Rob is senior football editor at GiveMeSport, with over 15 years experience covering sport in various capacities since graduating from the University of Gloucestershire in 2008 with a degree in journalism.

A childhood obsession for all things football developed into a career writing about the beautiful game, initially producing content for clients including Luton Town Football Club and the PGMOL. His first big interviews were with Premier League referees Howard Webb and Michael Oliver in 2009.

He then spent four years producing written content for a betting website, mainly focusing on football, and was there to cover various games and tournaments including the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.

Rob joined GiveMeSport in 2013 (initially as a sub-editor before becoming a senior writer and then senior editor in 2020) and has covered countless football matches and other sporting events, interviewed various high-profile figures including Rio Ferdinand, Peter Crouch and Theo Walcott, and written well over 10,000 articles during that time.

Rob has played a key role in GiveMeSport's coverage of the World Cups in 2014, 2018 and 2022, plus Euro 2016, Euro 2020 and Euro 2024, along with many Champions League finals.

While football is Rob's area of expertise, he has also covered a wide range of other sports during his time at GiveMeSport including boxing, tennis and darts, as well as the 2016, 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games.

Manchester United players have an eyebrow-raising theory for why their start to the 2026-27 season has been so poor.

The Red Devils have endured their worst-ever start to a Premier League campaign, picking up seven points from their opening seven fixtures.

Michael Carrick was appointed United’s new permanent manager in the summer, following a successful spell as interim head coach last season, but has only secured one league victory so far this term - a 5-2 victory over Ipswich Town in August.

United subsequently find themselves languishing 13th in the Premier League table, already 14 points behind league-leaders Manchester City.

The fact Carrick expressed relief after securing a point away at Leeds United on Sunday shows exactly where the English giants are currently at.

“It felt like a bit of a fresh start today - where we’re at and accepting it and doing something about it,” Carrick said after the 1-1 draw at Elland Road. “That didn’t surprise me today. We’re not getting too carried away because we haven’t won the game, but if you keep doing the right things for the right reasons then you get what you deserve in the end.

“It definitely shows that the boys are desperate to do well for each other as much as anything else and how much they appreciate playing for this club, because there was a real purpose to the group over the last couple of days and they took it on the pitch. There was an edge to the game, an intensity. I spoke to the boys this morning about the history and what it means to the supporters, the club, to us coming over here into the territory.”

Man Utd Stars' Theory For Poor Start

While Lisandro Martinez suggested last week that a lack of sufficient recruitment in the summer transfer window may be to blame for Man Utd’s disappointing start to the season, it seems his teammates have another theory.

A source has told The Sun that United’s players believe Amazon documentary cameras are currently affecting their season.

Man Utd agreed a record-breaking deal for Amazon earlier this year to cover the club’s 2026-27 season. The Red Devils follow Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham by becoming the latest club to feature in Amazon’s All or Nothing series.

Players believe Amazon’s cameras are stifling honest dressing-room chats during and after the game - and it’s affecting performances.

“The players view the cameras as a pain,” the source said.

“They not only have to meet with them every couple of weeks to do filming, they think that having them in the dressing room means the players and the managers aren’t being as open as they could be about what has been going wrong and what needs to be done to fix it.

“Some of the players are more keen on it than others but the ones that don’t like them think punches are being pulled in the wake of games.”

Man Utd stars fear staff and players are holding their tongues, acutely aware that anything noteworthy they say is likely to end up on the documentary.

Behind-closed-doors conversations within dressing rooms are usually kept private, but United’s players and coaching staff know they’re currently in a very different situation after the club struck a reported £10 million deal with Amazon Prime.

United will hope to return to winning ways when they face Italian side Como in the Champions League on Wednesday, before welcoming Bournemouth to Old Trafford in the Premier League four days later.