Barnet boss revels in finding decent wines at Aldi while rivals have luxury of M&S - Plus: Ryan Glover future
Bees boss after Tuesday night's match at the Hive : Picture by @YTJourno Dean Brennan says he is proud of what his players are doing this season and believes that they are showing the character needed to compete with clubs boasting much bigger budgets. The Bees lost a highly entertaining clash against one of League Two's fancied sides on Tuesday night - but the Bees showed again in the defeat to Swindon Town at the Hive that they can mix it with the best and remain in with a

By Yann Tear


Barnet punished for not making hay while the sun shone as Swindon Town turn game on its head
Staying in the mix: Picture by @YTJourno League Two Barnet (1) 1 Shelton 9 Swindon Town (0) 2 Clarke 50, 63 Boss Dean Brennan was at pains to point out that 'nobody had died' when a reporter offered commiserations for his side's defeat to high-flying Swindon. He was eager to stress that we had all witnessed a fine game at a freezing Hive on Tuesday night that was a 'a fine advert for the division.' But alongside the mature, adult reflections, there are also regrets that the

By Yann Tear


Charlton are a let-down against Pompey on a day they paid tribute to 'Headphones Norm'
A result that did not match the rousing sentiment : Picture by Patrick van Ijzendoorn Championship Charlton Athletic (0) 1 Fevrier 64 Portsmouth (2) 3 Devlin 22, 55, Bishop 34 After three clean sheets on the spin, with two victories, the Addicks suffered a well-deserved defeat against Portsmouth on Tuesday evening. ‘Goals we normally don’t concede,’ muttered a deflated Addicks-manager Nathan Jones after this relegation battle on a cold evening in Southeast-London. Charlton

By Patrick van Ijzendoorn


Brentford reach FA Cup last 16 for first time in seven years after avoiding upset at Macclesfield
Macclesfield (0) 0 v Brentford (0) 1 Heathcote (og) 70 By Kaz Mochlinski at Moss Rose FA Cup Fourth Round Brentford escaped an extremely embarrassing FA Cup upset by Macclesfield at Moss Rose but it needed a heart-breaking late own-goal to prevent the non-league team from adding to their previous giant-killing heroics. Having unforgettably knocked-out Crystal Palace in the third round last month to create one of the biggest shocks ever in the FA Cup, the sixth-tier side came

By Kaz Mochlinski


One at home, two away and an east v west derby - the FA Cup fate for London's survivors
Picture: Wikimedia Commons March 7/8: FA Cup 5th Round Fulham v Southampton Mansfield Town v Arsenal Wrexham v Chelsea West Ham v Brentford Other ties: Port Vale/Bristol City v Sunderland Newcastle v Man City Leeds v Norwich City Wolves v Liverpool Brentford's slender Monday night win at non-league giant killers Macclesfield has earned them a fifth round tie at West Ham - a clash which will leave the winners one game away from a semi-final at Wembley. The teams met in the th

By Yann Tear


Mikel Arteta’s prayers not quite enough to overcome Keith Andrews’ brave Brentford
Brentford (0) 1 v Arsenal (0) 1 Premier League Matchweek 26 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at the Brentford Community Stadium Mikel Arteta admitted that “you have to pray” when you play against Brentford, and he revealed that he informed his players of the need to defend with their lives before securing a 1-1 away draw which keeps Arsenal clear at the top of the Premier League. Two throw-ins produced the two second half goals from two fine headers, with Arsenal scoring on t

By Kaz Mochlinski


How did this ex-West Ham midfielder fare on Czech home debut?
By Alessandro Schiavone at epet Arena, Prague Andy Irving should have walked into his new stadium as if he owned the place. With Premier League experience under his belt, the man West Ham thought could be no useful in their relegation dogfight should have taken to the Chance Liga like a duck to water. Instead Irving looked like a Czech top-flight player finding his feet in England's top-tier. And not the other way round. Slow, sloppy, predictable and inefficient in both trans
EXCLUSIVE by Alessandro Schiavone


No banana skins in sight as Arsenal make short shrift of League One Wigan
Holloway the lads : Picture by @YTJourno FA Cup Fourth Round Arsenal (4) 4 Madueke 11, Martinelli 18, Hunt og 23, Jesus 27 Wigan Athletic (0) 0 It all felt so low-key - and after all the recent nervous anxiety of chasing Premier League points, that suited the Gunners just fine. Four goals in the opening half an hour put the tie well and truly to bed, meaning no needless excess energy was expended. It felt like a relaxing break from the relentless heavy-duty stuff where vital

