I went to Congress and it challenged everything I believe about human existence
A weekend of history, fast masses and Oscar Wilde
9 years ago
Dion Fanning
It is getting harder and harder for Arsene Wenger to leave Arsenal with dignity
Liverpool were winning 1-0 at Old Trafford in an FA Cup tie in 1999 and Paul Ince went off injured. Manchester United went on to win in injury-time and Ince’s manager Gerard Houllier wasn’t happy. A week later, when Ince spoke out at a meeting, Houllier brought up the game. “When my team are 1-0 […]
9 years ago
The time has come for English clubs to embrace Europe once again
Are English clubs beginning to inhabit a domestic bubble?
9 years ago
Arsene Wenger will leave Arsenal on his terms – In modern football, that’s an achievement in itself
If Wenger leaves this summer then his achievements won’t be forgotten
9 years ago
Arsenal did what they always do and found a way to lose at Stamford Bridge
Trapped in a season they can’t get out of
9 years ago
‘I found it hard to accept and sometimes I let my emotions get the better of me’
Jack Byrne explains why he chose Wigan
9 years ago
The making of an international: The rise and rise of Tadhg Furlong
Captured the public’s imagination
9 years ago
Why Liverpool’s disastrous January proves they need Jurgen Klopp more than ever
Klopp still possesses the key ingredient
9 years ago
Guardiola needs time at Manchester City, but he rarely gives himself time
In October 2014, Bayern Munich played Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. Roma were second in Serie A and a threat to Bayern in the Champions League, but not for long. At half-time Bayern were 5-0 up. They went on to win 7-1. Afterwards Bayern’s coach Pep Guardiola described the result as a “fluke” and said […]
9 years ago
Zlatan allows Manchester United to continue to believe in the Jose Mourinho way
Among the many stories that emerged at the weekend to illustrate the rejuvenation of Manchester United under Jose Mourinho were a couple which focused on the influence of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at the club. Mourinho, it was said, spotted Ibrahimovic’s wife after a recent match as he walked by the players’ lounge and told her, “Thank […]
9 years ago
Diego Costa owes Chelsea nothing. If he wants to go to China, the club should give him their blessing
He knows who he is fighting for
9 years ago
Paul Gascoigne and why it’s time to talk about alcohol addiction
Gazza’s plight is shining a light on a misunderstood disease
9 years ago
Why should FIFA stop at 48 countries? Why not make the World Cup for the whole world?
And so it has come to pass
9 years ago
Why Wes Hoolahan is the defining figure of our age
Wes Hoolahan has had better games for Ireland, but few did more to underline his importance. Ireland’s victory over Austria in Vienna could have been very different or, to be more precise, it could have been another version of the same old story. In the end, Ireland might have been grateful to Marc Janko who […]
10 years ago
Don’t mock Oscar for moving to China, he’s taking a step into the future
Enough money can make tradition irrelevant
10 years ago
‘I don’t look to make smalltalk. I don’t need new friends. Strangers are strangers to me’
“That Kerry team, we were heavy metal enough now when I think back on it. We were a bit wild…”
10 years ago
Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United returned to observing the club’s most important tradition against Spurs
But Spurs looked like a side that can’t escape their history
10 years ago
There is no cult of Pep Guardiola, he’s just another manager living on his wits
If there is a cult protecting Pep Guardiola, its fanatical membership fell silent on Saturday night, even if their absence didn’t stop some suspecting that Pep was benefitting from suspiciously gentle treatment. “If Jose Mourinho was manager of this Man City side, he would be getting absolutely hammered for that display,” Robbie Savage said on […]
10 years ago
Mark Chapman on parenting, punditry and the time Ed Balls got upset about coverage of Norwich
There are times reading Mark Chapman’s new book, The Love of the Game: Parenthood, Sport and Me, that you find yourself asking why do we do this? Why do we give our lives over to sport when there might be so many other ways to spend our time? Chapman has devoted huge chunks of his life […]
10 years ago
The FA may have stumbled upon the right man to deal with drinking at the right time
“The rest of the world aren’t doing that,” Gareth Southgate said on Thursday when his appointment as England manager was confirmed. Of course, he wasn’t talking about the appointment of Gareth Southgate as England manager, even if the path to his appointment might be one of the many, many aspects of English football which belong […]
