Goalies’ curse

This hasn’t been a good week for European goalkeepers. Hardly had we recovered from the suicide of Robert Enke, that news about Carlo Cudicini’s motorcycle accident hit the headlines, making it a particularly forgettable few days for the world’s most popular sport. German and Hanover 96 goalie Robert Enke’s death stunned the footballing world on […]

FA Cup: Shock vs Surprise?

Portsmouth, West Brom, Barnsley and Cardiff City. No really — that’s the semi-finalists’ line-up for the FA Cup. The first time in exactly 100 years that three of the last four are outside the top league. A top league that incidentally consists of players whose worth goes into millions of pounds; players who earn in […]

Seasons in the sun

Usually, I hate the best and worst lists everyone seems obsessed with at the turn of the year. But here is one little list I couldn’t help making as the curtain came down on 2006. Amidst all the beginnings and ends, those that were important to me were the retirement of three sports personalites. They […]

A knight to remember

For everyone who watched the World Cup final between France and Italy, there was an aura of unreality about the proceedings. Yes, it was supposed to be a sporting spectacle; but more importantly, it was the last bow of a soft-spoken French magician, widely acknowledged as the greatest footballer of his time. Yet the sporting […]

Ferry ‘Cross the Mersey?

“How can I think of leaving Liverpool after a night like this?” Was what Steven Gerrard had to say after he lifted the Champions League trophy for Liverpool in May. Five weeks later, though, “talks had broken down” and he was flashing his legs at Chelsea for, what was it? £32 million?! (The significant other […]