Our latest scouting report from outside the Football League comes from Craig Telfer, whose website Who the hell is Akabusi? documents the thrills and spills of supporting Scottish Second Division side Stenhousemuir FC. Here, Craig widens his brief to consider those SFL players potentially capable of doing a job in England’s equivalent divisions. The general perception of Scottish football, both home and abroad, is that the game is at its lowest ebb. The administration of Rangers FC – officially the world’s most successful club side and often described as a pillar of Scottish society – has magnified the problems surrounding…
All posts tagged Leeds
The Monday Profile: Alan Smith
How many former England internationals are there currently plying their trade in the third tier? Not many, I’d wager. And how many League One players can boast that they once appeared in a Champions League semi-final against Valencia (even if that appearance was curtailed by a red card)? Again, not many. But, as of 29th January this year, there is at least one: Alan Smith. Even still, us Newcastle fans would be very wary of hiring a tent from the MK Dons fan who claimed Smith was a “marquee loan signing”… Smudger started out with hometown club Leeds, whose fans…
The Monday Profile: Tom Lees
For this week’s profile, we are made up to welcome David Wilkinson of the stunning Leeds United Blog, The Scratching Shed (indeed, ‘blog’ seems such a humble word to describe such a multifaceted treasure trove). Having spent this week pondering the controversy surrounding the Yorkshire club’s 3-2 win over Peterborough at the weekend, David turns his attention to a man who returned from exile this summer to bolster the Peacocks’ defence:After two successful loan spells at Accrington Stanley and Bury, Tom Lees returned to Leeds United this season to break into the first team and make his 100th professional appearance at…
The Thursday Preview: Doncaster Rovers Vs Leeds United
This Sunday sees Sheffield Utd and Sheffield Wednesday battle it out for bragging rights in the Steel City derby. But, for Blades and Owls fans who retain enough of a sense of perspective to be able to take a step back, there won’t be much to brag about, regardless of the outcome. After all, the clash will be played out in the third tier of English football. The victors can puff out their chests all they like, but they’ll have won the footballing equivalent of a tallest dwarf contest. The ailing fortunes of the bitter Sheffield rivals are exemplary of…
On Fandom – With the Fervour of a Convert
It’s an oft heard cliché that football is ‘like a religion’. That’s never an assertion I’ve been wholly comfortable with. In large part this is probably coloured by a personal lack of faith, but having been raised and schooled (at least until the age of 11) in the bosom of a strong Northern Catholic community and subsequently lived in some of the country’s most ethnically diverse post codes I’d suggest the converse is also true. Whilst many football fans make personal sacrifices at the altar of their chosen brethren their investment in their chosen club is never as absolute as that…
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...