By Yann Tear at Emirates Stadium


Weekend roundup: Hammers do just enough at Burton to join Chelsea in the hat, Millwall up to third, Bromley held in summit battle
Hammers got the better of Burton - just It needed the continuing great form of Crysencio Summerville to dig West Ham out of a hole at the Pirelli Stadium as they just about overcame their League One hosts in Saturday's FA Cup Fourth Round tie. But it needed extra-time for the east Londoners to prevail. It took until the 95th minute to make the breakthrough, with a superb strike making it six goals in seven games for the Irons' man in form. Underlining just how difficult a lu
By Yann Tear


Deflated Stephan points finger at mental fragility after QPR slip to defeat against Blackburn
Matrade musings. The QPR boss post match : Picture by Julian Taylor Julien Stephan accused his players of mentally 'throwing in the towel' after conceding the third goal in Saturday's deflating 3-1 home defeat to Blackburn Rovers. And he suggested that the play-offs may not be a realistic target - even though his side are still only four points adrift of sixth place. Rangers started impressively enough, causing Rovers problems, but were hit with three sucker-punches - the thi

By Yann Tear at Loftus Road


QPR slide to sorry defeat as Blackburn make the most of their new international boss
W12 offering for today Championship QPR (1) 1 Saito 35 Blackburn Rovers (2) 3 Jorgensen 21, 39, Morishita 50 The Hoops missed the chance to edge closer to the coveted top six places as they fell to a disappointing home defeat to a Blackburn side who started the day in the bottom three. Having defeated long-time Championship league leaders Coventry City in their previous outing at Loftus Road, hopes were high that Julien Stephan's men could ride the wave and keep the momentum

By Yann Tear at Loftus Road


Brentford give title chasers Arsenal a bloody nose in helter-skelter encounter that underlines their own ambitions
The programme for tonight Premier League Brentford (0) 1 Lewis-Potter 71 Arsenal (0) 1 Madueke 61 Brentford's ever-increasing belief in the possibility of reaching Europe got another massive boost as they recovered after trailing to put a severe dent in the Arsenal title bid. The Gunners saw their lead at the top of the Premier League whittled down to three points after Man City's dramatic late win at Liverpool and badly wanted to reassert their six-point lead with three poin

By Yann Tear at the Gtech Community Stadium


Rosenior laments loss of lead and late Palmer miss as Chelsea’s Premier League winning run ends
Chelsea (1) 2 v Leeds United (0) 2 João Pedro 24 Palmer (pen) 58 Nmecha (pen) 67 Okafor 73 By Kaz Mochlinski at Stamford Bridge Premier League Matchweek 26 Cole Palmer incredibly missed an open goal to win the game in stoppage time as Chelsea threw away a two-goal lead and squandered two points against Leeds United to end their Premier League winning run under Liam Rosenior. Having been victorious in seven of the new head coach’s opening nine matches, among them all four in t

By Kaz Mochlinski


Burnley steal Strand Larsen's thunder after Crystal Palace see two goal lead overturned in blink of an eye
Grand Larseny: The new signing was the face on the matchday programme - Picture by @capitalfootball Premier League Crystal Palace (2) 2 Strand Larsen 17, 33 Burnley (3) 3 Hannibal 40, Anthony 44, Lerma og 45+2 This was a game that should have been all about a dream home debut for Jorgen Strand Larsen but turned into a chaotic evening as the Eagles shipped three goals in seven minutes before the break to fritter away the two goal lead he had given them. Seeking a first home wi

By Yann Tear at Selhurst Park


All over for Frank as Spurs decide to cut their losses ahead of the north London derby
End of the road for Thomas : Picture by @capitalfootball Tuesday night's 2-1 home defeat to Newcastle United proved to be the final straw for Thomas Frank, whose eight month reign at Tottenham has been brought to an end. The writing has been on the wall for a while as the former Bees boss struggled to cope with a glut of injuries and a horrific home record that prompted discontent among Spurs fans. Despite guiding the club to the Champions League knockout stages, he oversaw o
By Yann Tear


Another grim night for Spurs on home soil ushers beleaguered Frank nearer the exit
Glory hunters on the High Road : Picture by Patrick van Ijzendoorn Premier League Tottenham Hotspur (0) 1 Gray 64 Newcastle United (1) 2 Thiaw 45+5, Ramsey 68 Are Tottenham ready for a relegation battle? That's a serious question after another miserable night in N17. A 1-2 defeat against fellow-strugglers Newcastle United meant that Spurs dropped to the 16th place in the Premier League. More bad news arrived from five miles down the River Lee Navigation, where bitter rivals W

