No-nonsense tackling, wild fans and bobbly pitches are all closely associated with English football in the late 1980s. That same period will always be marred by the Hillsborough tragedy, but on that very day in April 1989, football was blessed with the first edition of Bert Trautmann’s Helmet. The first and only Manchester City fanzine …
Continue reading “Legendary Manchester City fanzine re-born in a new age”
Co-written with Lukas Flottmeier On 24th February, Borussia Mönchengladbach will host Manchester City for the first leg of their last-16 tie in the UEFA Champions League. The fixture is certainly not one you would have seen in Europe’s elite competition a decade ago. Both sides have come an awfully long way in that time, although they …
Continue reading “Borussia Mönchengladbach v Manchester City: A decade of contrast”
The Bundesliga is getting really boring, isn’t it? Bayern Munich steaming towards yet another title is a bit like beating your nan on FIFA – a foregone conclusion, no applause required. When Dayot Upamecano, one of the world’s most exciting young defenders, confirmed his switch from RB Leipzig to their Bavarian title rivals last week …
Continue reading “Water is wet, the sky is blue, another Bundesliga talent joins Bayern Munich”
A series of ownership mishaps kickstarted a turbulent decade at Portsmouth Football Club. After relegation from the Premier League in 2010, Pompey found themselves in England’s fourth division by 2013. In financial ruin after two spells in administration, the club was on the brink of going out of existence. In a sharp turn-around in fortunes, …
Continue reading “Pompey’s community work shines up and down the leagues”
Between 2005 and 2011, Portsmouth’s boardroom dragged a proud club to the brink of non-existence. After Sulaiman Al-Fahim was imprisoned for stealing £5m from his wife to make his first down payment on the club, Pompey eventually fell into the hands of Vladimir Antonov. As TaleOfTwoHalves summarises: “Portsmouth had already been through two fake sheikhs and a busted businessman, …
Continue reading “Portsmouth FC: A Spirited Comeback from an Ownership Catastrophe”
Paris Saint-Germain’s Champions League tie with İstanbul Başakşehir on Tuesday 8 December 2020 will go down in history, but not for Neymar’s hat-trick that sent the French side through to the last 16. What immortalised the game was a racist incident which pushed the players, and perhaps the sport, to breaking point. Fourth official Sebastian …
Continue reading “Racism In Football: Was The Paris Walk-Off A Game-Changer?”
Football referees have one of the most heavily scrutinised jobs in the world. Once the thousands in attendance have made their feelings known about your workplace decisions, those watching elsewhere will take to social media to voice their opinions on just how badly you do your job, too. Going an entire football match unnoticed is …
After this weekend’s FA Cup fourth qualifying round, the 32 remaining non-league clubs will seek to upset the likes of Hull City, Sunderland and Portsmouth in the first round proper. Unfortunately for 23-year-old centre-back Kennedy Digie, his Hereford FC side fell in the previous qualifying round to seventh-tier Stafford Rangers. “It’s big for the fans, obviously …
Continue reading “Non-League Football Embraces Full-Time Footballers”
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