Month: September 2009

The unadulterated thrill of witnessing a magical moment of attacking inspiration is what keeps many of us hooked on the beautiful game but let us never forget that at the…

Today a four year legal battle that has dominated the national and international news has come to an end, Michael Shields has been pardoned by the British government following his conviction for attempted murder in a Bulgarian court. After serving time in both Bulgarian and British prisons Michael Shields will be freed in the coming days a thought that must have seemed a long way off following his conviction and 10 year sentence four years ago.

In this article I do not want to re-examine the court cases, whatever events transpired that night or in the following years will be covered infinitum by better educated fellows than myself. I like to write about football and the greatest question in my mind is not was this an injustice, but what has this to do with football?

Headline after headline links the crime and football that the accused supports almost implying that the two are directly related when breaking the news today the BBC used the headline ‘Pardon for Football fan Shields’. This headline is technically accurate however this crime was not committed at a football match, it was not committed in the aftermath of a match, nor was it committed in the name of football.

Round 5 Review Melbourne Victory vs Newcastle Jets 1-1 Etihad Stadium 15,168 Despite being able to sustain a high crowd, Melbourne weren’t able to replicate that luck on the pitch,…

How does one go about measuring greatness in football? I mean real, obvious, blatant greatness; that rarest of qualities. Today “greatness” is such a woolly, over-used term that sometimes we…

Watch World Cup qualifiers live here. International press conferences at the best of times tend to be mundane, by the numbers affairs filled with platitudes by the key figures within…

It was Mark Lawrenson who once said that he didn’t concern himself with the League Table until 10 or 12 games into the new season. Until then, Lawro suggested, no…

With Grays Athletics’ Chief Executive Mick Woodward standing down from his role at the club after a 10 year stint, which has seen Woodward taking over as manger twice and…

Watch England v Croatia live here. The England squad for the international break (a friendly against Slovenia on Saturday, September 5 and the World Cup qualifier against Croatia on Wednesday,…

Speaking to the press on Thursday at UEFA’s elite coaches forum, Alex Ferguson agreed that something has to be done to eradicate diving from the game and that UEFA took…

…so for FIFA to get tough on them, especially in wake of recent UEFA efforts to make a public display of intent to stamp out diving by banning Eduardo (which,…

On episode 18 of the Soccerlens Podcast, Stephen Darwin is joined by Pitch Invasion’s Tom Dunmore and Jason Davis from MatchFitUSA to discuss US soccer consumption. The show will be looking specifically at how…

A few weeks ago I wrote a post examining the prospects of the most likely challengers for MLS Cup. By not mentioning New England Revolution, I had quietly written the…

Walking into my room on a chilly Sunday morning, I sighed heavily, yet I was happy. I had correctly tipped Burnley to beat United. Who knew. I didn’t get it…

There is a group out there. They are, well lets say, ‘lacking match practice’ in the art of actually playing sport, and well, ‘wonderkids’, and ‘model citizens’ at writing about…

FIFA have banned Chelsea from signing new players for the next two transfer periods (that is, the January 2010 and Summer 2010 transfer windows). This comes as part of a…

As the transfer deadline drew to a close it seems French Side Monaco may have stolen the show with the move of the summer. While the big money moved the…

Every club has one. That vital cog that keeps the team wheels turning. With the season in its infancy, supporters up and down the land are still harbouring dreams of…

I may as well get this out in the open straight away: I’m a York City fan. One who is aiming to get to every single one of our Conference…

Unlike last year, when summer transfer deadline day saw some records broken and millions upon millions of pounds change hands, things were a lot quieter this time around. But as…

07:00:00 – Skysports news’ transfer count down clock is flashing red – just 10 HOURS TO GO before the apocalypse! (or the end of trading, we forget which). Let the…

Soccerlens has brought you extensive transfer window coverage for several years now – and this year we’re asking you to join us in compiling the most comprehensive transfer news database…