Here’s something I wrote for Soccerlens The Bundesliga returned last weekend, and in the process welcomed back its player of the year from two seasons ago. Nuri Sahin’s failure to flourish after leaving Germany is a surprise. Whether it says more about him or the coaching he received during his sojourn is something we may … More Can Only Klopp Unlock The Sahin Enigma?
The extent to which figures in football seem to think they operate beyond the law fascinates me. I’m not talking about the antics of the players which fill the tabloids. There’s an air of inevitability to the sort of incidents which take place when you give a young lad a pile of money and tell … More Ferguson Treads the Fine Line Between Football and the Real World
Chelsea’s fans might feel uncomfortable at the thought of Rafa Benitez at the helm, but is that sense of unease misdirected? Perhaps the anger directed at the Spaniard is merely a proxy for the uncomfortable realities his arrival has stirred deep within fans’ hearts about their relationship with the club’s owner. The words Benitez is … More Please Can We Have Our Souls Back? Chelsea’s Fans Backtrack On Their Faustian Pact
The intangibles of football are hard to get a grasp of, funnily enough. I’m writing this, for example, in the pub in Malta (wittily named “The Pub” and a welcome source of decent beer on the island that barley forgot, although Chris Rea was a dose of Britishness to far though, barkeep!) where Oliver Reed … More Oliver Reed, Wrexham FC, Malta and the Olympics. Of course.
Peripheral Vision 