Philippe Coutinho: Revitalisation at Villa Park
When you are not thriving at one place, you try to rediscover yourself by moving to another. Even after winning a Bundesliga and Champions League double in 2020 when on loan at…
The ‘Pasty Pirlo’: Ange Postecoglou’s first Aussie signing at Celtic
Despite the reported strong interest from a couple of English Championship clubs, Aaron Mooy has become Celtic’s latest summer signing, linking up with his former Australia coach Ange Postecoglou at Parkhead. Mooy,…
Jack Kerouac and the Childish Art of Fantasy Football
I have always had an uneasy and uncomfortable relationship with the work of Jack Kerouac. Even when I was what observers would have identified and described as an “impressionable” youth prone to…
Belgium’s Next Noa Lang: Three Breakout Stars
Noa Lang is a sort of commodity who has lit up the league in his stint with the champions of Belgium. He formed dangerous partnerships with the likes of Bas Dost and…
Noussair Mazraoui: Football’s Glorious Nonconformist
Ajax full-back Noussair Mazraoui recently signed with Bayern Munich on a free transfer. He encapsulates everything we love about Ajax: determination against all odds, a pension for highwire-like acts on the sideline,…
A Peek through the Looking Glass: An Alternative Perspective on the Most Dramatic Moment in English Football History
A last-minute goal from Jimmy Glass saved Carlisle United from relegation. But it may have also been the catalyst behind their future struggles.
Graham Arnold and the Socceroos: Match Made in Heaven or Disaster Waiting to Happen?
Over a week ago, the Australian National Football Team managed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, catching the last train to Qatar, after beating Peru in a fairly dull game where…
Arsenal, Dortmund, Holland: Remarks on relatability in a football team
I have a problem. I know what a successful club looks like. The trophies, the glory, the squad full of killers capable of blowing you away 7-0 or grinding out the jammiest…
Kylian Mbappé’s New Residence: Top of the Football World
Kylian Mbappé’s transfer saga, where he played two of Europe’s most prominent clubs off each other, has ended with PSG retaining the French superstar. Rare is the player who passes up a…
Zlatan: Against all Odds, God Wins.
At 38 years old, with over 500 goals on his account, a devastating goal-scoring campaign in the MLS behind him, a recurring Achilles problem to ponder, and no football in over 3…
The Importance of Getting Erling: A Player and a Coach’s Earnest Search for Perfection
Erling Haaland is now a Manchester City boy. After years of “nearly-theres” on the European stage, the club needed a decisive force, and they seem to have found it in a 21-year-old…
Ange Postecoglou: The Man Who’s Revived Celtic
Ange Postecoglou has reinvigorated Celtic football club in the 2021/22 campaign. The Greek-Australian manager was known to few supporters of the club when appointed. However, through the similarities he shares with Celtic’s…
André Kamperveen: Suriname’s Tragic Legend
The small South American country of Suriname has a deep historical connection to the Netherlands and Dutch football. André Kamperveen was its first player to make that trip overseas, and his success…
From Soccer to Football: Jesse Marsch in Yorkshire
For years, cross-Atlantic sporting relations have revolved around the ‘Football’ vs ‘Soccer’ debate. Will Jesse Marsch’s appointment as Leeds United head coach spark the change in Brits’ perception of Americans? In a…
Lies, Deceit, and Illusion: Football in the 21st Century
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Shutter Island’ is the perfect specimen of deception. Teddy Daniels reaches the brink in search of the truth and it ends up taking a breakdown for him to realise that…
Abramovich Isn’t a Russian Problem: He’s a London Problem
Oligarchic supremacy in football is over now that Roman Abramovich’s tenure as Chelsea F.C. owner is ending. Well, that’s what the Western political-media class wants us to think. In reality, it is…
The Dark Side of the Beautiful Game: Football’s African Slave Trade
For many young African footballers who migrate to Europe, their challenge is not to break into the starting XI, but to find something to eat, somewhere to sleep. This is the sad…
What does it take to build a culture?
And what does one gain from tearing it down? Former USWNT teammates Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo chatted on a recent podcast, deriding the team culture as “toxic” despite opposite reports from…
Being Oneself: Marcelino and Athletic Bilbao
A look at the behavioural similarities between Athletic Bilbao’s traditions and Marcelino’s managerial career over the years. The Basque club has a unique identity, and the Asturian has a special place in Spanish football for working with the underdogs and bringing them back up.
Finding Arsenal: The Value of Thinning the Herd
Fans like to believe that their club has some intrinsic identity. There is some quality that must exist within those 90 minutes for a club to be recognisable. In actuality, the DNA…
Mason Greenwood, Harriet Robson, and a World Designed to Protect Assaulters
I am a man, and just reading detailed reports on physical abuse makes me sick. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for women, who live in physical danger…
How Goran Pandev Put Macedonia on the Football Map
If you were to mention the name Goran Pandev to an informed commentator of European football, they’ll tell you of his dynamic forward play, his wicked left foot, and an impressive record…
Town in Albion: The Strange Recent History of Ossett’s Footballing Landscape
The unassuming market town of Ossett, nestled between Wakefield and Dewsbury in Yorkshire’s West Riding, is not known for its football prowess or reputation. Located around eight miles from Premier League Leeds…
Kerr’d his Enthusiasm – Sam Kerr 1 – 0 Pitch Invader
In the dying minutes of a nail biter of a Chelsea/Juventus match-up, Sam Kerr added a new role to her CV – matchday security, taking down a pitch invader who interrupted play…