Football News

Friday, September 29, 2023

^ ^ 72+: Ipswich's bright future and goalless Cheltenham

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by Phil Brown to talk about Ipswich's fine start to the season, after losing just once in the Championship and knocking Wolves out of the EFL Cup to reach Round Four. They also look at Cheltenham Town's struggles with the League One side yet to score a goal and looking for a new manager. And we hear from James Schooley of the Shrimpers Trust, ahead of potentially a key week in the future of Southend United. 01:32 EFL Cup and the 4th round draw 04:52 Ipswich Town's excellent start to the season 17:20 Goalless Cheltenham 25:16 The future of Southend United 38:13 Troubling times for Scunthorpe United

^ ^ Jurgen Klopp feels Chelsea have a ‘massive advantage’ this season

Liverpool earned a point from their opening day meeting against Chelsea (Picture: Getty)

Jurgen Klopp feels that Chelsea have a ‘massive advantage’ over his Liverpool side this season.

Liverpool, along with Arsenal, are considered by many to be Manchester City’s main rivals for the Premier League title this season.

The Reds have made a strong start to the 2023-24 campaign, winning five of their six games in the top flight.

Their only other result was a 1-1 draw at Chelsea on the opening day of the season.

The Blues, meanwhile, have endured a tough spell since that meeting and have won just one of their opening six Premier League matches this term.

Their poor form comes despite their huge summer spending with Chelsea splashing out £434.5m – the most spent by any club during a transfer window in Premier League history.

Despite problems for Chelsea on and off the pitch, Klopp feels that Mauricio Pochettino’s team, along with Tottenham, have a major advantage in the race for the top four this season as they are not playing in any European competitions.

‘Chelsea and Tottenham have no European football,’ Klopp said on Friday ahead of Liverpool’s match against Spurs on Saturday.

‘Two heavyweights not in European football, they have the whole week to train when others travel. It’s a massive advantage.

‘Getting into the Champions League this year will be a massive, difficult task because they will be well rested.’

MORE : Jamie Carragher explains why Chelsea and Liverpool snubbed James Maddison

MORE : Mauricio Pochettino drops Chelsea transfer hint amid Ivan Toney speculation

Thursday, September 28, 2023

^ ^ The 2023/24 Women's Super League season preview

Ahead of the start of the new Women's Super League season this weekend, Eleanor Oldroyd is joined by former WSL striker and England Women's all-time top scorer Ellen White, WSL record appearance maker Gilly Flaherty and the Telegraph's Women's Football Reporter Tom Garry. They discuss the defending Champions Chelsea, the challengers to their title, whether Aston Villa can improve on last season’s 5th place finish and promoted Bristol City’s prospects 01:00 Ready to go again 03:00 Can anyone stop Chelsea? 09:20 Potential for surprise results early on 11:40 Will Manchester United go one better? 13:20 Mary Earps' future 18:00 Arsenal to recover from Champions League heartbreak? 22:00 Manchester City "to win the title?" - Garry 28:45 Can Aston Villa challenge for European football? 32:45 How much hope can promoted Bristol City have to avoid the drop? 34:00 Season predictions

^ ^ Mikel Arteta hopes to convince Ivan Toney to join Arsenal the same way he landed Declan Rice

Mikel Arteta has a plan to convince Ivan Toney to join Arsenal over their rivals, the same way he lured Declan Rice to the Emirates.

The Brentford striker is currently serving a ban for betting breaches but will return to action in January.

The 27-year-old recently opened the door to a move away from west London with Brentford ready to sanction his sale for a reported fee of £80million.

Arsenal are ready to make a move for the striker who netted 20 Premier League goals last season but will face competition from London rivals Chelsea and Tottenham. Chelsea are still in need of a reliable goal scorer up front despite their heavy spending over the last year while Spurs remain in the market for a new no9 following Harry Kane’s departure.

Manchester United have also been credited with interest in his services in the past.

Toney will likely have no shortage of suitors in January but the Mirror report Arteta hopes to convince the striker to head for north London.

The Gunners boss plans to sell Toney his ambition and vision for the club, hopeful it will be enough to convince him to reject rival clubs.

Arteta had such success in the summer with the club record signing of Declan Rice.

Treble-winners Manchester City made a late move to sign the England international from West Ham but Rice’s preference remained a move to Arsenal, eager to play under Arteta.

Meanwhile, former Arsenal star Paul Merson believes Toney is the only realistic option for his former side In January.

‘Only Ivan Toney is available for them in January – there aren’t many centre forwards around in the world. They’re a dying breed.

‘Years ago you had Michael Owen, Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham and Robbie Fowler were getting 20 to 30 goals a season and they didn’t get a million England caps. Ian Wright and Les Ferdinand too. Now you get to 20 goals in the Premier League and you play for England.

‘Toney is a good player – he can hold the ball up, he’s good in the air. Arsenal might have to go for him. But there are not a million centre forwards around.’

