European Super Football

 As we prepare for another summer of teams across England and beyond spending even more money, clubs will be looking to explore the occasional bargain. Will any of these players come from the EFL? This article will explore some of the players that clubs from across Europe might be looking at.  Sam Bell – Bristol City While Bristol City’s season was a bit up and down, Bell’s performances were highly impressive throughout. Numerous spells in non-league football helped Bell develop his game, and Bristol City’s patience in nurturing the young forward appears to be paying off. His versatility makes him an attractive option for clubs after an adaptable forward player, with Bell also occupying the left side of the pitch. Bristol City fans would be sad to see him leave to the Premier League but they will probably admit that he deserves a chance to play at that higher level.  Jaden Philogene – Hull City  Jaden Philogene hogged the limelight at Hull City and was in scint...

They were first introduced to the EFL in 1987 and have been staged after every season since. Some hate them and others love them.  Let's explore some of their greatest matches. They were first introduced to the EFL in 1987 and have been staged after every season since. Some hate them and others love them. Let's explore some of their greatest matches. This is the place for all the latest EFL news and stories (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Sheffield Wednesday 5 - 1 Peterborough United  (The match finished 5-5 on aggregate, Sheffield Wednesday won 5-3 on penalties.) Sheffield Wednesday pulled one of the greatest playoff comebacks in English Football League history to beat Peterborough United on penalties. After losing the first game 4-0, very few people believed they would progress to Wembley. That's exactly what happened. They reached the final and eventually gained promoted to the Championship. This match was the highlight on that journey. Just after the match, James, a S...

Leeds United 0 - 1 Southampton Southampton defeated Leeds in the Championship play-off final, ensuring a swift return to the Premier League and the £140 million prize that comes with it. The Saints’ 11-year tenure in the top flight ended after a dismal campaign last season . Despite finishing one place and three points behind Leeds in fourth, it’s Southampton who join Leicester and Ipswich in promotion. Adam Armstrong scored the decisive goal with a clinical finish after being set up by Will Smallbone. Leeds substitute Dan James hit the crossbar late on as they pressed for an equaliser, but Russell Martin’s team held on through nearly 12 minutes of added time. This defeat means Leeds face another season in the Championship and have now lost their past three finals at Wembley without scoring, remaining unsuccessful in all six of their play-off campaigns. This is the place for all the latest EFL news and stories (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) EFL: Leeds United reach Championship Pl...

 Leicester City 2 - 1 Birmingham City The Foxes overcame a stubborn Birmingham City side and took all three points at the King Power on Saturday afternoon.  They have now moved a little closer to a Premier League return.  In the game, Dewsbury-Hall scored the first goal for the Foxes in the first half. However, Mads Hermansen made a terrible mistake and deflected the ball off Jay Stansfield, causing an own goal. With just a few minutes left in normal time, Stephy Mavididi scored a header, securing the win for the hosts.  This sent the home fans wild. They are starting to dream again of a Premier League return after a few dropped points.  Championship news and stories can be found here Just as the win against Norwich City earlier this week marked a return to form, this was a match that followed a script that Leicester fans saw regularly during the earlier stages of the season. The home side had 68% of the possession, took 19 shots, put 9 on target, and won 1...

Could Jude Bellingham shine for England at the World Cup? Let's explore He represented England at under-15, under-16, under-17 and under-21 levels. He made his first appearance for the senior team in November 2020. He represented the senior team at UEFA Euro 2020 but it's the upcoming World Cup where he could shine. A quick summary of his career so far Bellingham began a two-year scholarship with Birmingham City in July 2019. The following month, he started the EFL Cup first-round trip to Portsmouth and became Birmingham City's youngest-ever first-team player.  He made his first Football League appearance 19 days later, as a second-half substitute in a 3–0 defeat away to Swansea City and his home debut on 31 August against Stoke City. Replacing the injured Jefferson Montero after half an hour, Bellingham scored the winner – albeit via a generous deflection – as Birmingham came back from 1–0 down to beat Stoke 2–1, and thus became their youngest-ever goalscorer, aged 16 ye...

