Shearer, Henry, Fowler, Cantona, Phillips or Le Tissier: Who are the two greatest strikers in Premier League history?

The success of the Premier League has been built on goals, and boy have we seen some ace marksman over the past 20 years. From Arsenal legend Thierry Henry to Newcastles local boy done good Alan Shearer, the top flight in England has seen the back of the net bulge on a regular basis. But who are the...

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England: Who will replace Capello as England boss?

Fabio Capello rocked the football world by walking out on England last night. The fiery Italian was always on a crash course with the FA following their decision to axe John Terry without his permission, but nobody thought the former Milan and Real Madrid boss would quit his £6 million a year job, e...

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FA Cup: Is Tottenham’s name on the trophy or can Arsenal end their trophy drought?

While the FA Cup holders Manchester City and Premier League champions Manchester United have been knocked out of the world’s most-loved cup competition, Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham Hotspur have breezed through to the fifth round of the FA Cup. They saw off Cheltenham 3-0 at the Lane before just edgin...

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Predict the Premier League: Portsmouth bring the title race to life

Portsmouth may be in the middle of another financial crisis but that hasnt stopped our Pompey Expert from Australia, Peter Rendle, closing the gap on Blackpools Phil Trow at the top. Mr Rendles points haul over the past two weeks has seen him move up to second place, one point ahead of Birminghams ...

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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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Predict the Premier League: Poor week for the experts

There were 30 points up for grabs this past weekend in the Predictions League but not even one single pundit could muster even a quarter of that figure. Chelsea, Liverpool, Fulham and West Brom were the biggest coupon busters as the Blues drew a blank at Norwich, Liverpool were thrashed by Bolton,...

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Predict the Premier League: Blackpool's lead is coming under real scrutiny

A few weeks ago it looked as though Blackpools Phil Trow was going to erase last seasons heartache of just missing out on the Predict the Premier League title by having this one wrapped up by Christmas. The Seasider had stormed to the top of the pile and nobody ever looked like catching him. Howeve...

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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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Predict the Premier League: Birmingham and Portsmouth close in on leaders Blackpool

Blackpool have led the Predict the Premier League Experts section for most of the season, but is the pressure of leading the title race starting to get to Seasider Phil Trow? The Tangerines have seen their lead at the top cut to just three points, as Birminghams Steve Coulter and Portsmouths Peter...

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Predict the Premier League: Birmingham and West Ham toast successful week

Birmingham and West Ham United are riding high in the Championship and Steve Coulter and Mitch Waddon have done their teams proud by recording the joint highest scores of the week. Blues fans Steve got his points tally courtesy of four perfect score predictions and three correct outcomes - the same...

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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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Racism is in the spotlight but what is being done to tackle homophobia?

The FA stamped down on Luis Suarez’s racism towards Patrice Evra. And it’s quite right that they did, isn’t it? For when we look back into the past, and certainly in football’s past, we see things that are shockingly vile. In the seventies and part of the eighties, black footballers were subjected ...

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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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Predict the Premier League: Blackpool are top but Portsmouth are closing in

The festive period produced shocks galore in the Premier League with the leaders Manchester City, the champions Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal all losing games they would have expected to have won. Trying to predict the outcome of the games from Boxing Day up to January 5 was as tricky as t...

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Predict the Premier League: Portsmouth and Fulham lead the way

The Christmas and New Year period may now be a distance memory as we get back to work but its a period that Portsmouths Peter Rendle and Fulhams Russell Goldman wont forget in a hurry. Our Portsmouth pundit from the land down under came out on top following a great festive period with a score of 23...

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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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Mad Mario, Sensational Szczesny and Bargain Ba: Chris Pettitt's review of 2011

Over the past week our esteemed writers have shared their views on the highs and lows of the past 12 months. Today, the final day of 2011, we give our regular TV critic Chris Pettitt the platform and, as always, he doesnt mince his words. Who has been your player of the year? Manchester Citys Mar...

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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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The View Outside The Premier League: Southampton Dominant At St Mary's And Its Presents For The Cellar-Dwellers In League Two

Southampton have had a few blips on the road of late but everyone feels warm and comfortable at home over Christmas and the Saints found life at St Marys as welcoming as ever. Crystal Palace drew the holiday short straw of a trip to the South Coast and went down 2-0 to the Championship leaders. Pal...

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Predict the Premier League: Leicester are on the march

Nigel Pearsons Foxes may have lost at the weekend but Leicester fan Chris Pettitt was a clear winner in the Predict the Premeir League Experts section. The wily old Fox scored 12 points this week to top the weekly table and climb his way up the overall chart. Maximum points were obtained by correct...

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Predict the Premier League: Bad week for Blackpool but they remain on top

Blackpools Phil Trow only managed to record three points this week but he remains 13 points clear of his nearest challenger, Birminghams Steve Coulter. Leicester Citys Chris Pettitt was this weeks big mover, climbing up to third after recording 12 points. Its not so good news for Middlesbroughs Su...

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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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Predict the Premier League: Blackpool stretch their lead at the top

Blackpools Phil Trow has been the Manchester City of the division this season, but, unlike City who were gunned down by Chelsea on Monday, there appears to be no stopping the Seasider. The leader scored 10 points this past week to extend his lead at the top to 18 over his nearest challenger Birming...

