Most of us have known this feeling. At playgrounds and classrooms, backyards and alleyways, nothing…
Classics
Visions of the Dutch Big Three
(This piece was written following the September 18-19 football weekend.) Over the previous international break,…
Romelu Lukaku – What Was It That You Said About Slow and Clumsy?
I sometimes wonder how tough life must be for a Premier League footballer. The ball…
Eredivisie Overture: Part One
The Dutch are a society littered with contradictions. Rising waters threaten a country largely below…
Portugal in the 21st Century – The Cost of Gold
The European Championships this summer were a lesson in team play, for both the robust…
Manchester United, Ronaldo, Kathryn Mayorga, and Us: Everyone Has a Choice
450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid. 101 in 134 for Juventus. 91 in…
Football, Covid, and Quiet: How Much of It Do We Really Need?
This sport we love is loud. It is heavy handed, a picture of excess and…
Eric Lamela – The One That Slipped Away
Erik Lamela is 29 years old. There is something almost cruel about this sentence, which…
The Broken Jigsaw: Joachim Low’s Legacy
Is a legacy what you leave behind in the past or what is built upon…
FP Data Check: Manchester United Season Review 2020-21
Data and charts courtesy Lee Chunhang. David de Gea did not want to take that…
Case for the Planet: Football Needs to Think
By any football club’s standards, 2020 was a catastrophic year. Pandemic-driven shortfalls caused by the…
The Jersey or the Jacket? – The Road to Becoming a Manager at a Big Club
Dennis Bergkamp is my favourite footballer (or organism) of all time. From watching the calm,…
The 4-3-3: A Revolution, Triangles and Arrogance
On the 16th of July, 1950, a great crowd surged into a seatless, concrete grandstand…
Why All Eyes Should be on Serie A
Illicit Activities, Champagne Football, and a Three-Way Title Race – let us convince you that…
My Life in Red and White: Wenger and the Artist’s Curse
The word “passion” has become a bit of a joke. It’s the kind of superficial…
Football fiction: Old Leather
I’m holding these old boots in my hands. Nike Tiempos. Leather. White with lime green…
The Dance of Ambition: USA at World Cup 1990
The Trinidad and Tobago football team of the late 1980s, nicknamed the Strike Squad, was…
Take a Look Around: Football Needs to Get Over Eurocentrism
In football, Europe has cultivated an international export in a way that no other continent…
Finding Gazza – Jack Grealish and English Football’s Great Chase
First came Joe Cole. Then there was Wayne Rooney. Then Jack Wilshire. Soon after, Ravel…
The Cosmic Kite – Farewell, Diego Maradona
This is a weird one. In a lot of ways, fans from my generation are…