Where Do We Go From Here: Bury FC, Maidstone United, and The Long Road Back From Ruin.

On Friday 23rd August 2019, North West Tonight dedicated their 25 minute slot usually reserved for regional news to the plight of Bury FC. After 134 years in the Football League, two FA Cups and five generations of supporters, the spectre of expulsion loomed large over the club. The programme ended with a montage of supporters […]

Enough is Enough: The New Wave of Racism in English Football Must Be Confronted.

I was ten years old the first time I heard racist abuse at a football match. Sitting next to my Dad in a half-empty stand on a bright sunny day, the fare being served up in front of us was typical of the Unibond League in the mid-90s. Conventional wisdom said that application was valued […]

Fight The Power: Can Fan Action Force Change in Football?

The opening weekend of the Premier League season provides the annual Year Zero for fans of top flight clubs. Restored by a summer free of football, thousands of supporters donned their sparkling new replica shirts and made pilgrimages to stadiums home and away, filled with the hope that their new million pound idols might be […]

Riders on the Storm: Assessing the Wreckage of North Ferriby United, and the Hope that Remains.

“This has left a huge void in the community and the wider football area in our region and I feel it really is a tragedy.” Les Hare, former Chairman of North Ferriby United The reaction of their former chairman at the news that, after eighty-five years, North Ferriby United Football Club would be liquidated was […]

Should I Stay or Should I Go?: The Dichotomy of Football Management and Loyalty.

“I remember when I got promotion with Notts County, Chelsea offered me a job and I thought a lot about it, turned it down and got the sack six months later. So when people talk about loyalty, I think that is a load of bull.” Neil Warnock Who’d be a football manager? When you’re not […]

Vulgar Display of Power: The Mystery Surrounding Başakşehir, Champions-Elect of a League in Crisis.

The Turkish Süper Lig resumed this week following the winter break, with İstanbul Başakşehir restoring their six point lead over Galatasaray at the top of the table following a 2-0 victory over Kasımpaşa. The upstarts of Turkey’s top flight have garnered plenty of attention from the sports press in Northern Europe, thanks largely to their emergence […]

Set Me Free: How To Be A Wantaway Footballer

Though its been a relatively quiet January Transfer window with few deals of note being completed, it sadly that doesn’t mean that Jim White and his stupid yellow tie are about to be out of a job. The cowardly Talksport host and face of Sky Sports News’ overblown Transfer Deadline Day - which, to the […]

Sympathy For The Devils: The Sorry Decline of FC Kaiserslautern.

“Of course it was a slow death. Kaiserslautern is knocked down. But getting back on its feet can be a nice thing to do.” Martin Bader, FC Kaiserslautern Sporting Director It was a moment as inevitable as it was heartbreaking. As referee Guido Winkmann sharply exhaled into his whistle to signal the end of the game, […]

The Bellend’Or Award 2018

Football, we’re told, is a team game. Ninety minutes of eleven versus eleven, with the side boasting the greater cohesion, the perfectly executed tactical plan, and the superior team spirit emerging victorious. Which begs the question why, more and more, is the sport becoming dominated by individuals? From a new generation of fans who support […]

There’s More To Life Than This: Why Ipswich Town Should Have No Regrets for Thinking Big.

“Entertainment has to be high on the agenda for the new manager. We want to pass out from the back but they have to have a plan B and a plan C if necessary and they’ve got to know how to grind out results when needed.” In a rare on-screen interview with the club’s website, […]