SINCE the pandemic stopped normal life in its tracks, football has been bemoaning the loss of significant sums of matchday income that have pushed some clubs to the brink. Eventually, fans will be allowed back in the stadiums and clubs will start generating cash from admission prices. Some clubs will have suffered more than others […]
THERE WILL be no shortage of sympathy for Frank Lampard as he goes the same way as a dozen or so other Chelsea managers. Eighteen months might not seem like a long time, even by Chelsea’s standards, but this was an appointment that went into the same category as AVB and RDM. In other words, […]
IN THIS time of global upheaval, football soldiers on, playing to empty stadiums in deserted towns. The tumbleweed continues to roll in the streets surrounding football grounds, but the grandstands echo to the sound of the dugout. The longer this prevails, the financial structure of the game will surely be seriously compromised. The 2019-20 season […]
NON-LEAGUE football clubs must be on their knees at present. Some leagues are suspended now which means matchday income will disappear once more. With so much uncertainty surrounding the covid-19 virus, nobody can be certain we shall not move into 2021 and beyond with another stop-start process. Furthermore, with the Christmas period sure to provoke […]
MIKEL Arteta comes across as an earnest, decent sort of fellow, one that may not, ultimately, be successful but will get the benefit of the doubt longer than some less popular characters in the management game. After Arsenal were beaten by neighbouring Tottenham 2-0, their sixth Premier League defeat in 11 games, the fans had […]
WOULD football, if it were invented today, position itself around nine-month league competitions and knockout tournaments that involve multiple rounds over half the year? League formats, which began with the Football League in 1888, have largely remained unchanged for decades, although some have introduced phased structures where titles, relegation and European places are decided through […]
IF, like me, you grew up in the late 1960s and early 1970s, you will be aware of how our access to the global game has changed so dramatically for the better. Recall those midweeks when British teams played in Europe and, occasionally, photographs would appear in the daily newspapers implying the Fairs’ Cup tie […]
OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJÆR’s job at Manchester United is under constant surveillance: by the media, by the fans and by the club’s owners and board. If you believe all you read, then OGS is just one more big defeat away from the sack. Every week that passes, the popular Norwegian’s future appears to hang by a […]
WELL, here we go again: doors closed, masks on, baths of sanitiser, panic buying and a boost for the owners of online communication tools. But what of football below “elite” level? Just when they thought it was safe to go back in the water, the #19 shark has risen to the surface and is snapping […]
