Thariq Amir

The stats are not terribly encouraging for West Ham United but perhaps it’s wise not to read too much into them. Amongst the ‘doom’ and ‘gloom’ there has been progress which the West Ham team can build on. The attacking element of their game seems more varied and dynamic, the all round team play appears […]

Match day two of the UEFA Champions League saw two of Europe’s heavyweights slug it out. Barcelona under new coach Luis Enrique was enjoying a relatively untroubled start to the new season whilst a struggling Paris Saint-Germain went into the game without their talisman Zlatan Ibrahimović. Both teams were unbeaten but the form book tipped […]

It hasn’t really gone to plan for Manchester United has it? Unwanted records are being broken and despite spending a vast sum in the summer transfer window and shipping out a number of players too, the squad still looks unbalanced. In amongst the gloom though there have been some signs of encouragement. United’s sharp-shooting attackers […]

Another day, another humiliation. Newcastle United’s capitulation against Southampton last weekend was the fourth time this calendar year that the Magpies have lost by a four goal margin. Southampton helped themselves to four last season against Newcastle at St Mary’s in March whilst Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur helped themselves to goal gluts at St […]

There are football tours, there are serious football tours and then there was the epic journey undertaken by the Dallas Tornado. Led by the charismatic Bob Kap the team traversed the globe in a near eight month tour from 1967 to 1968 playing in 26 different countries including: Singapore, Cyprus, Morocco, Bangladesh (known back then […]

The new Premier League season is only two weeks old and Manchester United under Louis van Gaal are already playing catch-up. The pre-season tour feels like a very long time ago now. The Red Devils have placed a significant number of eggs into an Ángel di María-sized basket and the spending may not end there […]

McDiarmid Park, home of St. Johnstone, may not be foremost in the minds of soccer fans, but on the 13th of August it did play host to a couple of firsts. It was Celtic manager Ronny Deila’s first taste of action in the Scottish Premiership; but perhaps more importantly the match marked the first competitive […]

West Ham and Sam Allardyce have always had a somewhat uneasy relationship despite the fact that he has seemingly accomplished what’s been asked of him. After being appointed West Ham manager in 2011, he guided the club into the Premier League albeit via the playoffs before retaining top flight status for the Hammers finishing 10th in […]

Editor's note: Today marks the 72nd anniversary of the infamous "Death Match". On the 9th of August 1942, a group of men who worked at Kiev’s Bakery #3 took on the might of the Nazi Luftwaffe team and triumphed. The game was dubbed the “Death Match”. It was a match that went down in legend and folklore. […]

It’s amazing to think that Bojan Krkić is only 23 years old. He burst on to the scene, making his Barcelona debut against Egyptian side Al-Ahly when he was just 16 and even scored in that game too. However, after a promising start his career thus far hasn’t blossomed as he would have liked. Bojan […]

Louis van Gaal may be capturing the imagination and headlines as he starts his new job at Manchester United, but down on the south coast of England there is another Dutch legend who’s preparing to stamp his own mark on the Premier League. Ronald Koeman, the former Feyernoord manager, will embark on his maiden Premier […]

The 2014 World Cup final was not a classic but it would be hard to argue that the Germans were not deserving winners. They were the best collective unit, achieved the outstanding result in the World Cup demolishing the hosts, Brazil, 7-1 in the semifinals and were by far the most consistent team in the […]

In 2012, Dundee United footballer Ryan Gauld made his full league debut at the tender age of 16. He struck his first senior goal against St Johnstone a year later in April 2013. In the 2013-2014 season, he scored eight goals in the Scottish league and cup campaigns and has now signed for the same […]

Belgium’s Golden Generation failed to shine as a professional and disciplined Argentina eked out a relatively comfortable 1-0 win. Something had to give as the Belgians had previously never lost with Thibaut Courtois in goal in 21 consecutive games whilst Argentina have not been defeated in the previous 24 matches Lionel Messi has taken part […]

July 4th is a special day in German football history. On that day in 1954 the West Germans came from two goals down to beat Ferenc Puskás’ Mighty Magyars and lift their very first World Cup in what is known as ‘The Miracle of Bern’. Perhaps it is fitting that Joachim Löw’s side progressed on […]