SoccerLens 06 November @ 05:46 PM EST
On this day 23 years ago, a certain Alexander Chapman Ferguson was appointed as the manager at
Manchester United. Today Sir Alex is the most decorated manager in British football history.
His tactical genius, inspirational personality and tremendous focus have put him in a league
above others.
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EPL Talk 05 November @ 03:54 PM EST
Stan Kroenke has purchased even more shares in Arsenal today taking his holding to 29.9% of the
club. With only another 0.09% required to reach the threshold to make an offer for the rest of the
clubs shares, Kroenke has purchased 627 shares this week for the princely sum of £5.3 million.
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British football magazine FourFourTwo, just published (in the November issue) the list of the "100
Best Players in the World." The choices are based on the input of the magazine's journalists. Of
course it will lead to all kinds of debate as "lists" are always subjective and don't mean anything
beyond getting fans talking.
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In recent years the model of fan ownership exercised through supporters' trusts has been
increasingly high-profile in British football, not least thanks to the sterling work of the
national body Supporters Direct (SD). Meanwhile, very different yet nonetheless successful models
of fan ownership exist across the continent, as seen throughout the Bundesliga or alternatively
with the ‘socio' model as at Real Madrid or Barcelona.
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After a hectic weekend in European competition which didn't go particularly well for some of the
Premiership teams, we're back to the bread and butter (or should that be the champagne and caviar)
stuff. No doubt about this weekend's biggest game: Liverpool v Manchester
United on Sunday.
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Big Story
The Guardian, and particularly Football Supporters' Federation writer of the year David Conn, have
provided Britain's best newspaper coverage of the ugly underbelly of the finances at British
football clubs across England for quite some time.
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When a conference on supporter involvement in English football includes speakers from Barcelona,
UEFA, the F.A. and non-league football clubs, you know something unusual is going on.
This isn't the Leaders in Football conference of a couple of weeks ago, but it might have been
just as important: Supporters Direct's annual conference concluded last week in Birmingham, and it
seems to have cut to the heart of the question of how and why supporters should be involved in the
governance of their clubs.
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Winter's coming, so here's a reminder of British football as it's meant to be (except this was a
spring game!): Norton United FC v FC United of Manchester at Vale Park, April 9, 2006.
Photo credit: Matthew Wilkinson on Flickr, via the
Pitch Invasion Photo Pool.
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bridge views 13 October @ 09:42 AM EST
How many international breaks (interlull™) have there been this season already?
The game against Ukraine on Saturday – which I didn't watch, incidentally – sounds like it was
one of the more unconvincing England displays we have seen for a while. To be fair to Capello and
the team however, it wouldn't be the first time football sides have turned out sub-standard
performances having previously completed the job at hand.
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bridge views 13 October @ 09:42 AM EST
How many international breaks (interlull™) have there been this season already?
The game against Ukraine on Saturday – which I didn't watch, incidentally – sounds like it was
one of the more unconvincing England displays we have seen for a while. To be fair to Capello and
the team however, it wouldn't be the first time football sides have turned out sub-standard
performances having previously completed the job at hand.
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Best Online Football Management Game Ever.
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FourFourTwo magazine has compiled and released their 2009/10 British football rich list. According
to the ranking QPR shareholder London-based Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal is the richest man
in British football, with an estimated worth of £18.4 billion. Mittal is believed to own 20% of
the Loftus Road-based English Championship club.
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We've all been there; somebody has dangled a carrot in front of us and instead of thinking
through the various pros and cons we quickly take the plunge. Our excuse for what we did was that
it's a bit "out there" and less work for more money is always worth it isn't it? Sol Campbell
yesterday cancelled the five year contract at Notts County on "mutual terms" with the clubs
executive chairman Peter Trembling and director of football Mr Sven- Goran Ericksson.
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Sir Alex Ferguson gave a moving address yesterday on the influence that Sir Bobby Robson, who he
considered an inspiration, had on him as a manager. Sad faces at the Bobby Robson memorial service
yesterday Alan Sheqaer, Fabio Capello, Alex Ferguson, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker Ferguson is
without doubt the most successful manager in British football [.
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Eduardo scored the winner in Arsenal's victory.
Arsenal were under the gun early as Belgian side Standard Liege jumped to a 2-0 lead after only
five minutes. It was a nightmare start for young Italian keeper Vito Mannone. Not that the goals
were his fault but two goals conceded in five minutes is a horrible start for any keeper.
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EPL Talk 13 September @ 07:00 AM EST
The latest video flashback takes us back to the second season of the Premier League for a
massive match between Blackburn Rovers and Manchester United.
The video features the opening to Match Of The Day (MOTD) featuring presenter Des Lynam and
pundits Alan Hansen and Trevor Brooking.
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The Bromley BoysDave Roberts
ISBN: 1906032246
Portico;
Paperback, 272pp
Non-league football, the heart of the game, where only true fans live and breathe. I used to be one
of them, but remember thinking as I stood frozen on the crumbling terraces of another
middle-of-nowhere 'stadium', slurping thermonuclear hot chocolate the taste of sewer water, that it
helps if you support a winning team in these circumstances.
