footbaLLove

What do scouts look for in young players – and why are they not more venerated?

Marcus Rashford has been one of the few bright spots for Manchester United in a generally gloomy season. The 18-year-old’s impressive transition to the first team was crowned in spectacular fashion when he scored two goals on his debut against Midtjylland in the Europa League and then repeated the trick three days later in his first start in the Premier League against Arsenal.

http://gu.com/p/4tfme/stw

Kevin Friend: Which teams do Premier League referees support?

The fallout over referee Jon Moss’ performance in Leicester’s 2-2 draw against West Ham took attention away from another officiating talking point. Last week, Leicester fan Kevin Friend’s removal from taking charge of title rivals Tottenham’s game at Stoke had already sparked debate.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36075347

NEW CAMP NOU – A dream open to the world: this is what Barça's new Stadium will look like

Watch the video “NEW CAMP NOU – A dream open to the world: this is what Barça’s new Stadium will look like” uploaded by FC Barcelona on Dailymotion.

http://dai.ly/x45x0kk

Why Francesco Totti remains Italian football's Roy of the Rovers | Paolo Bandini

Roy of the Rovers never found much of an audience in Italy. Perhaps that is just because nobody ever thought to translate it, although one suspects that people on the peninsula might not have taken kindly to the cartoon’s routine depictions of their teams as being packed with cheats and complainers.

http://gu.com/p/4tgfv/stw

Leicester and Tottenham offer hope by tinkering less and putting rotation in its place | Jonathan Wilson

A thought experiment. Let’s imagine the current rumblings from the elite clubs reach their most extreme conclusion. Let’s assume there comes a super league of quasi-franchises playing each other over and over again. There’d be some sort of trophy at the end of it, to provide at least a veneer of competition, but really it would be about revenue generation.

http://gu.com/p/4tghg/stw

Klopp laughing at Lucas' shot??

Watch TomMellor’s Vine “Klopp laughing at Lucas’ shot??” taken on 20 April 2016. It has 0 likes. The entertainment network where videos and personalities get really big, really fast. Download Vine to watch videos, remixes and trends before they blow up.

https://vine.co/v/iFDbArMlKue

Europe's top 10 transfer targets under the age of 23

This summer’s transfer window promises to be one of the busiest yet with new managers already poised to take over at Manchester City and Chelsea and increased television prize money giving Premier League clubs more spending power than ever before.

http://gu.com/p/4tdxz/stw