This feature is part of The Academy Way THE TRULY ICONIC FOOTBALL CLUBS ARE DEFINED BY THEIR ABILITY to dominate on and off the pitch. Perhaps no other enterprise is as results-driven…
Tag: premier league
Few men have won the adulation and love of the Newcastle faithful quite like Kevin Keegan. This is the love-affair between a city and its Messiah
FOOTBALL THRIVES ON THE ECCENTRIC CAST OF CHARACTERS in its court. In it, we find rival kings like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo leading their powerful armies armed to the teeth with soldiers…
Part I: Eric Cantona: the early French years The making of Cantona the legend in England actually started with an ill-fated and short-lived spell at Sheffield Wednesday. Cantona didn’t feel right at Hillsborough and…
I recently found myself watching a replay of the 1988 FA Cup final between the ‘Crazy Gang’ of Wimbledon and a heavily favoured Liverpool side on late-night television. As the footage cut out,…
As featured on Guardian Sport Upon arrival in cities, the first port of call for generations of Irish migrants, with the possible exception of the nearest public house, would have been a place…
Barely an hour had passed before the inquest began. A brace from Luis Suárez had given Uruguay a vital 2-1 victory over England, all but confirming another underwhelming exit from an international tournament…
Middlesbrough had money and a bright young manager in Bryan Robson. Juninho, Emerson and Ravanelli arrived and the top flight was never the same again
SINCE ITS INCEPTION at the start of 1992-93 season, the Premier League has redefined the global branding of football. In a league known for its pace, power and competitiveness, the game has thrived…
As featured on Guardian Sport WHEN TONY PULIS WAS GIVEN the elbow at the end of last season, many Stoke City fans were happy to see him go. Their team had become a…
LET’S TALK about strikers – goalscorers to be precise. The players who make the difficult seem unerringly easy. The ones who generally tend to finish off their dinner. They’re the elusive ones, out…
WHEN THE LAYERS OF COMPLEXITY ARE REMOVED, football is, primarily, a science of preparation and execution. Players train on a daily basis for the challenges that await on the pitch so that when…
CHRIS SMALLING AND LUKE SHAW WERE THE ONLY TWO ENGLISHMAN STARTING FOR MANCHESTER UNITED in the clash against Chelsea last season at Old Trafford, having been signed for a combined total of £34…