Ken Early: Not even El Clásico win over Real Madrid can soothe the air of dread at BarcelonaEpic off-field scandal - El Caso Negreira - threatens to engulf the Catalan clubMon Mar 20 2023 - 06:52
Ken Early: Gary Lineker affair shows impartiality is yesterday’s newsSaga underlines how Britain’s fake populist government has once again failed to read the (dressing) roomMon Mar 13 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Liverpool 7 Manchester United 0? Imagine trying to understand this nonsense for a livingInstead of trying to frustrate Liverpool, United should have gone looking for the glass jawMon Mar 06 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Having success bought by a trillionaire sugar daddy is antithetical to what Manchester United is supposed to beA takeover by Qatar would would rob the club’s subsequent achievements of any real meaningMon Feb 27 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Liverpool need Darwin Nunez if they are to keep Real Madrid guessingJurgen Klopp's Liverpool can hit back at Real Madrid in Anfield after Carlo Ancelotti's Champions League final comments in ParisMon Feb 20 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Pep Guardiola shows he’s no Julius Caesar For Julius Caesar suspicion was intolerable, but Pep, it turns out, can live with plenty of itMon Feb 13 2023 - 06:00
Ken Early: Even in the crazy world of football, Chelsea’s spending spree seems absurdKen Early: Chelsea have for the time being transformed themselves into one of the most compelling spectacles in all of sportMon Feb 06 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Evan Ferguson the victim of an inept refereeing culturePrimary duty to protect players being forgotten as referees (and VAR) seem more concerned about ‘letting the game flow’Mon Jan 30 2023 - 06:00
Pep Guardiola may live to regret selling the brilliant Zinchenko to ArsenalTechnical and intelligent, the Ukrainian left-back masterminded the victory over Manchester UnitedMon Jan 23 2023 - 06:00
Ken Early: Man City look to be struggling with some of the same problems as burnt-out LiverpoolThere were more significant changes at the top of the Premier League in 2022 than any year since 2013Mon Jan 16 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Graham Potter on shaky ground as Chelsea faithful grow restlessThere’s really no rational case for the club to sack the manager but football is not a rational businessMon Jan 09 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: Football is different in today’s generation, not betterPlayers such as Pelé and Lionel Messi have stood out by defying the norms of their different timesMon Jan 02 2023 - 05:00
Ken Early: 2022 was the year I impressed myself with how frequently my predictions were wrongMy failure rate was far worse than random chance; it was as though some instinct was leading me unerringly to the exact opposite of the truthMon Dec 26 2022 - 06:00
Final will go down as one of the greatest in World Cup historyFrance suddenly sprang into life in the second-half to create an extraordinary contestSun Dec 18 2022 - 22:11
Ken Early: You couldn’t make up the madness of this World Cup final and Messi’s Hollywood ending Final for the ages is crowning glory that puts Messi on a par with Maradona’s effort in 1986Sun Dec 18 2022 - 21:42
Ken Early: Messi’s vindication leaves Ronaldo fans praying for Mbappé intervention And Gianni Infantino must have been reading some strange stuff before the World CupSat Dec 17 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early in Doha: This simulation of a city is a place produced when money and lives are no objectIn this gleaming setting for a one-city World Cup, an unsettling air of fakeness pervades everythingFri Dec 16 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Superstars Mbappé and Messi will align as magic finally runs out for MoroccoInjuries caught up with the brave African side - the worry is that a virus might now have a similar effect on FranceWed Dec 14 2022 - 21:44
Ken Early: Messi shows that there is more to speed than physique as Argentina roll onNot happy just to have scored a penalty the Argentina captain went on a stunning run in the 69th minuteTue Dec 13 2022 - 22:05
Dalic in dreamland again as Croatia welcome underdogs’ tagKen Early: Coach Dalic in dreamland as Croatia aim to end Argentina and Messi's quest for World Cup gloryMon Dec 12 2022 - 19:00
England go out as Kane takes his place in the penalty pantheon of painHarry Kane scores one penalty and misses another as Olivier Giroud proves the heroSun Dec 11 2022 - 08:34
Harry Kane has a chance to vault to the highest possible level of English football heroismThe player has developed new ways to serve England and help his team-mates while still contributing a lot of goals himselfSat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Rather than mourn for Brazil, world should marvel at miracle of CroatiaThis astonishing team, led by the greatest midfield player of his generation, has perfected the art of doing just enoughFri Dec 09 2022 - 20:25
Hat-trick hero Ramos still has to take second billing as Portugal power past Switzerland Fernando Santos stumbles upon a winning formula by sensationally dropping Cristiano RonaldoTue Dec 06 2022 - 21:39
Brazil turn on the style to see off South Korea but still no sign of a full house World Cup favourites scored four times in the opening 36 minutes before easing off in the second halfMon Dec 05 2022 - 21:50
