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11 years ago

Who do you reckon was the best-paid New Zealand sportsman in London last week? One of the veterans of the All Blacks’ World Cup winning squad, perhaps, like Dan Carter or Richie McCaw? How about one of the other established stars, like Sonny Bill Williams? If you said any of those, or indeed any one of […]

11 years ago

John Terry has never been one to shy away from a challenge on the field of play, and now he’s taken on an ex-player off it. The former England captain has come under criticism from various ex-pros for his displays this season, but it seems he only respects some of them enough to accept their […]

11 years ago

On Saturday, I went to watch West Ham take on Watford at Vicarage Road. Because our away ticket allocation was small and I left it late to book, my only option was to borrow a season ticket in the home end from a friend of a friend. It was the first time in 10 years that […]

11 years ago

We’ve all got our usual order when we go to Nandos. Half-chicken, spicy rice, garlic bread, fantoke…wait, fantoke? Well if you’re Spurs and England midfielder Dele Alli, it’s a Nandos staple comprised of Fanta and Coke. Alli has since deleted his tweet from 2012, but we’re not sure why he needed to. Throwback to the […]

11 years ago

They’re never happy…

11 years ago

He hammers Van Gaal…

11 years ago

Following some pretty serious allegations in the press, Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas has spoken about his future at the club. The Spanish midfielder was accused by The Secret Footballer of being the ringleader of a revolt against manager Jose Mourinho. But Fabregas, one of Mourinho’s biggest signings during his second spell in charge of the club, has […]

11 years ago

This is a horrible record…

11 years ago

This is massive for MLS…

11 years ago

The Irish FA has received news of its ticket allocation for the Euro 2016 playoff in Bosnia, and it’s not good. Bosnia and Herzegovina have been playing home qualifiers at the 15,600-capacity Bilino Polje Stadium in Zenica, leaving Irish fans fearing less than 800 tickets could be made available. Well it’s not quite as bad as […]

11 years ago

Leo Desi…

11 years ago

There is a moment in Ronaldo, Anthony Wonke’s documentary about the Real Madrid star, where a female fan jumps a fence to attempt to meet the footballer at a training session. Interviewed after the incident, she fights back tears when proudly revealing that “he knows I exist”. We have since witnessed similar incidents, with Cristiano Ronaldo embracing […]

11 years ago

When Bournemouth defender Adam Smith threw his shirt into the crowd after the club’s defeat at Southampton, the young fan who caught it was made up. But joy soon turned to sadness as the shirt was snatched from him, leading the boy’s mother to share the story on social media. Thankfully, though, the player and […]

11 years ago

Oranje crush

11 years ago

The fallout from Chelsea’s opening-day draw against Swansea continues to haunt Jose Mourinho. The manager is now thought to be the subject of an individual legal claim from former club doctor Eva Carneiro, according to PA Sport. Carneiro left the club in the aftermath of Mourinho’s response to her entering the field of play against Swansea, […]

11 years ago

Humdinger…

11 years ago

Zlatman…

11 years ago

Real deal…

11 years ago

There has been plenty of goodwill for Jurgen Klopp since the former Borussia Dortmund coach took over at Anfield. The German’s charisma and the promise of a new style seem set to ensure he has plenty of time to work his magic at Liverpool, even though early results haven’t provided the overnight turnaround some of […]

11 years ago

The news that two Premier League players are set to come out received a broadly positive reaction from the football community. There’s a sense that we’ve made progress when it comes to changing attitudes, but there’s still a long way to go. The situation is different in the women’s game, however, with a number of players speaking openly […]

11 years ago

After last week’s inspired selection of Steven Fletcher, we felt we were in danger of getting too big for our britches. While we hope some of you followed our advice and captained the Sunderland striker (who got one goal and one assist in the Tyne-Wear Derby), we wanted to change tack this week. That’s why […]

11 years ago

When Claudio Ranieri promised his Leicester players pizza after their first clean sheet, he wasn’t lying. But rather than ordering in Dominos or taking the squad for a sit-down meal at their local Italian restaurant, the former Chelsea manager had something different in mind entirely. Sure, pizza would be on offer, but the players would […]

11 years ago

This will give you nightmares

11 years ago

Toronto FC will be glad to see the back of Didier Drogba. The former Chelsea striker scored two in two minutes when Montreal Impact beat their fellow Canadians on the final day of the regular MLS season, and he played a huge role as Mauro Biello’s side saw off the same opponents in the playoffs. Montreal […]

11 years ago

We’ve all had that discussion about whether penalties are really a lottery or whether it’s a matter of skill and not luck. Those of us dismissing the luck element might have to think again after watching this spot-kick from Saad Abdul-Salaam in the MLS playoffs. Sporting Kansas City defender Abdul-Salaam is yet to score a senior […]

11 years ago

We all have our reasons for supporting our chosen football team. Many of us will choose the same team as our dad, the one that always wins or just follow the local club so it’s possible to go to games. But Kevin Spacey’s support for DC United may have an even stranger origin. The actor […]

