At its midpoint, this season is shaping up to be one of football’s oddest
So far we’ve seen Dickensian midfielders, a blizzard of coaching jobs, and the return of peep-hole socks.
ByFootball
Dive into the world of football with our collection of columns, articles and longer-read features.
If you watch football with me, you need to respect my rules
Watching a game is a private pleasure, I don’t want to listen to any banal observations – I have enough…
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Sarina Wiegman’s mystery playbook
In her book the Lionesses coach shows composure and compassion – but the art of football management remains a puzzle.
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When I met Bobby Charlton
Wearing a flat cap and ancient raincoat he was calm, quiet, unflashy – a gentleman player.
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Why it’s too late to save football from VAR
Video refeering is sucking the joy out of the game.
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Why are Tories so obsessed with Gary Lineker?
Also this week: a brawl at Lord’s and the US-Saudi golf rivalry.
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Did celebrity ruin David Beckham?
Netflix reveals a footballer betrayed by celebrity.
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A fan’s loyalty is unwavering – unlike the players they support
Life is about endless upheavals, but some – like Harry Kane in lederhosen – are hard to take.
By The Lionesses won’t sleep tonight
Even with the Prem to distract me, I am still anxious about how the England women’s team are coping.
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Nike needs to sell Mary Earps’s shirt
Underinvestment in women’s sporting gear extends to football boots designed for men being accused of causing ACL injuries.
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What the Lionesses taught us
How fitting, how healing, if it had been women who ended English football’s 57 years of hurt.
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What Lee Anderson forgets about Brian Clough
The Tory MP keeps betraying his Labour roots.
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Why doesn’t football love Keir Starmer?
Talking about the game only makes the Labour leader and politicians look dumb.
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The Rest is Football should be sent off
Gary Lineker’s new podcast offers a stale standard of analysis that barely hovers above that offered by the drunkest bar-propper…
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How I fell for women’s football
It was banned by the FA for 50 years, but the football my team plays has opened up a more…
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Lindi Ngwenya: “Women football agents are as cut-throat as the men”
The trailblazing agent is dedicated to nurturing talent from across the world – and supporting her rising stars in the…
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How Dele Alli exposed the trauma that accompanies success in elite sport
We are increasingly discovering the mental cost of the pressure the sports industry places on its stars.
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How sport explains Thatcher’s Britain
The commerce, scandal and violence of sport in the 1980s was a reflection of a ruthlessly individualist society.
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Dear England and the English Question
In his new play about Gareth Southgate, James Graham uses football to explore a contested national identity.
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James Graham’s Dear England is a tiresome ode to St Gareth Southgate
The National Theatre production presents the manager’s path to national saviour but fails to add anything of note to our…
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