There's some debate over whether or not the Tyne-Tees Derby is actually a derby, as Newcastle fans point to the annual matches with Sunderland as the more important derby. There's no doubt, however, that Monday's clash between the Toon Army and Middlesbrough at St. James' Park is absolutely massive to the hopes of both teams' […]

As we near the end of what has been and still is an exciting season in the EPL, the various gongs and awards are being given out. As usual, they create plenty of controversy, particularly in the case of Ryan Giggs, who was named Footballer of the Year despite only starting 12 league games this […]

Baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said, "it's getting late early." That's certainly true of this year race to avoid relegation at the bottom of the Premiership table. Newcastle and Middlesbrough are in 18th and 19th place, respectively, and both are three points adrift of safety, where Hull City is currently holding on for […]

The criticism directed at referees and their assistants these days is becoming more of a talking point than many games themselves. Howard Webb made an incorrect judgement and awarded Manchester United a penalty against Tottenham last week, a decision that Spurs manager Harry Redknapp clearly felt changed the game. Now there is some truth in this, it […]

What do Liverpool, Fulham, Aston Villa, FC Porto and Sunderland all have in common? They've all scored on Manchester United within the last month. The champions boasted a staggering number of clean sheets this season, but in recent contests, as the aforementioned sides have proven: if you attack Man U you can break down their […]

Earlier this morning, our friend The Gaffer lamented that ESPN's loss of the UEFA Champions League TV rights would be bad for soccer in America. After all, ESPN remains the primary vehicle for sporting culture in this country, and if the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" suddenly doesn't care enough to keep this planet's biggest club […]

This weekend's premier match, Manchester United hosting Aston Villa, was seemingly alight with some very sensitive microphones. I'm not sure if the press box was the culprit, or perhaps those huge foam-covered ones on the touchlines, but you could hear shouts of "Don't foul him" and "C'mon Jonny", the latter directed to United's fill-in centerback, […]

Thanks to a brace from Emmanuel Adebayor, Arsenal continue on their quest to retain Champions League play for next year. With a vacuum of newsworthiness over the last weeks, at least in regard to the Premier League, speculation turned to Cesc Fabregas' return and whether or not the Gunners were a better team without their […]

The first noises started when Real Madrid were humbled at Anfield. Then Liverpool managed to make up ground on United since what seems like the first time since the winter break with a thumping of the champions at Old Trafford. It got noisier still. Then, what seemed like an impossibility happened: Man U dropped three […]

With 24 more points available in the 2008-2009 season, I hesitate to say that next weekend's match with Stoke City is a must-win for West Bromwich Albion for its hopes for avoiding the drop. But it really is. The Baggies are rooted to the bottom of the table with 24 points with eight matches to go […]

In the first article from the Jason Davis soccer column, the US soccer fan shares his thoughts on Hiddink's time at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge: Guus Hiddink and Chelsea saw the magic come to a deflating end against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, as a Luka Modric's strike in the 50th minute put a serious dent in […]

What a time for an international break. Despite perhaps one of the most exciting weekends in the Premier League this season, we now must endure the pomp and criticism surrounding the Three Lions as they take on Slovakia in a friendly on Saturday. More importantly, they meet Ukraine in a World Cup qualifier the following […]

Jonathan Wilson, the inimitable scholar of tactical mechanics with his recent Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics (a book I included in a piece on tactical reductionism for this website) has made a very convincing argument why English Premier League clubs have come to dominate the Champions League in the last four seasons. […]

The question I am posing is looking purely at what the UEFA Cup means to clubs from the English Premier League. Judging by recent participants and how they have fared, it appears to feature very low on most Premiership clubs’ list of priorities. Before the profile of the European Cup was sufficiently raised and rebranded […]

Can anyone remember the last time Hull City won a Premier League game? December 6th at home to Middlesbrough was the last time. Since then, they have been very much in freefall. When Hull first arrived in the Premiership, they were tipped to go straight back down but decided to tear up the script and […]