The football blog for fans of all clubs
Image: skysports.com The season may be about to enter the business end of proceedings on the pitch but that has not stopped the rumour mill turning, with reports there could be significant change at Chelsea this summer. Diego Costa fell out with boss Antonio Conte earlier this year amid rumours that he was set to […]
As someone who writes about coaches and tactics, I was interested in watching the return leg of the Monaco/Manchester City matchup. Setting aside the obscene number of goals in the first match, there were two questions in my mind I could not wait to see how Leonardo Jardim addressed. The first was the line-up. Monaco […]
Graeme Souness had been out of work for over a year after resigning from the manager’s position at Liverpool. He had been linked to various jobs in that time and his name was mentioned for the Middlesbrough role, which eventually went to Bryan Robson. Then, out of the blue, came the news that he had […]
Leeds United entertain Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday. I say ‘entertain’ but, of course, at this stage of the season, we just want to get the three points or, at the very least, not lose. The play-off situation is ever closer, though good to see that Fulham – who, in injury time, robbed us […]
The second round of matches in the new season of MLS captured many people’s imagination. We start at Toyota Park where Chicago Fire took on Real Salt Lake in front of 13,024 fans. Chicago took the lead on 11 minutes, Nemanja Nikolic ran through with some suspicion of offside to slot the ball home. Nikolic […]
Controversy around match officiating rocked Serie A for yet another week as Juventus extended their record-breaking run of league wins at home to 31. Napoli, Roma and Inter enjoyed comprehensive victories, with the Nerazzurri’s total of seven goals including hat-tricks for both Mauro Icardi and Ever Banega. With 32 goals scored, there was no shortage […]
The third offering of Irish League football on Sky this season was an interesting clash between second placed Linfield and third placed Cliftonville. Another Belfast rivalry for the Sky Sports cameras as South Belfast Blues Linfield take on North Belfast Reds Cliftonville. The Blues were 10 points behind league leaders Crusaders after their win on […]
No surprises in the Portuguese League in its 25th round, with the two big contenders for the title confirming their good moment of form and getting secure wins. FC Porto was the first to play, on Friday, and they were brilliant once again, propelled by their new striker Tiquinho Soares. The Brazilian, former Vit.Guimarães, has […]
FA Cup weekend gave many Premier League sides a much-needed rest, but the European leagues carried on as normal, with some intriguing results at both ends of the Italian, German, Spanish and French top-tiers. Bayern all-but secured a fifth successive Bundesliga title as they picked up another three points, with Frankfurt the latest victims in […]
The Friday night fixture saw Leverkusen in their first game following the sacking of Roger Schmidt, taking on Werder Bremen, who are on a charge to avoid the drop. Things started pretty quietly until Julian Brandt fired a delicious strike from just outside the box, crashing down of the bar. The ball didn’t cross the […]
I may be hinging on a technicality with the question from my last post but who doesn’t love a technicality? The first British Club to win a European cup are, of course, Glentoran Football Club of Belfast. Glentoran are the proud holders of the 1914 Vienna Cup. The Vienna Cup was one of the forerunners […]
Pablo Aimar, Nolito, Falcao, Hulk, James Rodriguez, Peter Schmeichel, Di Maria, Otamendi, Rojo, Diego Costa – what do all of this players have in common? They all played, with various degrees of success, in the Portuguese league, now known as Liga Nos. And, to join those big names you have all, the Portuguese talent that […]
In 1991 Swindon were dealt a blow when manager Ossie Ardiles resigned from the Division 2 club and joined Newcastle United. But every cloud has a silver lining. The club approached Glenn Hoddle and offered him the role of player manager. Hoddle had not long returned from France after playing for AS Monaco for 4 […]
A full schedule as regular league football resumes this week. Three games remain until the league splits (except Coleraine and Ballymena who have a game in hand, to be played 21st March). Ards v Ballinamallard United Friday 10th March 20:00 Both teams have considerable ground on the relegation play-off spot occupied by Carrick Rangers but […]
Goodison Park 1966. I can’t speak for the rest of the country but for a 10-year-old boy living in Liverpool, I like all of my friends at primary school, was gripped by World Cup fever. None of my friends had been lucky enough to get tickets for any of the World Cup games to be […]
Does anyone remember Balotelli’s first season? He was strong, vibrant, playing in a very favourable environment, with one of the best managers of the world but most of all it was that confidence, not afraid of going over his opponent and score a wonder goal. Quickly we started realizing that the confidence was almost arrogance, […]
This week saw a club genuinely sad to see them part ways with their manager; unlike the underhanded end to Ranieri’s reign at Leicester. Roger Schmidt leaving Leverkusen led to a heartfelt statement from the board who clearly appreciate the success he brought them. Not only has he established the side in the Champions League […]
Friday evening’s game seemed on paper as an opportunity for Die Roten Bullen to keep up the chase with FC Bayern. However, the WWK Arena and the rest of the Bundesliga saw two sides go in to battle on the cold March evening. Both sides were physical from the off and Leipzig struggled with Augsburg’s […]
Recent sad news of the death of the great Celtic defender Tommy Gemmell and the dementia of his Lisbon Lions teammate and captain Billy McNeill took me right back to my young days of browsing football annuals while listening to the family’s old wireless set. As a six-year-old, I looked on with my father and […]
Napoli were in crisis. They had lost midweek in the Coppa Italia to Juventus in a way that left many Napoli faithful and players feeling aggrieved. Results in the league meant they had fallen off challenging Juventus for the scudetto and were barely alive in the title race. And this match meant traveling to Rome […]
