Ahmed Bilal
Sports Editor
Rafa for Life? It’s more like a life sentence for Liverpool
Ahmed Bilal • Jan 14 2010Football writing is more often than not locked in the present, the now. There’s no perspective, and while this helps sells more newspaper copies (and gets more pageviews), it also…
Hughes lost the Manchester City dressing room, can Mancini do better?
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 22 2009Manchester City fired Mark Hughes because the marquee signings didn’t support him – and they have now hired a manager who was dismissed because he could not get his expensively…
Liverpool fans aren’t happy after shock Arsenal defeat
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 13 2009I just got back from the Soccerlens match-viewing party in Lahore for the Liverpool-Arsenal game, and I can’t forget the look on the face of Steven Gerrard 3 minutes into…
Ferguson: Giggs is a god in the Manchester United dressing room
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 11 2009Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson talks to BBC Sport Wales about 20 years about Ryan Giggs, from chasing the player as a young teenager to managing him in his mid-thirties….
Hughton tames Newcastle squad by letting them rule
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 11 2009Newcastle United are a fascinating subject – and thankfully for the club, out of the limelight as they’ve confidently racked up seven straight wins in the Championship and top the…
Shirt Sponsorships – who said there was no money in football today?
Ahmed Bilal • Apr 5 2023Is it any wonder that we are about to see the silly season of transfer deals recommencing, with sums changing hands more than the total GDP in some countries, when…
Champions League Report: Predicting the final 16
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 9 2009Champions League View: Liverpool are dumped to the Europa League, and one of Bayern Munich and Juventus will join them tonight. It’s official – the big sides aren’t having it…
Manchester United squad for Wolfsburg
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 8 2009Watch Wolfsburg v Manchester United Live on Soccerlens Manchester United take only 19 players to Wolfsburg with the team not only missing eight first-team defenders but Ferguson also choosing to…
Manchester united as City cut Chelsea lead to two points
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 5 2009A day in which everything went according to plan for the Manchester clubs, even if it didn’t, really. United beat West Ham 4-0 at Upton Park despite their severe defensive…
2010 World Cup Draw – Who’s Playing Who?
Ahmed Bilal • May 7 2010It’s time. Yes, the much-hyped, much-awaited draw to determine the 8 groups for South Africa 2010 will kick off in just a few minutes. There’s little time to waste, so…
Are Manchester United screwed?
Ahmed Bilal • Dec 3 2009The trouble with making jokes about potential disasters is that when they come true, you’re torn between the urge to shout ‘I told you so’ and, depending on your social…
The Battle For Fourth Place
Ahmed Bilal • Nov 23 2009In the summer of 2009, the usual predictions were cast on the aspirations of clubs in the Barclays Premier League. The Big Four’s greatest threat was said to come from…
How Manchester United are replacing Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals
Ahmed Bilal • Nov 22 2009There were questions raised over Manchester United’s ability to compensate for Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Carlos Tevez’s absence this season, with critics especially pointing to United being unlikely to compensate for…
Exclusive ‘behind-the-goal’ footage reveals true extent of Henry’s deception
Ahmed Bilal • Feb 23 2012Make sure you listen to this week’s Soccerlens Podcast that discusses Henry’s handball and a lot more. …Or at least if you had just read the reactions from the fans…