Vesper

Mike Penders will join Chelsea in the summer – is he ready for the Premier League? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6215603/2025/03/20/mike-penders-Chelsea-analysis/ In mid-February, we invited requests from our subscribers for articles you might like to read on The Athletic as part of our latest Inspired By You series. Nemanja M. asked for a piece on Mike Penders, his potential, and whether he could be a generational talent. Liam Twomey took a look… Chelsea’s weekly goalkeeper psychodrama took another twist before Sunday’s 1-0 defeat against Arsenal, with head coach Enzo Maresca’s effective admission that Robert Sanchez has been restored as his No 1 after being given time out of the team to “rest his head”. Sanchez went on to deliver his familiar mixed bag of erratic distribution and impressive saves at the Emirates Stadium. There still appears to be no realistic prospect of the Spaniard winning the trust of Chelsea’s match-going supporters anytime soon. Filip Jorgensen clearly did not do enough in his Premier League audition to convince Maresca of his superiority to Sanchez. The wait for the truly elite goalkeeper Stamford Bridge has craved since Thibaut Courtois pushed his way to Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 will stretch at least until the end of this season. But could the answer be close at hand and could it be another giant Belgian from Genk who carries a squinting resemblance to Courtois? Mike Penders — only 19 years old but standing almost 6ft 7in (200cm) with a formidable wingspan — will join Chelsea this summer. His arrival comes almost 12 months after a deal was agreed to bring him to London under the noses of several other major European clubs. Chelsea’s goalkeepers have struggled this season (Ben Stansall/AFP via Getty Images) The imminent arrivals of exciting attackers Estevao and Kendry Paez have garnered more headlines, but given the lack of clarity at the base of Maresca’s team and the scarcity of world-class goalkeepers, Penders has the potential to make even more of an impact. In the short term, Chelsea and Maresca must assess his level of readiness at the end of his first professional season. To date, Penders has made only 11 appearances in the Belgian Pro League, having been promoted to Genk’s first-choice goalkeeper in January. That is a perilously small sample size from which to make definitive judgements. Penders’ outings for Genk are, however, substantial enough for a goalkeeping specialist to get a clear sense of his style as well as his strengths and weaknesses at this early stage. With that in mind, The Athletic enlisted the expertise of Matt Pyzdrowski, a retired professional goalkeeper who works as head academy goalkeeping coach for Swedish champions Malmo. Here is a breakdown of several key aspects of Penders’ game. Distribution Pyzdrowski’s overriding impression of Penders is a startling one. “I’ll start with his style of play and the two goalkeepers I’m going to name will get people excited, but at the same time, I also want to pump the brakes,” he says. “The two goalkeepers he reminds me of are Courtois and Ederson. He’s kind of a mix of the two.” Ederson shines through more in Penders’ distribution — in particular, his ability to find team-mates higher up the pitch with impressively accurate longer passes. “He’s not as composed with the ball at his feet as Ederson yet, but what I really like about Penders is his ability to go long,” Pyzdrowski adds. “He’s able to stretch the field just like Ederson and start counter-attacks from nothing, which is a huge asset. The way he hits the ball is fast, direct, but also very accurate.” On the surface, this particular quality seems a little redundant under Maresca, who has pledged to substitute Sanchez and Jorgensen this season if they kick long. But there is an important distinction to make between a goalkeeper kicking long and passing long; Maresca’s primary issue is with the former and his desire to avoid simply gifting possession back to the opposition. Penders’ ability to identify and hit a longer pass over or through an opposition press could be an asset to any high-possession team. His technique is also polished over shorter distances. But when it comes to baiting the opposition press as Maresca frequently wants his goalkeeper to do, Penders is more of a work in progress. “One area where he’ll need to develop is playing under pressure,” Pyzdrowski admits. “Genk love to build up from the back, but often he has time on the ball. Even if a press comes, it isn’t really a high press. “He’s never been punished for a poor pass (by conceding a goal), but he gets stressed when the opposition really press. That’s not unique to him among goalkeepers — Ederson is an outlier. “Penders will need to develop that when he takes the next step (to Chelsea) because teams will notice that and press him high.” When not being harried, Penders’ relatively high comfort level on the ball — even well outside his penalty area — seems well suited to Maresca’s system. “He’s very comfortable playing high off his line with his feet in the build-up,” Pyzdrowski says. “That’s the way Genk play and Chelsea like that as well. And with his ability to go long, if he’s standing 30 yards from goal with the ball at his feet, that means a ball into the opponent’s box is on and he can very easily start an attack.” Chelsea goalkeepers need to be comfortable with the ball at their feet (Johan Eyckens/Belga Mag/AFP via Getty Images) Shot-stopping Even in an era when elite clubs and their coaches increasingly want 11 skilled outfielders in possession, keeping the ball out of the net remains the fundamental differentiator of a great goalkeeper. Pyzdrowski sees rich promise in Penders’ shot-stopping ability, but also plenty of room for physical and technical improvement. “One area he needs to improve is his ability to traverse his goalmouth,” he says. “He can be a bit slow in some of his actions and footwork. That’s not