Football Club News, Analysis, History, Schedule, Rumours
In this strangest and most congested of seasons, which has a World Cup slap bang in the middle of it, club managers will be more anxious than ever about the return of their players from international duty. For Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, there is surely one player who he will worry about more than any […] READ MORE
Adding the word ‘ball’ to a manager’s name, à la ‘Sarriball’ or ‘Bielsaball’, as a way of summarising their footballing philosophy, has become one of the great clichés of modern football. Indeed, it is not limited to football, as the new England cricket coach, Brendon McCullum, has bristled at the use of ‘BazBall‘ (‘Baz’ being […] READ MORE
The cancellation of all British football matches this weekend after the Queen’s death will afford teams and their managers a rare chance in this crowded World Cup season to reflect on their progress so far and on the challenges that remain. For Arsenal and Mikel Arteta, there will be an opportunity, in particular, to reflect […] READ MORE
It’s not just England’s Euro 2022 winners who cannot quite comprehend the magnitude of their achievement, but every England fan. Even two days later, it still seems surreal, counter-intuitive, if not downright impossible – England have won a major international football tournament for only the second time ever and for the first time in the […] READ MORE
Alexandra Popp is undoubtedly England’s biggest obstacle to overcome if they are to win the Women’s Euros. The Germany striker broke the record for scoring in consecutive Women’s Euros matches by scoring for a sixth game in succession against France in the semi-final. In fact, she scored twice to draw level with England’s Beth Mead […] READ MORE
The news that the 2022 Women’s Euros is already the best-attended Women’s Euros ever, despite still being only at the group stage, confirms the impression that this edition of the tournament may well be the best ever. There are many reasons for that, but three, in particular, stand out. The Best Women’s Euros There Has […] READ MORE
In sport as in life, tiny acorns can produce mighty oaks. Almost all the greatest sporting events, from the Olympics to the World Cup, began inauspiciously, with large parts of the world either refusing to participate or paying little interest. And the same is true of the Women’s Euros. Of course, in the case of […] READ MORE
To misquote Mario Balotelli, “Why is it always Hungary?” More specifically, in the wake of England’s 4-0 home loss in the Nations League this week, why is it always Hungary who seem to inflict the most shattering, even historic, defeats on England? Well, it might just be that Hungary are arguably the most important country […] READ MORE
After Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League, one question was asked by most Arsenal fans and it is the one that has been asked all season: “Arteta in or out?” However, this is the wrong question, what is often called in science a first-order question, i.e. a direct question about a problem. By […] READ MORE
There are derby defeats (where a team loses to its rival narrowly), there are demolition derbies (where a team loses to its rival badly) and then there are disaster derbies (where a derby defeat threatens to undo a whole season’s work). After losing 3-0 away at Tottenham Hotspur – in the process losing both their […] READ MORE