Guerney FC’s decision to leave their domestic league and move to England is leaving opinion divided, writes Simon De La Rue
It had to happen eventually. After seeing their club score 38 goals in eight home league matches while conceding just one, Guernsey FC fans approached Footes Lane on January 21 with confidence. They did not know much about Eversley. But then, the green and white-clad followers of this island club do not really know much about of their Combined Counties League (CCL) Division One opponents.
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Thursday, March 1st, 2012 - The Archive
As Portugal’s debts continue to rise, Phil Town explains how the money spent on new stadiums for Euro 2004 looks like a waste
As the economic crisis deepens in Portugal so the careless spending of years gone by appears increasingly irresponsible. We are left with barely used motorways, superfluous submarines and a small herd of white elephants – most of the Euro 2004 stadiums. The championship was heralded at the time as “a way for Portugal to affirm itself” by José Socrates, who became the country’s prime minister between 2005 and 2011. While Euro 2004 was ultimately a huge success as a sporting event, the country is still counting the cost.
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive
Adam Bate explains how the launch of the NextGen Series, dubbed the teenage Champions League, will help bridge the gap between youth football and the senior level
These are exciting times to be a young footballer coming through one of Europe’s premier academies. This season has seen the launch of a new competition – the NextGen Series – pitting 16 of the continent’s major clubs against each other in a teenage version of the Champions League. Spanish football expert Graham Hunter summed up the excitement best: “I find it impossible to understand why this brilliant but simple concept hasn’t existed for years.”
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive
John Duerden looks ahead to the Asian Player of the Year award ceremony and the controversial selection process involved to determine the winner
The annual Asian Player of the Year award ceremony held every November should be one of the highlights of the continental football calendar. While even close followers of football in the East would struggle to name the past five recipients, all know the controversial criteria that determine who can, or rather who cannot, win.
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive
Cameron Carter looks at the stature of the Europa League’s coverage on Channel 5, while Roy Keane tries to make it as a pundit
Some job descriptions change so gradually, the subject barely notices they are being exploited. This phenomenon, known in business circles as “task curving”, explains why the ashen-faced train manager punching your ticket is also the voice telling you “carriage haitch will not platform at Dawlish” and the figure humping boxes of Carlsberg onto the buffet car at Exeter. Channel 5 make the most of their staff in the same way.
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Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 - The Archive