Whatever happened to…centre forwards playing at centre half

Tactical innovation happens all the time without one even noticing it as it is all about organic growth; refinement and tinkering to come up with the optimum set-up for a team.

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Referees need to bite back

All of those decisions are excellent examples of the approach referees should take to acts of dissent: zero tolerance. But officials are still given too much space for leniency, too much leeway to decide to 'let the game flow', or, as Howard Webb would have it, 'not wanting to spoil the game'.

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Pub Quiz – English legend, 70’s Trivia and Rory Delap

What type of quizzer are you? Do you sit drunk and clueless in the corner? Or are you halfway to Nerdsville with a tank top on and a smart-arse smile? Can you admit to watching Eggheads - even if only in a moment of weakness? No matter which category you fall into – try our pub quiz and prove to yourself that the years of watching and talking about footy have not been a complete waste of time. But please try not to cheat, for as my headmaster used to say “You’re only cheating on yourself”, which ironically is not what his wife said to him, when she caught him in congress with his secretary.

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Splash the Cash Arsene - Or Give It To Us!

So the 'Fabregas Saga' has finally and boringly come to a close ( although the Nasri one may still rumble on longer ), Eboue has gone and Arsene Wenger has now amassed a pretty impressive war chest to spend on new signings. And after a dismal home defeat to Liverpool, and yet another red card, he may have to splash the cash quicker than he anticipated to bolster his suspension hit squad.

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What do Andy Carroll and David De Gea have in common?

After yesterday’s performance, this is a question I have to ask. I’m sure, for all Liverpool fans, this is tantamount to sacrilege for me to question Kenny Dalglish’s judgement in the transfer market but nonetheless I have to do it. I know we’re only two games into the season but thus far, other than the last 20 minutes of yesterday’s game, I’ve not seen Liverpool play anywhere like they did in the latter half of last season. In both cases, Carroll was not playing for the most part. Carroll huffed and puffed and pushed and bundled his way through the game with precious little to show except another disallowed goal following another questionable attempt to win the ball.

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Thursday Round Up @ Torres a dormant star? Diary of a Sky Sports reporter, Lukaku turns to the Drog

On 31^st January 2011 the British transfer record was smashed by Chelsea, signing Fernando Torres for £50million on a five-and-a-half year contract. That same day Andy Carroll’s move from Newcastle to Liverpool for £35million made him the most expensive British footballer in the game.

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Fernando Torres – The Dormant Star

On 31^st January 2011 the British transfer record was smashed by Chelsea, signing Fernando Torres for £50million on a five-and-a-half year contract. That same day Andy Carroll’s move from Newcastle to Liverpool for £35million made him the most expensive British footballer in the game. At first glance Chelsea had signed one of the world’s most prolific goal scorers for only £15million more than Liverpool’s deal for a young unproven 22 year old striker. Carroll’s inexperience is illustrated by the fact that he had only one season of Premiership experience.

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Diary Of A Sky Sports Reporter

Hartlepool nil Huddersfield nil. Goalscoring opportunities nil (or at least it felt like that!). Entertainment nil. Reports on Sky nil. Hours driving to and from the game a lot more than nil. Ticket price nil. Money earned more than nil. And it's those last two which I try to remember on days like this.

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The story of Stichting Betaald Voetbal Vitesse

Some of you will be familiar with Vitesse and will be thinking, isn’t it Vitesse Arnhem? But it’s not - although they do play in Arnhem, the Dutch outfit currently play in the Eredivisie and finished the 2010-11 season in 15th place, just scraping survival.

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Not the glorious return we wanted, but the return we needed...

Manchester United earn all three points after going down to a dodgy goal. Joey Barton and Alex Song find themselves reigniting an old flame. Arsenal still look wasteful in the final third. And Fernando Torres still looks way off that £50 mark despite his best efforts this weekend.

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Daily Round Up @ Torres is back? Wenger turns to Asian wonderkid, Kean warns Rovers, plus Given, Hodgson and Dos Santos

The Premiership is back and already hitting the headlines…

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FootballFriendsonline.com Football Quiz Challenge

What type of quizzer are you? Do you sit drunk and clueless in the corner? Or are you halfway to Nerdsville with a tank top on and a smart-arse smile? Can you admit to watching Eggheads - even if only in a moment of weakness? No matter which category you fall into – try our pub quiz and prove to yourself that the years of watching and talking about footy have not been a complete waste of time. But please try not to cheat, for as my headmaster used to say “You’re only cheating on yourself”, which ironically is not what his wife said to him, when she caught him in congress with his secretary.

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Liverpool must improve

The beginning of a new season of expectation. Champions League qualification? Easy, they said. King Kenny is the man. Top four? Champions, they enthused. And so it came to pass. The reds of Liverpool came out, all guns blazing, quick passing, plenty of movement and attacking intent. Certainly in the first half, Liverpool raised the bar. Unfortunately not the cross bar. If they had the score would have been 3-0 at half time. If's and but’s. Small words with big meanings.

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Premiership Review E - M

With the distinct lack of transfer funds at his disposal, David Moyes has to be commended for his ability to guide Everton to top-half finishes season after season. This was no different last time out as the Toffees recovered from a dismally slow start (they didn’t win a league game until October) to finish a very respectable 7^th place.

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'Premier League Preview: Maynard Chew-ses City for the Title

After three long months the Premier League returns this weekend with Manchester United vying for their 20^th domestic title.

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