Women’s FA Cup – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

THIS year’s Women’s FA Cup final will be between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. The semi-finals saw United surprisingly beat holders Chelsea 2-1 in front of just under 7,000 people. United took the lead after 60 seconds through Lucy Garcia and added a second with a Rachel Williams header on 23. Lauren James pulled one back in first half added time. England keeper Mary Earps pulled off some fine saves to keep Chelsea at bay, but United hung on to avenge their cup final defeat last season. Tottenham also won 2-1 against Leicester City at the Tottenham stadium, watched by a crowd of 18,000. Leicester led through Jutta Rantala but Jessica Naz drew Spurs level seven minutes from the end. In extra time, there were just two minutes to go when Martha Thomas headed the winner. The final is on May 12 at Wembley.

The Premier League title race swung in favour of Manchester City at the weekend, with Pep Guardiola’s side winning handsomely and their nearest rivals, Arsenal and Liverpool, both losing at home. City are now two points clear with six games to go. They won 5-1 against Luton Town with five different goalscorers. Erling Haaland, who leads the Premier goalscoring chart, was on the scoresheet with a penalty just before he was substituted. Arsenal were beaten by Aston Villa at the Emirates, Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins scoring in the last seven minutes. Liverpool, meanwhile, lost 1-0 at home to Crystal Palace, Eberechi Eze scoring in the 14^thminute. Liverpool enjoyed 70% of possession and had 21 shots on goal. For the second time in three days, the Reds were beaten on their own turf, the Palace defeat coming after losing 3-0 to Atalanta in the Europa League. Tottenham suffered a blow to their Champions League aspirations when they were beaten 4-0 by Newcastle United.

Football in Plovdiv in Bulgaria has received a boost from the government, who have provided grants totalling € 35.7 million so the city’s two clubs can complete their new stadium projects. Lokomotiv and Botev have received the cash from the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, just before Bulgaria’s administration was taken over by a caretaker government. It’s not the first time the two clubs have received cash to build their grounds – in 2020, € 18.5 million was provided, but the big problem is the rising cost of the new arenas. The two Plovdivs are currently in the top six in the Bulgarian league.

Among the most high profile management jobs to be filled in the summer are at Bayern Munich and Liverpool. Bayern, who have just been deposed as German champions for the first time since 2012, have apparently shown an interest in Zinedine Zidane, who has been off the scene since leaving Real Madrid for the second time in 2021. There have been rumours for some time that Zidane is keen to return to the game. He won three Champions Leagues as coach of Real as well as two La Liga titles. Liverpool, after being linked with Xabi Alonso and Ruben Amorim, are also considering Niko Kovac, the former Bayern Munich, Monaco and Wolfsburg coach.

JIMMY Husband, a member of Everton’s 1970 league title winning side, has died aged 76. Husband, who played for England at school, youth and under-23 level, was a talented forward who scored 44 league goals in 165 games at Goodison Park. He played 30 games in the 1970 league campaign, scoring six goals. He also appeared in the 1968 FA Cup final. Husband left Everton in 1973 for Luton Town and went on to play in the USA with Memphis Rogues, Cleveland and Oklahama. The Newcastle-born striker is the eighth member of Everton’s regular 1970 team to have passed away.

Teams in Brazil’s top flight will be able to have nine foreign players in their matchday squad after the limit was raised for the second successive year. In 2023, the limit went from five to seven players and the decision was taken to further increase the number of overseas players permitted. Not everyone is happy with this decision as there are already 140 foreigners in the top two divisions in Brazil. The professional players federation, Fenapraf, were among the sceptics.

The last four of the FA Trophy is a strong field this season, with three of the promotion-chasing National League sides involved plus reborn Macclesfield of the Northern Premier League. Bromley, who won the competition in 2022, beat Barnet 2-0 in the quarter-finals in front of 2,600 people while Macclesfield won 3-0 against Coalville Town of the Southern League Central Premier. Solihull Moors edged past Wealdstone on penalties after a 1-1 draw and Gateshead won by the odd goal in five against Peterborough Sports before just 750.

Chelsea are still on target for a fourth consecutive “double” this season after reaching the semi-finals of the Women’s FA Cup. Emma Hayes’ side won 1-0 against Everton with the deciding goal coming from USA international Macário. In the other quarter-final ties, Leicester City won 2-0 away to Liverpool with both goals scored by Finnish striker Jutta Rantala, while Manchester United thrashed Brighton 4-0 and Tottenham knocked Manchester City out on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

Aston Villa made a pre-tax loss of £ 120 million in 2022-23, one of European football’s biggest club deficits last season. Villa’s revenues hit a record £ 217.7 million, a 22% increase on 2021-22. But despite this impressive performance, Villa are still way behind the “big six” clubs in the Premier League. Nevertheless, the team had a good campaign and qualified for Europe and are still involved in the UEFA Conference League. All major revenue streams increased for Villa in 2022-23, with matchday turnover rising by 17% to £ 18.8 million, broadcasting up by 24% to £ 152.6 million and commercial income growing by 36% to £ 40.6 million. Villa’s wage bill went up by 52% to £ 194.2 million, representing a slightly concerning 89% of income. This was a drain on the overall financial result, as was the 77% fall in profits from player sales, Villa earning just £ 22.5 million compared to almost £ 100 million a year earlier. Among the players sold were Carney Chukwuemeka to Chelsea for £ 20 million and Matt Targett to Newcastle United for £ 15 million.