James McManus @james-mcmanus ?

After watching Match of the Day 2 the other week, something struck me, something troubling – just why were the pundits so bad? On the sofa we had Alan Shearer, a person incapable of threading together a single coherent sentence and Robbie Savage, an excitable male hairdresser simply using his footballing pulpit as an excuse to [...]

The King is dead. Long live the King. As we pour over in great detail about the myriad of reasons behind Barcelona’s Champions League exit at the hands of Chelsea, one thing has become abundantly clear – they lack a plan B. So is this the end of the Barcelona as we know it? Or is [...]

Manchester United, somewhat unfathomably, blew a two-goal lead at home to Everton this weekend and surrendered the title chasing initiative back to Manchester City in the process. The main thing that I took from the game, though, was just how poor Patrice Evra was, and surely his time as an Old Trafford regular is in danger [...]

One of the most important days of the footballing calendar is nearly upon us – the first Merseyside Derby of the season. As the 217th recorded Merseyside Derby takes place at Anfield tonight, let’s remind ourselves about all that makes a Derby day special with a look back on the Top 10 Merseyside Derbies of all-time. [...]

Rio Ferdinand is a once in a generation player. Often termed a ‘Rolls-Royce’ centre half due to the elegant nature and consummate ease with which he played the game, he has undoubtedly been one of the best defenders in the world this past decade. However, while his style of play and the quality of his performances [...]

One of the most important days of the footballing calendar is nearly upon us – the first Merseyside Derby of the season. As the 217th recorded Merseyside Derby takes place at Anfield tonight, let’s remind ourselves about all that makes a Derby day special with a look back on the Top 10 Merseyside Derbies of all-time. [...]

The English national side has been run for years on reputation, as a result, there are those seemingly more talented and worthy of a first-team spot that have fallen by the wayside. To put the list into some perspective, here are a few shocking statistics for you – Phil Neville (59 caps), Emile Heskey (61 caps), [...]

Arsenal’s 4-0 humbling at the hands of AC Milan just further emphasised the dawning realisation about just how far off this current Arsenal side are in terms of quality when compared to the old Arsenal teams of yesteryear. But when it comes to the issue of the manager, and whether the club should continue to back [...]

Well, there you have it then, the four-year reign of terror of Fabio Capello is at an end, let’s all take to the streets and rejoice, right? This is not an article about Harry Redknapp and the England job, for he is such an overwhelming favourite that his eventual coronation is something of a moot point. [...]

In a slower than expected transfer deadline day, a few late moves managed to catch the imagination, but perhaps not quite in the way that you’d first imagine, most notably Spurs moves for Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen. Redknapp stated earlier on in the window that he’d only move for a ‘special’ player, but there must [...]

David De Gea’s erratic form since his move to Manchester United has drawn worried glances from around Old Trafford. For a player that Sir Alex Ferguson was convinced to part with the best part of £18.9m for, it’s fair to say that his performances do not befit a player of his price-tag. However, at what point [...]

Dortmund’s triumph last season in the Bundesliga. Man Utd’s dominance at the beginning of this Premier League season. These two occurrences have one thing in common – an emphasis on youth. More so than ever before, younger players are being thrown in at the deep end at the higher echelons of the game and rather surprisingly, [...]

With Chelsea proposing to buy up the shares currently owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners in an attempt to either rebuild Stamford Bridge or move to a new stadium, Spurs angling for a new home after the failed bid for the Olympic Stadium and Liverpool still pondering their next move, does moving stadium guarantee success on the [...]

Another weekend, and yet another deeply disappointing performance by Kenny Dalglish’s charges on the pitch, as they failed to take full advantage of those higher placed in the league table’s slip-ups. Many will point to a direct link between Luis Suarez’s absence from the starting line-up and the recent downturn in both performances and results, however, [...]

Liverpool have been dealt some serious blows in the transfer market over the past few seasons. While the club may not have fallen foul to the cult of the badge-kisser over the years, they have certainly had their fair share of fallen idols and unsavoury characters in and around the first-team squad. The latest villain to [...]

The latest rumours doing the rounds involving Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool side include bids for both Tottenham’s Jermain Defoe and Swansea’s Scott Sinclair. It has become clear over recent weeks what the club’s achilles heel will be in their race for fourth and where their focus lies for the remainder of the January transfer window – adding [...]

The trials and tribulations of Liverpool Football Club over the past few decades has certainly meant that the club has had its fair share of players that have adorned cult hero status. But what is a ‘cult’ hero though? It’s a difficult thing to define, but more often than not, it’s a player that rarely meets [...]

Rome was not built in a day. as we are often told; quite how many it was actually built in is beside the point – longer-term planning almost always bears fruit eventually, whether it is football or to suit this hugely convoluted segue, city building. This conveniently brings me to the somewhat surprising appointment made by [...]

While the Luis Suarez racism case has enveloped the club for the past couple of months, intense scrutiny on the performances of certain individuals on the pitch has become somewhat slacker. Summer signing Stewart Downing, who arrived from Aston Villa for the staggering amount of £20m, appears to be a player going through a serious crisis [...]

The Premier League, for as far back as I can remember, appears to be going through a real dearth in terms of the overall quality and standard of the league. Now, more than ever before, games are won by the collective as opposed to individual moments of brilliance. After attending the Merseyside Derby at the weekend [...]