Feel Football (UK)

A replay is the only way

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:53:19 -0800

Now it has become political. Ireland's Prime Minister Brian Cowen has asked President Nicolas Sarkozy to step in to insist the World Cup qualifier between their two nations be replayed.

Mr Cowen has talked of the moral imperative, of the need to demonstrate the primacy of the rule book, of showing young people around the world that cheats do not prosper. And, though such a decision really should be nothing to do with him, Sarkozy probably agrees. ...

France too good for Ireland

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:58:55 -0800

It is an interesting assessment of their position that France are portrayed by many in the English media as a bunch of hopeless under-achievers.

That would be the France who reached the last World Cup final and - while admittedly faring poorly in Portugal - at least qualified for Euro 2008. Unlike some. ...

2018 bid needs Cole, not committees

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:46:50 -0800

As team news goes, it was not an announcement that was likely to stir the blood of many a football follower. Apparently Mr A Suit has replaced Lord Blazer on the FA's World Cup advisory steering committee, while Sir Starched Collar has ceased to be an Executive Member of the Sub-Committee (Strategy) and has instead been appointed a full voting member of the main Strategy Sub-Commitee with particular responsibility for advisory steering. ...

Robinho's time is up

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:56:41 -0800

Just as England arrive in Doha to play Brazil in a game Sir Alex Ferguson can hardly wait to watch, Manchester City are heading round the Gulf for a touch of Middle Eastern sun this week.

They have a series of engagements in Abu Dhabi, where they are being feted by their new owners, paraded like a collection of prize show dogs. ...

How to kill English football in one move

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:37:20 -0800

Had he been around the American Midwest in the pioneering days of the nineteenth century, Bolton's chairman Phil Gartside would have no doubt appointed himself commander of any wagon trains heading towards the Californian gold rush. ...

Chelsea's African problem

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:46:17 -0800

Last night Didier Drogba showed what an asset he is to Chelsea. Currently the second best centre-forward in the world after Fernando Torres, he was magnificent away at Atletico Madrid, personally securing Chelsea's qualification to the knock-out stage of the Champions League with two typically robust, muscular goals.

It was apt pay-back for the suspension he earned himself with his comedy performance after last season's semi-final. ...

King is not a typical footballer

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:27:57 -0800

Marlon King claimed in court this week that he hadn't assaulted a 20-year-old student in a night club, breaking her nose after she rejected his clumsy advances.

It was, he said, a case of mistaken identity. If so, it wasn't the first time he had been involved in a such an error. For a start, there was the time Steve Bruce paid £5 million for him in the belief he was a Premier League striker. Clearly it was someone else Bruce was thinking of. ...

Carling Cup now playground of rich

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:48:42 -0800

Assuming that the game does not succumb to the sort of contagion of hacking and spitting not seen outside the movie 28 Days Later, Chelsea will take on Bolton Wanderers in the Carling Cup tonight.

The home side will be fortified against the arrival of the swine flu in the Bolton baggage by Carlo Ancelotti's patented remedy: warm milk and red wine. ...

It all depends on Torres

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 08:35:11 -0800

It was not perhaps the terminology his manager might use, but Glen Johnson was accurate in his assessment of what Sunday's game against Manchester United means for his club's season. Speaking in Liverpool's training ground earlier this week, the England full-back described the fixture as "s*** or bust". ...

Benitez is right out of luck

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:58:51 -0800

Never mind a stray black cat, the luck he is having Rafa Benitez must have run down an entire cattery on his way to work at Melwood. As if losing to a comedy blow-up goal was not enough to make him think the world was conspiring against him, last night's game against Lyon would surely have had him considering a lifetime membership of the Paranoid Society (mission statement: "You talkin' to me?"). ...