crazy because he is only 19, but when you watch clips of him, it’s not often that he traverses his whole goalmouth and makes an extension save. “You could say that’s because he has really good positioning but when he’s out of position, he doesn’t necessarily get over in time. When he doesn’t need to take a lot of steps he’s very, very good. When the ball is more towards the side of the goal, low or high, he needs to get a bit more explosive in those situations. “Part of it is work in the gym with a good strength and conditioning coach — focusing on explosive plyometric exercises, jumping up and down and from side to side. “Controlling your feet underneath you is hard for a lot of taller goalkeepers and that’s part of what made Courtois and (Petr) Cech so great. They were very tall but also very quick traversing their goalmouth to make the big saves their teams needed them to make.” This also applies to shots Penders tries to save above his head. “When fans see him play, he will probably remind them of Courtois,” Pyzdrowski adds. “Even though he’s really tall, he bends down quite low and holds his hands low at his sides as well. That’s something Courtois has done for a long time, a staple of his technique. “The thing that makes Courtois so great is that he can go from that low position and move his hands up very quickly to get balls above his head. That’s an area Penders will have to improve. That comes back to the explosion and agility, for him to dig his feet into the ground and use his trailing leg to set and push off towards the ball. “In a lot of the goals he concedes, he doesn’t do it and just falls to the ground rather than using his legs to get himself to the ball.” Command of the penalty area It might not come as a huge surprise that, given his size, Penders is already very adept at claiming high balls into his penalty area. “Commanding his area is what he’s best at,” Pyzdrowski says of Penders. “He’s really, really excellent at taking an aggressive position and very comfortable coming and taking high balls into his penalty area, even right up to the edge of the box. His timing is very good and he loves to catch the ball rather than punch. “That’s why I call him a mix between Ederson and Courtois, because Ederson has that aggressiveness commanding his box but Courtois has the hands to catch and hold the ball.” Penders’ preference for catching the ball could be a refreshing break from the growing Premier League trend of goalkeepers punching away in-swinging corner kicks. It could also potentially provide more reassurance to a Chelsea defence that can still appear uncertain when defending set pieces. His penalty area presence for Genk is not only felt when facing high balls. “On his line and with balls around his area, he’s really good,” Pyzdrowski adds. “He’s a big guy but he’s very quick to pounce when there’s a free ball in and around his box. He uses his body and has really good timing in those situations.” Penders has good command of his penalty area (Virginie Lefour/Belga/AFP via Getty Images) Sweeper-keeping The ability to defend far from goal has become an important skill for modern goalkeepers and a vital one in teams, such as Chelsea, who seek to defend with a high line for long stretches of games. “He’s very fast off his line — almost too fast because he’s very uncontrolled in those situations,” Pyzdrowski says of Penders. “A lot of the time he rushes out recklessly and you end up giving away fouls and penalties. Other times he’s rushed out and opened up an angle to concede a goal, so his decision-making in those situations will have to get better. “In that way, he also reminds me of Ederson, who has been better in recent years but had some ugly moments (early on at Manchester City) with his timing in one-versus-one situations.” Ederson’s example suggests that this particular flaw in Penders’ game is eminently fixable. “This is not strange because he’s so young and he doesn’t have a tonne of game time at the top,” Pyzdrowski adds. “As a goalkeeper coach, I would much rather have a goalkeeper who’s too aggressive than too passive. You can always rein in a goalkeeper who is too aggressive, but it’s very hard to get a passive goalkeeper to play more aggressively because they’re so rooted to their line.” Readiness for Chelsea? By the time Courtois finally made his competitive Chelsea debut in August 2014, he was 22, with four full seasons as a No 1 goalkeeper behind him — three of which were spent on loan at Atletico Madrid, where he won the Europa League, Copa del Rey and La Liga — and reached a Champions League final. He already had a case for being the best goalkeeper in the world. Penders, clearly, is at a far earlier point in his development. “He’s a project,” Pyzdrowski says. “If there are Chelsea fans out there hoping he arrives in the summer and competes for the No 1 spot, it’s too early. “It would also be a risk to throw him into that situation. That’s not to say a 19-year-old can’t handle it, there are examples, but other goalkeepers have got a chance too early and faded because it crushes their spirit and beats them down. “If Chelsea really believe in him, they’ll be smart and maybe go through pre-season or half a season with him before loaning him out again to continue to get first-team football and develop.” The key difference is that with Courtois, Chelsea had the rare luxury of being patient because of the enduring greatness of Cech. None of the current goalkeepers on the club’s books are anywhere near as accomplished, making the question of how Penders’ development is handled much more fraught. But there is no doubt or debate about his potential upside. “When you have someone two metres tall and as quick and agile as he is, it’s a huge advantage for him and something that gets noticed because it’s not normal,” Pyzdrowski says of Penders. “If he gets game time and works on his deficiencies, it’s not hard to see him being one of the best goalkeepers in the world in a few years.”

