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Homage to Murcia – A Season of Football Anarchy

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“Whilst the book is principally about travelling around Murcia ,with the fans CAP Ciudad de Murcia, I mixed with the ultras and hinchas of Cadiz, Athletic Club, Seville and SD Eibar as well meeting many British and Irish fans who get their kicks from following the Spanish games not so glamourous clubs. I went to over 50 matches in the 2013-14 and travelled to places as diverse as Bilbao, Gibraltar, Soria, Madrid and every nook and cranny of Murcia, searching for what makes the football sub-culture of Spain tick. I also discovered some of the lesser known football pioneers that brought football to Murcia and Spain in general including the Spanish Geordie Manny Pelegin who brought football to Lorca in the 1890s.” Homage to Murcia

Book review: Homage to Murcia – A Season of Football Anarchy by Tony Higgins
“Tony Higgins, long time friend of The Football Pink, has just released his first self-published e-book, Homage to Murcia: A Season of Football Anarchy, the title largely borrowed from George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia and chronicles Tony’s experiences of following Spanish lower league club Ciudad de Murcia, home and away, through the 2013/14 season. Immediately apparent in this book is his sense of disillusionment with modern football, something an ever-growing number of weary devotees are experiencing as corporate avarice continue its rampage across the values of the supposed game of the people.” Football Pink

Can Marco Verratti progress at PSG?

“Sometimes it is easy to forget that Marco Verratti is merely 22 years old. During his stay at Paris Saint-Germain, the Italian youngster has drawn constant comparisons with none other than Andrea Pirlo, and is widely expected to take over from ‘Il Architetto’ as the chief orchestrator in the Italian midfield. The diminutive Verratti has a unique skill-set. Blessed with a sharp footballing brain and equally nimble footwork, he usually uses these strengths to weave out of trouble in defensive areas. His ability to find wingers in advanced positions with 50-yard passes is exceptional, but he is equally adept at playing pass-and-move. Even more remarkably, he does his fair share of the dirty work and possesses a mean sliding tackle which can take an opposition player by surprise, given his 5 foot 5 inch frame.” Outside of the Boot

Death By Football?

“‘We’ve nothing to fear but fear itself’ – Franklin D’s great rallying call to the American people in the depths of the Great Depression. It’s a line that’s been on my mind since the horrible West Ham defeat. Naturally, it was amplified on Saturday evening as Liverpool played fear football again, lost again, and Twitter burned. Brendan Rodgers has the fear and it’s eating him and his Liverpool legacy game by game. And it’s sad. Remember ‘death by football’? Poor old Brendan is suffering death by football – but not his football. Instead, a football that goes against his blood.” Tomkins Times

Ten Great Italian Goalkeepers Under the Shadow of Gigi Buffon

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“It seems that foggy, snowy afternoon in Moscow was yesterday, when a 19-year-old Gianluigi Buffon made his national team debut, substituting an injured Pagliuca and valiantly protecting the Italian goal; a responsibility he would assume at the highest level in the subsequent two decades. Keeping a clean sheet for Italy again in last week’s Euro 2016 qualifier match in which the Azzurri beat Bulgaria, the 37-year-old veteran has completed his 150th international appearance, an endeavor spanning over 18 years.” backpagefootball

Manchester United players’ row with Louis van Gaal may not be a crisis

“When Bobby Robson took over at PSV Eindhoven in 1990, he was shocked by the culture he found there. ‘An English professional,’ he said, ‘accepts the manager’s decision, but after every match here the substitutes come and visit me.’ Debate has been part of Dutch football from at least the days of Rinus Michels and his ‘conflict principle’ by which players were encouraged to critique one another’s performances, seemingly on the logic that every pearl begins with a little grit of irritation.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Kevin De Bruyne helps Man City revert to Plan A to beat Crystal Palace

“On Saturday at Selhurst Park, Manchester City squeezed past Crystal Palace to seal an 11th straight league win, thanks to a stoppage-time winner from 18-year-old striker Kelechi Iheanacho. Though City were good value for the 1-0 scoreline, the leaders had been troubled in the opening exchanges: Palace started well and attacked quickly, with Yannick Bolasie threatening down the channels as a roaming centre-forward. At the other end, Manuel Pellegrini’s switch to 4-4-2 hampered City’s usual fluency. The services of David Silva and Raheem Sterling were clearly missed, while new signing Kevin De Bruyne started on the bench.” ESPN

