Stories By Harry De Cosemo
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Sport
Dembele’s win shows that Ballon d’Or voting has returned to its roots
In recent years, the Ballon d’Or has become a symbol of football’s increasingly individualistic culture. The criteria for winning it changed without anyone saying so. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have done so much for football, but their generation-defining fight to be the best has perhaps had an adverse effect on the way success is measured, particularly in the realm of this award.
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Sport
Was Noni Madueke misjudged by Arsenal fans?
There weren’t many more unpopular signings this summer than Noni Madueke to Arsenal, and much of the negativity came from Gunners fans. The truth is, it probably wasn’t aimed at Madueke himself, but rather the idea that yet another Chelsea squad player was heading to the Emirates Stadium and the optics of that were far from ideal.
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Sport
From Nuno to Postecoglou: Forest’s Risky Shift in Footballing Identity
Many Nottingham Forest fans do not view the club’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, as the toxic presence he has become known as externally. But waking up to the sacking of manager Nuno Esperito Santo on Tuesday morning must have been tough to fathom.
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Sport
This is Mikel Arteta’s make or break season
Mikel Arteta has worked wonders at Arsenal, turning them from midtable Premier League fodder when he arrived in December 2019 into genuine title contenders. But the issue is, that sentence could have been written in 2022; in the three years since, the club hasn’t been able to make the final leap and the pressure is growing on him to do so.
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Sport
Does the loss at Grimsby represent the last straw for Ruben Amorim?
Every time Manchester United appear to have turned a corner after more than a decade of decay, something goes wrong. It has been a positive summer at Old Trafford with a new strikeforce in place, but Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko were all involved in what could be the defining game of Ruben Amorim’s era: a defeat on penalties to Grimsby Town in the Carabao Cup.
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Sport
Jackson and Hojlund still have the talent to succeed
Chelsea have once again spent vast amounts of money under Todd Boehly and Clearlake this summer. In particular, the signings of both Liam Delap and Joao Pedro have given an insight into Enzo Maresca’s plan to build on the Blues’ Europa Conference League and Club World Cup victories and challenge for the Premier League title.
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Sport
Are Manchester City being underestimated this season?
Manchester City sent out a rather emphatic message to their Premier League title rivals with a 4-0 win at Wolves on Saturday, and plenty of people have taken notice. It is incredible what a year can do for football narrative.
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Sport
RB Leipzig’s Identity Crisis: Why Germany Wants Them to Fail
RB Leipzig are the most hated club in Germany. Their sheer existence is the antithesis of the country’s fan-centric football culture and identity, only existing as a force in the Bundesliga thanks to its takeover by worldwide energy drink conglomerate Red Bull in 2009.
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Sport
Out of Sync: Vlahovic and the Tactical Evolution of the No. 9
This is the summer of strikers. Everybody wants one, which is a development many football purists will see as a sign nature is healing. Scoring goals is, after all, the entire point of the sport, but there have been years of tactical innovations changing the way teams attack, resulting in a lack of readymade ‘number 9s’.
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Sport
Players ‘downing tools’ to force deals through
Believe it or not, the summer transfer window is seen by some as the most exciting and dramatic period in the football calendar, despite no competitive action being played. In some ways, it is understandable; after all, signing players is what generates the buzz of what could happen.
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Sport
Nottingham Forest could be in for a difficult season
It has been an interesting couple of seasons for Nottingham Forest. After gaining promotion to the Premier League in 2022, the club signed 24 players in preparation for their new challenge, before breaching Profit and Sustainability rules a year later, incurring a points deduction.
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