Early Doors
  • Tahiti deliver in spades despite drubbing

    Sometimes, every once in a while, there is a story that comes along that makes joyous reading for the beleaguered, disenchanted football fan, whose passion for the game is slowly being drained away by a steady drip of unsavoury stories oozing from a leaking pipe that regularly spews out news of badly-behaved, self-indulgent players, their slimy agents and the grossly inflated wages both strive for.

    These all-too-rare feel-good stories help us remember just why we love this game so much. They nearly always involve an underdog, a player or a team untouched by the darker side of the modern game,

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  • Kinnear return bizarre, and Pardew living on borrowed time

    Newcastle should have given their shiny, newly-created director of football role to the fan who boxed a police horse in broad daylight after the 3-0 defeat to local foes Sunderland in April.

    That would have been slightly more bizarre than handing over the keys to Joe Kinnear, a figure largely discredited in Geordieland after his previous failed attempt at the manager's job. Only slightly mind.

    Newcastle owner Mike Ashley is nothing if not unpredictable. It is his toy, and he will do what he wants with it. That is hardly good news for Alan Pardew's long-term health in the manager's post when a

    Read More »from Kinnear return bizarre, and Pardew living on borrowed time
  • Phil Neville: This summer’s hottest property

    Phil Neville confirmed the end of his playing days last weekend but the news of his retirement barely caused a ripple.

    Maybe that was because we all knew what was coming - he had, after all, said his goodbyes at Everton's final home game of the season, although ostensibly that was just his final game for the Toffees, and not necessarily the end of his career as a player.

    His decision to leave Goodison, nevertheless, was largely overshadowed by other big-names calling time on their careers at the same time: the likes of former Manchester United team-mate Paul Scholes and old England colleagues

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  • Imagine the outcry if JT had slapped Wayne Bridge at Walkabout

    Jupp Heynckes is not only a good manager, he is a good mover. That much was obvious when the Bayern Munich coach decided to hit the dance floor of London’s Grosvenor hotel only hours after his side claimed the Champions League trophy with a 2-1 win over Borussia Dortumund at Wembley Stadium last month.

    Sliding a few Bavarian beers down their necks, Bayern's post-match celebrations passed off peacefully, but imagine they hadn't? Imagine if it all got too much for some of the beaten party and the Dortmund defender Mats Hummels washed up at the Bayern bash looking to banjo Arjen Robben for

    Read More »from Imagine the outcry if JT had slapped Wayne Bridge at Walkabout
  • English football loses but the Premier League wins

    It was perhaps apt that Jesus Navas was last night signing for Manchester City in a £14.5 million transfer from Sevilla only hours before England were losing 1-0 to Israel in their final match of a wretched few days at the European Under-21 Championship.

    Navas's arrival at the Etihad Stadium is hardly going to encourage an infusion of home-grown English talent into the City side under incoming head coach Manuel Pellegrini. Jack Rodwell may not be an out-and-out winger, but the addition of Navas will not create extra space for the former Everton kid - a midfielder purchased for £12m a year ago

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  • Jose Mourinho: Fascinatingly boring

    Jose Mourinho: Crazy!

    Mourinho’s back! And it’s possible we might have overestimated just how much of a chilled-out entertainer he really is.

    For all the tumultuous build-up, his first press conference back at Chelsea was as tedious a 52 minutes as any football fan could hope to spend (away from the Britannia Stadium).

    This wasn’t just a damp squib. It was a squib that had been pummelled by water cannon before being chained to a breeze block and thrown off a pier. This squib underwent extensive waterboarding before competing in series two of 'Splash!'

    With each answer, Mourinho repeated the same tired mantras of

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  • Only change in attitude at FA can rescue England from torment

    If the incoming Football Association chairman Greg Dyke wants to seek out a learned opinion on where the game's governing body is going wrong in relation to developing a mature and coherent attitude towards youth football, and where it stands in the grand scheme of things in contributing to the overall health of the England senior squad, he could do worse than give Martin Tyler a call.

