On Tuesday, England produced a highly encouraging 6-0 win over the auld enemy at Under-21 level. It has been, however, a miserable summer for the Three Lion Cubs. Here, our resident expert on youth football and designer of our rather fabulous site logo, Ben Piggott runs the rule over the possible reasons for England’s failure in the U20 World Cup in particular. Ben can be followed on twitter at @apt_pseudonym while he is also the brains behind graphic narrative The XII. … Well then, this was supposed to be a piece about the Football League players in England’s U20 squad and…
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David Beckham and Oasis: a Tale of Career Decline
They won’t like this but David Beckham’s retirement from football this week put me in mind of a bunch more readily associated with the other half of Manchester, Britpoppers Oasis. Both came to prominence in the mid to early 90s; Oasis at Glasgow’s King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and Beckham at Preston North End’s Deepdale ground. Initially, the characteristic that united them can be broadly defined as swagger. Beckham would hurtle down the right flank on buccaneering runs before angling in impossibly delicious crosses while Oasis would brandish their guitars like totems; Liam Gallagher’s snarled vocals and Noel’s lofty hauteur…
Sacred Cows: Euro 96
Don’t misunderstand me; I loved every minute of it… Karel Poborský’s chip, England’s abandonment of the rigidities of 4-4-2, Davor Šuker making a monkey out of Peter Schmeichel, a June weekend that inspired Arab Strap’s breakthrough tune, the dentist’s chair, a rousing Scotland performance against Switzerland, a capital packed full of fans from across Europe, the drama of Oliver Bierhoff’s winner. More importantly, the substitution of a union flag for too long tainted by the noxious fumes of hooliganism, jingoism and violence with the more innocent George Cross and a welcoming attitude that transcended national boundaries. Speak to most football…
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