Tag: premier league

The value of central defenders in a warped world

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…

André Villas-Boas and the long con

I have seen the future. Football’s future. It’s both exciting and tragic. Amidst the reliance on strength, pace and fitness, players have taken centre stage like never before. Long gone is the…

The story of Frank Buckley and monkey glands at Wolves

In 1927, the board of Wolverhampton Wanderers took the bold decision to hire a man known for his unique managerial methods, authoritarian style, keen eye for detail and innovative approach. Frank Buckley, or the…

Duncan Ferguson: coach, captain, inspiration

“Commitment, aggression, goals, leadership and, yes, maybe a bit of devilment. And even the ability to intimidate. Evertonians loved him for that. The Gwladys Street would have followed the big man everywhere. He…

Michael Owen: the boy wonder who came and went

This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity ROBERTO AYALA WAS an outstanding, imposing presence at centre-back for Argentina. During his decorated career, Ayala impressed at Napoli and Valencia, as well as River…

The goalkeeper stands alone

MANUEL NEUER MADE GOALKEEPING FASHIONABLE AGAIN. Coming third in the Ballon d’Or reaffirmed that point. The face of the ‘new’ breed of goalkeeper, the German phenomenon is currently at the pinnacle in his…

Who is really benefitting from the Chelsea-Vitesse partnership?

ON AUGUST 16, 2010, Georgian businessman Merab Jordania bought Vitesse Arnhem, becoming the first foreign owner in the Netherlands, with the sole ambition of dominating Dutch football. Vitesse hadn’t finished higher than second…

Eric Cantona: a life of loneliness and love

Illustration by Dave Flanagan IT IS THE SUMMER OF 1978 in the baking heat of a Marseille suburb, and AS Caillolais are 1-0 down to title rivals Vivaux-Marronniers. Only a win will…

A Tale of One City: Manchester

This feature is a part of A Tale of One City Welcome to Manchester. After Carlos Tevez’s infamous multi-million pound move from Manchester United to cross-town rivals Manchester City, his new employers erected…

Tony Pulis: English football’s last great reactionary

THE BRITISH PUBLIC HAVE, in recent times, shunned their own traditional footballing culture with a sort of self-effacing embarrassment, as if watching Jamie Oliver serve a plate of egg on chips to Raymond…

The dethroning of Liverpool and lessons for today

When Alan Hansen lifted Liverpool’s eighth championship in 12 years in 1990 few would have thought it would be a quarter of a century, and counting, before the club would collect its next.…

Dixie Dean: football’s first great number nine

GERD MÜLLER called Lionel Messi an “incredible player” after the Argentine broke his record of 85 goals in a calendar year. Much was made of the records broken by Messi as he went…

The fleeting but eternal brilliance of George Best

This feature is part of The Fleeting Fraternity EVERY MAN WANTED TO BE HIM and every woman wanted to have him. Few players are capable of not only existing, but thriving on…

Why the Premier League is still waiting for a Brazilian icon

THE SIGHT OF A BRAZIL TEAM in full samba flow invokes something in football supporters that can’t be replicated by any other team. People marvel over Spain’s fluid passing and Germany’s ruthless dynamism…

The Tottenham Hotspur Academy Way

This feature is part The Academy Way IN A WORLD FULL OF UNITEDS AND CITYS, there is only one Hotspur. Tottenham Hotspur is a club with a long and illustrious history; the first…

Is West Ham’s class of 2003 the best to ever get relegated?

Nothing in football compares to the crushing feeling of defeat when a team is relegated. Sometimes there is a dull predictability about it, after a consistently abject season; sometimes it follows last day…

The imperfect goodbye

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER. If a footballer’s legacy to the game is to be summed up in their farewell match or testimonial, then they and the fans that try to imprint some lasting…

A Tale of One City: Liverpool

This feature is part of A Tale of One City On Merseyside, you are red or you are blue. There is no happy medium when it comes to football in Liverpool, one of…