Tag: Brentford

Alfie Mawson: “The surgeon told me my career was over at the age of 18”

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When the truth came out, Alfie Mawson didn’t want her covered in sugar. After a career blighted by a meniscus problem in his right knee, he just wanted the facts, and telling them straight. And so he did his surgery. He said, “I could show your knee to 100 other knee surgeons, and they’d all say the same thing: You need to retire,” Mawson recalls. Just like that, Mawson’s career ended, at the age of 29. His final game for Wycombe Wanderers was against Ipswich Town in League One a…

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Mark Bullingham: The FA is ready to ease GBE restrictions – allowing Premier League clubs to sign players early

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Chief executive Mark Bullingham says the Football Association is ready to ease Governing Bodies Endorsement (GBE) restrictions to allow more Premier League clubs to recruit players early. But the FA is also concerned that the influx of new players could limit the path to the first team for English footballers. Post-Brexit, the introduction of the GBE in January 2021 has significantly impacted people who can be recruited from outside the UK. Clubs can no longer take talent from Europe under the age of 18 and the points tally now decides…

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Ornstein: Mount talks on hold, Rashford deal boost, Krosche in Liverpool frame

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Chelsea’s faltering campaign suffered its latest setback on Saturday as they were beaten at home by bottom-of-the-table Southampton: they remain 10th in the Premier League with 15 games still to play. One of the many issues facing the new ownership at Stamford Bridge concerns Mason Mount, the homegrown talent and England international midfielder whose deal is due to expire in June 2024. Negotiations between Chelsea and Mount over a new contract have not yet led to an agreement, with several offers made last summer and in the autumn rejected by…

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How Brentford frustrated Arsenal by being ‘cool, brave and aggressive’

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Thomas Frank gave his players a simple message ahead of Brentford’s clash with Arsenal on Saturday afternoon. “Be calm, brave and aggressive.” Brentford had not lost in the Premier League since a 4-0 defeat by Aston Villa in October, and Arsenal were about to test their mettle. Frank’s side barely bothered Mikel Arteta’s side when they lost 3-0 in September, and he claimed “we’ll probably need our best performance in a Premier League game” to get a positive result at the Emirates. Frank’s message struck a chord with the players…

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Arsenal and Brighton are on the wrong end of the VAR calls on a bad day for the officials

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Arsenal and Brighton & Hove Albion were on the wrong end of bad video assistant referee calls on Saturday in what proved to be a bad day for the Premier League officials. A human error denied Pervis Estupinan a legitimate goal against Crystal Palace, while Brentford’s goal against Arsenal should have been ruled out. Here’s how the two incidents unfolded on Saturday… Crystal Palace vs Brighton Estupinan appeared to score the opening goal in the 32nd minute at Selhurst Park, but it was ruled offside after being checked by VAR…

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Frank admits Raya could potentially leave Brentford: ‘Had to be worth at least £40m’

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Thomas Frank hopes David Raya will stay at Brentford “forever”, but admits it will be “difficult” to convince the goalkeeper to sign a new contract. Raya joined Brentford from Blackburn Rovers in July 2019 for around £3m on a four-year deal and helped them gain promotion to the First Division by winning the 2021 Championship Final. He has performed stellarly for them this season and was a member of Spain’s World Cup squad. Brentford began talks with Raya and his representatives over a new contract last May, but their initial…

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English clubs are responsible for more than half of all transfer fees in the January window

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English football clubs spent more than half of global transfer fees worldwide in the January transfer window, according to FIFA International Transfer Snapshot. The 2023 report says teams in England topped the money spent table in January, with a total of $898.6m (£739.5m) spent, accounting for 57.3 per cent of total spending globally. France followed in second place with total spending of £108.5m. A record number of transfers also occurred during the January transfer window across the men’s and women’s matches.A total of 4,387 transfers were completed in the men’s…

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Thomas Frank ‘would love’ to keep Pontus Jansson as Brentford boss says contract talks ‘ongoing’

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Thomas Frank says Brentford are in an “ongoing discussion” about whether to offer Pontus Jansson a contract extension and admits he would “love” the centre-back to stay at the club. Jansson’s current deal, which he signed in January 2022, expires in June. The 31-year-old has made just seven Premier League appearances this season as he struggles with a persistent hamstring injury, but Frank said ahead of Brentford’s game at home to Southampton on Saturday: “We’re talking about (extending) seeing if this It could be a possibility. “We love Pontus, Pontus…

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Variable goals and deft movement: how Brentford corners deceived Liverpool

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If you open the Oxford English Dictionary and look for ‘set piece’, chances are there will soon be an image of a Brentford badge alongside the caption. This is because the London club is becoming increasingly murderous of them. For two years now, Brentford have focused on set-pieces to give them an edge in an era of football where marginal advantages make the difference. The fact that their former set-piece coaches, Gianni Feu and Nicolas Gover, have converted set-pieces for Tottenham and Arsenal in the past two years is an…

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The ‘dynamic duo’ Mbeumu and Wissa show Brentford can survive without Tony

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It turns out that there was no need to panic. Fitness concerns around Evan Toni dominated the build-up to Brentford’s stunning 3-1 victory over Liverpool. The forward had to be removed on a stretcher in the dying minutes of Brentford’s 2-0 win over West Ham United just four days earlier with a leg injury. He fell awkwardly trying to get the ball out of the corner and the initial fear was that he might be out for months. In his pre-match press conference, Thomas Frank said that “there was no…

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