Alistair Hendrie

On August 15th 2009, Everton faced Arsenal on a sun drenched, season opener and lost 6-1. Joleon Lescott pulled on a royal blue shirt that afternoon despite reinforcing his desire to leave Goodison Park and angering manager David Moyes. The team were without influential performers such as Phil Jagielka and Mikel Arteta and looked to […]

It is always an enlightening and captivating experience heading to a foreign country. The sense of the sheer unknown and undiscovered unfolding in front of your very eyes is unique to say the least. Barcelona, the heart of Spain’s Catalan community is no different. Spain’s second biggest town is particularly renowned for its art, with […]

In the days where the sun is still ablaze in the sky at 9pm, there is nothing more gripping than staying glued to rumours about new transfers for your club on Sky Sports News and the Internet. Be it a youthful Spanish prodigy or an established International, it is the perfect way to wet the […]

The top four heavyweights in the Premier League are all immense forces it has to be said, but they are most tested when without their talisman. Look at Liverpool without Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard, and how Arsenal have at times struggled without Robin Van Persie against Sunderland and Burnley. The African Cup of Nations […]

After Mark Hughes’ Manchester City side produced a 3-0 victory Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal in the Carling Cup quarter-finals last night, Hughes was found looking unsuccessfully for his counterpart Wenger before the traditional post-match shake of hands. Wenger of course is no stranger to controversy and rarely retreats in his opinions or criticisms, and he can […]

Like a lower league side strutting their stuff in the latter rounds of the FA Cup, Steve Bruce is transforming his Sunderland side into one of the biggest upset merchants in the Premiership. The Black Cats’ latest scalp was a 1-0 victory at home to Arsenal. Bruce’s side have now taken 7 points from a […]

Chelsea’s Didier Drogba is a man who has a beautiful ability to make headlines, be it good or bad. This weekend, he was the victim of a shocking tackle, no, make that assault from Manchester United’s Johnny Evans. He then had the last laugh, darting across Edwin Van Der Sar in an offside position for […]

Just two months into the 2009-2010 season, the “big four” of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool have lost 10 matches combined. Compare that with 18 matches lost by the league’s elite combined in the entirety of last season, and it’s clear that either the big four are weaker, or the rest of the league […]

Stuart Pearce’s England U21 squad for last Friday’s European U21 Championship qualifier against Macedonia included players from towns such as Essex, Doncaster and Basingstoke; so it was ironic that a man born in Jamaica, the island nation in the Greater Antilles with a population of just 2.8 million, would steal the show. West Ham United […]

Roberto Martinez is a man who worked wonders with Swansea City in his two seasons at the club, leading them to League One glory in 2007-2008 and then guiding the Welsh side to an unexpected 8th place finish last season in the Championship. At Premier League Wigan Athletic, he has appeared as cool and calm […]

Fabio Capello has always been consistent with his selections, and in four of England’s last five matches, it has been Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney and Aston Villa’s Emile Heskey who have been England’s starting marksman and both can be considered as shoe-ins for England World Cup squad. However, competition for places is ripe, and at […]

If you told a hardened rugby or cricket aficionado that Real Madrid and Manchester City had spent around £340m between them this Summer, they would tell you the old cliché that football is just about money and big egos as opposed to other sports. Do they have a point? You might argue that Manchester City’s […]