Creator
Neal Collins
Benni’s back in business
In the end, all it took was a quick stop-off on the way home from not-so-sunny Scotland to sort out the Benni McCarthy problem once and for all. After Bafana Bafana had lost 1-0…
Africans put the boot in
Never before has the Premier League season been so dominated by African players as we head towards the second weekend after the biggest-spending, most-hyped pre-season on record.…
Catt and The Axe keep SA flag flying
Two very different South Africans have grabbed the headlines in Britain this week. One is at the peak of his career, enjoying his first goal in England and is responsible for…
Benni poised for superstar status
Benni McCarthy, the boy from the backstreets of Cape Town, is the toast of English football this week after two dramatic interventions changed the face of the game. Expect more…
UK teams looking good in Europe
Warning: you might get a severe case of déjà vu reading this. It’s not my fault. Two weeks ago, the Champions League featured Chelsea seeing off Barcelona, Liverpool sinking…
Hits and myths of Premiership pre-season
David Beckham for Newcastle. Ruud van Nistelrooy ditto. Patrick Vieira to Manchester United. The whole Italian team headed for Chelsea. Steve McClaren to rejuvenate England. And…
Charity Shield: No gentle introduction to the season
The Charity Shield was once a rousing curtain-raiser to a long winter in the mud. These days, rechristened the Community Shield for tax and fraud purposes, we head for the…
Bolton’s good Fortune
Cristiano Ronaldo’s words to Wayne Rooney before the Portugal versus England World Cup quarterfinal were not ”I’m going to get you sent off”, but, as Rooney reveals in his new…
It’s Togo to go
You can’t rule out Germany, and Poland gave England a run for their money in qualifying. Sweden are solid at the back, and Trinidad and Tobago could be the joke side of the…
Gunners silenced
London doesn’t take kindly to defeat. And Londoners certainly don’t take kindly to referees who repeatedly sin against their clubs. Arsenal’s brave but ultimately fruitless 2-1…
A few mad weeks for English soccer
What a crazy week in prospect. West Ham ready to lose hopelessly to a superior Liverpool in the FA Cup final on Saturday while Wembley lies unfinished. Arsenal ready to lose…
Premiership ends with a decided whimper
Ah, the final Sunday of the Premiership. Glorious spring. This year, sadly, there’s not that much to play for. Chelsea have romped off with the title, paying a mere £600-million…
Lehman puts Arsenal through
Inhibition makes you small. If you don’t believe, that’s the worst thing. Go out and be yourself. Those were the choice extracts from Arsene Wenger’s little book of footballing…
Liverpool must win to blunt Chelsea arrogance
Thank God for the FA Cup, for the chance to puncture the increasingly arrogant Jose Mourinho’s expensive bubble. On Saturday it’s the semifinals, where Liverpool can dislodge…
Touré sinks the Yellow Submarine
When the Highbury stadium was built 93 years ago, few would have predicted a European farewell along the lines of Wednesday night’s 1-0 win over Villarreal. Amid the diving and…