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 Scunthorpe
The Monday Profile: Nigel Adkins
When former Scunthorpe United boss Nigel Adkins was confirmed as the new manager at then League 1 Southampton, eyebrows were raised amongst the St Mary’s faithful. Eighteen months later and Southampton are looking to win back-to-back promotions, with Adkins’ managerial record for the 2010-11 season bettered only by Sir Alex Ferguson. The statistics certainly suggest Adkins has what it takes to carry Southampton back to the Premier League – but is he the man to keep them there, asks Saints season ticket holder Nicky Borowiec? The former goalkeeper from Birkenhead started his playing career with Tranmere, making over 300 appearances…
Conversations with Max Bell (Scunthorpe United)
The latest in our conversations series is an important one in that it features a supporter of the only Championship club to break even in 2010-11, Scunthorpe United. After our re-launch in January, we hope to increase the amount of attention paid to the financial ills of the game and as Max Bell states below – success on the pitch is no proper substitute for sustainability long term. Max helps run the blog, Any Old Iron and here ponders the future of a Scunny side adapting to life back in the bottom divisions as well as some of the pressures…
The Monday Profile: Andy Hughes
In last week’s profile of Joe Bennett, I ruminated on the nature of the attacking full back and although we have no intention of focusing the Monday Profile on archetypes alone, this third study of September again concentrates on a boilerplate figure.For Andy (like Mr. Cole, seemingly now known as Andrew) Hughes is surely the epitome, the quintessence, the very embodiment of that well known footballling character – the willing trier.And yet we could go even further – for in being this, Hughes is perhaps the dictionary definition of the British sportsman in general. Watching Mike Tindall attempt to bludgeon…
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...
