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Bournemouth new manager
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Bournemouth appoints Jason Tindall as Eddie Howe replacement

By Nicholas MendolaAug 9, 2020, 10:40 AM EDT
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There were questions as to how Bournemouth would address finding a replacement forr an institution after Eddie Howe left the club following the Cherries’ relegation from the Premier League.

Would Bournemouth go outside the box like they did with Howe the first time, hiring the 31-year-old following a stint as a player-coach and then youth coach at the club? Would they opt for a manager who’s led a club to Premier League promotion after relegation again? Or might it not be a big departure from the norm at all.

Meet the new boss. Familiar with the old boss.

[ MORE: Premier League announces VAR, subs rules ]

Bournemouth named Howe’s longtime No. 2, Alex Tindall, to lead the Cherries’ first ever bid to return to the Premier League following relegation.

Tindall is 14 days older than Howe and has assisted his former Bournemouth teammate since 2008: twice with the club and also during Howe’s year at Burnley.

:Given the success of the club over the last 12 years, with Eddie in charge and me by his side, I’m not going to come in and rip everything up and start again,” Howe said. “I would be a fool to do that. But I’m my own person with my own ideas and I will be looking to implement them as soon as we get back on the training ground.

“I know the Championship is a very tough league but my aim is to get this club back into the Premier League at the first time of asking. This is a challenge that I feel I’m ready for and one I’m looking forward to.”

This is intriguing and exciting for a club like Bournemouth, still steeping its top-level tradition after an impressive five Premier League seasons including a finish as high as ninth.

What will be most interesting is to see if Tindall can have more success arranging the defense. A former striker, Tindall takes the reins of a club which allowed 67, 67, 61, 70, and 65 goals in their five PL seasons. The club was a bit unlucky this year, scoring just 40 and underperforming expected goals scored and conceded.

Championship playoff final: How to watch, start time, odds, prediction

Brentford - Fulham
Photo byJacques Feeney/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaAug 4, 2020, 2:32 PM EDT
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Fulham – Brentford: Team news is in with the two West London sides set to do battle for a place in the Premier League in the Football League Championship promotion playoff final at Wembley Stadium.

We can hardly wait to find out who’ll claim the 20th berth in the 2020-21 Premier League season in the richest game on earth.

[ MORE: Predictions, Odds for Europe ]

Kickoff is at 2:45 pm ET Tuesday at Wembley Stadium.

Team news

Key players

Fulham leading scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic’s 26 goals were the joint-most in the Championship and more than three times as many as Tom Cairney, second amongst the Cottagers. He’s healthy for the first time after missing the semis with a hamstring injury.

Brentford’s Ollie Watkins scored the same amount of goals as Mitrovic, tying for the league lead, and he’s joined by Said Benrahma’s 17 goals (fifth in the league) and Bryan Mbeumo (eighth). The latter have combined for 16 assists, too. The Bees can sting.

Their seasons

Brentford won a even-straight league games to surge into the mix for automatic promotion but lost their last two, meeting Fulham on 81 points.

As for the Cottagers, Fulham finished the season on a seven-match unbeaten run which included five wins

Their playoffs

Brentford overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to oust Swansea City in the semifinal, while Fulham’s first leg win was enough to outlast Cardiff City’s strong second leg in their semi.

Odds and ends

Brentford beat Fulham twice, 1-0 at Griffin Park and 2-0 at Craven Cottage.

The Bees are favored to win the match at +108 odds, while Fulham carries +265 odds of a win.

Prediction

Mitrovic’s availability is huge for a Fulham side hoping to break down the league’s second-stingiest defense. Brentford feels like it’s the superior side but Fulham has been here and Cairney even scored the goal to beat Aston Villa in the 2017-18 playoff final. That experience is an X-factor, but we’ll still call Brentford 2-1 winners.

How to watch Fulham – Brentford

Kickoff: 2:45 pm ET Tuesday
Stream: ESPN+

Spurs youngster Parrott heads on loan to Championship side

Troy Parrott loan
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaAug 1, 2020, 10:39 AM EDT
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Some Spurs fans were more than a little flustered by Jose Mourinho’s hesitance to play young Troy Parrott when injuries struck his strike corps.

The teenager will get the chance to validate those fans and show his first team boss his chops in the Championship this season.

[ FA Cup Final: Projected lineps | Key battles | Preview ]

Parrott, 18, is headed south but staying in London with a loan move to Millwall.

“I’m buzzing to get straight into things, I’m really looking forward to it,” Parrott told millwallfc.co.uk. “The crowd, the club itself, I’ve heard a lot of good things. When I’ve watched games, the littlest of things gets them going, and I want to be a part of something like that.”

The once-capped Republic of Ireland center forward made his first four senior appearances for Spurs this season, making his debut under Mauricio Pochettino in the League Cup before playing thrice for Mourinho the rest of the season.

He has 31 goals in 37 appearances between Spurs’ U-18, U-19, and U-23 competitions, including five in 12 Premier League 2 appearances.

This is about the age, a little older actually, that Harry Kane began heading out on loan from Spurs. That worked out well, though it took four loan stints before he was a fixture at Tottenham. Development takes time.

Fulham outlasts Cardiff to set up West London Derby playoff final

Cardiff - Fulham
Photo by John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaJul 30, 2020, 4:49 PM EDT
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It’s going to be aw West London Derby playoff promotion final after Cardiff City and Fulham staged a thrilling second leg at Craven Cottage on Thursday.

Brentford beat Swansea City in the other semifinal to set up

The Cottagers entered the match with a 2-0 advantage earned in Wales but Cardiff put the tie on its ear just two minutes after halftime of the second leg.

[ MORE: FA Cup Final preview ]

The match was 1-1 on goals from Fulham’s Neeskens Kebano and Cardiff’s Curtis Nielson when halftime sub Lee Tomlin cleaned up a back post mess to give the Bluebirds a second away goal to match Thursday’s hosts.

Fulham is bidding to make its absence from the Premier League a one-year problem, while Brentford has not played first-tier football since the 1946-47 season.

USMNT prospect Soto signs with relegated Norwich City

Soto to Norwich City
@NorwichCity
By Nicholas MendolaJul 28, 2020, 4:36 PM EDT
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There’s another American in England.

Sebastian Soto has sealed his rumored deal to Norwich City, a four-year deal announced two days after the Canaries played the final match of their one-and-done season in the Premier League.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]

He’s been with Hannover 96 in Germany but played just twice in the 2.Bundesliga this year and had been linked with a move to Norwich since May.

Soto, who is celebrating his 20th birthday, is one of three players announced by the Canaries on Tuesday.

From Norwich City’s site:

“It’s a proud feeling,” Soto said. “It’s super exciting to join Norwich City. The facilities here are really impressive. From the minute I arrived here, it’s given me a lot of excitement. Being a young player, it’s nice to hear that the head coach gives us a chance. It was a big factor in me moving here. I’m striker that loves scoring goals. I love being part of a good team that plays good football.”

Norwich also signed Arsenal 18-year-old Matthew Dennis after his contract expired and added Sunderland’s Bali Mumba.