The Premier League Team Of The Season 2014/15

By Shane Thomas

No long introduction needed here. In a pretty mediocre Premier League season, here's the best of the bunch:

Middle Ground

By Shane Thomas

There's no doubt that football is an ever-changing, amorphous construct, open to the altering of trends and demands of the game. In the Premier League, the place of the central midfielder is not immune to this.

The History Men

By Shane Thomas

In the build-up to last night's Euro 2012 final, one pundit sounded a word of warning to Italy. He stated that while Spain had reached the crescendo of the competition, they had done so without performing to their best. Rather than use this as a positive omen, he thought it was more of a portent, as Spain were due a top-class performance.

2011/12 Premier League Team Of The Season

By Shane Thomas

Do we really need a lengthy introductory paragraph here? The Premier League season's over. Here were its best players - with special mentions for a few others:

* - denotes my player of the season

GOALKEEPER:

Joe Hart (Manchester City)

Win The Title? Then Copy The Arsenal Team... No, Not That One!

By Shane Thomas


There's a degree of irony in the Emirates Stadium possibly being the deciding factor in Manchester City's faltering title challenge, as the fortunes of Arsenal and City have been somewhat intertwined since 2008. Not only has there been a periodic stream of players leaving North London for Manchester, but ever since Sheikh Mansour bought the club, City has been on the receiving end of supercilious sentiments from other clubs, unhappy with the new found riches at their disposal. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been one to brand the opulent spending teams like City and Chelsea as "financial doping". Whether you believe this is true or not (which may depend on who you support), what is clear is that Arsenal's status as a regular challenger for the English league title has diminished as City and Chelsea's have increased.

Why Carlos Tevez Is The Least Of Roberto Mancini's Problems

By Shane Thomas

While the football world is currently ablaze with disgust and outrage over the conduct of Carlos Tevez on Tuesday evening, the Manchester City players and manager, Roberto Mancini would do well to put the furore to the back of their minds.

Tevez's behaviour may have infuriated many, but it's nothing more than a sideshow to what was a lacklustre performance in a 2-0 defeat against Bayern Munich. The former captain may not have helped things by allegedly refusing to come off the bench, but it was not the reason why City lost.