Leicester City 1 - 1 Ipswich Town Jeremy Sarmiento scored a late equaliser against Championship leaders Leicester City at the King Power Stadium and guided his Ipswich team back into the coveted automatic promotion spots. Initially, Leicester seemed on the verge of extending their lead by 10 points , courtesy of an own goal by Leif Davis in the first half. The second half had more excitement, featuring Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen's spectacular save from Wes Burns and Kasey McAteer's valiant effort cleared off the line at the other end. When Hermansen could only parry a Massimo Luongo shot in the area, Brighton loanee Sarmiento seized the opportunity, swiftly scoring a shot that eluded the Danish goalkeeper. This marked the second time in four weeks that Ipswich snatched a late draw against Leicester, following a similar feat on Boxing Day at Portman Road. The draw this time elevated Ipswich above Southampton, reclaiming second place, while Leicester maintained a seven-poi...

Leeds United 0 - 3 Middlesbrough  Middlesbrough secured a spot in the second round of the Carabao Cup after scoring three goals in just 16 minutes to defeat Championship rivals Leeds United at Elland Road. The first half was closely contested but the away side broke the deadlock when Anfernee Dijksteel drifted in from the right touchline and calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the net. As Leeds pushed forward, Josh Coburn played in Delano Burgzorg, who kept his composure and found the net with a deflected strike off Joe Rodon. Leeds manager Daniel Farke made five substitutions in the 65th minute, but shortly after, Coburn tapped into an empty net, securing Boro’s first win at Elland Road since 2011. A closer look at what happened Last season’s meetings between the sides saw 12 goals, and the frantic start to this match hinted at more of the same. EFL 23/24 : Middlesbrough and Leeds play out a thriller  Boro goalkeeper Sol Brynn denied Junior Firpo with a leg save in...

Birmingham City have announced the appointment of Wayne Rooney as their new manager. The 37-year-old former England captain has joined the Championship club on a three-and-a-half-year deal. He succeeds Blues head coach John Eustace, who was perhaps controversially sacked after 15 months in charge. Read the stories behind a football icon.  The new American owners of Blues, Shelby Companies Limited, have made their first managerial change by appointing the ex-Everton and Manchester United striker. They took over the club in July.  In his new role, Rooney will be supported by his former England team-mate Ashley Cole alongside his old United colleague John O'Shea, the assistant coach of the Republic of Ireland men's national team. Carl Robinson and Pete Shuttleworth will also be part of Rooney's backroom staff after both assisted him at DC United. Click here to read more news from the EFL Wayne Rooney's managerial career will continue with his third job in management, f...

 Birmingham City 1 - 0 Norwich City Birmingham have been relegated from the Championship despite a 1-0 home win over Norwich City on the final day.  You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. Footage from the Norwich City YouTube account. Birmingham's turbulent campaign. where six men have managed the club, has meant their 13-season stay in the Championship is over.  Many fans would have taken a mid-table finish this season but a promising start meant some started thinking about a play off push. The season then started to go very wrong and different decisions about managers changed the direction of their season in a drastic way. EFL: Wayne Rooney appointed Birmingham City manager (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) EFL News: Rooney sacked by Birmingham (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) They return to the third tier for the first time in 29 years. The Blues beat promotion-chasing Norwich after Seung-Ho Paik's second-half winner. They would have stayed up...

This article will explore some of the top talent in the English Football League Are there any players in the Championship, League One or League Two that could be soon signed by a Premier League side? The leagues below the Premier League are arguably the perfect breeding ground for England's top talent.  Alex Scott - Bristol City After an impressive breakthrough season in 2021-22, this is a player hoping for even bigger things he looks to carry on establishing himself among the country’s top talent. He starred for Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City side last season and launched himself onto the international stage by helping England win the Under-19s European Championship.  In the 2021/2022 season, only Callum Doyle (3,109) played more league minutes across the top four tiers in England than Scott (2,762) while aged 18 or younger. Ryan Giles - Middlesbrough The Wolverhampton Wanderers academy graduate is only 22. However,  he’s already played 115 senior career games over thr...