The spirit of ’96 – When Tommy Burns’ heroes revived Celtic

“If Celtic’s great teams are measured in terms of trophies won, the 1995-96 side should have quickly become a distant memory. It is difficult to imagine parents and grandparents regaling children with tales from the season when Tommy Burns’ Celtic lost just one league game but still failed to win the league or any, in fact, any other trophy. Jock Stein’s 1967 Lisbon Lions, Billy McNeil’s 1988 Centenary double winners and Martin O’Neill’s 2001 treble winners feature more often when looking back at the great Celtic sides of the past 50 years.” backpagefootball

No need for Liverpool to panic, says Danny Murphy

“Liverpool’s approach in their defeat by Manchester United on Saturday has been criticised because of their lack of attacking threat. Whether you call it a 4-2-3-1 or 4-5-1 formation, there were question marks over the tactics that Reds boss Brendan Rodgers went with at Old Trafford because they left Christian Benteke so isolated up front.” BBC

In Germany, Migrant Aid Is a Team Effort

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“Ibrahim Ismail decided to make a placard for each of his five Syrian and Iraqi friends the moment he heard they would receive free tickets for the soccer match on Tuesday. … The six men proudly displayed their signs to thousands of German fans streaming into Millerntor-Stadion here. Almost all of the fans who passed them were wearing black T-shirts with the image of a skull and crossbones on the front, the emblem widely used by supporters of F.C. St. Pauli, a team in the second tier of German soccer. A few days earlier, St. Pauli, known for its punk-rock ethos and social conscience, had offered 1,000 free tickets for an exhibition this week against Borussia Dortmund to recently arrived migrants, including Ismail and his friends.” NY Times

City on Fire: How Manchester City Became the Best Team in the Premier League … Again

“Just a couple of months ago, Manchester City were a team hovering underneath the cloud of long-term decline. Yaya Touré couldn’t do it all anymore, Vincent Kompany no longer looked like a rock in central defense, and even David Silva, the team’s creative hub, was pushing 30. A year after winning the tile, City finished eight points back of first-place Chelsea — and were it not for a late-season winning streak and bunch of games in which Chelsea had nothing to play for, the gap could’ve been even larger.” Grantland

De Gea, Martial facing different kinds of pressure at Manchester United

“All in all, last week was a pretty big week for Anthony Martial. He made his debut for France as a second-half substitute against Portugal on Saturday, four days after becoming the most expensive teenager in the history of football. This Saturday, it’s possible (but unlikely) that he’ll make his debut for Manchester United–the most successful club in English history in terms of league titles won–against Liverpool, the second most successful. But while his life has been hurtling along–from being, in the wider consciousness of English football, some promising French kid who played against Arsenal for Monaco last season to full-on celebrity with the potential to define a manager’s reign–for the other key figure in United’s deadline day, everything has stalled.” SI -Jonathan Wilson

Talent Radar: Atletico Madrid – Barcelona young players’ combined XI

“Barcelona La Masia has established it’s name as world football’s perennial academy, constantly developing talent and pushing stars through the conveyor belt. But the academy seems to have hit a snag, with many questioning it’s current predicament and future. Barcelona are now competing as any modern club would, by making big money signings. Atletico Madrid have always championed their excellent scouting and recruiting policy, particularly from South America, and the effects of this are more than apparent on the side.” Outside of the Boot

This is Zlatan Ibrahimovic: A story about the marriage of order and disorder

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“Covering the 2014 World Cup this past summer allowed me to spend some time writing about some of the game’s best players. But one player in particular was missing. The World Cup left a small hole in my soul for there was no Zlatan Ibrahimović. Pensive and growing perhaps too self-aware, like Beckett’s Vladimir, I was waiting for Zlatan to show. And now that I have the chance to write a little bit about him, I’ve found that I can’t help but close my eyes and drift.” Fusion (Video)

Ratings: Man Utd 3-1 Liverpool: Martial steals show with thrilling debut

“Manchester United came out victors in a fairly turgid game against Liverpool thanks to second half goals from Daley Blind and Ander Herrera. The first half was one of the poorest of the season so far with neither side managing to register a shot on target. United dominated the possession but they were unable to really test Simon Mignolet, with most of the problems for the Belgian caused by himself.” Squawka (Video)

