Football FanCast columnist Rob Swan feels that labelling Arsenal's probable signing Samir Nasri, as the ‘new Zidane', is somewhat unjust and the type of pressure he can do well without.

Comparisons between rising stars and former legends are nothing new in football; rarely do they prove to be accurate. Often used as a lazy get-out clause for coaches, spectators and journalists alike to describe a youngster's attributes, these comparisons often result in undue pressure resting on the shoulders of the players in question.

Football FanCast columnist Rob Swan looks at the growing trend in football where young inexperienced managers seem the order of the day.

There was a time, not so long ago, when the majority of high-profile football managers all shared similar characteristics. More often than not, they'd be vastly experienced ex-players, who'd been in the management game for at least a decade before even being considered for roles at the top clubs, and even longer for the vacant positions at international level.

Football FanCast columnist

With the 2008 European Championships heading into its second week, it's hard not to pick up on the contrasts between the last World Cup finals and the current major tournament taking place in Austria and Switzerland. The 2006 World Cup finals in Germany were a festival of football, showcasing the amount of time and effort that had gone into planning the event. It was a huge success with packed out stadiums, passionate support and most importantly, the sheer amount of enthusiasm for the tournament from the Germans themselves.

Football FanCast columnist Rob Swan looks back at the footballing enigma that was Juan Veron and wonders why the Argentinean failed to live up to expectations in England.

The word enigmatic is often associated with footballers who divide opinion amongst their own club support, and there were none more enigmatic than our 2001 summer signing, Juan Sebastian Veron. After a drawn out transfer saga which eventually saw the Argentine playmaker sign for £28.1m, a British transfer record for the time, Veron was billed as the missing piece of the jigsaw, with the ability to carve open the stoutest of defences with an intricate flick or a measured through ball. It appeared that Sir Alex Ferguson had found his man to retain the Premier League title and seriously challenge for the Champions League once again.

Football FanCast columnist Rob Swan reacts to the endless stories about Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid and wonders if he departs Old Trafford, would it really be the end of the world?

Okay, I know that by now, every person with a passing interesting in football possessing a television, computer or radio is sick to the back teeth of hearing the words Real Madrid and Cristiano Ronaldo conjoined in the same monotonous, repetitive headlines and sentences. Not to mention those who have the misfortune of purchasing a daily newspaper only to be fed the same tedious nonsense about the Spanish mercenaries and the man whom this whole debacle centres around.

Football FanCast columnist Rob Swan looks back on what has been a fantastic season for Manchester United.

As the FA Cup final brought down the curtain for yet another season, it gives us all an opportunity to let the dust settle and work out where it all went wrong for our respective clubs. We at Football FanCast are doing our own review of each clubs season; and pinpointing all the positives and negatives to be taken from the 2007/08 campaign.