Reading 3-4 Huddersfield Town: Two Things Can Be True At The Same Time

It couldn’t be against Liverpool. It couldn’t be against Manchester City. It must be against Arsenal then, right? The Magpies will be hosting Mikel Arteta’s lads (or whatever is left of them) next Monday at St James’ Park for the home-turf finale of the 2022 campaign and the second Monday Night Football of Newcastle’s season.

Jordan Brian Henderson, Liverpool’s skipper, will go down as an Anfield legend. That is no longer a question worth giving any additional air or ink to. He just is. The only questions worth our time these days are “How many trophies will Hendo lift?” and “Where does Hendo stand amongst all-time Liverpool captains?”

According to reports from journalist Alan Nixon, SPL side Rangers have enquired about Bolton Wanderers’ Player of the season and top goalscorer, Dapo Afolayan. The Europa League finalists are rumoured to have asked about his availability as they anticipate bids on their own players. Nixon also states that Dapo...

Sunderland Association Football Club is something which brings us all plenty of joy and sadness, and not usually in equal measure. When things are bad, they are dreadful, but every now and again we get a night that almost seems to make up for weeks and weeks of utter crap.

The Blues follow on from Wednesday’s tentative goalless draw at Watford with a return to Goodison Park, hosting a resurgent Brentford outfit in this afternoon’s late game. Frank Lampard will be in the enviable position of knowing how relegation rivals - Burnley and Leeds United - have fared before his side take to the pitch; if the latter lose to Brighton & Hove Albion at Elland Road then, given Everton’s vastly superior goal difference a draw against the Bees would effectively assure their Premier League survival.

Trap game - /trap ɡām/ - noun: A game played against an opponent generally deemed to be easy to defeat. As a result a person or team may not prepare as thoroughly as they would for a formidable opponent. Often this attitude and its attendant lack of preparation lead to a loss.

It’s now bordering on the ridiculous, Chelsea’s recent record in Wembley finals, once considered our second home. Then again, given our recent poor form at Stamford Bridge, it’s perhaps on brand on that we’ve now lost our last five (5!) domestic cup finals at Wembley, including the last three FA Cup finals and two of the last four League Cup finals.

Fulltime Thoughts - Yet again in this godforsaken season that Everton have had the rug pulled out from under them by poor refereeing. Oliver’s decision to not call a penalty when Richarlison had his shirt pulled, and then not sending off Ajer when he did give a penalty irreversibly changed the game.

As in the League Cup, so in the FA Cup. Liverpool started the game extremely well, repeatedly carving Chelsea open, given time to pick passes through to Luis Díaz especially. But somehow we survived, with Mendy making at least one tremendous save (and eventually marking Díaz with both Chalobah and James).

Liverpool return to Wembley for the FA Cup 2022 final where Jürgen Klopp’s Reds will take on Thomas Tuchel’s London Blues with a chance to win their second piece of silverware in the 2021-22 season following their previous League Cup triumph. For the Reds there is also a Champions League final to come as well as a slim chance of catching Manchester City—with the Citizens currently three points clear—in the Premier League title race with two rounds left in the season.

Ending our exasperating profligacy in front of net against Leeds was certainly a welcomed and wonderful feeling. While it was a relatively comprehensive victory, to nab three goals while limiting ourselves to an xG under 1.5 after such dreadful finishing lately, all while keeping a clean sheet and zero shots on target, allows us to appreciate it all the more.

With City getting increasingly close to a second goal at Wembley, it is Chelsea who (re)take the lead with an outrageous long-range goal from Erin Cuthbert. 2-1 to the Blues in the FA Cup final!

Chelsea began the season with a chance to earn six trophies and titles. We got the first two (Super Cup, Club World Cup), got as close as possible to two more only to fall short at the literal finish line by the narrowest of margins (League Cup, FA Cup), almost pulled off a most historic comeback against one of the finalists in the Champions League (after shooting ourselves in the foot), and were looking good for a while in the league as well before falling by the wayside as winter came (though still should be finishing in the top-four fairly comfortably).

All we needed was one Manchester City mistake, and Chelsea are back in the lead! With help from a deflection, Sam Kerr scores our third goal in the FA Cup final today.

Reading are, supposedly, on the hunt for a new manager. The premise of hiring Paul Ince as interim boss after sacking Veljko Paunovic was for the former England captain to hold the fort while the club look for a more permanent appointment. Putting someone in caretaker charge for a couple...

Another year, another set of lessons to learn for Reading. Will they heed them? Well, seeing as one also featured in last year’s similar column, no, probably not. Still, the appointment of Mark Bowen as a director (or ‘head’ in his words) of football is a somewhat encouraging way to start the summer.

Towards the end of Sunderland’s playoff semi-final victory over Sheffield Wednesday, Anthony Patterson dived to his left to catch the ball after it was played into the box and was flicked on by one of the home attackers. In a classic demonstration of time-wasting, he augmented the save with...

Manchester City Women were narrowly defeated by champions Chelsea in the FA Cup Final at Wembley, but it took thirty minutes of extra time for the Londoners to edge the blues out after City had twice come from behind. Lauren Hemp and Hayley Raso both equalised for City, after Sam...

The uselessly defined Premier League Young Player of the Season award (see also: the more familiar PFA Young Player of the Year) features a boatload of nominees with oodles of Premier League experience already, including some who are not only in their third or fourth seasons in the league, but have already won this award before.

Former Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has asked why Manchester City’s dramaticfinal day win over Queens Park Rangers has never been questioned – ten years after it happened. In one of the most iconic finale’s to a Premier League season, Edin Dzeko levelled the score at 2-2 before...