I WONDER if you’re one of those people who attributes the glory of Istanbul to a mere half-time substitution. I wouldn’t blame you if you did, but you’d be barking up the wrong tree. It’s not your fault. You can’t possibly know the truth behind the greatest comeback...
CITIES with a troubled past are often the best. Look at Paris, home of an art revolution and civil unrest; London, changes of order and riot; and Rome, once the capital of the entire world. It’s even better if that city has a port as you’ve a nice mix of culture...
THE latest meeting of the Premier League took place earlier this week. As expected, nothing much was decided other than future talking points and a rejection of the notion of neutral venue games. That’s fine. It’s important not to make snap decisions when this and...
ELEVEN Reds for 11 seasons… Jamie Carragher has spent the last few weeks compiling various starting XIs based on such varied criteria as nationality, an NFL-style draft and even a combined team of the Soccer Aid players. I never thought I’d see Woody Harrelson...
BOXING Day football is a staple of every English season. Your guts may be stuffed to overflowing and your head might be a bit fuzzy or throbbing, but the Boxing Day programme will usually sort all that out. It’s even better if we’re at home. You simply stumble to the...
LAST week I was stood queuing outside my local Sainsbury’s being all socially responsible. I tried gamely not to be one of those people who frowns when someone moves a centimetre inside their exclusion zones. I failed. My best Steven Gerrard withering look was...
THERE’S a time when football runs along the same lines of the spirit of the nation. Take 1966. The war was over, rationing had ended, The Beatles ruled the world and England were World Champions. Equally, Britpop coincided with Euro 96 – one of the more...
DO people believe that a computer arranges the fixture list? I’ve always wanted to think that it really is a random collection of games thrown together, but I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem random enough. I mean, how come we don’t play, say, Burnley at home on the...
NOTHING affects a season more than a change of manager. As the 2014-15 season ended, everything was in a state of flux. Brendan Rodgers, a hero just 12 short months earlier, had admitted that calls for his head were justified. The club had squandered their share of...
WRITE about your favourite ever player, he said. The one you always wanted to be as a kid in the playground or admired the most. Who’s yours? That’s not always an easy question. I mean, there’s your favourite and there’s the best. My hero lined up in the same side as...
