Eye on Football

Football doesn’t need another account chasing clicks. It needs a voice that still cares about what happens on the pitch, and everything around it. The players, the chaos, the nostalgia, the nonsense. This is Eye on Football. The game, seen properly.

10 years ago today, Leicester City completed the most improbable title win English football has ever seen. A team that had narrowly avoided relegation the season before, made up of cast-offs and unknowns, somehow beat the richest clubs in the country over 38 games. Jamie Vardy had been signed from Non-League Fleetwood Town, then broke the Premier League record by scoring in 11 consecutive games that season. Andrea Bocelli singing at the King Power before the Everton trophy-day match is one of the great emotional images of the whole story. Still the most ridiculous achievement English football has seen.

@greggevans40 Szoboszlai is definitely one of the better free-kick takers in the league at the moment. But I wouldn’t use today’s one as the great example. It wasn’t especially well struck, and the goalkeeper should have saved it.

Is Szoboszlai now the best free-kick taker in the world? #LFC

Jaydee Canvot celebrating the Leeds red card like he’s just scored a 93rd-minute title winning goal 🤣

@OllieHolt22 How exactly is this “off the scale entitlement”? Teams have done huddles for years. They aren’t breaking any rules or affecting the opposition. If they did this against my team I genuinely wouldn’t care. Feels like a lot of outrage about something that doesn’t actually matter.

I'm sorry but Chelsea make themselves look absurd with this kind of behaviour. Someone needs to get hold of these players. Their level of entitlement is off the scale.

@SuperbFootyPics Modern footballers would need three thermal layers, heated gloves and a club statement about ‘player welfare’. These lads just brought a flat cap and got on with it.

Good Old Days Football San Siro 1970 Inter Milan v Juventus "Different Game Back Then"

@daconjoo @SuperbFootyPics It was a memorable match especially in a time when there wasn't as many games on TV.

@EyeOnFootballUK @SuperbFootyPics Nice memory!!!👋👏

Chelsea Team Lineup

@FootballFactly I'm not sure you have to be a real fan of either Chelsea or football to recognise that as Florent Malouda. Saying that I'm not sure he was much more than a good Premier League winger.

Only real ones remember him..

23 years ago today saw one of the most infamous moments in Premier League history. Manchester United had just lost 2–0 to Arsenal in the FA Cup. David Beckham was blamed for the second goal and Alex Ferguson went into full hairdryer mode. In the middle of the post-match dressing room, Fergie "accidentally" kicked a boot across the room. It caught Beckham above the eye and left him needing stitches. It was one of those moments that instantly felt bigger than a post-match kerfuffle. Accident or deliberate, it became the image that came to represent the growing rift between Beckham and Ferguson. The relationship had already started to strain. Beckham’s profile was growing, the brand was growing, and Ferguson had never liked anything becoming bigger than the club. By the summer of 2003, Beckham was off to become the latest Galáctico. One boot didn’t cause him to leave. But it became the symbol of the split. #EyeOnFootball #SirDavidBeckham #SirAlexFerguson #MUFC

Funny how the FA Cup is dead when Man United are no longer in it. I don't know any teams or fans who don't take it seriously. It's the oldest domestic cup in the world, and it still produces moments the league can't. FA Cup weekends are still magical and watching teams like Macclesfield knock out the holders is still what football is all about. Tell their fans it’s pointless. Maybe the issue isn’t the competition.

This needs calling out. A weekend for a trophy no one takes seriously anymore. Too many games and the vast majority fielding weakened teams. Search your heart. The FA Cup is dead

@PurelyFootball Watching the game live, if it had been given as a red I don't think there could be too many complaints. But I also don't think a yellow card is unreasonable. It's a classic 'amber' card and I can see both points of view.

RED CARD? 🤔

@ExtremeFootbal4 I do love your 'called George' caveat.

one of the greatest ever footballers called George

Seems very unlikely he will go to Chelsea. They have constantly said that they believe Mike Penders is a generational talent. Penders has had a good season with Strasbourg. He fits perfectly with how Rosenior likes to play. And Chelsea have shown there is a clear pathway from Strasbourg to Chelsea.

