELE: Most of us set daily reminders in some shape or form, probably to put the bins out or to jog the memory with certain tasks at work. Dele Alli's daily reminder is slightly different, as the words 'World Cup 2026' pop up on his phone every morning at 11am. Despite not kicking a ball in a competitive game of football for nearly two years - his last minutes were in February 2023 during a brief loan spell at Turkish club Besiktas - Dele still believes in himself, which is the key word when charting his many highs and lows.

Thomas Tuchel knows all about handling the pressure of a big job. The German, a veteran of 613 games in club management, has managed the likes of Borussia Dortmund, PSG, Chelsea and Bayern Munich - four of the largest clubs on the planet. The 51-year-old is therefore unlikely to be fazed by all the roles and responsibilities that come with his role as England manager, yet it has still been somewhat of a surprise appointment.

KATHRYN BATTE AT THE EMIRATES: If there was a perfect response to a chaotic 48 hours then it was this. A comfortable victory after the resignation of their manager, Jonas Eidevall, was exactly what Arsenal needed. Perfect performance? Not quite. There were still times Arsenal looked blunted in attack and two of their four goals came when Valerenga looked to have run out of steam. But the scoreline is what matters for interim boss Renee Slegers. It was clear things had become stale under Eidevall, who stepped down from his role on Tuesday following a poor start to the season. He no longer had the backing of the fans or his players and it was the right time for him to step down.

When Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappe parted company last week at the start of the international break the club could not have been happier with their 25-year-old striker. His decision not to join up with the France squad and take a minibreak instead, looked like a case of putting them first before everything else, even if it meant provoking the wrath of supporters of the French national team. Carlo Ancelotti had spoken internally about the importance of his players having five-day spells away from football to recover physically and disconnect mentally in what will be a marathon season for the team. Mbappe had clearly put club first, second and third on his list of main concerns in a way that contrasted with the famous 'Wales, Golf, Madrid' flag message that Gareth Bale posed behind back when he was a Real Madrid player. Wales was always what mattered most to Bale. Mbappe was making a statement decision to put Real Madrid ahead of Les Bleus.

Aston Villa fans on Wednesday said their final goodbyes to Gary Shaw ahead of the club legend's funeral in Sutton Coldfield. The 1982 European Cup winner died at the age of 63 in September after injuring his head from a fall. Shaw made 213 appearances for his boyhood side and scored 79 goals. He is regarded as one of the best forwards in the club's 150-year history.