The Politics Of Sport - When A Poppy Becomes State-Sanctioned Remembrance

By Shane Thomas

It's said that Christmas starts earlier every year. It increasingly feels the same regarding the wearing of poppies in November to commemorate Britain's Armed Forces. Two years ago, the cause célèbre was the wearing (or non-wearing) of the "poppy hijab". In 2016, it's football that is the site of controversy, as England played Scotland at Wembley last Friday. To mark Armistice Day, the players wore black armbands with poppies embroidered onto them. This was in deliberate contravention of FIFA regulations, which decree, "political, religious, commercial, personal statements, images and/or other announcements, is strictly prohibited."

Read the rest of this piece on Media Diversified.

After Rio

By Shane Thomas

Given the panoply of portentous prognostications leading into Rio 2016, received wisdom ultimately deemed this summer's Olympic and Paralympic Games as a success: The sport was thrilling; the events passed without much disruption; athletes weren't ridden by the Zika virus; and Brazil doesn't appear to be a real-life rendering of The Walking Dead. What were we all so worried about?

And if your took your cue from the bulk of the established press, it would be understandable for you to have reached the same conclusion. Despite the anxiety, the displacement, and the protests, it was quite clear after the first few days of competition that even if it was an unwise choice for the Games to be in Rio, they were here now, so we may as well try to enjoy it.

But our concerns should never really have been about what happened during the Games. It should be about what's going to happen now that they are over...

Read the rest of the piece at Media Diversified.

The Greatest Events in Sporting History" is available to download from http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/, e-mail us at sportshistoryshow@googlemail.com and you can follow us on Twitter @TGEISH

(Guest Post) England's Ongoing Failures

By Sathesh Alagappan

Iceland’s victory over England at Euro 2016 sent shockwaves through the footballing world; the latest episode in a long history of underachievement failure for the England men's national team. The toothless nature of the performance, and the lowly standing of the opponents made this defeat particularly hard to take.

The Premier League Team of The Season 2015/16

By Shane Thomas

A slight change to how we do things this season. Rather than a singular choice, I'm selecting the best performers in each respective position, and sequentially ordering them in terms of how much they impressed me since August.

The Politics Of Sport - The English Football Hero

By Shane Thomas

"I do love his [Jamie Vardy's] story – in 2012 he was playing for Fleetwood Town in the Conference, so far he’s the leading scorer in the Premier League this season... As football itself becomes more and more predictable; as the unraveling of the powers-that-be who have profited from the game at the expense of the game; a story like Vardy’s is great."

"Wait, sorry. I forgot. It doesn’t matter what any footballer does off the pitch as long as he performs on it. How silly of me."

The Diary Of A Pessimistic Arsenal Fan - Winter Is Coming

By Shane Thomas

One would think I've missed the boat for a doleful piece on Arsenal. After all, the time for pessimistic sentiments should have been in the aftermath of their dismal showing in defeat to Olympiacos last Tuesday. Now the bulk of Arsenal's players go into the international break on the back of thumping Manchester United 3-0. All is rosy in the Emirates garden again. What could there possibly be to worry about?

Premier League 2015/16 - The Top Four

By Shane Thomas

Is it me, or does the gap between Premier League seasons feel smaller each year? Regardless, we're back again, so let's have a close look at the probable top 4 come next May:

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:

The Diary Of A Pessimistic Arsenal Fan - How Good Was Arsenal's Season?

By Shane Thomas

It's part of the post-match ritual of any final. The losing team's fans trudge off, disconsolate. The winning team's fans stay in their seats, vocalising their joy in the form of odes to the heroes of the occasion. For them, and the players, their work is done.

Chelsea's Foundation Of Steel

By Shane Thomas

Remember Jose Mourinho's "little horse" press conference from last season? After beating eventual champions, Manchester City, he claimed his team were ill-equipped to make a challenge for the Premier League. The press understandably lapped up the pithy soundbite, but that wasn't the most significant utterance from the Portugese. "Next season..." he declared - continuing the equine metaphor - "...we can race."

Televised Inspiration Comes At A Price

By Shane Thomas

The two events may seem unrelated, but the loss of the Open Championship on the BBC, and the latest new television deal for the Premier League both underscore what's becoming an increasingly accepted phenomenon; the enisling of televised sport from the British public.

The FA Cup - Football's American Dream

By Shane Thomas

As the 3rd round of the FA Cup draws to a close, my thoughts have turned to the almost edacious manner of its promotion, especially by the BBC - who regained the broadcast rights from ITV.

The phrase "the magic of the cup" has become a cliche so worn, it represents a pair of jeans that have been in the washing machine so often, that the area around the crotch begins to thin.

Driven By Emotion

By Shane Thomas

High-profile sport may not have been at the forefront of George Orwell's mind when he wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four, but there's no doubt that his concept of 'Big Brother' is an aspect of the sports-industrial complex - some may say a positive one.

The Politics of Sport - Waiting For Change

By Shane Thomas

"The whole recruitment process needs to be more professional, more diverse, and equality-wise, fairer. We've struggled to do that." - Gordon Taylor

"There is no racism in football... If you are good, you get the job... Football is not stupid to close doors to top people." - Jose Mourinho

Health and Safety Doesn't Matter Here

CONTENT NOTE: Some of the embedded links depict head collisions.

By Shane Thomas

In the aftermath of Chelsea's comfortable 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday, it would be easy for one to focus on Arsenal's propensity to be outmaneuvered by a direct rival yet again, or even the childish altercation on the touchline between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho.

The Politics of Sport - Their Game. Their Rules.

By Shane Thomas

It's important to start with this. Malky Mackay and Iain Moody are not demons. They don't walk around, cloaked like pantomime villains, muttering curses under their breath whenever they walk past a woman of colour. In fact, if I found myself in a social situation with them, I wouldn't be surprised to find them agreeable company.

Previewing The Premier League 2014/15

By Shane Thomas

For swathes of last season, Sky Sports proffered the line that it was probably the best season in Premier League history. Beyond shameless self-promotion, Sky made the common mistake of confusing drama with greatness.

That Losing Feeling

By Shane Thomas

While history will likely remember the past year in basketball as the year LeBron James returned home to Cleveland, the 2013/14 NBA season could also be the one in which the sky fell in on the Miami Heat - James' former team.

The Diary of a Pessimistic Arsenal Fan - The Trophy

By Shane Thomas

Arsene Wenger said it began to feel like a curse. Sporting curses are normally a preserve of North America, but given Benfica's failure in the Europa League final, stretching the Bela Guttman curse into its 52nd year, and Liverpool - in part due to Steven Gerrard becoming acquainted with the Anfield turf - falling agonisingly short of ending their 24 year wait for a league championship, it seemed as if football is now getting into the curse business.

United in Grief

By Shane Thomas

As the postmortems and retrospectives of David Moyes' compendiary spell as Manchester United are written, I had to join the punditocracy by penning my own thoughts.