It'll be interesting where Cooper goes next. Ordinarily I'd expect him to be highly sought after. However, I'm struggling to see many PL jobs becoming available in the near future; maybe Palace, possibly West Ham at a push. Though I wouldn't be surprised if they both wait until the season is over. Meanwhile, in the Championship, now that Sunderland have a new manager, the current available jobs are surely too low to interest Cooper. And none of the bigger teams in the Championship are under-performing, so no obvious vacancies are on the horizon. He might have to sit out the season and wait until the summer. But even then, he'll be competing against the likes of Potter (subject to what happens with England and Southgate) and Lopetegui.
Seems an odd one. Currently in 17th position which I’d say is exactly where most would expect them to be. Sacked for not overachieving? Or just because Nuno was available ? (Adkins to Poch style) ?
Newcastle exit two cup competitions within a week. Eddie Howe's position might not be as secure as it may appear. I predict he will be at West Ham in the not too distant future.
I doubt it. Since being taken over Newcastle have made a constant string of sensible decisions, the primary one being the hiring of Eddie Howe. He completely changed them, turning them into one of the best teams in the country practically overnight. His signings have all been excellent, and he is integrating youth into the side too. Most importantly the fans absolutely adore him. Their exit in the Champions' League was a result of being cheated by the officials (Tino's handball against PSG), and their recent poor form is due to an injury crisis. With no distractions from here on in, I'd expect them to finish above Spurs, and if Villa drop off, they'll take a Champions' League slot again.
But their owners will almost certainly want a big name manager at some point. Unfortunately for Howe, I think this may be his last season there.
Howe is a great example of a manager who has gone up a level or two since leaving Bournemouth. I also think he is a thinker about the Game but this is Newcastle where the objective is trophies! The question is do the owners believe Howe can deliver this? Going out of two tournaments, and despite difficult circumstances and odd decisions by the match day officials, the owners may not be as benevolent as most football fans. Personally, I would love Howe to succeed there, but as we know, owners do take odd decisions.
Since he joined Arsenal, Rice has constantly shown why they paid so much for him. He's somehow managed to enhance this Arsenal side more than he did with West Ham.
The Boly second yellow meaning a red card is a refereeing decision that beggars belief. It is so poor, it's the referee that that deserves a suspension. I find it impossible to find any reason for the decision except extreme incompetence.
It really was a dreadful onfield decision. And then on top of that, it's ridiculous that the way VAR is used means that if the referee had given a straight red, it could have ben overturned - but because it was a second yellow, it can't. Why on earth should it matter whether a red card is a straight red or a second yellow? The impact on the remainder of the game is exactly the same.