![Roman Abramovich, oligarch and billionaire, member of the London financial system](jpg/fp-abramovichaafe.jpg)
Abramovich Isn’t a Russian Problem: He’s a London Problem
Oligarchic supremacy in football is over now that Roman Abramovich’s tenure as Chelsea F.C. owner is ending. Well, that’s what the Western political-media class wants us to think. In reality, it is…
![Modern Slavery in Football, African Agents European Clubs](jpg/fp-slave-tradeaafe.jpg)
The Dark Side of the Beautiful Game: Football’s African Slave Trade
For many young African footballers who migrate to Europe, their challenge is not to break into the starting XI, but to find something to eat, somewhere to sleep. This is the sad…
![Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd USWNT teammates on podcast](jpg/01aafe.jpg)
What does it take to build a culture?
And what does one gain from tearing it down? Former USWNT teammates Carli Lloyd and Hope Solo chatted on a recent podcast, deriding the team culture as “toxic” despite opposite reports from…
![Marcelino and Athletic Bilbao—rooted in their own ways, regardless of what ensues or preludes](jpg/merciano-2-lead-scaledaafe.jpg)
Being Oneself: Marcelino and Athletic Bilbao
A look at the behavioural similarities between Athletic Bilbao’s traditions and Marcelino’s managerial career over the years. The Basque club has a unique identity, and the Asturian has a special place in Spanish football for working with the underdogs and bringing them back up.
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Finding Arsenal: The Value of Thinning the Herd
Fans like to believe that their club has some intrinsic identity. There is some quality that must exist within those 90 minutes for a club to be recognisable. In actuality, the DNA…
![Mason Greenwood Harriet Robson Manchester United](png/mason-greenwood-harriet-robsonaafe.png)
Mason Greenwood, Harriet Robson, and a World Designed to Protect Assaulters
I am a man, and just reading detailed reports on physical abuse makes me sick. I cannot begin to imagine what it must be like for women, who live in physical danger…
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How Goran Pandev Put Macedonia on the Football Map
If you were to mention the name Goran Pandev to an informed commentator of European football, they’ll tell you of his dynamic forward play, his wicked left foot, and an impressive record…
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Town in Albion: The Strange Recent History of Ossett’s Footballing Landscape
The unassuming market town of Ossett, nestled between Wakefield and Dewsbury in Yorkshire’s West Riding, is not known for its football prowess or reputation. Located around eight miles from Premier League Leeds…
![Sam Kerr Chelsea](jpg/sam-kerr-05aafe.jpg)
Kerr’d his Enthusiasm – Sam Kerr 1 – 0 Pitch Invader
In the dying minutes of a nail biter of a Chelsea/Juventus match-up, Sam Kerr added a new role to her CV – matchday security, taking down a pitch invader who interrupted play…
![Formiga and Sundhage](jpg/formigaaafe.jpg)
You Can Check out, and You Can Leave – No Farewell for Formiga
What do you do when you have one of the most accomplished players of all time on your squad, and she’s facing her last international game? If you’re Pia Sundhage, you give…
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Gretna F.C. – A Phoenix Not From the Flames?
The clichéd story of a football team financially hyper-extending itself, filing for bankruptcy, before re-modelling as a ‘Phoenix Club’ is not a particularly new or unique one. The battle-hardened fans of Bury,…
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Ole Had to Go, but United Have Deeper Issues
And so, after a stretch of performances that can be labelled as a total suspension of talent and intelligence, Manchester United’s Solskjaer Experiment is over. Last night’s deflating loss—the kind where a…
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To Find Solutions, Manchester United Need to Start Asking Questions
Most of us have known this feeling. At playgrounds and classrooms, backyards and alleyways, nothing hurts more than a bully taking their sweet time to pull you apart. On his podcast, Gary…
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Visions of the Dutch Big Three
(This piece was written following the September 18-19 football weekend.) Over the previous international break, we all laughed as Louis van Gaal shot back at a journalist deriding the Netherlands manager for…
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Romelu Lukaku – What Was It That You Said About Slow and Clumsy?
I sometimes wonder how tough life must be for a Premier League footballer. The ball flies past before you know it is coming; you must adapt to overcome the ever-growing number of…
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Eredivisie Overture: Part One
The Dutch are a society littered with contradictions. Rising waters threaten a country largely below sea level, but it was Amsterdam that served as a breeding ground for the very capitalism which…
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Portugal in the 21st Century – The Cost of Gold
The European Championships this summer were a lesson in team play, for both the robust attacking outfits and the overly conservative. Disregarding his country’s catenaccio history, Roberto Mancini looked to dominate play…
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Manchester United, Ronaldo, Kathryn Mayorga, and Us: Everyone Has a Choice
450 goals in 438 games for Real Madrid. 101 in 134 for Juventus. 91 in his last three seasons for Manchester United. Five Champions’ League titles. Five Ballon d’Ors. Rape allegations with…
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Football, Covid, and Quiet: How Much of It Do We Really Need?
This sport we love is loud. It is heavy handed, a picture of excess and consumerism featuring high-drama competition between lavish-living millionaires in front of tens of thousands of screaming fans. As…
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Eric Lamela – The One That Slipped Away
Erik Lamela is 29 years old. There is something almost cruel about this sentence, which seems less like a statement of fact and more a dispatching of judgment. How is Erik Lamela…
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The Broken Jigsaw: Joachim Low’s Legacy
Is a legacy what you leave behind in the past or what is built upon what you leave in the present? The history of something or the same thing’s unwritten history? Nobody…
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FP Data Check: Manchester United Season Review 2020-21
Data and charts courtesy Lee Chunhang. David de Gea did not want to take that penalty. His face was tense, run-up short, and his kick neither had power or precision. Penalty shoot-outs…
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Arsenal 1970-71: There and Back Again
This week marks fifty years since Arsenal won the league-and-cup double. There is a lot to learn from that season – for the club and fans both.
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Case for the Planet: Football Needs to Think
By any football club’s standards, 2020 was a catastrophic year. Pandemic-driven shortfalls caused by the absence of fans has left clubs across Europe cash-strapped. The continent’s superclubs are no exception. Last month,…