Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Johnstone refuses to go quietly
SAM JOHNSTONE quit Manchester United and then spent a decade trying to reach the Premier League – so he won’t be leaving it on the quiet.
The West Brom keeper is one of the few Baggies players to emerge from a dismal campaign with any credit after battling his way through Covid and standing behind the leakiest defence in the top flight.
But he claims that he’s now come out of his shell and taken another step forward – because of a willingness to give those in front of him an earful.
Johnstone, 27, said: “This was a league I’ve always wanted to get into and play in – and now I’m here, I’m embracing it.
“When you’re younger, you are a bit quieter and you have to come out of your shell and tell people older than you what you want.
“We’re near the bottom of the table and it’s tough. Tough for everyone.
“Sometimes the last thing the defenders want is to hear me shouting at them. I still do, though.”
THERE was a time when privately educated professional footballers were as rare as the sight of spectators inside a Premier League ground are these days.
But after scoring his 100th league goal on Monday night, Patrick Bamford (left) finds himself at the forefront of a football revolution.
The former Nottingham High School pupil did not even play football at school. Instead, he combined his time at the Nottingham Forest academy with playing as a full-back on his school’s rugby pitch.
His background is an example of the changing make-up of the Premier League. Bamford, along with the likes of Callum HudsonOdoi, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tyrone Mings, Nick Pope and Michael Keane, was privately educated.
“For most of the 20th Century
LIVERPOOL, Manchester City and Chelsea are leading England’s charge to wrestle top-dog status from Spain as the Champions League resumes this week.
UEFA rates the clubs of each nation based on performances in the Europa League and Champions League — with England last topping that table way back in 2011-12.
But after slipping to third behind Spain and Germany for two seasons between 2015 and 2017, they’re now on the verge of earning top billing again.
It’s effectively a two-horse race, with England just behind Spain at the top of the UEFA
Club Coefficient ranking, and Germany and Italy miles off the pace.
England and Spain both have seven clubs left in Europe. Spain have four in the Champions League compared to the Premier League’s three.
Any slip-ups from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico and Sevilla, combined with progress to the latter stages from Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea, could see England leapfrog to the summit.
But a heavyweight Premier League presence in the Europa League could weigh in too.
Manchester United, Arsenal, Leicester and Tottenham will all fancy their chances of progressing after making it through the group stages.