Outside the Box – Football on TV: Serious lessons to learn from Fashanu’s footballing family

I’m fairly certain we can all agree that football has its fair share of problems. If it is not the shady transfer dealings of murky agent types skulking around the bins at Tottenham’s training ground, it is the ignorant grunts of ill-informed morons as they boo a man purely for being the brother of ...

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A Scott to be England captain . . . Why Parker is the right man for Fabio

So its official, John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy AGAIN! After previously having the armband removed as a result of his alleged affair with Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend, his latest dethroning comes as a result of the on-going race scandal involving Anton Ferdinand. Stripping T...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A prosperous week for Liverpool in the cups but off the field is a different story

The days leading up to the weekend’s FA Cup Fourth Round ties were not particularly pleasant for many football fans, a week in which the unseemly and murky face of football was glaringly apparent. Many column inches were devoted to the tax-evasion trial of Spurs manager Harry Redknapp, as well as th...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Confusion reigns at City as Coleman fluffs his lines

Have you played Football Manager 2012? You may wonder how a game brimming with data, facts and incalculable statistics comes to contain such a dearth of information. Well, in the early stages of the games development, some spotty oik is charged with the task of finding someone close to each of the 7...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: An incident-packed week at the BBC leaves Savage short of support and Lineker lost for words

They say a week in football is a long time and it can certainly be said that there was enough controversy, incident and wonder crammed into the last seven days of football to keep Joey Barton’s Twitter account going for years. The fallout from the Manchester derby, the return of Scholes and Henry, t...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Manchester disunited but the magic of the FA Cup is alive and well

The much talked about magic of the FA Cup was present in abundance this Sunday during the huge third round Manchester showdown, in fact there was more magic contained in the 90 minutes than during a Paul Daniels swingers party. Chris Foy’s card tricks, a disappearing City captain and most mystifying...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A football overkill but Fabregas’ Barcelona adventure keeps us watching

At the top of this article you will see, if you can get past the crass, self-congratulatory overuse of my own name, that the tagline for this column mentions that there isn’t enough football on the TV. Obviously this pithy line is actually nonsense as there is in fact far too much football clogging ...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Stelling and his merry mates bring festive cheer and genuine fear in the absence of any football

If we boil it down, there are two distinct ways to spend the festive period. You either endure the holiday wallowing in a pit of desperate desolation, alone with no hope of joviality, good tidings or communal kinship. Sat crestfallen in front of Eastenders on Christmas night, nursing a bottle of gin...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A battle of wits ends in defeat for Worthy’s warhorses, but football marches on

Let’s face it. Our footballing heroes don’t have the greatest reputation when it comes to brainpower and academia do they? A cautionary glance at the post-match interviews every week on Match Of The Day show us superstars struggling to grasp the complexity of questions such as, “How do you feel the ...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Sheffield Wednesday And Huddersfield Serve Up A Christmas Cracker

A few weeks ago the Sheffield Wednesday-Huddersfield Town encounter shaped up to be a collision between a 100 per cent home record and a record unbeaten run - but Wednesday have been held at home recently and the Terriers lost their sequence on 43 games. The match still turned out to be an epic enc...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A love-in for O’Neill as marvel Martin ruins Rovers’ day

It was clear at 1pm on Sunday what the overriding theme of the day was going to be on Sky Sports’ Live Super Sunday. Ed Chamberlain, growing more and more comfortably into the role of football anchorman, opened the afternoon’s football coverage by loudly proclaiming, “Sunderland’s new era begins tod...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Southend Fall At Cheltenham And Crawley Take Advantage

Cheltenham staged National Hunt racing this weekend but Southend were the big fallers in Gloucestershire as they went down comprehensively to the towns football team. Their defeat allowed Crawley to open up a bit of daylight at the top of League Two. Cheltenhan are well in the promotion mix so the ...

