Sunday should have been a day to savour English football at its finest. Manchester United welcomed Aston Villa to Old Trafford in another chapter of their electric duel with their city neighbours from the Premier League crown, while two of the…

The Sunday newspapers will be filled this weekend by the story of a left-footed magician’s Wembley triumph. The only question is who that magician will be. While Lionel Messi has had everyone waxing lyrical since his fabulous display in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid, the normally media-shy…

Wayne Rooney will probably want to forget 2011 as soon as humanly possible if the first four months of the year are anything to go by. In fact, since the summer of 2010 Rooney seems to have been living in a bubble of relentless bad luck, consistently poor judgement…

So the cat is finally out of the bag. After a week of speculation, Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that Nemanja Vidic is the man to replace Gary Neville as the on-field captain of England’s most popular club. It marks an amazing turnaround for the big Serbian. After all, it is…

Newcastle United is not an easy club to play for, and the number nine shirt is not an easy one to fill. Andy Carroll did both with aplomb last weekend, crashing in an impressive hat-trick for the Toon in front of the watching Franco Baldini. It seems almost blasphemous to compare…

There probably aren’t many people around today who haven’t heard the phrase ‘everyone’s a winner’. It’s a expression that is used time and time again in life, but just recently it wouldn’t be too surprising to hear it uttered in the corridors of Villa Park or the City of Manchester Stadium. As…

Green and gold may be the latest fad, but red is a colour that has always been held in the highest regard by Manchester United fans. Just recently, the hoards at Old  Trafford have been joined in their love of the colour by neutrals and journalists alike. The reason? Paul Scholes. Born…

It has been reported in the news today that Mario Balotelli’s proposed move from Inter Milan to Manchester City has hit the rocks over his astronomical wage demands. Rumour has it that young Balotelli, despite being deemed surplus to requirements for Italy at the World Cup and struggling to hold down a…

Sunday 27th June 2010. Bloemfontein, South Africa. England 1 Germany 4. The day the illusion died and the post-mortem began. England’s Golden Generation had been shown to be nothing more than average on the world stage. They had been stung by Schweinsteiger. Overwhelmed by Özil.  Murdered by Müller. For the first time…

Gareth Barry has had an average season at best. His form has been patchy since his move to Manchester City and now his fitness is under scrutiny. However, the midfielder remains a key player for England, and with his injury and the fact that Owen Hargreaves has spent more of the…