QPR: Why Harry Redknapp is pretty much begging for the sack

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Jon Wilmore of The Intangiballs argues that Harry Redknapp is looking to be pushed before he has to jump…

For a man who so vehemently declares he is neither a wheeler nor dealer, Harry Redknapp certainly seems keen on doing a lot of both in his alleged mission to get QPR back to the Premier League. His message is clear: let me buy who I want or hire someone else.

I’ve written before about how Harry’s disastrous Rangers reign has been given the sort of free ride the press would only grant their favourite son, so it is hardly surprising to see his latest declaration be treated as an act of defiance – a ‘clear message‘ to those damn tinkering owners just to leave him alone.

I’m not seeking to defend Tony Fernandes. He is, by all accounts, a bit of a clown. But his already numerous failings as the London club’s chairman would be dwarfed by the mistake that letting Harry off the leash in the transfer market would be. As a ‘football person,’ he claims, he and his fellow ‘football people’ should be allowed to pull the purse strings – the same kind of people having already played a part in Portsmouth’s financial nose dive not long ago. Continue reading

Premier League 2012-13: A Season of Sorrow, Part 2 – Unequivocal Misery

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In part two of his dissection of this season’s Premier League woes, James Dutton looks at the bottom half of the final table…

If the top-of-the-table is defined by a mixture of disappointment and regret, then the bottom-half can be viewed simply in terms of unequivocal misery.

All teams below 10th finished with under 44 points, which is an extraordinarily low figure. It doesn’t signify a feisty, competitive mini-league, but rather a large pool of potential relegation fodder.

It remains a great shame that only three of them could go down. Continue reading

The Greatest Ever Premier League Finale

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In the final part of our look back at 2012, False Nine editor, Andrew Belt, salutes one of the best moments in Premier League history…

As was the case 44 years ago, Manchester City would be going into their final day clash with only their city rivals able to wrestle the title off them.

Continue reading

“The Unsellables” – From Winston Bogarde to Joe Cole

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Winston Bogarde – a contract renegade from a bygone era.

The False Nine‘s Ethan Meade investigates the unfortunate rise of veteran has-beens on fat wage packets; ‘The Unsellables’…

What do Joe Cole, Andrei Arshavin, Florent Malouda and Sebastien Squillaci all have in common? No, not just the fact that they have all won domestic titles in their respective homelands – but also the fact that they all represent a very modern type of player – ‘The Unsellable’. Continue reading

Beckham Looking to Bow Out in Style

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The False Nine’s Joe Bookbinder attempts to second-guess David Beckham’s next, and most likely final, career move in football…

Ever since David Beckham announced that he was going to leave LA Galaxy at the end of the MLS season to pursue a new challenge in the twilight of his career, the football world hasn’t stopped trying to second-guess where ‘Golden Balls’ may end up. Continue reading