Author Archives: Noel S. Williams

Mark Clattenburg will referee Chelsea against Swansea this Sunday. Despite Clattenburg’s magnanimous efforts to put the recent racial accusations against him to bed, we can learn some lessons, lest another hapless victim falls foul to indiscriminate accusations of racism. Liverpool’s … Continue reading →

Mandatory player handshakes at soccer games should be abolished. Voluntary player handshakes should be encouraged. It’s nice that soccer stadia are more family oriented. As a youngster I braved the terraces to watch Crystal Palace play Millwall at Selhurst Park, … Continue reading →

I’ve spent too much of my 25 years in the States trying to convince Americans that there’s more to England than the great city of London. However, it’s quite likely there’ll be 6 London-based teams in the EPL next season. … Continue reading →

Salvation is here! The English football season is back. I’ve been trying to fill the summer void by taking to cricket but it’s been challenging. In the text commentary for the previous Test match against India, for example, several cricket … Continue reading →

Supposedly, the Three Lions on England football shirts represent pride, passion and courage. Clearly, it’s time for a kit redesign. Even as England’s footballing lions shriveled into meek kittens in the World Cup cauldron it may be finally sinking in … Continue reading →

The World Cup has stopped wars, launched dictators and broken hearts. The month-long quadrennial soccer extravaganza can also reduce a nation’s GDP: neither over-zealous victory parties nor wallowing in defeatism do much for worker productivity. World Cup 2010 begins in … Continue reading →

Just in time for the World Cup, Fulham manager Roy Hodgson showed England how to lose with dignity. That’s important because with history as the guide England will flatter to deceive in making the knockout stages, only to be humiliated … Continue reading →

At the end of a productive week you shuffle off to your living room for some deserved rest. You plonk yourself down on the comfy couch, arrange a smorgasbord of snacks on the table and tune in to the game … Continue reading →