Blaine Tulley

The Global Game – Writers on Soccer. Edited by John Turnbull, Thom Satterlee & Alon Raab. Bison Books. 296 pp. $19.95. Living in the States, you are about as likely to find a good book about soccer/football right off the shelf at your local bookstore as you are to get Anne Hathaway's phone number after […]

Just when you think you've seen it all, Torino have shelled out £100,000 to lure Dennis Law from Manchester City. Yes, it's 1961 and the record transfer fee paid to or by an English club has broken the hundred thousand mark. Shocking. The previous record was £65,000 when John Charles moved from Leeds to Juventus […]

I was so tempted to ape the feel of the misleading headline that first brought this story to my attention: "John Barnes set for Rovers Role". He's taking over Blackburn? I thought. Ah... (after clicking on the link) ...Tranmere Rovers. So when it came time for my own sensationalist slant on things, how about: John […]

In 2004, he left Liverpool for Real Madrid in search of Champions League glory. Early on, Madrid mostly shackled him to their bench and later ducked out to Juventus in the first knock-out round. The Liverpool players bounced on the big stage in Istanbul: lifting the trophy without him. The next season, after Liverpool didn't […]

"Capello was exactly what we needed!" —Frank Lampard "He is one of those managers in that handful around the world who are the best!" —Steven Gerrard "He's given the players confidence and the team a huge amount of respect!" —David Beckham "Who knew?" —Steve McClaren Okay, so I made up that last one. And I […]

Until Fabio Capello took the wheel at England FC, I had this vision of an England World Cup qualifier 40 years from now: England are facing Croatia (who else) in a must-win fixture. The Three Lions are playing with ten men, though nobody's been ejected. On 25 minutes, Luca Modric III goes in for an […]

It wasn't so long ago, I was completely outraged by Chelsea FC's spending. 16.6m for Mekelele. 24.4m for Essien. 19.8m for Carvalho. 24m for Drogba. As a business, the club could sustain a 140m loss on a year because Roman Abramovich was there to bankroll the transfers. This was bad for football. The value of […]

Everton's Pienaar launched the ball into the box from the left side. Chelsea's Mikel got his head to it but could not clear. Fellaini headed the ball back into the danger area where Louis Saha waited, unmarked, uncontended. He spins into the volley to catch it perfectly with his left foot, catapulting the ball past […]

I was completely seduced by last year's FA Cup. Barnsley and Cardiff City charged toward the final in a gripping giant-killing warpath. They toppled Liverpool, Chelsea and Middlesbrough in their wake. (Boro were still a mid-table Premier League side, so their undoing was still a feat.) While only Cardiff made it to the end before […]

Football is often at its best when it revels in simplicity. And Barcelona used a simple principle to win yesterday's final: if you never give your opponent the ball, he cannot beat you. Sounds like something out of the Art of War. Maybe it was. United did have some time on the ball, but it […]

And now it's time for all good little football writers to predict the winner of today's final. No dodging the question. No avoiding the responsibilities of punditry. Well, Clyde, I think it's too close to call. I mean, if we don't pick a side, we're being wishy-washy, right? Readers want deliberate statements. They want to […]

As we count down the hours until tomorrow's clash of titans in Rome, wondering if we're going to enjoy a goal fest or another penalty kick shoot-out, here's a look at the most memorable European finals from the last ten years: Liverpool 3-3 AC Milan 2005 One of the most legendary comebacks of all time […]

The final weekend is upon us. And with all the English Premier League fixtures kicking off at the same time, the age-old question arises: where the hell do I watch my match? Stateside, where I live and watch, three channels will show live games. Villa, Newcastle, Sunderland, Chelsea, Hull and Manchester United fans need not […]

Remember how awful Tottenham were at the beginning of the season? Their fixtures and results page looked like a game of Duck, Duck, Goose only the ducks were losses and the goose was a draw. One squinted at the players dressed in white, wondering where they came from and what they had done with the […]

The season brought no trophies to Anfield... Manchester United tied the league title record... The big money summer signing proved a flop... Seven miserable home draws... Mid-season position squandered... Lengthy injuries to the big guns... And Liverpool still had an outstanding season. Their best in 19 years. If Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, they'll […]