Tag: football
Japan’s Shinji Okazaki: one to watch in Brazil
Record breaker Shinji Okazaki will be the man tasked with leading the line for Japan this summer in Brazil. The FSV 05 Mainz striker who joined from VfB Stuttgart in the summer of 2013 finished the season with an im
Time to ditch the sliding tackle?
After Raheem Sterling’s tackle in England’s latest World Cup warm up game against Ecuador saw the normally placid Antonio Valencia reach for the Englishman’s throat and had them both sent off, a thought occurred
An unknown World Cup XI
You football nuts out there will have heard of these lot (or played with them one time in a FIFA career) but for those of you who are excited for the World Cup but perhaps don’t have the knowledge to keep …
Parking the bus – just another soundbite
“Parking the bus” – a phrase now levied at any team who deviate from the Keegan attacking philosophy of ‘scoring one more’. Though managers on the losing end have often criticised defensive displays, it was J
Blimey: eight red cards in Brazilian derby between Potiguar and Baraunas
The lower leagues around the world can be entertaining for many reasons but particularly due to the odd brawl that tends to breakout. Players seem to lose control a lot more easily down there and it can make for fantastic add
Why commentators from other sports aren’t welcome in football
In America, we don’t have the massive pool of match summarisers like England has. Fox in its infinite wisdom hired Gus Johnson, an American football and basketball commentator, to learn football (soccer) on the fly and try to off
End of season predictions
As it’s nearing what’s known as ‘the business end’ of the season I thought I’d take a look at the run in across Europe, both in the leagues and the major knockout tournaments and see who’s in with a realistic …
29-year-old postman writes to AFC Wimbledon hinting they should sign him
A 29-year-old postman has written to League Two side AFC Wimbledon practically suggesting they should sign him. His email can’t be seen in full as the club only Tweeted the opening paragraph, but judging by the tone of it
Ignore the hype: the Premier League’s best can’t cut it with the rest
Arsenal are out of the Champions League, as are Manchester City, and Manchester United could easily follow suit, although even if they did, progression to say the semi-finals would shock the footballing world purely because of the fact that
Hoffenheim have introduced the new ‘footbonaut’ machine in training
Technology in football has come on leaps and bounds in recent years and there’s new gadgets and machines being introduced all the time, mainly within the higher levels of the game as I’m sure such inventions don’t come cheap.
Why judging a club based on the amount of supporters they attract is ludicrous
Trends within British football supporter culture are not new. Every season sees new behaviours, attire or attitudes; all influenced by a myriad of social and cultural developments and fashions. One trend that I hope passes in to the annals
The top ten Premier League managers
The Premier League’s managers tend not to be the main focus when it comes to compiling a top ten list of something, so I thought I’d go where many haven’t before and try and put together my top ten in …
Why footballers making the transition from football to poker is becoming more and more common
Football and poker are two incredibly popular games, mainly because of their intensity, entertainment and good moments, although in both some days are good and some days are bad! That’s just the nature of the respective
Backing the underdog
The Premier League campaign has been exhilarating, pulsating and delivered on all accounts so far this season. We’ve seen a stupendous amount of shock results, high-scoring games and tight, tactical encounters. We’re only just
How artificial surfaces are making a comeback in football
In the early 1980’s, they were seen as an innovation that was doomed to fail. At a time when many football fans weren’t willing to accept change, they flew in the face of tradition, while many players weren’t exactly welcoming.