Howard Hockin @howiehok34 ?

These are difficult times for Michael Owen. The bench he has resided on for so long he has broken world records for splinters, is no longer available. Manchester United have decided that there is no future to be had for a player rarely needed outside the Carling Cup, so for Owen it’s time to devise a [...]

It may not have been the highest quality, but it was certainly one of the most entertaining seasons in living memory, with the most amazing climax. In the end, Manchester City claimed their first top-level title in 44 years, beating Manchester United on goal difference, whilst Arsenal claimed third place, neighbours Spurs finishing in fourth, pipping [...]

I sat in my seat with a hollow feeling the like of which I had never experienced before. This was worse than a derby defeat, this was worse than a relegation. Manchester City had managed to let me down again, they had managed to snatch away all my hope and expectancy, to leave me wondering for [...]

Gary Neville thinks it’s part of the game. Continentals accept it. The British despise it, despite being rather good at it themselves. The question is: what are we to do about diving? The British like to see themselves as paragons of virtue. Playing the game (whatever that game may be), in the right spirit, with a [...]

A season beyond the fans’ wildest expectations could have one glorious gift still to give for Newcastle United. Defeat to Manchester City has dampened expectations, but the chance of Champions League football once more is still there. And it would be a fine end to the season if it could be achieved, though plenty of obstacles [...]

The Mirror’s Brian Reade knew the score. In a piece entitled “ How Barca Reserve Yaya Toure Was Seduced By The Whore of World Football” , Brian skilfully set the record straight in the autumn of 2010. In a piece of news that he called the scariest he had ever seen, he commented that Manchester City’s new signing [...]

As a Manchester City fan, I’ve been well schooled in the art of appointing a new football manager. The revolving door at Maine Road rarely had time to catch its breath, performing its own bold attempt at a perpetual motion machine. And after another disappointing managerial reign, the same routine ensued every time. I’d scan the [...]

It’s over. Seven days of restless nights, a churning stomach, and a vague feeling of dread, of impending doom, all combining to leave me feel like the victim of a nasty stomach bug, and all because of a stupid football match. The lead up to the semi-final and final of the FA Cup didn’t make me feel [...]

They say that a week is a long time in politics. In football, a month must seem like a lifetime. It only took a week for Barcelona’s season to fall apart, and their manager to abdicate. For Tottenham Hotspur, a month has seen the whole buoyancy of the previous six months evaporate, and the reputation of [...]

The thing about obituaries is that it is better to publish them after the subject has died. Two weeks ago, Manchester United were the champions in all but name. T-shirts had been printed to celebrate their 20 th title, a United-supporting bookmakers had paid out on them, endless articles were being written about Roberto Mancini’s future, and [...]

It’s been another tough week for referees. Well, one in particular. Martin Atkinson took charge of the FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, and after misjudging the severity of Mario Balotelli’s challenge on Alex Song last week, he preceded to draw more unwanted attention to himself by guessing over whether a ball had crossed [...]

Since television started ruling football, there have been some strange kick off times for many a match. 11am, 5pm, 10:30am, occasionally even 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. Now however, ITV have raised the bar by placing an FA Cup semi-final between Chelsea and Spurs on a Sunday at 6pm, to lock viewers into the final episode of [...]

There is an indelible image from last season’s Manchester-themed FA Cup semi-final. It is a photo taken just after the final whistle, of a bare-chested Pablo Zabaleta screaming with delight into the camera lens. It was reminder, if one was needed, that here was  a man with cult-hero status at Manchester City football club. But what [...]

For some it seemed more important than the match. Samir Nasri, Arsenal fans’ arch-nemesis, was returning to the Emirates for the first time (in the league) since his contentious move to Manchester City last summer. Ever since that move, he has been the devil incarnate. He only moved for the money, you see? Arsenal fans cannot contemplate [...]

As it seems increasingly likely that the Premier League title race is fizzling out to a predictable conclusion, the inevitable recriminations will begin as to how it all went wrong for Manchester City. There’ll be plenty of clichéd nonsense in there – the mind games of Alex Ferguson, City “bottling it”, the bad team morale that [...]

I once watched an Alex Ferguson press conference on Sky Sports News. He commented on the danger of Wigan being cast away at the bottom of the table. He said that once a team was cast away at the bottom of the table, it was hard to recover, because being cast away historically meant relegation. The [...]

Oh Fernando. All he wanted was to be loved. Throughout his 25-hour goal drought, he was the black sheep of the family, shunned by those he cared for. Every hour, every minute seemed to last eternally. I was so afraid Fernando. But then the evil Andre Villas-Boas departed. Roberto Di Matteo took over, and a hug [...]

There was a football match recently in the football league, a competitive match between two teams only a few miles apart. There is no love lost between the respective fans, as is often the way in a (near) derby. The chairman of one of the teams had recently died, a tragedy their fans were reminded of [...]