Tag: Brentford

USMNT midfielder Adams will return to Bournemouth squad following back injury

The USMNT midfielder has missed seven games with a back injury

After missing seven straight games with a back injury, Tyler Adams is finally set to return for Bournemouth.

The U.S. men’s national team midfielder will be part of the Cherries squad for Saturday’s game against Brentford, manager Andoni Iraola said at his pre-match press conference.

“Lloyd Kelly will play tomorrow. He has been involved in training normally so we have no concerns about this,” Iraola said on Friday.

“So, we’ve recovered Lloyd, Tyler Adams and Marcus Tavernier will also be part of the squad.”

Adams first suffered back spasms in early April, an injury that popped up after he had only just returned from two separate hamstring surgeries.

The 25-year-old missed the better part of a year after undergoing hamstring surgery in March 2023, then being forced to have a second operation in October after suffering a setback following his Bournemouth debut.

Between the injuries, Adams has played just three matches for Bournemouth in his first season with the club.

After Saturday’s game, the Cheries will have just one match remaining in the campaign: a trip to Chelsea on May 19.

Even if Adams isn’t able to help his club side much in the season’s home stretch, his return to fitness is huge for his chances of making the USMNT roster for the Copa América.

Head coach Gregg Berhalter has until June 12 to send in his final roster for the tournament, which kicks off later in the month.

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Turner admits he’s ‘glad VAR didn’t intervene’ on error vs. Brentford

The USMNT goalkeeper admitted his overall performance was not up to standard

Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner admitted he was lucky to escape punishment after nearly conceding a penalty when he was caught in possession against Brentford on Sunday.

With the game scoreless in the second half, Turner took too long on the ball in his box and saw Yoane Wissa win the ball with a clean challenge. The American goalkeeper was in the middle of trying to boot the ball away, and his follow-through took out the Brentford forward after he had sent the ball toward goal with his tackle.

Wissa’s shot was cleared off the line, and Turner was fortunate the incident didn’t go to a video review after he clearly hacked down the forward and got none of the ball in the process.

Christian Nørgaard gave Brentford the lead minutes later on a header Turner could have arguably saved, putting the Bees ahead just two minutes after Moussa Niakhaté was sent off for Forest.

But the 10-man home side would strike back through Nicolás Domínguez to level the match at 1-1, which would end up as the final score.

Speaking to NBC Sports after the game, Turner held his hand up — not only for his error in the Wissa incident, but also for the goal he conceded and a performance that he admitted was shaky on the whole.

“Personally it feels like two [points] dropped but at the end of the day you have to take the positives on it. I look myself in the mirror on that first goal and I know I’ve gotta be better for teammates especially in that moment right after getting the red card,” Turner said.

“For us to concede in the fashion that we did, I shoulder that burden for sure. The response was amazing, some unbelievable individual plays down the stretch. Every point is crucial in this league. It feels like two dropped, but it’s a weird one.”

The USMNT No. 1 added: “It was a terrible start for me in the second half in general. The ball was slow. I wasn’t getting it out of my feet and [Wissa] was pressing me really hard. I was a little bit worried but I tried to hold back as much as I could, because I knew he was going to win it. I’m glad VAR didn’t intervene because that would have made things go from bad to worse for me.”

“But I’m proud of myself, also because of my response the rest of the game, keeping it a one [goal conceded] and coming for some crosses late to relieve pressure.”

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Ivan Toney banned for eight months over betting allegations

Toney will be sidelined until January 2024

Ivan Toney has been banned from all soccer activity for eight months after an FA investigation into allegations of gambling.

The Brentford striker cannot play in a match until January 17, 2024 after having accepted that he was in violation of FA rule E8, which bars players from gambling on matches or sharing internal information for gambling purposes. He was also fined £50,000 after an FA hearing on the matter earlier this week.

Toney’s ban starts immediately, meaning he won’t be available for Brentford’s final two Premier League matches, nor any others in the first half of next season. He is allowed to rejoin training with the Bees on September 17.

Toney was charged with 232 breaches of FA rules in November 2022, before an additional 30 more violations were tacked on a month later. Per a statement from the FA, Toney admitted he was in violation of the rules on the first 232 incidents, while the latter 30 charges were withdrawn.

“Brentford FC notes the decision of an independent Regulatory Commission to issue an eight-month ban from all football and football-related activity to Ivan Toney with immediate effect,” said Brentford in a club statement. “Ivan was charged with breaches of FA rule E8 and had a personal hearing earlier this week. Brentford FC is currently awaiting the publication of the written reasons of the independent regulatory commission. We will review them before considering our next steps.”

An independent regulatory commission assembled by the FA found that Toney’s breaches had run for nearly four years, from February 2017 to January 2021.

The specific nature of those violations has yet to be made public, with Wednesday’s announcement of the ban only noting that “the independent regulatory commission’s written reasons for these sanctions will be published in due course, and the FA will wait to review them before commenting further.”

