Articles

  • Javier Mascherano blames Liverpool ‘lies’ for acrimonious exit

    • Mascherano took pay cut to join Barcelona • Decision to leave had nothing to do with his family Andy Hunter guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 September 2010 21.56 BST Javier Mascherano at his unveiling as a Barcelona player on Monday. Photograph: Giuliano Bevilacqua/Rex Features Javier Mascherano’s desperation to leave Liverpool led the Argentina captain to take a […]


  • Fernando Torres says Liverpool have to find new owners and quickly

    Press Association guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 1 September 2010 13.11 BST • Forward says Liverpool risk falling behind main rivals • Club needs owners ‘who can make us a competitive side’ Fernando Torres says Liverpool’s takeover needs to be completed quickly. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images Fernando Torres says it is imperative that Liverpool find new owners quickly if they […]


  • England beats Switzerland 3-1 in Euro qualifier

    England continue strong start with confident defeat of Switzerland England’s Adam Johnson, second right, celebrates with James Milner, Wayne Rooney and Ashley Cole after scoring the second goal against Switzerland. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images England dominated much of this Euro 2012 qualifer yet still needed endurance after the injured Theo Walcott and Jermain Defoe were […]


  • Gérard Houllier could return as Aston Villa’s director of football

    • Former Liverpool manager could link up with Kevin MacDonald • Caretaker would stay on as first-team coach Stuart James The Guardian, Friday 3 September 2010 Gérard Houllier is in line to return to the Premier League as the director of football at Aston Villa. Photograph: David Azia/APGérard Houllier could make a surprise return to […]


  • More Than This…

    It’s not just me that has been enduring the beginning of the season for Everton. Others, mainly strangers, have been involved in my melancholy. Before we continue, let me re-iterate: football is irrelevant. The past month, more than any other, has reminded me of this. The popular claim, often expressed by frustrated females, is just […]


  • More Than This…

    It’s not just me that has been enduring the beginning of the season for Everton. Others, mainly strangers, have been involved in my melancholy. Before we continue, let me re-iterate: football is irrelevant. The past month, more than any other, has reminded me of this. The popular claim, often expressed by frustrated females, is just […]


  • Hodgson under pressure as Liverpool fans turn on him and chant for Dalglish

    By Stuart Condie (CP) – 14 minutes ago LONDON — Just weeks after hailing Roy Hodgson’s arrival as Liverpool manager and predicting a return to glory, fans have turned on the veteran coach and started chanting the name of the man who once led them to domination of the English game. “Whether I can turn […]


  • 4-4-2 – A thing of the past?

    Brought to you by the FREE Football Magazine https://www.footballfriends.org.uk The 4-4-2 formation – a British tradition to rival the Beatles, Shakespeare, backing the underdog and hating the French. Two solid banks of four spearheaded by the big man/little man combination up front. It has been the default system for teams from these isles for some 40 […]


  • FOOTBALL FRIENDS MAGAZINE

    Friday nights banter wasn’t the best but better news of a more sober but no less enjoyable nature, is the release of a FREE football fans magazine out just 9 hours ago and a great football friend of ours (pardon the pun Chris) check it out here… we think its got the makings of a […]


  • The Premier League – the Way Forward?

    Brought to you by the FREE Football Magazine https://www.footballfriends.org.uk Technology in the game needs to be brought in as an overall package of measures and not in a piecemeal, random way. Emphasis should be placed on dealing with dissent, simulation and making the job of the referee and his assistants easier. Dissent in the Premier League […]


  • Should football fans boo their own team?

    Brought to you by the FREE Football Magazine https://www.footballfriends.org.uk Football has long been like a pantomime. When the despised neighbours from down the road come to town they become the villains of the Saturday afternoon show. The home fans boo, berate and bully the opposing players in the most ferocious fashion possible. But nowadays it is […]


  • Weekend Premier League Betting Selections

    Match Stats Man Utd v Tottenham Saturday, 5.30pm Pointers: Ø  There have been at least three goals in 10 of Man Utd’s 13 home matches against top-six teams since 2008/09 Ø   Spurs have had at least three goals in 6 of their 7 trips to Big Four sides under Harry Redknapp – four games have […]


  • WEEKEND BETTING SELECTIONS

    Match Stats Birmingham v Blackpool Saturday, 3.00pm Pointers: Ø  Blackpool have scored eight goals in five away fixtures this season Ø   They won both halves in three of their away league games Chelsea v Wolves Saturday, 3.00pm Pointers: Ø  Chelsea have now won nine consecutive home games in which they have scored 41 times, conceding […]


  • The Sound Of Music

    It is rather apt that I should frequent the only football stadium to have a church attached to it, because going to the match, for me at least, is a cathartic, silent experience, a chance for self-reflection, for quiet contemplation, joining in the singing of a couple of well-known songs (or pretending to) and forever […]


