Paul Bestall

So you may now recognise him as the head of U.E.F.A. and the man that moved the Champions League from a Wednesday night to a Saturday night. What you may not know is that Platini, for 3 or 4 years, was the best player in the world. A fabulous midfield play-maker of the highest level, […]

It's been one of the worst kept secrets in English football, but it's official now that Jermaine Beckford has completed his free transfer to Everton. Leeds had cancelled his contract on Friday which is an unusual step. Regardless of the fact a player has agreed to join another club, clubs usually keep the registration until […]

Picture the scene, the World Cup is being displayed in London, as part of the build up to the country hosting the tournament that summer. A rare stamp auction is being held at Westminster Central Hall and the Jules Rimet trophy has pride of place as the centrepiece of the day. Yet, at some point […]

It seems like only yesterday when Italia 1990 took place, probably the first World Cup that could honestly begin to claim it was a global spectacle. As if by magic, the Cameroon side that qualified for the 14th World Cup were able to explode all over the world and show people that African international football […]

Ever since the World Cup draw was made back in December, all eyes in the United States have been on the first game in Group C. The match against England is widely anticipated in America, but here it's just another group game. There's not the same level of excitement, sure England fans are looking forward […]

So Saturday will see which one of two former top flight clubs return to the top level of English football with the Championship Play-Off final. As neither have troubled the top division in quite a long time, newer fans to Premiership football may be left scratching their heads as to who either of these sides […]

There are green shoots of recovery around the Reebok Stadium, after several winters of discontent under Gary Megson. With Owen Coyle's arrival, suddenly Bolton Wanderers are playing football again and trying to win games, rather than bore teams to death and hoof it skywards. Megson's long ball banality has no place in modern football and […]

You have to feel for a player of the calibre of Michael Ballack and for fans of Germany. Things haven't always gone swimmingly for Ballack at Stamford Bridge since he joined in 2006, but there is no doubt he is Germany's most accomplished player of his generation. Be it at Munich, Leverkusen or the […]

Stoke once again have compounded the critics and not only avoided the dreadful "second season syndrome", but actually improved their points and placing from last season. It's a fantastic achievement for the club and its passionate and noisy fans. I have to say that as an away fan at either the Brittania Stadium or the […]

To some, there's nothing more condescending than when their team are described as plucky, punching above there weight or a battling side. Each of the terms generally means the same thing when used towards a football club. You've punched above your weight and sooner rather than later, you're going to get brought down to earth. […]

Despite the superstars that have graced the World Cup over the decades, there is one record that may never be beaten by any player ever again. Only 3 times has a player scored double figures in a World Cup tournament, once in 1954, Sandor Kocsis scored 11, in 1970 the legendary Gerd Muller scored 10 […]

All great relationships come to an end, the natural course having run as far as it can. Sometimes they start passionately and brightly and quickly burn away to nothingness. Sometimes, they are a slowly burning and taut affair that consumes all within them in a supernova of passion oblivious to all around them. Occasionally, despite […]

Don't panic, I'm not going to go all Oprah on you all, but I've got a confession to make that a man of my age can't hide. Every 4 years, the World Cup comes around and over here in Europe we've a company called Panini who make sticker books for most major tournaments and leagues. […]

Fulham's amazing transformation under Roy Hodgson just keeps reaching new heights and sending their fans in to raptures. I know I've written about Roy Hodgson and the fact that the British press have virtually ignored his career until he took over at Fulham, but no-one could have expected this level of improvement from the Cottagers. […]

2006 was a disaster for England's much vaunted strikers in so many ways it was depressing. It was clearly Sven Goran-Eriksson's nadir as the England supremo as his eccentric choices left England woefully short of options. Michael Owen was so off the pace as to be redundant and his World Cup collapse when he ruptured […]