TFN Meets Steve Graves

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Continuing The False Nine’s look back at 2012, we spoke to Steve Graves of The Anfield Wrap…

Favourite moment

For drama, Sergio Aguero’s winner to seal the Premier League title. For football and society as a whole, the announcement that the hugely flawed Hillsborough inquest verdicts would be quashed surpassed anything to happen on the pitch.

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The Return of ‘Zemanlandia’

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The False Nine’s Kyle Hulme takes a look at how Zdeněk Zeman, in his second stint as Roma manager, is captivating the hearts and minds of Italians up and down the country…

Zemanlandia has once again brought itself to the forefront of calcio discussions in the coffee shops and bars up and down lo stivale. Almost twenty years since Zdeněk Zeman first won over the fans in Italy when he transformed Foggia from a club in the depths of the Italian league structure to one fighting for Europe, he’s back with a bang as manager of AS Roma, and almost all football fans are glad to see him back – all except for the Juventini, that is. Continue reading

Kuyt’s Turkish Gamble Paying Off

Dirk Kuyt is flying high in Turkish football

The Anfield Wrap writer Steve Graves makes his debut for The False Nine, looking at Dirk Kuyt’s transition from a squad player to a key cog in Fenerbache’s assault on the Turkish league title…
“Are we going to win the cup, Dirk?”

“We have to.”

It wasn’t the most forensic of questions, but the response was emphatic. Continue reading

A Love Affair with Genclerbirligi

 

Genclerbirligi’s club crest

The False Nine‘s Turkish Correspondent Paddy Spicer Ward writes a personal love-letter to Turkish football and the capital’s local side…

Many of you won’t have heard of Genclerbirligi, and I’m sure you would struggle to name a single player in their squad, or even know the colour of their kit. I know I couldn’t a few months ago, but a trip to watch my new local team in Ankara, Turkey, and I was hooked.

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