  • Weekend Betting Tips

    Match Stats Bolton v Tottenham Saturday, 12.45pm Pointers: Ø Bolton have won one and lost five of their nine matches against top-eight finishers the previous season and current top-eight teams this season. Ø There have been at least three goals in 9 of Bolton’s last 13 home matches against top-half teams since 2009/10 Blackburn v […]


  • Weekend Betting Tips -Analysis

    Match Stats Aston Villa v Manchester United Saturday, 12.45pm Pointers: Ø  Aston Villa are unbeaten at home this season (W3-D3-L0), while Man Utd are yet to lose on the road – although they have drawn five of their six fixtures. Ø  Villa have drawn seven of their last nine games against traditional Big Four sides […]


  • The Desert Foxes (on our boxes)

    I’m sitting here, it’s half time between Algeria and Egypt during the Cup of African Nations semi-final. The gallery is filled with many online bettors who are trying their fortune to earn some profit from the ongoing game. As there are many fraudulent betting providers emerging everywhere, bettors have to be very cautious. Read this […]


  • Fantasy can’t beat the Reality Star.

    As Christmas for many meant hangovers, left-over turkey and the obligatory tweaking of fantasy football (ff) teams, over-indulgence must now resonate. Early 2010, a time synonymous with resolutions, however, has so far been hijacked by the worst winter snap in decades. Whilst weather ransacked all but the Britannia, an extended holiday for some must’ve been […]


  • Calendar, goals

    (Apologies to N.Sedaka/H.Greenfield) I love, I love, I love my calendar game Yeah, sweet calendar game I love, I love, I love my calendar game Each and every day of the year (January) You start the year off fine The year started well with a continuing good run in the league and a couple of […]


  • Beware of The Black Stars & The Elephants…

    With the 2010 World Cup draw just made, I thought there was no better time for some bold predictions. It was Pelé who once said – in that conceited manner of his – that an African nation would win the World Cup before Y2K. Then again he once infamously predicted Columbia would win USA ’94, […]


  • The EFP Writing Competition

    After the success of previous writing competitions we have decided to run another for our readers, with the prize of your choice again being generously supplied by SoccerPro. This time SoccerPro have offered a Soccer Jacket or a Soccer Tee-Shirt of the winner’s choice. The post with the most hits and highest rating within the set time-frame will receive this fantastic prize. Feeling […]


  • Premiership Bets of the Weekend

    Wolves v Arsenal  Arsenal look like the best side in Europe when on their game, which at home, they have been all season. However they have been sloppy on the road this season, guilty of overplaying and taking their foot of the pedal. The recent games at AZ Alkmarr and West Ham were seemingly won, with the […]


  • Read All About It

    I was lost for ideas. I hadn’t written for efp for over a month, other things had got in the way, and as well as that, football had been rather underwhelming for me. Everton have improved in that time, Louis Saha has become one of the greatest players in the world (a private joke, sorry), […]


  • The Future’s bright, it’s black and white.

    It has come to light that there’s a new found confidence at Vale Park this season.  Ok, a 1-0 loss at home to Bury on Saturday – that being the 1st home loss and only the 2nd loss of the season – is a massive improvement on last season already. With the appointment of Micky […]


  • Freewriting, Bonny Scotland, Greece is the word.

    This is another attempt at freewriting, and for the next ten minutes I will just be typing non-stop whilst listening to the Sky Sports Soccer Saturday post-match post-mortems. It’s a really hard thing to explain, you just write whatever comes in to your head regardless of the subject, within a time limit, and normally you […]


  • Limited Homeless World Cup Tee-Shirts!

    For those of you didn’t know, the Ukraine have just won the sixth Homeless World Cup 2009 taking place in Milan. To mark this momentous occasion, SoccerPro has brought out a limited edition of Homeless World Cup Tee-Shirts – which can be found at SoccerPro Homeless World Cup Tee-Shirt and seen below – with all […]


  • The Road To Equality?

    Events have fortunately conspired since we last spoke, making the last fortnight as significant, as poignant, and as revealing as any that I care to remember. Significant, because the powers that be have finally sought to be proactive in the fight against inequality; poignant, because, just as English football scales great heights on the pitch, […]


  • Let Me Be Your Fantasy

    (Or, a response to this website’s editor’s excellent earlier piece Game Getting Greedier) A week into the new season and my interest is, as predicted, beginning to wane.   Not wholly due to Everton’s poor performances in their first two games, that’s reality, but because normal service has resumed.   Yes, my great start in […]


  • London Calling

    The Premier League’s London based clubs have enjoyed a uniformly bright start to the season, having collectively won each of the eight games in which they have featured.   This 100% record will come to an end later today, as the first of twenty London derbies takes place at Upton Park this afternoon.   West […]


  • Transfer deadline: completed moves

    All the confirmed transfers as the window closes: Gylfi Sigurdsson has moved from Reading to the German team Hoffenheim Photograph: Henry Browne Today’s completed moves • Nabil El Zhar, Liverpool to PAOK, season-long loan • Maceo Rigters, Blackburn to Willem II, season-long loan • Scott Severin, Watford to Dundee United, free • Felipe Caicedo, Manchester […]