Eyes down for another tilt at glory The World Cup has barely ended but for most of football fans, the attention now turns to the real business - the return of the domestic programme. Saturday sees the start of the campaign with the Carabao Cup taking up the mantle as season curtain-raiser a week ahead of a full EFL programme in the Championship and Leagues One and two. The Premier League's stars gets a extra week on the beach before they get going the following weekend (Augus

By Alessandro Schiavone It’s 40 years since Suzy Lamplugh vanished into thin air on the afternoon of 28 July 1986. It's a story we've all read thousands of times. The 25-year old estate agent left the Sturgis Estate Agency to meet a client calling himself “Mr Kipper” to show him around a flat at 31 Shorrolds Road. And was never seen again. Whether those events unfolded exactly as recorded remains anyone’s guess. But it remains the accepted version of events to this day. Her w

Photo by Alessandro Schiavone By Alessandro Schiavone While Spain reached the final of the FIFA World Cup courtesy of a convincing 2-0 win over France in Dallas yesterday, one particular detail may have been lost on Tottenham Hotspur fans: Pedro Porro's strike pulled their club level with Chelsea on three goals in World Cup semifinals. Up until yesterday’s clash between the neighbouring countries, the Blues were 3-2 ahead in these London charts thanks to Oscar (1) and Schurrl

Curtain call for Silva after Cottage hosts final game of the campaign Premier League Fulham (1) 2 Diop 20, Cairney 80 Newcastle United (0) 0 Marco Silva collected his 100th win as Fulham head coach but the question after this impressive 2-0 victory against Newcastle United is whether he will be around to add to that milestone. In the past few months, Silva has sidestepped questions about his future with more adeptness than his attacking players, who went into Sunday’s match h

The runners and riders at the Cottage A goal from flying Brazilian winger Rayan was just enough to give the Cherries all three points at the Cottage after both sides had been reduced to 10 men. The disappointing outcome for Fulham highlighted how both teams are feeling about their respective campaigns, with Bournemouth improbably challenging for a Champions League spot, while the mid-table Whites appear to be resigned to missing out on a European adventure. Rayan’s second-ha

Once more into the Thameside breach : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Fulham (0) 0 Andersen s/o 45+7 Bournemouth (0) 1 Rayan 53 Christie s/o 41 If these are to be Marco Silva's final weeks in charge they do not look like ending in a glorious final surge towards a European place as the high-riding Cherries secured a win that puts them into sixth spot and in sight of Champions League football. It is no disgrace to go down to a side now unbeaten in 16 Premier League games si

Gunning for precious points : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Arsenal (3) 3 Gyokeres 9, 45+3 Saka 40 Fulham (0) 0 Arsenal rediscovered the art of winning comfortably in a performance which seemed more like the ones they were delivering so regularly at the start of the season rather than the stodgy fare of late. They raced out of the blocks and blew Fulham away with a dazzling first half show that ensured they move six points clear of Man City - albeit having played two ga

Wisteria rather than hysteria on a fine afternoon by the Thames : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Fulham (1) 1 Sessegnon 43 Aston Villa (0) 0 Ryan Sessegnon's first goal since November 1 - his third on the season - was just enough to get the better of Europa League semi-finalists Aston Villa in a mostly lukewarm encounter. Victory is unlikely to carry much lasting significance. Fulham were delighted to claim their 10th home win of the season after a largely artisenal effo

By Alessandro Schiavone While Arsenal look increasingly likely to cement their serial bottlers status once more on current form following their 2-1 defeat at Man City yesterday, their hated rivals from down the road Tottenham Hotspur are flirting with a shock relegation, and two-time European kings Chelsea could miss out on the Champions League once again, with fifth-placed Liverpool now holding a SEVEN-point lead. And that with only five fixtures left to negotiate before

On sale today : Picture by @YTJourno Premier League Brentford 0 Fulham 0 A frantic game full of good intentions meandered to the conclusion which had looked on the cards almost from the word go. The Bees will feel they did enough to pinch it towards the end - when it needed a superb Bernd Leno save to ensure parity - but this was game of modest and only fleeting excitement. For once, Harry Wilson was not able to turn the game Fulham's way. He had scored in the previous three