The Conversion of St. Pauli

“There are two reasons the young man on the bicycle doesn’t register with me. The first is that I don’t expect him to arrive on a bike. The second is that I’m craning my neck to look at the roof of St. Pauli’s clubhouse. Three flags are flying atop the building. The middle one carries the FC St. Pauli crest and club colors, brown and white. The one on the left advertises a crowdfunding project to raise money for underprivileged residents of St. Pauli, the working-class quarter of Hamburg. The one on the right is the gay pride flag. While I’m squinting against the bright sun, the young man gets off his bicycle.” 8 by 8

Iceland’s place at Euro 2016 a result of calculated development, growth

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“Iceland’s ascent as a footballing nation, falling at the final hurdle of 2014 World Cup qualification before become one of the first to qualify for Euro 2016, has been one of the big surprises in recent years. However, looking at the infrastructure the tiny island nation has built, it seems like less of a mystery and more of an inevitability. Despite an average daily temperature hovering around freezing for nearly half the year, Iceland has been slowly creeping toward the upper echelons of European football since the new millennium. Seven of the squad that pulled off a historic double against the Netherlands, winning 1-0 away from home on Sept. 3 after a 2-0 victory in Reykjavík in October, also qualified for the 2011 UEFA Under-21 Championship.” SI (Video)

FC Astana – The Kazakhstani minnows who are taking on Europe’s elite

“In beating APOEL Nicosia 2-1 on aggregate, FC Astana have become the first team from the former Soviet Union state of Kazakhstan to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League. The Kazakhstanis beat Maribor of Solvenia, HJK Helsinki of Finland and Cypriots APOEL on their way to the group stages for their maiden season with Europe’s elite after being drawn against Atlético Madrid, Galatasaray and Benfica in an almost impossible Group C.” backpagefootball

How will Liverpool shape up after the return of Daniel Sturridge

“The 2014-15 season for Liverpool felt like some kind of nightmare hallucination brought on by the euphoric rush that was experienced the year prior. A large part of this nightmare hallucination was that despite all the willing of the fans, and the support of medical staff between two continents and indeed two sports (football and baseball) Daniel Sturridge could not find his way back onto a pitch in playing condition. The argument that was put forth by Liverpool fans in pubs, offices, schools and streets worldwide was, ‘If Sturridge were healthy, this season would be completely different.’ This mentality has bled over into the current campaign, with Liverpool failing to make any kind of statement offensively in its first four games. However, this nightmare appears to be ending and so we will look at how Liverpool’s front line will line up with Sturridge in the lineup.” Outside of the Boot

Alexis Sanchez could be the forward Arsenal have been searching for

“The revelation that Danny Welbeck will miss half the season — days after the summer transfer window ended without Arsene Wenger’s buying a single senior outfielder — prompted anger from Arsenal fans frustrated by the lack of a superstar striker. Olivier Giroud has improved since joining in 2012, but he is unlikely to hit 20 league goals, while Theo Walcott still doesn’t look like a reliable out-and-out striker.” ESPN – Michael Cox

Manchester City – I Threw A Brick Through A Window

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“So Manchester City are once again spending big, with this summer’s transfer window seeing the arrivals of Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Nicolas Otamendi, Fabian Delph and Patrick Roberts. This should have come as no surprise given comments from chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak earlier this year, ‘We want to go to the next level and a squad that has the capability and quality to win the Premier League and compete in and win the Champions League and go all the way in tow cup competitions in England.’” The Swiss Ramble

Der Kaiser Wears a Tracksuit: The Management Career of Franz Beckenbauer

“The lists compiling football’s best players nearly always include the Franz Beckenbauer fairly high up the order. The German World Cup winning captain of 1974 amassed 103 caps and with his nonchalant style invented the role of the ball-playing libero. His playing career saw the twilight of his days spent in the USA helping to raise the profile of the nascent NASL as well as a return to Germany at Hamburg SV. These moves, however, were not the end of der Kaiser as he moved into management.” Bundesliga Fanatic

