So, I just finished Jonathan Wilsons rather good new book Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics . I recommend a read to all real devotees of the sport (by some miracle, it has been released in North America at the same time as in the UK), though some of the press praise for the book is a little over the top in my opinion. That said, Wilson ends the book with some intriguing speculation about the tactical developments of the last decade or so which I think are worth developing a bit.  read more »

Saying goodbye to the football season is very much like giving birth to a ginger child: after nine months of optimism, hope and anguish, youre left with a genuine feeling of disappointment. The final day is often emotional. Who could forget Arsenal pipping Liverpool to the title in 1989?  read more »

At one time or another, we all make a mistake of gargantuan proportions. When the wife asked for a potential destination for a short trip, I foolishly answered France. I completely forgot that the place was almost exclusively full of the French. As soon as we arrived I appreciated the gravity of my error, as the locals made absolutely no effort to speak any English. It appeared that they hadnt been informed of our arrival. The language barrier actually led me to be being deported. I popped into a caf, but I didnt fancy eating any strange French food such as frites or saucisses, so I helped myself to a biscuit from behind the counter. The owner went ballistic and called the police, and I was on the next plane back to England.  read more »

Marriage is like a chicken vindaloo, its something you have to try at least once, even though you know youll later regret it. I experienced my seven-year itch quite early, it was on the honeymoon. Fortunately, my wandering eye didnt lead to an act of betrayal, although I put that down to the fact that the barmaid was almost certainly a button-flicker. If newspaper reports are to be believed, Paul Jewell has allegedly been getting his bread sliced at a different bakery. We can all come into a little dough when Fulham beat Derby at 7/5. Cristiano Ronaldo has also entertained a string of women over the past year, which probably explains why Sir Alex is demanding extra protection.  read more »

The moralistic tone of the nation's newspapers was hardly surprising. Considering the nature of the behaviour of Ashley Cole during last week's match between Spurs and Chelsea and Javier Mascherano's sending off on Sooper Dooper Sunday, there was something supremely inevitable about the press reaction to it all, with calls for sanctions for showing "disrespect" to officials being amongst the insane proposals being put forward by the Fourth Estate. One of the more curious aspects of the episode is the way in which those that are the first to criticise such behaviour are usually the people that build up every match to be the most important thing in the history of sport in the first place.  read more »

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger maintains Ashley Cole is "not a dirty player" as the Chelsea defender prepares to face his old club on Sunday.