Walsall 0 - 0 Leicester City (Leicester City won 3-0 on penalties) Leicester City narrowly advanced to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, overcoming a determined Walsall side on penalties. Despite being from League Two, Walsall created the better chances during the 90 minutes, but Charlie Lakin and experienced forward Albert Adomah couldn’t capitalise on the best of them. Leicester’s goalkeeper, Danny Ward, became the hero in the shootout, saving all three of Walsall’s penalties, helping Steve Cooper’s team scrape through after a major scare. A closer look at what happened at the Bescot Stadium Cooper made 10 changes for the trip across the Midlands, with Jamie Vardy, Stephy Mavididi, Harry Winks, and Wilfred Ndidi all left out of the squad. The reshuffled team struggled to find rhythm, and it wasn’t until Abdul Fatawu’s skilful runs in the second half that Leicester began to trouble the hosts. He created two good chances but missed both, and later delivered the cross that led to...

 Chelsea 1 - 1 Newcastle United (Chelsea win 4-2 on penalties) Kieran Trippier had a nightmarish experience at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea secured a spot in the Carabao Cup semi-finals through a penalty shootout. Despite Callum Wilson's 16th-minute goal appearing to propel Newcastle into the last four, substitute Mykhailo Mudryk seized on the veteran defender's mistake deep into stoppage time, leading to the match heading to penalties. Trippier, who has recently struggled with a dip in form, widened Newcastle's second penalty, and with keeper Djordje Petrovic saving Matt Ritchie's spot-kick, Chelsea transitioned from the brink of defeat to the joy of reaching the semi-finals. It was a harsh outcome for Trippier, a key figure under manager Eddie Howe, whose moment of indecision on a header provided Chelsea with the lifeline Mudryk capitalized on. Chelsea's Cole Palmer, Conor Gallagher, Christopher Nkunku, and Mudryk all scored in the shootout, while only Callum Wils...

 Chelsea 1 - 0 Fulham Chelsea secured a narrow victory over West London rivals Fulham at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League, with Cole Palmer's first-half penalty proving to be vital. The win was Chelsea's third consecutive victory, moving them to eighth in the table. Palmer's penalty, following a foul on Raheem Sterling by Issa Diop, marked his ninth goal since joining Chelsea in August. Conor Gallagher came close to adding a late second for Chelsea, hitting the far post with a well-struck effort. Despite Chelsea's wastefulness in front of goal earlier in the week, they did enough to secure the three points.  Chelsea won their fourth consecutive home league match for the first time since July 2020. The victory marked a positive start to Chelsea's 2024 league campaign after a challenging 2023, where they won only 12 of their 43 league games.  They are set to face Middlesbrough in the EFL Cup semi-final second leg on 23 January. Another W at the Bridge. 🏡 #...

Birmingham City 4 - 1 Shrewsbury Town Runaway leaders Birmingham City edged a step closer to automatic promotion with a comfortable win in Michael Appleton's first game in charge of Shrewsbury Town. Author - Craig H Stadium - St Andrew's Stadium With nine games left, Chris Davies's EFL Trophy finalists are now within four wins of promotion - nine points clear of second-placed Wrexham and 12 better off than third-placed Wycombe Wanderers. It was one-way traffic from start to finish as Keshi Anderson rifled an angled half-volley a foot over the bar before top scorer Jay Stansfield's rising shot was saved by goalkeeper Jamal Blackman in a one-on-one. Willum Willumsson curled off target before Kieran Dowell blazed over after Anderson found Willumsson, then cleverly dummied the return. Ben Davies finally gave Blues a deserved lead in the 27th minute, sliding home Dowell's curling free-kick unmarked from six yards for his first goal for the club. READ MORE:  EFL: 2024...

The Joint Administrators of Derby County have released a statement to update fans on the current situation. It starts: This statement provides a summary of progress to supporters and the media in respect of Derby County Football Club. As we have previously reported, we are dealing with a large number of sensitive issues and felt that issuing reactive statements in response to the recent statements issued by various related parties would at best be unhelpful and also may hinder or prejudice discussions we are having with the same parties. Our perceived lack of recent communication has therefore been both tactical and deliberate. The full statement which can be read here includes a section on the claims from two EFL clubs. This section says: "These have been well documented both by us previously and more recently, by others making statements. We do not think it would be helpful, in view of the sensitivity of these matters, to elaborate on the discussions we have been having other...