10 years ago
Daniel Levy has built the modern Tottenham Hotspur. Now Mauricio Pochettino must be allowed to implement his vision
Tottenham Hotspur may be a side shaped in the image of its maker, even if the maker may not be the manager Mauricio Pochettino, but the club chairman Daniel Levy. Before their implosion in the title race last season, Spurs were praised for their fitness, their physicality and their relentlessness. “We’ve got a big squad […]
10 years ago
There’s no need to be outraged when Ireland lose, Joe Schmidt has got this
There was probably a lesson here. There was probably something to learn about defeat and adversity at the Aviva on Saturday night. Within four minutes of the second half, Australia turned a 20-14 deficit into a 24-20 lead and Ireland were beaten. They had been brave, they had been resolute and they had nobody to […]
10 years ago
Why Olivier Giroud’s scoring run suggests that Arsenal have real problems
The Frenchman’s supersub role may not be as great as it seems
10 years ago
The All Blacks were cynical, brutal and sensational. That’s why it took 111 years to beat them
After one of the great victories, this was one of the great moral victories. Or at least a moral maze. Ireland under Joe Schmidt may always aspire to more, but there is only so much they can do at times, only so much a team can do to be free of history twice in a […]
10 years ago
Why Arsene Wenger’s bitter rivalry with Jose Mourinho is really about Roman Abramovich
Before the 2005 FA Cup final, Arsene Wenger was asked about the revolution taking place in English football. On the face of it, all seemed well. Arsenal had won the league in 2004 while remaining unbeaten. In the final in Cardiff, they would meet a familiar enemy. Manchester United and Arsenal had been rivals before […]
10 years ago
How Martin O’Neill built a squad where anyone can thrive and nobody’s place is certain
Formations and personnel can change but the Ireland squad is now one where a number of players who can deliver when O’Neill demands it
10 years ago
Martin O’Neill is unknowable, infuriating and cantankerous, but he has made Ireland a team to fear
Just over three years ago, Giovanni Trapattoni walked into the press room at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion and tried to insist all was not lost. Trapattoni knew his time as Ireland manager was coming to an end after a David Alaba goal brought another defeat and closed off another escape route. Trapattoni insisted he could see a […]
10 years ago
On a triumphant night, Wes Hoolahan showed he is the luxury Ireland can’t afford to be without
In the opening minutes in Vienna on Saturday, it looked as if Wes Hoolahan was making the case for those who feel he is too much of a risk when Ireland play away from home against tough opponents. In the great culture war of Irish football, the battle over when Wes should play and when […]
10 years ago
England v Scotland was once glorious, now it may as well be played in black and white
Scotland once had dreams of ruling the footballing world – now they barely have hope
10 years ago
Everton were just collateral damage in Roy Keane’s endless struggle with the world
In his world the truth is always brutal and relentlessly unforgiving
10 years ago
Arsenal and Spurs need to solve their goalscoring problems if they’re to challenge for the title
More ruthlessness up front could have made the difference in North London
10 years ago
The only thing worse than the cult of a manager is a manager nobody believes in
Antonio Conte is reminding Jose Mourinho of what he once was
10 years ago
How James McCarthy was caught in the middle of a row between two stubborn managers
Some people who know Martin O’Neill like to joke that, with the Ireland manager, there is “always a row round the next corner”. O’Neill, it could be said, knows how to find his way round that corner, even if he would feel he is simply defending himself when he gets there. He does so vigorously. […]
10 years ago
Manchester United signed Zlatan to make a statement, but his presence underlines what has been lost at Old Trafford
Rui Faria’s heavy sarcasm when talking about Mark Clattenburg’s performance during United’s game again Burnley was widely commented upon this weekend, but Faria was being serious when he went on to praise Zlatan Ibrahimovic as a big player, a “top player” who knows how to deal with these tough periods. Zlatan had played his part […]
10 years ago
David Moyes is a long-term manager trying to survive in a short-term world
He resembles Graham Taylor in his post-England years, a man trying to overcome the change in perception
10 years ago
On his return to Stamford Bridge, Jose Mourinho shows he is a manager adrift in the modern game