Ken Early: England recover from sluggish start to coast past Senegal Crunch quarter-final date with France set for next SaturdaySun Dec 04 2022 - 21:10
Ken Early: Argentina’s Alvarez and Messi combine to unleash modernity and magic on World CupAustralia put to the sword by the genius Messi in his 1,000th gameSat Dec 03 2022 - 23:11
Ken Early: World Cup grudge matches carry an extra bite – sometimes it can be too much to bearGhana and Serbia discover that grudges make for poor motivation on big World Cup stageSat Dec 03 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Romelu Lukaku suffers the five circles of football hell as Belgium depart World Cup Second-half substitute endured an extraordinary personal nightmare in scoreless draw with CroatiaThu Dec 01 2022 - 19:50
Ken Early: Messi’s ability to make things happen from the least promising of positions still mesmerises He prefers to let the space come to him these days but his use of it is still a joy to beholdWed Nov 30 2022 - 22:45
World Cup: Iranians unite against USA but are left sorely disappointedControversial build-up to crucial game as Iranian football figures and media took offence at a series of perceived American provocationsWed Nov 30 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Christian Pulisic’s painful goal the difference as USA beat IranUSA progress to last-16 in second place behind England thanks to first half goalTue Nov 29 2022 - 22:20
Captain Koulibaly to the rescue as Senegal beat Ecuador to progressChelsea defender fired home in 70th minute, three minutes after Caicedo had equalisedTue Nov 29 2022 - 17:47
Bruno Fernandes scores twice against Uruguay to secure Portugal’s passage to knockoutsSuárez and Uruguay must now beat Ghana, the team of the handball incident in 2010, to stay aliveMon Nov 28 2022 - 21:47
Ken Early: For Argentina, getting carried away is the whole point of footballKen Early: Neutrals are rooting for Argentina and it's not entirely due to the Messi factorMon Nov 28 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Niclas Füllkrug’s beefy riposte earns Germany draw against skilful Spain Pedri appears to be the Vishnu of legs as he dazzles on the pitch in World Cup clashSun Nov 27 2022 - 21:36
First World Cup in Middle East is turning into great one for teams from Asian Football ConfederationSaudi comeback and Japan’s heroic win over Germany have been the moments of the tournament so farSat Nov 26 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Why is this World Cup providing so many 0-0 draws?Present-day Liverpool striker endured a frustrating afternoon in dreary draw against South KoreaThu Nov 24 2022 - 19:33
Ken Early: Germany’s protest was admirable but sponsors could look closer to homeTeam cover their mouths in photograph while interior minister Nancy Faeser wears One Love armbandWed Nov 23 2022 - 17:22
Ken Early: Germany fall asleep just as Japan find the plan to pull them apartGermany lose their first World Cup game yet again after Japan storm to victoryWed Nov 23 2022 - 17:10
Ken Early: The world came to crown Messi only for Saudi Arabia to tear up the scriptHervé Renard’s fighters remind us that when you run and run and run, football will always give you a chanceTue Nov 22 2022 - 15:18
World Cup Group A: Patient Netherlands strike late to beat SenegalAfrican side badly miss injured Sadio Mané's cutting edge in slow and ponderous affairMon Nov 21 2022 - 19:58
Ken Early: Infantino still a master at telling the powerful what they want to hearThe FIFA president’s remarks before the World Cup kicked off were widely derided, but there is method in his apparent madnessMon Nov 21 2022 - 06:00
World Cup a rare chance for Messi, Mbappe and Neymar to perform on a stage their talents deserveIf Messi’s last dance were to take Argentina to the title it would be a story beautiful enough to bring out the inner eight-year-old in all of usSat Nov 19 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: City’s inability to hit their very top form should give Arsenal hopeThe Saudis’ first full season in the Premier League is going rather better than expected, with Newcastle in third placeMon Nov 14 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Qatar 2022 offers a terrifying vision of the future in one of the richest places on earthFifa’s decision to grant a World Cup to a nation built upon a racialised caste system was misguided to say the leastMon Oct 31 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Steven Gerrard failed to understand it was about Aston Villa - not about himGerrard's fall from grace at Aston Villa another cautionary tale about star players turned managerMon Oct 24 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Manchester City-Liverpool rivalry enters new, more aggressive phaseGuardiola loses his cool at Anfield and Manchester City lose their wayMon Oct 17 2022 - 04:15
Ken Early: Stephen Kenny faces ‘career-defining’ Euro qualifiers more so than playersFor the manager to still be in charge for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Greece are the team Ireland will have to beatMon Oct 10 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Manchester City have taken the gloves offCity’s owners will spend whatever it takes. United’s will spend as little as they think they can get away withMon Oct 03 2022 - 05:00
