Author: Andrew Flint
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Debate – VAR
1. Did football need to move with the times and improve decision making by using technology in the first place? Simon Toye: I think VAR was always going to be the next logical (debatable) step. In some form or other it has a position in other sports – rugby, tennis etc. So it was always…
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Interview – Tuesday Night Football Eastbourne
When all’s said and done, football is just a game. Two teams kicking a ball about is as rudimentary a past-time as it gets, however loudly the Champions League anthem may blare out. However much one tries to distill it to its simplest form though, there are powerful effects of playing the game that stretch…
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CM/FM Legends: Bjørn Heidenstrøm
During the late 1990s, in what some would call the golden age of Championship Manager, there were some players of such unerring quality that transcended all levels of the game. Lower-league bargains that could seamlessly step into top-flight squads were worth their weight in gold. None offered more value for money than Bjørn Heidenstrøm. Able…
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Interview – Steven Scragg, author of Frozen in Time: The Wonderful Randomness of the Cup Winners’ Cup
There was a time when Aberdeen could stand toe to toe with Real Madrid and come out on top, when Dinamo Tblisi held a famous reputation, and when Magdeburg beat AC Milan in a final. Now it sounds fanciful at best, but the Cup Winners’ Cup was a magical, mystical world that threw up some…
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Debate – Cups
1. What is your fondest personal memory of the FA Cup? Does the competition still hold the importance nowadays that it once enjoyed? Simon Toye: I have two FA Cup experiences; weirdly they both involve Man City. The first as a boy going to Man City vs Halifax at Maine Road in 1998 (I was…
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Interview – Blaine McKenna: A coaching odyssey
Blaine McKenna is not your average coach. In the modern game one must strive harder than ever to stand out, and the Northern Irishman has succeeded with a bold and forward-thinking approach. In a career that has already spanned 11 countries on five continents, McKenna has already accumulated considerable experience. He sat down with Heart…
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Matchdays: Turin & Castelnuovo di Garfagnana
Blinking into the blazing Tuscan sunshine I had to stop for a moment and catch myself. Looking back, it was verging on scandalous that I didn’t appreciate the sumptuous charm sprawling out before my aching eyes, but at that point I wasn’t in any state to take stock. Not a soul stirred as the valley…
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