A Sticker's Worth 500 Words

It’s FA Cup final day and Crystal Palace take on Manchester City at Wembley in what should be the showpiece finale to the English football season. As the Zenith Data Systems Cup apparently doesn’t count as a major trophy this presents the Eagles with a chance to win the first piece of significant silverware in their history while City will be competing in their third consecutive FA Cup final aiming to win the world’s oldest cup competition for the ninth time. At the time of writing Palace are in their now traditional twelfth position in the Premier League while City are contemplating a devastating campaign battling for a Champions League spot having surrendered their league title to Liverpool. All neutrals are obviously deeply concerned for their plight and have definitely not been basking in their misery. There are a number of reasons why I want Palace to win today. 36 years of following the Eagles is clearly the most important of these and I am so happy that we’ve taken the cup c...

Mat Jolin-Beech takes a look at a player who seemingly sacrificed his prime years as a professional to chase the big bucks in an upstart league. While this epithet could easily apply to Sadio Mane or Ivan Toney the focus is slightly further east and on a Chelsea team which almost acted as a feeder club for the Chinese Super League in the 2010s. Someone probably ended up at Vitesse Arnhem too for good measure. Over to Mat. The Saudi league is the current residence for ageing, over the hill footballers, and those seeking refuge from Europe and a huge pay check. And Ronaldo. But it is not he first foreign league from a non-footballing land – at least not one where it traditionally has a foothold. There was the US in the 70s with the North American Soccer League (I still feel dirty writing soccer and not football). We’re riding the Saudi and middle eastern wave right now – with the oil money attracting many who are seeking financial security for them and their families. But a decade ago ...