James Pennington

Editor's note/warning: A version of this analysis will be published on Jan. 8 by the Harvard Sports Analysis Collective. Andrew has been kind enough to adapt his work for World Soccer Talk ahead of this weekend's FA Cup matchups. Any precision lost in the editing of this post is unintentional and may not represent Andrew's […]

The third round of the FA Cup is fast approaching, and the usual argument of “forget it, play the second XI” is appearing on many internet threads. So this begs the question: Should Tottenham play weakened sides in the FA Cup to reduce fixture congestion and increase their chances of finishing higher in the Premier […]

It’s the magic of the cup. A second division side drawn to play away from home against their local rivals, a “proper cup tie” some might call it. It’s David against Goliath, a potential giant killing, a banana skin, as well as a local derby. It has all the storylines one would want. An expanded […]

After a year of living in London and attending quite a few matches, I came home to my native New York just in time for the biggest fixture on the New York soccer calendar, the Hudson River Derby between New York City Football Club (NYCFC) and New York Red Bulls. I attended six London derbies […]

Day 2 of the Kicking and Screening Soccer Film Festival in New York City provided the option of watching two films that were very different in style and content. The first option was a film called Soccer For Socrates, which was about how Northern Ireland’s appearance in the 1986 World Cup united the country that […]

This week, New York City is the home of the Kicking and Screening Soccer Film Festival, which launched Tuesday night and continues until Friday. The festival features seven films from seven different countries that mainly focus on the fan’s impact on the sport. The first three nights feature two films a night while Friday night features one. The festival […]

In recent weeks I have written about trips to The Hive, Vicarage Road, Griffin Park and Allianz Park to write about experiences that are foreign to me as an American living in England. All of these experiences were extremely memorable and unique and created memories that I will keep with me for a long time. […]

After going to more than 30 soccer matches during my stay in England I decided to try a different English sporting experience a week and a half ago when I went to see a rugby match to see how the two atmospheres compare with each another. I found that, very surprisingly, the two experiences could […]

Last weekend I wrote about the joys of promotion to the Premier League and the raucous celebrations at Vicarage Road when Watford were promoted after a 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday. This week, however, I was in for quite a different experience, the tooth and nail drama that I was denied when Watford went up […]

Last weekend I wrote about the experience of watching a team achieve promotion into the Football League when I went to see Barnet defeat Gateshead to clinch the Conference Title. A week later I was back in North West London to watch a team achieve promotion out of the Football League and into the Premier […]

Since my favorite team Tottenham Hotspur were away to Southampton this weekend, I decided to look elsewhere for my weekend soccer adventure. Since the two promotion chasing Championship sides (Watford and Brentford) were playing away from home, I decided to think outside the box. As it turned out, the team that is geographically closest to […]

Old Trafford, Manchester, England, capacity 75,000. Home to Manchester United Football Club, it is an international tourist destination that attracts visitors from all over the world to the industrial city of Manchester. It is nicknamed “The Theater of Dreams” but for away supporters over the last 25 or so years it can be more appropriately […]

Earlier in the season, I wrote about my experience supporting Tottenham Hotspur away at Stamford Bridge. This past Thursday, I had the opportunity to watch Tottenham play from the away end in Florence and wow the experiences could not have been any different. Drawn by the attractiveness of the city and its status as a […]

If you try to buy tickets for a Tottenham Hotspur Premier League match at White Hart Lane, you'll notice that each game is priced into one of three categories based on the level of the opponent. The category with the highest ticket prices contains many of the top teams in the league — notably Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, […]

Before the players walk out onto the pitch at every Tottenham Hotspur home match at White Hart Lane, a video is played on the big screens at either end of the White Hart Lane pitch. The video alludes to Tottenham’s history, of their successes both distant and recent. The video includes two important quotes that […]