Israel’s top court halts government’s decision to fire Shin Bet chief Judge freezes government’s decision to dismiss the head of the Shin Bet amid protests against the move. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/3/21/israels-cabinet-approves-sacking-of-shin-bet-chief-amid-protests

1 nil Lewis-Skelly

https://redditsoccerstreams.org/event/england-albania/1508774 https://soccer-100.com/event/fifa-worldq-uefa/albania-vs-england-live-soccer-stats/724926

Blairite neoliberal austerity cunts and FUCK Starmer for repeatedly saying that Brexit is a permanent done deal

UK GDP & Disability Disaster In this video I discuss the ongoing crisis in the UK. The GDP figures for January 2025 reveal that the Economy contracted by 0.1% which will put even more pressure on the UK government. The actual growth achieved by the UK Economy since the October Budget is significantly lower than originally forecast by the OBR and as a result UK tax receipts are lower than forecast leaving the UK with a cash crisis. The UK government is now facing the prospect of either increasing taxes or cutting spending. The first round of spending cuts have now been announced and surprisingly they are targeting Health and Disability payments. For specific details please check out the CHAPTER list below. Chapters: 0:00 Intro 2:34 GDP 3:48 HEALTH & DISABILITY 4:58 PIPS 6:58 UNIVERSAL CREDIT 8:04 SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

hard pass

I hope we do not get rat-fucked and FIFA tosses in an actual power team against us

Planned-for-the-future squads: Chelsea at the top https://football-observatory.com/WeeklyPost496

Paul Scholes criticises Cole Palmer’s dip in form: “I’ve felt for a while that for Cole Palmer, it’s almost been too easy for him to play in that Chelsea team. He knows he’ll play every week and be the best player. I think he needs challenging more, and I don’t get the impression that they [Chelsea] are desperate to win anything.”

Palmer had a scan on Monday to see how things were looking, and Simon Phillips has reported that while there were no problems on the scan, pain remains in the hamstring area, with another scan set for Wednesday. He said on Substack: “SPTC sources can confirm that Palmer has now had the results of that scan and it has come back all clear. However, the pain in his hamstring is still there. “Our sources have also learned that Palmer will be going for a new scan today [Wednesday] on his back to see if the cause is referred pain from his back causing his hamstrings to be tight.

