Sean Dyche deserves a statue outside Turf Moor after his dismissal by Burnley, according to Brentford head coach Thomas Frank.
Burnley opted to sack Dyche on Friday, with the announcement a surprise despite the Clarets' relegation battle – they are 18th in the table and four points adrift of safety.
Dyche's side had managed just one win from their past seven matches, with five defeats in that streak, but many have questioned why Burnley parted ways with their manager after nearly a decade-long association.
He guided the Clarets to five straight survivals in the Premier League, having previously followed promotion in his first season with relegation back to the Championship.
Dyche, who led Burnley into Europe for the first time in 51 years, was also the longest-reigning manager in the league but now becomes the 10th different boss to lose his job in the top tier this season.
Frank believes Dyche's efforts should be celebrated as he expressed confusion over the decision of the Clarets board.
"They got promoted. They got relegated. They got promoted again. They've been here, what, six or seven years in the Premier League? It's remarkable what they've done," he said.
"Sean Dyche and his coaching staff, everyone involved with the football club, have done an unbelievable job. Sean Dyche deserves a lot of credit – they should build a statue of him outside Turf Moor.
"I remember there was one year when [you thought], 'How can he not be Manager of the Year?'. So, I think he's done a top job."
Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher labelled the decision a "joke", as he posted on Twitter: "If you [Burnley] had given him a decent budget you would never have had a worry about getting relegated."
Veteran Roy Hodgson, who is attempting to battle the drop with Watford, was similarly bemused by the news.
"Of all the people in the league, he would have been one of the ones I would have thought most likely to survive anything like this, so I have no idea what's happened," Hodgson said.
"Something must have happened because you don't part company with a manager like Sean Dyche after all the fantastic things he's done for that club over the last 10 years. He has built the club."
Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Graham Potter also added he was "surprised", while Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta heaped praise on Dyche.
"He gave the club a really clear identity, he's managed to keep the team, with one of the smallest budgets, consistently in the league," the Arsenal boss said.
"I wish him the best of luck and as always with colleagues, it's sad when you see those decisions."
Eidevall wishes Miedema well but Arsenal keen to move on
Jonas Eidevall wished former Arsenal forward Vivianne Miedema all the best after her move to Manchester City, as the Gunners prepare for the upcoming Women's Super League season.
Arsenal are set to begin life without the WSL's all-time leading scorer, who left the club after netting 80 times in 106 appearances during her seven-year spell.
Miedema also holds the WSL record for most shots (452), efforts on target (198), touches in the opposition box (816) and goals from inside the area (70).
In WSL history, only Bethany England (48) has converted more big chances than the Netherlands international (44), while Miedema has also provided 35 assists.
Ironically, Miedema's first WSL appearance for her new club will come against Arsenal on September 22, two days after the start of the new campaign on Friday, September 20, for which Eidevall is now focused on getting his current squad ready.
Speaking at the Barclay's WSL's 2024-25 season launch Media Day, he told Stats Perform: "Of course, Vivianne Miedema has had a really good history at Arsenal, some really good contributions to the club.
"Then, you come to a point where you need to say, what does the squad need here now for the next season? We prioritise these players that we now have in the squad.
"[We] wish Viv all the best. I think she's going to have a really good and successful season with Manchester City, but we're really happy and content with the squad that we have."
Arsenal are aiming to improve on last term's third-place finish, and Eidevall wants his players to produce high-quality performances on a more frequent basis.
"We need to keep our highs that we had last season," he added.
"I think we showed - both with performances and results against the teams that were finishing at the top of the league - that we were a really good football team, but we lacked the consistency.
"So, we need to keep our highs, but we need to raise our lows from last season. That's not easy, but if we can do that, then we can be winning."
Guardiola backs 'incredible' Lewis to star as hectic schedule begins
Pep Guardiola backed Rico Lewis to play a starring role in Manchester City's quest for a fifth Premier League title after an impressive start to the new season.
Lewis, who has started every game for Guardiola this term, impressed in City's 3-1 win over West Ham ahead of the international break, while he also played the duration of England's win over Finland.
The 19-year-old has filled in for the absent Kyle Walker so far, and Guardiola is confident that his recent form will help the Citizens moving forward as the Champions League group phase kicks in.
"Absolute, absolutely [he's playing well]. Have you seen the minutes he played in the pocket? I said many times, Rico has one incredible ability that for many years, it was difficult to find," Guardiola said.
"Always he is free, always he is alone. When his mate has the ball, I don’t know what he does, but he's free.
