Premier League
Iwobi and Everton colleagues seek another emotional last-day escape
Everton go into their final-day fixture at home to Bournemouth on Sunday with their proud 69-year presence in the top flight of English football depending on a repeat of the two last-day escapes of the 1990s that are part of the club’s folklore.
Victory at Goodison Park will ensure a 121st top-flight season – a record unmatched anywhere in the world – while a draw or even defeat will see Everton safe if Leicester City and Leeds United fail to beat West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur respectively in the simultaneous 1530GMT kick offs.
Everton are currently on 33 points to the 31 of their relegation rivals. The previous lowest total to avoid the drop was the 34 of West Bromwich Albion in 2005 but Everton fans won’t care a jot about that if they survive, having averted the danger of the drop only on the penultimate weekend last year.
Things looked bleak again this season as the introduction of Sean Dyche for the sacked Frank Lampard brought only a hint of “new boss bounce” until the astonishing 5-1 win at high-flying Brighton & Hove Albion two weeks ago transformed the league table and the Merseyside club’s whole mindset.
The 99th-minute equaliser in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers, fittingly scrambled home by a combination of three centre backs, supplied a massive injection of belief and edged them marginally clear of the drop zone.
The only sour note was yet another injury for striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has missed most of the season.
His brief return coincided with Everton’s upturn in form as they finally had a focal point in attack and fans will pray that he can recover from a hamstring strain for Sunday’s game.
GREAT ESCAPES
The atmosphere at Goodison will be febrile, with no doubt much talk of the club’s other two great escapes from the early days of the Premier League.
The first came in 1994 when needing to win their final game at home to Wimbledon to have a chance of staying up, they looked dead and buried as they trailed 2-0, only to scramble a 3-2 win that, thanks to other results going their way, saved them.
A year later they won the FA Cup and finished sixth in 1996 but in 1998 it was another nail-biting finale as, 1-0 up in their final game at home to Coventry City, they missed a penalty and conceded a last-minute equaliser only for their rivals to falter elsewhere and allow them to survive on goal difference.
These relegation flirtations, however, have been the considerable exception, rather than the rule.
As founder members of the league in 1888, Everton have spent just four seasons outside the top flight – 1930-31 and three in the early 1950s. Their 69-year unbroken run since 1954 is second only to Arsenal’s (1919) but the last of nine league titles came in 1987 and their last trophy was a fifth FA Cup 28 years ago.
The mid-1980s was their most successful period, with the European Cup Winners’ Cup claimed alongside two league titles, an FA Cup and a host of near misses.
Recently, though, clubs such as Bournemouth, Brentford, and Brighton, who for over a century were distant blips in the rear-view mirror, have suddenly caught and quickly overtaken Everton, despite The Toffees continuing to spend eye-watering amounts.
POOR RETURNS
Since Farhad Moshiri bought the club six years ago over 700 million pounds ($883.47 million) has been spent on players with almost laughably poor returns.
A similar outlay is going on a new stadium, with chairman Bill Kenwright and board member and former crowd hero Graeme Sharpe still advised by police to stay away from home games for their own safety, against the backdrop of reports of new investors ready to step in.
That supporter anger will be put to the side for a few hours on Sunday, though, as the faithful give their all to help lift the players to the win that guarantees keeping them up.
“When I became manager here we wanted to connect with the fans, we wanted an on-pitch connection,” Dyche said.
“I think the commitment to the cause is evident and the fans are playing their part. That’s the connection we want, and we’ll need that this week.”
-Reuters
Thomas Partey, who formerly played for English Premier League soccer club Arsenal, has been charged with rape and sexual assault, London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday.
Partey, a Ghana international, was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, with the charges relating to three women and the offences reported to have taken place between 2021 and 2022, the statement said.
Partey’s management did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
He is due to appear at London’s Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Aug. 5.
Partey, 32, was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59 million) in October 2020 and became a key member of Arsenal’s first team.
He was first arrested in July 2022, though he was not named at the time and continued to play for Arsenal while investigations were ongoing.
-Reuters
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Five players including England forward Marcus Rashford and Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho have informed Manchester United that they wish to explore a future away from the Premier League side, a club source said on Friday.
Brazilian midfielder Antony, Dutch defender Tyrell Malacia and England international Jadon Sancho are also looking to leave the club, the source added.
Rashford, who has made more than 400 senior appearances for United, has fallen out of favour with manager Ruben Amorim, played for Aston Villa on loan while United had their worst-ever Premier League campaign, finishing 15th in the standings.
Amorim had called Rashford’s work rate into question, saying he would rather put a goalkeeper coach on the bench than a player not giving their all.
Rashford said he was feeling fitter and better since joining Villa, where he scored two goals in 10 league appearances.
United also failed to qualify for the Champions League as they lost the Europa League final 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. Garnacho, who was a late substitute in the final, voiced his displeasure on social media after the loss.
“Up until the final, I played every round helping the team, and today I play 20 minutes, I don’t know,” he wrote in a post . “The final will influence (my decision), but the whole season, the situation of the club.”
Sancho was on loan at Chelsea, where he made 31 league appearances last season. Antony, who joined United from Ajax Amsterdam in 2022 for a reported initial transfer fee of more than $100 million, scored five goals in 17 LaLiga appearances on loan at Real Betis.
Malacia joined Dutch side PSV Eindhoven on loan in February.
-Reuters
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Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes turned down the opportunity to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal in order to keep playing “at the highest level”, he said on Tuesday.
The Portuguese midfielder admitted that he had considered the move, which media reports said was worth four times his current salary, after being contacted by Al-Hilal’s president.
“There was that possibility, the president of Al-Hilal called me a month ago to ask me about it,” Fernandes, who is preparing to face Germany with Portugal, told reporters on Tuesday.
“It was a big offer, very ambitious. There was a waiting period for me to think about the future.”
Fernandes ultimately decided to stay at United and said he was motivated by his desire to continue playing at the top level and encouraged by his family and the club’s coach Ruben Amorim.
“I would be willing to do it if Manchester United thought so,” Fernandes added. “I spoke to the coach Ruben Amorim who really tried to talk me out of it. The club said they would not be willing to sell me, only if I wanted to leave.
“I spoke to my wife and family, and she asked me what my personal goals were in my career.
“It would have been easy to move there but I want to keep myself at the highest level, playing in the big competitions and I feel capable of it. I am happy with my decision.”
The 30-year-old Fernandes scored 19 goals and provided 19 assists in 57 appearances across all competitions for United last season, winning the club’s Player of the Year award for the fourth time.
However, it was a season to forget for the team, as they finished 15th in the Premier League, their lowest league finish in half a century, and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.
-Reuters
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