On Wednesday 17th November, 1993, England’s national side hit rock bottom. A 7-1 World Cup qualifying victory in San Marino wasn’t enough. Graham Taylor had failed to lead his team to USA ’94. On top of that, they had conceded a goal to their minnow hosts after just 8 seconds. It was an embarrassing time […]
October 7th, 2000. Not only was it the day of England’s first 2002 World Cup qualifier against Germany, but it was also the final ever match to be played at the old Wembley stadium. The twin towers were due to be hauled down shortly afterwards to make way for a brand new, state-of-the-art, national stadium. […]
When you think of David Platt, immediately one goal springs to mind – England vs Belgium, World Cup second round, 1990 – and rightly so. But there’s so much of Platt’s career that gets overlooked: his rise to the top; holding his own in Italy; carrying England singlehandedly in the early 90s; his incredible goal […]
There’s no doubt that after his heroics at Euro ’96, Paul Gascoigne was the darling of English football once again. Demonised in the press before the tournament for his part in the drunken shenanigans in Hong Kong, followed by a poor performance in the opening match against Switzerland, the media and public alike wanted Gazza […]
Picture the scene. Wednesday 13th October, 1993; Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam. England’s crunch World Cup qualifier against the Dutch. Following a tight first half, Ronald Koeman is quite rightly sent off in the 57th minute for hauling down David Platt as the last man. Paul Merson’s free kick seven minutes later hits the inside of the […]
It’s getting to that stage of the season where managers of struggling teams are working out what points they need to stay up. Since 3 points for a win was introduced during the 1981/82 season, there have been a couple of different points totals for bottom half teams to aim for. In a 38 game […]
The importance of a TV football commentator should not be underestimated. They are our eyes and ears in the ground. Their spontaneous reactions and words can sometimes be more memorable than the moment itself. Commentators provide the voice for our footballing memories. Over the years there have been some incredible TV commentators. From the 1960s […]
The prime objective of a newly promoted club in the top flight is survival. Some struggle to stay away from the relegation zone. Others go beyond that and sit comfortably in mid-table, even close to qualifying for Europe. But on occasions, a number of promoted sides have adapted to the top tier very quickly and […]
Since it started in 1956, there have been 86 British players who have received at least one vote for the Ballon d’Or (European Footballer of the Year). The award had always been voted for by journalists around Europe, until 2007, when it was expanded to worldwide writers, plus the coaches and captains of each national […]
For any footballer, captaining your country is one of the proudest moments of your career. Some Englishmen have received that honour earlier than others, but not many are made skipper before their 20th cap. Since the 1960 there have been 13 men who fall into this category. These include players who are natural born leaders, […]
