Crystal Palace beating Manchester City in the FA Cup let us see the real purpose of football
The way football has gone has made moments of true joy and celebration so rare
Ken Early: Trent Alexander-Arnold could improve shambolic Real Madrid, but can Xabi Alonso?
While Liverpool fans were venting bitterness at Alexander-Arnold, Barcelona may have done him a favour by humbling Madrid
Ken Early: Declan Rice should concentrate on playing to his strengths
Arsenal and England require something different from Declan Rice
Ken Early: Arne Slot’s remarkable debut season at Liverpool helped by no-shows from title rivals
Slot is the model of the modern football coach: collaborative, egoless and technically-minded
Ken Early: The future of Real Madrid is suddenly uncertain
Since Madrid have spent the last decade getting so used to victory they should thank Arsenal for reintroducing them to disappointment and humiliation
Mohamed Salah and Lewandowski show that football is increasingly a country for old men
We have seen a trend where players continue to excel at ages when their equivalents of the past were already running pubs
Manchester United’s problem has been too much Milton Friedman
All systems went awry at Old Trafford when the club’s owners lost sight of Alex Ferguson’s will to win
Manchester City’s 2024-25 season is a textbook study in burnout
A potential $150m payday from the Club World Cup risks creating an injury nightmare for Pep Guardiola
Ken Early: Evan Ferguson gives Ireland fans a glimpse of the player they dream he will become
A fourth win in eight games under Heimir Hallgrimsson gives us something dangerous – hope
Ken Early: The Bulgaria game went to plan and a coach cannot ask for much more
Ireland’s methodical diagonal switches and deep far-post crosses eventually pulled apart the Bulgarians as they had the Finns
Ken Early: League B of this silly competition won’t be seeing the last of Ireland just yet
Nations League: Troy Parrott shines as Heimir Hallgrímsson’s side enjoy rare comfortable second half
Newcastle were perfectly primed to surprise a tired Liverpool in Carabao Cup final
Arne Slot’s reluctance to trust in his extended squad left his side vulnerable to a chastening final defeat
Arsenal’s season of regression puts pressure on Mikel Arteta
Manchester United need new players and an unlikely summer encounter
Ken Early: Watching Messi in Miami, it’s clear that a sixth World Cup is possible
I was one of the people paying way over the odds to see Messi play for Inter Miami against New York City
Record crowd a sign that many Irish fans now care more about the League of Ireland than the national team
Shamrock Rovers manager’s criticism of Heimir Hallgrímsson may have missed the point but his outburst will do the domestic game no harm