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Predict the Premier League: West Ham riding high after Reading debacle

The Premier League results this past weekend resembled a knocking shop . . . there were simply no draws! We had wins for Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Norwich City, Stoke, Sunderland, Swansea and Wigan, a number of which were nailed on favourites. Squarefootball edito...

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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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Predict the Premier League table - Experts: Blackpool open up a huge gap at the top while Leeds crash to the bottom

Blackpool fans may have been happy at the weekend as they beat Championship rivals Reading 1-0, but Seasider Phil Trow has another reason to celebrate as we head into the festive party season . . . He has now opened up a 13 point lead at the top of the Experts table. Phil, who came agonisingly clos...

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Predict the Premier League table - Experts: Blackpool enjoy another great week

Blackpools Phil Trow has extended his lead at the top of the overall Experts table following another brilliant week for the Seasiders. Phil topped the charts with a score of 12 thanks to two correct scores - QPRs 1-1 draw with West Brom and Wolves 2-1 over Sunderland - and six nailed on results. H...

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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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England: The Group May Be Tough But Let's Be Positive!

Ah, the old draw. It was an interesting affair, as it always is. England have managed to avoid the two Groups of Death (which look insanely, absurdly hard) and have found themselves in an easier group than many other nations find themselves in. It is of course not easy, just easier. Sweden, de...

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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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Predict the Premier League table: Great week for Blackpool and Leicester

Leicester City claimed the three points when Blackpool visited the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night, but Foxes Chris Pettitt and Seasider Phil Trow had to share the points in the Predict the Premier League table this week. Both Chris and Phil recorded the games top score of 12 points each thanks...

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Predict the Premier League table: Stoke open four point gap at the top on Sunderland

Stoke City got back to winning ways at the weekend against struggling Blackburn Rovers but Potters fan Phil Eccleston had another reason to celebrate as his points haul of seven was enough to see him open up a four-point gap on his nearest challenger, Sunderlands Tony Ratton. Phil managed to correc...

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Predict the Premier League table: Blackpool pull away at the top

Blackpools Phil Trow extended his lead at the top of the Experts table this week thanks to an impressive score of 12. The Seasider is now nine points clear of his nearest challenger, Aston Villas Lynette Ranson, although the race for second place is really hotting up with just three points separatin...

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The View Outside The Premier League: Bristol City Are On The March As Northampton Keep On Crumbling

Bristol City posted the eye-catching result of the weekend when they overturned Championship leaders Southampton. As so often happens, the arrival of a new manager has produced a sharp upturn in performance - the gaffer in question this time is Derek McInnes, who is adding yet more lustre to the re...

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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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Get your Christmas football books here

With Christmas around the corner, attention will be turning the old chore of shopping for the festive period. The dreaded question is about to raise its ugly head. What do I get for the football fan in my life? As usual the great and the good of the football world are telling their story. There ar...

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Predict the Premier League table: Blackpool lead the experts but Birmingham and Rochdale are in hot pursuit

Blackpools Phil Trow remains the expert everyone wants to beat, but Birminghams Steve Coulter and Rochdales Matt Turner are breathing right down his neck. Phils points haul of nine this week - the same as Steve - was enough to see the Tangerines stay at the top, but Matts tally of 14 has propelled ...

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Predict the Premier League table: Rochdale are back with a bang

Rochdale may be hovering above the drop zone in League One but Dale fan Matt Turner was clear out in front this weekend in the Predict the Premier League table. The one-time leader was back with a bang as he correctly predicted three scores bang on, along with five correct results. Those 14 points h...

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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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The View Outside The Premier League: Huddersfield Make It 43 Games Unbeaten as the Cobblers struggle

Huddersfield Town are mentioned a lot in this column but it could hardly be otherwise when a team goes 43 league games without defeat. Thats what the Terriers achieved this weekend when they ground out a hard-fought win over Notts County. This run sets the record for the Football League surpassing ...

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Leicester City: Is Pearson welcome back at the King Power Stadium?

Nigel Pearson has sealed his return to Leicester City after 18 months at Championship rivals Hull and his main aim will be to finish what he started. In 2008 he guided the Foxes out of one of their darkest hours by storming League One to clinch the title. The following season they were a penalty sho...

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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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Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea, Birmingham: What game would you like to erase from your club's history?

I think it is safe to come out from behind the sofa now. The trick and treaters have gone into 12 months of hibernation, giving the nation’s doorbells time to recover. The BBC can put the series of Halloween movies back into cold storage. Just how many were there? As football fans we too have exper...

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Stoke City And Greece: Why Should 'Pretty' Success Matter?

The European Championships 2004. Ah, what a tournament. The Greeks told every single one of us that fairy tales can come true. They defeated France and Portugal along the route to triumph and won a major international tournament for the very first time as rank outsiders. Unfortunately, what came...

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Leicester City – Nigel Pearson, return of the king or a ghost that that should have stayed buried?

There’s an old adage that is often repeated in the world of football; you should never go back. Players are warned of the perils of returning to former clubs for fear of tarnishing their carefully cultivated reputations at past homes. And managers even more so, lest we forget the almighty car crash ...

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Premier the Premier League: Blackpool extend their lead over Birmingham and Aberdeen

Blackpool have led the race in the Experts section for a few weeks now and this weekend they extended that lead to four points. Phil Trows tally of 10 points enabled him to put clear distance between Birminghams Steve Coulter and myself. Unfortunately Phil, who has also jointly led the whole compet...

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