Sports Poets Society

Liverpool’s new head coach uses pre-season in Chicago to reshape the Reds’ identity after disquiet under Arne Slot ‘We have to try to play well but supporters have to identify with what they see on the pitch’ 24 Jul 2026 The Guardian Andy Hunter Over coffee in Liverpool’s plush hotel in Chicago, Andoni Iraola presents his theory for the phenomenal success of Basque and Spanish coaches. It is a theory that will shape his entire approach to life as the Liverpool head coach and his attempts to bring the connection, the joy and the belief back to Anfield. It centres on the power of the collective. The Champions League, the Premier League, the Europa League, the FA Cup, the League Cup, the European Championship and, as of Sunday, the World Cup: all currently in the hands of Basque and Spanish coaches, even if Pep Guardiola has since taken his leave from Manchester City. Next season, four men from the small Basque region of Gipuzkoa will manage four of the Premier League’s main contenders,...

Les Black Cats ont déjoué tous les pronostics en parvenant à décrocher la 7e place de Premier League, obtenant leur première qualification européenne depuis cinquante-trois ans. "Je suis fier de mes gars, fier de l’ambiance qu’il y avait"    - RÉGIS LE BRIS, ENTRAÎNEUR DE SUNDERLAND 25 May 2026 - L'Équipe PIERRE-ÉTIENNE MINONZIO On a suffisamment raillé les entraîneurs français au sujet de leurs difficultés chroniques à s’exporter pour saluer à sa juste mesure le remarquable travail effectué par Régis Le Bris à Sunderland. Quand le Breton de 50 ans a débarqué dans le nord de l’Angleterre en juin 2024, son nouveau club venait de se classer 16e de Championship (Deuxième Division), frôlant de peu une nouvelle relégation en League One (Troisième Division), où il s’était esquinté entre 2018 et 2022.La joie des joueurs de Sunderland après leur victoire sur Chelsea au Stadium of Light, hier (2-1). Et, il y a tout juste un an, le 24 mai 2025, au moment où Le Bris parvenait à le r...

It’s only four years ago that Spurs were, for the sixth season in succession, finishing above Arsenal 25 May 2026 - The Guardian Jonathan Wilson Almost half a century ago, Matthew Engel had a line in this newspaper about Sheffield United going top of the Fourth Division being like hearing a friend had been made head of the prison library: you wanted to congratulate them but really you were wondering what on earth they were doing there in the first place. It was a similar story at Spurs on Sunday: for all the understandable glee and relief, even to be in danger of relegation is evidence of things having gone badly wrong. It may be that the future has this as the first day in the new history of Tottenham. Roberto De Zerbi is clearly a manager of great promise – 11 points in seven games may not be earth-shattering, but it is a lot, lot better than what came before – and the injury crisis surely can’t be this bad for a third straight season. Perhaps coming so close to the brink will startl...

Tottenham are staring at relegation, which hit Glenn Hoddle and Pat Jennings hard almost 50 years ago ‘I think we had 10 times more flair players  than  they have now but let in too many goals’ 14 Mar 2026 - THE GUARDIAN / Sport Sam Cunningham Glenn Hoddle was in tears in the dressing room. Others sat in disbelief, wondering what the future held. Tottenham were the first English club in the 20th century to win the league and FA Cup Double, in 1961, and the first to lift a European trophy when they won the Cup Winners’ Cup two years later. They were renowned for playing attractive football and the goals of Jimmy Greaves . Under their manager Bill Nicholson , they added two League Cups and the UEFA Cup at the start of the 1970s. And now they had been relegated. Confirmation arrived on 7 May 1977 via a 5-0 thrashing at Maine Road by Manchester City, who were challenging for the First Division title. Peter Taylor was in the dressing room that day and remembers the “shock” and a “...

English woes in the Champions League could be a good thing Of six Premier League teams in the last 16, only two look likely to reach the quarterfinals. But does it matter? There is still no clear English way of playing because the Premier League doesn’t need it 13 Mar 2026 - The Guardian Barney Ronay The coefficient is safe. The coefficient is yours. You’re going home with the coefficient. But perhaps not, on this evidence, with the microwave, the washing machine or the jet ski. England’s soccer shame. Premier League in EURO MELTDOWN. Robot-ball crisis: how Arteta’s Arsenal destroyed all that is good and true, including the ploughman’s lunch and probably Woolworths. This kind of stuff has begun to do the rounds after this week’s Champions League last-16 matches. For English football it is a striking executive summary. Six Premier League teams played the first legs of their last-16 ties on Tuesday and Wednesday. End result: four defeats and two draws . Three of those defeats were semi-...

ACTION IMAGES/REUTERS Chivers’ intelligence on the pitch enhanced his deceptive strength Martin Chivers was a Spurs legend with a poet’s heart Tottenham totem shone under Bill Nicholson’s tough love with majestic goals in League and Uefa Cup wins He was an exhilarating sight for fans and an intimidating one for opponents 9 Jan 2026 - The Guardian Keir Radnedge The Martin Chivers route from record signing to Tottenham legend was anything but simple. White Hart Lane needed time to learn to love him and Bill Nicholson, who paid Southampton £125,000 in 1968 for Chivers, never understood either the player or the man until years later. Yet it says everything for the curative power of time that the pair walked out arm-in-arm at Nicholson’s second testimonial against Fiorentina in 2001. Chivers arrived at Spurs with a headline-grabbing century-plus goals for Southampton. Initially he appeared weighed-down by the fee and the expectation. This was a time when English football was only slowly co...

8 Jan 2026 - The Guardian Marcus Christenson The former Tottenham, Southampton and England striker Martin Chivers has died at the age of 80. Chivers, a League Cup and Uefa Cup winner with Spurs, won 24 caps from 1971 to 1973, scoring 13 goals. “It is with immense sadness that we announce the passing of our legendary former striker Martin Chivers,” Spurs said. “We extend our deepest sympathies to Martin’s family, friends and former teammates at this incredibly sad time. Our players will wear black armbands during this evening’s fixture against AFC Bournemouth. Rest in peace, Martin. One of the all-time greats.” Chivers started his career with his home-city club Southampton, making his debut in 1962, and joined Spurs in 1968. After a long, successful spell there he moved to Switzerland to play for Servette, where he won further honours, before returning to England to play for clubs including Norwich and Brighton. Southampton said they were “deeply saddened” by the death of Chivers, who ...