We live in an era where the inviolable independence of football clubs is starting to become a thing of the past. After our recent examination of Charlton Athletic’s Belgian connection, guest writer Alex Cooke turns his attention to the somewhat looser but still significant link between Swindon Town and Tottenham Hotspur. Alex is a freelance writer and blogger and contributes to TheWashbag.com and WeAreGoingUp, largely on the subject of the Robins. He tweets on football as @stfconly. … ‘Everyone in the game is watching it with great interest’, according to Jed Roddy, the Premier League’s head of youth development and…
All posts tagged Tottenham
Book Review: Falling for Football
Falling for Football edited by Adam Bushby and Rob MacDonald Published by Ockley Books 2014, £11.99 Falling for Football is a highly significant book and not just because of the way it expertly conjures up why we fall for the sport, its tribulations and tensions, its vitality and emotion, in the first place. It is also noteworthy for the service editors Adam Bushby and Rob MacDonald have performed in gathering together 44 specially commissioned contributions, the obvious work that has gone in to harrying people to meet deadlines, the support of the people at Ockley Books and the fact that this is…
Leyton Orient are Top at Christmas, but the Olympic Stadium Spectre Looms Large
As 2013 draws to a close, one club for whom it has been, on the surface, a quite ridiculously good year have been Leyton Orient, so man opposing fans’ second favourite team and a club whom we covered after a recent visit to Brisbane Road a month or so back. Now, Andy Brown, who will be familiar to many of you as @OrientMeatPie on twitter (and we can vouch personally for the splendidness of said victuals) takes a look at the current state of play in the East End while urging caution when it comes to off field manoeuvrings. … It has…
Book Review: The Nowhere Men
The Nowhere Men by Michael Calvin Published by Century 2013, £14.99 They are a mythical breed, not to say a forgotten one in these days where youtube videos are said to inspire signings, but, in an increasingly hybrid and varied form, soccer scouts continue to ply their trade – and yet it’s an aspect of the game that we as punters understand so little of. Hence, Michael Calvin’s new book The Nowhere Men does a relentlessly fascinating job in lifting the lid on the profession. Sure, the grizzled old pro in a touchline windcheater, pulling into Newport Pagnell service station…
Eight Out of Work Managers Revisited
The serious lack of imagination shown by Football League chairmen continues to fuel the managerial carousel. Almost three years ago, we were bemused by Paul Hart’s arrival at Crystal Palace while the likes of Alan Irvine, Brian Laws and Darren Ferguson played musical chairs. Two and a half years on and it’s Dougie Freedman, Mick McCarthy and Dave Jones making sideways moves, as well as Laws again. The message is – don’t be out of a job for too long or you’ll be viewed as yesterday’s man. No matter how disappointing one’s spell at the helm of a football team,…
Ben: How quickly things change. The prospects for Palace and Hull both look...
Lanterne Rouge: I think managerial changes will have a huge bearing. As things stand, ...
Paul Nicholson: A good read, which I did with the hope of pulling some tips to assist ...
Alex Quayle: I thank you for your endearing, but misplaced, faith in City this seas...
Damian: Great read as ever, Ben. It's tough to predict the clubs at the bottom...
