• Dominic Bossi

The marks are out: how did your A-League team fare at the halfway stage of this season?

The new year is just days old but the weight of expectation is already heavier on some coaches than others.

​Relegation strugglers Hull City sacked Mike Phelan as manager, less than three months after appointing him on a permanent basis.

Socceroos forward Robbie Kruse is set to join the growing list of international players moving to China after telling Bayer Leverkusen he wants out.

• COMMENT
• Paul Hayward

Guardiola's rapid ice hockey-style often looks alien to a team who are accustomed to crushing opponents in a slower, more traditional manner.

• Matt Law

Antonio Conte has taken a swipe at the complaints of Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger over Chelsea's Christmas and new-year fixture list by insisting the pair are angry only because his team are top of the Premier League.

Olivier Giroud's stoppage-time header earned Arsenal an unlikely 3-3 draw at Bournemouth on Wednesday morning after they had trailed 3-0 with 70 minutes on the clock.

Melbourne Victory assistant coach Jean-Paul de Marigny has been handed a three-week touchline ban after his expletive-ridden tirade directed towards the Newcastle Jets bench during Monday night's A-League clash.

• David Polkinghorne

Coach Rae Dower thinks short turnaround to next game could be a "blessing" with redemption on her players' minds.

Sydney FC have agreed a deal with a top Asian club for the transfer of centre half Matt Jurman.

• ANALYSIS
• Jason Burt

The top six are away and so much better than the rest. There is no sense that they can be caught or even competed against and the likelihood is that the mini-league will only pull further and further out on its own, out of sight, as the season progresses.

• Michael Lynch

Melbourne Victory's star striker Besart Berisha will now set his mind to winning a second title in navy blue and not worry too much about setting an unreachable benchmark for individual goals scored in the A League.

• Michael Lynch

John van 't Schip has stepped down as coach of Melbourne City, effective immediately, to return to The Netherlands to contribute to the palliative care of his father.

Ins and outs of A-League transfer window

Olivier Giroud's astonishing scorpion kick to give Arsenal the lead against Crystal Palace on New Year's day had pundits reaching for the superlatives - but what makes a brilliant goal really special?

All the action you might have missed.

Liverpool dropped two points in the Premier League title race as Jermain Defoe converted two penalties to earn struggling Sunderland a 2-2 draw.

• Michael Lynch

Six goals, three points to the home team and the chance to witness a piece of A-League history being made.

• David Polkinghorne

Canberra United to utilise her vast experience in absence of both their injured co-captains.

Goalkeeper-turned-pundit Mark Bosnich's Boxing Day attack on A-League club Wellington is without substance or merit, general manager David Dome says.

It doesn't take much digging to understand what motivates Western Sydney A-League midfielder Kearyn Baccus.

• James Buckley

Sydney FC have completed the signing of goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne from Western Sydney.

Arsene Wenger praised Olivier Giroud's finish as "art" after the striker scored what could prove the goal of the season in Arsenal's 2-0 defeat of Crystal Palace.

• Dominic Bossi

Western Sydney Wanderers' frustrating season showed no signs of improving in 2017 after settling for their eighth draw of the season on Sunday night against Perth Glory.

Four weeks since Ernie Merrick resigned as head coach, the Wellington Phoenix have found his replacement.

• Dominic Bossi

A contentious goal awarded to Perth Glory striker Adam Taggart resulted in a heated backlash from Tony Popovic, questioning how the linesman missed an offside call.

Olivier Giroud scored with a superb, improvised backheeled volley as Arsenal eased past struggling Crystal Palace with a 2-0 win that moved them into third spot in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur steamed into the top four as Harry Kane marked his 100th Premier League appearance with a double in a 4-1 thrashing of a woeful Watford.

• Liam Hyslop

The Wellington Phoenix have done little to quieten down Mark Bosnich in a 0-0 stalemate with Adelaide United.