This year’s League Two relegation battle is quite remarkable. Not just for the closeness of the fight, but for the teams involved. All bar one have recently spent time in the Conference and all bar one have gained promotion to the League since two-up two-down was introduced from non-league’s top tier. Does this mean the gap between the two divisions is decreasing? Or getting further apart? Relegation battles in League Two have followed a similar pattern in previous seasons. There would inevitably be one financial basket case of a club, plus a few of the smaller league teams and others who’d…
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Book Review: I am the Secret Footballer
I am the Secret Footballer Published by Guardian Books July 2012, £7.99 ISBN: 9780852653081 The Guardian’s decision to gather together their Secret Footballer columns into this new book appears to have been handsomely vindicated on first glance; sitting as the volume does atop their online bookshop chart as well as prominently on the shelves of Britain’s retailers. Serialization never hurt Charles Dickens’ chances and it will be comforting to the paper’s proprietors that opportunities remain to charge for content in this increasingly open access world. Few who read this blog will be unfamiliar with the columns; their having become something of…
Geographies of Football: Economic Potential
Our series of posts this week has analysed the various impacts geography can have on the fortunes of soccer clubs. To round things off, we thought we would examine a cross section of eight cities, towns and city regions which can be said to be under performing in football terms and which may or may not have the potential to rise to Championship status or above. Back in 2010, we picked out Peterborough United, Swansea and Cardiff Cities, Notts County and Doncaster as having Premier League potential and while the inclusion of the Rovers now embarrasses us, we predicated our…
Personnel’s ‘personal problems’ stymie Pilgrims’ progress
A few weeks ago I commented on MK Dons striker Sam Baldock’s decision to favour heart over head and spurn newly promoted Peterborough’s advances. Baldock claimed not to have felt excited by the prospect of a move to Posh, and I praised his honesty, speculating as to how often the inane smiles of new signings paraded before fans and media ‘mask an expression of grim resignation at having been forced out of a previous club, the horrified realisation of having made a huge mistake or nothing but a smirk at the thought of the accompanying salary’. Sometimes, though, doubts are…
Great Football League Teams 4: Cambridge United 1991-2
For a series purporting to cover great teams, our second East Anglian choice of recent weeks perhaps takes liberties with the brief. For just as Alf Ramsey, for all Ray Crawford’s goals, is synonymous with the success of Ipswich Town; so Cambridge United are personified by John Beck. Indeed, as one Abbeyite contributor to When Saturday Comes put it, he’s “our loony”. For Beck represented the militant paramilitary wing of the Charles Hughes brief. While Wimbledon under Dave Bassett and Watford under Graham Taylor had their realism softened by media friendly managers who were popular with the players, Beck made…
David Fellerath: Sounds awful, but why would the Nottingham Forest men's club pull the ...
Ben: They certainly impressed against Newcastle, eventually running out of ...
Lanterne Rouge: I think the principle that football fans should be treated equally is ...
Lloyd: Great piece, Tom, which comes just days after my dad lamented the chan...
Steve: I would also point out that in my seat I have little elbow and leg roo...
