IN THE aftermath of the 1974 World Cup, English football was fascinated by Dutch and German football. England’s failure to qualify for that competition and the decline of league football into a physical, defensive product that had started to drive people away, meant that a lot of soul-searching had taken place. The conclusion was that […]
IN THE aftermath of the 1974 World Cup, English football was fascinated by Dutch and German football. England’s failure to qualify for that competition and the decline of league football into a physical, defensive product that had started to drive people away, meant that a lot of soul-searching had taken place. The conclusion was that […]
IT’S a gleaming white stadium is the Liberty, you see it very clearly as the train snakes its way into Swansea station, and it still looks clean enough to feature on a TV advertisement for white emulsion paint. These are hopeful days in this corner of Wales. Hopeful because last season, the club was relegated […]
APRIL 23 1975. A few days earlier, Ray Wilkins had been appointed captain of Chelsea. The Blues had lost 2-0 at Tottenham and the writing was on the wall. I was in the City of London, having an interview with Barclays Bank and decided to visit Stamford Bridge to see Chelsea play Sheffield United. It […]
NON-LEAGUE football used to be a breeding ground for top-class players, but in recent years, the flow of talent has certainly slowed-up. Jamie Vardy has provided a heart-warming story that restores some faith in the notion that players can start at a local level and make their way into the big time. Game of the […]
WHEN YOU HAVE visited state-of-the-art stadiums that reek of the modern corporate ethos and a sterile atmosphere, it takes a trip to a ground like Loftus Road to remind you what football used to be about. Queens Park Rangers’ home may look a little tired, and have a hemmed-in feel of a ground that cannot […]
The 1974-75 season wasn’t a classic for English football. The country had been suffering a long hangover after the national team’s exit from the World Cup. We were excluded from the 1974 finals in West Germany, pinning our hopes on Scotland and Jack Taylor the referee. While the global audience marvelled at the exploits of […]
QPR’s team of expensive non-entities is going to get a shake up. Harry Redknapp, one of the last bastions of old-tyme football management, has rolled into Loftus Road and given the playing squad a short, sharp message. “You should be embarrassed by having just four points.” Harry’s not wrong, for QPR have spent heavily, but […]
Dave Sexton was one of the most progressive football coaches of his generation. A member of the famous – and self-titled – West Ham academy of players that went on to coach or manage clubs, he was a quietly-spoken, shy man who was never afraid to try new methods. At Chelsea, Sexton provided the antidote […]
