When Graham Taylor sadly passed away in 2017 the tributes rightly poured in for one of British football’s nice guys. Never much more than an
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Italian football did not enjoy a particularly good reputation. Perceived to be overly defensive and aggressive, there was no
1982 was the year a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean most people had never heard of hit the headlines. It was also a
As every proud Evertonian knows, theirs was the first Liverpudlian club to be formed and were it not for a dispute over finances, their red
As the decade limped along into its second half, the more things changed the more they stayed the same. As 1986 was ushered in so
Every club has its legends – a list of true greats who influenced matters either on or off the pitch, and whose names live
1987 is a year which has largely been consigned to the wastelands of many people’s memory. It is in many aspects a year in which
Like so many other years in the nineteen-eighties, 1984 was a mixed one, both in terms of football and society in general. It was a
The dawn of a new decade found Britain struggling. Seven months earlier, as a direct result of dissatisfaction with rising unemployment and raging inflation, the
England versus Argentina has become one of the fiercest inter-country footballing rivalries of modern times. There has been a true enmity over the past few
Bruce Grobbelaar is the very epitome of the term ‘character’. In a career lasting more than twenty years, thirteen of which were spent between the
West Ham are and have always been an enigma. Capable of blowing away the fiercest of opponents one week while succumbing to rank outsiders the
In the late nineteen seventies, a young player from the north-east of England secured what he believed would be his dream move. At half-time of
In 1983, Brighton and Hove Albion repeated which party trick first performed by Leicester City in 1969? This particular piece was to be repeated in
With more time on my hands than is either required or healthy during lockdown, I often find myself trawling the internet searching for something to
As we get older, we more and more often hear people uttering a variation of either, “I thought I had seen it all but…..” or
If ever there was a man to epitomise the expression, ‘Steady Eddie’, it was Don Howe. A more unadventurous player, coach or manager would be
In previous editions of my footballing grumbles, also known as ‘Middle-aged Man Shouting at the Sky’, I have railed against any number of items or
In previous instalments, you have been ‘treated’ to the ramblings of a seriously annoyed middle-aged guy suffering from a severe dose of the Lockdown Blues
A few weeks ago I started griping. Griping and shouting at the clouds, you might say. As a slightly grumpy middle-aged bloke who remembers the
Last time out I looked at the old adage that you should never attempt to go back in life. That holds true whether we are
There is a saying in life that is as generally true and apt to the world of football as it is elsewhere. Never go back.
With no less than seven promotions to his name, Dave ‘Harry’ Bassett has a record to be proud of. That he also has a reputation
Thirty years! Thank the stars that’s over and I can get back to my life now! In 1990, the year of Liverpool’s last league title
Luton Town is a club that has in its relatively recent past polarised opinion like few others and has suffered or enjoyed – depending on
Leeds United under the management of Don Revie were a tremendous side over a decade or so, from the mid-1960s onwards. Perhaps just as famous
Last time out I highlighted a few bugbears of mine that have been languishing deep within my footballing soul and consciousness and gave them an
The 1970s seem a long time ago now and much has changed in society as well as in the footballing fraternity in the intervening decades.
I’m not sure if it’s the medium-term effects of ‘lockdown’ kicking in, or being ‘exiled’ overseas, but in recent weeks I’ve found the levels of
Sir Bobby Robson sadly departed this world in 2009, cruelly cut down by the awful disease that is cancer. His passing was much mourned, for
During these difficult days of lockdown, one might be tempted to trawl through the myriad of footballing websites and forums available on the internet in
Ordinarily, May would see the climax of the club season both domestically and abroad, but the blight that is Covid-19 has meant that the landscape
Forty years ago Graham Roberts was plying his trade at non-league Weymouth when out of the blue Tottenham Hotspur manager, Keith Burkinshaw, tabled a bid
As far as the traditional fierce rivalries in football go, not many players in the game can claim to be held in high esteem by
The managerial partnership of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor is probably the most well-known of all such collaborations in the English game, and certainly the
Football is a game of fine margins and the differences between success and failure, glory and despair, exaltation and scorn can sometimes be very finite
It is commonplace these days to hear how ‘tired’ players are; how they need a ‘rest’; or how the ‘fixture schedule is crazy’. Unsurprisingly, there
The annals of history are littered with tales of footballers whose careers did not go in quite the direction as anticipated at one time or
In the first part of this look back at the relationship between Sir Kenny and Sir Alex, we examined the early years of their time
The rivalry that exists between North London giants Arsenal and Tottenham is such that any player brave enough to make the switch between the sides
In 2018, Kenny Dalglish finally followed Alex Ferguson in becoming a ‘Sir’ when he was knighted for services to football. Like Fergie, Dalglish’s honour came
The all-conquering (on the home front, anyway) Manchester City side of 2018-19 became the first in the history of the English game to sweep all
As a member of various Facebook football nostalgia groups, I often manage to while away hours that could be more productively spent simply scrolling through
Last time out we examined just how difficult it has proved to win the domestic ‘double’ of league and FA Cup over the years, and
The 2018-19 season saw the completion of the first-ever domestic treble in the English game when Manchester City collected all three pots of Premier League,
When qualification for the 1982 World Cup was secured courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Israel, an itch that had been festering for almost a
Starting a new job, any job, is a time of apprehension mixed with anticipation. That ‘first day’ feeling of knowing whatever has gone before, and
European football is currently in the midst of its annual winter break from the Champions League and Europa League as its nation members concentrate on
As both a new year and decade dawn, it’s back to life and reality for most of us after the holidays. Conventional wisdom has it
In his autobiography, the footballing legend that is Robbie Savage tells the story of how as a young boy he once approached John Toshack for
