Transfer culture is a basic part of fandom and sustaining concerted opposition to owners is almost impossible Oh! pleasant exercise of hope and joy! For mighty were the auxiliars which then stood upon our side, we who were strong in love. Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive. But to be on Fulham Road, wreathed in canisters of blue smoke, holding a home-made banner reading FANS NOT CUSTOMERS, was very heaven.Yes: who can forget the famous European Super League protests of April 2021? They were a vibe, weren’t they? Peace and love and Florentino Pérez memes. Prince William ferrying cups of tea and bottled water out to the picket line. Gary Neville, hair wreathed in daisy chains, serenading...
Excellent Euros is no accident, but rather the realisation of FA’s steady progress, planning and sound foundationsThe Football Association, a national fixture since 1863, sustains energetic batterings when mired in its periodic crises, so it is only right that credit should be given at a time such as now, when its good work is luminously coming to fruition.The success of Gareth Southgate’s England team, and of the manager himself, in reaching Sunday’s European Championship final is not a miraculous accident, but the realisation of steady progress, planning and the building of sound foundations. The England team are somehow viewed separately from perceptions of the FA, but the governing body runs the whole setup and this pinnacle has been reached after...
The qualifying tweak that admitted North Macedonia was a plus but third-placed teams advancing undermines integrityA little over a decade ago, John Delaney, the infamous then president of the Football Association of Ireland, approached Sepp Blatter and outlined his proposal to expand the Euros from 16 teams to 24. A little later, having thought about it, Blatter came back and told him he thought it was an excellent scheme, saying: “You should be honoured the president of Fifa said it was very good.” Blatter, notoriously, was a man who had 50 ideas a day, 51 of them bad. Related: How to support our sports coverage (without asking a billionaire) | Jonathan Liew Related: Belgium’s attacking riches bail out creaking back...
The fines handed out demonstrate English football cannot continue its global growth without the snaky six on boardIt read like something drafted by the Spanish inquisition rather than the English Premier League. The European Super League Six had “acknowledged once again that their actions were a mistake”. They had “reconfirmed their commitment to the Premier League and the future of the English game.” They had given praise to Gary Neville and pledged to kiss the hem of his robe. Related: Six English ESL breakaway clubs agree to pay £22m to grassroots causes Related: Transfer of tickets via Euro 2020 app risking touting and crowd problems Continue reading...
Exits for Conte and Zidane, together with talk of Pochettino returning to Spurs, epitomise the chaos of modern football At first glance, Antonio Conte leaving a club in dispute with the owners soon after leading them to a league title may not seem particularly significant. This is what he does. His departure from Internazionale follows ostensibly similar departures from Juventus and Chelsea, and he left the Italy national job early as well.But this is about far more than Conte. What is happening at Inter is emblematic of the chaos of modern football and the struggles of an industry that had become a stage for the soft-power machinations of various states and oligarchs and was in need of major financial recalibration...