A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

Today Mat Jolin-Beech takes a look at a man who was briefly considered the future of English football. With his popstar good looks and midfield skill it was little wonder that he was considered to be the next Darren Caskey . As you might well have worked out by now it didn’t necessarily go to plan but we’ll always have that goal from the halfway line and a selection of excellent haircuts. Over to Mat. There are some footballers who are once in a generation players. Icons of the game who redefine what footballers are and can do. Pele. Maradona. Cruyff. Beckham . Messi. Ronaldo. These names are among those that will forever be ingrained into fans of the beautiful game. However, with this icon of world class status inevitably comes the issue of succession. For every Pele, there have been hundreds dubbed as ‘ the next Pele ’. Likewise, for any player with a modicum of talent from the Netherlands, England, Argentina, and Portugal. That crown, with the weight of expectation that comes with ...

Today Richard Allinson takes a look at a fine footballer who, despite domestic and continental success, somehow missed out on the international recognition he probably deserved. Perhaps he expressed doubts over Carlton Palmer ’s ability in the middle of the park. It’s possible he lacked the hardman credentials displayed on the opposite flank by Graeme Le Saux . Maybe he was reluctant to “hit Les ”. Either way, despite being overlooked by England, he got plenty out of his career. Over to Rich. When it comes to international football, over the years numerous mangers have bemoaned the fact that they don’t have the luxury of time to spend with their squad to build a cohesive unit and have consequently chopped and changed their side looking for a magic formula. This was no more evident than with post- Italia ‘90 England where Graham Taylor selected seventeen different defenders and three goalkeepers during his three years in charge. What always confused me, even as a nine year old, is why ...

In a recent conversation with my old man we were having a long overdue catch up about our thoughts on Patrick Vieira’s impact on our beloved Crystal Palace. In short our summary is that there’s a lot to like but it would be nicer still if the Eagles could stop doing such a good job for people’s Pools coupons. We then moved on to talk about Liverpool’s demolition of Manchester United and the beautiful simplicity of Jurgen Klopp’s side’s attacking play. Even the most ardent of United fans would have to admit that their hated rivals scored some lovely goals that day even if they’d already buggered off by the time they’d been scored. Modern football, particularly at the elite level, often resembles a live action version of FIFA to the point that dinosaurs like myself can almost lose interest as the likes of Klopp’s Liverpool and Guardiola’s Manchester City put together another sequence of precision passes before one of a seemingly endless cavalcade of ambiguously classified midfielders/win...

Today Richard Allinson takes a look at a multi-talented sportsman in some depth but still only really scratches the surface on his interesting career. As well as everything Rich covers today’s subject sits on the board of his brother’s highly successful medical surgery, which boasts such clients as Jon Bon Jovi and Josh van der Flier, and formed his own sports agency alongside former Manchester United team-mate Jesper Olsen . However, despite what the good people of Panini seemed to think, he never played for Sheffield Wednesday. I suppose we all make mistakes . Over to Rich. “Phil Neville was good enough to play cricket for England y’know…” I have heard this story a surprising amount of times, from a surprising amount of people, very few of whom I imagine actually saw a 15-year-old Phil Neville play cricket. However, regardless of the merits of Neville the younger’s googly, he didn’t play professionally in two different sports unlike today’s subject.  Initially this post was going...

Today Emlyn Jones takes a look at the fascinating career of a man who is often only remembered for one famous moment in a Premier League game. I’m sure Ronny Rosenthal can sympathise but perhaps the fact that today’s subject got away with his moment of inadequacy, or the fact Nick Hancock was no longer banging out Christmas videos by this stage, meant that he managed to fly under the radar slightly. Over to Emlyn for the VHS highlights. Goalkeeper – the loneliest job in football. Single blunders can define a player's career, or result in them shouldering the blame for a loss. From a Wales fan's point of view, they can also be wonderfully hilarious. Sincere thanks to Rob Green, Scott Carson, and Paul Robinson from me. On occasion, the goalkeeper can't be blamed, such as Tim Flowers being lobbed by a bobble off the pitch, or Loris Karius playing on through possible concussion . However, there have been countless inexcusable goalie blunders, including Gary Sprake chucking it ...

Today Mat Jolin-Beech takes a look at another esteemed member of the Premier League’s ‘100 Club’ who was integral to some of the greatest moments in English football during the 1990s and early 2000s before launching his own sporting dynasty to rival a certain Icelandic forward . Despite what we learn about said offspring in today’s post I will always be grateful for his fictional goals for my Ebbsfleet United side in the glory days of Football Manager 2008 . Over to Mat. Think of great English strikers. Your mind will probably go to one of the following, depending on your generation. Alan Shearer . Wayne Rooney. Michael Owen . Gary Lineker. Jimmy Greaves, Or, if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur fan, Harry Kane. But one name that isn’t towards the top of the list, but perhaps should be for both his exploits for club and country is one Edward Paul, aka Teddy, Sheringham. Not only did his career span well over two decades, but he was part of the glorious summer of 1996, a key part of Mancheste...

In the face of growing scientific evidence that smoking might be bad for you back in the 1930s the moneymen at Wix Cigarettes decided that drastic action needed to be taken. Rather than pack it all in and admit they had enjoyed a good run they instead turned to England and Everton goal machine William ‘Dixie’ Dean to be the face of their brand. Off the back of his ludicrous efforts in front of goal at Goodison Park the forward informed the general public that if young footballers “keep to Wix they will have no cause to complain that smoking interferes with their overall fitness”. A ringing endorsement if ever there was one but perhaps Dean’s ludicrous career record of 425 goals in 489 games was enough to convince a young Robert Prosinecki that he’d be a better footballer if he kept up his forty a day habit. Throughout the years footballers have been called upon by advertising agencies to flog whichever proverbial dead horse the companies that have hired them have felt the need to shif...

Today Emlyn Jones pays homage to one of football’s giants. As our author stands at an impressive 6’7” it is little wonder that he would be espousing the virtues of having a big lad to aim crosses and corners at. Being approximately a foot shorter than Emlyn I personally have no idea what he’s talking about but nonetheless spent much of the last two seasons criticising Steve Bruce for his failure to just stick Andy Carroll on alongside Dwight Gayle for some classic little and large action. Over to Emlyn. The role of the striker in modern football has changed significantly since the turn of the millennium, with forward players expected to be much more fluid and fill roles across the front line. As a result, the title of striker seems out-dated, and with the attendant death of the 4-4-2 formation, it's a rare thing to see the classic 'big man, little man' partnership. Well, unless you're watching the lower leagues or witnessing anyone line up alongside Adebayo Akinfenwa....