Martinis Are Trending: Here's What To Know & Where To Drink Them Once the epitome of old-school glamour, the martini is having a modern moment. Helping to shake off its stuffy reputation, spots across the capital are putting their own spin on the classic, serving ice-cold, crystal-clear concoctions to a new generation of cocktail fans. To find out why this iconic drink is back in fashion, what separates a good martini from a great one and how to master the art of making one at home, we asked the experts to share their insights (and recipes)… https://slman.com/life/food-drink/martinis-are-trending-heres-what-to-know-where-to-drink-them The Martini Resurgence Martin Kuczmarski, former COO of the Soho House Group, has a wealth of hospitality experience, having worked at some of the finest establishments across the world, including The Hyde Park Hotel and The Ritz in Paris. His latest venture, The Dover, has its own and exclusive martini menu. “People are craving that old-school hospitality – white tablecloths, candle-lit rooms, a romantic atmosphere. That’s exactly what we’ve recreated at The Dover. People are tired of loud, overcomplicated bars serving fruit-laden cocktails that take forever to make. They want something that is simple, quick and can be trusted, but still feels glamorous, elegant and has a sense of ceremony about it.” Cocktail maestro and Lyaness founder Mr Lyan – also the creative mind behind the bar menu at impossible-to-book Bébé Bob – confirms this. “It is the most iconic cocktail and emblematic of the notion of 'greater than the sum of its parts', but I think it has found new audiences of late as people are using cocktails around the dining and whole night out better, and they are gravitating towards drier style drinks.” Ilias Mehili, bar manager at buzzy hot spot Milk Beach Soho, agrees: “The martini has never really gone out of style, and I don’t think it ever will. It’s the ultimate minimalist cocktail – just spirit, vermouth and a simple garnish, yet it is, undeniably, endlessly sophisticated. I’ve noticed a lot of top cocktail bars are stripping things back – focusing on perfect technique and clean, precise flavours. Recently, I came across a feta-washed gin dirty martini, and it was surprisingly good. But for me, a martini should stay true to itself – simple, elegant and ice-cold.” Polina Kovaleva/Pexels Valeriya Kobzar/Pexels The Tiny ‘Tini While martinis are timeless, the latest buzz on bar menus comes in a smaller form: the tiny 'tini. Mr Lyan is all in on the trend. “A martini needs to be very cold – our Bone Dry Martini at White Lyan was famously tiny, and served very cold – so more people have realised that a few small, perfectly made martinis are far better than one big lukewarm one. The Mini Bébé Bob Martini is an embrace of this idea, especially as it suits the snacks it sits alongside.” Ilias is on board too. “Mini martinis make perfect sense – temperature plays a huge role in how much you enjoy a martini and with a smaller serve, you experience it at its coldest and best.” Where To Find A Good One… At the aforementioned The Dover, the martini list reflects old-world glamour – but in a cool, modern way. There’s the gibson, a classic gin-based martini garnished with onion, as well as the ‘Hot & Dirty’, a heady mix of chilli and olive brine, and the inimitable vesper martini – made famous by James Bond. Martin has a few more recommendations on where to find a good martini in London. “At The Dover, we are purists at heart, but we don’t mind mixing high with low. For example, we serve this glamorous drink alongside bar snacks like popcorn and mini hot dogs. Aside from The Dover, the best martinis I’ve had in my life were at the Dukes Bar at the Dukes Hotel in London, the Polo Bar in New York and, of course, the Hemingway Bar in Paris at The Ritz.” Mr Lyan adds to the list. “Hotel bars are a given – The Connaught, American Bar, Dukes – but newer spots like Three Sheets, Kol Mezcaleria, Tayer, and Elementary are also nailing it.” “If you love martinis, The Connaught Bar is a must – the range is spectacular, and the technique is flawless,” adds Ilias. “Recently, I went with friends to Soma, and the martini blew me away. Indian gin, bay leaf sake, and pickled shallot – it was balanced, unexpected and seriously impressive.” Tips From Those In-The-Know The biggest mistake home bartenders make? Ilias suggests it’s not stirring their martini long enough. “A great martini needs proper dilution – so the alcohol doesn’t hit too hard on the first sip,” he says. “It should glide. For a flawless martini at home, choose a high-quality gin or vodka – this is 90% of what you’ll taste. Stir patiently for 35-40 seconds – let the ice do the work, then strain. Use good-quality cubed ice while stirring – this makes all the difference in dilution.” “You need cold glasses, and lots of ice,” adds Mr Lyan “From there, you can make it quite easily. And at home, people often think more is better – bars don't control the amount of booze to be stingy, it's because a balanced drink is more delicious, better metered, and more fun. Use the best ingredients you can – this doesn't mean expensive but choose the ones you actually love – it's very hard to put bad in and get good out.” Finally, Martin is a stickler when it comes to ingredients. “The best, and only true, champagne comes from the region. You need to take this same approach with your vodka for your martini – go for Russian or Polish. Otherwise, freezing-cold glasses are key and a proper martini glass is the only way to go. To elevate things further, go for crystal.” Now, Try These Recipes… The Dover Martini Serves 1 Total Time 5 Minutes Ingredients 3 drops of orange bitter 75ml of Konik’s Tail vodka Vermouth Cocchi Extra Dry (To spray or rinse the glass) For the garnish: Orange zest The glass: Frozen coupette martini Method Step 1 Pour the Konik's Tail and orange bitter into a mixing glass, add ice and stir gradually, moving the ice in a continuous motion. Step 2 Once the ice starts to melt, keep adding fresh ice on top – this will further chill the drink without adding dilution. Step 3 Taste as you go; the drink should taste very clean with only tasting notes of the spirit. The Dover Martini takes time to chill down and dilute to deliver the perfect taste. Step 4 Spray or rinse (if so, discard the extra vermouth) the frozen glass with Cocchi Extra Dry. Strain into the glass and garnish with orange zest. Recipe courtesy of TheDoverRestaurant.com Tomato Martini Serves 1 Total Time 2 Minutes Ingredients 1 oz of Sapling Vodka 1.5 oz of farm tomato juice 2 tbsp of sherry vinegar ¼ oz of sugar syrup For the garnish: Black pepper Method Step 1 Shake all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and strain into the glass. Step 2 Garnish with black pepper. Recipe courtesy of HeckfieldPlace.com Martini Tuxedo Serves 1 Total Time 2 Minutes Ingredients 40ml of East London Liquor Gin 20ml of Bodegas Baron Micaela Manzanilla Dash of orange bitters For the garnish: 1 large green olive Method Step 1 Combine all ingredients and stir over ice. Step 2 Finish with an XL olive (Picante Gordals). The result should be a salty, savoury martini that can be finished in two or three sips. Recipe courtesy of BarValette.com Milk Beach Martini Serves 1 Total Time 4 Minutes Ingredients 50ml of Four Pillars Rare Dry 15ml of Noily Prat Vermouth Infused with Sea Herbs 1 dash of Bitter Truth Celery Bitters For the garnish: Oyster leaf Method Step 1 Add all ingredients in a cocktail stirring tin glass or a shaker with ice. Step 2 Stir for 35-40 seconds, then strain into a chilled martini glass and add on top an oyster leaf. Step 3 A good tip is to have a nibble of the oyster leaf before you sip to enhance the flavour. Recipe courtesy of MilkBeach.com SHOP THE PRODUCT EDIT The Martini: The Ultimate Guide to a Cocktail Icon Alice Lascelles £19.37 Set Of 2 Lismore Martini Glasses Waterford £170 Set Of 4 Garnish Cocktail Spoons Anthropologie £26 Vodka Konik's Tail £39.50 Garnish Stemless Martini Glass Anthropologie £16 Piper Icon Cocktail Tray Anthropologie £78 Lennon Bar Cart Drinks Trolley Anthropologie £378 (was £548) Beaumont Cocktail Shaker Soho Home £95 Palazzo Ice Bucket Soho Home £325 Set Of Two Cocktail Glasses The Forest & Co £45 Vodka Grey Goose £42.90 (was £47.90) Set Of 4 Assorted Colour Tapered Cocktail Glasses So’Home £39.99 The Connaught Bar: Cocktail Recipes and Iconic Creations Agostino Perrone £22.02 All products on this page have been selected by our editorial team, however we may make commission on some products. DISCLAIMER: We endeavour to always credit the correct original source of every image we use. If you think a credit may be incorrect, please contact us at [email protected].

