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….
All posts tagged Crystal Palace
Should Crystal Palace cash their assets in the Summer?
Earmarked by many as relegation candidates at the start of 2011-12, Crystal Palace can be proud of their efforts in advance of their final match at home to Cardiff City next week. At one point, a flirtation with the play-offs seemed possible, while a famous win at Old Trafford led to a League Cup semi-final appearance. Most encouraging of all was the club’s ability to take advantage of their huge south London catchment area. Already in possession of good youngsters such as Nathaniel Clyne and Sean Scannell, this campaign has seen the emergence of two more jewels – Jonathan Williams…
The Monday Profile: Leon Cort
Leon Cort has a big summer head of him. While the attention of most of this country will be squarely focused on events in Poland and the Ukraine, his national side Guyana will be stepping out on to the turf at a yet to be determined Mexican stadium; this potential tussle with a man known as Chicharito, the first of a sequence of six games that are the most important in the nation’s footballing history. With his club Charlton seemingly cruising to a place in next year’s Championship, Cort will be galvanised for the steep task ahead and Guyana have…
Capital: London Football, Present and Future
In an article last year, The Economist coined the phrase `Londonism’ to refer to what it regarded as a distinct ideology driven by the office of Mayor. It cited as the central tenets of `Londonism’: enthusiasm for the financial services industry; an openness to immigration; and the unceasing pursuit of economic growth. The success of this new way of thinking, according to the piece, is symbolized by the redevelopment of the Docklands to the east of the city’s centre. The landscape of this part of the city is now replete with tall, shimmering citadels of global financial behemoths, futuristically-designed transport hubs and high-value property developments. Unsurprisingly, however, the article fails to look beyond the streets…
EPPPIC FAIL?
For our first proper post following the big redesign, we are very pleased to welcome back John McGee. Bring Me the Head of Keith Mincher is John’s blog devoted to Carlisle United and he likes nothing better than to rail against anyone who disagrees with him on Twitter under the nom de plume of @epouvantail – he’s a little smug at the moment given the club’s continued robust play-off push. Here, John steps back a little in order to ponder the likely impact of a measure that got us all excited last autumn. You probably haven’t heard of Dean Henderson,…
James: Are the wealthy middle classes really the ones to back a football team...
Lanterne Rouge: Garath McCleary on signing for Reading today:
"It's amazing to be a...
Lloyd: On the Oxford / Reading thing, Lanterne, you write that "there is no c...
Ben: Yes, it does loom a bit, doesn't it? Moxey's comments on the ground re...
