The football blog for fans of all clubs
On Monday morning came the long awaited news. Luka Modric was gone. The bags and suitcases which were long since packed were finally put to good use as he officially made the move from the old, slightly tatty, homely feel of White Hart Lane to the vast, wonderful, intimidating cathedral that is the stadium of […]
It won’t have escaped many people’s attention that there is something of a circus going on at Blackburn Rovers Football Club. Not an actual and literal circus of course, we’re a little short of elephants, ringmasters and trapeze artists for that sort of extravaganza. Although we’ve certainly got enough clowns for one. And we’d probably […]
As the new England U21 campaign begins next month it will bring questions about what direction England are heading towards and whether there is even a plan at all. FA chairman David Bernstein said: “Continuity is vital as we continue to build our club ethos, and Stuart [Pearce] is an important member of the England […]
So Pete Sixsmith got away with his act of desertion, truanting from the first home game of the season to watch oval ball at Wembley, and still the treat of Reading at home to come. Here he offers thoughts on the more than slightly embarrassing postponement – and Warrington’s comfortable victory over Leeds in t’other […]
I’ve always said I don’t believe player loyalty to be a characteristic of the greatest importance as when it boils down to it football is a profession like any other and looking to further your career financially or professionally will always be an incentive. That isn’t to say I don’t value loyalty very highly when […]
BFTGT: What would have to happen this season for you to class it as a successful one for your club? Aidran Roberts: In terms of England, it’s all about ensuring a healthy balance of young and old in the Senior setup. Beyond that, you simply hope that Roy moves away from some of the tactics […]
With the 2012-13 Premier League season now underway, I thought I’d take a look back through previous opening-day results to see how the eventual champions and relegated clubs have fared: Champions The following table shows how the eventual champions fared on the opening day of each of the 20 Premier League seasons: – The combined […]
Ahead of Saturday’s fixtures, EA Sports Player Performance Index have all the stats from the opening game of the season, looking at which players worked hardest offensively and defensively, how much ground they covered, how many fouls they were guilty of, amongst others. Swansea v West Ham 12:45 • Swansea showed great defensive determination last […]
The other night, Sky News promoted their upcoming sports headlines with footage of Wayne Rooney’s infamous sweary episode in East London juxtaposed with a demure Jesssica Ennis bashfully waving at adoring crowds in Sheffield. What it lacked in subtlety, it more than made up for in bandwagon jumping; footballers bad, Olympians good. The groundswell of […]
The thoughts of Robert Simmons, our Voice of America, and the fellow-American supporters who made themselves known after his most recent article, prompted Colin Randall to raid the Salut! Sunderland archives for a piece, now slightly updated, describing his True Supporter Test… Like the look of Chelsea? Gasp in admiration at Man United’s trophy cupboard […]
The blogger from Chelsea Daft wrote an article attempting to answer why people hate Chelsea. Whilst the main points were a jumbled mess of reasons why he personally wasn’t a glory supporter and how all Chelsea have done is mimic the spending of other clubs (obviously ignoring this), he struggled to produce even a semi […]
With the annual resumption of Barclays Premier League action on Saturday we are all once again facing a long nine month period of drama, excitement and, depending on which club you follow, agony. Saturday’s big kick off saw the household names of Liverpool and Arsenal begin their respective campaigns in somewhat of a new era […]
‘I swear you’ll never see anything like this again.’ Now featuring heavily on rotation on promos for the new season, Martin Tyler’s commentary following that goal has quickly become an indelible part of Premier League history, but like time and tide, the Premier League seemingly waits for no man. True, we have the European Championships […]
After a summer of waiting, the Premiership returned and the opening weekend threw up some amazing results and some brilliant goals. Here are BFTGT Top 5 for you to vote for in the Poll below. 1. Demba Ba v Spurs 2. Michu v QPR 3. Alex Kacaniklic v Norwich City 4. Zoltan Gera v Liverpool […]
There’s a certain etiquette you’re supposed to follow when you get to the Premier League. For the first time, maybe ever, you get a transfer kitty made up of more than the proceeds of selling pre-match programs and Pukka pies at half time. You’ve got the real Sky Sports money now. But there are apparently […]
Pete Sixsmith risked the vagaries of an early morning shower and an irate cat to meet up with his old friends Rupert and Monty at Ashburton Grove. The Durham Branch of the Sunderland Supporters’ Association parked up the bus in north London and according to the pundits the team did the same. But after a […]
‘Player Power’ seems to be at its peak. We’re starting to hear more and more stories about players refusing to play, going against their contract, to try and force something, the majority to get a move out of the club. This makes you ask the question, is there any loyalty left in the game? Or […]