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IF JOE COLE ISN’T THE ANSWER WHO IS?
Devil’s advocate? Not me. That would be Keanu Reeves, starring in a particularly execrable film alongside about 5 per cent of Al Pacino’s range. But it’s probably best to preface the
Articles written by Rob Hobson
WHAT HAPPENED TO ARSENE?
I don’t hear Arsene Wenger these days. On the whole, he seems like a reasonable man: genial, good-humoured, obviously intelligent. I’m willing to bet that he’s excellent company at a dinner party once he’s ...
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO SAM DALLA BONA?
In July 2002, the mercurial and talented midfielder Sam Dalla Bona left Chelsea under a cloud. His refusal to sign a contract extension had angered Chelsea, as their statement at the time confirms.”In view of the fact that ...
PLATINI AND THE SOUL OF FOOTBALL
Is it too late to save football’s soul? There’s much to admire in Michel Platini’s recent - and clearly heartfelt - appeal to the European Parliament. For those that haven’t had time to look over it, the ...
NO SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVILS?
I was beginning to wonder if there was any point trying to go for a light-hearted and reasonably objective view of what’s happening at Stamford Bridge. As a general rule, no matter what the content of the article, ‘Big ...
CHELSEA: AT A CROSSROADS
I approached the Times Fanzone with some trepidation when I wrote this after the Liverpool game. Through one half-closed eye, I ran down the list of recent posts. A triumphal Liverpool post would, I thought, act as the Gorgon ...
CHELSEA / MANCHESTER CITY: EMPLOYER POWER
Try and contain your frustration with the following remark, Chelsea fans. Chelsea Football Club has a certain amount of sympathy for the situation that Manchester City Football Club finds itself in. No, this is not the precursor ...
MOTIVATION, MOTIVATION, MOTIVATION… THE THREE MS
How do you do your job? Come to think of it, how do you live your life? Apologies for the huge, quasi-metaphysical introduction to what will doubtless be a terribly banal bit of football frippery, but I was inspired by a comment ...
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BILLY GOES TO WAR
As anyone who grew up in the Thatcher years knows, there’s nothing like a foreign war to deflect attention from your troubles at home. The duly elected Leader of the Free World(TM), George W Bush,
SOMEDAY BABY
It was with some dismay that I read the following quote in my newspaper yesterday: “The rules from Uefa on home-grown players and Fifa’s proposal for 6+5 puts a real onus on clubs to develop
WHY DO YOU FALL FOR IT?
It might be something of a handicap when it comes to writing about football, but I hate football news. I hate rolling updates, 24-7 feeds direct from UEFA HQ via the “Sky News Centre” - a grimy
CHRIST AND CULTHOOD
Some weeks back, I asked readers of my Times blog how much they hated Frank Lampard. The post still holds the comments
ON THE JOB TRAINING
I have to be honest. You deserve no less… this is CFCnet after all. I expected Manchester United to hit the ground running this season. No fundamental squad changes. No serious injuries, bar the
