EPL

Debutant George Earthy taken to hospital after West Ham’s loss to Fulham

By Sports Desk April 14, 2024

West Ham teenager George Earthy was taken to hospital after suffering a horror head injury just two minutes into his Premier League debut.

The 19-year-old had just come on as a substitute when he collided with team-mate Edson Alvarez in the middle of the field.

Earthy fell to the ground awkwardly and appeared to have been knocked out cold, sparking worrying scenes as medics and team-mates rushed to help the stricken youngster.

After receiving treatment for eight minutes, Earthy was carried off on a stretcher. He was conscious when he was taken out of the London Stadium in an ambulance around 20 minutes after full-time.

The Hammers said: “West Ham United can confirm George Earthy will undergo an assessment in a London hospital this evening following the incident which saw him stretchered off during today’s Premier League fixture against Fulham.

“The midfielder – who entered the field as a second half substitute to make his Premier League debut against the Cottagers – was taken off in stoppage time.”

Manager David Moyes said: “I am really disappointed for George. He has been doing really well in training, done really well for the Under-21s.

“He started well with the ball, had some really nice touches. He is fine. It is a head knock. He is awake and has gone to hospital, we think he is OK at the moment. We all thought he had been knocked out but I don’t know any more.”

The incident overshadowed a 2-0 victory for Fulham courtesy of two goals from Andreas Pereira.

It was a second blow to West Ham’s European hopes in the space of four days, following Thursday night’s 2-0 Europa League first-leg defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, as a win would have lifted them to sixth.

“I thought we started well and should have been one or two goals up before they scored,” added Moyes.

“We were caught out by a long ball, we didn’t deal with it well. And we missed some opportunities to score as well. I think we dominated possession, kept the ball and passed it quite well. But we got done on the counter-attack.

“I’m gutted, today was a great chance to go sixth with five games to go, what a great position to be in.”

For Fulham it was a first win in four matches, and a first at West Ham since 2001.

Boss Marco Silva said: “Great win for us, well played from ourselves and to be honest we deserved the three points.

“West Ham had a good chance to score but after that, we scored the first goal and started to control the game. Overall we scored twice but created more chances to score as well.

“I think we were solid, compact and kept our concentration. We should have scored more goals to be even more comfortable.”

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  • Frank: Newcastle are Brentford's 'biggest home test' this season Frank: Newcastle are Brentford's 'biggest home test' this season

    Thomas Frank is certain that Newcastle United will pose his Brentford side their biggest test on home soil so far this season when they collide at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

    Brentford, along with Brighton and Arsenal, are yet to taste defeat in front of their own supporters this term, but the Bees have failed to transpire that form into their away matches.

    Frank’s men were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Aston Villa on Wednesday, leaving them with one point from their seven games on the road, which is the joint-worst record in the division.

    And the Brentford boss is expecting a tough test for his players, citing Newcastle’s performance against Liverpool in midweek as the level Eddie Howe’s side can reach.

    "Newcastle have looked good this season. And Eddie Howe has done a brilliant job over the last three years," Frank said. "First, they stayed in the league. They got into the Champions League two years ago.

    “And, last year, they were in the Champions League for the first time in a long time, they got the experience of that, and still managed to get seventh - that would've usually got a European place, but unfortunately didn't.

    "This season, I think they are back to the high level that they were at two years ago. I don't think they've been rewarded enough with the points and results. They were brilliant at home to Arsenal, and they were brilliant on Wednesday at home to Liverpool.

    "So, I think it's an Eddie Howe team that is at its best and will be a big test for us; this will be the biggest test that we have faced at home so far this season."

    While Newcastle are without a win in their last three Premier League games, their display against Arne Slot’s side will give supporters plenty of encouragement moving forward.

    Their latest point moved them above Manchester United and into the top half of the table, but they are now six points behind the top four, but have a favourable run of fixtures to come.

    After Brentford, the Magpies face Leicester City, Ipswich Town, Aston Villa and Manchester United in the league, and Newcastle boss Howe believes his side can use their display against Liverpool as a solid foundation to build on for their upcoming games.

