List of All Articles with Tag 'sport'

Chelsea’s policy of targeting young players in the transfer market must be given time to prove its effectiveness, according to boss Mauricio Pochettino. Co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart have led a recruitment drive that has prioritised youth over experience during the last two transfer windows. At an average age of just over 23 the club have the youngest squad in the Premier League this season, with contracts of seven or eight years for new players common at Stamford Bridge. They have broken the British transfer record twice in 2023 on two players who are under 23, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Yet the team have taken just four points from the manager’s first four league games in charge, after a summer in which recruitment spend in the previous 12 months under the current ownership surpassed the £1billion mark. The manager was unhappy with the ease with which Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga was allowed to run through the heart of his team’s defence to score the only goal in the visitors’ 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge before the international break, and mistakes in defence and in midfield have been a theme in the season’s early weeks. Nevertheless, Chelsea have enjoyed periods of dominance in all four fixtures, particularly in the 1-1 draw with Liverpool on the opening weekend and in the 3-0 win over newly-promoted Luton. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Asmir Begovic said this week that the squad lacked the kind of world-class individuals that helped the club win five Premier League titles and two Champions Leagues over the past 20 years. But Pochettino has seen enough to be reassured that his ideas are taking root amongst his young squad, and appealed for the necessary patience for an inexperienced group to find their flow. “They were (once) young also, John Terry was young, Frank Lampard was young, (Didier) Drogba was young,” he said. “You know better maybe than me, that is a completely different pressure. This is a different Chelsea to what I saw when I was at Tottenham or Southampton. Worse or better? I’m not saying that. “But it’s different pressure. Different circumstances. Now we cannot compare with the past. I think it’s not fair. It’s a different Chelsea. What I want to translate is the fans want to win because the normal way in the past for Chelsea is to win. “We need to accelerate all the process, because Chelsea is about to win, and we want to win. But I understand that the process is completely different to in the past. Because we have a different approach to the game and the philosophy and the ideas, (it means) we have a young squad of course. “(We have) very talented players that need time to perform. But for sure we have one of the best squads of young players with the project. But of course we need time. We need to be careful about how we evolve and how we develop these ideas. But it’s true, players that need to improve and improve.” Chelsea travel to Bournemouth on Sunday looking to win away from home for just the second time since March, with their only victory on the road in that time coming on their previous visit to the Vitality Stadium at the end of last season. Pochettino spoke positively about his side’s performances so far this campaign despite a points return that has left them 12th. He emphasised that his young squad are carrying the club into a new era where success is planned over a longer period, investing in potential rather than ready-made stars. “I cannot give my opinion about what (Begovic) said because I didn’t hear,” he added. “But it’s obvious that at the moment, if you’re talking about a name like John Terry or Lampard or Drogba… come on. “Today maybe we have the potential of Lampard or Terry or Drogba, but they are young. They need to prove that they can be one of these guys. “In the past, Chelsea was about to sign (big) players, like Drogba. Now the idea is to buy young people to have the possibility to develop and to build a team. We are in the process of building a team.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Pep Guardiola admits Kyle Walker exit would have given him a ‘big, big problem’ Erik ten Hag unsure whether Jadon Sancho will play for Manchester United again Early stages of life at Spurs ‘nothing like my honeymoon’ says Ange Postecoglou

Scrumhalf Cam Roigard and flyhalf Damian McKenzie scored two tries each and made a strong bid for first-team roles as New Zealand beat Namibia 71-3 in the Rugby World Cup in Toulouse

Ange Postecoglou has laughed off talk he is in the honeymoon period at Tottenham but promised they will continue to improve. Spurs’ flying start to the new campaign earned their new head coach the Premier League manager of the month award for August on Friday. The last Tottenham manager to receive the accolade was Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of the 2021-22 season but he was sacked months later in October. When it was put to Postecoglou that he was still enjoying the honeymoon phase of life in north London, he was happy to point out some of the challenges he has faced in N17. “I don’t know what your honeymoon was like, but mine didn’t have me losing the greatest player (Harry Kane) in the history of this football club on the eve of a transfer window, me trying to scramble to get players into the club, fighting for everything I do mate. That’s not what my honeymoon was about,” Postecoglou reflected. “I don’t sit here and think this has come to me or been served on a platter. I’ve worked hard, mate, I’ve worked really hard. It’s been a really tough period, nothing like my honeymoon. “At Celtic I lost three of our first six. At Yokohama, we were battling relegation, but I can tell you the same sort of building stuff I did at the those clubs, I’m doing here. “The only difference is the results have been better, encouraging, for sure, but I love this period because there is pretty much a day-to-day uncertainty about where we’re at. That will be here for the next six months to a year. I don’t know what your honeymoon was like, but mine didn’t have me losing the greatest player (Harry Kane) in the history of this football club on the eve of a transfer window, me trying to scramble to get players into the club, fighting for everything I do mate. That’s not what my honeymoon was about Ange Postecoglou “Everywhere I’ve been, the second year is where I’ve felt like the team has really taken hold, but I also understand at this football club I can’t go three, four, five months without results because I won’t last. That’s the reality of it. “If you measure on outcomes, yes, this looks like this has been smoother than the others. “But I can assure you this has been just as challenging, if not more challenging because of the stakes here in the Premier League.” Postecoglou admitted it would take two more transfer windows for him to feel his playing group has the squad depth it needs, with Spurs only required to challenge in the Premier League until January. He added: “I definitely think we need at least two more windows to get to a space where I think ‘okay, we (are happy) as a squad.’ “Don’t forget this year we’re out of the Carabao Cup now and we’ve got no European football, so the fixtures are a little bit kinder to us between now and Christmas, but that’s not our aim. “We want to have games, we want to be in Europe, we want to be in cup competitions. So we’re going to need a stronger squad and I don’t think we’re anywhere near that point where we’ve got a robust enough squad at the moment.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Erik ten Hag unsure whether Jadon Sancho will play for Manchester United again Steve Borthwick says Lewis Ludlam is ‘the right person to start’ against Japan Dawid Malan’s happy to be left holding the baby after shining in England victory

Michigan coach Juwan Howard underwent heart surgery Friday but is expected to make a complete recovery

The newly launched Professional Women's Hockey League has its coaches in place and stars signed

The Tennessee Titans host the Los Angeles Chargers in their home opener with both teams trying to avoid an 0-2 start

Three-time All-Pro wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins missed a third straight practice Friday, making him questionable for the Tennessee Titans’ home opener against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday with an injured ankle

Minnesota Vikings running back Alexander Mattison said he received more than 60 “disgustingly disrespectful messages” through social media that included racial slurs and encouraged suicide in the aftermath of the team's recent loss

New York Giants starting left tackle Andrew Thomas practiced on a limited basis for the second straight day and was listed as questionable for Sunday’s game with the Arizona Cardinals

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers will miss the rest of the 2023 NFL season after suffering a complete tear of his left Achilles tendon, according to multiple sources.

New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers says he’ll use doubters as motivation in his rehabilitation from Achilles tendon surgery and indicates he’ll play football again and perhaps even this season

Browns starting safety Juan Thornhill returned to practice, a promising sign for Cleveland’s defense going into Monday night’s game at Pittsburgh