"We lived the dream"

Is what former Leeds United chairman Peter Ridsdale now rather infamously stated as his Elland Road empire crumbled around him. We've all heard the stories of the expensive pet fish in the office and Seth Johnson's ridiculous wages but the long and short of it was that Leeds borrowed too much money and built up too high a wage bill, with no guarantee of funds to service the debt let alone pay it off.

Click to continue reading...

To say the past few weeks have been tough for Merseyside's two Premier clubs is putting it lightly.

Something must have been put in the water round Liverpool way as players of both Liverpool and Everton have been dropping like flies. Those who remain have been charged with maintaining the same high standards, and you have to say they have flattered to deceive.

Click to continue reading...

He was given a stay of execution by his new chairman but I still fear Phil Brown's days are numbered.
Adam Pearson returned to the club two years after his departure, replacing Paul Duffen, who saw the club join the Premier League under his tenure but also accrue alarming levels of debt at the same time. Click to continue reading...

After a decade in relative anonymity at the wrong end of the English football league pyramid, you would think Hull City fans would be enjoying their spell in the limelight. But given the worrying nature of the headlines over the past few weeks, you could forgive them for wishing for a return to the peace and quiet of the lower leagues. Click to continue reading...

Yes its that time again - a new PMP competition is upon us!
We have a copy of Michael Sheen's new DVD, 'Your the Boss' to give away to one lucky PMP reader.
Fresh from his critically acclaimed portrayal of the legendary Brian Clough in The Damned United, BAFTA nominated actor Michael Sheen presents a highly entertaining look at some of the most memorable football bosses of all time along with the highs, lows, and just the plain bizarre! Click to continue reading...

To say it was a week to forget for Evertonian's is an understatement.
Three games, three defeats, 10 goals conceded and a casualty list befitting a small battlefield, it is no wonder Toffees fans are wearing concerned expressions at the moment.
What makes it more galling for Blues fans is its predictability and familiarity. Click to continue reading...

For this weeks offering I thought we would re-visit one of the all time great sides. AC Milan, under the guidance of a certain Fabio Capello, swept all before them in the early 90s. That included an emphatic Champions League win over Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium in Athens on May 18 1994, a game which is often considered to be one of the greatest ever performances by a side in the Champions League. Click to continue reading...

Hello and welcome to the latest look at what as been passing through the Football Filter this week.
The managerial merry-go-round looks set to get a kick-start as twitchy chairman hover their fingers over the trigger. One of those managers under pressure is Hull's Phil Brown. But after his heroic Premier League survival last year is Brown the victim of raised expectations? Click to continue reading...

Just as the referees' apparent lack of fitness stole the headlines in the aftermath of Sunderland's last game, their latest encounter – and encouraging performance – was lost amongst the furore surrounding that red balloon.
Journalists, match officials, and former referees were left to scramble through the rule book to work out whether the goal should have been chalked off, as confusion reigned at the Stadium of Light on Saturday. Click to continue reading...

Oh come on, are you saying I can't join in the ‘hilarious' beach-ball related antics after Darren Bent's winner on Saturday?
There are simply too many to mention as Liverpool's odds of winning the Premier League were further deflated (you see – I told you there was more) by a red beach ball thrown onto the pitch by, ironically, a Liverpool fan.

Click to continue reading...

My blog over at SoccerCity is already a little outdated given the events of today but I'll publish it anyway!
A few months ago I wrote a blog comparing the fortunes of England's two Magpies – Newcastle and Notts County.
Back then Newcastle were in despair, mourning the loss of their Premier League status. Click to continue reading...

It was a throwaway line that may yet stick.
Phil Brown, the "beleaguered Hull boss" as he is known in media circles, said the term when questioned about his own future in a press conference last week.
And while there is no finite moment on the football calendar where managers begin to move jobs, it does seem that the axe falls of bosses heads happen when just the leaves begin to fall form the trees. Click to continue reading...

Yes, it is indeed a full decade since our last win at Anfield. And while that record is not something to be proud of, there are plenty of other teams with longer winless runs at our original home, so why not celebrate that win and see the anniversary as a motivation for a better future.
lets zoom back to the end of the last century, to the 27th September 1999 to be precise, and a Monday night clash with the old enemy. Click to continue reading...

While much of the country (and indeed the footballing world) was engrossed in the fascinating Manchester derby last weekend I had the good fortune to be at Goodison Park to watch David Moyes' Everton continue their upturn in form against a dour and bedraggled Blackburn Rovers side.

Though the match was over as a contest after 55 minutes I saw enough action to glean a few post-match points to ponder:

Read the rest of this entry.

Click to continue reading...

Anyone who was at the KC Stadium for Hull City's recent Carling Cup defeat to Everton can't have helped but noticed the eerie silence hanging over the stadium. I don't think that silence was purely down to the lack of hardy souls willing to turn up to game - there were enough fans there to make a racket. Click to continue reading...