LADYMAN

On the 15th green, as the rain continued to shroud these Hoylake links in some kind of medieval mist, Rory McIlroy rolled a 10-foot birdie putt towards the centre of the hole.At the last moment, it turned to the right and slid by. It was a…

IAN LADYMAN: Rickie Fowler is firing again as he threatens to bring three-year slump to an end at the Open... and hints he is still open to the Premier League's financial opportunitiesAmerican Rickie Fowler got his first…

By the time John Stones got to celebrate his goal just before half-time, he was a good fifty yards away from where he had scored it. These are the days of VAR, when even landmark moments are not quite what they were. At least the technology…

The banners bearing the names of the Chelsea greats on the Stamford Bridge stands are starting to look a bit faded and worn round the edges.Frank Lampard, John Terry and Didier Drogba will always be legends in this part of West London but…

So it turns out that new Chelsea is just like old Chelsea. Win or bust. Move forwards or move to the next one.The appointment of Graham Potter was supposed to signal the end of the Roman Abramovich years of hire and fire, both literally and…

Sacking managers in the Premier League is commonplace. There have been 10 dispatched this season already — including two at Southampton — and if we have another between now and end of the campaign, it will amount to a record in the…

Manchester United’s aggregate score over two Premier League games against Liverpool last season was 0-9. This season it’s 2-8. United have improved, then. But after this remarkable afternoon at Anfield, it seems Erik ten Hag’s team have…

Newcastle look like a team that has forgotten how to score and therefore to win. Manchester United are currently the opposite. They don't know how to lose. On the back of these two things, this engaging cup final was decided.This was not a…

Marcus Rashford's transformation from lost soul to leader of the Manchester United resurgence took another significant step against Leeds but it required some tactical tinkering from Erik ten Hag to do it.Rashford's goal at Old Trafford was…

There has been much debate about whether Manchester City supporters were within their rights to boo their team as they trailed to Tottenham last week.For what it’s worth, they were. Certain standards have been set at the Etihad and with…