FA Cup: Ilkeston goalkeeper’s journey from war in Ukraine

“Playing in the seventh tier of English football was probably not quite how Evandro Rachoni saw his career going when he left Brazil to seek fame and fortune. But then, being threatened by masked gunmen as a platoon of tanks drove by was probably not part of the plan either. That, though, is just one part of an incredible journey that has seen the Brazilian goalkeeper go from playing against Ballon d’Or winner Rivaldo in Angola, escaping war-torn Ukraine to now living in the small Derbyshire town of Ilkeston preparing to play in the FA Cup first qualifying round.” BBC

Romania: a team of ageing journeymen somehow ranked No7 in the world

“On the face of it, everything looks rosy for the Romania national side. They’re ranked seventh in the world and they sit top of their qualifying group for Euro 2016, having conceded only one goal in six games. If they beat Hungary away on Friday, they’d be a win from securing their place in France next summer.
Roy Hodgson tells England they can pull off Euro 2016 success. The president of the Romanian Football Federation, Razvan Burleanu, has been happy to take credit for Romania’s rise, saying that he had a plan to take Romania into the world’s top 20, then the top 15, then the top 10, and merrily asserting that his country is ahead of schedule.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Tom English: Poland challenge next for fighting Scotland

“For Scotland, the sensible thing is to look forward in hope, but the irresistible urge is to look back in anger. The contrasting images of intensity and energy and goals against the world champion Germans on Monday night compared to the meek surrender in Georgia three days before is just the latest manifestation of Scotland being a footballing parody of itself. The fluctuation is a brand of torture that has been reduced to a fine art in Scotland, a form of water-boarding, just for football fans. The prevailing agony of the Scottish supporters leaving Hampden after the 3-2 loss to Germany might have taken the shape of the contention – ‘If only we’d played like that in Tbilisi we wouldn’t be in such a hole.'” BBC

Germany v Poland – The Water Battle of Frankfurt
“The plaque underneath the statue of Poland’s legendary national team coach, Kazimierz Górski, outside Warsaw’s new national stadium reads: ‘As long as the ball is in play, everything is possible.’ On the occasion the biggest match of Górski’s time in charge of the national team, whenever the ball was in play it would be repeatedly stuck in deep pools of rainwater.” backpagefootball

What is a ‘False 10’?

“In recent seasons, and particularly at the beginning of the current campaign, a trend is emerging which could eventually see the extinction of the no.10 in its traditional role. Many have written about what they perceive to be the false no.10 position. Most of these pieces claim that the role comprises of a player who starts just off the main striker but ends up in the box to score. My argument is that this is either a mere misinterpretation of the second striker role or else it is simply a false nine playing behind a striker that drifts wide or drops off to create space for the false nine. The false nine position is based on the principle that it is better to arrive in a location of threat to the opposition than to start in it. My interpretation of the false no.10 is someone who starts elsewhere with the intention of arriving in the no.10 position. In doing so, they are running into a space where their threat is heightened, instead of beginning in this zone and having to leave it to find space.” Outside of the Boot

Wales, Iceland, and Wait, Who? Your Not-Quite-Last-Minute Guide to Euro 2016 Qualifying

“You know what’s not fun? Having to go a weekend without club soccer, yet this is the reality the gods¹ of FIFA and UEFA have cast upon us over the next few days. But you know what is fun? International tournaments. You might remember exciting events such as last summer’s Women’s World Cup, when the USWNT kicked ass and Carli Lloyd finally became a household name. Or perhaps you recall the summer before, when Germany made David Luiz cry. If evoking either of those memories makes you yearn for the past, do not fret: After two summers of World Cups, the European Championships kick off in June 2016.” Grantland

Gritty comeback win over Peru gives USA a foundation to build on

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“In sports, team identity can be a tricky thing. What do you want to be about? What are your fundamentals? Your bedrock? And do you achieve the defining characteristics that you’ve set out as a goal for your outfit? Jurgen Klinsmann announced some audacious plans when he took over the U.S. men’s national team in 2011. He wanted nothing less than for the U.S. to become a proactive team that initiated the attack against elite opponents and made them react. That kind of transformation takes time, of course—lots of it—but it doesn’t mean you have to throw out all the good things that defined the U.S. team pre-Klinsmann.” SI

The coming of age of Jonjo Shelvey

“While football fans are generally an angry bunch, Liverpool fans might be slightly worse. In the last three years, there haven’t been many decisions or instances that they have all agreed upon. The decision to let go of a bald, talented 21-year-old was such an occasion. Liverpool have seven points on board and have won two games and drawn a tough away fixture against Arsenal. But a major issue with the Reds is the dearth of creativity, especially in the midfield. No wonder Liverpool fans feel like it was criminal to let the player go. But in fairness to Brendan Rodgers (and Steven Gerrard), the midfielder admitted that the Liverpool manager tried his best to make him stay.” Outside of the Boot