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The Scofield Bible—The Book That Made Zionists of America’s Evangelical Christians https://www.wrmea.org/2015-october/the-scofield-bible-the-book-that-made-zionists-of-americas-evangelical-christians.html “For a nation to commit the sin of anti-Semitism brings inevitable judgement.” —The New Scofield Study Bible Since it was first published in 1909, the Scofield Reference Bible has made uncompromising Zionists out of tens of millions of Americans. When John Hagee, the founder of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), said that “50 million evangelical bible-believing Christians unite with five million American Jews standing together on behalf of Israel,” it was the Scofield Bible that he was talking about. Although the Scofield Reference Bible contains the text of the King James Authorized Version, it is not the traditional Protestant bible but Cyrus I. Scofield’s annotated commentary that is problematic. More than any other factor, it is Scofield’s notes that have induced generations of American evangelicals to believe that God demands their uncritical support for the modern State of Israel. BLESSING ISRAEL, CURSING ITS CRITICS Central to Christian Zionist belief is Scofield’s commentary (italicized below) on Genesis 12:3: “‘I will bless them that bless thee.’ In fulfillment closely related to the next clause, ‘And curse him that curseth thee.’ Wonderfully fulfilled in the history of the dispersion. It has invariably fared ill with the people who have persecuted the Jew—well with those who have protected him. The future will still more remarkably prove this principle.” Drawing on Scofield’s rather tendentious interpretation, Hagee claims, “The man or nation that lifts a voice or hand against Israel invites the wrath of God.” But as Stephen Sizer points out in his definitive critique, Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon? (available from AET’s Middle East Books and More “The promise, when referring to Abraham’s descendants, speaks of God blessing them, not of entire nations ‘blessing’ the Hebrew nation, still less the contemporary and secular State of Israel.” Notwithstanding this more orthodox reading, The New Scofield Study Bible, published by Oxford University Press in 1984, intensified Scofield’s interpretation by adding, “For a nation to commit the sin of anti-Semitism brings inevitable judgement.” “Sustained by a dubious exegesis of selective biblical texts,” Sizer concludes, “Christian Zionism’s particular reading of history and contemporary events...sets Israel and the Jewish people apart from other peoples in the Middle East...it justifies the endemic racism intrinsic to Zionism, exacerbates tensions between Jews and Palestinians and undermines attempts to find a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, all because ‘the Bible tells them so.’” THE INCREDIBLE SCOFIELD In his 2008 book, The Rise of Israel: A History of a Revolutionary State, Jonathan R. Adelman describes the crucial support Israel receives from Christian fundamentalists as “totally fortuitous.” That assertion is belied, however, by the incredible career of the man who wrote “the Bible of Fundamentalism.” Two years after Scofield’s reported conversion to Christianity in 1879, the Atchison Patriot was less than impressed. Describing the former Atchison resident as the “late lawyer, politician and shyster generally,” the article went on to recount a few of Scofield’s “many malicious acts.” These included a series of forgeries in St. Louis, for which he was sentenced to six months in jail. Being a “born again” preacher did not preclude Scofield from becoming a member of an exclusive New York men’s club in 1901, either. In his devastating biography, The Incredible Scofield and His Book, Joseph M. Canfield suggests, “The admission of Scofield to the Lotus Club, which could not have been sought by Scofield, strengthens the suspicion that has cropped up before, that someone was directing the career of C.I. Scofield.” That someone, Canfield suspects, was associated with one of the club’s committee members, the Wall Street lawyer Samuel Untermeyer. As Canfield intimates, Scofield’s theology was “most helpful in getting Fundamentalist Christians to back the international interest in one of Untermeyer’s pet projects—the Zionist Movement.” Others have been even more explicit about the nature of Scofield’s service to the Zionist agenda. In “Unjust War Theory: Christian Zionism and the Road to Jerusalem,” Prof. David W. Lutz writes, “Untermeyer used Scofield, a Kansas City lawyer with no formal training in theology, to inject Zionist ideas into American Protestantism. Untermeyer and other wealthy and influential Zionists whom he introduced to Scofield promoted and funded the latter’s career, including travel in Europe.” On one of these European trips, Oxford University Press publisher Henry Frowde “expressed immediate interest” in Scofield’s project. According to a biography of Frowde, although the OUP publisher was “[n]ot demonstrative in his religious views, all his Christian life he was associated with brethren known as ‘Exclusive.’” The “Exclusive Brethren” refers to the group of Christian evangelicals that, in an 1848 split in the Plymouth Brethren, followed John Nelson Darby, the Anglo-Irish missionary generally considered to have been the most influential figure in the development of Christian Zionism, and a major influence on Scofield. SCOFIELD’S LEGACY Had the Scofield Bible never been published, American presidents influenced by Christian Zionism such as Truman, Johnson, Reagan and George W. Bush might have been less sympathetic to Israeli demands, and consequently more attentive to U.S. interests. Moreover, the American people could have been spared the pseudo-Christian rants of John Hagee, Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell, not to mention the lucrative End Times Rapture “prophecy” peddled by Hal Lindsey and Tim LaHaye. But it is the people of the Middle East who have been most affected by an expansionist Israel emboldened by the unswerving allegiance of Christian Zionists led to believe that Scofield’s words are God’s will. Not least among the many victims of the Scofield Bible are 5 million Palestinian refugees whose right to return is fervently opposed by America’s Zionized Christians. Thanks to their indoctrination by Scofield’s unholy book, they believe that Palestine belongs not to the Palestinians—many of whom are fellow Christians—but exclusively to “God’s chosen people.”

