Premier League 2014-15 Preview
Arsenal Arsenal led the Premier League for the majority of last season, but fell away towards the latter stages and finished seven points behind champions Manchester City. Mesut Ozil’s signing last summer...
A Sporting and Cultural History of the 2014 World Cup
—————— In five parts and totalling about 15,000 words – analysing the final of the tournament, viewing all thirty-two competing nations, and offering a wider perspective comprising fashion, politics, music, technology, and...
The World Cup in Wider Culture
While on the field, the 2014 World Cup saw the rise of new superstars, the decline of footballing philosophies, the interplay between varying formations, and appeared to demonstrate the narrowing of traditional...
Evaluating the World Cup: Groups E-H
France An indifferent World Cup for France was encapsulated by their 1-0 defeat in the quarter-finals against Germany, in one of the tournament’s most disappointing and uninspiring games. France had started the...
What’s Wrong with Brazil? Evaluating the World Cup: Groups A-D
This first set of evaluations of the teams who competed at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil comprises the participants of groups A-D, listed in the order in which they finished the...
Germany 1 – 0 Argentina: An Analysis of the 2014 World Cup Final
So the 2014 World Cup final took place in Rio’s Estádio Maracanã, Sunday 13 July, kicking off at 4 pm local time. Germany lined up in a 4-3-3 formation. With Manuel Neuer...
The Quarter-Finals of Wimbledon and the World Cup
After almost three weeks of football and one week and a half of tennis, competitions have fallen into alignment, and we find ourselves at the quarter-final stage of both Wimbledon and the...
Alex Ferguson’s Legacy: Success at What Cost?
After The Telegraph‘s Mark Ogden reported late last night that Alex Ferguson was considering his imminent retirement from his position as manager of Manchester United; amidst betting patterns that were taken to...