Philipp Lahm and Germany’s full back problems

“As the modern game drifts ever-further infield, infatuated with in-swinging widemen and central playmakers, the full-back role has undergone unrivalled reconstruction. No longer the abode of the physically challenged, the final name on the team sheet; their roles have evolved, their importance increased to the point where Dani Alves became one of the game’s most feared attackers, Luke Shaw a £30million teen. It’s fitting, therefore, that Europe’s most progressive footballing nation embraced this very modern love affair long before the mainstream considered their importance a rival to the jet-heeled wingers and laser-eyed frontmen.” Outside of the Boot

Randomness And The Fog Of Goals

“Short termism is rife in football coverage these days. From the insatiable desire to learn 5 things from each match day to the pendulum swing in Falcao’s perceived talent level between last summer and this. It’s common to hear strikers’ peaks and troughs talked about in terms of confidence, hunger and desire, as though each change in output is the result of some tweak in the internal machinery of the player’s mentality and training. But how much of this is true and how much can be attributed to statistical noise? Take these three players, for instance. Goal-scoring in 6 consecutive season adjusted for minutes played. Who do you think they are? Which player is the best?” Stats Bomb

Celtic and the Decline of Scottish Football

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“But it looks like the decision to send the club to the bottom tier of the Scottish football pyramid may just be finally hitting home that it has been a hindrance for the overall domestic picture in a country that is worlds away from its big-spending British neighbours. If you look at the game in Scotland logically and sensibly, there is very little quality throughout the four divisions, especially in the top-flight, where it is essentially a race to finish second best behind the worst Celtic side in a long, long time.” Outside of the Boot

Goal Analysis: How Crystal Palace punished Chelsea on the counter

“Crystal Palace shocked Chelsea by running out of Stamford Bridge with a 2-1 victory. Just Jose Mourinho’s second home defeat in 100 Premier League matches, Palace pulled out a Mourinho-esque performance. Allowing Chelsea to control the ball (the Blues finished with 64% of possession), Palace defended brilliantly. Alan Pardew set his team up superbly, with two stout lines of defense, ready to break at any moment. Palace poached both their goals with brilliant counters, both coming down the left, and seizing on the mistakes of Chelsea’s backline.” Outside of the Boot

The ever-changing face of the EPL

“In September 1882, a group of schoolboys met around a North London lamppost and decided to start a football club that soon became known as Tottenham Hotspur. On 20 April 1901, Tottenham won the FA Cup. It had been an eventful 19 years. In that time the club had established itself as a local force and acquired a fan base. It had turned professional and soon afterwards had become a limited company. It had moved into its present White Hart Lane stadium, with a capacity at the time of 30,000.” The World Game – Tim Vickery

What the Ligue 1 numbers tell us so far

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“It’s the first international break of the 2015-16 season, which means the Ligue 1 season is 10.5% completed. From the numbers we have, this is what we have learned so far. PSG will win Ligue 1, easily. In the last three seasons, two of them were dominated by PSG and there wasn’t any semblance of a title race. What made last season so much fan for the neutral in France was that PSG weren’t running away in Ligue 1 and through 35 weeks last season, PSG were in a dogfight to win Ligue 1. It was the best title race in Europe. It was just as much ‘Lyon and Marseille have improved considerably’ as ‘PSG weren’t trying, even by their lackadaisical standards’.” backpagefootball

Chelsea’s aggressive loan approach lets club stockpile young talent

“In June, Shakhtar Donetsk forward Fred made his home debut for Brazil in a friendly against Mexico in Sao Paulo, having performed creditably as a substitute in away friendlies against Turkey and Austria. To widespread confusion, he was booed. His crime? Well, there wasn’t one, other than that he shared his name with Fred, a center forward who had been made a scapegoat for Brazil’s poor showing at the World Cup a year earlier. Brazilian fans–sufficient to get a significant spell of booing together–simply didn’t know who he was.” SI – Jonathan Wilson

