Author: INDEPENDENT

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Last season, Jurgen Klopp described Diogo Jota as the best finisher at Anfield. If Arne Slot is yet to bestow such a compliment – and, more modest in his rhetoric, his praise of anyone so far has tended to be measured – he has installed the Portuguese as his first-choice No 9, a role he only had intermittently under the German. If Slot looked justified after the biggest win…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsIt’s a bit of a risk to put a lesser-known Shakespeare play with a vaguely comical name in the National Theatre’s massive Olivier space. But you wouldn’t know it from the monumental confidence of Lyndsey Turner’s swaggering production, full of antique grandeur and up-to-the-minute fireworks. The story’s set in the early days of Ancient Rome – the city’s fierce origin myth referenced by a giant statue of the…

Smile.io is a Business Reporter clientWith new brands entering the market every day, customer loyalty has never been more important – here’s where things could be headed.With thousands of e-commerce businesses appearing by the day, customer loyalty has never been more important. With more and more options on where to spend their money, customers have a greater opportunity to patronise businesses that more closely align with their beliefs, morals and values – or choose not to support a business altogether for those same reasons.A core base of customers is crucial when it comes to fuelling the growth of any business.…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Manchester City are still waiting for confirmation of how long Rodri will be out for, with Pep Guardiola expecting the midfielder will be sidelined for a long time.But Guardiola raised hopes that Rodri will not be out for the season, the City manager said there are conflicting views on the severity of his knee problem with a final verdict expected on Wednesday.The Euro 2024 winner came off in Sunday’s…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsThe National Theatre has announced it will be premiering Stephen Sondheim’s final musical Here We Are.The play, directed by American Horror Story actor, Joe Mantello, is accompanied by a book by Tony Award nominee David Ives. It had its off-Broadway premiere in New York in October 2023 and is now set for its UK debut. Here We Are follows a group of people who are unable to leave…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell is poised to come back from the cold to make his first appearance of the season during Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash with League Two leaders Barrow.The England left-back looked set to leave the Blues in the summer after being told he had no future at Stamford Bridge.Head coach Enzo Maresca last week announced the situation had changed and now plans to name Chilwell in his…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter It was the last kick of a ball by a Manchester City player, John Stones latching on to the rebound after Jakub Kiwior had flung himself into the path of Mateo Kovacic’s shot, just beating the heroic David Raya. Arsenal were seconds away from a statement win, from a seismic victory. Instead, a 98th-minute goal extended City’s unbeaten run at home to 48 games. Their gap to Arsenal remained…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Fresh from a midweek 0-0 draw apiece comes a clash of two clubs whose last meeting finished goalless. It wasn’t always the case when Manchester City faced Arsenal. The problem for the Londoners, however, was that Pep Guardiola’s team scored the vast majority of the goals. Two seasons ago, matches that shaped the title race finished 3-0 and 4-1 to City. Last season, however, matches billed as title deciders…

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsSign up to our free breaking news emailsHowdy partner. Turns out, if you speak all folksy-like, eat red meat, tell stories about Uncle Sam, and maybe do a bit of xenophobia, you can become a demagogue too. So shows recent history, and so shows Elia Kazan and Budd Schulberg’s 1957 film A Face in the Crowd, which followed a drifter who becomes a celebrity and eventually a politician, fomenting ever wilder and more extreme views…

Sign up to Miguel Delaney’s Reading the Game newsletter sent straight to your inbox for freeSign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Sign up to Miguel’s Delaney’s free weekly newsletter Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou will continue to embrace recent struggles because he remains steadfast in his belief he will bring success to the club.Spurs were on the verge of an early Carabao Cup exit at Coventry on Wednesday until late efforts from Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson earned a much-needed 2-1 win.A midweek defeat after Sunday’s painful loss to Arsenal would have increased the scrutiny on Postecoglou, who has…