Keith Hackett was one of the top referees 1970s/1980s until his retirement in 1994 after over 30 years service, refereeing hundreds of games in the English top flight, at Olympic Games and at European Championships. Towards the end of his refereeing career he was involved in the famous ‘You Are the Ref’ cartoon strip thatContinue reading “It Started With a Kick Episode 67 – Keith Hackett”
Category Archives: Old Trafford
Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 and Episode 5 of ‘It Started With a Kick’
10 May MW 36 TERRIBLE TRIO As the business end of the season approaches it seems pretty odds on that the three promoted clubs will be going back from whence they came. This will only be the second time that this has happened in the Premier League. Previously Bolton, Barnsley and Palace survived just oneContinue reading “Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 and Episode 5 of ‘It Started With a Kick’”
2023-24 Premier League Nuggets / ‘It Started With a Kick’
26 April MW 34 TEENAGE KICKS AS SHEFFIELD UNITED JOIN THE 92 CLUB On Wednesday night Sheffield United made the bold move of appointing a 19-year-old Academy graduate as captain against Manchester United. It was Oliver Arblaster’s seventh Premier League start and he became the youngest player to lead a side. That’s where the goodContinue reading “2023-24 Premier League Nuggets / ‘It Started With a Kick’”
‘It Started With a Kick’
As ‘It Started With a Kick’ podcast launched this week the focus of today’s post is unashamedly all about the podcast rather than Premier League Nuggets. The simple premise behind the pod is interviewing a wide selection of well-known fans and leading figures from the world of football talk about the first match they attended.Continue reading “‘It Started With a Kick’”
O captain, my captain: does it matter who wears the armband?
There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth around Old Trafford on Tuesday night after the home side were knocked out of the Champions League by Atlético Madrid. The contrasting fortunes of the two clubs was encapsulated in a few minutes towards the end of the second half. With ten minutes remaining Atlético’s captain JorgeContinue reading “O captain, my captain: does it matter who wears the armband?”
Boxing Day 1963 and how fortunes switched dramatically two days later
As the frenetic Christmas calendar swings into action English players are very much in the minority amongst major European leagues in readying themselves for the customary glut of games squeezed into the tightest of holiday schedules. While the Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are embarking on at least a fortnight’s winter break, Premier LeagueContinue reading “Boxing Day 1963 and how fortunes switched dramatically two days later”
Game, set, match
Italy’s success at the Euros was underpinned by the innovations and imagination of their set piece routines. The man primarily responsible was a Venetian banker by trade who spent much of his spare time as an assistant coach in the lower leagues of Italian football before getting the opportunity to work in top flight football.Continue reading “Game, set, match”
The 300 Club – current players who have made 300 appearances for one club Part One
Nearly all the attention was focused on a player who was not going to play. Even the BBC got wrapped up in the “Will he? Won’t he?” saga, with 5 Live’s football correspondent John Murray commentating on which Tottenham players he could spot as they trooped off the team bus and made their way aroundContinue reading “The 300 Club – current players who have made 300 appearances for one club Part One”
Fan engagement – now is time to act
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”
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”
The Football Mine 