By Patrick van Ijzendoorn


Hammers denied at the last by Man United, but supreme effort shows there's plenty of fight left in the tank
Rainy night in Stratford : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League West Ham United (0) 1 Soucek 50 Manchester United (0) 1 Sesko 90+6 Agonising. The Irons came within a whisker of beating Man United at the London Stadium for a fourth season in a row - only to be denied by a last-gasp equaliser from a largely outfought United. West Ham were so impressive in their work-rate and desire to protect a lead they eked out just after the interval through Tomas Soucek. Newcomer Axel Disasi

By Yann Tear at the London Stadium


Weekend roundup: Big away wins just the ticket for Bees, Hammers, Palace, Millwall and Bromley
Picture by @YTJourno A first win at Newcastle since 1934 has given a huge boost to Brentford 's growing ambition to qualify for Europe. They moved up to seventh in the Premier League table after their brilliant 3-2 victory at St James' Park which was sealed with a late strike from Dango Ouattara. Vitaly Janelt had a great game, clearing off the line before heading home an equaliser to cancel Sven Botman's opener at a corner. Igor Thiago then put the Bees ahead from the spot a

By Yann Tear


Second-half collapse dents Fulham's European push in Everton defeat
Fulham (1) 1 Mykolenko OG 18’ Everton (0) 2 Dewsbury-Hall 75’, Leno OG 83’ Fulham’s European ambitions took a hit as they surrendered a lead to lose against Everton. A Vitali Mykolenko own goal gave Marco Silva’s side the lead amid a flurry of chances, but a flat second-half showing allowed the visitors to turn the game around. One-time Chelsea midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall swept home to level the scores before Jake O’Brien got the better of Bernd Leno at a corner and fo
Dan Evans


Arsenal brush aside Black Cats to extend their supremacy at the top of the Premier League
Gunners v Black Cats by @JTaylorSport Arsenal 3 Sunderland 0 If Arsenal, as widely anticipated, do go on to lift the Premier League title for the first time since 2004, it is likely to prove more prosaic than one would expect of champions. For all the verve of a 4-0 win at Leeds United lately, there are other outings to consider, such as this rudimentary 3-0 win over spirited Sunderland. Not that the Gunners fans will particularly care. Twenty two years is an eternity on foot

JULIAN TAYLOR AT EMIRATES STADIUM


QPR boss Stephan gives his verdict on Walsh and his side after the draw at Charlton
Hoops keeper Joe Walsh has earned praise from the boss after he enjoyed another shut out in an away game - playing his part in the 0-0 draw at Charlton on Friday night . The stopper - who has been out on loan at Dorking, Maidenhead and Accrington in recent seasons - is desperate to nail down a regular slot between the sticks for QPR and is doing his chances no harm. He impressed during a torrid first half for the R's at the Valley and confidence is growing after three success
By Yann Tear


Goal shy Charlton and QPR serve up a Friday night stalemate at the Valley
Friday night is derby night at the Valley : Picture by @YTJourno Championship Charlton Athletic 0 QPR 0 QPR's sudden fondness for 0-0 draws on the road extended to a third successive away day as their solid defence withstood a first-half onslaught to earn a share of the spoils at the Valley. It's now seven away games without a win but it feels like a decent enough follow-up to the excellent win against league leaders Coventry last week. Rangers remain just outside the play-of

By Yann Tear at The Valley


Havertz gets Arsenal over the line to first final in six years as Chelsea fail to overturn first leg defeat
Rising to the occasion Carabao Cup Semi-Final Second Leg Arsenal (0) 1 Havertz 90+7 Chelsea (0) 0 Aggregate: 4-2 It was at times tortuous watching for Gunners fans. A precious single goal advantage is not nearly enough to make for calm watching over 90 minutes. They had to watch their side parry and absorb the tension and work their socks off to keep their west London rivals at bay. At times, in spite of the brilliant defending which restricted the Blues to only a handful of

By Yann Tear at Emirates Stadium


Arsenal look increasingly like champions with hugely impressive win at Elland Road
Leeds United (0) 0 v Arsenal (2) 4 Premier League Matchweek 24 Talking Points By Kaz Mochlinski at Elland Road Could an apparently innocuous hip injury have changed Arsenal from contenders into champions-elect? A very late replacement turned out to be crucial in the Gunners’ best away result of the season as they won 0-4 against Leeds United at Elland Road. There were considerable concerns when Bukayo Saka could not complete the pre-match warm-up and with negligible notice No

By Kaz Mochlinski