    “It was a great game. There was a lot of quality on the pitch, and we were pleased to fight back in the end, but also disappointed to lose a lead as well in the mix of it all.

    “There was a feeling that when you play Liverpool you need as many goals as you can because you know their qualities, and they are never out of a game. That other goal has alluded us for much of the season, but at least we are creating chances.

    “It was all there, and you can see the quality of the goals and our individual players. Really pleased with that dynamic. We have to be in a position to build confidence levels.”

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Brentford – Yoane Wissa

    Wissa has scored in each of his last six Premier League home games for Brentford, netting eight goals in total.

    Overall, he’s scored 18 goals at Gtech Community Stadium in the competition, just one fewer than Ivan Toney’s record of 19.

    Newcastle – Harvey Barnes

    Barnes was used as a substitute during Newcastle’s draw with Liverpool in midweek, but he will be hoping to be used from the start in the capital.

    He has scored seven goals in his last 13 Premier League appearances in London, while he’s netted away at Brentford in each of the last two campaigns, for Leicester in 2022-23 and the Magpies on the final day of last season.

    MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW

    While Opta’s data-led simulations predict a draw, Newcastle have won their last five Premier League games against Brentford – only against Burnley between 2020 and 2024 (six) and Tottenham between 2006 and 2008 (six) have they had a longer winning run in the competition.

    The Magpies have also won their last five away league games against the Bees in a run stretching back to 1992. In their league history, they’ve only ever won more consecutive away games against Derby County (seven between 1951 and 1965).

    Newcastle have, however, kept just one clean sheet in their last 13 Premier League away games against London sides, shipping 26 goals in the process. Indeed, they’ve conceded at least twice in eight of their last 10 games in the capital.

    But Brentford will be relying on home comforts to return to winning ways. They have won more home points than any other side in the Premier League this season (19). Their 19 points is their most after seven home games of a league season since 2004-05 (21 in League One), while their 22 goals are their most after seven home games since 1971-72 (26 in the fourth tier).

    They have also won their last four Premier League home games, conceding the first goal in each of the last three of these. No side in Premier League history has won four consecutive home games, having conceded the first goal in each.

    But this has historically been a difficult fixture for the Bees, who are winless in all six of their Premier League meetings with Newcastle (D1 L5), the most they’ve faced an opponent without ever winning in the competition.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Brentford – 35.1%

    Draw – 25%

    Newcastle – 39.8%

  • JFF to use YouTube channel to boost revenue through live streaming of games from all national teams JFF to use YouTube channel to boost revenue through live streaming of games from all national teams

    For the last few years, video sharing platform YouTube has been a major revenue generator for a number of sports teams around the world and the latest initiative by the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) has them looking to join in on that.

    On Friday, November 29 and Monday, December 2, the Reggae Girlz two friendlies against South Africa at the Montego Bay Sports Complex were both broadcasted live on the JFF’s YouTube channel, JFFLIVE.

    The tallied views from the two games on the channel amassed to over 60,000, excluding pirated broadcasts.

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    Spearheaded by Reggae Boyz Supporters Club President Kyle Wallace and Gario Graham, founder of Kingston Made Productions, the venture will see live games of Jamaica’s various national teams being streamed on JFFLIVE.

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    Fans watching the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal second leg between Jamaica and the USA.

    “In the past five weeks, Kyle and myself have been doing some extensive case studying to see what the market looks like and how football fans around the world are interacting with their favorite teams,” Graham said.

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    These ideas were then presented to JFF President Michael Ricketts and General Secretary Dennis Chung, who were both impressed with the proposal.

    “We are excited to announce this venture,” Chung said at the press conference.

    “The objective that we had is really to monetize the JFF brand and the YouTube channel because we recognize the power of social media and the fact that we have to connect with our fans,” he added.

    Ricketts also expressed excitement at the new initiative.

    “We continue to try and explore whatever opportunities may present themselves so that we can have some sustainable income,” he said.