Israel shatters Gaza ceasefire as more than 400 Palestinians killed in IDF strikes – Middle East crisis live Benjamin Netanyahu says operation carried out to ‘achieve war objectives’ as Hamas labels strikes a ‘blatant violation of humanitarian conventions’ Israeli strikes kill hundreds in Gaza https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/mar/18/israel-gaza-live-blog-updates-air-strikes-strip-netanyahu-hamas Why has Israel decided to launch the huge wave of deadly airstrikes on Gaza now? Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that he ordered the airstrikes because of a lack of progress in talks to extend the ceasefire. Officials said the attacks were open-ended and are expected to expand. The Guardian’s international security correspondent, Jason Burke, has written up a useful explainer about other reasons why the airstrikes were launched, with Netanyahu, still facing huge opposition from much of the Israeli public, emboldened by the Trump administration. Here is an extract from his story: Many countries have heavily condemned the Israel airstrikes. Here is some of the latest reaction: Belgium’s deputy prime minister Maxime Prevot condemned the airstrikes, saying their “heavy toll” undermines the objectives of the ceasefire with Hamas and makes the return of Israeli hostages less likely. “The blocking of humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians constitutes a serious violation of international law,” he added in a post on X. Robert Abela, Malta’s prime minister, said his government “strongly condemn” the “barbarous attacks” by the Israeli military on the Gaza Strip. Switzerland’s foreign ministry reacted to the deadly overnight airstrikes by stressing “the obligation to protect the civilian population”. “Switzerland calls for an immediate return to the ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid,” it said in a post on X. The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after the devastating Israeli attacks on Gaza. China’s foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said the country “is highly concerned about the current situation between Israel and Palestine,” calling on the parties to “avoid any actions that could lead to an escalation of the situation, and prevent a larger-scale humanitarian disaster”. The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said the Israeli airstrikes are being launched “amid the ongoing blockade of food and medicine in the Strip and with the green light from the United States”. Esmail Baghaei described the attacks as a “continuation of genocide and ethnic cleansing” across the territory. Israel's 'massacre' of hundreds of Palestinians marks 'new phase in Gaza genocide policy' Turkey’s foreign ministry has denounced Israel’s “massacre” of hundreds of Palestinian people in overnight airstrikes on Gaza as “a new phase” in its “genocide policy”, saying the Netanyahu government “defies humanity” through its breach of international law. The statement read: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been a vocal opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza. He has accused Israel of genocide, called for it to be punished in international courts and criticised western nations for backing the country’s military assault.

