Whatever you can prove on paper about the relative strengths of the two squads, on the day, on the pitch we were out played, outfought, out thought and exposed as mere pretenders to the higher reaches of the league. We were not in the same league as Arsenal. Actually that is the problem: we are.Now let's not get carried away. Click to continue reading...

I am increasingly aware that I don't give anywhere near enough attention to the lower reaches of Scottish football.So after giving it some thought I've decided I'm going pick a team and track them throughout the season.I have my reservations about this. I'm still haunted by the way Match of the Day patronised Barnsley during their brief flirtation with the top flight and I'd not want to replicate Click to continue reading...

Calling all losers! Do you suck at fantasy football? Always lurking around the lower reaches of your fantasy football league like some sort of fictional Newcastle United? OTP has got the answer: Fantasy Football FAIL. This season we will be tipping the table on its head and celebrating mediocrity. And we will be doing from within the [. Click to continue reading...

The draw for the early rounds of the Champions League and Europa League have been made, with Mikkel Diskerud, Marcus Tracy and Ryan Guy all set for their summertime jaunts through the obscure reaches of Europe. Click to continue reading...

The Italian Seria A reaches day 32 this weekend with Juventus and Inter Milan clashing against each other in what is believed to be the clash of the week... As the season is coming to an end, the title challenge in Italy is more like in Spain and different from what it looks like in England [...] Click to continue reading...

For me the initial raison d'etre behind collecting and analysing football statistics was to help my football betting. I reasoned that shot statistics would be especially useful in identifying which teams had been unlucky and therefore underestimated by the oddsmakers. As time went on I became more interested in what the data revealed about teams, players and strategies, rather than using it as a predictive tool. Click to continue reading...

Sometimes repeating the obvious helps. Even though I feel this has been the best season to date for the MLS since it's first season, I still fear for the playoffs to be a complete mess-up due to the fact that the league still hasn't managed to get a proper system in place for the playoffs. Sure [...] Click to continue reading...