Alistair Hendrie

We’ve all seen Victor Moses play before, but when his previous club Crystal Palace side traveled to lowly Reading in December 2009, he owned the pitch he played on and his stock rose considerably. Then 18, Moses scored a long-range curled effort, and his second came as he powered through two challenges and fired across […]

With four matches still to play in February, including the thrilling prospect of tomorrow’s Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona, many speculated that Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger might begin to dig deeper into his squad players. However, during Saturday’s 2-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, the jewels in Arsenal’s crown, Robin van Persie and Cesc Fabregas, […]

During Birmingham City’s nerve-jangling 2-2 draw with Manchester City last week, Nikola Zigic’s 23rd minute equaliser was the first time a Birmingham striker has netted in the Premier League since November. That’s a staggering 937 minutes of action without one of their marksmen beating a keeper. With their recent cup adventures in reaching the Carling […]

As the wintry January chill sets in, the transfer window is also upon us. And with clubs needing to dig deeper to find hidden gems with big clubs largely inactive, Midlands rivals Aston Villa and Birmingham City are reportedly engaged in hot pursuit of Blackpool trickster Charlie Adam. His manager Ian Holloway has reacted […]

In a week holding fixtures such as Blackburn Rovers-Chelsea and Arsenal-West Ham United, you can be forgiven for being surprised at the lack of goal-fests. Chelsea and Arsenal stumbled towards unspectacular wins, whilst Manchester United undid Tottenham Hotspur with a comedy goal on their way to a 2-0 victory. And this morning, it’s promoted Newcastle […]

Sunderland forward Darren Bent has a right to feel hard-done-by in terms of his international career. Since making his debut under Sven-Goran Eriksson against Uruguay in March 2006, Bent has won just six more caps. Considering he has scored 65 goals in 147 Premier League appearances since then, you might think he would walk into […]

After watching his forlorn West Ham United side lose 3-1 against Bolton Wanderers this weekend, manager Avram Grant slammed the fans who booed their penalty-missing striker Carlton Cole. Whilst not possessing the goal-getting attributes of Wayne Rooney or Darren Bent, Cole has been a valuable striker for the Hammers, with 20 goals in 57 league […]

As 4,000 Blackpool fans roared their side on in a sea of tangerine at Wigan Athletic, it seems that last weekend’s 4-0 victory will not be the only moment to savour for Ian Holloway’s men this season. The seaside club are ironically enough in a fantastic position of being favourites to lose every week. There […]

New pretenders emerged in the likes of Germany's Jerome Boetang and Mexico's Javier Hernandez in South Africa. However, the likes of Wayne Rooney, Didier Drogba and Nicolas Anelka faltered as their nations endured dissapointing, early exits. Dirk Kuyt was a creative hub in the wheels of Holland's charge to the final, and let's not forget […]

Life is rosy if you are a Slovenian football fan. Not only have the Slovenians qualified for a World Cup for the second time, their Prime Minister Borut Pahor also cleaned the team’s boots as a reward, a charming act showing how football can emphasize a sense of community in a country. Earlier today, Matjaz […]

Algeria’s path to South Africa was nothing short of explosive. Their savage rivalry with Egypt produced incredible displays of passion and shocking, barbaric violence. England’s second group opponents lost 2-0 to their bitter rivals in their last qualifying match, after seething Egyptian fans pelted the Algerian’s team bus with missiles. Miraculously enough, Egypt’s victory meant […]

US football has come on leaps and bounds in the last two decades. When the US hosted the World Cup in 1994, most of their squad had never played in a professional league. Fast forward to present day and Major League Soccer is becoming a huge brand with star names such as David Beckham and […]

England have always had a great tradition for goalkeepers, the likes of Gordon Banks and Peter Shilton are legends, and David Seaman was dependable for well over a decade and kept goal for his country in four straight major tournaments. However, in recent years, the likes of David James and Paul Robinson have wrestled for […]

It has been an emotionally draining week for Tottenham Hotspur. After losing 2-0 to Portsmouth in the FA Cup semi-final, Spurs regrouped wonderfully and scored a sensational 2-1 victory over bitter rivals Arsenal. They then stunned a lethargic looking Chelsea side by the same score, a result that will again leave a fuzzy feeling in […]

Speaking as a Reading fan, I remember the day vividly. In my time away at University in Portsmouth, we were playing Middlesbrough away in an utter dog fight of a match in 2007/2008. This was not going to be pretty, with both teams languishing in the relegation zone, the deepest, darkest echelon of any league […]