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Chelsea’s big-game mentality has deserted them – just look at their record against the top teams https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6207167/2025/03/17/Chelsea-arsenal-results-mentality/ It may not be what some of their fans want to hear but Chelsea’s problems run deeper than the tactics of head coach Enzo Maresca. When it comes to the big games, this squad have a serious belief issue. The underwhelming display in their 1-0 away defeat against Arsenal on Sunday was the latest chapter in a series of disappointing performances from Maresca’s side since late December. Even the four straight wins which preceded Sunday’s game, against Southampton, Leicester and Copenhagen (twice) were unconvincing. Maresca certainly has questions to answer about what is going on right now, and judging by the reception he got from some in the away end at the Emirates Stadium yesterday, they want to hear some better ones, even though Chelsea are fourth in the Premier League with nine games to go. Yet the sign of a very good team, one capable of not only qualifying for the Champions League via a top four/five finish but also competing to win Europe’s top club competition itself, is their record against fellow top sides. We are talking Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City (despite their downturn this season). Manchester United and Tottenham have to be included too, even though they are struggling in the table’s bottom half this season, because they also have intense rivalries with the league’s other big fish. When Chelsea were at their best during the Roman Abramovich era in the first two decades of this century, competing for and winning Premier League titles (five of them) on a regular basis, victories over that quintet were commonplace. Chelsea would go to places like Arsenal and most people in the crowd, let alone the 22 out on the pitch, would know what the result would probably be. And if it wasn’t an away victory, it would at least be a draw. But those days are a distant memory now and Chelsea’s record in these fixtures since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake consortium took over the club in May 2022 makes for bad reading. Reece James, third right, clashes with Arsenal’s Jurrien Timber (Julian Finney/Getty Images) If it wasn’t for Cole Palmer scoring the latest winner in Premier League history against Manchester United in the 101st minute back in April (Chelsea went into stoppage time 3-2 down that day), they would have no wins against United, Liverpool, Arsenal and City in all competitions over 26 matches. Even if you add Tottenham, who Chelsea have dominated results-wise for over 30 years, whether they were any good or not, it does not look a great deal better. To highlight how worrying this trend is, just look at the table below. TEAM PLAYED WON DRAWN LOST GOALS FOR GOALS AGAINST Manchester City 9 0 2 7 6 19 Arsenal 6 0 2 4 4 13 Liverpool 6 0 3 3 3 8 Manchester United 5 1 2 2 8 11 Tottenham 5 3 1 1 12 8 As it also shows, Chelsea have been outscored by every one of these teams during this period, apart from Spurs. This simply is not good enough. Also, if you just consider Premier League matches, they have only three wins in their last 20 away games against teams who have started the day above them in the table. Chelsea last bucked that trend against Bournemouth in September. To be fair, some of Chelsea’s struggles against these opponents began before the change of ownership. Chelsea last won at Arsenal in August 2021 — the same year they also had their most recent triumph over Liverpool at Anfield. They also beat City three times in 2021, at the Etihad in the Premier League, at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-final, and in Porto in the Champions League final. They have failed to beat City home or away since. There were some promising signs that the gap was narrowing under Mauricio Pochettino last season with the two draws against City and that dramatic success over United. Maresca can also point to the first half of this campaign, where Chelsea genuinely looked good in draws with Arsenal and United. After the 2-1 loss away to Liverpool in October, their coach Arne Slot conceded Chelsea were the only team his men had faced this season who had been “better than us” — well, until they faced Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League’s round of 16 this month, anyway. There is October’s 2-1 home win against Newcastle, while December saw a 3-0 triumph over Aston Villa, also as Stamford Bridge, and coming from two goals down to beat Spurs away, to offer some encouragement. And the hope is that Palmer, Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke will all be back after this 17-day break for international matches and the FA Cup quarter-finals. But overall, there is still something missing; that ability to face the toughest tests and come out on top. A mental block. The people now running Chelsea have deliberately chosen a transfer policy which focuses on signing youth and potential, and it means they now have the youngest team in the Premier League. But playing such a long-term strategy, waiting for players to develop into the finished article you’ve envisioned, is coming at a cost. Marc Cucurella cuts a frustrated figure at the Emirates Stadium (Julian Finney/Getty Images) Chelsea looked beaten from before the kick-off on their previous trip to the Emirates back in April, and lost 5-0. It felt the same on Sunday, especially in an opening half-hour when they did not have a single touch in the opposition penalty area and the home side dominated. To Chelsea’s credit, they managed to stem the Arsenal attacking tide but they still never looked like scoring. Now, they were without key attacking players, Palmer and Jackson in particular. Romeo Lavia, so impressive in that loss to Liverpool at Anfield, was a late substitute having just returned from two months out with his latest injury. But Chelsea in their pomp knew how to cope with such setbacks and get the result anyway. When asked by The Athletic if he thinks this is a problem he inherited and has to overcome, Maresca did appear to admit something is missing. He replied: “If the results say that… what I can say (is) between the first game against Arsenal (November’s 1-1 draw at the Bridge) and today’s game, to be honest, I don’t see a big difference between us and them. “This means we are… for me, since I arrived… I have the feeling we are on the right path and we are very close. We need just that step forward to compete in these kind of games. That step comes finishing in the top four, top five, Champions League spot.” Nobody can dispute that the August 2023 addition of Moises Caicedo from Brighton & Hove Albion has improved Chelsea’s midfield, but you can sense a bit of frustration over their struggle to make that final step. Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, he said: “The team is good, the team is working hard to win the games. We want to show character, we want to play our best football and we want to win games like this.” The topic is relevant because, with just five points between themselves in fourth and Bournemouth in 10th, the race for Champions League qualification looks like going to the final day of the season. Chelsea’s nine remaining fixtures include meetings with Tottenham, Liverpool and United. To return to the Champions League next season, they simply have to add more numbers to the wins column in their biggest fixtures.

What’s happened to Chelsea? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6207666/2025/03/17/newcastle-carabao-cup-win-saudi-owners/ Back in December, it seemed as if Enzo Maresca had done the implausible even before the halfway point in his debut season as their head coach and had made sense of the broiling chaos that is Chelsea. They looked like one of the only plausible challengers to Liverpool for the title, leaving champions City and their identity crisis in their wake and seeming even more convincing than Arsenal. Cole Palmer was tearing teams apart, Moises Caceido looked more like a £100million player should and Nicolas Jackson was scoring goals. That all feels like a long time ago now we’re in the middle of March. Chelsea’s season has been split into two extraordinary halves: the first saw them second in the table on 34 points, with just two defeats from 16 games. But since they drew with Everton just before Christmas, it has flipped entirely: in a table only of matches played after that point, they are 15th, below West Ham and Wolves, and perhaps most embarrassingly only above Manchester United on goal difference. They have won just four of their 13 outings since then, and look incapable of creating chances. The performance at Arsenal on Sunday was perhaps a nadir, admittedly without the injured duo of Palmer and Jackson, yet it was still pretty embarrassing that they had 68 per cent possession but only eight touches in the home penalty area. According to Opta, the 0.35 expected goals (xG) they generated was their lowest total yet under Maresca. Chelsea’s form has slumped since Christmas (Julian Finney/Getty Images) Perhaps this is just a bad run of form, exacerbated by injuries and fatigue. Or perhaps the first half of the season was the exception, that Maresca was overperforming with a poorly-constructed squad, and these last few months have been closer to Chelsea’s true selves. Either way, it’s a troubling echo of last season: Maresca’s Leicester City started the Championship campaign in similarly rampant form, going 12 points clear at the top of the division in February. However, the wheels came off after that, a run of six defeats in 10 meaning that, while they were promoted automatically with plenty of room to spare, the last third of the season was more of a struggle than it should have been. When Maresca then left for Chelsea, there wasn’t exactly wailing in the streets among elements of the Leicester support. If Chelsea finish this season in the top four or five, Maresca will have done his job. But they have not looked like a Champions League team for a long time.

