2016: The year many of us realised football was utterly broken but the media continued to deny reality

By Tony Attwood It is oh so easy to make a list of all the things wrong with football in England.  But thinking that it was appropriate to write a piece about the major problems in English football for the end of the year, I started out considering a list of five problems.  Quickly that …

The Palace comes to the Emirates. Arsenal v Fat Sam: the prologue

By Tony Attwood One of my favourite comedians – and indeed my favourite Shakesperian comic actor (although sadly I was unable to see much of his work in this regard), was Frankie Howerd. At one stage in his career he became completely unacceptable for his politically incorrect jokes, but I never stopped loving his performances, …

Arsenal v Crystal Palace 01 January 2017 – The Match Officials. Expect major errors and bias.

by Andrew Crawshaw This match marks the halfway point of the season it is the 19th with another 19 to go. Referee – Andre Marriner  45 from West Yorkshire and FIFA Accredited First assistant – Simon Beck From Bedfordshire and FIFA Accredited Second Assistant -Andy Garratt  from the West Midlands Fourth Official – Michael Oliver  …