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Ken Early: Ireland gaze into the abyss against Armenia but write a happy ending, of sorts

Ken Early: Ireland gaze into the abyss against Armenia but write a happy ending, of sorts

It didn’t feel like a winner was coming for Stephen Kenny’s side - it felt destined to be another embarrassment

Tue Sept 27 2022 - 23:07
Ken Early: Ireland are still getting better despite bad results

Ken Early: Ireland are still getting better despite bad results

Frustrating results can’t hide how Ireland are moving in the right direction

Mon Sept 26 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Bullish Boehly only bets on sure things

Ken Early: Bullish Boehly only bets on sure things

It’s fine for Americans like Todd Boehly to own English football, but not for them to talk as if they owned the place

Mon Sept 19 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Have the good times turned Liverpool weak?

Ken Early: Have the good times turned Liverpool weak?

This season has seen Klopp’s team outrun and outsprinted by their opponent in nearly every game

Mon Sept 12 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Playing against the ball suits United right now, and Ten Hag recognises this

Ken Early: Playing against the ball suits United right now, and Ten Hag recognises this

Ten Hag happy to adjust his philosophy in pursuit of early results

Mon Sept 05 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Eddie Howe will soon learn that the guy who brings the money gets the credit

Ken Early: Eddie Howe will soon learn that the guy who brings the money gets the credit

The signing of Alexander Isak shows that Newcastle’s Saudi owners haven’t forgotten them, and it’s a reminder of the power of finance

Mon Aug 29 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Manchester United continue to make the mistake of playing to the gallery

Ken Early: Manchester United continue to make the mistake of playing to the gallery

The signing of Casemiro maintains a trend which suggests the absence of a coherent long-term strategy at the club

Mon Aug 22 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Erik ten Hag will have to choose between his system and his goalkeeper

Ken Early: Erik ten Hag will have to choose between his system and his goalkeeper

Ten Hag can not implement the tactical system he wants with a keeper uncomfortable with the ball at his feet

Mon Aug 15 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Opening weekend of the Premier League showed new tolerance for blatant fouls

Ken Early: Opening weekend of the Premier League showed new tolerance for blatant fouls

Opening weekend of the Premier League showed new tolerance for blatant fouls

Mon Aug 08 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Dealing with social media ridicule now one of the biggest battles for a top–level player

Ken Early: Dealing with social media ridicule now one of the biggest battles for a top–level player

Dealing with perpetual malicious ridicule must now be one of the hardest things about being a top–level player

Mon Aug 01 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early’s season preview: Will Erling Haaland have the patience for Pep Guardiola’s rewiring?

Ken Early’s season preview: Will Erling Haaland have the patience for Pep Guardiola’s rewiring?

If Darwin Nuñez is slow to adapt it’s hard to see how Liverpool can stop Manchester City winning another title

Sat Jul 30 2022 - 07:00
Ken Early: Barcelona double down on their actual core value — creative accounting

Ken Early: Barcelona double down on their actual core value — creative accounting

When the club president says ‘we are activating the economic levers’, it sounds better than ‘we’re mortgaging our future’

Mon Jul 25 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Sportswashing suggests guilt when it’s more likely the Saudis are not embarrassed at all

Ken Early: Sportswashing suggests guilt when it’s more likely the Saudis are not embarrassed at all

Kingdom trying to buy the world’s attention through LIV Golf and Newcastle, but might this not be an end in itself rather than a means to an end?

Mon Jun 20 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Powerful and graceful Collins channels Beckenbauer

Ken Early: Powerful and graceful Collins channels Beckenbauer

If the Irish defender is playing in the Championship next season, the big Premier League clubs are clearly insane

Tue Jun 14 2022 - 22:37
Ken Early: System switch gets Ireland back on track

Ken Early: System switch gets Ireland back on track

There was a lot more conviction about Ireland’s attacking display in the handsome victory over Scotland

Mon Jun 13 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Maybe Ireland would feel more at home in League C of the Nations League

Ken Early: Maybe Ireland would feel more at home in League C of the Nations League

Watching the Ukrainian players celebrate with their fans it was hard to feel too bad about the outcome

Wed Jun 08 2022 - 22:38
Ken Early: Stephen Kenny should forget past and concentrate on present

