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…
Tag: premier league
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…