Wrexham FC: A Personal Love Letter to my Hometown Club

Posted on May 20, 2013 by James Dutton

In a world of super-clubs, global fan bases and billionaire hobbyist owners, the bond between a man and his local club remains something unique and, dare we say it, beautiful. James Dutton counts the ways he loves thee, Wrexham FC…

It has now been over two weeks since Wembley, and one of the most agonizing moments I have ever experienced in football. I still see it so vividly, the ball hooked up into the balmy May sky towards the Wrexham goal. I see Dave Artell, furiously back-peddling but with all the energy and purpose of a 32-year old non-league footballer who had played 270 minutes of football in 10 days.

Immediately, it was evident that something was not right. The centre-back looked in control, yet misjudged the flight of the ball – his mental tiredness, as well as aching limbs, betraying the significance of the occasion as the clock ticked down on the Blue Square Bet Premier play off final.

It was a fatal misjudgment. Instead of connecting to head clear, he succeeded in only flicking the ball onto Christian Jolley, the man who combined a short sleeved shirt with gloves in May, who rode off the desperate efforts of the otherwise colossal Martin Riley to dink the ball over the onrushing Chris Maxwell.

The rest is now history. Wrexham toiled, but with just five minutes remaining it was a brutal sucker punch. The second goal, the gloss the scoreline barely deserved, was a classic breakaway goal.

And so in the final five minutes of the 49th league game of their season, Wrexham’s hopes of promotion back to the Football League after a five-year exodus were extinguished. For the third successive year. Continue reading →

Manchester City to be Refreshed by the Sparkling Taste of San Pellegrini

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Greg Johnson

TFN’s resident Manuel Pellegrini enthusiast Greg Johnson believes that the Chilean would be a major upgrade on Roberto Mancini. Here’s why Manchester City fans should drink in and savour the prospect of him taking charge at Eastlands…

Zest has been severely lacking from Manchester City this season. Just over 12 months on from Sergio Aguero’s larynx shredding title-winner and the taste of sky blue triumph has been replaced by sour disappointment. Their Premier League winning manager has been sacked, with a surprise FA Cup final defeat to Wigan Athletic and a 2-3 home loss to Norwich City adding a bitter finish to their year.

While Roberto Mancini laid the blame on the club’s failure to add Robin van Persie to their squad, the Dutchman’s absence felt more like a smokescreen than a valid excuse given the attacking talent already at his disposal. In reality, standards have slipped while the team’s enthusiasm has waned. Having accomplished their mission of winning the league, City have regressed.

The abilities of Mancini as a coach and tactician have been exposed as wanting, with his tactical plans unraveling into impotency without the title-winning form of individuals to smooth over the structural cracks. Continue reading →

Hypothetical XI #17: The Best of Wigan Athletic in the Premier League

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Simon Smith

So long Wigan Athletic, and thanks for all the ~~fish~~ end of season memories. As Roberto Martinez’s men slip into the Championship, with an unlikely FA Cup under their arm for their efforts, Simon Smith salutes their greatest hits with a hypothetical squad list of players who have excelled at the DW over the last eight years…

After eight years in the Premier League that nobody could have predicted back in 2005, Wigan Athletic will depart the glitz and glamour of the top flight leaving us with the memories of so many exciting but fundamentally flawed teams. I’m not sure which is harder, choosing the creative players to omit or the defenders to include… Nonetheless, here’s an ultimate Wigan XI from the last eight years that reflects the nature of the team: a controversial and uncompromising 3-2-5 to have the purist salivating and the Italian fan crying with rage, sheer rage at the audacity to play so open! Continue reading →

David Beckham Retires: Over-hyped, Underrated and a Role Model to English Football

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Greg Johnson

With David Beckham calling an end to his 20 year career, Greg Johnson looks at the player behind the hype, and asks whether more footballers should follow his example…

Over the past few years, David Beckham has toured the world like an aging rock band, determined to wring a final few golden years out of his former glory in emerging markets and foreign lands still seduced by the nostalgic allure of his status and shirt sales. Now his greatest hits tour is coming to an end, with the world’s most famous footballer turning down an extension to stay at his latest European cameo at Paris Saint-Germain in order to bow out of the game at “the highest level”.

