25 December 2009 Jonathan Wilson wrote the book on the evolution of football tactics, and takes a typically fresh and thorough approach in this piece for The Guardian when looking at the future. Wilson suggests the poacher could be all but gone within 10 years . . . or making a comeback. Meanwhile, could North […]

EXCLUSIVE By Nick Harris 24 December 2009 Arsenal have around £35m to spend on transfer fees and wages in January, and this kitty is a result of clauses in Arsenal’s bank loan agreements that compel the club to set aside a fixed amount of income for Arsene Wenger to spend on players. Wenger is almost certain […]

Nick Harris at the Manchester Aquatics Centre 20 December 2009 Michael Rock is a 22-year-old Liverpudlian who studies law at the University of Manchester and yesterday he beat the greatest swimmer of all time, Michael Phelps, in a discipline in which they both love, the 200m butterfly. Therein lies part of the beauty of the […]

24 December 2009 Michael Schumacher has been explaining the motivation for his comeback on his website (see the post on 23/12/09).  He writes: “Until recently, I was absolutely sure that I had ended my career as a race driver at Ferrari. But sometimes things change suddenly and unexpectedly. “All of a sudden, the framework conditions […]

22 December 2009 It wasn’t so many decades ago (about five) that teams in the English football league would routinely play matches on Christmas Day, and then play the reverse match on Boxing Day. Whatever one thinks of packed modern schedules, they’re not like that now, although elsewhere in the world, the festive day has […]

22 December 2009 Roger Federer was last week voted by American sports editors as one of the top five athletes of the decade. The Swiss polled 25 votes of 142 cast to come third behind Tiger Woods (56 votes) and Lance Armstrong (33), and ahead of swimmer Michael Phelps (13), New England quarterback Tom Brady […]

EXCLUSIVE By Nick Harris and Hugh Godwin 20 December 2009 Britain’s foremost PR advisor, Max Clifford, toldThe Independent on Sunday last night that he has represented two high-profile gay Premier League footballers in the past five years and has advised them to stay in the closet because football “remains in the dark ages, steeped in […]

EXCLUSIVE: 9 December 2009 Sol Campbell is not being coveted by Manchester United, according to well-informed sources close to the player, and won’t be offered any deal at Old Trafford, with a source at the club saying the former England centre-half will not be offered even a short-term contract to cover for injuries. Campbell, 35, was […]

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7 December 2009 South African police have this evening complained that they are unhappy with reports that ex-SAS soldiers will help protect some top teams at the World Cup next summer. Police spokesperson Sally de Beer described the media reports as “absurd”. Yet some Fifa officials and sponsors will also use private security, according to sources, although […]