Sheffield Wednesday – Working With Fire And Steel

“Sheffield Wednesday are one of those clubs with a fine history that these days find themselves playing in the Championship. Wednesday spent most of the 80s and 90s in the top flight of English football, but have not been in the Premier League since 2000 and won the last of their First Division titles back in 1930. Indeed, in recent times they actually spent two seasons in League One, England’s third tier, before promotion back to the Championship in 2012. Since then, they have not really threatened the promotion or play-off places, but there is now cause for a degree of optimism in the steel city following the arrival of new Thai owner Dejphon Chansiri.” The Swiss Ramble

Milestone Müller Maintains Bayern’s 100% Record

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“Bayern made it three wins from three in the weekend’s top game as they downed Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 at the Allianz Arena. Thomas Müller was the hero with a brace, while Arjen Robben added a third. It was a case of Leverkusen being good, but Bayern being exceedingly good. What do you do when you’ve got your two first-choice centre-backs out? Well if you’re Pep Guardiola you just fill your side with midfielders. With both Mehdi Benatia and Jerome Boateng missing, the Bayern trainer went with a three-man back line of Philipp Lahm, David Alaba and Juan Bernat with Thiago playing just in front.” Bundesliga Fanatic

Tactical Notes on Saturday’s Bayern Munich – Bayer Leverkusen Match
“MatchDay 3’s game of the week fixture featured two (of three) Bundesliga clubs with perfect records after two weeks, as holders FC Bayern Munich hosted Bayer 04 Leverkusen. In terms of squad strength, each club was short-handed, as Bayern were without much in the way of available defenders while Leverkusen’s attacking midfielder, Heung-Min Son, just signed a deal with Tottenham. Nevertheless, Bayern were able to prevail, downing Die Werkself 3-0.” Bundesliga Fanatic

European football: 7-1 scorelines, fluke goals and more

“It was a busy weekend across Europe, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich winning, Roma shocking Juventus and transfers galore. But what are the stories you might have missed? Several former Premier League strikers on the scoresheet, freak goals and stadium problems and more – BBC Sport takes a look.” BBC

Louis van Gaal’s quest for control brings scant consolation at Swansea

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“If only Club Brugge were in the Premier League. But they are not and, when you strip out the seven goals Manchester United scored in two games against them, they have scored just three in four this season. For all the talk of progress and of Louis van Gaal’s methods slowly being assimilated by his players, his 50th game in charge ended with the same result as his first: a 2-1 defeat to Swansea.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Talent Radar Young Players Team of the Week #4 — Matthias Ginter, Raheem Sterling, and Nabil Fekir feature

“A regular feature on our website is the Talent Radar Team of the Week with the best young players compiled into an XI from across Europe’s top six leagues. You can read this for all details on Talent Radar, who is eligible under it and what else we publish within this feature.” Outside of the Boot.

James Rodríguez – the future of Real Madrid

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“The result of this weekend’s drubbing of Real Betis by Real Madrid not only relieved some early season pressure off new manager Rafa Benitez, but also heavily showcased the future stars of Los Blancos. The media loves mentioning Gareth Bale and his two goals and that he is (probably) just a few mental roadblocks away from becoming the main star for Real. However, James Rodríguez’s scintillating display and classy brace this past weekend was a real sign of what we will soon come to expect on a weekly basis from the young Colombian star. When James Rodríguez first made his ‘appearance’ in Brazil 2014, everybody knew him as the up and coming young Colombian partner of Joao Moutinho at AS Monaco. Yes, he was an exciting talent, but how many players shine at the World Cup only to flop for big clubs soon after?” backpagefootball

Euro 2016: How two wins in four days could make history for Wales

“Fever-pitch excitement surrounds Gareth Bale and the rest as Wales are on the brink of appearing at their first major tournament finals since 1958. But, in the week of Euro 2016 qualifying matches away against Cyprus on Thursday, 3 September and Israel at home on Sunday, 6 September, the big question appears to be – will it take four days or four games?” BBC

From Ice Station Zebra to the Promised Land – Oldham’s golden era

“Former Everton and Manchester City star Joe Royle had been in the job for just a few weeks shy of five years, maintaining Oldham Athletic’s place in English football’s second tier without previously threatening to end their 64-year exile from the First Division. By the end of the 1986/87 season though, the Latics were pushing hard for one of the two automatic promotion places having become more adept at turning defeats into victories, primarily through a much tighter defence than in previous campaigns. Their chief rivals were Portsmouth – managed by Royle’s former Everton team mate and World Cup winner Alan Ball – and the soon-to-be Robert Maxwell-bankrolled Derby County.” Football Pink (Video)

