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Houllier’s a good manager, but still a concern for Aston Villa fans

The second the rumours about Gerard Houllier being the next Villa manager went from conjecture to confirmation I was asked by a friend of mine what I – as a Villa fan – thought about it. Well he’s got a great record I said, but still…..and that’s the thing about Gerard Houllier, he has got…

O’Neill has thrown his toys out of the pram

Martin O’Neill, in April 2010: “If that situation [no investment in the team] did develop, that wouldn’t necessarily mean I would down tools and say, ‘Well, listen, we can’t go any further’. What you would do is see if you can come up with some other ways, then, maybe, through the academy here with the…

The lurid lure of transfer rumours

Now that the World Cup has finished and we are in the midst of the summer lull, the residue of broken dreams and weary familiarity with England’s failure has inevitably given way to the utopian fantasies and manufactured optimism of transfer activity. Let me start off by saying that I too, am a sucker for…

What’s the point in sacking Capello?

England’s loss to Germany in the last 16 of the World Cup has sparked another predictable round of tabloid inquisition and calls for Fabio Capello to lose his job. Of course, England had a bad game defensively against Germany, and displayed an impatience likely borne out of arrogance in the second half that precipitated their…

Why England will beat Germany

So a potential world cup classic looms on the horizon with the old enemy, and all the other cliches and jingoistic clap trap that will undoubtedly emerge in the tabloids to obfuscate and emotionally charge the match in entirely the wrong way. Of course, the standard reaction in this country has been one of fear,…

Foreigners, Philosophy and the Idiocy of Franz Beckenbauer

Knee-jerk. Look at that phrase, roll it around your tongue, and say it in your head. Knee-jerk. That is the god awful, insidious, depressingly ubiquitous mental response to anything to do with the England football team in this country. It would even appear the trend has migrated – Franz Beckenbauer’s incongruous comments that England are…

Here we go: World Cup 2010. But who will win?

So here we go – a cornucopia of style, speed and drama; a heady mix of sport rich in story lines and the creation of heroes and villains. Aside from coming to terms with a new, roundly criticised ball, the test of mettle at a world cup is more often than not a mental one:…

Nothing scary about Brazil

So many people are backing Brazil to win the World Cup. It’s an easy choice given their history with the competition. Traditionally, Brazil have boasted a super-abundance of talented, flamboyant players, allied to the physical steel necessary to overcome tactically disciplined European sides. Not only have they won tournaments, but they have dazzled all and…

If Glen Johnson were Brazilian the press would drool

The nation’s disaffection with England’s inability to keep possession in the aftermath of England’s World Cup warm-up match with Mexico on Monday shrouded what should have been a day of high praise for full back Glen Johnson. The Liverpool man scored a superb goal to give England a 3-1 victory – displaying a skill, tenacity…

Aston Villa game for the Hawks

Forgive me if there is a shred of emotion underlying the theme I wish to expound, and similarly, forgive me if there is a more than a shred of hypocrisy. But you see, in the immortal words of Tupac Shakur, I have a beef, or actually, I don’t, because someone else is trying to take…