Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!There are, you suspect, quite a few folk with links to the London postcode of N17 who would be thoroughly grateful if Troy Parrott could stop popping up to score winning goals for a bit. The Republic of Ireland striker has barely unpacked his bags at Real Betis, yet he’s already ruined the afternoon of his former manager at Tottenham, pouncing to sink José Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Four days later? He made headlines again on his Bigger Cup debut at Lille. Two games, two goals, two match-winners. Not entirely shabby for a lad who was once given the classic Mourinho treatment and declared “not ready”. Mourinho, as ever, remains a central character in this particular soap opera. It was the Special One who handed a teenage Parrott his Premier League debut in December 2019, throwing him on during a 5-0 win over Burnley. It was also Mourinho who promptly decided the youngster needed a fair bit longer in the oven.Re: Ken Muir’s letter (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) and mention of Arbroath’s famous 36-0 victory over Bon Accord in 1885. On the same day, in the same competition and just 18 miles away, Dundee Harp defeated Aberdeen Rovers 35-0. Arbroath and Harp were rivals and after the final whistle, officials from Harp sent a telegram to Arbroath simply containing the result of their match and then retired to a pub to celebrate their world record. Later that evening, a reply was received which read ‘Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord’. Both sides thought the other was winding them up. The results were not a surprise. Rovers and Bon Accord were both playing only their third official fixtures. Bon Accord arrived for their match with nine players and no goalkeeper, so played an outfield player in goal and two spectators made up their XI. The Aberdeen Weekly News reported that Arbroath’s keeper ‘neither touched the ball with hand or foot … but remained under the friendly shelter of an umbrella the whole time’. Arbroath also had seven goals disallowed. Unsurprisingly, the qualification rules for the Scottish Cup were changed for the following season” – Jamie Gaukroger.Call me one of those bluffers and chancers with ‘fantastic theories and philosophies’ if you will but, after sitting through the chaotic mess that was Real Madrid v Inter in Bigger Cup, two things spring to mind. Firstly, if Madrid has had an obvious gap of no central midfielder who can control the momentum and flow of the game for over two seasons, since Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, why ignore it yet again but spend £115m on yet another left-sided attacker? Secondly, even if you don’t have one, never mind two of those types of players, once you go 2-0 up in the 23rd minute against a team at home, can’t you just kick the ball five-10 yards to a teammate consistently, keep possession and tire the opposition out? As the late, great Johan Cruyff used to say: ‘As long as we’ve got the ball, they’re never going to score’” – Noble Francis.OK, Mike Wilner (Monday’s letters), I’ll bite. ‘What isn’t what it is?’ Football Daily is not a humorous teatime newsletter. ‘What has a club not won what it won?’ Senegal did not win Afcon. ‘When does a team not lose what it’s lost?’ USA USA USA ... did not lose Folarin Balogun against Belgium in the GWC. Is there a plausible weeklong riff here? Oh, yes. Yes there is. There most certainly is” – Chi. Continue reading...
The 2026 MLS season keeps barreling on, with another weekend of games in the books. Here at Soccer America, we’re breaking down the standout players from Matchday 24 as teams head into a midweek Matchday 25. • Vincent Janssen (Portland Timbers) It took the Portland Timbers 522 matches to get a hat trick. It took Vincent […] The post Five MLS players on a roll: A U.S. striker, plus Dutch, Croatian, Swiss and Norwegian scorers appeared first on Soccer America.
Erling Haaland after Manchester City’s win over Porto (Picture: Amazon) Erling Haaland believes Manchester City have found a new weapon as they look to dethrone Premier League champions Arsenal. Man City began their Champions League campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Portuguese giants Porto. After a goalless first half, prolific goalscorer Haaland gave Man City the lead with a 47th-minute header. The Norwegian superstar put the game to bed with City’s second in injury time, taking his tally for the club to 36 Champions League goals in only 40 appearances. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. Haaland’s form was not the only promising sign for Manchester City, with Enzo Fernandez impressing following his £125m move from Chelsea and £86m signing Ayyoub Bouaddi thriving on his first start for the club. Man City’s midfield was weekended by Rodri’s £65m move to Barcelona but Etihad bosses appear to have signed well in Fernandez and Bouaddi. Morocco international Bouaddi only joined City two weeks ago but has already impressed Haaland, who described him as a ‘gem’ and revealed he had told decision-makers at the club that he looked ‘amazing’ in training. Manchester City’s £86m signing Ayyoub Bouaddi (Picture: Getty) ‘I think he played a very good game,’ Haaland said of 18-year-old Bouaddi, who was linked with several Premier League clubs before joining Man City. ‘Last couple of weeks in training, I told the chairman that he has been amazing, so I think we have a gem here. ‘But to be honest, I think he should of played me through in the second half when I was all alone. I was a bit angry, so I will tell him right now, he played a good game, except that pass!’ Haaland scored twice against Porto (Picture: Getty) Manchester City boss Enzo Maresca also praised Bouaddi, describing his performance against Porto as ‘unbelievable’. ‘The good thing is that from Erling [Haaland], Ruben [Dias], Mateo [Kovacic] you expect how to manage this game but Ayyoub was never in panic,’ Maresca told Amazon Prime. ‘He was very good and I think the performance was unbelievable.’ Erling Haaland reacts to Man City's win in Porto 🗣️Still a few bits to learn for new signing Ayyoub Bouaddi 😅 pic.twitter.com/bbAeD1y905— Prime Video Sport UK (@primevideosport) September 8, 2026 {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Maresca 'didn't see nothing' as players clash in Champions League win over Porto","contentUrl":"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/09\/09\/3455028955296255454\/480x270_MP4_3455028955296255454.mp4","description":"Enzo Maresca shed little light on the tunnel bust-up that overshadowed Manchester City's opening Champions League win against Porto.","duration":"T8M40S","height":270,"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/09\/09\/07\/111134773-0-image-m-73_1788935251720.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-09-09T07:27:20+0100","width":480} To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Up Next Previous Page Next Page window.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) { if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === 'undefined') { return; } var player = data.detail.carousel.el_; var container = player.closest('.metro-video-player'); var placeholder = container.querySelector('.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder'); if (placeholder) { container.removeChild(placeholder); container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded'); } }); Discussing Man City’s win more generally, ex-Chelsea manager Maresca added: ‘I think we could’ve scored more goals, especially in the first half but overall I think we deserved to win the game. ‘We created enough chances to win the game. We didn’t concede a lot. It’s normal to come here and conce
Tottenham Hotspur made a host of calls over the summer transfer window and we pick out five decisions Spurs got wrong. The post Five Transfer Decisions Tottenham Hotspur Got Wrong This Summer appeared first on Inside Futbol | Latest Football News, Transfer Rumours & Articles.
Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen says Luka Vuskovic "is a massive talent" for his age and will "hopefully continue to improve" while at the club. Croatia defender Vuskovic signed from Tottenham in the summer for a club record £46m. "He is a big guy so he is a threat in the air and he can head the ball well," Verbruggen told BBC Radio Sussex.
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