“How does one assess the strength of a league? An obvious answer would be something along the lines of ‘strength’ multiplied by ‘competiveness’ — basically you want quality but also expect unpredictability. Let’s be honest — 2012-13 just isn’t a great season for European domestic football. The Champions League is as exciting as usual and the raw quality is certainly apparent from the major clubs. But in terms of competitiveness, this year has been a disaster. Manchester United lead the Premier League by 12 points, Barcelona lead La Liga by 12 points, and Bayern Munich lead the Bundesliga by a staggering 17 points, while Juventus are a relatively modest six points clear in Serie A.” ESPN – Michael Cox (Video)

“Two weeks ago I was given the opportunity to conduct a Skype interview with Simon Kuper (from Paris) and Stefan Szymaski (from Ann Arbor, Michigan). It couldn’t have been a better representation of how global soccer had become – me, being a recent convert and blogger through watching digital TV feeds from England, talking to men located halfway around the world who had grown up watching and writing about it for a living. What ensued was a nearly fifty minute conversation on all the topics covered in their latest edition of Soccernomics: how the partnership works so well between two writers from very different schools of writing, why the Moneyball approach failed at Liverpool, their thoughts on financial fair play, and how match data is transforming the game. They offered me a few insights into what they might include in the next edition of the book, as well as what they’re working on in the immediate future. They even gave me their thoughts on the Robin Van Persie situation at Arsenal and their predictions for the Champions League final and European Championships. In all, it is 7000 words of insight from two of the preeminent authors in soccer journalism today.” Forbes

“At the mention of Pele, Puskas, Muller and Eusébio, you instinctively think ‘goals’. They were both great goal scorers, and scorers of great goals. They lit up world stages, influenced generations, tormented defenders and forged an image of lethality at the mention of the word ‘striker’. You might even mistake them for hit-men; they were that feared. They are so well known, well remembered and well documented that it would be almost impossible to imagine football history without them. There would be a gaping hole in the Annals of football if we neglected them and their feats. But is it time that we overlook these types of players?” Think Football

“Newcastle finished in a very impressive fifth place finish last season, drawing plaudits from across the footballing World. After a recent dip in form and expectations, Pardew appeared to have brought Newcastle back to the upper echelons of the footballing elites, with one eye on potential Champions League spot. Memorable victories last season included an impressive 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge as well as a big 3-0 win at home to United.” Think Football

“Much was decided in the last round of Champions League fixtures, with as many as 13 of the 16 knockout round qualification places now filled. The fact that one of them was not taken by Chelsea on Tuesday night following a defeat in Turin ultimately cost Roberto Di Matteo his job, despite the fact that the Blues look likely to end the group on 10 points. However, as the Italian looked set to become the first ever manager to exit the competition at the group stage having been victorious the previous season, Abramovich wielded the axe yet again.” ESPN