Champions League draw analysis: Picks to make it out of each group

UEFA General Secretary Gianni Infantino, left, and UEFA Competitions Director Giorgio Marchetti, right, remove the balls containing the names of the soccer clubs, during the draw for the Champions League 2015/16 play-offs, at the UEFA Headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, Friday, Aug. 7, 2015. (Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP)
“There was a twist to the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco Thursday. UEFA’s new seeding regulations meant that only reigning champions would be picked from Pot 1, leaving some dangerous contenders in the lower pots. And so it proved, as Manchester City was drawn with Juventus and Sevilla while Real Madrid drew Paris Saint-Germain and Shakhtar Donetsk. The draw resulted in some intriguing individual storylines, powerhouses going up against one another and the first steps on the road to the San Siro.” SI (Video)

Louis van Gaal’s possession obsession risks blunting Manchester United’s edge

“‘My worry,’ Louis van Gaal said after Manchester United’s draw against Newcastle on Saturday, ‘is that we have to dominate the opponent’. He was not bothered, he insisted, that his side had failed to score, and he felt no great urge to sign another striker despite the ineffectiveness of Wayne Rooney; rather he was happy because ‘three times we are the better team … We did it today, we did it against Aston Villa and against Tottenham. Against Tottenham was less but against Villa, Brugge and today we dominated’.” Guardian – Jonathan Wilson

Roma v Juventus, a season defining game…already?

“It is only the second game of the season and we already have the spectre of a ‘season defining’ game as Roma and Juventus go head to head at the Stadio Olimpico. In previous years, this fixture may have been known as an early ‘title decider’, as Roma have been Juve’s closest challengers in the last two seasons (close in the sense of being seventeen points behind).” backpagefootball

Tactical Philosophy: Paco Jemez

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“Born on the 18th April 1970 as Francisco Jemez Martin, to the son of a flamenco singer, Paco has always admitted that he would have followed in his father’s musical footsteps if he had the talent for it, however he has proclaimed that he had ‘neither the voice nor the talent for it’. Instead his father helped shape his career in a different way. With his father being an avid Cordoba fan, it was Cordoba that Paco joined, and made his debut in the Segunda Division B as an 18 year old as a tough tackling centre-back.” Outside of the Boot

Klinsmann faced with several options in picking U.S. roster for friendlies

“So much for the best-laid plans of national team managers. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann desperately wanted to avoid a playoff for CONCACAF’s spot in the 2017 Confederations Cup. So he selected a Gold Cup roster stocked with veterans and promising younger players—the best available, he claimed—who comprised a ‘very, very strong group that can win this prestigious tournament.’ It failed. The U.S. was 2-0-1 but unconvincing in the continental championship’s group stage.” SI

Tactical Analysis | West Ham 3-4 Bournemouth: Cherries dominate with wide overloads

“Premier league new boys AFC Bournemouth picked up their first ever top flight win in a 7 goal thriller at Upton Park. The game was characterised by drastic swings of momentum for both sides, though on the overall balance of play, Bournemouth certainly deserved to win the match and were rewarded for their refreshing attacking bravery.” Outside of the Boot

It’s Not You, It’s My Tactics: Francis Coquelin and the Impossibility of the Defensive Midfielder

“With the final week of the transfer window upon us, Arsenal still haven’t bought a defensive midfielder. (Drink.) And if that doesn’t change for the first time in what feels like a century running, it’ll be because Arsene Wenger has decided to ride with Francis Coquelin. Let’s just get this out of the way: Coquelin is not a great midfielder, and he never will be.” Grantland

The rise of Carpi: Serie A’s newcomers

“It has been a truly remarkable ride for Carpi over the last few years. Based in the northern province of Modena, the modest-sized club from the small industrial town from which it gets its name have enjoyed a meteoric rise over the past several seasons, one that has seen them return from the dead and climb up the ranks at a rate of knots, culminating in them gaining a place in Serie A for the first time in their history. Founded as AC Carpi in 1909, the club spent the majority of their life battling in the lower tiers of Italian football, finding it difficult to carve out any success in the provincial leagues.” Outside of the Boot

Is Lablatinière buying Ligue 1 happiness?

