ITV Preview Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund

Posted on April 29, 2013 by The False Nine

Greg Johnson and James Dutton imagine the scenes in the ITV studios as they discover Borussia Dortmund during tomorrow night’s Champions League semi final second leg against Real Madrid…

Adrian Chiles: “Vorsprung durch football! And welcome to ITV for Real Madrid versus Borussia Dortmund, in what promises to be a night to remember with one of the all-time classic match ups of the Champions League.

“After last week’s heroics, it looks like the Germans will be invading London in May, but will they be saving their Blitzkreig for Wembley? As always I’m joined by Roy Keane, Lee Dixon and Gareth Southgate, and I think it’s fair to say gang, that this wasn’t the situation we were expecting, or prepared for…” Continue reading →

Champions League Semi Finals: Grand Slam Final Four

Posted on April 23, 2013 by James Dutton

As the Champions League returns, James Dutton draws parallels between the semi finalists, and the big four in tennis…

It’s the Champions League semi final draw that UEFA wanted. It’s the Champions League semi final draw that every neutral wanted.

Put aside your skepticism towards a draw that has, for the second season running, facilitated the potential for an El Clasico final for a moment.

These are the four best teams in Europe. Not once in the past decade has that been arguable; this year it is incontestable. Continue reading →

Three Emerging Talents from La Liga

Posted on March 6, 2013 by The False Nine

The False Nine debutant, Nathan Carr, takes a look at some of the emerging talents in La Liga…

Many are firmly aware of La Liga’s never-ending conveyor-belt of scintillating talent – but while the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, inevitably, continue to enliven Spanish football we mustn’t forget those youthful, fresh-faced folk who are waiting to set the stage alight. Here are three emerging talents from Spain’s top-flight. Continue reading →

Create and Destroy Partnerships – Dead or Alive?

Posted on March 5, 2013 by Simon Smith

Simon Smith contemplates the sudden reemergence of create-and-destroy midfield partnerships…

Ah 2003, was it really a decade ago? I suppose it seems long enough ago that we can feel a twinge of nostalgia. Certainly Arsenal fans will do in light of the north London derby that has all but guaranteed Tottenham Hotspur will finish above them this season. More than a few of them will have been casting their minds back to the previous teams and players that would have fared better against their bitter rivals. But Gooners should not be the only ones to get a little misty eyed this weekend because in several games there was more than a few examples of one of those forgotten tactical features of yesteryear fans so often lament the demise of. I am talking about the so called “creator-destroyer” partnership. Continue reading →

Benitez, Mancini and Wenger: victims of the English game or their own egos?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Greg Johnson

Greg Johnson asks whether foreign managers have fallen foul of the English football psyche…

As he held the League Cup aloft in victory, shares in Michael Laudrup rattled up the ranks of the managerial stock exchange. His worth had already soared far beyond and above the valuations placed upon him in the summer, and come the close of business in May, it looks likely that Laudrup will have all but confirmed his place as one of the most attractive managerial investments around.

Swansea’s first major trophy in their 100 year history; Europa League entry for next season; exquisite football; the likelihood of an entirely respectable final position in the Premier League; and named as the man fans most want to takeover the reins at Real Madrid – it’s an impressive end-of-season growth report to reflect on for the Dane who co-founded a free-market think tank in his homeland in 2004. Continue reading →

El Retorno del Clásico – Una Edad Nueva

Posted on October 5, 2012 by James Dutton

Excitement across the footballing world mounts as El Clásico looms; False Nine editor James Dutton examines a new era of this intense rivalry…

Ushering in a new era – Mourinho and Vilanova on friendlier terms

Six rounds into the Spanish league season and its most defining fixture is upon us already. Despite the 2012-13 La Liga season being in its formative stage, its importance has escalated in the face of the polarising league form of the two combatants – Barcelona and Real Madrid. Continue reading →

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