Most people haven't attended a refereeing course, but we can only assume that Lesson One covers what to do when a player hits the round thing between the two white posts – or maybe not if Crystal Palace's recent trip to Bristol City is anything to go by.
It did not take long for the season to witness its first truly calamitous piece of refereeing, or for those in favour of introducing technology to aid officials to re-issue their orders to drag the game into the 21st century. Click to continue reading...

A Liverpool legend once sang money cant't buy you love, but there is one man on Merseyside who would probably disagree.
As Liverpool prepare to face Stoke at Anfield on Wednesday, looking to put their first Premier League points on the board in the new campaign, manager Rafa Benitez has managed to fit in a spot of bargain basement shopping to fill a gaping hole in the Reds defence. Click to continue reading...

This may seem hard to believe, but the Premier League does actually have rules governing who can gain control of a Premiership football club. You see, not just any Tom, Dick or deposed despot can put on their wellies, wander into top paddock and milk the premiership cash cow. No, they must first pass what is known as the ‘fit and proper person test'. Click to continue reading...

If I were the head of the Serbian Football Federation, I'd be worried. The racist chanting by Serbian fans during their U21 team's final group match against England has really landed them in it. UEFA don't mess about when it comes to serious matters like this; they operate a policy of ‘zero tolerance'.
Or at least that's what UEFA spokesclown, William Gaillard, would like us to believe. Click to continue reading...

Following the Champions' league exits of England's top two sides, it seems that it is now universally accepted that going for victory in all competitions is foolish, it being ‘impossible to win on all fronts'. In fact, the very use of this terminology – usually found in descriptions of failed German attempts to conquer Europe – suggests that attempting to win the Champions' League alongside other domestic competitions is as difficult as taking an army through Russia in wintertime. Click to continue reading...

It is common for football writers and pundits to heap praise upon players and managers whose media profile far outweighs their achievements or abilities. It is, however, rare for inappropriate superlatives to survive the test of time. In a rather strange inversion of a common assumption regarding the veracity of historical accounts, the more time that separates the lauding of a player or manager from their heyday, the more accurate the description is likely to be. Click to continue reading...

It's funny how quickly things can change in football. Until last week, Arsenal were probably the most stable and well-directed club in the country. The Emirates faithful were not burdened by concerns about whether or not their owners would be able to cope with the crippling debts they had secured against the club, or indeed, whether their manager may be sacked in an act of Stalinesque ruthlessness. Click to continue reading...

The most entertaining sports are usually those that allow many and varied approaches to result in success. Competitions where victory is not solely guaranteed by either the physical, technical, or tactical elements of the game, but where different combinations of all three can yield rewards have a greater appeal for one reason or another. If the weak can sometimes defeat the strong through technique or speed of thought and if the technically inferior can overcome the gifted through hard graft, we find ourselves instinctively drawn to the sport. Click to continue reading...

Arsenal's defeat to Blackburn in last night's FA Cup replay saw Arsene Wenger's side wave goodbye to their most realistic chance of silverware this season. Following defeats to PSV in the Champions' League and to Chelsea in Sunday's Carling Cup Final, the FA Cup provided the North London club with arguably their best chance of taking something from an indifferent year. Click to continue reading...

The Champions League returned last night with a game that almost began in tragedy but ended in pure farce. A largely uninspiring encounter on the pitch between French club Lille and Manchester United was marked by two rather dramatic incidents. Both will require careful attention from UEFA and could result in the French club being expelled from the competition. Click to continue reading...

New owners at Liverpool refuse to rule out selling the naming rights to the club's new stadium.
This week saw the completion of the long and drawn-out takeover of Liverpool Football Club. The new owners, American businessmen George Gillett and Tom Hicks, beamed from ear to ear as they announced how proud they were to have acquired the club (or rather the ‘franchise' as they put it). Click to continue reading...

Following his election as UEFA president, Michel Platini has pledged to lead something of a red revolution, beginning with an overhaul of the Champion's League format. Former France captain and midfield maestro Platini, saw off competition from the previous incumbent, Leonart Johanssen by pledging to reduce to three the number of Champions' League places allocated to Italy, Spain, Germany and England. Click to continue reading...

According to Jose Mourinho, Shevchenko has finally ‘got the message' following Chelsea's Carling Cup victory over Wycombe last night. Apparently, his two goals against the league two outfit provided the Chelsea boss with evidence that his £30 million pound striker had at last understood what was expected of him as a Chelsea player.
"I was happy with Andriy's performance - he gave me more than I demanded. Click to continue reading...

So Lucas Neill has finally completed his £1.5 million move to West Ham. Yes, that's right, West Ham who currently sit second from bottom in the table. Of course, Neill claims, he made the move for purely footballing reasons and a PR offensive to match that used in the defence of Jade Goody has kicked in to put forward this slightly unbelievable standpoint. Click to continue reading...