The A-League Mid-Season Review

We are just past half way of the current A-League season, the most competitive in its short history. Besides the clear leader Brisbane Roar, just seven points separates 2nd to 8th place and even bottom placed Melbourne Heart still hope to make the finals. For the first time ever it seems that any team can truly beat anyone else on any given day, with Brisbane, Western Sydney and the Victory strangely suffering heavy losses at home. As we begin the run towards the finals it is time to have a look at how each team have progressed in the first half of the season.

2014 World Cup: Group A Detailed Analysis

There's not long to go until the 32 qualified nations for the World Cup compete for the biggest prize in world football. As we countdown to Brazil 2014 we will be reviewing all eight groups and having a look at each team's chances. We start with Group A, which contains hosts Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon.

The 2013 Football Review

2013 was a massive year in football, the number one sport in the world continues to captivate the world wide audience. Players and teams continue to look at how to gain that little bit extra on their opponents in a year where we saw individual and collective performances reach a whole new level. On the other hand, the world game is now arguably at its most controversial with its diving, bribing and biting!? Football is never short of heated discussion. Domestic leagues continue to have a religious like following while the international stage in 2013 was always going to draw attention as we lead towards the World Cup in Brazil. These are my highlights and lowlights for the year that was.

The FIFA Rankings: Why they don't work and how to fix them

If you go around asking people who the best footballing nations in the world are, you will usually get the same answers, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Italy, Holland, Uruguay, France, etc. The FIFA Rankings though tell a completely different story. As we saw with the seeds for next year's World Cup, the top eight sides in the world include the likes of Belgium, Colombia and Switzerland. Whether people agree with that is up for discussion, the question is how did this happen? The answer lies in how the FIFA Rankings are structured. I'm going to analyse how they work, why they don't reflect the true nature of football and look at what alternatives there are to rank national sides.

Football Superstitions, Routines and Rituals

Footballers are a superstitious bunch. Whether they’re an amateur playing for their local club in division ten or a professional playing in front of tens of thousands every week, its hard to find a player without a superstition, a simple routine or what could be seen as a ritual. Discussing this with Ale we both had our own habits before matches, I have to brush my teeth and “use the loo” - not at the same time, just thought I’d clear that up. Ale has to clap his shin pads together before putting them on and his previous coach always joked about the “no sex the night before" rule. In the 2010 World Cup Fabio Cappello famously banned all WAGS of the English team from seeing their players before each match and were restricted to only post match visitation rights. Seeing as the team didn't make it to the quarter finals, maybe all they needed was a conjugal visit of sorts, a little spooning the night before perhaps.

World Cup 2014 Final Draw Review

Firstly, discussion turns to the arduous qualifying campaign, then attention turns to the grueling play-offs. Once we know who the 32 teams are, the World Cup ball is released with great interest. Last but not least, the final piece of the puzzle for a World Cup and arguably the biggest talking point is the World Cup draw. On Friday FIFA held the final draw in Brazil amidst celebrities, football dignitaries and former players. The teams were put into their respective pots, as designated by the football governing body, and one by one they were drawn into the eight groups. These are the groups for next year's FIFA World Cup.

What Did The Mid-Week Fixtures Deliver?

Crystal Palace 1 - West Ham United 0

Tony Pulis may just pull this off. He of course has the record of never seeing a team demoted, and this first win is a good step towards maintaining that record. In what was a tough fixture for both teams who were equally desperate for all 3 points. I’m sticking to my early prediction of Palace going down and now Pulis’ record going with it. Pulis has reportedly been given the go ahead to spend money in January and I hope he can put it to good use because it’s great to see Aussie Mile Jedinak playing brilliant football week in and week out in the Premier League.

The Decline of the Classic No.9

A few weeks ago I started thinking of the reasons that have always made me want to play up front on the football pitch. Is it because of my characteristics as a player? Is it because of the joy I get from scoring goals? The glory of netting a match winner? I realised all those reasons have definitely contributed to my choice. However, I think one external reason affected me the most, growing up in 90s. Football in the 90s was all about the 4-4-2 formation and a great no.9 up front whose sole purpose was to smash the ball in the back of the net. When you talk about the 90s era these names always come up, Vieri, Romario, Weah, Stoichkov, Ronaldo, Fowler and Shearer. The centre forward thrived in the 90s. One name, my favourite player when I was growing up, would determine my choice to play up front, Gabriel Batistuta. The all time leading goal scorer for Argentina was the very definition of a pure centre forward. Unfortunately due to the evolution of tactics, the classic no.9 is now an endangered species.