This week’s publication of the 2019/20 Fan Engagement Index was understandably delayed because of the Covid pandemic, but ultimately it could hardly have been better timed. In light of the protests at Old Trafford last Sunday against the owners and the universal condemnation and subsequent implosion of the European Super League [see https://bit.ly/3gziruc%5D, the thornyContinue reading “Fan engagement – now is time to act”
Category Archives: Manchester City
Own Goals Part Three: Richard Dunne the undisputed OG king
This is the third part of the series on own goals and the focus is very much on the doyen of OG, but before honing in on the master of the art, we start with the first outfield player to get in on the act, Manchester City’s Garry Flitcroft. Just a week after Mark Crossley’sContinue reading “Own Goals Part Three: Richard Dunne the undisputed OG king”
Like father, like son
So it looks highly likely that Erling Braut Haaland is on his way out of Borussia Dortmund and en route for either La Liga or the Premier League with Barcelona, Real Madrid, both Manchester clubs and Chelsea all in the frame. If he, or more significantly Mino Raiola, chooses England as his next destination, heContinue reading “Like father, like son”
The 2020/21 season and the concertina effect
This is my thirtieth weekly blog post I know, how time flies. Having started back in August we are now entering the final straight so it feels as good a time as any to reflect on what has happened over the last seven months. The 2020/21 season did not begin in August as is theContinue reading “The 2020/21 season and the concertina effect”
Football’s Wasteland: VAR, empty stadiums and fractious fragmentation
As I and many others have pointed out until we’re blue (or in some extreme cases purple) in the face the pure aesthetics of football are being steadily eroded for the sake of minuscule and misguided rulings. At its very best football flows with an elegance that few sports can match but under VAR itContinue reading “Football’s Wasteland: VAR, empty stadiums and fractious fragmentation”
Kits fit for a king – a personal history of Palace’s fine line
There have been numerous times when I have questioned the sanity of following my football club. Like the vast majority of supporters, the mixture of good and bad has leaned towards the latter. But one thing that has been an almost continuous source of joy with very few disappointments along the way has been ourContinue reading “Kits fit for a king – a personal history of Palace’s fine line”
Saints Alive
Ralph Hassenhüttl did not mince his words after the 9-0 shellacking Southampton suffered at Old Trafford on Tuesday. “We lost again in a horrible way,” the Austrian admitted, after this nightmarish déjà vu came back to haunt his team, having been similarly humbled at home by Leicester last season. “The same story, one man downContinue reading “Saints Alive”
Half-term report: No fans, plenty of pens and tightest of title races
At this stage last season Liverpool were already thirteen points ahead of their nearest rivals, Leicester City. While the second half of the season was not exactly a walk in the (Stanley) park, there was the sense of an orderly procession towards their first league championship for thirty years and that elusive Premier League title.Continue reading “Half-term report: No fans, plenty of pens and tightest of title races”
Footballers’ flaws in flouting the laws
If there is one thing that really gets my goat it is when people describe professional footballers as pampered prima donnas. This stereotype ignores the fact that all these players are operating at the very height of their profession, and a highly competitive profession at that. They have reached that point through hard work andContinue reading “Footballers’ flaws in flouting the laws”
The Football Mine 