Robert Hay

Brentford FC is trying to do things a different way. As fans of the Premier League saw last year, the club operates a little differently than others. Despite 2021/22 being the club's first top-flight season in decades, the club stuck to its scout-and-develop system. The other option tends to be spend freely to build up […]

I remember the first time I played futsal. I joined an adult league for exercise and fun, and thought trying indoor soccer would be a good idea. Watching the Continental Indoor Soccer League allowed me to know, more or less, what to expect. What I experienced was completely different than what I had in mind. […]

The football fan autobiography is a classic genre on our sports’ bookshelf. Soccer, more than any other sport long invited fans and authors to write about their rooting experiences. These develop into valuable recruiting tools in places where European football fandom continues to grow. This author is a fan of Arsenal because of Fever Pitch, […]

Tracking the American soccer scene is a full-time job. Fans require time, energy and resources to go beyond MLS and learn how we got to the present as a soccer nation. Those who search find the repetition of tearing down American soccer only to be "rebuilt" again. Consequently, there are years of history and stories […]

To soccer fans in the U.S., Arsene Wenger has been a ghost since his retirement as Arsenal's manager. While he's done work for beIN SPORTS and FIFA, his presence in American soccer media has been non-existent. That is why his second book, his first autobiography and first in English, is so highly anticipated. For the […]

Thousands and thousands of words could be written on the impact the original Soccernomics (titled Why England Lose in the UK) had. Published almost ten years ago, even World Soccer Talk’s original review noted that the book was timely in its use of sports science on a game that had long resisted it. Now, with […]

The end of the Gregorian calendar year is a time when many publications, websites and blogs pull out their "best of" lists.  These are always fun to read because they provide a nostalgic look back on the year that was, but if you really think about, it these are sad articles.  The heroes we commemorate […]

While it most certainly was not the first, Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch set the tone for the soccer fan autobiography. Launching him to fame (and gaining Arsenal two fans in my household), the famous books details the passion and heartbreak of being an Arsenal fan. Since its publication in 1992, it has launched many imitators […]

As we’ve discussed for weeks now on this site, the new MLS brand (“MLS Next”) comes at a time of incredible importance to the league. For most of the front office and media, the focus has been on the league’s future and how bright it looks. However, the league needs to take a hard look […]

The debacle that Chivas USA has become is an indictment of MLS’s obsession with the shiniest new objects while their current properties rot. Reports are now flying that the team could be put on hiatus, folded, or neither, and as much as we may joke about the empty stadiums and anti-Galaxy fan base, this public […]

The recent World Cup has spawned a number of books that not only look at the recent past of American soccer but what the men’s national team needs to do going forward. Many of these stories are being written by journalists, but it is rare we hear from people who have experienced the U.S. soccer […]

As the trophy was hoisted and the players celebrated a third consecutive scudetto, you could forgive Juventus fans from feeling a little giddy.  With one of the best coaches in Italy, an ownership group that seemed interested in boosting the squad for the Champions League, and the spine of the Italian national team under contract, […]

Celtic barely advancing in the Champions League and Ted Lasso videos mean one thing to the serious soccer fan – it’s back.  After a tasty appetizer of the World Cup, European club soccer returns this month beginning with the Premier League this weekend.  While MLS fans would counter that their season is six months old, […]