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England: Euro Draw Could Have Been Worse But This Will Not Be A Walk In The Park

Depending on your national orientation, emotions following last Friday’s Euro 2012 group stage draw will have been mixed. If you are Irish, you will presumably be quite gutted that, having qualified for your first major finals in 10 years, perennial powerhouses Spain and Italy were drawn in your gr...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: The rise and fall of the sprightly Savage is far from a waltz in the park

Do you remember the first time you ever saw Star Wars? That intoxicating and bedazzling rush of pure unadulterated excitement as you sat slack-jawed, unable to wrench your eyes away from all the bright lights, whizzing space ships and questionable acting? And perhaps you also remember the desolate f...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Southampton Lose Again While Bristol Rovers Stage Goal of the Season

Saturdays Championship results would have delighted the bookmakers as both Southampton and West Ham United went down to unexpected defeats. Middlesbrough and Leeds United were both beneficiaries as the top two lost, while Doncasters victory threw more gloom towards Coventry City. Nigel Adkins has e...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A hair-raising spectacle on Saturday turns to sombre reflection on Sunday

Take a look around you. Chances are that if you are reading this in a public place; a library, at your office while you should be working or perhaps even on the Tube, then someone close by is displaying some facial hair that seems to be a little out of place. These moustachioed menfolk are either un...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A test of comedy quizzing is passed with help from the inspiring Irish

Ok, before we go any further let me first congratulate the Irish team on their impressive qualification for the European Championships next summer. There was the inevitable party mood for the second leg of the Republic of Ireland v Estonia match last Tuesday and I’m sure there are not many that begr...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Spain conquered, but Fabio gets a reality check from a Spurs and England legend

I don’t know if you noticed but the greatest footballing nation of recent years popped over during the weekend. You could quite legitimately be forgiven for letting it pass you by though, as the life of an England supporter over recent times has left the vast majority of us bare husks, bereft of hop...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: ITV begin to repay their debt with a feast of Man City delights

It’s the 12th June 2010. Seven thirty-four on a warm summer’s evening. My friends and I are huddled around my television, just as a million more expectant eyes are doing at the same moment up and down the nation. Then pffft … nothing. A moment’s darkness was followed by some guff about Hyundai cars ...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Diouf And Sharp Blunt Ipswich as Huddersfield extend unbeaten run

Its been an extraordinary few days at Doncaster Rovers. Their perilous position in the Championship was put in perspective by the death of Billy Sharps baby son and then the man himself appeared in a midweek game against Middlesbrough and scored just three days after the tragedy. The dreadful event...

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Could ex-players as referees ever work?

Ah, referees. Nasty men in black, the forever stern officials of our game, often painted to be rather humourless beings who get out of the house on Sundays to escape their nagging wives and only serve to annoy us. There is a theory, which Roberto Marinez brought up back in January of this year,...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: A bad week for JT just gets worse and worse as the news hacks attack!

It’s been a bad old week for Chelsea and England captain John Terry hasn’t it? The on-going racism row between Terry and his accuser Anton Ferdinand has been front and back page news since the incident occurred a week ago and the story shows no signs of halting. Like most I have seen the footage...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Southampton Make Their Mark While Burton Hit Barnet For Six

As statements of intent go, Southamptons victory over Middlesbrough could hardly have been more emphatic. Taking on the side with the best away record in the Championship and the meanest defence, the Saints swept them aside by a three-goal margin. Ever since the campaign began the South coast clu...

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Arsenal, Coventry and Leicester: Can a new ground be blamed for a lack of success?