Who said Manchester United couldn’t entertain under Jose Mourinho? When Manchester United closed down the game at Anfield last Monday, it was generally agreed that Mourinho’s methods would from now on guarantee a certain solidity as they took effect at the club. Within 30 seconds at Stamford Bridge on Sunday that seemed another aspect of […]
10 years ago
If Steven Gerrard returns to Liverpool, he shouldn’t be part of Jurgen Klopp’s management team
On Saturday afternoon, Steven Gerrard posted a message on Instagram which led many to speculate that his time at LA Galaxy would soon be coming to an end. “Living in Los Angeles and playing for the great Galaxy supporters has been a privilege,” he wrote. “You have made this place feel like home to me. […]
10 years ago
Jose Mourinho’s plan to deny Liverpool only highlighted how far both clubs have fallen
Before the game at Anfield on Monday evening, Jose Mourinho was asked about the contrast in styles between the dynamic, relentless Liverpool and his staid Manchester United. “When we have the ball, we want to score,” Mourinho explained. “When Liverpool have the ball, we want to defend. When Liverpool have the ball, the best way […]
10 years ago
Jose Mourinho and Jurgen Klopp – two ruthless men with wildly contrasting views of the world
Monday night is about more than the players
10 years ago
Why Liverpool capping youth players’ wages won’t help more of them make it to the top
Sometimes too much is not enough.
10 years ago
James McClean and Wes Hoolahan are fire and ice, but Ireland would have been lost without them
After 45 minutes, it seemed as if Martin O’Neill’s pre-match words would turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. “We’re not the type of team that is going to wipe the floor with people, we have to fight for everything,” O’Neill had said the day before the game. When Igor Bugaev equalised for Moldova just […]
10 years ago
Playing badly and winning isn’t a sign of a good team, it’s a sign of a team that’s getting lucky
Ireland are picking up points in this group, but anyone who thinks this is a good sign isn’t paying attention. It is better than the alternative, but this is an Ireland team which needs to find a sense of purpose. Martin O’Neill might point to the way Ireland’s performances improved over the course of the […]
10 years ago
Ireland have the ability to play football and Martin O’Neill wants them to prove it against Georgia
Martin O’Neill wants his Ireland players to be more confident on the ball when they play Georgia at the Aviva on Thursday evening. Ireland were criticised for their performance in Belgrade last month and O’Neill encouraged his side to be more expressive in their first home qualifier. “I think that the players feel should feel […]
10 years ago
Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane want to qualify for the World Cup, but it’s time for the Ireland job to mean more than that
And so, under the cover of darkness, or, at least, apathy, Ireland’s home qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup begin on Thursday night. Don’t feel bad if you haven’t noticed, switched off or have been otherwise engaged. It’s tough to get excited about a visit from Georgia, especially when it feels like we’ve been here […]
10 years ago
Ryan Giggs and British managers aren’t being overlooked, if anything they’re a protected species
Why can’t Ryan Giggs catch a break? No sooner had he – a man with no managerial experience – been overlooked for the manager’s job at one of the biggest clubs in the world than he has to deal with the ignominy of being interviewed but failing to secure the position at Swansea, which has […]
10 years ago
Manchester United have hired a short-term manager to do a long-term job
When the end was coming for David Moyes at Manchester United, he was still clinging to the terms under which he had been employed. He’d been given a six-year contract only ten months earlier, an indication that United understood what he had to do and how Moyes liked to do it. They had appointed a […]
10 years ago
Farewell the GAA summer and all the things I learned
And so it’s over. The Championship summer is at an end. The purists and traditionalists will tell you it hasn’t been a vintage year and I’ll have to take their word for it. All I know is that I’m going to miss it which is not what I expected last June. I knew I was […]
10 years ago
Big Sam couldn’t resist trying to cash in on himself – and now it’s cost him his dream job
He was brought down by the constant craving for easy money
10 years ago
Dropping Wayne Rooney was the easy bit, there are still questions about Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United
They are not the finished article yet
10 years ago
