Despite a stagnant five years in the mid-90s, when Peter Ridsdale took charge at Leeds, some incredible nights flowed. Sadly, it was all built on sand
Tag: premier league
The Premier League footballers taking it back to school and inspiring a new generation
Football and education haven’t always mixed but a notable Premier League programme is helping children turn to books thanks to some big-name players
The truth behind which team has the Premier League’s most successful academy
To determine which club has the most successful academy in the Premier League, you first need to define what you mean by “success”
My Side: in celebration of Newcastle’s swashbuckling 1995/96 vintage
Welcome to a new series – My Side – discussing writers’ and fans’ greatest teams over the years. First up is Newcastle’s 1995/96 vintage
Remembering Thomas ‘Mad Dog’ Gravesen with author Chris Sweeney
Thomas Gravesen was loved by the supporters of the teams he served, and underappreciated by the wider breadth of football
Rúben Neves and João Moutinho: a midfield partnership as good as any in England
Technically gifted and capable in attack in defence, Rúben Neves and João Moutinho – student and mentor – continue to impress for Wolves
Saturday, 3pm: author Daniel Gray talks 50 delights of modern football
Author Daniel Gray returns to the Centre Circle to discuss another of his wonderfully evocative books, Saturday, 3pm, and 50 delights of the modern game
Gary Ablett: the tragic hero who conquered both ends of Stanley Park
Underrated for much of his career, Gary Ablett would achieve rare feats at Liverpool and Everton before a tragic demise aged just 46
Before Sergio Agüero there was Shaun Goater: the hero before the glitz
Long before an Argentine waltzed into Manchester City and became their greatest goalscorer, there was a Bermudan winning the hearts of the City fans
The strange existence of modern football’s back-up goalkeeper
They wait for cups or injuries and they perform. But before they know it, the first-choice goalkeeper returns and the back-up finds the bench again
Juan Sebastián Verón: the Manchester United diaries
When Juan Sebastián Verón moved to Manchester United in 2004, he went as one of the world’s best midfielder. Sadly, the Little Witch’s magic evaded him
Politicians and the futile art of fabricating commonality through football fandom
When David Cameron – an Aston Villa supporter – stated his team was West Ham, it represented much more than just an innocent gaffe
In defence of Avram Grant at Chelsea: a victim of circumstance, anti-Semitism and gargantuan expectations
He received copious abuse from Chelsea fans but Avram Grant nearly pulled off one of football’s greatest achievements during his time at Stamford Bridge
Claude Puel and the Leicester City abyss: a football club with seemingly nowhere to go
The next time a pundit remarks that Leicester are a club “not going anywhere”, it should be acknowledged that they quite simply have nowhere to go
When Dennis Bergkamp finished first, second and third in the August ’97 goal of the month competition
One of the great Dutch masters, Dennis Bergkamp’s rare genius is wonderfully encapsulated by his dominance of the goal of the month award in August 1997
Managerial rivalries in the 1990s: Keegan, Dalglish, Ferguson, Wenger and more
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
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?