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 Hereford
Hereford United, Population and Economy
Hereford United fans we chatted to in the aftermath of the club’s 1-1 draw with Plymouth Argyle on Good Friday seemed resigned to their fate. Given the club’s history – one that saw them controversially elevated to the Football League status in preference to Chelmsford City back in 1972 plus a spell of Conference purgatory in the mid-noughties, expectations never get ahead of themselves at Edgar Street. I first saw the Bulls play as a second tier concern – a 5-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on New Year’s Day in 1977. They have never approached such heights since,…
A Big Day for Macc
With fellow relegation candidates Plymouth seemingly coughing and spluttering towards the finishing line, today represents an excellent chance for either Macclesfield or Dagenham to push on and leave their rivals in mental tatters as the two meet at Victoria Road. Here, Macc fan and Magic Sponger Rob MacDonald wonders how it’s come to this for the Silkmen and what the implications for relegation would be in Cheshire East. Since Macclesfield Town were sitting (relatively) pretty in 14th place in League 2 on New Year’s Eve, I’ve joked with ever-lessening joviality about the fact that we appear to have been stuck…
Trading Places: Time to Reform the Football League’s Loan System?
To look closely at the associated regulations is to acknowledge the Football League’s existing loan system as nothing less than a free for all. ‘Temporary loan transfer’ is the umbrella heading which comprises the following three types of move permissible under the current system: • ‘Standard Loans’ (half or full season in length and arranged during the two transfer windows); • ‘Emergency Loans’ (28-93 days in length and arranged both within the two transfer windows and during fixed periods outside these dates); • ‘Youth Loans’ (identical to ‘Emergency Loans’ but applies to scholars or new professionals on a work experience-type…
Book Review: Where’s your Caravan?
Where’s your Caravan? By Chris Hargreaves, Published by The Friday Project, August 2011, £8.99, ISBN: 9780007364145 What next for a lower league footballer upon retirement? A simple enough premise, but too few biographies have tackled the theme with any distinction, so Chris Hargreaves’ recent release, which engages throughout with the realities and emotions of signing off from one’s playing days, is a welcome addition. An unravelling set of new challenges, the ennui and the odd bout of despair rub shoulders with feelings of regret and nostalgia here, and Hargreaves does well to convey all of this with relative precision. As one might expect…
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harry m: That po match against Birmingham is my favourite football match ever....
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