Bees face tough times without Toney

Toney’s absence will be a massive blow for Brentford. He is by far the club’s leading goalscorer, with 20 goals in all competitions, and has been directly involved in 24 of its 54 league goals this season. He trails only Erling Haaland and Harry Kane in this season’s Premier League goalscoring table.

Only six teams have scored more goals than Brentford this season, and while the Bees are completely safe from any relegation worries right now, making do without one of the Premier League’s best strikers will be a daunting challenge in the 2023-24 season.

It’s also not entirely clear who will step in for Toney, as the once-capped England striker has been nearly ever-present this season. Only goalkeeper David Raya and center back Ben Mee have played more minutes for Brentford this season. With Toney out of the squad as the Bees hosted West Ham on Sunday, manager Thomas Frank turned to winger Yoane Wissa as the team’s No. 9, who scoried Brentford’s second in a 2-0 win.

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Premier League home stretch: Where things stand as season enters its final month

Some teams are having a blast, while others are going through it

The Premier League is getting down to the nitty-gritty.

The end of the season is approaching, with most teams having five or six games left to secure a trophy, a spot in Europe, or just keep themselves in the top flight for another year.

For some teams, the end of the season was expected to be a pressure-cooker, but has instead been something of a celebration. For others, it’s one last chance to fight their way to safety, or at least salvage some pride in an otherwise disappointing season.

Here’s where everyone stands heading into the last month of the 2022-23 season.

Is there a ball boy who wants to coach Chelsea the rest of the season?

This could, somehow, get worse before it gets better

Chelsea has had four coaches this season, and it’s becoming increasingly clear that Frank Lampard is probably the worst of the lot.

Sure, Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter didn’t exactly set the standard for success, (Bruno Saltor only had one game — a draw) but at least they got a couple results here and there.

Lampard, by contrast, has somehow managed to take exactly nothing from his first five games as Chelsea’s caretaker coach.

That’s right: Five games, five losses. One goal scored. Nine conceded.

This isn’t a vintage Chelsea by any means, but yikes.

Sure, there were a couple of games against Real Madrid in there, but it’s pretty hard to explain how Lampard hasn’t got one single point from Premier League games against Wolves, Brighton and, on Wednesday, a 2-0 home loss to Brentford.

“This is not a sob story but everything is going against us,” Lampard told BT Sport after the game. “That game was a clear one because even though we didn’t create big chances we were always control.”

Chelsea is in 11th place, closer to the drop zone than the top four. The Blues are on their worst run since 1993 in all competitions. After their 13th Premier League loss, they’re closing in on their record of 15 set in 1997-98.

For Chelsea fans, that is a sob story.

Lampard was only appointed until the end of the season but it’s worth wondering if he might be the second caretaker manager of a London side to be sacked before the end of the season.

At this point, it seems like anyone could do better: another assistant, the kit man, a ball boy. How can it be worse?

Actually, it could be! Of Chelsea’s six remaining games, four are against Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle — aka, the top four.

This could, somehow, get worse before it gets better.

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Chelsea headlines six-team Premier League Summer Series in USA

The Premier League will hold its first pre-season tournament in the USA this summer

The Premier League will hold its first preseason tournament in the USA this summer, as six teams were confirmed for the nine-game Premier League Summer Series in late July.

Chelsea will headline the event and will be joined by Aston Villa, Brentford, Brighton, Fulham and Newcastle.

Five venues will play host to the games, with Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia hosting the opener on July 22 between Chelsea and Brighton.

Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Exploria Stadium in Orlando, Red Bull Arena in New Jersey and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland will also host games.

Though Premier League sides have been doing preseason tours of the U.S. for years, this is the first preseason tournament in America involving Premier League sides, mirroring the Premier League Asia Trophy.

“We are delighted to be bringing six clubs to the USA in July for the first-ever Premier League Summer Series,” Premier League CEO Richard Masters said in a statement.

“Our clubs have incredible supporters in the U.S., who passionately follow their teams throughout the season.

“We have seen this dedication first-hand from the tens of thousands who have attended our Mornings Live fan events and are excited to be building on this by bringing live Premier League action to five cities this summer.

“We are currently enjoying one of the most competitive Premier League seasons of all time at both ends of the table and I am sure we will see some thrilling matches during the tournament.”

Premier League Summer Series 2023 schedule (all kick-off times local)

July 22 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Match 1: Chelsea vs. Brighton (7 p.m.)

July 23 – Lincoln Financial Field, Philadelphia
Match 2: Fulham vs. Brentford (4 p.m.)
Match 3: Newcastle vs. Aston Villa (7 p.m.)

July 26 – Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Match 4: Brentford vs. Brighton (5:30 p.m.)
Match 5: Chelsea vs. Newcastle (8:15 p.m.)

July 26 – Exploria Stadium, Orlando
Match 6: Fulham vs. Aston Villa (7 p.m.)