    “If we are not in a position to fund our projects, then we are going to struggle. This is an initiative that, we are sure, will help us to develop our youth programs and help as part of our marketing tool. We are a brand and we are intent on getting things in the global space so that we can attract viewers and ensure that our diaspora would have a connection with Jamaica’s football,” he added.

    Graham then went into more technical details of the initiative and what fans can look forward to.

    “We went on a quest to assess what capabilities we have in our stadiums in Jamaica. Our physical assets like cameras, WIFI and all these other technical aspects. In 2025, we will have major improvements in all those areas. We have top notch cameras coming with 4k quality all across the board and we’ll have drone aspects as well,” he said.

    “Based off the calendar, we are going to target the games that we are legally able to showcase. If those games are within the rights of the JFF, we will target those games from both the Reggae Boyz and Reggae Girlz as well as the Under-20s, Under-17s and Under-15s. We’re going to do full, across the board coverage of all our teams,” he added.

     

     

  • Guardiola backs Grealish in holding midfield role ahead of Palace trip Guardiola backs Grealish in holding midfield role ahead of Palace trip

    Pep Guardiola believes Jack Grealish's move into midfield could help Manchester City build some momentum when they visit Crystal Palace, having finally halted their winless run.

    City had gone seven games without a win across all competitions, losing four in a row in the Premier League to slip well behind Liverpool in the title race.

    However, they got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, with Grealish excelling in a new-look midfield role.

    Grealish created three chances for team-mates and completed 57 of his 58 passes, with his pass accuracy of 98.3% the best recorded by any City starter.

    Guardiola feels he could be a long-term solution in that position, with City searching for the right balance after losing Rodri to a long-term injury.

    He said of Grealish: "He played in the middle and was involved in many things.

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    "I know his quality. He has attributes to play holding midfield, keep the ball, break the lines and composure."

     

    The fit-again Kevin De Bruyne played in front of Grealish and registered a goal and an assist, and the Belgian believes now is the time for City to go on a positive run.

    "It's been a tough time but we tried to change it," he said. 

    "Unfortunately we've got a few guys who are injured so it's what is happening this year. But we'll try and recover as quickly as possible."

    Opponents Palace should also enter Saturday's game in better spirits, having claimed a huge 1-0 victory over fellow relegation candidates Ipswich Town on Tuesday.

    Head coach Oliver Glasner knows building on that win is now the name of the game, saying: "We had more chances to decide the game. We couldn't but the win was well deserved.

    "It's a big win. Now it's not time to sit back and relax but to keep going. 

    "In four days we face Manchester City. We stay humble. There are still many things to improve but we are on the right path."

    PLAYERS TO WATCH

    Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta

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    No Palace player has ever scored in either three games in a row against City or in three in a row against the reigning Premier League champions, but he will hope to do so after hitting the only goal in their midweek win at Ipswich.

     

    Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne

    De Bruyne has been involved in four goals in his last four starts in the Premier League for Man City (two goals, two assists), both scoring and assisting against Forest last time out.

    He has also had a hand in 12 goals against Crystal Palace in the competition (four goals, eight assists), only having more against Southampton (14).

    MATCH PREDICTION – MANCHESTER CITY WIN

    Palace have won just two of their last 18 Premier League games against Man City (four draws, 12 losses), and both of those victories have come at the Etihad Stadium (in December 2018 and October 2021).

    They have also lost seven of their last nine home Premier League games against City, drawing the other two, since a 2-1 victory in April 2015.

    City have lost their last five away games in all competitions, last losing six in a row back in February 1994. The last reigning top-flight champions to lose six away games in a row were City themselves during the 1968-69 campaign.

    But despite City's struggles, the Eagles are big outsiders for this one. Having won five of their seven Premier League home games under Glasner last term (one draw, one loss), Palace have won just one of their seven at Selhurst Park this season (three draws, three losses).

    Neutrals might be entitled to expect entertainment, though. Since Guardiola joined City in 2016, Palace have scored multiple goals against the Citizens in six different Premier League games – only Tottenham (nine) have done so more often in this time.

    OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

    Crystal Palace – 20.7%

    Manchester City – 56.5%

    Draw – 22.7%

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