Kristan Heneage

Liverpool’s performances in the early stages of this campaign may not have been pretty, but with the club sitting level on points with Chelsea at the top of the Premier League and having earned two victories from two games in the Champions League, Kopites have plenty of reasons for hope on all fronts this season. […]

Following Albert Riera’s timely arrival at Liverpool on the last day of the transfer window, Rafa Benitez finally has two good wide players to deploy in his line-up who he can trust to produce excellent performances consistently. Ryan Babel can be played on either flank, but now that the left-footed Riera has turned up he […]

For so long this past summer it seemed that Sir Alex Ferguson was not going to capture the top striker that he craved so much, but on transfer deadline day Dimitar Berbatov finally arrived from Tottenham and the Scotsman could breathe a huge sigh of relief. An attack of Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and Wayne […]

It may only be one victory but England’s comprehensive beating of Croatia on Wednesday night could represent a dramatic turn in fortunes for the famous footballers who for so long have failed miserably to live up to their nations’ expectations. Not quite good enough under Sven Goran Eriksson, an absolute shambles under Steve McClaren, and […]

No matter how much Fabio Capello has tried to defend England’s performances in all five of the friendlies he has taken charge of, it remains blatantly clear that the team are not currently ready for the daunting trip to Croatia next month. After previous unconvincing Wembley wins against Switzerland and USA under Capello, and a […]

The opening fixture of the new season does not always give the best clues as to how successful a team may be in the coming campaign, but Chelsea’s impressive victory over last season’s overachievers Portsmouth certainly made their rivals stand up and take note on Sunday afternoon. It was the country’s first insight into how […]

Maybe Champions League glory is just meant to be for Liverpool this season. Rafa Benitez was counting his lucky stars in Liege last night after watching his side scrape a very fortunate goalless draw against the Belgian champions on their home patch, meaning the dream of returning to Rome, scene of two previous European Cup […]

With Didier Drogba, Nicolas Anelka, Salomon Kalou and Andriy Shevchenko in their striking ranks, Chelsea own one of the most exciting, powerful and experienced attacking line-ups in world football. And complemented by the offensive starlets of Deco, Florent Malouda and Joe Cole, who themselves sit in front an immensely strong central midfield duo of Frank […]

On Sunday, when Manchester United take on Portsmouth in the annual Community Shield fixture at Wembley, a marker may have been set for the future of our game and the respect that referees rightfully receive in times to come.We may look back in ten years time and say that that was the day when football […]

Despite being no fan of Arsenal, I enjoyed my first visit to the Emirates Stadium very much yesterday when I went to see Arsenal play Real Madrid on the second day of the annual pre-season tournament The Emirates Cup, courtesy of my younger brother being an avid supporter.No pre-season encounter will ever provide the most […]

When Tom Hicks and George Gillett first took on the role of ownership at Liverpool, there was an air of excitement and ambition around the club, and there was genuine hope that the new cash injection could fire Liverpool to greater heights – particularly in the Premier League.But two years on, and the pair are […]

It was only four months ago that the disciples of White Hart Lane were celebrating in their thousands at Wembley after a glorious Carling Cup Final triumph over London neighbours Chelsea, but already the eleven heroic warriors who battled to victory on that day have depleted into a number which will be able to be […]

When the British summer attempts to wave away the pouring rain and welcome the blissful sunshine in late July, every football fan in the county can leave behind their stressful life as an avid supporter and adopt a more relaxed approach for a few weeks – of garden barbeques, sunbathing and enjoying the rare blue […]

Hull City, Bolton and Newcastle all suffered surprising friendly defeats against lower league sides in England on Saturday afternoon, but do the results of these pre-season fixtures really matter? Crewe, Macclesfield and Doncaster may be reveling in their victories over their Premier League counterparts, but will Phil Brown, Gary Megson and Kevin Keegan be particularly […]

There is familiar talk circulating around the football world at the moment. It has occurred at this time of the year for the last few seasons now, but never has its idea come to fruition. The many managers, fans and newspapers who spoke of its possibility in the past were left embarrassed when their opinions […]