Back Page Football: A Century of Newspaper Coverage

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Ruthless Roman’ has certainly garnered a reputation as one of the league’s most ruthless owners, with Chelsea having had 14 managers during the Russian’s 14-year tenure, and is somewhat symbolic of what is wrong with the modern game. Undoubtedly, Rodri holds the title of Europe’s finest defensive midfielder. His presence was instrumental in City’s triumphant journey to the treble, and he even netted the crucial goal in the Champions League final. In the 2023/24 season, at 27 years old, he’s displaying an unwavering determination, setting the tempo for City as they chase more trophies. To have expected any better from Flores is nothing short of delusional, and rather than having a settled framework in which to head into the new campaign, Watford will be heading in a new uncertain direction.

Rodgers had squandered much money on thoroughly average players, and their was little he could argue for his continuation, especially when a manager of the standing of Jürgen Klopp was available. The authors use statistical data in an attempt to explain, among other things, the performance of the England national team. Their findings conclude that England’s win percentage, between 1970 and 2007, is on average 67 per cent, never lower than 62 per cent, and never higher than 70 per cent. A consistent and credible performance but, considering Brazil win on average 80 per cent of their games, England’s win percentage is not enough to achieve international glory. From 1981 to 2001, it was the tenth best in the World, hardly grounds for being labelled underachievers. The UK has the longstanding doping culture but a more competitive and fast paced tournament. Jan Molby, Matt Le Tissier and other skilled players strolling around the field have no place in England anymore, however equally skilled, but well muscled and high-stamina players do. Whataboutery is a fair comment, however it’s comparing different beasts. Why Liverpool will not win the league this season In October 2018 and again in October 2019 on Capital Sports FM radio in Moscow we predicted the winners of the English Premier League. We told people to bet their houses on Manchester City in 2018 and then on Liverpool to win in 2019. This year, I’d do the same – but to bet everything that Liverpool won’t win the Premier League. Simple reasons why: Even with the issue of visas and work permits due to Brexit, this hasn’t changed the increase in spending from teams in the Premier League on foreign players.Teams across the league are often out spending what they receive in transfer fees year on year. The 2022/23 season will see Premier League sides spend more that 1.8 billion than they received in transfers leaving the league. This has been achieved thanks to the club’s new owners, the 49ers Enterprises’ and their stance on retaining Leeds’ best players. Of course, the counterargument is that if they were that good, Leeds would still be in the Premier League. Initially, Guardiola brought Rodri in as a successor to Fernandinho, but now he stands as a significant upgrade over the Brazilian. The former Atletico Madrid player exhibits flawless skills in every aspect of his game, and City can count themselves fortunate to have him in their ranks. 3. Julian Alvarez – Manchester City Blatter at the time went on to talk about the attractiveness of the English game to billionaire investments and how it’s out of control;

Azzalin learned from the best in cycling and like fellow Mapei alumni found his knowledge transferable to football. This knowledge of how to push players above and beyond their limits using caffeine and other substances was ridden out on a rail from Chelsea but found a welcome home for a time in Juventus. Surely the aim for a newly promoted side from the Fotball League to the Premier League, is to stay in the division, and what Flores has achieved this season would have to be seen as a resounding success, but not in the eyes of Watford’s unforgiving Itlaian owners. Remi Garde was then brought in to resurrect their season, but the turmoil which had already been created in the wake of so much upheaval, meant that his task was almost impossible. But Manchester City won’t have an easy ride. Thanks to some savvy transfer moves, Arsenal, Liverpool, and a resurgent Tottenham are all in pursuit. Under Roberto De Zerbi’s guidance, Brighton also appears ready to push towards the top. De Zerbi’s style of play draws comparisons to Pep Guardiola’s, making them stand out in European football. I discovered that analysis is the bread and butter of modern day football. The best clubs in the world have access to the very latest technology that allows them to pinpoint every little detail they want – from the number of yards a particular member of their team has covered, right the way to where an opposing player is most dangerous. Several years ago, such information would not have been accessible through manual means, yet that has all changed through the emergence of Prozone.Alice from Deptford Ravens comments, ‘this question often comes up around how to find joy in activism, to make it sustainable’. With football, Alice reflects, ‘it’s kind of the other way around, football is the joy and from there you can work activism into it’. Alice’s posters for the tournament centred on bright colours and playfulness, balancing joy and activist art to support the strike, ‘When designing the posters, I went for fun, joyful illustrations, using the protestors’ placards to communicate the more ‘serious’ messages about the strike’. Alice set up the Deptford Ravens football team six months ago, ‘we already have this spirit of helping each other emotionally by having fun in difficult times’. Alice affirms that ‘Deptford is a very radical, engaged and caring community and those things are my values too. In Deptford Ravens, we make a point of supporting each other. We want to extend that support to other people in our community too’. Naturally, CCFC’s activism didn’t start or end with bringing the Old Spotted Dog into fan ownership. Last summer, together with activists from feminist direct action group Sisters Uncut, IWGB union, No More Exclusions and two football teams for refugees, CCFC arranged a Kill the Bill football tournament to protest against increased police powers and the affront to human rights that was the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts bill. In 2018, Clapton members came together to create a one of a kind anti-fascist football shirt, using the colours of the International Brigades’ flag and the slogan ‘No Pasarán’, ‘they shall not pass’ to celebrate the international fight against fascism in the Spanish Civil War. In the fabric of the shirt and in the collaborative way it was made, the values of anti-fascism live on. At the other end of the pitch, a deal has almost been concluded for World Cup winner and French international Raphael Verane. The 28-year-old has been a mainstay in Real Madrid’s defence for ten years and has four Champions League titles from his time at the Santiago Bernabeu. Teams themselves had been trying to build their customer and fan base further in the early 1990s. Manchester United were one of the top sides in the country and have been run as a global powerhouse to this day. It was clear that there was an opportunity to develop the league on a commercial basis which was not happening under the previous regime.