Injustice. Anger. Frustration. The feelings of West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce, following his talisman striker Andy Carroll’s red card against Swansea City, and the subsequent upholding of the three game ban by The FA. West Ham have threated legal action to get the ban overturned, and an FA tribunal will now sit in judgement. There are obvious reasons for The Hammers to try to overturn the ban. Firstly, Carroll is central to their struggle to remain in The Premier League. And a three game ban does not serve that cause. But more than that, taking on The FA is […]

It’s the last minute of extra time in Fulham’s FA Cup tie with Sheffield United. It all appears to be heading for sudden death, when The Blades win a corner. Fulham’s Clint Dempsey is taking a defensive position marking United’s Shaun Miller. However, when the cross is headed back across the box by Harry Maguire, Dempsey runs away from his man, leaving him free to head the winner. It’s a strange decision from the experienced American, and one that should sound alarm bells for Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen. Dempsey has either had a bad lapse of concentration, or been so […]

It was an ugly crowd scene. As Blackpool players trooped off after a dismal away defeat at Oakwell, a group of disgruntled fans gathered to register their disgust at manager Paul Ince. They have witnessed their club, top of the league earlier in the season, plummet headlong towards the lower end of the table. Many expected Ince to be relieved of his duties after a sequence of only one point in nine games. But no, despite emergency weekend crisis talks with the Chairman, he remains in his post. It’s a surprising decision by Karl Oyston to maintain faith and trust […]

For the second time Andre Villas Boas has been fired from a high profile Premier League job. A shocking home drubbing to a rampant Liverpool proved the final straw for Daniel Levy. With unseemly televised personal spats with the media, and his grumblings about the home support, Villas Boas was looking increasingly uncomfortable at the helm at White Hart Lane. But after his failure at Chelsea, his appointment was surely a high risk strategy. Levy assumed that the Portugese must have learnt from his challenging time at Stamford Bridge. But it’s a big assumption. And an incorrect one it appears. […]

It was always going to be one of the most difficult jobs in football. How do you follow someone who has achieved managerial mastership? For David Moyes, the Manchester United job was hardly one he could say no to. But, at what stage in his steady career progression from Preston North End to Everton, did he begin preparing in his mind to take over the mantle from Sir Alex? Perhaps he never did. In other words, that he never projected into the possibility of being manager of Manchester United. And thus since he took the job, an huge internal alignment […]

It’s the first half of the Premier League encounter between Arsenal and Southampton. The Saints are keeping their hosts at bay, when keeper Artur Boruc receives a innocuous back-pass. Under instruction from his manager to control possesison and play the ball out, Borus tries to bring the ball under control, looking for a pass to a team-mate. But he can’t find an easy ball to play, so dithers. Under pressure from Olivier Giroud, the keeper tries to dribble to ball away from the striker, but he panics and loses possesion to concede the ultimate in soft goals. It’s a mistake […]

It’s just after the final whistle at The Hawthorns. Sunderland have suffered a defeat at the hands of West Bromwich Albion. And manager Paolo Di Canio is on the pitch. He stands in front of the away end, offering an array of hand gestures. It turns out that he is fielding the fans wrath and anger. Which is a laudable position for a leader to take. But it looks strange and altogether out of place. So it’s no surprise that Di Canio is sacked twenty-four hours later, with Sunderland bottom of the Premier League. Stories of senior players telling him […]

It’s the aftermath of the World Cup Qualifier in the Ukraine, and England boss Roy Hodgson is responding to crticism from Gary Lineker amongst others. The former England striker pronounced the display awful, and Roy Hodgson is disappointed by Lineker’s comments. With FA Head Greg Dyke declaring that no one seriously expects England to win the World Cup in Brazil, it’s been a good week for Hodgson to begin to build a siege mentality. The siege mentality is a leadership strategy employed by most top managers. It’s about creating an US V Them dynamic that ensures the US have an […]

So finally Giovanni Trapatonni’s tenure as the Republic Of Ireland manager is brought to a close. Failure to qualify for the 2014 World Cup was enough to bring Dr Reality into town. Whilst this is the right decision, it is one that has come too late. Trapatonni’s reign should have ended after a poor display at Euro 2012, that showed his team lacking in ideas and imagination. Trap’s legendary status in the game, ensured he had extra credit amongst his employers, but really this was a campaign too far for the Italian, and the Republic have missed an opportunity. Being […]

He represents their best hope of making the progression into a top four team. His goals, work-rate and general ability to get under the oppositions skin, make him Liverpool’s prize asset. But Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez is currently training alone. He is loved by the fans, and respected by his team-mates. His club has stood by him, when he has incurred the wrath of the games governing body. Yet, throughout the summer Suarez has been agitating for a move away from Anfield. It can’t have been easy for Brendan Rodgers to ask Suarez to train alone. Yet it’s his only […]