When Sheikh Mansour sanctioned the purchase of Manchester City back in September 2008, many neutral supporters believed that the Arabian Deputy Prime Minister would leave the club soon after. That, however, was…
Tag: original coach
THERE AREN’T MANY YOUNG COACHES in today’s British game that can successfully draw your attention amidst the hubbub of modern football, but Kevin Nicholson is already doing just that. In an era…
REAPING IMPROVEMENT AND SUCCESS year after year is a tricky scheme to accomplish for even the very best and most capable of managers and players. Simply put, the art of long-standing perfection…
THE MENTALITY OF ICELANDIC FOOTBALL PLAYERS is something that foreign managers have often addressed. The number of quotes are both varied and numerous in their existence, all praising the attitude and focus on…
IN RECENT YEARS, THERE HAS BEEN A MAJOR CHANGE in the way Icelandic national team stars ply their trade. A greater number than ever are in overseas leagues, which in turn – often for…
HIRING LARS LAGERBÄCK HAS BEEN A HUGE PART OF ICELAND’S SUCCESS over the last three years according to Freyr Alexandersson, manager of Leiknir and the Icelandic national women’s team. Lagerbäck, and his assistant…
IN JUNE 2008, PEP GUARDIOLA BECAME MANAGER OF FC BARCELONA. In the same month, Spain became champions of Europe when they defeated Germany by a goal to nil in Vienna. What followed was…
THE WEATHER IN ICELAND CAN BE HUGELY UNPREDICTABLE and changes the way training is conducted. The obvious drive in Iceland toward the building of better sporting facilities has altered that reality dramatically.…
MY FIRST FORAY INTO A TRUE BRAWL DISGUISED AS A FOOTBALL GAME was when I was 16-years-old. I had been “recruited” by a group of stockyard workers from Eastern Europe to play in…
SPAIN, GERMANY AND BELGIUM are countries that the rest of the world have looked to regarding the production of players in recent years. Iceland, however, has started to make similar waves in their…
FOLLOWING ON FROM OUR RECENT INTERVIEW with former Liverpool, Wigan and Watford academy coach Tim Lees, we talk to the young trainer about tactics, formations and countering threats on a football pitch. *…
THE TERM ‘WONDERKID’ IS OFTEN USED when referring to a talented young footballer. A player that shows great promise or stands out amongst players older than him. Like a drop of blood falling…
A Moneyball approach, we examine the analytical detail that has brought FC Midtjylland success and is poised to do the same at Brentford.
AN HONEST RESPONSE IS EXACTLY WHAT THE PRESS LIKE TO HEAR as often as possible, in any line of questioning. What’s all the more alluring is a touch of some interest and intrigue;…
Tim Lees profile (from Soccer School UK) Tim came through the academy system in England with both Bolton Wanderers and Everton as a youngster. He has over 300 appearances semi-professionally in England and in…
It was a majestic sight. Go back 30 or 40 years and watch teams defend. The majority of them will feature a type of player that seems to have been lost from the…
MODERN DAY MEDIA, ESPECIALLY IN ENGLAND, has had a negative impact on the way central defenders are perceived. Gone are the days when a team was applauded for being defensively sound; instead of…
NOT SO LONG AGO, a chat about the state of football in the tiny US island territory of Guam would have been greeted almost immediately with derisive comments about their habit for…