“Until recently, the picturesque town of Angers was known mostly because of its Plantagenet-era history and because of its tradition of being one of Europe’s intellectual centres. However, after achieving promotion to Ligue 1 in the 2014-2015 season, the city’s football club, SCO Angers, has once again emerged into the limelight, taking centre stage.” backpagefootball

Blackburn Rovers – Burning Down The House

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of Blackburn Rovers winning the Premier League, a magnificent feat that only five clubs have achieved. Things are very different these days, compared to that golden period when Alan Shearer and Chris Sutton were tearing defences apart, as Rovers now languish in the Championship following a disastrous takeover. In November 2010 Rovers were acquired by Indian poultry giants Venky’s, who paid £23 million to end the club’s long association with the Jack Walker Trust. The new owners also took on around £20 million of debt, subsequently converting £10 million into share capital.” The Swiss Ramble

Champions League: Celtic weakness cruelly exposed in defeat

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“In the minutes after Celtic’s lame exit from the Champions League, the mixed zone at the Swedbank Stadium was like a hospital ward for damaged footballers. The visiting team trooped in with their pride hurting not just because of what their driven opponents from Malmo had just done to them but by what their own manager had said about them. When Ronny Deila accused his team of being ‘scared’ and ‘frightened’ on the night, it was as firm a kick to their collective solar plexus as anything the Swedes visited upon them.” BBC

Saturdays on the Couch, Week 2: Sluggish Wolfsburg

“…I wrote about how he was one of the coaches to watch in my Family Tree pieces but with quotes like the above and his quote in the same presser where he said: ‘Fundamentally, it is better to lose while playing well in the second half rather than win with the first half performance, as we really did not do enough.’ He is quickly becoming one of my favorite coaches.” StatsBomb

Tactical Analysis: Arsenal 0 Liverpool 0

“… Both teams missed important first-team players, with Arsenal’s loss arguably the greater. Liverpool were without their captain Jordan Henderson and Adam Lallana but their replacements – Lucas and Firmino respectively – played important roles in creating a different outlook which arguably suited the game more. After using a lopsided 4-2-1-3 for the previous two games, here – arguably due to the change from Henderson to Lucas – Rodgers opted for a 4-1-2-3 formation instead.” Tomkins Times

From Galáctico to Partridge: Why are we obsessed with trolling Michael Owen?

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“As much I’m looking forward to the Premier League’s latest Saturday lunchtime kick-off, I can’t seem to concentrate on the screen. It’s the BT Sport logo in the top-right corner that’s causing me the problem. As soon as I see it my thumbs take over in a flurry of muscle-memory. It seems like I’m not alone. Within minutes, Twitter’s trending topics reveal that the eyes of the whole country have been yanked from the big screen at the front of the room to the small screen in their hand. Michael Owen, it seems, gives us all absolutely no choice but to tweet about him. Indeed, by the time the weekend’s over, criticism of his commentary has already hit the back pages, with stories that are little more than the journalistic equivalent of a playground pile-on.” Four Four Two (Video)

Player Analysis: Sergio Busquets against Athletic Bilbao

“In the 1st leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Barcelona had huge problems dealing with the high-press of Bilbao in Barcelona’s own half-pitch, while also employing a man-marking system. Athletic were also very centrally compact playing with a 4-4-2, which Barcelona could not penetrate, conceding 4 goals through different pressing approaches of Bilbao which eventually led to counter-attacks against the then destabilized Barca defense.” Outside of the Boot

Italian football’s stadium problem

“Italian football has been the sick man of Europe. The phrase was once used to describe the Ottoman Empire, with which Italian football has similarities. Like the Ottoman Empire in the early twentieth century, Serie A is living off past glories. Its Constantinople was the San Siro, where great Milan sides once battled it out, but now plays host to two pale imitations. The Ottoman Empire was behind the great powers of England, Germany and France, whereas now Italy is also behind England, Germany Spain and France.” backpagefootball

Tactical Analysis | Atletico Madrid 1-0 Las Palmas: Simeone’s build-up system and pressing changes

“Atletico kicked off their 2015/16 La Liga campaign against newly promoted side, UD Las Palmas. The game had some interesting tactical strategies with the yellow men from Las Palmas quite secure in defence.” Outside of the Boot