A regular contributor to TTU, Phil Ascough is the author of Kissing the Badge, a book that recalls the twenty years of the Premier League in quiz format. A fan of Hull City, he here turns his hand to the curious events of the past week at the club. He can be followed on Twitter at @philascough. As bombshells go, to Hull City fans it was right up there with being told that Santa was dead and his chief elf was not expected to last the week. On Tuesday, Assem Allam, Egypt-born owner of the football club, and his son…
All posts tagged Hull
The PFA Awards: Stuff and Nonsense?
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: 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…
Nigel Pearson: From East Riding to East Midlands?
Phil Ascough has contributed a number of excellent pieces to The Two Unfortunates over recent months. Here, the author of Kissing the Badge attempts to get his head round the worst kept secret in this week’s football league:I guess we’ll find out some time today – possibly by the time you read this – whether Hull City need a new manager.Nigel Pearson is reported to be interested in talking to Leicester City. He seems to have the idea that a few Hull fans don’t like his style and he’s probably right. There were a few grunts and groans when the…
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…
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...