July 28 – Red Bull Arena, New Jersey
Match 7: Brighton vs. Newcastle (7:30 p.m.)

July 30 – FedEx Field, Landover, Maryland
Match 8: Aston Villa vs. Brentford (12:00 p.m.)
Match 9: Chelsea vs. Fulham (2:45 p.m.)

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Pulisic again makes case for bigger Chelsea role in scoreless draw at Brentford

Chelsea improved once Pulisic came on, but will Potter give him a start?

Christian Pulisic may not have started for Chelsea on Wednesday, but he still did enough to catch Graham Potter’s eye.

Pulisic came on in the 61st minute of what turned out to be a scoreless draw with Brentford. Though Chelsea ended up frustrated, Pulisic helped spark an improvement in the late going, nearly scoring an 89th minute winner only to be denied by a fine save from David Raya.

“I thought (Carney Chukwuemeka) and Christian did well when they came on,” Potter told reporters after the match. “They affected the game.”

The day before the game, Potter said Pulisic is “pushing for a start.” While he didn’t actually give the U.S. men’s national team captain that assignment, Chelsea did improve in the final half-hour with Pulisic — who also set Kai Havertz up for a shot that Raya saved — in the thick of things.

Unbeaten run making change difficult

Based on his performances, Pulisic’s hopes of cracking the starting 11 on a regular basis should be improving. However, Chelsea is unbeaten since Potter took charge, and haven’t even conceded a goal since Crystal Palace scored early in what became a 2-1 win for the Blues back on October 1.

That 533-minute shutout run is a signal that Potter’s choices are working, and his analysis of the talent at his disposal currently seems to list Pulisic as more of a super-sub than a starter. Pulisic scored in his only start under Potter and is making things happen every time he steps on the field for Chelsea, so it’s not like he’s failing to make an argument for himself. It’s just that with the results Chelsea is picking up, there are few reasons for Potter to consider shaking up his current hierarchy.

That said, Chelsea were largely uninspired against Brentford until Pulisic came in. That may move the needle enough that the USMNT star takes on a larger role in these final few weeks before the World Cup gets underway.

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Jesse Marsch and Leeds melt down in blowout loss at Brentford

It was a rough day at the office for Leeds and its manager on Saturday

Jesse Marsch was shown a red card at Brentford on Saturday as Leeds suffered its worst outing of the season in a 5-2 away defeat.

Ivan Toney scored a hat trick as Leeds lost for the second Premier League game out of three.

The American coach cut a frustrated figure throughout but he went too far in the referee’s eyes in the second half when protesting what he thought should have been a penalty for his side.

Marsch got in the assistant referee’s face and appeared to impede him on the sideline, leading to referee Robert Jones to show him a red card.

After the game, Marsch admitted to Match of the Day that he could have been more disciplined but he felt disrespected by the officials.

“I can have more discipline and our team can also have more discipline in these moments, but I also have to think about how to discuss these things,” Marsch said. “I don’t know if it’s with the league or other referees, because things I was told at manager meetings before the start of the season aren’t happening.

“That’s really the source of the frustration. I was calm all the time before there’s an egregious act for me. I don’t ever want to get tossed and I don’t want to show disrespect to referees but, when I feel there’s disrespect going in the other direction, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do right now.”

Watch Marsch get shown a red card

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Manchester United roasted by Brentford, and everyone on the internet

Rough day on and off the field for Man Utd

It couldn’t have gone much worse for Manchester United on Saturday.

Erik ten Hag’s team were shambolic in the first half, trailing 4-0 at Brentford after showing virtually no ability to defend or to adapt to their hosts’ high-pressing, transitional gameplan.

David de Gea let a soft shot slip through his grasp, Cristiano Ronaldo turned the ball over on a throw-in that became a goal, they were completely lost on a corner kick for a third, and Brentford fans spent the first half having a laugh at their expense.

The second half saw little hope of a comeback, as Brentford continued to dominate the game, with the 4-0 scoreline staying intact at full time.

But if they thought things were bad, the Red Devils will want to stay off Twitter for the day, as the internet lined up to dunk on them over and over again.

Fans roast Brentford goalkeeper David Raya for hilariously late save attempt against Fulham

Just a bit late.

After one season down in the second tier of English soccer — the Championship — Fulham are heading back to the Premier League thanks to a 2-1 win over Brentford in Tuesday’s promotion playoff at Wembley.

For much of the match, the final promotion spot in the Premier League looked destined to be decided by penalties. But in the 15th minute of extra time, Fulham found its breakthrough with the help of some hilariously bad goalkeeping.

As Fulham’s Joe Bryan sent his free-kick attempt towards goal, Brentford goalkeeper David Raya got an awfully late read on the bouncing attempt and didn’t start his save attempt until the ball was in the net.

Like, this wasn’t even close.

Fans watching the match had a great time roasting Raya’s effort on Twitter.

Bryan would add a second goal later in the match to lock up Fulham’s spot in the Premier League.

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