Ken Early: Flighty Manchester United executives have pandered their way into a corner
Fans are fickle and easily swayed, while executive club management has proved to be serial failures
There’s a clear reason the world’s best players are staying away from the Premier League
Obsession with physical duels is turning the world’s richest league into a wasteland for creativity
No longer forced to live a lie, City fans embraced their club for what it truly is
Their titles now mean nothing, yet still they taunted Anfield with a song declaring: ‘Cheating bastards, we know what we are’
At the end, Ireland’s players just wanted to get out of the nightmare
Finn Azaz’s creativity was missed against Israel but leaving him on the bench spared him from the criticism that would inevitably have come his way
Ken Early: Israel’s war in Gaza brings Ireland to remote cornfields in Serbia
In a country with its own tortured history, small town of Backa Topola hosts divisive Nations League fixture
Ireland find focus as Troy Parrott scores one of the best goals we’ve ever seen
Many hours spent arguing in team meetings last week could have confused and demoralised Ireland, but it seems to have cleared their heads
Ireland beat Israel in a bleak farce that leaves everyone feeling betrayed
In a mess seven months in the making, there is no one villain in the Irish set-up at whom people can point the finger
Ken Early: Why the discomfort over Israel fixtures? Because we know Ireland’s position is a fudge
Ireland are anxious to get through these games without creating any unnecessary trouble. Israel are long past caring about that
Ireland finally buckle under Balkan onslaught in listless Kosovo loss
Big strong back five did not bring the security they were intended to provide
Ken Early: Quite a few big Premier League clubs are looking pretty dumb right now
But expect change at Arsenal as Mikel Arteta will not treat Brighton defeat as just a bad day at work
In the post-Ferguson era, expectation is Manchester United’s Kryptonite
United fail to exploit advantage after Foden sees red in hotly contested Manchester derby
Emi Martínez might have arrived at Chelsea a couple of seasons too late
Despite €2bn spent on new players in the past four years, Chelsea coach Xabi Alonso still has few midfield options
Premier League’s financial dominance not enough to lure European elites
Big-spending English clubs increasingly reluctant to take a risk on players without Premier League experience
Bezos-backed Liverpool look the most vulnerable ahead of new Premier League season
Arsenal’s squad is most likely to endure in a league that prizes the strength of Declan Rice over the subtlety of Rodri
Ken Early: Argentina shows us what Ireland could be if our GAA culture escaped the island
Argentinians may believe that nobody can get more carried away over football than they do ... but we know better – just think England