    Tyler remains a commentator without compare in the United Kingdom, but he is not just an empty voice with a microphone.

    As the dust settled on a somewhat shambolic 3-1 defeat by Norway on Saturday evening that

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  • City learn lesson to steal march on rivals

    Before he was given his marching orders from the Etihad Stadium, Roberto Mancini said he wanted Manchester City to be quicker off the mark during this summer's transfer window.

    Like the proverbial faeces off a shovel, City have done exactly that, making manoeuvres on the market even before Mancini himself has been replaced. June is still in its infancy yet the 2012 Premier League champions have already secured the signature of Fernandinho. Flying winger Jesus Navas is set to soon follow, after his club Sevilla earlier in the week said an agreement was in place. Meanwhile, Manchester United

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  • What a waste of money… and talent

    It is easy to pinpoint the moment that Andrei Arshavin's value to Arsenal finally expired: January 20, when he made his final appearance for the club in a Premier League defeat to Chelsea. Arsenal's record signing sat out the rest of the season. He wasn't injured to any significant degree. Just irrelevant.

    What is harder to identify is the moment - if indeed one exists - that Arshavin no longer felt compelled to properly pursue a career as an Arsenal player. Certainly that was how it felt when watching him trundle through games with no apparent urgency or desire, resting his arms on his knees

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  • Isolated Pearce needed support from England

    It's fair to say that Stuart Pearce's stock is not particularly high at the moment.

    The England U21 coach has not been linked with any of the managerial vacancies this summer, or even put among the also-rans, despite the fact that his contract with the FA runs out at the end of June. His career could be set to fall off the proverbial cliff if England's latest campaign does not prove to be a resounding triumph.

    Indeed, it does not appear at all likely that the 51-year-old will be offered a new deal by the FA with both Roy Hodgson and FA chairman David Bernstein declining to provide any

    Read More »from Isolated Pearce needed support from England

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Early Doors

Early Doors began life as a daily vehicle for mocking Rafa Benitez - and as such represented something a prototype for the modern internet. It has now evolved into a must-read morning feature from our team of football writers. Serious or silly, penetrating or puerile, Early Doors has always got something to say on the big issues. And there's still a fair amount of Rafa mockery.

  • Tahiti deliver in spades despite dr …

    Tahiti deliver in spades despite dr …

    Early Doors revels in Tahiti's showing at the Confederations Cup and wonders why football can't be this enjoyable all the time. Continue reading → More »

    Early Doors - 20 minutes ago
  • Unqualified Kinnear’s Newcastle return …

    Unqualified Kinnear’s Newcastle return …

    Jan Molby is struggling to see the positives in hiring Joe Kinnear as Newcastle United's director of football when he does not possess the skills for such a post. Continue reading → More »

    Jan Molby - 13 hours ago
  • Ballon d’Eurosport – No.25: Mario B …

    Ballon d’Eurosport – No.25: Mario B …

    This summer Eurosport is counting down the world's greatest footballers, as voted by our international network of journalists. We will reveal one player per day, culminating in the election of the first Ballon d'Eurosport on July 19. The Ballon d'Eurosport … Continue reading → More »

    Pitchside Europe - 19 hours ago
  • Kinnear return bizarre, and Pardew living …

    Kinnear return bizarre, and Pardew living …

    Early Doors believes Joe Kinnear's return to Newcastle, in addition to being very peculiar, is the beginning of the end for Alan Pardew at the club. Continue reading → More »

    Early Doors - Mon, Jun 17, 2013 02:50 BST
  • Match Of The Weekend: Spain v Urugu …

    Match Of The Weekend: Spain v Urugu …

    Uruguay's Confederations Cup opener with Spain gives Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani a chance to increase their value in the transfer window. Continue reading → More »

    Pitchside Europe - Fri, Jun 14, 2013 19:22 BST
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