Bringing our managerial rivalries series to a close, we move to the 1990s, a decade that saw Ferguson, Wilkinson, Dalglish, Keegan and Wenger all do battle
Tag: premier league
Why Arsenal’s 2001/02 vintage are perhaps the greatest in the club’s history
Arsenal were so good that if the league’s top scorer Henry didn’t get you, one of Pires, Wiltord, Ljungberg, Kanu or Bergkamp inevitably would
Graeme Le Saux’s battle against homophobic abuse and why the door is opening for gay players to come out in football
A married heterosexual, Graeme Le Saux endured years of abuse from fellow players and fans. But is the tide turning for gay players to finally come out?
How the demise of local shirt sponsors has killed the connection between fans and their team
Who can forget those iconic, local shirt sponsors, proudly adoring local fans’ kits? They were good days. They’re also consigned to history for good
Gaël Kakuta: the brightest of talents whose light never shone
Once described as the “best talent of his generation”, Gaël Kakuta was predicted by many to achieve greatness for Chelsea and for France
How David Wagner redefined the impossible at Huddersfield Town
Arriving at Huddersfield with the club languishing towards the foot of the Championship, David Wagner’s brilliant work would redefine the boundaries
Will Leicester’s Premier League title be football’s last big surprise?
The world of football is for clubs who are rich and powerful. More often than not, it is the game’s biggest and most expensively assembled teams that win silverware. Yet, every few…
Sunderland ‘Til I Die and the neglected communities reliant on football as a means of escape
In a nation dominated by austerity, fans, more than ever, are reliant upon their football clubs as a means of escape. Not that it means much in Sunderland
The demise of José Mourinho: a six-year journey of feuds, pragmatism and time passing him by
He was once football’s most revered manager, a master in man-management, but for six years now, the downfall of José Mourinho has taken shape
Football in the 1970s and 80s, the Thatcher government, and a clash of classes
Series two of Political Football starts by examining football in the 70s and 80s, tensions between the fans and the establishment, and Thatcher’s government
The social psychology that Manchester United have missed, and must reclaim, since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure
A master in the art of psychology, Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United were often a goal up before they’d kicked a ball. Today, they need it again
Arsenal’s double winners of 1998: the team that catapulted the club to new heights
Boasting a core of Seaman, Adams, Vieira, Petit, Bergkamp and Anelka, Arsenal in 1997/98 would cement their status as the rising Premier League force
How two serious injuries couldn’t stop Callum Wilson from fulfilling his potential
“Mental toughness is many things and rather difficult to explain. Its qualities are sacrifice and self-denial. Also, most importantly, it is combined with a perfectly disciplined will that refuses to give in.…
Author Daniel Gray talks 50 lost wonders of football
In a sport losing touch with its lengthy and unique history, author Daniel Gray is shedding light on 50 lost wonders of the game, from goalkeeping trousers to pixelated scoreboards, in his…
The night Peter Schmeichel tilted the title away from Newcastle
This feature is part of Virtuoso For a time in the mid-1990s, Kevin Keegan’s swashbuckling Newcastle United – backed by the millions of miner’s son turned property developer Sir John Hall –…
Andrey Arshavin and the four goals at Anfield that had Arsenal fans purring
This feature is part of Virtuoso The Arsenal career of Nicklas Bendtner is a particularly foggy quagmire. Breaking on to the scene with the winner in a north London derby, he appeared…
The goal and performance that marked the arrival of Dennis Bergkamp on English shores
This feature is part of Virtuoso The feelings. They’re what I remember most when I remember Dennis Bergkamp. The feelings of wonder, with every billowing chip and defence-melting through ball. The feelings…
Eric Cantona and his re-ascension to the Manchester United throne against Liverpool in 1995
This feature is part of Virtuoso “Genius is digging yourself out of the hole in which you sometimes find yourself. It’s learning from your failures that makes you succeed.” Eric Cantona’s words…