When Graham Taylor sadly passed away in 2017 the tributes rightly poured in for one of British football’s nice guys. Never much more than an
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Italian football did not enjoy a particularly good reputation. Perceived to be overly defensive and aggressive, there was no
1982 was the year a small island in the South Atlantic Ocean most people had never heard of hit the headlines. It was also a
As every proud Evertonian knows, theirs was the first Liverpudlian club to be formed and were it not for a dispute over finances, their red
As the decade limped along into its second half, the more things changed the more they stayed the same. As 1986 was ushered in so
Every club has its legends – a list of true greats who influenced matters either on or off the pitch, and whose names live
1987 is a year which has largely been consigned to the wastelands of many people’s memory. It is in many aspects a year in which
Like so many other years in the nineteen-eighties, 1984 was a mixed one, both in terms of football and society in general. It was a
The dawn of a new decade found Britain struggling. Seven months earlier, as a direct result of dissatisfaction with rising unemployment and raging inflation, the
England versus Argentina has become one of the fiercest inter-country footballing rivalries of modern times. There has been a true enmity over the past few
Bruce Grobbelaar is the very epitome of the term ‘character’. In a career lasting more than twenty years, thirteen of which were spent between the
West Ham are and have always been an enigma. Capable of blowing away the fiercest of opponents one week while succumbing to rank outsiders the
In the late nineteen seventies, a young player from the north-east of England secured what he believed would be his dream move. At half-time of
In 1983, Brighton and Hove Albion repeated which party trick first performed by Leicester City in 1969? This particular piece was to be repeated in
With more time on my hands than is either required or healthy during lockdown, I often find myself trawling the internet searching for something to
As we get older, we more and more often hear people uttering a variation of either, “I thought I had seen it all but…..” or
If ever there was a man to epitomise the expression, ‘Steady Eddie’, it was Don Howe. A more unadventurous player, coach or manager would be
In previous editions of my footballing grumbles, also known as ‘Middle-aged Man Shouting at the Sky’, I have railed against any number of items or
In previous instalments, you have been ‘treated’ to the ramblings of a seriously annoyed middle-aged guy suffering from a severe dose of the Lockdown Blues
A few weeks ago I started griping. Griping and shouting at the clouds, you might say. As a slightly grumpy middle-aged bloke who remembers the
Last time out I looked at the old adage that you should never attempt to go back in life. That holds true whether we are
There is a saying in life that is as generally true and apt to the world of football as it is elsewhere. Never go back.
With no less than seven promotions to his name, Dave ‘Harry’ Bassett has a record to be proud of. That he also has a reputation
Thirty years! Thank the stars that’s over and I can get back to my life now! In 1990, the year of Liverpool’s last league title
Luton Town is a club that has in its relatively recent past polarised opinion like few others and has suffered or enjoyed – depending on
Leeds United under the management of Don Revie were a tremendous side over a decade or so, from the mid-1960s onwards. Perhaps just as famous
Last time out I highlighted a few bugbears of mine that have been languishing deep within my footballing soul and consciousness and gave them an
The 1970s seem a long time ago now and much has changed in society as well as in the footballing fraternity in the intervening decades.
I’m not sure if it’s the medium-term effects of ‘lockdown’ kicking in, or being ‘exiled’ overseas, but in recent weeks I’ve found the levels of
Sir Bobby Robson sadly departed this world in 2009, cruelly cut down by the awful disease that is cancer. His passing was much mourned, for
During these difficult days of lockdown, one might be tempted to trawl through the myriad of footballing websites and forums available on the internet in
Ordinarily, May would see the climax of the club season both domestically and abroad, but the blight that is Covid-19 has meant that the landscape
Forty years ago Graham Roberts was plying his trade at non-league Weymouth when out of the blue Tottenham Hotspur manager, Keith Burkinshaw, tabled a bid
As far as the traditional fierce rivalries in football go, not many players in the game can claim to be held in high esteem by
The managerial partnership of Brian Clough and Peter Taylor is probably the most well-known of all such collaborations in the English game, and certainly the
Football is a game of fine margins and the differences between success and failure, glory and despair, exaltation and scorn can sometimes be very finite
It is commonplace these days to hear how ‘tired’ players are; how they need a ‘rest’; or how the ‘fixture schedule is crazy’. Unsurprisingly, there
The annals of history are littered with tales of footballers whose careers did not go in quite the direction as anticipated at one time or
In the first part of this look back at the relationship between Sir Kenny and Sir Alex, we examined the early years of their time
The rivalry that exists between North London giants Arsenal and Tottenham is such that any player brave enough to make the switch between the sides
In 2018, Kenny Dalglish finally followed Alex Ferguson in becoming a ‘Sir’ when he was knighted for services to football. Like Fergie, Dalglish’s honour came
The all-conquering (on the home front, anyway) Manchester City side of 2018-19 became the first in the history of the English game to sweep all
As a member of various Facebook football nostalgia groups, I often manage to while away hours that could be more productively spent simply scrolling through
Last time out we examined just how difficult it has proved to win the domestic ‘double’ of league and FA Cup over the years, and
The 2018-19 season saw the completion of the first-ever domestic treble in the English game when Manchester City collected all three pots of Premier League,
When qualification for the 1982 World Cup was secured courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Israel, an itch that had been festering for almost a
Starting a new job, any job, is a time of apprehension mixed with anticipation. That ‘first day’ feeling of knowing whatever has gone before, and
European football is currently in the midst of its annual winter break from the Champions League and Europa League as its nation members concentrate on
As both a new year and decade dawn, it’s back to life and reality for most of us after the holidays. Conventional wisdom has it
In his autobiography, the footballing legend that is Robbie Savage tells the story of how as a young boy he once approached John Toshack for
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