Ken Early: The pursuit of calm, running from risk and Euro nationalism mark a mixed year of football
Moments of magic being sapped from the game as managers opt to cut out risky business
Ken Early
Columnist
Liverpool enjoy Spurs’ farcical nonsense
Ange Postecoglou needs to review his risk-and-reward calculation
Flash of inspiration from Amad casts Amorim’s dropping of Rashford and Garnacho as a masterstroke
United manager’s faith in Amad Diallo helps secure a memorable Manchester derby victory over struggling City
Ken Early on World Cup draw: Ireland face task to overcome Hungary, their football opposites
If Irish football has been subsisting on the poverty line, Hungarian football has had billions pumped into it
Ange Postecoglou seems more concerned with his own brand than with Tottenham’s results
Great managers such as Alex Ferguson and Jurgen Klopp understood the difference between rhetoric and reality
Arne Slot has gotten Liverpool excited by showing them they can get even better
Mohamed Salah talking about his contract shows he wants to stay at Anfield - but notice the silence from Trent Alexander-Arnold
Manchester United’s current crop will struggle to adjust to Amorim’s system
The new manager has a crystal-clear idea of how his side should play but he lacks the players to make that vision a reality
Ken Early: Naive Ireland need to remember this pain and at least learn to whinge
Ireland’s second-half capitulation against England again exposed this team’s fatal lack of gamecraft
Liverpool must think Mamardashvili is something very special if they believe he’s better than Kelleher
Evan Ferguson at one end and Caoimhin Kelleher come up with big plays, alongside a regen of Craig Bellamy
Ken Early: Arsenal once looked eager and energetic but have now become too scripted and controlled
Just moments after taking the lead, and with half an hour still to play, Arsenal looked like they were already trying to kill the game
Damien Duff’s unwavering belief in Irish football has elevated the whole league
The fact that one of Ireland’s best ever players has immersed himself in his Shelbourne role shows a real faith in the value of the domestic game
Ken Early: Worst night of Mbappé’s club career as Barca steal the show
French striker endured a nightmare outing, caught offside eight times, as Barcelona ended Real’s 42-game unbeaten league run in spectacular style
Ken Early: Liverpool and Chelsea showcase ‘S**t on a Stick: 2024 edition’
Arne Slot says he has only changed a few small details since taking over from Jürgen Klopp - so why does it already feel like a different club?
Ken Early: Unless execution improves, Ireland will not be qualifying for anything for a while
Bodies on the line defending can only take this team so far as Ireland offer more gifts to grateful Greeks
Ken Early: Robbie Brady gives Ireland fans another night to remember in Helsinki
Heimir Halgrímsson’s side showed plenty of character to bounce back from half-time deficit to claim first competitive win of 2024
Ken Early: Nations League games offer Ireland a chance to liberate ourselves by embracing football failure
Let us dream of a place beyond desire, beyond hope, where nothing that happens to our team can hurt us any more
There is an obvious solution to Man Utd’s managerial woes
Ken Early: The club’s denial of reality has been repaid by its worst ever start to a Premier League season
Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are disgustingly accomplished, with a hint of Tony Pulis
Tottenham getting about €117 for Harry Kane seemed like a lot of money until they spent more than half that on Dominic Solanke
Ken Early: Relegation beckons for Ireland as the booing gets louder
Nil-all at half-time was already a big improvement on the last time Greece were here in October 2023. Then Ireland lost whatever semblance of control they had in midfield
After Jack Grealish scored, it appeared that football was ultimately just a joke at Ireland’s expense
England dismissed Ireland while producing one of the most one-sided periods of play ever seen at the Aviva Stadium
Ken Early: It seems evident that Hallgrímsson sees Ireland much as Trapattoni, O’Neill and McCarthy did
The new manager signals a return to a pragmatic first principles
Ken Early: Manchester United fans losing patience as familiar flaws are evident again
Three games and two defeats into the new Premier League season and the choice to keep ten Hag already looks unwise
Ken Early: Miserable Chelsea could almost put you off football
Clearlake Capital are presiding over an extravagant mess at Stamford Bridge
Ken Early: The Premier League is back and it needs Manchester City not to win it more than ever
Owners, lawyers, referees and other once-extraneous things have now dominate conversation as much as on-field action
Second Captains podcasters share €817,000 production fee pay pot
Company’s cash pile increases sharply
Ken Early on Euro 2024: Spain take the trophy but nobody wins in modern-day blame game
There was plenty of fun and the best team won, but the tournament also laid bare the impact of social media on the game and its increasingly burnt-out players
Ken Early: How can Southgate have made this many mistakes, and still gotten England to the final?
England have ranged between dull and bad, in contrast to Spain who always look clever, lively and inventive
Watkins seals final place for England in performance light years ahead of early rounds
Euro 2024: Aston Villa striker finds the net in the 90th minute to knock out the Netherlands
Ken Early: Toni Kroos castigated after tackling tough subject carefully. That’s social media for you
The Germany midfielder found himself in the centre of a storm because of controversial comments he didn’t make
Ken Early: England braced for finely-tuned Swiss machine unbeaten since Yakin-Xhaka peace deal
Three Lions likely to adopt Switzerland’s 3-4-2-1 formation for Euro quarter-final after Swiss eased past four-man-defence Italy
Ken Early: If Ronaldo was Joe Biden then Roberto Martinez was his Jill
Portugal goalkeeper saves all three penalties to break Slovenian hearts
Switzerland expose Italy’s lack of talent to dump defending champions out
Murat Yakin’s talented and hard-working side beat Italy almost at walking pace
Ken Early: Nationalism takes you to peculiar places … especially at Euro 2024
‘Serbian, Romanian and Albanian fans have all displayed flags showing maps of the “Greater” versions of their countries’
Chaotic off the pitch but a success on it - Ken Early’s review of the Euro 2024 group stages
Spain shine as England labour to progress, with Austria and Switzerland making the most of their limited squads
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