All posts tagged Crewe

Book Review: I am the Secret Footballer

By on September 17, 2012 in the Category Book Review with No comments
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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…

TTU Awards 2011-12: Young Player of the Season

By on June 7, 2012 in the Category TTU Awards with 4 Comments
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A couple of the nominees for this year’s best young player – Jordan Rhodes and Matt Phillips – have been so well tracked by the blogosphere that any further attempt to describe their abilities is probably about as welcome as the sight of the Cornish national flag on the Olympic Torch Relay. Some of our other suggestions have perhaps been less heralded, though. Charlton’s Chris Solly has kept a reasonably low profile in the middlewaters of League 1, but blessed with no little composure, pace or nous, the Addicks’ right-back has been a real success this term, winning both the…

The Monday Profile: Nick Powell

By on April 30, 2012 in the Category The Monday Profile with 4 Comments
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In our recent analysis of the PFA awards, my fellow blogger John McGee highlighted the disagreement that can ensue when debating the worth of leading young players. With Jordan Rhodes valued by the press as a knee jerk £6 million, John pointed out that Adam Le Fondre, the man whose two goals fired Reading to victory over Southampton in the Championship’s recent summit meeting, cost a mere £350,000. Prices seem to be all the more outlandish for players the tenderer side of twenty. One recalls Aston Villa’s £6 million for Fabian Delph, the £5 million disbursed by Arsenal for the services…

The PFA Awards: Stuff and Nonsense?

By on April 26, 2012 in the Category Uncategorized with 15 Comments
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Once upon a time, the PFA Awards were the undisputed measure of a season’s most valuable players. Voted for by the Professionals themselves, the response to their announcement was one of awed hush and consent – how could mere onlookers presume to know better than those involved in the rough and tumble of the actual sport? But the saccharin, sentimental and simply silly award of the 2009 Players’ Player award to Ryan Giggs changed all that. In one fell swoop, footballers were shown to be as susceptible to a bit of old fashioned press lobbying as the rest of us….

The Monday Profile: Dario Gradi

By on November 7, 2011 in the Category The Monday Profile with 8 Comments
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The recent unveiling of the Elite Player Performance Plan has been met with a cacophony of complaint from footballer bloggers. For Gary Andrews of Two Footed Tackle, it was not so much the straw that broke the camel’s back, more a case of the straw being repeatedly driven into said back with a whopping great JCB -and as Jon Keenof The Tilehurst End pointed out, EPPP could allow acquiring clubs to be fork out as little as £12,500 in compensation for a player between 12 and 16 years of age - permitting our Premier League chums to gather kids like over enthusiastic fans of…

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