Feel Football (UK)

The hype starts here

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:18:42 -0800

Well, that really couldn't have gone any better from England's point of view. As Terry Venables suggested, you would have to work very hard at topping up your pessimism levels to suggest that England did anything other than rather nicely out of the World Cup draw. ...

Harry's strain

Wed, 02 Dec 2009 12:09:44 -0800

It has been an intriguing week for Old Trafford's second string. Last week, they lost at home to Besiktas in the Champions League in a display that led one observer to suggest that Alex Ferguson's cupboard is currently bare of any decent youthful prospects.

A week on and much the same bunch of players beat a full-strength Tottenham side in the Carling Cup and find themselves widely lauded as the hottest collection of youngsters since the class of '93. ...

'And Triesman must score...'

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 09:59:42 -0800

At this time of the year the remainder bins at HMV are full of them: cheap-cut DVDs of humorous collections of footballing errors.

Generally presented by some over-excited comedian or that smug bloke off satellite television who claims an affiliation with Chelsea, they all follow the same format: cackling front man falls over with mirth as footage plays of footballers falling over in pursuit of their balls. ...

Madness on the south coast

Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:50:32 -0800

Rafael Benitez will keep his job at Liverpool. It has been made clear that despite his failure to steer the club through the group stage of the Champions League, there is absolutely no thought of his departure at Anfield. ...

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. ...