Samuel Gardiner - Sports Journalism

Opinion: One position every Premier League club needs to bring in this week   The January transfer window slams shut in one week. Some clubs would be happy with the squads they have, some will be desperate to bring players in through the door. Every club could do with strengthening in at least one position, so let’s take a look at one position that every club should address over the next week.    AFC Bournemouth – Winger Andoni Iraola would have expected more from his team than 15 th at this stage of the season, and a lot of their success was due to Antoine Semenyo, who joined Manchester City at the start of the month. Given that they are also having to contend with injuries to Marcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert, Enes Unal and Ben Gannon-Doak, Bournemouth desperately need attacking reinforcements this transfer window.   Arsenal – Central midfielder To be honest, Arsenal have nearly the perfect squad at the moment, which is evident by the fact that t...

AFCON Final 2026: Were Senegal right to walk off?   After a memorable four-week tournament, the clock in the final of the 2026 African Cup of Nations ticks over 90 minutes in the pouring rain in Rabat. A corner is floated into the penalty area of Senegal, who have just had a goal disallowed for a soft foul, and Moroccan star Brahim Diaz hurls himself to the ground under pressure from West Ham United defender El Hadji Malick Diouf. Congolese referee Jean-Jaques Ngambo, under intense pressure from hosts Morocco’s players and supporters in the national stadium, is advised to go to the touchline monitor, and decides that there is enough contact to give the penalty. To say that the Senegalese were incensed would not do the situation justice. Not even close. After a touchline fracas, manager Pape Thiaw, animated on the touchline, beckons  for his players to walk off the pitch. In those few moments, African football held its breath. The long-running story of controversy...

  Chermiti brace seals Derby delight for Rangers   Youssef Chermiti doubled his Rangers goal tally in one match during the Old Firm Youssef Chermiti’s brace saw Rangers come from behind to defeat Celtic 3-1 at a freezing Celtic Park in a pulsating Old Firm clash. In a true "game of two halves", and a match that was a stark contrast to the previous derby this season, which was a largely uninspiring 0-0 draw at Ibrox at the end of August, Hyun-Jun Yang gave the Parkhead side the lead midway through the first half, with one of the great Old Firm goals of recent times with a wonderful solo effort. Given the outcome of the match, however, it may well turn out to be a goal that Celtic fans would rather forget. The opener was cancelled out shortly after half-time through Chermiti, who finished off Nicolas Raskin’s low cross after a positive move from the visitors, before the Portuguese striker gave Rangers the lead after a good run and finish. Teenage winger Mikey Moore th...

How two new signings opened a nationwide debate on football and multiculturalism   The Hebrew translation of “Forever Pure”, demonstrated at a Beitar match in 2013   Zaur Sadayev turns away from his marker. Bursting into the box, he finds himself one-on-one with the opposition goalkeeper. He faces the opposing goalkeeper, then the ball, before coolly side-footing a shot past the keeper’s dive and into the bottom corner, giving his new side a 1-0 lead in a crucial match at their home stadium, as they attempt to avoid relegation. Usually, this would mean an eruption of noise from all four corners of the stadium; a cacophony of cheers enough to make it a memorable moment for the new signing. That was the case for the most part – except for a small portion of the home fans. Sadayev, a Muslim from Chechnya, was a January transfer window signing in 2013 for Beitar Jerusalem, a team from Israel with a fanbase notorious for its anti-Arab racism and anti-Muslim religiou...

  SWTFC Weekly Roundup: Mixed fortunes, a hat trick and a potential new pitch   Kaleel Green (him again) took his tally to 20 goals for the season this week   It’s rarely a quiet week being a fan of a non-league club, with notable events both on and off the pitch this week. The week started well, with a thumping 5-0 victory over bottom side Frenford at the Lane. Buoyed by the memorable display at Woodford on Friday evening, we came into this match full of confidence. Despite the fact that we had to start the match 10 minutes late, we started on the front foot and never really looked like achieving anything else other than three points. Toheeb Elegushi looked lively throughout and shot just wide in the early exchanges. The only surprise was that it took us as long as we did to take the lead – 25 minutes had passed with near-total Walden domination before Jordy Gent headed the ball onto Kaleel Green, who took his shot early, a powerful low drive in at the go...

SWTFC Weekly Roundup: Bouncebackability, a Sam Deering masterclass and looking ahead to next weekend Despite Woodford putting an athletics track in our way, we could clearly see the four goals we scored past them on Friday night   Nothing says being a supporter of a football club more than losing 5-0 at home one week, against a side lower down in the league table, and then winning 4-1 at the home of a league title challenger the following week. Last week’s result against Buckhurst Hill was the worst I’ve seen us play in years (I wasn’t there for the Great Wakering game earlier this year), but the difference between that defeat and Friday night’s game against Woodford was night and day. We came into this match quietly confident that we could get a positive result and bounce back after such a disappointing previous display, but never in our wildest dreams did we think that we could hit four away at Woodford, historically a very tricky place to go to, and inflict their heaviest ...