Ken Early: Stephen Kenny should forget past and concentrate on present

Manager's defence of record in advance of Armenia tie sees laughable now

Mon Jun 06 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Convincing Liverpool’s players the best has yet to come is Klopp’s big test

Ken Early: Convincing Liverpool’s players the best has yet to come is Klopp’s big test

`I just felt it was my day and I saved everything,’ says Real Madrid’s Courtois

Mon May 30 2022 - 00:59
Ken Early: Uefa are lucky the Paris shambles did not have far worse consequences

Ken Early: Uefa are lucky the Paris shambles did not have far worse consequences

You can’t try and pass a camel through the eye of a needle and then pepper spray it when it can’t move

Sun May 29 2022 - 13:46
Ken Early: Liverpool looking to prey on Real Madrid anxiety in intriguing Paris match

Ken Early: Liverpool looking to prey on Real Madrid anxiety in intriguing Paris match

Kylian Mbappé's stunning snub leaves the Spanish giants with an identity crisis

Fri May 27 2022 - 20:00
Ken Early: Guardiola relief after avoiding biggest disappointment of career

Ken Early: Guardiola relief after avoiding biggest disappointment of career

Liverpool can feel like brave losers after title slipped away on final day

Mon May 23 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: City’s poor penalty record hands Liverpool title race lifeline

Ken Early: City’s poor penalty record hands Liverpool title race lifeline

West Ham's Fabianski is the right man in the right place at the right time

Mon May 16 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: City can’t be regarded as a great team until they conquer Europe

Ken Early: City can’t be regarded as a great team until they conquer Europe

What separates the great sides from the very good ones is the ability to perform when the pressure is greatest

Mon May 09 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Big changes ahead for Chelsea, but it’s time for change anyway

Ken Early: Big changes ahead for Chelsea, but it’s time for change anyway

Rash of defensive mistakes has been very frustrating for Thomas Tuchel

Mon May 02 2022 - 01:00
Ken Early: Everton tactic of ultradefence outdated and just plain dumb

Ken Early: Everton tactic of ultradefence outdated and just plain dumb

Lampard’s old school management techniques did little to stave off loss to Liverpool

Mon Apr 25 2022 - 01:00
Ken Early: Dyche’s fading star tracks decline of endurance game

Ken Early: Dyche’s fading star tracks decline of endurance game

Burnley no longer ‘tough to play against’ or any of the things people used ascribe to them

Mon Apr 18 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: City vs Liverpool rivalry focused on the game rather than violence

Ken Early: City vs Liverpool rivalry focused on the game rather than violence

Ferguson-Wenger style spats nowhere to be seen between Guardiola and Klopp

Mon Apr 11 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Optimism is football's sweetest illusion, so Ireland should enjoy while it lasts

Ken Early: Optimism is football's sweetest illusion, so Ireland should enjoy while it lasts

Draw against world’s top-ranked side a cause for cheer, but tighter defensive play required

Mon Mar 28 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: PSG owners have created a sporting Disneyland, with Messi as Mickey Mouse

Ken Early: PSG owners have created a sporting Disneyland, with Messi as Mickey Mouse

Qatari money has cost the Paris club dearly – no wonder fans are booing loudly

Mon Mar 21 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Newcastle poised for their own stint as Carmela Soprano FC

Ken Early: Newcastle poised for their own stint as Carmela Soprano FC

Eddie Howe, manager of club owned by Saudi fund, refuses to comment on mass executions

Mon Mar 14 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Neither Maguire nor Ronaldo fit to lead Manchester United

Ken Early: Neither Maguire nor Ronaldo fit to lead Manchester United

If the club are to close the gap on the likes of City, they need the right captain

Mon Mar 07 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: What now for Abramovich and the Premier League?

Ken Early: What now for Abramovich and the Premier League?

With oligarchs off the pitch, who will keep the Premier League moneyball rolling?