11 years ago

Nice work if you can get it…

11 years ago

It was a long-running joke at Arsenal that Abou Diaby would be ‘like a new signing’ if and when he returned. But now the line might have to be wheeled out again for a few different Arsenal players. Diaby sat out 203 games during his time at the Emirates Stadium, but England and Arsenal duo […]

11 years ago

Phil Collins is very much a ‘marmite’ performer. He’s got some absolute diehard fans though, Premier League footballers amongst them, and then there are those who can’t stand the former Genesis man. So when Collins announced he was coming out of retirement, it’s safe to say the reaction was mixed. The supporters Would like to […]

11 years ago

This isn’t going to be easy

11 years ago

There are not too many managers who have the ability to fall upwards in their career. Alan Pardew is one, getting the Newcastle job after parting ways with a Southampton side who were then in League 1, while many of us were confused by Rafa Benitez’s ability to end up in the Real Madrid hotseat after […]

11 years ago

Van P-arsey…

11 years ago

When you’re the king, you can do anything. We wouldn’t put anything past Zlatan Ibrahimovic, so we weren’t even surprised to hear that he’s gone and bought a church. The Paris Saint-Germain star has reportedly splashed out 110 million Swedish Krona (just shy of £8.5m) on a townhouse in Stockholm’s Östermalm district that previously served as […]

11 years ago

If your football club was feared to have a racist element among its fans, how would you hope for them to deal with the problem? Most likely, you’d want the club to expel any supporters found guilty of racist activity, and work harder to educate the fanbase about what is and isn’t acceptable. What you […]

11 years ago

Barely 12 months ago, Dele Alli was part of the MK Dons team that humbled Manchester United 4-0 in the League Cup. But the midfielder has come a long way in the last year, to the point that Paris Saint-Germain are thought to be lining up a move for the teenager. Alli has still played […]

11 years ago

The ‘new Messi’ tag is to this generation what the ‘new Maradona’ tag was to the last. Whenever an emerging attacking talent arrives on the scene in Argentina, he will be burdened with the expectation of matching his predecessor’s achievements. It burdened the likes of Pablo Aimar and Javier Saviola, both called ‘the new Maradona’ […]

11 years ago

We feel for you, JOE readers, we really do. You’d just started enjoying Didier Drogba’s Canadien renaissance and accepted that the league’s called MLS and not ‘The MLS’, only to discover that the regular season ends in October. Fear not, fairweather fans. there’s some red-hot playoff action on the way and we’ve got the lowdown. […]

11 years ago

Cristiano Ronaldo has wasted little time in becoming the most famous Madeiran export since those cakes your grandparents served when you went round for tea. And now the three-time Ballon d’Or winner is giving something back to the island on which he was born, with his new Nike Mercurial Superfly CR7 Savage Beauty football boots. […]

11 years ago

Our search for Britain’s best sandwich has led us into some existential discussions. What is a sandwich? Obviously fillings between two pieces of bread will qualify, but what about bagels, baguettes and Banh Mi? If a pocket filled with delicious ingredients qualifies, then are pittas or wraps part of the sandwich canon? How about tacos? […]

11 years ago

Inspired picks like Mahrez have helped

11 years ago

Sales have gone crazy…

11 years ago

The final straw…

11 years ago

Chelsea captain John Terry could make a shock exit from Stamford Bridge to team up with former Blues striker Gianfranco Zola. Terry was only beginning to cement his place in the starting line-up when Zola’s time in London came to an end, but the former England international could opt to play under his one-time team-mate […]

11 years ago

After wrapping up a fourth successive league title last season, Celtic are setting up for a new challenge. No, they’re not readying themselves for a run at the Europa League (though that would be nice) – they’re looking much further afield, at the United States. The Scottish giants have a substantial following Stateside, and the BBC report […]

11 years ago

As we saw with Robin van Persie not that long ago, even the greats can sometimes but the ball past their own goalkeeper. Paris Saint-Germain’s Marco Verratti joined that club during the Ligue 1 win over Saint-Etienne, firing a pinpoint volley beyond the goalkeeper…his own goalkeeper. There’s nothing Kevin Trapp could do about the goal, […]

11 years ago

Anyone who follows their football team up and down the country will have memories of that one game when they went too big too early. That may have been the fate that befell one Barnsley fan during their game against Fleetwood Town, as he had to be helped out of the Yorkshire club’s ground by […]

11 years ago

Newcastle United YouTuber The True Geordie is a treat at any time. But when you throw in a derby defeat to Sunderland, and a contentious one at that, it makes for fantastic viewing unless you’re a Magpies fan (or perhaps even if you are). It’s everything we love about fan TV – the humility (pausing […]

11 years ago

You don’t win friends with Salah

11 years ago

It’s still early days as far as Jurgen Klopp’s Anfield reign is concerned, but we’re already starting to notice a few things from his Liverpool side. Klopp’s team followed draws against Tottenham and Rubin with another tie, but there are some positives to take despite Sadio Mane’s late equaliser. Here’s what we learned from another tough test for […]

11 years ago