It has been a traumatic decade for followers of Coventry City. The Sky Blues were relegated from the Premier League in 2001 and in the proceeding 10 years the Midlands club have rarely threatened a return to the big time. You could argue that the club’s move to the Ricoh Arena has hindered their pro...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Mancini’s Manchester magicians spoil the party… and this column

Why always me? This week I was going to talk to you about the light-hearted Sky Sports knockabout quiz Take It Like a Fan. I was armed with reams of faint praise for the show and was readying my keyboard for a glittering review and even a possible recommendation for you all to check it out. But al...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Huddersfield and Wednesday March On

Charlton Athletic have set the pace in League One but two of their closest rivals are putting together a pair of remarkable sequences. Sheffield Wednesday have now made it seven wins from seven games at Hillsborough and, in West Yorkshire, Huddersfield Town are still to be beaten. The Terriers un...

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Can any player, including Messi, be considered 'the greatest'?

Ah, the Champions League. Bringer of drama, stopper of dreamers, platform for Ray Wilkins to say ‘my word’ 50 hundred thousand times. And there are other things that are nearly always discussed, certainly when seeing the two dominant Spanish sides play. The great debate has moved from trying to ...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Football on Sky is becoming a fairytale thanks to Wilkins the Wizard

So we were repeatedly told that it was the ‘biggest club game in world football’ as Liverpool and Manchester United met at Anfield on Saturday for the ever-intense North-West derby. The fevered atmosphere was apparent at Sky for Live Ford Football Special and there was an almost fairytale mood in ...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Rooney and Savage liven up the tedious break in play

There are not many things that evoke a true hatred and frustration in my usually dreary and featureless disposition, in fact there are only three: anybody who thinks the enjoyment of a night out is heightened by the commencement of dancing, any television programme in which the words “Piers” and ...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Chesterfield Succumb At Fortress Hillsborough

With no Premier League or Championship games this weekend the spotlight fell on League One where one of the rarer local derbies took place. Just 13 miles seperates Sheffield from Chesterfield but meetings between the Steel City clubs and the Spireites can be infrequent. This was the first league...

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England: Does anyone know what is wrong with England?

Fabio Capellos England qualified for Euro 2012 last night with a point at Montenegro. Despite Wayne Rooneys red card and blowing a two goal lead, England fans will be travelling to Poland and Ukraine in mass in the summer. But in the build-up to the game the same tired questions were being asked ag...

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England: Would you welcome Arsene Wenger as England manager?

England take on the might of Montenegro tonight in a game that could seal their place at Euro 2012, however most of the talk building up to the match has been about who will follow in the footsteps of the Italian Fabio Capello after the tournament in Poland and Ukraine. Will it be everyone’s favouri...

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Tevez, Mourinho and Zidane: Why football loves those shocking moments

When sitting down, reclining and watching the football on the TV, there are a few annoying things that one can expect. The first is that we will be subjected to some truly awful punditry and the second is we’ll probably be listening to the brilliant atmosphere – thousands upon thousands of footb...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Tevez, tantrums and Trigger? The pundits pull no punches when it comes to Carlos the Jackal

By the time this weekend came around I, like most, was sick to death of hearing about Carlos Tevez this, Carlos Tevez that, suspensions, fines, lip-readers, caveman, Aleksandar Kolarov, Argentina, Mancini. The whole overblown schism engulfed the country’s consciousness like some toxic mist and re...

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What was football like without Soccer Saturday?

Since its inception in 1998, Soccer Saturday has become a national institution. Let’s start by giving a brief overview, for those who have never seen the show. Each week four ex-footballers are positioned in front of TV monitors. The panel are then entrusted with describing the action to the viewer...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: You’re On Sky Sports… or should that be Moron Sky Sports?

There are three clearly defined pursuits enjoyed by the average football fan. One, demonstrating the unwavering certainty that they know the best way for their team to play. Secondly, morphing into yob-like tyrants at the very sight of an opposition supporter and lambasting them with vociferous ange...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Forest's McClaren Finally Gets A Break

A managers tenure can turn on individual events. Steve McClaren could have been staring at a sixth straight defeat with Nottingham Forest if Watfords former Forest player Joe Garner had buried a close range header midway through the second period of Saturdays evening game. The Hornets paid for it w...

