With the Premier League set to welcome VAR for the 2019-20 season, Ed Alexander considers its possible threat to the beautiful game.
Premier League
#6th Place – Where Do Manchester United Go From Here?
After finishing 2018-19 with a 6th place league finish and defeat at home to Cardiff on the final day of the season, Manchester United are seemingly floundering once again – despite the Solskjaer’s medium-lived honeymoon phase. Sport writer Rhodri Evans takes a diagnostic look at the club.
Homophobia in sport – ongoing yet neglected
An ongoing issue which appears relatively stagnant and to a large degree unreflective of wider society, homophobia in sport is having a major impact on LGBTQ+ athletes. Coming out to friends or family is challenging for any individual, as it reveals a personal journey and fundamental part of their identity. In sport however, it seems […]
Monthly Misery: Oh to be a Gooner
I could start this column with a caricature. I could start it with a quip, a bit of sarcasm, a charade or a smash – any half-decent, satirical ‘break-and-enter’ to set the scene. But I can’t. For the first time, I can’t find the words. And it’s obvious – really obvious – why. Because I’m […]
We Need To Talk About Pep
“Pep Guardiola is setting the premier league on fire this season!” “He may have created the best team ever to play in this league.” “Pep is proving all of his critics wrong this year.” All are phrases uttered and used by pundits, journalists and fans alike as Manchester City continue on their incredibly impressive run […]
Exeter City VS West Brom: Grecians battle, but come up short
Exeter City were knocked out of the FA Cup by Premier League outfit West Bromwich Albion. The Baggies stormed to a two-goal lead within half an hour and, in truth, could have had a much larger lead were it not for the reactions of Christopher Pym and the offside flag. Though this result appears to […]
Winter Wunderland: Does English football need a winter break?
For so many of us football fixtures are just another part of the Christmas holidays. Boxing Day would just be ‘the day after Christmas’ without the traditional match, and what better way to start the year than to watch your team on 1 January? But what is common for English leagues is not the norm […]
“Mind forg’d manacles” of Premier League mediocrity
Do you ever try to name the Premier League teams that did not play on Saturday ahead of a Sunday fixture – bemusingly billed as “Super Sunday” – and find it difficult to recall them? This article celebrates those teams who could use a little inspiration to take them away from their slumber of mediocrity. […]
Weekly Woes: Ginger Follicles and My Raging Boss
Oh to be a Hammer. Life at the London club – west Newham’s official favourite – has never been an easy ride. Indeed, the club’s iconic anthem, made international by the Greenstreet film, is one of blowing bubbles: watching them rise (to about mid-table) and then burst. But even for the oldest supporters (the rustiest […]
Eleven games in – who’s impressed and yet to impress in the Premier League?
For the first time since 2013 we’ve got a Mancunian dogfight at the top of the Premier League. Spearheaded by the two main heavyweights in football management, Manchester City and Manchester United have both made alarmingly strong starts to the 2017-2018 season. Such a statement is perhaps a tad harsh to the white and blue […]