Watch any episode of The Sunday Supplement involving discussion on Liverpool, and host Brian Woolnough will say “but Benítez cares more about Europe”, adding something about him not understanding the value to Liverpool fans of the domestic league title. He is not alone in regurgitating this view. I find it very patronising. As if any [...]
May 29th 1985, 6.30pm-after midnight I’ve no idea what the Heysel Stadium is like now; it’s not even called the Heysel Stadium anymore. But on the day that it made history, it was a rickety, ramshackle, crumbling, run-down football and athletics stadium in the north-western part of the Brussels conurbation. Its history involved some Belgium [...]
This is an article which premiered for members at the weekend; the issues discussed herein will be analysed in further depth in a series of pieces that will be available only to subscribers. First of all, let me say that anything in life has its good and its bad sides. Nothing, and no-one, is perfect. [...]
Here is something every critic of Rafa Benítez should consider. The Spaniard has won 57.38% of his 305 games as Liverpool manager. Quite remarkably, Bob Paisley’s figure over 535 games stands at… 57.38%. It is precisely this kind of statistic – a kind of ‘ultimate stat’, based on winning football matches – that suggests the [...]
First of all, let me say that anything in life has its good and its bad sides. Nothing, and no-one, is perfect. Football is not exempt. Every good player will have bad games, and every system a manager deploys will work sometimes and fail on others. Football relies on skill, and judgement, but also luck, [...]
With the latest controversies surrounding Alex Ferguson, and not one but two excellent newspaper pieces finally taking the United manager to task, I thought I’d share this excerpt from a chapter in Red Race. [...] By the end of March, the tables had turned not once but twice; Liverpool had thrown away their advantage, and [...]
The following article is an in-depth look at Rafa Benítez’s spending, which will be made public at some point in the future, but for now is purely for the benefit of subscribers, whose opinion can help me make any necessary tweaks.
This is a news update for members of The Tomkins Times, following the successful first fortnight of this website.
I’ve been asked by quite a few people what the Ins and Outs have been in the transfer market since March 2008, following George Gillett’s comments. Rather than keep emailing, I’ve posted a notice here. Here are the transfers: Whether or not the figures people are questioning include wages should be noted; a lot of [...]
Two unbelievably crass articles appeared today, one written by a man who should know better, and one by a man whose brains were clearly in the front teeth that got knocked out during his days as a failed player, which came before his days as a never-manager. No wonder newspapers are dying a fast death. [...]