"You can pass the ball to him, and not just in positions where it's comfortable, but in positions where the space is so tight, arriving in the third final.
"We all the players ready, because the schedule that comes from now on until the end of the season will be difficult.
"That's what I said. Pre-season is over today. It's over officially. The real season starts after the international break."
But standing in their way are a Brentford side brimming with confidence after comfortably dispatching Southampton 3-1 before the international break to register their best start to a Premier League season.
The Bees also arrive at the Etihad as the last team to beat Guardiola's men on home soil, with head coach Thomas Frank believing his players should take that confidence into their encounter with the reigning champions.
"The feeling after a win is always unbelievable," said Frank. "It's a combination of relief and happiness.
"We performed well and played a good game. We clearly deserved to win. We need to celebrate our wins for 24 hours because in the Premier League, it is so difficult to win."
"Our high press today was absolutely world-class. We were so aggressive, so well organised and the players were so committed."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Man City – Erling Haaland
Haaland has seven goals in the Premier League this season, the most ever by a player in a team's first three matches of a campaign in the competition.
The record in a team's first four matches in a Premier League season is eight goals by Wayne Rooney for Manchester United in 2011-12.
Brentford – Yoane Wissa
Wissa has started the season in fine form, netting in two of Brentford's three Premier League games so far this campaign, but he has found it difficult against the Citizens in the five matches he has played against them.
Of the teams Wissa has faced in the top flight, City are one of six sides alongside Man United, Brighton, Sheffield United, Watford and Norwich he has failed to score against.
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
Manchester City have won four of their six Premier League games against Brentford (L2), doing the double over them in both 2021-22 and 2023-24.
They have also won all three of their Premier League games this season. They have won each of their opening four matches of an English top-flight campaign on eight previous occasions (1903-04, 1912-13, 1961-62, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2023-24), which is already the most of any club.
The hosts have won each of their last 12 Premier League games, all by a margin of 2+ goals. Indeed, under Guardiola alone, the Citizens are responsible for six of the 16 runs of 12+ consecutive wins by any club in English top-flight history (38%).
However, Brentford remain the last side to win away to City in any competition, triumphing 2-1 in November 2022. The Citizens are unbeaten in 45 at the Etihad in all competitions since (W38 D7).
The Bees have won two of their three Premier League games this season (L1), their best start to a campaign in the competition. In the top-flight, only in 1946-47 have they ever won three of their opening four matches – but that was the only season they were relegated from this level.
But since the start of last season, Brentford have lost more Premier League away games (13) than any side currently in the competition. The Bees have also lost each of their last five away league games against sides that finished the previous season in the top four.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Man City – 82.3%
Draw –11%
Brentford – 6.7%
Nagelsmann pleased with Germany development after Euro 2024 disappointment
Julian Nagelsmann believes Germany have taken the next step in their development after sharing the spoils in an entertaining clash with the Netherlands on Tuesday.
Tijjani Reijnders handed the hosts the lead with just a minute and 39 seconds on the clock, only for Deniz Undav and Joshua Kimmich to respond before the break.
The Netherlands drew level five minutes into the second half through Denzel Dumfries, leaving the pair joint-top of Group A3 after the opening round of fixtures.
But with German ambitions of being strong contenders at the next World Cup after their Euro 2024 disappointment, Nagelsmann is looking to see improvements in every match despite the tournament being just under two years away.
“There is an awareness that every game is important,” Naglesmann said.
“We have the Nations League now, the qualifiers next year and then hopefully off to the World Cup. We have 18 games left until then - if all goes well.
“The team believes in itself and that is the key. That is what we all want to see. Today we saw a team that wanted to win."
But in an enthralling encounter, Nagelsmann acknowledged that improvements need to be made at both ends of the pitch.
Germany managed just five shots on target from the 21 they attempted, registering an expected goals total (xG) of 2.94 during the contest.
While only restricting the Netherlands to 11 shots, their opponents created four big chances to Germany's three, with the Oranje also winning 53.1% of their duels compared to 46.9% for Nagelsmann's side.
“Both defences were too vulnerable but offensively, we were stronger, tried to create more and took a bit more risk," Nagelsmann said.
“In the early stages of the second half, we tried a little too hard and were maybe a bit too aggressive in the tackles.”
The Germany head coach was particularly pleased with his side's response to falling behind early on Reijnders' finish.
“The way we came back was very good. It took us five or six minutes, but then we were well in the game," Nagelsmann concluded.
Germany continue their Nations League campaign with two away fixtures next month, starting with Bosnia and Herzegovina, followed by a reunion with the Dutch on October 14.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
