Stories By Harry De Cosemo

• Sport

  Crunch time for Rafa Benitez as he bids for Premier League return

  Rafa Benitez is an oxymoron. To him, football is meticulous; it is a plan, an aim and a problem to be solved. He never gets lost in the moment and when a goal goes in, he’s straight in there with an instruction to the nearest member of his playing staff.

• Sport

  Don’t compare Grealish to Gazza, who was truly one of a kind

  It was never just about the football with Gazza but rather the journey he took you on as a character. He was relatable, first and foremost as a man. From a tiny corner of the North East called Dunston, he brought Newcastle United fans along with him, then Tottenham Hotspur fans and, finally, England as a whole.

• Sport

  Ruben Neves to Arsenal could make sense for all parties

  The shock value created by some transfers can be huge but also incredibly fleeting so it will interesting to see if the latest rumours surrounding a possible move to Arsenal for Ruben Neves could fall into that category.

• Sport

  Aging Belgium must make it count at European Championship

  It was a sunny afternoon at Wembley in early June 2012. Optimism was in the air and shoots of excitement were growing. England were playing Belgium in a European Championship warm up game but only one of them would actually be going to the tournament.

• Sport

  United must listen to Roy Keane and sign Harry Kane

  People who worked closely with Roy Keane in his playing and coaching days have often said that his appearances as a pundit on Sky Sports are a performance. His persona is fabricated and has become part of his appeal.

• Sport

  Buffon deserves immortalisation, as incredible career continues

  Nothing stands out about Gigi Buffon, because everything is spectacular. Loyalty, agility and marketability; when it comes to any and every facet of being a great footballer, Buffon has excelled. There is perhaps one thing missing from that list which he also has in droves though, longevity.

• Sport

  Not all clubs will be eager for fans back in stadiums

  Cliched it may be, but there has never been so much irrefutable evidence that football is nothing without fans back in stadiums. Strip it back, take out all the noise and anticipation, and it doesn’t feel much like sport.

• Sport

  Guardiola the biggest threat to his own Champions League chances

  It felt unthinkable at half time against Chelsea on Saturday night that Manchester City wouldn’t end the day being crowned Premier League champions for the third time in four years. Raheem Sterling had just scored the opener and, although Sergio Aguero had seen a panenka penalty go horribly wrong, there was little sign of what was to come.

• Sport

  Joe Willock is the signing Newcastle should, but won’t, make

  The first rule of fan-player relations is to never build an emotional attachment to a loan signing. For Newcastle United supporters and Joe Willock, that ship sailed under 90 minutes into his temporary spell on Tyneside.

• Sport

  Forgotten man Tammy Abraham could be this summer’s bargain

  Not too long after the 2019 Championship play-off final, when the dust was beginning to settle on Aston Villa’s victory over Derby County at Wembley, Tammy Abraham must have realised something. Finally, after a three-year wait on loan at separate clubs, his big chance had arrived.

• Sport

  Why are football managers valued less than players?

  When Sheffield United parted company with Chris Wilder last month, Pep Guardiola spoke out. He claimed that if the two football managers swapped jobs, they would be seen completely differently to the way they are.

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