Off The Record
If there’s something that must be said, but cannot be said within blogging / journalistic confines, this is the place to say it. We’ve used this column to poke fun, to provoke and to just say our minds.
“Manchester United are champions. They are the best team in the world,” says referee Bennett
We had an e-mail at Soccerlens this morning from a distraught football official who feels that he has been unfairly castigated by fans, managers, players, pundits, his family, his friends, people in the street, total strangers, his pets, the media, the unions, the employers, his colleagues and anyone who knows the slightest thing about fairness,…
After Robo-Crouch, Here’s Robo-Keeper…
There could be tough times ahead for Luca Toni. The Bayern Munich striker, just recently crowned Bundesliga champion and currently leading the scoring charts with 21 goals, may soon be confronted with an unsurpassable obstacle… of the robotic kind. Its name is Goalias (or GoalIAS if you prefer), and it’s the first robot-goalkepeer capable of…
Kaka on the 2008 Time 100 list – why?
The World’s Most Influential People in 2008 – Time 100. I’m sure one can find many flaws with this list – as opinions go, everyone has one and we all think ours smells of roses. Fair enough, and I’m sure the editorial team at TIME magazine did their due diligence when compiling this list. But…
Owner picking the team for the manager? Who is Fergie talking about?
Earlier this week Sir Alex Ferguson made an off-the-cuff remark which directly compromised the integrity of Premier League managers and the very institution of football that we, as fans, put their faith in. He was answering a question about Eriksson’s predicament at Manchester City, and he said:
Aston Villa captain or Liverpool bench-warmer?
Looking through the Soccerlens mailbag this week we came across a letter from a Premier League player who is facing a difficult dilemma. As always, Soccerlens can help. Dear Soccerlens, I am faced with an impossible decision at a crucial stage in my career. I don’t know what to do for the best and I…
Sage advice for Rafa and Grant (Chelsea v Liverpool preview)
Photo Caption: Grant thinks Kenyon was joking when Chelsea picked AG as manager – the ironic bit is, Kenyon might have been. Both Avram Grant and Rafael Benitez have been locked in various off-pitch wrangles lately. Grant with the press and the fans and if the media is to be believed, players. Benitez with the…
Footballer Nicknames РPel̩, Pibe de Oro, Gazza, Becks, Zizou: A Century of Diminutives
Don’t call me Hugo any more. I’m English, don’t you know? So you have to change my name. At school, P.E. teachers insisted on branding me “Steckel”, although I suppose I should just be grateful I escaped that awful nom de plume that is the quintessentially British “Macca”. It’s 10:30pm, and a day both frustrating…
I hate Arsenal (I think…)
This article was partly inspired by this incredible piece from the Guardian. As anybody who has heard me talk about the Premier League, and even European football in general, will tell you, I don’t speak very highly about Arsenal Football Club. I never found any reason to respect them. It seemed all they did was…
Is football more important than life and death?
“It’s just a game. Twenty-two stupid men chasing a ball around a pitch.” We’ve all heard it said. In fact, when our team have lost a game we have even been known to say it ourselves. Usually after the fourth or fifth pint. Bill Shankly once famously said that football was more important than life…
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