Forget Premier League’s Alleged Dinosaurs, It’s Open and Progressive

It is a little more than a month since Sam Allardyce appeared alongside Richard Keys and Andy Gray in their TV studio in Doha and moaned, without a hint of irony, about foreigners taking all the plum jobs. Well, more or less. What Allardyce claimed exactly was British managers are viewed as “second class” in their own country and have “nowhere to go” because the Premier League is a “foreign league in England”.

Nonsense then and even more so in a week when Allardyce took charge at Everton and Alan Pardew did the same at West Bromwich Albion, with the pair following in the footsteps of Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace and David Moyes at West Ham United. British managers have never had it so good. Certainly not those who have been there, done that.

The debate around these appointments is raging and, to some extent, it is not straightforward. For starters, is it fair to describe them all as old? There are 16 years between the youngest (Moyes, at 54) and the oldest (Hodgson, who is 70) and in manager terms what is old, anyway? Also, in the case of Allardyce, there is a history of embracing modern trends, so is he really the dinosaur most portray him to be?

Whatever the view, a sense of dreary deja vu is justified. Between them, Hodgson, Moyes, Allardyce and Pardew have been handed 18 Premier League jobs and won zero English trophies, while Moyes and Pardew have suffered Premier League relegation. Mediocrity, it appears, will always be rewarded by top-flight powerbrokers gripped by fear and a lack of imagination.

The irony is that this narrow thinking is in contrast to the generally cosmopolitan and creative feel of the Premier League. Step back and look at what is happening in England’s leading division and the sense is that it is opening up more than ever to new ideas and broader principles.

Manchester City are the standard bearers. A team made up of Brazilians, Argentinians, Belgians, Germans and – among other nationalities – young Englishmen encouraged to be better at their job, storming towards glory on the back of the deep principles of a Catalan manager who had supposedly been “found out” during his first season in this country.

Pep Guardiola refused to wilt and is thriving, with the joy not confined to the Etihad Stadium. As Barney Ronay recently wrote in these pages, City’s domination is something neutrals can also savour, such is the bewitching manner of their play.

City have spent a lot of money getting to this juncture – eight points clear, having won 12 matches in succession, following Wednesday’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Southampton. This is a top‑down revolution instigated by sovereign wealth, so we should take a breath before throwing too many garlands of virtue over their collective shoulders. But equally, while money can buy talent it does not necessarily buy the level of expression and ambition City have generally shown this season.

It is not just at City that intriguing things are brewing. At Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, the development of thrilling teams built on the attacking principles of Jürgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino continues to unfold.

In both cases it is not perfect – Liverpool’s defensive frailties continue to undermine them while Tottenham are in the midst of a poor domestic run that puts their hopes of a title challenge in serious doubt – but what is happening on Merseyside and in north London is exciting, progressive and ambitious. It is something that can also be said of the work being done by Marco Silva at Watford, transforming a bunch of players who appeared to be playing with the effects of a heavy pub lunch last season into one of the most dynamic and devastating teams in the country. Even in defeat, they did themselves credit against Manchester United on Tuesday.

Silva’s status as the saviour to all clubs’ ills is overblown but there is increasingly little doubt he is the real thing, something that can also be said of David Wagner, who took Huddersfield from 18th in the Championship to promotion to the Premier League inside 18 months.

Pochettino, Silva and Wagner in particular highlight the benefits of turning a cheek to the safe option. All three arrived in this country (at Southampton, Hull City and Huddersfield, respectively) amid deep suspicion of their ability to “cut it over here” yet quickly proved to be not only competent but capable of getting far more out of the players at their disposal than most suspected was possible.

All of this is not entirely new, of course. The Premier League has for some time been rich with ideas born from a fusion of different nationalities, in the dugout and on the pitch, and no overseas figure has had a greater impact on football in this country than Arsène Wenger, who arrived at Arsenal in the same year the BBC showed the first episode of Changing Rooms and Tiger Woods turned professional. In other words, a long time ago.

But the spread is now wider, taking in clubs at the top and bottom of the league (in the season Wenger won his first title at Arsenal, 1997-98, discounting caretakers there were never more than four non-British managers in the Premier League, and one of those was Joe Kinnear), and it is not all high‑energy, high-pressing tactics; Chelsea won the Premier League last season playing with a three‑man defence, something that had all but disappeared in English football. Imported and operated by Antonio Conte, it worked a treat.

This mix of ideas from different parts of the world is particularly significant amid the climate of Brexit. Divisions have formed and the sense has grown that people from other countries are not as welcome as they thought, yet in the country’s leading division the top five teams are managed by a Spaniard, a Portuguese, an Italian, a Frenchman and a German, while elsewhere those of similar and other nationalities also thrive. Foreigners are not only welcome in the Premier League – they are routinely celebrated.

And who is that in sixth? Why, it is Burnley, and here it feels important to make the point that noteworthy progression is also being instigated by domestic figures, away from the tried and tested. Sean Dyche, in only his second managerial post and first in the Premier League, has not only established a small-to-middling club in the elite but is advancing their style of play, making it more progressive and attractive, as seen most vividly in the 24-pass move that led to Jeff Hendrick’s goal in their 1-0 victory over Everton in October and in general during their 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Wednesday, who, it should be remembered, are in their third successive Premier League season having stuck to the possession-based principles of their 40-year-old, Amersham-born manager, Eddie Howe.

It hasn’t always worked, as was the case again this week, but it is at least forward thinking, something that can also be said of Gareth Southgate, who has made clear his desire to elevate England’s ambition – moulding them into a team comfortable in possession and at ease playing in a formation that is not, to quote his fictitious predecessor Mike Bassett, “four-four-fucking-two”. It may blow up in Southgate’s face next summer but at least he is trying something new, something interesting.

And that’s what English football is at the moment – interesting. Even the row over the relevance of statistics sparked by Jeff Stelling’s rant about expected goals adds to that because it forces us to look at the sport in different ways.

The mix is heady and going up a gear as the games come thick and fast – 70 Premier League fixtures between Saturday and New Year’s Eve. So enjoy the ride and try not to get too downhearted by the returning ghosts of seasons’ pasts.

The Guardian Sport

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love", in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

The 30-meter (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-meter diameter ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.

It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organizers said.

"We are so proud of this show, I'm so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain," Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.

A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.

It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

"I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace," International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.

Nakamura's performance drew some of the ceremony's biggest cheers. Rumors of her inclusion had sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences than French.

POURING RAIN

While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.

"It was good other than the rain, it was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium being on the river, so that's always a good thing - interesting, unique," said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.

"Once you're wet, it's fine," he said. Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.

"It would have been better with sun," said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter and who paid 1,600 euros ($1,736) for her seat.

With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace was closed.

Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the ceremony. Armed police patrolled along the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.

WELCOMED IN TAHITI

A mix of French and international stars, including soccer great Zinedine Zidane, 14-times French Open champion Rafa Nadal, 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three paralympic athletes were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.

It will blaze until the closing ceremony on Aug. 11.

At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat - the first delegation, by tradition - and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team. The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.

The two most decorated athletes in the Games' history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.

At one point, there was a live crossover to the early morning welcome ceremony at the surfing venue, 16,000 km away in the Pacific island of Tahiti.

ISRAEL DELEGATION

France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there was no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

But since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop.

Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and are given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.

The Israel delegation got some boos, but also a lot of cheers, as it sailed by spectators, Reuters reporters saw. Chants of "Palestine! Palestine! Palestine!" rose from the crowd as the boat passed.

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.

Forget Premier League’s Alleged Dinosaurs, It’s Open and Progressive