Squad Numbers

What is the purpose of Football academy players?

As a kid it is the dream to be scouted by a football club, you’re playing in the garden, dribbling past imaginary defenders and suddenly a strange man in a smart suit and sunglasses walks up to you and offers you a trial at one of the biggest clubs in the world. An hour later…
The Oliver Glasner Masterclass™

Nine years on from their last FA Cup final, Crystal Palace will face a date with destiny once again in May, as they will take on the juggernauts of Manchester City for a chance to write their name in football folklore. For Man City it would be their 8th FA Cup trophy, for Palace it…
The Fashionable Football Player In 2025

Trends come and go in football, twenty years ago, everyone was playing 4-4-2, with direct wingers playing on their favoured sides and no nonsense centre-backs, now it’s all about playing out from the back, with every player required to be comfortable in possession, even goalkeepers playing out from the back. These trends affect the game…
Sam Fender’s coming of age: “People Watching album review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sam Fender took the music industry by storm in 2019 with his first album “Hypersonic Missiles” wowing the world with his Springsteen-esque tones, and quickly followed that up with “Seventeen Going Under”, just two years later. With his third album, Fender has taken a more considered approach, taking time off to focus on his…
Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari: A chance at immortality

Sporting immortality is extremely rare to come by, you have to achieve something so grand, that no-one can ever and will never challenge your legacy and status within your sport. Perhaps we should already recognise Lewis Hamilton as “immortal”, he has done it all, tied with Michael Schumacher with the most F1 World Championships on…
Collective Effervescence-How football ignites one of humanity’s great joys

The psychological concept of Collective Effervescence is “the feeling of energy and harmony that people experience when they come together in a group around a shared purpose” -thanks Google. It is a concept though, which cannot be defined by words and description from someone else, you can only fully understand the pure humane joy it…
The Narrative around the Premier League’s “smaller clubs”

Football media and punditry is generally excellent. When you combine some of the most famous names from the sports past casting their views and the new breed of in depth statistical analysis, you get an exciting, enlightening insight into the depth of what we see on our screens every week. However, sometimes it feels as…
Apprehension, hope and eventual despair, Crystal Palace 0-2 West Ham, from the Holmesdale

Crashing back down to earth. That is how I would describe the atmosphere at Selhurst Park on Saturday. Just a few months ago, the sun had been shining, Palace were demolishing opponents left right and centre, they were playing the most fluid football in the club’s history and had some of the worlds most exciting…
The full 24/25 Premier League preview and predictions

This is every single section, every single team, every preview, every signing all in one. This is the Premier League 24/25 preview and predictions, compiled into one. Settle in, this is 18885 words of pure football. The title contenders: 1st: Arsenal First come Arsenal. Last season they were oh so close to clinching the title,…
Premier League preview and predictions 24/25-Part 6: It was fun until it actually began

This is the nightmare. No-one ever wants to see their club in this position, yet it is inevitable. Relegation brings with it depression, manager sackings and saying “I actually enjoy winning every week in the Championship anyway”. In this final instalment of my Premier League preview and predictions, we dive into who will succumb to…