Fifa faces winter of discontent over World Cup 2022 as chance of summer tournament in Qatar recedes This time last year the Premier League chairman travelled to the International Centre for Sports Security conference in Doha. All five feet seven inches the statesman, he used his keynote address to warn his Qatari hosts they should not […]
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Heat turning up on La Roja
Heat turning up on La Roja by Graham Hunter Make no mistake about it, Spain’s six-year status as the uncontested world No. 1 international side is about to be attacked with all weapons and — hopefully for the contenders — battered into submission over the next 15 months, starting this week. I say six years because […]
EU prepare to stop public funding of Spanish debt-ridden clubs.
It is the powerhouse of global football, home to its greatest players and a World Cup-winning national team, but Spain’s soccer bubble looks set to explode as European authorities prepare to halt public funding of debt-ridden clubs. In a move that threatens to provoke the partial collapse of a football system built on unsustainable piles of […]
Why do you fire the manager?
Sacking a manager is, on average, more harmful to a team’s performance in the short term than doing nothing. This season 31 managers have been sacked, or agreed ‘by mutual consent’ – that bizarre footballing spontaneous combustion – to disappear in a puff of smoke with a huge payoff. The latest, Reading’s Brian McDermott, left […]
The tweaks that led to Barca’s comeback
A few days before Barca’s second-leg vs Milan, I posted an article going through some of the problems Barca were facing – tactically and otherwise – during a difficult run in their season. Changes were required. Spanish football expert Andy West takes a look at some of reasons Barca were able to mount their historic comeback. […]
England risk falling to third in Uefa coefficient rankings
England began the current campaign on top of the Uefa coefficient rankings with 84.41 points, narrowly ahead of Spain who had 84.186 and Germany with 75.186. The latest official standings after last week’s European matches had Spain ranked first with 85.882 points, England second with 79.820 and Germany third with 76.757. An association’s ranking is based on […]
Crisis? What crisis?
“Until now, English football was only going through an identity crisis,” I said, shamelessly stealing a line from Michael Cox. “Now it also has a results crisis.” I looked up, probably wearing a smug expression, happy that after close to two hours of incoherent ramblings and a good deal of clueless stammering I’d finally delivered what […]
Suarez is a filthy cheat but Bale should be protected?
The moment the supremely accomplished British footballer Gareth Bale falls over an imaginary leg during a match, it sparks outbreaks of copycat behaviour right across the land. Not on our football pitches, but in the nation’s television studios and press boxes as pundits trip over themselves, too, in a desperate hunt to find excuses for […]
Where now for Rooney?
When the teams were announced, shockwaves rippled through Twitter. Wayne Rooney, resident superstar with a wage to match and one of the biggest symbols of his club for almost a decade, snubbed in favour of a raw young striker, a flaky Portuguese winger and a 39-year-old legend. The striker himself made no comment, but wife […]
Views from around the web – Nani red card
Views from around the web – Nani red card For an in depth analysis of the match you can read our article here; while the gif of the Nani red card can be also be viewed on our website. Roy Keane ” “I think the referee has actually made the right call. Everyone’s upset about it […]
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