Sheffield Wednesday 4 - 2 Derby County Josh Windass scored an extraordinary goal from deep inside his own half as Sheffield Wednesday cruised to a convincing victory over Derby County in the Championship. Author - Chris C Windass picked up the ball in his own defensive third and unleashed a stunning strike from over 60 yards, sailing it perfectly over Derby’s goalkeeper Jacob Widell Zetterström. Barry Bannan, Djeidi Gassama, and Anthony Musaba also got on the scoresheet for the Owls, while Jerry Yates and Ebou Adams managed consolation goals for the Rams. A closer look at what happened as Wednesday move up the table The breakthrough came after lively wing-back Gassama exposed the lack of pace in Derby defender Sonny Bradley, delivering a low cross that left Bannan with a simple finish. Derby initially struggled but began to find their rhythm. Efforts from Kane Wilson and Nat Phillips forced good saves from Wednesday keeper Jack Beadle, while Yates hit the post just before half-time...

Sheffield Wednesday 0 - 1 Sheffield United Rhian Brewster’s goal secured a derby win for Sheffield United over Sheffield Wednesday, drawing the Blades level on points with Championship leaders Leeds. Author - Phil Flanagan Stadium - Hillsborough The win also sealed United’s first league double over their city rivals since the 2005-06 season and delivered a blow to the Owls' play-off hopes. The match was tense, with both sides desperate for points to strengthen their promotion bids. United keeper Michael Cooper made a crucial first-half save to deny Michael Smith, while a vital block from Harrison Burrows prevented Josh Windass from putting Wednesday ahead after the break. The defeat leaves Wednesday six points adrift of the play-off spots with eight games remaining, despite their recent resurgence with back-to-back away wins. Home form has been a major issue for Wednesday all season. They have the second-worst record in the division at Hillsborough, while United have been the C...

Middlesbrough have released a statement regarding a compensation claim against fellow Championship side Derby County  The statement reads: "MFC is aware of the media speculation regarding its claim against Derby County and has read last night's statement by the EFL. The club wishes to ensure that, to the extent possible given that the arbitration claim is confidential, the full facts are in the public domain, rather than ill-informed speculation." Why are they making a claim now? "MFC became aware that Derby County was cheating under the P&S Rules during 2018/19. MFC first intimated a claim against Derby County in May 2019 immediately following the end of the 2018/19 season. The claim was held in abeyance whilst the EFL Disciplinary Proceedings against Derby County were followed through to a conclusion.  "MFC then sent Derby County a Letter Before Action in the autumn of 2020 and started arbitration proceedings against Derby County in January 2021. Derby...

Liverpool 1 - 2 Newcastle United Newcastle United ended a seven-decade wait for a domestic trophy with a fully deserved Carabao Cup final victory over Liverpool at Wembley. Author - William G Stadium - Wembley Stadium Eddie Howe’s side delivered a performance of discipline and intensity, sparking wild celebrations among the Toon Army as goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak either side of half-time secured their historic win. Burn, fresh from his first England call-up, powered home a header from Kieran Trippier’s corner in first-half stoppage time, before Isak capitalised on Jacob Murphy’s knockdown to fire in a clinical finish seven minutes after the break. Liverpool, still reeling from their midweek Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties, pulled one back through substitute Federico Chiesa in added time, setting up a tense finale. But Newcastle held firm, surviving a nervy finish to lift their first domestic trophy since the 1955 FA Cup and their first major ho...

Chelsea v Barrow: Live social media posts and reaction from Stamford Bridge Barrow, who are joint top of League Two, started the night 64 places behind Chelsea in the football pyramid. Click here for more EFL Cup news and stories Live text commentary - How did the match unfold Full-time announcement Chelsea cruised into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup with a convincing win over League Two Barrow at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were too strong for the Bluebirds, despite manager Enzo Maresca making 11 changes to the team that defeated West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday. Chelsea 5 - 0 Barrow Nkunku completes his hat-trick . He tackled keeper Farman and passed the ball into an empty net. To be fair, after being 3-0 down, Barrow fans probably thought it should have been 7 or 8-0.  Chelsea 4 - 0 Barrow Two minutes after the restart, Pedro Neto scored his first Chelsea goal by tapping in after Mykhailo Mudryk's pass . Barrow fans are fearing a thrashing. Chelsea 3 - 0 Barrow T...