Why Lionel Messi Was The Best Thing To Happen To Cristiano Ronaldo

By Shane Thomas

Sunday night continued the vintage era of clasicos between Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the game ending in a breathless 2-2 draw. But the latest chapter in this magnum opus may go on to be one of the most indelible in the memory, simply because it showcased both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in all their splendour. And while history is likely to judge Messi as the finest of his - and possibly any - era, a lot of credit must go to Ronaldo for this.

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.

Too Many Clasicos? How Can You Have Too Much Of This?

By Shane Thomas

When Real Madrid and Barcelona were set to play in the quarter-finals of the Copa Del Rey, the howls of lament could be heard from fans and pundits; "Too many clasicos!", "I'm sick of seeing Real & Barca all the time!", "What's next, are they going to play each other every week!?"

Episode 46 - 2011 in Review (Part 2) w/Greg Blanchard

We take a trip over the Atlantic Ocean for our second part of the retrospective on 2011. As we bring an American onto the show, it only made sense to review the sports that keep many North Americans in thrall. However, in the interests of balance we also look at the last 12 months in "sarker", better known as football to most of us.

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

Barcelona's Weeping Angels Show Their Nasty Side

By Shane Thomas


The worlds of Doctor Who and el Clasico are ones that seldom collide. But the twain seemed to meet after last weekend's encounter between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

As Real suffered their ninth defeat in the last ten clasicos, I was put in mind of the brilliant episode of Doctor Who, "Blink". The monsters in the aforementioned piece were "The Weeping Angels", benign statues whenever they are looked at, but rapid, ferocious monsters when they could escape the affliction of being gazed upon.

Lambs To The Slaughter - The Massacre Of Real Madrid

By Shane Thomas

BARCELONA 5-0 REAL MADRID

Barcelona put on a five-star show in the Camp Nou last night to seize control of the title race in Spain. Real Madrid's heretofore unbeaten league run came to an end in the midst of one of the finest performances in Barcelona's history.

El Clasico - The Thirty-Six Pointer

By Shane Thomas

As the weekend dissipates into Monday, many people will return to the grind of their working week, bemoaning how quickly the weekend passed them by and looking wistfully ahead to Friday evening. In one part of Cataluyna, the hard work will also begin for Real Madrid & Barcelona.