Duncan Alexander

THE mostly exciting set of games in Group G & H yesterday brought us to an emotional mark in the 2022 World Cup – the halfway point. That’s right, 32 games have been played and 32 remain, including – hopefully – some viscerally memorable moments because, to be honest, this World Cup is yet to … Duncan Alexander: Group Stage Targets

WHEN Bernardo Silva and Jack Grealish joked about Miguel Almirón during Manchester City’s title party earlier this year they unleashed strange forces which we are only beginning to understand. Like a Forest-supporting butterfly flapping its wings and causing Derby County to pick up just 11 points in 2007-08, a relatively harmless piece of footballer banter … Duncan Alexander: Almirón’s Ultimate Glow-Up

The 1990s continues to haunt us via memories, both true and false. As the 30 year nostalgia cycle gets fully into its stride, it may be time for that most 90s of outcomes, the 40+ point relegation, to make a return. In May 2003, the West Ham United team that many deemed too good to … Duncan Alexander: Relegation Battle Royale

AS we head into the Premier League matchweek nestled closest to Halloween it begs the question: has there been a shift in the position of on-pitch monsters in the top-flight? For a long time English football enjoyed a simple set-up whereby battle-hardened central midfielders would be tasked with the dirtier side of the game, the … Duncan Alexander: Monstrous Forwards

THE sight of Brighton & Hove Albion going three games without a goal despite racking up 54 shots in the process has brought back some bad memories for the club’s fans. The Sussex club have underperformed their expected goals figure in all five of their full Premier League campaigns and, after a pretty clinical start … Duncan Alexander: How’s Your Team Doing… Better Than Expected?

ARSENAL should probably have beaten Manchester United at Old Trafford in September. Had they done so (and changing that result in the space-time continuum somehow altered this and this alone) then Mikel Arteta’s team would be sitting on a perfect season thus far, with 10 wins from 10. Some might remember that the last team … Duncan Alexander: Are Arsenal title contenders?

IN the last few seasons Everton have been synonymous with spending a lot of money but not getting much value from it. They’ve also lurched from manager to manager, all of them with different styles and approaches. From Ronald Koeman to Sam Allardyce to Marco Silva to Carlo Ancelotti to Rafael Benitez to Frank Lampard. … Duncan Alexander: Are Lampard’s Everton legit?

REMEMBER Diego Costa? I do. He enjoyed a superb initial spell in the Premier League in the mid-2010s, winning two Premier League titles in three seasons at Chelsea, the first with Jose Mourinho in 2014-15 (to date the last time Mourinho has won a national division) and two years later with Antonio Conte. In both … Duncan Alexander | Diego Costa, a wolf in Wolves clothing

ON Saturday the Premier League starts with the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park and concludes with Manchester City’s trip to Aston Villa. The equivalent Everton vs Liverpool fixture in March 1980 ended as a 2-1 win for the visitors but is remembered more as the day Everton icon Dixie Dean died, shortly after watching his … Duncan Alexander: Dixie Haaland