“My heart and soul was tied to Arsenal with a fisherman’s knot. I don’t think even Houdini could have unravelled it. Not for one minute did I see myself leaving. There was only ever one club in England, let alone London, and that was the Arsenal.” – My Defence, Ashley Cole. Ashley Cole is a […]
Premier League
How will Brendan Rodgers Fare At Liverpool?
I’ll be honest. I never used to like Brendan Rodgers. I used to think he thought he was special, because of his training under ‘The Special One’, but since he’s taken the helm at Liverpool, I’ve started to like him. For the way he plays his football (I knew this before of course, but I […]
Hope Powell for the Premiership
What does a football manager look like? It might sound like a facile question but it matters. In Britain, a top-level football manager is likely to be a white, middle-aged man. He is extremely likely to have been a former football player. In the higher-levels of the game being Scottish helps disproportionately as does a […]
Is Suarez not used to the booing by now?
The FA ruled that on the “balance of probability”, Luis Suarez racially abused Patrice Evra in a game between rivals Liverpool and Manchester United at Anfield. The most damning evidence was probably the argument that “negro” could only be considered a safe term if used in a friendly way. Given that Suarez and Evra were […]
What must Andy Carroll be thinking now?
After making five appearances for the first team from the bench, as well as a hattrick for the Reserves against Middlesbrough, 18-year-old Andy Carroll was rewarded with a four-year deal with his boyhood club, Newcastle United. “I am delighted to sign the new contract and I hope to have a great future at Newcastle United,” […]
Aston Villa, moving forward in claret and blue
It seems an age ago since the Martin O’Neill era at Aston Villa. When we look at the position of the club last season it is a far cry to that of a club that not too long ago had become perpetual top six finishers in the Premier League under the Northern Irishman. Under O’Neill’s […]
Strike! The battle to get out of North London
Not since the days of Pierre van Hooijdonk have we seen the threat of industrial action loom over English football like it has in the last few days. That’s not entirely true; there have been strikers before and since. Who can forget Carlos Tevez’s golfing tour of Argentina (apart from Mancini of course)? But van […]
Chelsea transfer target: Oscar
The news has been filtering through over the past couple of weeks that there has been significant interest from Chelsea towards Internacional and Brazil’s midfield playmaker Oscar. What do we know about Oscar? To begin with, his full name Oscar dos Santos Emboaba Junior. The 20 year old has just begun to break into the […]
Arsenal transfer target: Santi Cazorla
Name: Santiago Cazorla González Age: 27 (turns 28 in December) Height: 5 foot 6 inches. Skills: Two-footed, versatile, set pieces. Early career: He joined his local team, Real Oviedo, when he was a teenager and was signed by Villarreal CF when he was 17. He spent his first two seasons playing for the B team. […]
STATS: 3 years of Premier League assists, key passes, fouls and MOTM
Assists – 2011/2012 1. David Silva – 15 2. Antonio Valencia/Juan Mata – 13 4. Alexandre Song/Emmanuel Adebayor – 11 6. Nani/Gareth Bale – 10 8. Robin van Persie/Samir Nasri/Stéphane Sessegnon – 9 11. Ryan Giggs/Sergio Agüero/Theo Walcott – 8 Assists – 2010/2011 1. Nani – 14 2. Didier Drogba – 13 3. Wayne Rooney/Andrey […]
Everything you need to know about Manchester United target Lucas Moura
Lucas Moura is a 19-year old player who is currently at São Paulo. He usually wears shirt number 7 at both his club and also at Brazil’s national team. He started his career at Marcelinho Carioca’s youth academy, and quickly got nicknamed Marcelinho due to supposedly looking like the former Corinthians player. He spent the […]
Dirty tactics will not give Luka a clean slate
Daniel Levy could negotiate his way out of hell. At the conclusion he’ll be standing behind the desk once frequented by St Peter at Heaven’s Gate with the devil smiling to himself in the flame infested pits holding a Spurs ‘Champions League 2013’ mug proclaiming victory. You don’t mess with the chairman of the board. […]
Why the FA might still have a case against John Terry
Whilst it is probably unlikely that the FA will act against John Terry after the verdict today, it is certainly possible. To be convicted of a criminal offence, you have to appear guilty “beyond reasonable doubt”. As it cannot be proven that Terry didn’t think he heard Anton accuse him of calling him a “black […]
Reasons why Terry will and won’t be found guilty
Why Terry won’t be found guilty – The defence argue John Terry was merely repeating back what Anton Ferdinand said to him. Terry argues he heard Ferdinand accusing him of calling Ferdinand a “black cunt”. Defence also suggest that Terry could have misheard “Bridge” as “black”. – The defence painted Ferdinand as an unreliable witness. […]
What if… Le Sulk took the reigns at Chelsea?
‘What if’ Nicolas Anelka remained at Chelsea and after the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas, the player nicknamed ‘Le Sulk’ was made the interim manager. Not many would’ve bet on Nicolas Anelka ever becoming a manager, he never looked the managerial type. Yet, football is an unpredictable game on and off the field and Nicolas Anelka […]
John Terry Trial: Day 4 AM – Anton’s lack of sophistication and perceived vulnerability
Today started with the closing arguments from the defence and prosecution, with the prosecution arguing that Terry is no stranger from using physical attributes as a means of verbally abusing someone, whilst the defence argued Ferdinand was an unreliable witness and Terry could have easily misheard what Ferdinand said to him initially. “It is unlikely […]
John Terry Trial: Day 3 PM – No noise at the Emirates
Following John Terry giving his evidence this morning, England and club team mate, Ashley Cole, was called to the stand. The Chief Magistrate asked Cole to stand up but he replied: “I’d prefer to sit.” “I told my lawyer I didn’t want to get involved,” Cole said. “I know JT and I know Anton.” Cole […]
John Terry Trial: Day 3 AM – Fat Paddy Kenny and four f***s
The day started with Anton Ferdinand’s parents finding Terry supporters in the seats they had been sitting in on Monday and Tuesday. The Terry supporters refused to move and the Ferdinands complained to the officials. Duncan Penny, the Crown prosecution, suggested there was a discrepancy between what Terry told the FA about incident in October […]
John Terry Trial: Day 2 AM – Camera angles and 2,000 character witnesses
Day two of the trial began with demonstrators outside Westminster Magistrates Court holding up ‘Climate Emergency’ banners as Terry arrived. Terry‬ swapped his grey suit with pink tie for traditional dark suit with black tie for his expected appearance in the witness box. Anton Ferdinand’s parents and Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck, were in the public […]
John Terry Trial: Day 1 PM – “Shagging gestures” and lip-readers
This morning we found out that the argument over John Terry trying to win a penalty after a coming together with Anton Ferdinand lead to a, well, “debate”, as Terry called it. Terry called Ferdinand a cunt, Ferdinand responded by claiming Terry was a cunt for shagging his team-mates’ missus. For clarity, the “shagging gesture” […]