As the thirtieth Premier League season is over, it is high time for some Nuggets, all 30 of them firstly club-by-club, and then some generic ones. 1. Starting with Arsenal who lost more games (13) than Brighton (11) & Palace (12) but won more (22) than Chelsea (21). 2. Next up it’s Aston Villa –Continue reading “Premier League Nuggets”
Category Archives: Southampton
Life after Football – when Academy players are released Part Two
Following on from last week’s piece on Palace’s innovative and much admired after-care programme [https://bit.ly/33245hS] here’s more detail on the South London club’s work as well as a look at what other clubs and organisations are doing. Having spent a fair amount of time in the last year talking to player care/welfare officers and headsContinue reading “Life after Football – when Academy players are released Part Two “
Friday Morning Nuggets – 17/12/21
A gentle reminder that you can still grab the brand spanking new, fully revised edition of Premier League Nuggets in time for Christmas either in shops or online so hurry while stocks last. Norwich have scored only eight goals in seventeen matches so far this season, adding in the two goals they scored in theirContinue reading “Friday Morning Nuggets – 17/12/21”
The 300 Club Part Two: Noble by name, nobleman by nature
As West Ham were cruising to an emphatic 4-1 victory over Leicester they indulged themselves in one of those prolonged sessions of keep ball, with each successive pass greeted by the joyous olés of the home crowd. There were only two minutes remaining and it looked as though this could go on until the finalContinue reading “The 300 Club Part Two: Noble by name, nobleman by nature”
Down, Down, Down – Why relegation already being decided is a pity
When Sam Allardyce finally lost his oft-quoted record of never being relegated from the Premier League there were quite a few people revelling in a spot of Schadenfreude. The memory of his grubby dethronement as England boss allied with his uncompromising and prickly persona combined to make him one of the least likeable managers. EarlierContinue reading “Down, Down, Down – Why relegation already being decided is a pity”
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”
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”
Own Goals Part One – Keepers’ Clangers
They are football’s equivalent of tragicomedies. Own goals litter the football landscape with an intoxicating mixture of laughter and tears. Over the next few weeks here on The Football Mine I will be publishing an occasional series of pieces that focus on these captivating slices of football history, those little vignettes that can define aContinue reading “Own Goals Part One – Keepers’ Clangers”
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”
From the Mighty Quinn to the Egyptian King: The story of PL opening weekend hat-tricks
Amidst the drama of Liverpool’s pulsating 4-3 victory over Leeds last weekend, Mo Salah became the ninth player to score a hat-trick on the opening weekend of a Premier League season. Here is a look at those who preceded him:- Micky Quinn, 1993 Mick Quinn became the first player to score a hat-trick onContinue reading “From the Mighty Quinn to the Egyptian King: The story of PL opening weekend hat-tricks”
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