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SoccerLens 26 August @ 12:38 PM EST
The only surprising thing about the violence at Upton Park in the Carling Cup tie between West
Ham and Millwall was that anybody was surprised by it.
From the moment the draw was made, all the signs of trouble were there. Two clubs with
supporters from the lower-end who genuinely hate each other.
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Anfield Talk 22 August @ 11:02 AM EST
Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez insists Sotirios Kyrgiakos will not fall foul of Premier League
referees despite his reputation as a footballing hardman.
Greece international Kyrgiakos has signed for £2million from AEK Athens, and the 6ft 5in
centre-back will be embarking on his second spell in British football.
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EPL Talk 20 August @ 06:20 AM EST
It's been one of those weeks when business meetings got in my way of watching the mid-week
Champions League playoff games, so I finally had a chance to sit down Wednesday evening to speed
through five or more games that were waiting for me on my DVR player.
Fox's production aside (I thought they did a spectacular job for the first dip of their toe in
the water; small improvements are still needed before the next round), the games for me seemed to
have a magical quality about them.
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Good cover option signing confirmed by club.
Liverpool today agreed a deal with AEK Athens for centre-back Sotirios Kyrgiakos ,
subject to a medical.
The 30-year-old Greek international will arrive at Melwood for a medical examination before the
weekend.
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Liverpool have announced that they are close to finalising a deal to bring experienced defender
Sotirios Kyrgiakos to Anfield. Speaking to LFC.TV Rafa said: "We have nearly done the deal subject
to a medical. He is a player with experience who can hopefully help us in defence. "He has
experience in British football and Rangers.
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Sir, I read your magazine with interest each month and so was particularly excited to see my own
city, Liverpool, featured in your mini-guides this month.
Alas you saw fit to label stoop to gaining lazy, easy laughs at the expense of Goodison Park,
home of Everton FC. I presume this stems from a lack of editorial judgement on your part and a
mischevious streak on the part of your correspondant Richard Vaughan.
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SoccerLens 17 August @ 12:54 PM EST
Yes They Can Can...If the Gaffer Reads the Writing on the Wall!!!
Well, having had his head handed to him twice last season, Sir Alex Ferguson still seems bound
and determined to ignore the handwriting on the wall. The sheer depth of talent in his his squad,
however, will always allow the Gaffer to peek into the abyss, throw out some appropriate barbs
meant to psych out the immediate opposition and still find a way to pull a nineteenth trophy.
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In their 1983 book "The Encyclopaedia Of British Football", writers Phil Soar and Martin Tyler
use a photograph of a match between Norwich City and Southampton as an example of the changing face
of football. They compare the rise of smaller club from affluent cities in the south of England
with the decline of traditional clubs from their Northern equivalents.
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It's come to my attention that Boro are currently mulling over the possibility of handing Henri
Camara a deal to join the club.
Camara has been no stranger in British football since his arrival from Sedan, playing for clubs
such as Stoke (loan), West Ham (loan), Southampton (loan), Celtic (loan), Wolves and Wigan.
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Gordon Smith is a man who, judging by his ever present tan, enjoys summer. For years now he has
preached the joys of summer football with an evangelical zeal the equal of anything Billy Graham
ever managed.Perhaps he is scarred by memories of turning out on the mudbath pitches that British
football used to do so well.
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Gordon Smith is a man who, judging by his ever present tan, enjoys summer. For years now he has
preached the joys of summer football with an evangelical zeal the equal of anything Billy Graham
ever managed.Perhaps he is scarred by memories of turning out on the mudbath pitches that British
football used to do so well.
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Sir Bobby Robson's name will never diminish with the passing years of British football history. He
achieved more in his homeland and in Europe than most people could ever hope to, and he did so with
an approachable manner and a respect for his peers that gave him a special distinction in the
sport.
As a player, Robson was a great talent.
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Liverpool FC's inability to win the title since 1990 has been blamed on a various people over the
years, including David Moores; Rick Parry; Graeme Souness; Roy Evans, Gerard Houllier and, most
recently, Tom Hicks and George Gillett. The real blame, however, for the club's abject failure to
bring home the trophy Bill Shankly famously called ‘our bread and butter' lies solely at the feet
of one man: former President of South Africa and anti-apartheid activist, Nelson Mandela.
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SoccerLens 18 July @ 07:02 PM EST
People always say that, to understand how far we've come, you need to look in the past. Whilst
that sentence probably sounds a bit cliché, it could surely be used in discussions regarding the
evolution of the common Premier League football supporter over the last 30-40 years.
If you'll recall, the Premier League has only turned into a global league in the last 10 or so
years.
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With takeovers and titles galore, the 00s have seen Manchester United cement their position as the
leading club in British football.
Not the only odd omission...
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Beginning in December of 2008, rumors filled the web with information on Manchester City's
supposed done deal in signing Kaka from AC Milan, which at that time (before CR9's transfer) would
have made him the most expensive player ever with City offering 100 million pounds. AC Milan and
their executives were sold.
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