Mon Feb 28 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: City starting to look foolish for buying Grealish and not Kane

Ken Early: City starting to look foolish for buying Grealish and not Kane

Title is still Manchester City’s to lose unless some unseemly off-field antics get in the way

Mon Feb 21 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: David Moyes is in a lose-lose Zouma situation

Ken Early: David Moyes is in a lose-lose Zouma situation

West Ham boss more comfortable in not letting Twitter pick his starting team for him

Mon Feb 14 2022 - 05:48
Ken Early: Forget about managing, Roy Keane should stick to what he's good at

Ken Early: Forget about managing, Roy Keane should stick to what he's good at

Brash style that works in punditry is clearly an issue for dressingroom man-management

Mon Feb 07 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Into cryptospace and beyond – John Terry bursts forth

Ken Early: Into cryptospace and beyond – John Terry bursts forth

When it comes to cryptoinvesting, players on the endorsement trail may need to reconsider

Mon Jan 31 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Benitez replacement likely to be chewed up by Everton chaos

Ken Early: Benitez replacement likely to be chewed up by Everton chaos

Owner Farhad Moshiri has pumped money into the club with little return to show for it

Mon Jan 24 2022 - 05:43
Ken Early: Manchester City’s dominance a reminder the rich always get their way

Ken Early: Manchester City’s dominance a reminder the rich always get their way

Money wins titles, but Guardiola’s style lacks excitement that club’s fans – and players – seek

Mon Jan 17 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Sacking van Gaal was Ed Woodward's biggest mistake at Man United

Ken Early: Sacking van Gaal was Ed Woodward's biggest mistake at Man United

Woodward’s Manchester United developed an unhealthy fixation on yesterday’s men

Mon Jan 10 2022 - 06:33
Ken Early: Are we seeing a Chelsea side run by the coach and not the players?

Ken Early: Are we seeing a Chelsea side run by the coach and not the players?

Result of Lukaku saga will show if Tuchel has shifted Chelsea’s historical balance of power

Mon Jan 03 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Referees using VAR to make decisions they feel the game needs

Ken Early: Referees using VAR to make decisions they feel the game needs

Liverpool vs Tottenham: a brilliant game, or an out-of-control disciplinary mess?

Mon Dec 20 2021 - 06:00
Ken Early: Don’t make players pawns in sad and bitter Covid culture war

Ken Early: Don’t make players pawns in sad and bitter Covid culture war

Victor Lindelof breathing issues latest in line of incidents incorrectly linked to vaccines

Mon Dec 13 2021 - 05:39
Ken Early: Der Klassiker officiating farce a bad look for German football

Ken Early: Der Klassiker officiating farce a bad look for German football

Jude Bellingham will be punished as he exposes flawed leadership in German football

Mon Dec 06 2021 - 07:51
Ken Early: Ireland’s players look like they’re finally enjoying it again

Ken Early: Ireland’s players look like they’re finally enjoying it again

Second goal combined rare blend of energy, persistence, intelligence and quality passing

Mon Nov 15 2021 - 06:00
Ken Early: Ireland’s progress under Stephen Kenny is clear – let’s keep it going

Ken Early: Ireland’s progress under Stephen Kenny is clear – let’s keep it going

Packed Aviva crowd left wanting more as Ireland come close to victory

Thu Nov 11 2021 - 22:44
Ken Early: It’s high time that United remembered that winning pays

Ken Early: It’s high time that United remembered that winning pays

Commercialising strategy has Netflix and Amazon as bigger rivals than other clubs

Mon Nov 08 2021 - 06:00
Ken Early: Spurs left floundering by Daniel Levy’s managerial appointments

Ken Early: Spurs left floundering by Daniel Levy’s managerial appointments

Chairman’s managerial selections since Pochettino sacking have left team in a mess

Mon Nov 01 2021 - 06:15
Ken Early: Man United's directionless drift under Solskjaer has been decisively exposed

Ken Early: Man United's directionless drift under Solskjaer has been decisively exposed

Manager paid the price for putting off politically awkward but necessary decisions about his team

Mon Oct 25 2021 - 06:00
Ken Early: Newcastle take final step in becoming Saudi regime’s pet club

Ken Early: Newcastle take final step in becoming Saudi regime’s pet club

Any success the club achieves won’t feel like the fans always dreamt it would feel

Mon Oct 18 2021 - 06:00
Ken Early: This Ireland feels like a team at the beginning of its story not the end

Ken Early: This Ireland feels like a team at the beginning of its story not the end

Stephen Kenny’s team has got people interested in what happens next

Mon Oct 11 2021 - 05:30
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