As the popular adage goes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. False Nine debutant writer, Joe Power looks at the history behind this most English of footballing traditions…
Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what fun it is to see [insert team here] win away. Hey! Continue reading
False Nine debutant, Harry Catharell-Hargreaves, charts the origins of Shakhtar Donetsk’s creation and journey that has them flourishing in the Champions League and routinely picking up the domestic honours in Ukraine…
Towards the end of the Russian Empire, vast amounts of British industrialists seized upon the unrest in the region by opening factories, mills and mines in previously hostile areas of Eastern Europe. Needing the pioneering expertise of British workers to come with them on this journey, the businessmen brought much of their workforce along. Continue reading
Arsenal’s astonishing 7-5 win at Reading put them into the quarter-final of the League Cup for the 10th consecutive season. False Nine editor, Andrew Belt, looks back on their efforts over this time and finds a club who have been involved in some fantastic games without winning the ultimate prize…
Arsene Wenger surprised no one when he claimed that the Capital One Cup was not a priority for Arsenal ahead of the Gunners’ Fourth Round tie versus Reading. Under the Frenchman’s stewardship, Arsenal have fielded youthful sides in the League Cup, using it as a vehicle for promising players at the club to get some competitive experience under their belts. Continue reading
In anticipation of the resumption of football’s premier club cup competition, James Dutton delves into the historic past of this captivating tournament…
The 2012-13 incarnation of the Champions League marks 20 years since its inception as a radical reformation of the European Cup. Continue reading
Some reflections on the Bradford City Fire and Hillsborough from False Nine editor Hugo Greenhalgh
David Conn: “If at Hillsborough, police mismanagement exposed Sheffield Wednesday’s and the game’s ramshackle approach to the safety of supporters, the Bradford fire can be said to have highlighted football’s dysfunctional priorities even more starkly”. Continue reading
“Athletic is a religion” – Óscar de Marcos
False Nine editor Hugo Greenhalgh pays respect to Athletic Bilbao…
Imagine a hypothetical situation in which Leeds United only selected players born and bred in Yorkshire. Then imagine that they had remained in the top division for the past 73 years, a feat matched by only two other clubs. And then imagine that last season they reached the FA Cup and Europa League Finals. This is perhaps the closest comparison one can make to the achievement of Athletic Bilbao. Continue reading
False Nine editor James Dutton assesses England’s upcoming fixture against Moldova, the symmetry it presents with the beginning of the ‘Golden Generation’ and the future beyond…
England return to competitive action for the first time since their dispiriting Quarter-Final showing against Italy with a return to Moldova. Sixteen years ago David Beckham was awarded his first cap in Chisinau, by Glenn Hoddle, and the so-called ‘Golden Generation’ was born. Sixteen years later and the ‘Golden Generation’s’ influence has largely subsided or been cast asunder, but its last remnants linger to make up the core of the transitional England of 2012. Continue reading