Dario Essugo: Chelsea’s new defensive security blanket – with errors to iron out https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6209977/2025/03/17/dario-essugo-Chelsea-analysis/ For those wondering what to expect from Dario Essugo at Chelsea, here are the words he chose to describe his game at the start of his season-long loan at Las Palmas last summer. “I know I can contribute a more physical game to the team, with a lot of contact,” he said at his unveiling press conference on arrival in Gran Canaria from Portuguese giants Sporting CP, as reported by Las Palmas’s official website. “I like to steal the ball and move forward. I can provide defensive security; that’s what I want, to help achieve the team’s goals.” On the surface, that description makes Essugo exactly the type of midfielder that many Chelsea supporters have been crying out for this season, either to partner Moises Caicedo against more physically intense Premier League opposition or to relieve part of his huge minutes burden. Having only celebrated his 20th birthday last week, he also fits the player profile that Clearlake Capital have chosen to channel the bulk of their vast recruitment investment towards over the last two years. But that makes his arrival less likely to satisfy supporters who believe Enzo Maresca’s squad is being held back by a lack of high-level experience. Essugo has at least been involved in the senior professional game for three years, ever since becoming Sporting’s youngest-ever debutant at 16 years and six days when he came on as a late substitute in a 1-0 league win over Vitoria de Guimaraes on March 20, 2021. His elevation to the first team came before he had made a single appearance for the club’s junior, under-23 or B teams, and the significance of the moment brought him to tears at the final whistle. Sporting’s coach at the time, Ruben Amorim, was impressed by the quality Essugo brought to first-team training in the days leading up to the match and encouraged him to express himself during his cameo. “I told him: ‘Joao Mario, who has a yellow card, is going to come off’,” Amorim explained afterwards, as reported by MAGG. “I need someone to help (Joao) Palhinha. When you have the ball, you have more freedom than Palhinha.’” That advice could be applied to the way Essugo, a tenacious defensive midfielder with some playmaking skill, has tried to take onto the pitch ever since. But most of his opportunities to grow in the senior game have come away from Sporting, where he was behind the likes of Palhinha, Joao Mario, Matheus Nunes, Manuel Ugarte, Hidemasa Morita and Morten Hjulmand in the midfield units that helped Amorim surpass Porto and Benfica to win two Primeira Liga titles. Essugo winning the ball back against Betis (Fran Santiago/Getty Images) Essugo managed just 10 league appearances for Sporting before embarking on his first loan spell with Portuguese minnows Chaves in August 2024. There he got his first taste of being a regular starter in a team that finished bottom of the Primeira Liga while his parent club finished first, meaning he ended the season with the rare achievement of simultaneously adding a relegation and a league title to his career resume. He may end up repeating the feat this season; Sporting are well positioned to be Portuguese champions again while Las Palmas are on course to drop out of La Liga. Essugo’s contribution has highlighted both his quality and his flaws. Only five La Liga midfielders to have played 900 or more minutes average more than Essugo’s 1.9 interceptions per 90 minutes, and there have been signs of real on-ball polish despite the team’s relatively direct style. He uses his body well to shield the ball and win duels, and his willingness to receive passes on the turn and beat a man should lend itself well to the demands of Enzo Maresca’s system at Chelsea. His off-ball movement is improving. But there have also been plenty of errors — most memorably against Real Valladolid last month, when Essugo’s loose pass presented the ball to Anuar Tuhami and prompted Las Palmas team-mate Scott McKenna to cynically bring the midfielder down, resulting in a straight red card. Essugo himself has been sent off twice in his last four appearances for Las Palmas. In the second half of a 1-1 draw with Osasuna in January he responded to receiving a second yellow card in the 72nd minute by sarcastically clapping referee Jesus Gil Manzano, which earned him a further two-match suspension. His most recent outing against Real Betis earlier this month was also cut short by a second yellow card in the 61st minute for a slip and rash tackle on Isco. Indiscipline is not an unusual issue for a midfielder with Essugo’s particular brief, and his 1.8 fouls per 90 minutes for Las Palmas this season are comparable with Caicedo (2.0 fouls per 90) and Enzo Fernandez (1.8 fouls per 90) at Chelsea. Maresca’s first task with his new midfield signing may simply be to curb the 20-year-old’s worst impulses without the ball. One of Essugo’s best impulses with the ball occurred in the semi-final of the European Under-17 Championship in 2022. Essugo celebrating his goal against France (Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images) Portugal were eliminated by eventual winners France on penalties but made it to the shootout because Essugo opted to go for goal from 40 yards, connecting with such purity and velocity into the top corner that team-mates put their hands on their heads in disbelief. Goalscoring will never be his primary occupation but striking a ball like that is a nice option to have. Chelsea’s plan is for Essugo to provide cover for Caicedo next season. He is certainly more seasoned for the position than Mathis Amougou, who was signed for £12.5million ($16.2m) in January on the strength of 18 senior league appearances for Saint-Etienne and is expected to be a Strasbourg loanee in 2025-26. There are signs in his physicality and technique that Essugo may prove well suited to the Premier League — but as is so often the case with Chelsea, it is a bet on potential.