Bray Wanderers versus North Korea
League of Ireland club Bray Wanderers claim to be taking on ‘North Korea’, according to a bizarre statement by incoming chairman Gerry Mulvey on the club website. His proposed football academy stymied, Mulvey has compared local Wicklow Council to the notorious Communist dictatorship. As troubled Bray face Finn Harps, Libero visits the Carlisle Grounds. Chairman, […]
Stand and deliver
Is it safe to stand? ‘Yes,’ says Jon Darch, a campaigner at football grounds across England for the Safe Standing Roadshow. ‘Yes,’ say Celtic, whose new rail seating has revived Celtic Park. ‘Yes please,’ says Roger Groves of the Shrewsbury Town Supporters’ Parliament, behind England’s first safe-standing area being introduced next season. Tony Dawber takes […]
State of independence
More than 20 years since the World Cup that launched it, ever-expanding MLS seems to be booming. But what about the domestic game as a whole? Can it thrive without promotion-relegation between currently separate leagues? With falling TV ratings and controversy over attendance figures in MLS, Tony Dawber speaks to Jonathan Tannenwald of The Philadelphia […]
Cardiff prepares
The 2017 Champions League Final has the perfect stage in Cardiff. What is now dreadfully difficult is the timing. Peterjon Cresswell visits the Welsh capital. The setting is sublime, the match dream-ticket but tragically the timing has been thrown out of kilter by the horrific terrorist attack in Manchester on the eve of the recent […]
The relegation will be televised
Tomorrow is Helicopter Saturday in Scottish League Two, also rife with relegation fever. All the drama can be enjoyed on each club’s own TV station – as Tony Dawber explains. Tomorrow’s title, promotion and relegation battles in Scottish League Two will not only be played out before a few hundred souls at modest grounds from […]
Dreaming by the old canal
There’s a wind of change blowing through the Dirty Old Town of Pogues lore. Salford City, part-owned by five stars who defined the Ferguson era at Old Trafford, are rebuilding their stadium and aiming for a back-to-back promotion to the National League. Easter Monday sees a vital clash with local rivals Curzon Ashton. Tony Dawber […]
Coasting to success
High-flying AFC Fylde stand top of the National League North and moving ever closer to the club’s stated ambition of Football League status by 2022. Tony Dawber focuses on the former West Lancashire League side looking to outshine Blackpool as ‘The Football Team of the Fylde Coast’. A 97th-minute equaliser looks to have sent AFC […]
Enter the Tigers
Trumpeted by the humungous sums spent this winter on foreign stars and their salaries, the 2017 Chinese Super League kicks off on 3 March. So what will it be like for Tevez, Oscar and company? Nick Rider takes in a match at current champions Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao. China is coming. The winter sales of Oscar […]
Stadium plan divides Dons
This Saturday, as Aberdeen host Partick Thistle to keep up pressure on Rangers for second place in the Scottish Premiership, one topic will dominate terrace talk. Plans for a new stadium at Kingsford have just been submitted. If realised, more than a century of football at Pittodrie will come to an end. Tony Dawber speaks […]