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Should football introduce a wage cap?

On Tuesday night I had the honour and privilege of commentating on Rochdale’s Carling Cup third round game at Aldershot for our official club website. Despite going into half-time 1-0 up, we managed to lose 2-1 and Aldershot progressed to the last 16 of the Carling Cup at our expense. Despite this,...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Morning Glory could soon be a thing of the past for the guys at Soccer AM

Morning. The time of day when we, as human beings, fall into two distinct categories. On one hand you may be an enterprising, full-blooded marauder, charging about here there and everywhere with an unbounded vitality and zest for adventure. Alternatively, you might be a feckless layabout. Those of u...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Dancing, glitterballs and very camp; and that’s just Clem at Football Focus

After the unwelcome interruption of the international break and all of the disappointing baggage it brings for England supporters, this weekend saw the glittering return of our domestic footballers into the spotlight. Over at Football Focus, the boys were practically giddy at the prospect of the wee...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Notts County's Great Week

Its been a long time since Notts County were in the top flight but anyone who understands the history offootball knows the place the Magpies have in the games tradition. Thats why the squad were playing Juventus in midweek. Juve play in black and white shirts because their original coloured ones ra...

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Top 10 bizarre injuries to footballers

Swansea City’s vice-captain Alan Tate is set to miss most of the Swans’ debut season in Premier League after breaking his leg in a freak golfing accident. The versatile defender was a passenger in a golf buggy that lost control and Tate will have to watch the majority of the club’s rollercoaster adv...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Golden Oldies at Sky prove to be Masters

The legendary American comedian Bob Hope once quipped, “Middle age is when your age starts to show around your middle”. This observation proved to be spectacularly apt as I tuned in to Sky Sports’ Grand Final Masters this weekend. If you’re unfamiliar with the annual Masters summer contest it runs...

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Outside the Box – Football on TV: Strong Dispay by The Football League Show

If you think of Match Of The Day as the stylish kid who has all the best stuff, the coolest gadgets and the best Nike trainers as well as being unfeasibly popular; then The Football League Show is the nerdy boy that lives next door. Understated and slightly unfashionable, you’re more likely to see h...

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Public Enemy No1 - Newcastle's Joey Barton

In football there are two types of players the fans love. There are those who we love for what they do on the pitch week, week out; and then there are those who we just simply love to hate. In this weekly feature we are going to look at the latter and following last weekends little fracas at St Jame...

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The match-day rituals of a lower league fan

Every football fan has a match day ritual, whether they mean to or not. Sometimes match day rituals can be so trivial that you can barely notice that you do the same things week in week out in preparation for the 3pm on a Saturday (or whenever your team plays). Now, as you might have figured out f...

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The 10 Worst Opening Day Defeats in Football

Queens Park Rangers returned to the Premier League this season full of optimism and excitement. Unfortunately that was drained out of them after 45 minutes when Bolton’s Gary Cahill delivered a sucker punch just before half-time. Up until then the R’s had looked promising. In the second half though,...

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Should football be axed over city riots?

Major cities across England have been caught up in widespread chaos and looting over the past few days bringing carnage and destruction to many law abiding citizens. Businesses have been destroyed, buildings and homes burnt to the ground and lives ruined. The country is in turmoil because certa...

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The View Outside The Premier League: AFC Wimbledon have the fans' goodwill, Crawley have the players

AFC Wimbledon and Crawley Town made their bow in the Football League this weekend and enjoyed contrasting fortunes. AFC went down at home to Bristol Rovers thanks to a late penalty, while Crawley forced a hard-earned draw at Port Vale. The two clubs have little in common apart from a shared promoti...

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League Two: Who will be champions in May 2012?

If you are going to have a bet on the eventual winners of League Two this season then may I suggest that you head on down to William Hill as that is where you will be offered the best prices on every team bar one. Crawley Town are the clear favourites to record successive promotions and, while most...

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