Author: Ben
The Monday Profile: Tom Bender
Young boys in the park with jumpers for goalposts, or battering a ball against a garage door, dream of pulling on that jersey, of scoring the winner at Wembley, of lifting the World Cup. Of making a name for themselves. And yet some players make a name for themselves inadvertently, their footballing achievements and exploits overlooked or forgotten.
Take Jean-Marc Bosman, for example, a relatively obscure Belgian footballer until …
The Monday Profile: Robert Hall
Fair play to West Ham. They may have poached one of the lower leagues’ most prolific marksmen, Sam Baldock, from MK Dons but it’s not all take, take, take - on the contrary, they seem to be vigorously pursuing a policy of loaning out their youngsters to the benefit of both other clubs and the players themselves. Currently plying their trade in League 2 are defender Callum McNaughton …
Wycombe in a league of their own
Well done to Wycombe for signing up to the Government Charter for Action to stamp out homophobia and transphobia, the first football club to do so. Admittedly the Charter is rather woolly, a set of four vague pledges with no concrete targets or deadlines, but the sentiment is key, and Wanderers’ stated commitment laudable.
Of course, the news begs a critical question. Why, given that the Charter …
The Thursday Preview: Doncaster Rovers Vs Leeds United
This Sunday sees Sheffield Utd and Sheffield Wednesday battle it out for bragging rights in the Steel City derby. But, for Blades and Owls fans who retain enough of a sense of perspective to be able to take a step back, there won’t be much to brag about, regardless of the outcome. After all, the clash will be played out in the third tier of English football. The victors …
The Thursday Preview: Crystal Palace Vs West Ham United
Prior to the start of the season you probably couldn’t have picked two Championship sides with more diametrically opposed expectation levels than Crystal Palace and West Ham. While Saturday’s visitors to Selhurst Park were widely tipped to bounce straight back up into the top flight, the home team were fearful of exiting the division in the opposite direction - and with some justification, having limped to safety last time …