Help Football
This is part of our efforts to improve football. In this column we discuss the key issues facing football – using more technology, money in the game, diving / simulation, developing young players and football training in general, changes to rules (governing football and clubs) and a lot more.
Tottenham NOT challenging Olympic decision – yet
Following statements made by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) claiming that they have received a letter from Tottenham that is a pre-cursor to judicial review proceedings (and then pre-empting any Tottenham actions by going on and on about the ‘fairness’ of the process – in other words, playing the media), Tottenham Hotspur have issued…
AS Roma takeover confirmed: Ambitious American investors set sights on six new players, a new stadium and what else?
The takeover of Italian club AS Roma has been officially confirmed, with Boston executive Thomas DiBenedetto the man leading a group of American investors who were reportedly keen to splash out a cool €77m, for a 67% share of the club, finally reaching an agreement to take over the club from the Sensi family. The…
What They Didn’t Tell You About Mohammad Bin Hammam
Last week, the Guardian carried an exclusive interview with Mohammad Bin Hammam (1, 2, 3), speaking in broad terms about Hammam’s mission for ‘change’ at the top of FIFA (change we can all get behind, eh?) and that he would make a statement / decision within 10 days. Hammam later tweeted (1, 2) that he…
Football Stadiums And Naming Rights
I have no issues with stadium naming rights as long as they are done for the right reasons. A long term commercial partnership for instance. You cannot have a better example than the Reebok. It has never had a different name, and as long as Reebok are in business I doubt it ever will. A local company who saw the synergy in their brand and Bolton Wanderers. A perfect match. The Walkers Stadium certainly fits into the Bolton mould of a local company and a football club working together, with Gary Lineker the glue that binds them together.
Barcelona beat Arsenal off the pitch
Arsenal used to be the self-proclaimed ‘masters’ of playing ‘pretty football’ until their English rivals forced them to seek balance and Barcelona usurped them on the pitch, with two Champions League titles and their players forming the core group of the Spain team that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. So that’s the…
Money Talks: Analysing The 20 Richest Football Clubs
When Deloitte release their annual list of ‘Richest Football Clubs’, there’s plenty of debate on English football’s earning power, the individual TV deals negotiated by Real Madrid and Barcelona, Manchester United’s position at the top of the Premier League food chain, insane amounts of debt in the game, and so on. I thought it would…
Olympics v Euros, Club v Country, and Money
On the surface, the argument makes perfect sense – football players, especially young football players – should not be asked to play competitive football 11 months out of 12. By asking UEFA to mandate the national European FAs to only select players for one international tournament per season, the European Club Association (ECA) feels that…
The Olympic Stadium War – West Ham play dirty, but are Tottenham really ‘progressive’?
The Olympic Stadium decision will be announced this week, and the biggest question the legacy committee will be asking themselves is – what bad things will Karren Brady have to say about them if they rule in favour of Tottenham? She’s conducted herself in a manner any unscrupulous politician in the world would be proud…
SOLD? Russia and Qatar to host World Cup in 2018 & 2022
It’s tempting to claim that bribes, favours, politics and financial opportunity determined the fates of World Cups 2018 and 2022 long before the staged drama of bid presentations yesterday and today. It’s easy to say that Blatter is taking the World Cup to Russia to make money, or that Qatar got the World Cup to…
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