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:

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.

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.

The Three Horse Race

By Shane Thomas

NOTE: Please bear in mind, that the predictions in this piece may change, and are based on the squads on the respective teams as of 13th August.

Sir Alex Ferguson, Bloody Hell.

By Shane Thomas

Well, come on. There's only one sporting story worth talking about right now. This is probably newspaper piece/blog post #1,564 that's sure to be written about Sir Alex Ferguson over the next week or so. I confess that I'm still processing my thoughts as I'm writing, so apologies if this reads as a bit of an unfocused ramble.

La Decima: Real's Obsession. Mourinho's Salvation

By Shane Thomas

When Real Madrid president Florentino Perez moved to get Jose Mourinho as the head coach of Los Blancos, it seemed something of a no-brainer. Mourinho had just delivered an unprecedented treble for Inter Milan, with the coup de grace being a 3rd European Cup/Champions League title. This was all the more significant as it was Inter's first since 1965 - despite their worldwide renown, Inter had been perennial underachievers in Europe's top tier competition.

The Diary Of A Pessimistic Arsenal Fan - Arsenal's Listlessness Continues

By Shane Thomas

ARSENAL 0-2 SCHALKE

Arsenal moved from a state of slight concern into discernible worry after their second moribund display in five days, which resulted in a deserved loss to the Germans, Schalke. To paraphrase the sporting aphorism, Arsenal lost 2-0, and were lucky to get nil.

This Sporting Ego

By Shane Thomas

As William Shakespeare wrote, "All the world's a stage". And many of sport's most fascinating stories are from the athletes who view their profession as exactly that; a stage for them to display their talents.

The Diary Of A Pessimistic Arsenal Fan - The Worth Of Arsenal

By Shane Thomas

After last Sunday's victory over Liverpool, things are a touch rosier in the Arsenal garden. However, that was in marked contrast to the mood amongst many fans a few days previous. Press reports swiftly emanated that Theo Walcott had decided against signing an extension to his contract with the club, which will expire at the end of the current season.

The Gambler Who Could Afford To Keep Rolling The Dice

By Shane Thomas


It's seldom that a person succeeds in any walk of life without having something of a gambler's instinct. Playing it safe only gets you so far, and in football, Roman Abramovich is a man who's rolled the dice ad nauseum.

The Perfect Storm

By Shane Thomas

For regular football viewers, the hard-sell we have to endure from television companies borders on the maddening side of tedious. The amount of times we hear the word "best" misused in the name of trying to convince the public that the next match of football is "must-see", and the "greatest ever" is an affront to all intelligent people and the English language. David Mitchell once summed it up beautifully, thus.

Welcome To Manchester: City's Dream. United's Nightmare

By Shane Thomas

MANCHESTER CITY 1-0 MANCHESTER UNITED

The tectonic plates of the Premier League title race shifted once again in an impassioned night at the Etihad Stadium. The lead at the top of the table changed hands for the 11th time this season as Manchester City beat their rivals Manchester United to grab the initiative with only two games of the league campaign remaining.

Manchester City vs Manchester United - Match Ratings

By Shane Thomas


MANCHESTER CITY:


JOE HART (7)

While he wasn't called upon to make a save, his importance to City comes not only from what he does with his hands, but his sheer presence. Anything he was required to do, he did with the minimum of fuss. God help England if he gets injured before or during Euro 2012.

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.

Athletic Main Course Humiliates United

By Shane Thomas

Many proclaimed last week's victory for Athletic Club de Bilbao over Manchester United as one of the results of the season so far. I was one of them. Turns out that was just an apertif. For their main course, they welcomed United to their home patch, and didn't just beat them, but dished out a beating.

Their intense pressing, mobile movement and incisive passing were all there from 7 days ago, but after their 3-2 win at Old Trafford, it was clear that the Athletic players knew that there was nothing to fear from the English champions, and performed accordingly. United weren't opponents, but co-conspirators in their own humiliation. United weren't defeated, they were thoroughly embarrassed.

Premier League Pacesetters Under Fire From Their Rivals

By Shane Thomas


As another Premier League weekend draws to a close, Tottenham Hotspur - who looked safely ensconced in third place, and with an eye on the two Manchester clubs - have hit a wall in terms of results. Zero points from the last nine, with Arsenal's late win against Newcastle meaning that they only hold a one point gap over their bitter neighbours on the red side of North London.

United Spun Crazy By El Loco

By Shane Thomas

MANCHESTER UNITED 2-3 ATHLETIC BILBAO

I've always thought that judging the strength of each domestic league by how their sides perform in European competition is something of an erroneous mark of evaluation. But for those who do subscribe to this sort of thing, there was no doubt that La Liga is greatly superior to the Premier League after the 5th best team in Spain gave the English champions a football lesson. Athletic Bilbao came to Old Trafford and walked away with a 3-2 victory that must rank as one of the finest nights and performances in the club's history.

English Football's Laughing Cavaliers, But For How Long

By Shane Thomas

Manchester United: Premier League champions, more league titles than any other English side, kings of all their survey, arguably the greatest manager of all time in Sir Alex Ferguson at the helm, unbeaten so far this season. They are the division's top scorers, playing some of the most exhilarating stuff in the land. The sheer joy of their play has turned them into the game's laughing cavaliers.

Episode 39 - Eric Cantona w/Mary Freer

We've been a bit lax updating the blog with our latest episodes. So, to recap; Jonathan is in exile until further notice, I'm holding down the fort, and we've been bringing a few special guests on board. Our latest of whom, Mary Freer helps me dissect the career of Eric Cantona. Loved by some, loathed by many more, he was certainly one of the most magnetic players of his generation.

The Greatest Events In Sporting History' is available from http://www.simplysyndicated.com/shows/sportinghistory/