The sacking of Roberto Mancini has raised many an eyebrow these past 24 hours as to why exactly he was sacked. Are we the new Chelsea or Real Madrid? Do our owners know nothing about football? Of course not. The reasoning behind the Mancini departure expressed by the club is that they needed to develop
Due to various commitments through school and other means, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to write a column for O-Posts. I’d like to personally congratulate Manchester United on their 13th league title under Sir Alex Ferguson, and it’s a testament to him how well United have bounced back from that stoppage time
After seeing his star-player achieve the individual clean sweep by picking up the PFA Player of the Year, Young Player of the year and the FWA Player of the Year, Andre-Villas Boas remained predictably calm and assured when it came to the inevitable question of Gareth Bale’s future. “I’d be extremely surprised if Bale left,
Every year, upon the start of the European football calendar after each Summer, names are touted around of suggestions and hot tips for the new campaign’s “breakout stars”. 8 months ago, few people would’ve paid any attention to the name - Marcos Aoás Corrêa - on Italian outfit AS Roma’s “Transfer Ins” list. Signed on
Football has changed in many ways over the last three decades and not wholly for the better. The big clubs have got stronger, the small clubs weaker and the players are now paid a ludicrous amount of money. Loyalty seems to have gone out of the window and cheating is rife. Having said that the
Video games and football have gone hand in hand for decades, with games like FIFA 13, Pro Evolution Soccer and Football Manager hitting the bestseller lists year on year, giving players the chance to play at managing or playing as their favourite teams. A new game that is currently under development aims to turn the
There was only one thing for Bayern Munich to do after storming to the Bundesliga title by a margin of 20 points with 6 games left, and that was to exercise their financial muscle in order to get even stronger in anticipation for the arrival of Pep Guardiola in the summer. A campaign in which
Football hooliganism is something which plagues the sport all around the world, but in England, it is something which is hoped to be just about extinguished. Long gone are the terraces which were last seen years ago with the Hillsborough disaster being the trigger for the reform in the English footballing culture , and in
From Sir Geoff Hurst’s infamous strike versus Germany in the 1966 World Cup final to Frank Lampard’s disallowed lob against the same opposition in the second round of the 2010 event, it has been a debate that has spanned generations. The ball and the goal-line, did it cross it or not? In the case of
It’s that time of the season when footballers get to vote for their mates or fellow countrymen in the LMA player of the year and young player of the year awards; as well as a team of the year. So, for what it’s worth, here’s my team and players of the year: Goalkeeper Asmir
It’s been another fruitful weekend of Premier League football for us all to enjoy. It still remains to be seen who will be relegated come the end of the season; however I do feel that Reading are all but gone. I can’t see where they will get points from, as they still have to play
Despite the transfer window being closed, there will always be rumors all over the market. Arsenal, usually, are being linked with almost every player available in the market, and end up singing no one. Today, we’ll be focusing on Fiorentina’s talented striker Stevan Jovetic. The Montenegro international has been heavily linked with a move away
Every season in a league there is a number of breakthrough talents, and arguably the league that produces the most talent is La Liga. In this era of Spanish dominance in international football the conveyor belt of young stars seems endless. Last season there was plenty of young players making a name for themselves. The
It’s been a busy Easter weekend in the Premier League and, as the saying goes; a week is a long time in football. It took Sunderland less than 24 hours to appoint controversial character Paolo di Canio who replaced Martin O’Neill as manager on Easter Sunday. It’s certainly strange timing to sack O’Neil with seven
Anyone who plays some kind of sport knows that to succeed takes burning passion and enthusiasm. Applying these elements into a game, and also having the mental determination to succeed is a vital factor in coming out top. Poker can also be seen as somewhat of a sport so it’s not surprising that many football
The whole farcical Rio Ferdinand and England episode in the run up to the qualifiers against San Marino and Montenegro highlighted something that has plagued England for too long: an obsession with looking back. The fact the debate centred on whether or not Ferdinand pulling out of the England squad and travelling to the Middle
As of just three years ago, it would have been unthinkable that Ashley Cole’s status as England’s number one left-back could have been under threat. The Chelsea man travelled to South Africa with Stephen Warnock as his deputy, whilst Leighton Baines stayed at home after making the initial 30 man squad. Baines did make it
As eyes turned to England and their forthcoming World Cup qualifiers, up stepped Michael Owen, the national team’s forgotten man, to provide some colour to the mundane vacuum of news that usually come with international week. He had decided to retire at the end of the season, in news that struck the headlines, but only
Professional football players celebrate their goals in a lot of unusual and sometimes distasteful ways. For Giorgos Katidis, who plays with the Greek club AEK Athens, his celebration included a Nazi salute. This proved to be so distasteful for those who witnessed it that the midfielder was immediately banned for life from playing for the national
Aston Villa 3 QPR 2 Aston Villa sent out a warning side to their fellow relegation-destined sides after coming out on top at Villa Park. However, they didn’t do it the easy way. It was an end-to-end game- one that both teams could not afford to lose. It was Harry Redknapp’s rejuvenated QPR who took
This weekend we’re back to a full complement of Premier League fixtures as there is no FA Cup action to contend with, and it could be a pivotal weekend for both ends of the table as Manchester City would have had a tricky fixture away to Europe-chasing wounded animals Everton earlier in the day in
Football is a sport with some of the most passionate fans in the world. Unlike most other sports, football has the ability to change people, and can turn even the most quiet and pleasant person into a loud, aggressive fan who will do anything for their team to win. It has by far one of the
Whether it’s a promotional stunt, a bit of Public Relations work or if the money and fame has simply went to their head, numerous footballers from all corners of the world have been spotted in what can only be called train wrecks on wheels. Today, however, we’re going to look away from the expensive and
Live football is enjoyed all around the world, and as much is done as possible to keep these events safe. Unfortunately, disaster can strike, and over the years there have been a few tragic disasters that have led to fans being seriously injured or even killed. These events and the people lost are still strongly
The surprise of this week came on Monday 11 March when Brian McDermott left his post as Reading manager. Despite the clubs recent slump in form, McDermott won January’s ‘Manager of the Month’ award and led the club to four successive victories in 2013. There are many managers that have been linked with the job