MORE : Paul Merson insists Fabio Vieira ‘isn’t good enough’ and says Ivan Toney is ‘only option’ for Arsenal in January

MORE : Emile Smith Rowe intent on fighting for Arsenal place after failed Chelsea transfer

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^ ^ Claude Makelele confirms his Chelsea departure after ‘mutual agreement’ with club

Claude Makelele has confirmed he has left his post at Chelsea after a mutual agreement to move on from Stamford Bridge.

The former France international, who made over 200 appearances for the club during one of their most successful periods, returned to west London in 2019 taking up a role as technical mentor and youth coach.

The 50-year-old has worked closely with Chelsea’s academy stars but he becomes the latest figure at the club to move on in what has been a period of significant change since the club’s takeover last summer.

In a brief statement released on Twitter, Makelele confirmed his exit.

‘After four fulfilling years, Chelsea and I decided, by mutual consent, that it is time for me to seek a fresh, new challenge.

‘I do want to thank the fans for their affection. Blue will always be the colour of my heart, I will share more once I have set my mind on the next chapter.’

Makelele’s exit follows that of coach Bruno Saltor, who stepped up as caretaker boss for one game last season against Liverpool before Frank Lampard’s return as interim manager.

After 4 fulfilling years, @chelseafc & I decided, by mutual consent, that itâ€˜s time for me to seek a fresh, new challenge. I do want to thank the fans for their affection. Blue will always be the color of my heart; Iâ€™ll share more once Iâ€™ve set my mind on the next chapter ðŸ’™ pic.twitter.com/FLt446Kr27
— Claude MakÃ©lÃ©lÃ© (@ClaudeMakelele) September 28, 2023

The Spaniard arrived as part of Graham Potter’s staff but in explaining his departure, Mauricio Pochettino explained last week he ‘did not belong’ to his backroom team.

‘It was a decision that was made between the club and Bruno,’ Pochettino said last week.

‘He did not belong to my coaching staff, and so it is the best decision for him and the club.’

Chelsea secured a morale-boosting 1-0 victory over Brighton in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, setting up a meeting with Blackburn Rovers in the round of 16.

The Blues make the short journey to Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Monday night, having taken just five points from their opening six games so far this season.

MORE : Chelsea struggling to secure future of highly-rated left-back Ian Maatsen

MORE : Tottenham’s rapid reinvention under Ange Postecoglou undermines Mauricio Pochettino’s call for patience at Chelsea

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^ ^ Osimhen, Ajax and the other side of Gattuso

Steve Crossman is joined by Guillem Balague, Julien Laurens and Kristof Terreur. They discuss the social media mess at Napoli that has left Victor Osimhen angry and frustrated. De Telegraaf journalist Marcel van der Kran joins the pod to discuss the situation at Ajax. The team also discuss the appointment of Gennaro Gattuso as the new boss at Marseille, the latest off-field issues at Barcelona and the flying starts made by Girona and Brest. 0 mins: The team discuss their public speaking experiences. 3 mins: Guillem discusses playing crazy golf with Julen Lopetegui. 6 mins: Victor Osimhen – the social media mess and his future with Napoli. 16 mins: Why it has all gone so wrong for Ajax, with de Telegraaf journalist Marcel van der Kran. 28 mins: How Gennaro Gattuso will fit in at Marseille. 33 mins: The latest off-the-field issues at Barcelona. 39 mins: The superb start to the season for Girona and Brest.

^ ^ Napoli break silence over TikTok video mocking Victor Osimhen following threats of legal action from striker

Napoli have issued a statement insisting social media videos appearing to mock Victor Osimhen were not intended to offend the striker.

The bizarre post on the club’s TikTok account showed footage of Osimhen appealing for the penalty in the goalless draw with Bologna on Sunday.

The clip, which has now been deleted, then showed the Nigeria international missing the spot kick.

Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, slammed Napoli’s social media post and has threatened legal action against the Serie A club.

Five days on from the incident, Napoli have now broken their silence in a statement where they describe the 24-year-old as a ‘treasure of the club’ but with no direct apology forthcoming.

Osimhen established himself as one of Europe’s most sought-after strikers last season with Manchester United and Chelsea among those who considered moves only to be priced out by Napoli’s valuation which was reported to be €150million.

In the statement, Napoli confirmed they rejected a number of offers, insisting those decisions demonstrate how much he is valued by the Serie A champions.

‘Calcio Napoli, wishing to avoid any exploitation of the issue, point out that we never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club,’ the club said.

‘As proof of that, during the summer training retreat, the Club firmly rebuffed every offer that was received for the striker’s transfer abroad.

‘Social media, in particular TikTok, has always used an expressive form of language with a light heart and creativity, without wanting to, as in the case with Osimhen as protagonist, have any intention of insult or derision.

‘In any case, if Victor perceived any offence towards him, this was not what the club intended’.

Following the release of the video, Osimhen removed any traces of Napoli from his social media accounts but was back in the side for Wednesday’s game against Udinese.

The Nigeria international scored his side’s second goal but made no attempt to celebrate. Napoli head coach Rudi Garcia later declared the former Lille star remains ‘100 per cent invested in our project’.

MORE : Napoli boss Rudi Garcia breaks silence on Victor Osimhen TikTok video controversy