Author: Hannah Pedone
EVERYBODY HÜRZWhen Fabian Hürzeler grumbled about Arsenal’s penchant for time-wasting ahead of their visit to the Amex Stadium, he knew exactly what levers he was pulling. While he may have been speaking to the ladies and gentlemen of the press, Brighton’s head coach was playing to a different gallery: his own team’s fans and the match officials tasked with maintaining order. By highlighting the ticking clock before a ball had even been kicked, Hürzeler effectively primed the Amex faithful to jeer and barrack every slow corner or carefully choreographed shoulder injury. More importantly, the German placed the referee in an…
In some ways, history is repeating itself. In 1982, Chelsea and Wrexham met in the FA Cup after they had beaten Hull and Nottingham Forest respectively in previous rounds. The same has happened in 2026; but this is where the similarities end.When the clubs met 44 years ago they were in the second tier and had huge debts. With Chelsea reportedly £1.6m in the red, the future of Stamford Bridge was in doubt as property developers hovered. Relegation-threatened Wrexham spent most of the 1980s merely trying to survive.On top of inconsistent league form and financial woe, Chelsea also had problems…
Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email.On the podcast today: was this the night Arsenal won the title? An unconvincing victory at Brighton thanks to a deflected goal that should have been saved and dropped points for Manchester City at the Etihad see the Gunners go seven clear at the top.Elsewhere: Michael Carrick is handed his first defeat as Manchester United coach on his return to Tyneside against 10-man Newcastle to shake up the race for Champions League football.Plus: the rest of the midweek Premier League football, a look ahead to the FA Cup fifth…
On 15 February 2023, Jennifer Shahade took a deep breath and wrote “Time’s up” above a long message about allegations of sexual abuse in the cloistered world of professional chess. Shahade knew her words would have an impact but she didn’t expect the social media post to go viral and change her life.A two-time US women’s chess champion, Shahade chose her words carefully as she made serious allegations against Alejandro Ramirez, a then 34-year-old grandmaster from Costa Rica who was based in America and coached the St Louis University chess team: “Currently there are multiple investigations [into] Alejandro Ramirez and…
One day, in February 2021, Amy Goddard woke up and went for a run. On her return home she took a shower and then looked in the mirror before brushing her teeth. That is when she realised the left side of her face had dropped.Goddard, who was playing for Crystal Palace semi-professionally in the Championship at the time, went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Bell’s palsy. The illness, which she had not heard of until her diagnosis, causes sudden and typically temporary weakness or paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face. The condition affects one…