Posts tagged “Wembley”

HARROGATE is synonymous with tea, relaxation and rising house prices. It’s rated as one of the happiest places in Britain and has a gentle, refined air about it, thanks to its heritage as a spa resort. Such a setting seems an unlikely backdrop for the latest new club to join the English Football League (EFL), but it will be no great surprise if the Yorkshire town becomes visiting fans’ favourite away day destination – when the world returns to somewhere near normality, that is. Harrogate Town, founded in 1914, secured their place in League Two by beating Notts County 3-1 at Wembley in the play-off final on the weekend of “Yorkshire Day”. How ironic that the “Sulphurites”, a reference to a bygone age, have…

Categories: English Football

Tagged: Harrogate, Harrogate Town, League Two, National League, play-off, Promotion, Wembley, Yorkshire

FA Cup Final: Another chapter in London’s oldest big derby

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on July 29, 2020

IN the modern age, the big London clash is Arsenal v Tottenham, two clubs in close proximity, massive fanbases and key roles in the development of the game. Those that know their football history will be only too aware that Arsenal started life on the opposite side of the River Thames, adopting a series of names – Dial Square, Royal Arsenal and Woolwich Arsenal – as they searched for their true identity. Arsenal are not the only club to modify their name and image, but they were probably the first to adapt to the changing times. Arsenal, like Manchester United (ex-Newton Heath) and Liverpool, have attracted a fair amount of envy down the decades. Jealousy is one of the overriding emotions of football, manifesting…

Categories: English Football

Tagged: Arsenal, Chelsea, FA Cup final, History, London, Wembley

Arsenal and Chelsea: Transition clubs taking a step forward

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on July 20, 2020

CHELSEA have fallen away from being title contenders in the past couple of seasons, but a new wave of investment and a bolder approach to blooding youngsters promises to revive the club as challengers to the new “big two”. The FA Cup semi-final victory against Manchester United, taking Chelsea to their third final in four years, was in stark contrast to the opening game of the 2019-20 campaign which saw United thrash a Blues side that had, out of necessity, been built around youth. That 4-0 defeat in August didn’t bode well for Frank Lampard, but over the course of the season, Chelsea have exceeded expectations. Recently, with the transfer ban out of the way, they have been adventurous in the transfer market, securing…

Categories: Europe

Tagged: Arsenal, Chelsea, FA Cup final, FA Cup semi-finals, lockdown, Wembley

Europe’s Champions: Barcelona 1991-92

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on March 31, 2020

GIVEN the size of the club and its importance to global football, it is surprising that Barcelona had to wait until 1992 for their first European Cup triumph. The club had already made a mark on the continental stage, winning six trophies and finishing runners-up in another four between 1958 and 1989. The truly big prize eluded them, however, the most painful defeat being the 1986 final of the European Cup in Seville, when Terry Venables’ much-fancied team lost on penalties to Romania’s unadventurous Steaua Bucharest. Finally, in 1992, Barcelona won the competition with a star-studded team managed by Johan Cruyff, making him one of the few men to have won the European Cup as a player and manager. Cruyff had three winners’ medals…

Categories: History

Tagged: Barcelona, European Cup, Italy, Johan Cruyff, Lead, Sampdoria, Spain, top slot, UEFA Champions League, Wembley

The FA Cup: It all started with the Daily Mirror

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on January 4, 2020

THE FA CUP used to be VERY special. The final was listed as part of the social season in Letts diaries, a status that didn’t mean much to the man on the Highbury terrace, because “social calendar” meant the blazered types that turned up at major sporting events such as test matches, Ascot and Wimbledon without having too much interest in the sports themselves. The FA Cup was a “grand day out” for the supporters of the participating clubs as far back as the late 19th century when the final was held at the Crystal Palace. Hordes of fans travelled down to south London – many via special trains – to see the match and often make a weekend of it. This peaked in…

Categories: History

Tagged: FA Cup, top slot, Wembley

Commentary Box: Why we grudgingly tolerate international breaks

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on September 7, 2019

NO MATTER how well Gareth Southgate’s team performs and how much good progress was made in the 2018 World Cup, many football fans still find international break weekends tedious and an unwelcome distraction. Southgate and his immediate predecessors got what England managers, going way back as far as Sir Alf Ramsey and Don Revie, wanted – a decent preparation period for important international matches. I would wager that club managers don’t warm to the international break for it disturbs momentum and, quite often, players come back injured or jaded after a long journey. The media must also find it a chore. Regardless of how much they talk-up internationals, lower division games and women’s football, the absence of top level football is like a blank…

Categories: Culture

Tagged: England, European Championship, featured, International break, Wembley

Posts tagged “Wembley”

Harrogate – the happy town waiting for league football

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on August 3, 2020

FA Cup Final: Another chapter in London’s oldest big derby

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on July 29, 2020

Arsenal and Chelsea: Transition clubs taking a step forward

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on July 20, 2020

Europe’s Champions: Barcelona 1991-92

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on March 31, 2020

The FA Cup: It all started with the Daily Mirror

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on January 4, 2020

Commentary Box: Why we grudgingly tolerate international breaks

GOTP Editorial Team

Posted on September 7, 2019