Daily Archives: November 10, 2010

Josep Sunyol: The Chronicle of a Death Foretold


“English football, for all its quirks and layers of social influence, is a relatively apolitical animal. In a direct comparison with the politically charged clubs of Italy and Spain, English teams are arguably far less representative of ideology and cause. With that in mind, the highly politicised regional struggle played out by Barcelona and Real Madrid can seem somewhat alien to the British football fan, the friction between centralism and the movement for Catalan independence a sketchy intellectual argument between two abstracted factions. That conception of the situation, as it happens, could hardly be further from the truth.” (Equaliser Football)

Coaching badges: The Grassroots Coach

“In the third instalment of an intermittent series of interviews about coaching badges and the standard of coaching in the United Kingdom, Football Further spoke to Pavl Williams, a Level 2 coach working towards his UEFA ‘B’ licence. Pavl has been coaching youngsters of varying ages since 2004 and is (amongst other things) currently working with elite local players aged 6-16 at Manchester United’s Carrington training centre. He is also the editor of Better Football, a coaching website that offers advice and learning resources for developing better coaches.” (Football Further)

Italia 1990: It’s Gut Czech Time For the Americans

“June 10, 1990 — Control your emotions. I know national anthems can be moving, but there’s a game to be played. In fact, there are three games to play. If you can’t handle these early moments, maybe this isn’t for you. If you find this stressful, you should be concerned because it will take a herculean effort for you to make it through the Backstreet Boys, the internet and financial armageddon, three things that I’m just guessing are on the horizon. What’s the internet you ask? I’m not sure. It’s 1990.” (Nutmeg Radio)

‘Pay As You Play’ Day


“This week sees the long-anticpated (by at least three people) release of ‘Pay As You Play: The True Price of Success in the Premier League Era‘. The Transfer Price Index website is now fully live, and includes extracts and links to order the book. It will also feature new articles based on the TPI work used in Pay As You Play.” (Tomkins Times)

Ten out of 20 Ain’t Bad.
“Now that the Reds have got some kind of foothold under Roy Hodgson, unless results take a disastrous turn for the worst, the 20 game mark appears to be the fairest time to draw further conclusions. (And as such, I’m not going to say too much until then, for fear of repeating myself; I will of course continue to interact with subscribers of this website and write about Liverpool FC, but not analyse every last performance in a make-or-break fashion.)” (Tomkins Times)

Damien Comolli at Spurs: A TPI Case Study
“2nd November 2010. Tottenham beat the European champions Internazionale 3-1 at White Hart Lane with a scintillating display of attacking football. Exactly two years earlier they were rock bottom of the Premier League after 11 games (and 17 points behind Liverpool). Tottenham’s manager in that period has been Harry Redknapp and he has done a fine job, albeit with a lot of the components already in place.” (Pay As You Play)

SKP at the Pacaembu and the Brazilian Football Museum!

“Loyal readers (if I’m priveleged enough to have any) will be aware that SKP occasionally drifts away from the cut and thrust of the Campeonato Brasileiro, and into more anecdotal territory. Previous examples have concerned my trips to see games to the Engenhão and the Morumbi; you can have a look at those articles here and here. On this rainy day, I’ve decided to delve a bit further back into the past; to 2009, when I visited the Pacaembu, home of the mighty Corinthians…” (Snap, Kaka, and Pop!)