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  Non-League vs Premier League: Grassroots or Glamour?   As you walk through the turnstiles of Saffron Walden Town’s Catons Lane ground on a matchday, it is clear that this is one of many examples of a non-league football club where a community feel is of great importance. Fans greet other fans with a smile on their face and a shake of the hand. They walk into the bar, sharing a joke. Children in replica shirts are running around playing football on the mini pitch in the corner of the ground. The players walk out of the tunnel as the match is about to start and are greeted by young flagbearers, who hold out their hands for a high-five from their heroes. Clearly, youth team players are welcomed and are made to feel valued by the club. “I think it’s really important to have that friendly community feel around the club”, explains Toby Salmon, who is into his second season playing for the Essex Senior League side. “It encourages more people to come down and support the...
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Premier League Opening Day: Preview and Predictions   Eighty-nine days after João Palhinha’s goal saved Tottenham from the drop and condemned West Ham to the Championship, Pep Guardiola said farewell to Manchester City, Chelsea were embarrassed by Sunderland and Martin Ødegaard lifted the title, the most-watched sporting league in the world returns for another season. Arsenal will be looking to defend their crown having won their first title in 22 years, Tottenham are in a period of rebuild, Sunderland and Bournemouth will be playing historic European campaigns and Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City all begin life back in the Premier League having achieved promotion last season. Manchester City begin a season without Guardiola for the first time in a decade, and are one of a staggering nine teams to have changed their manager over the summer. There are some particularly intriguing matches in the opening round of fixtures, starting with a clash of champions at the E...
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Essex Senior League 2026/27: My Preview and Predictions   Here we go again. A new season is upon us in the Essex Senior League: new teams, old friends (or enemies), new grounds, but the same levels of entertainment. It’s time for my annual pre-season predictions, which I got very wrong last year (with apologies to fans of Ilford, Little Oakley and Benfleet, among many others). Disclaimer before we start: these are solely my opinions, don’t take my word as gospel. If you don’t agree with any, let’s have a healthy debate instead of telling me that I’m wrong, and we’ll see who’s right in May! Now that all the talking’s done, let’s get into this…   20 th : Hackney Wick Last season: 12 th Manager: Amran El-Kaouny Stadium: Spa Road, Witham   Well, someone has to come bottom. I decide the league table team-by-team and place them among previously-selected teams to decide where I think they will finish, and unfortunately, Hackney Wick came bottom. N...
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  The World Cup Third-Placed Table: Explained   For the first time in the tournament’s history, the 2026 World Cup comprises 48 teams. In fact, it is the first time since 1994 that the tournament does not feature a number of teams that is a power of two (ie. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc), making for a considerably more complicated tournament format. We’ve already seen a similar system at the European Championships. Starting in 2016, and for the last three tournaments, there has been a format where the best-placed third-placed group stage teams qualify for the knockout rounds. Famously in 2016, Portugal finished third in their Euros group after drawing all three matches. They still qualified for the second round as one of the best third-placed teams, and went on to win the tournament. Since 1998, the World Cup has consisted of 32 teams, with eight groups of four teams, and the top two teams in each group qualifying for the knockout stages. For four World Cup tournaments ...
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  World Cup 2026: Day 9 – Friday 19 June   Undoubtedly the pick of yesterday’s results saw co-hosts Canada hit Qatar for six, while Switzerland won convincingly against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mexico saw off South Korea and Czechia could only pick up a point against South Africa. Let’s take a deeper dive into yesterday’s results…   Yesterday’s results: Czechia 1-1 South Africa An opportunity missed, perhaps, for both sides. After both sides played out disastrous opening matches, they were both desperate to set the record straight, but had to share the points in Atlanta. The only shot on target in the first half saw Slavia Prague’s Michal Sadilek fire the Czechs in front after good link-up play with Alexandr Sojka. South Africa were much the better side in the second half, but were guilty of some poor decision-making, especially from set pieces. They did eventually get a leveller from the penalty spot through Teboho Mokoena after Thapelo Maseko’s cross stru...
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Premier League fixtures announced: Who will lay down an early marker? The 2026/27 Premier League fixtures were released today, with clubs such as champions Arsenal and promoted sides Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City finding out their opponents for the opening day and beyond. Here is a list of opening weekend fixtures: Arsenal v Coventry - Friday August 21, 8pm Hull City v Manchester United - Saturday August 22, 12:30pm Ipswich v Sunderland - Saturday August 22, 3pm Nottingham Forest v Leeds United - Saturday August 22, 3pm Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur - Saturday August 22, 5:30pm Brighton v Aston Villa - Sunday August 23, 2pm Manchester City v Bournemouth - Sunday August 23, 2pm Newcastle United v Liverpool - Sunday August 23, 4:30pm Fulham v Chelsea - Monday August 24, 8pm The pick of the ties on the first weekend is undoubtedly the clash of the Champions - Premier League winners Arsenal v Championship winners Coventry City - at the Emirates on Friday night to kick-start the...
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