I think this is going to be the worst World Cup of all time. I…
Classics
The Champions League Final is Damned and Doomed: Part I
Barrie Davies’s journey to the Champions League Final takes a turn when he finds a…
Jack Kerouac and the Childish Art of Fantasy Football
I have always had an uneasy and uncomfortable relationship with the work of Jack Kerouac.…
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…
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.…
How Goran Pandev Put Macedonia on the Football Map
If you were to mention the name Goran Pandev to an informed commentator of European…
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,…
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…
Ole Had to Go, but United Have Deeper Issues
And so, after a stretch of performances that can be labelled as a total suspension…
To Find Solutions, Manchester United Need to Start Asking Questions
Most of us have known this feeling. At playgrounds and classrooms, backyards and alleyways, nothing…
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…