While many may scoff at his reasoning, along with the self-indulgence of his later career moves, it is important to separate the past achievements of Beckham the footballer from Beckham the brand, especially since his reputation as a player is more often than not harmed by the association.

Ignoring his ubiquitous presence across billboards and TV, pushing everything from soft drinks to under pants while skirting the borders of ridicule with his outlandish fixation on fashion and hairstyles, David Beckham was a fine footballer and an upstanding professional athlete. Continue reading →

Wembley overkill: finding a venue for Arsenal and Chelsea’s third place play-off

Posted on May 17, 2013 by David Wild

With the real possibility of a 3rd place play-off looming over the final day of the Premier League season, David Wild compares the potential venues beyond the FA’s grey, white arched elephant…

The sun rises, glinting in the sky like a ball of chipped topaz as the shadows cast by two twin towers gently sprawl across the fresh cut grass. A nation’s anticipation builds to a crescendo as football’s answer to Christmas morning caresses the masses into a frenzy of excitement. Cup final day at Wembley.

Or so it once was. Wembley was once the preserve of FA cup finals, the venue for heady, intoxicating European trophy deciders and a treasured haven for the national team. Now it plays host to such illustrious games as Wigan V Millwall in the FA cup semi final and could soon see a third place Champions League playoff between Arsenal and Chelsea.

To pay off the massive £798m behemoth the FA entered into a devil’s pact. We would see an increased number of games played in the reincarnation of one of football’s biggest stadiums to recoup its cost. The price of this is that we here at The False Nine now feel that there is something of an over saturation of Wembley football. Continue reading →

The Sacking of Roberto Mancini: Reactive or Proactive?

Posted on May 16, 2013 by James Dutton

James Dutton dissects Roberto Mancini’s tenure at Manchester City. Is it a sign of short-term reactionism, or long-term planning?

“The Club has failed to achieve any of its stated targets this year, with the exception of qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League. This, combined with an identified need to develop a holistic approach to all aspects of football at the Club, has meant that the decision has been taken to find a new manager for the 2013/14 season and beyond.”

After three-and-a-half years, during which he ended Manchester City’s barren 35 years without a trophy and ended their 44-year league title drought, Roberto Mancini has been relieved of his duties for a season of complete underachievement.

Since weekend reports leaked that his position was under threat, there has been little sympathy for the Italian lothario. Many commentators have cited a spiky personality that has estranged playing and backroom staff.

In their statement, the club admit as much. The use of the term ‘holistic’ has provoked a bemused reaction, but is entirely revealing of the long-term strategy that will define City as they approach the five-year anniversary of the Sheikh Mansour takeover. Continue reading →

Hypothetical XI #16 – Reality TV Footballers

Posted on May 14, 2013 by The False Nine

No longer restricted to the sofa filled studios of post-match punditry, football players have begun to mount an invasion on the all-conquering primetime formats of reality TV.

Rich Nelson, founder of the UK’s premier (and only) website on Finnish football, Escape To Suomi, offers up a hypothetical XI of stars who’ve swapped the pitch for the celebrity broadcast circuit.

GK Hope Solo (Dancing with the Stars)

A controversial selection to start with, but one for equality. The USA women’s team goalkeeper, winner of two Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012, appeared on the American version of Strictly Come Dancing in 2011 where she reached the semi-finals. Such fine dance moves will help her keep a clean sheet in the Hypothetical goal.

RB Danny Mills (Masterchef)

England’s 2002 World Cup right-back made his reality TV bow in the 2012 edition of Celebrity Masterchef – showing he’s not just Gary Neville’s understudy. But losing to a bit-part actor in Jonathan Creek will hurt, and he’s now hamming it up on BBC radio, no doubt hoping for a chance to return to television. Continue reading →

The False Nine

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Monthly Archives: May 2013