🚨 Chelsea are preparing a £50M move for Bart Verbruggen as they look to challenge current No.1 Robert Sánchez. 🔵 Bayern Munich have also identified the Dutch keeper as a long-term successor to Manuel Neuer. 👀 (Source: @TEAMtalk)

@TotalAnalysis Tudor tends to strip things back and impose structure quickly. Very defined roles, high intensity, usually a back three with aggressive wingbacks. The question isn’t the shape though. It’s whether you can install that mid-season with 12 games left in a side low on confidence.

Igor Tudor becomes the new Tottenham interim coach until June 2026. Take a look at his 2025/2026 tactics from Juventus and what he will bring to Spurs. totalfootballanalysis.com/data-analysis/…

Tottenham appoint Igor Tudor with the club 16th after 26 games, four points above the relegation zone, and without a league win in 2026. They don't require a gentle rebuild. It’s emergency surgery they need. Tudor’s track record suggests he can impose structure quickly by going back to basics. Previously he has favoured a back three, clearly defined roles for players, and a high intensity. He did it at Udinese and Verona, stabilising drifting sides and giving them identity fast. The question is whether this squad can handle that shift. They’re not used to a back three and Thomas Franck has struggled to implement defensive discipline this season after the Ange era. His football is physically demanding and emotionally charged. If Spurs buy into it, they climb clear and rediscover some edge. If they don’t, Tudor’s volatility has a habit of surfacing. This feels like a short term fix rather than a long term vision play. Does Tudor lift them, or does the chaos roll on? #EyeOnFootball #THFC #IgorTudor

I don’t agree with Liam Rosenior here. “World class” should be reserved for the absolute best in the world in that position. Not just very good Premier League players. Pedro Neto is a really good winger. He’s direct, he carries the ball well, he makes things happen. But is he genuinely one of the top three or four wingers on the planet right now? Chelsea fans being split on him feels crazy, he’s clearly been one of their better performers in a chaotic side. But calling him world class is a stretch. #EyeOnFootball

🚨 Injury News 🚨 Bruno Guimarães out injured for 8 to 10 weeks. Newcastle have not won a single game he has missed since arriving in 2022. They’re 10th in the league right now, 8 points off Champions League places. Two months without him and this season could slide quickly away from them. At some point the focus has to shift to the team Howe has built. Is it genuinely a top side, or is it too reliant on one midfielder? If results dip again, we’ll find out how patient the Saudi Public Investment Fund really are. Can Howe weather the storm, or is he the next manager to go? #EyeOnFootball #NewcastleUnited #BrunoGuimarães #EddieHowe

Since hearing this last week, I still can’t quite get my head around it. The last time Man United lost a home game after leading at half-time was against Ipswich on 7 May 1984. That’s 41 years ago. I wasn’t even born, and Sir Fergie was 2 years from being appointed their manager. And yet since Sir Fergie left, United have spent over a decade as a chaotic mess, lurching from one terrible result to the next. Football really does throw up some strange stats. #EyeOnFootball #ManchesterUnited

Hmmm not sure I feel sorry for him at all. He brought this on himself. His form has fallen off a cliff and he reacted to being dropped by taking shots at the club and the manager. It’s pure petulance. If anything, Liverpool have shown him more patience than his performances this season deserve. This is what happens when players feel they’re untouchable.

Poor Mo. You have to feel so sorry for him, especially after all he's done for the club.

The last week has seen Leeds take 4 points from 3 fixtures they probably expected to get nothing from. They’re only 2 points above the relegation zone (level with Forest), but recent results make Leeds feel like a side waking up, while the three below look like they are sleepwalking into trouble. The relegation scrap now seems more like a three-horse race between Burnley, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest to see which two go down with doomed Wolves. Feel free to tell me I’m wrong, but it’s how it feels to me right now! #EyeOnFootball #PremierLeague #LeedsUnited #BurnleyFC #WestHam #NottinghamForest #Wolves