Adam Sweeney 
The number one footballing pub discussion in recent times has been that of “That was miles over the line! That linesman wants shooting!” The Premier League will be putting that particular debate to bed for the 2013/14 season with the introduction of the Hawk-Eye system. It is therefore a good time to look back at some memorable disallowed goals.
Yesterday’s look at the Football Manager wonderkids proved that many of the defenders were still trying to find their place, being pushed from pillar to post on loan to the lower leagues. Will the midfielders find their Premier League prospects much better?
Stoke manager Tony Pulis has this season been faced with a problem that has befallen such previously secure Premier League clubs as Birmingham, Charlton and Bolton – stagnation. Will next season bring fresh progress, or a further slide into trouble?
The Football Manager gaming franchise has been one of the most time-consuming things to invade the lives of the average man (and occasional woman) since, well, football itself. Every season the scramble gets underway to sign the ‘wonderkids’ each version throws up. But how accurate was Football Manager 2013? it would be harsh to expect potential to be fulfilled immediately, just like in the video game, but let’s have a look at the seasons of Premier League defenders bestowed with the tag.
Andre Villas-Boas’ reputation as Europe’s hottest young coach took quite a battering at Chelsea, lasting the increasingly standard nine months at Stamford Bridge. As Tottenham’s weekend 3-1 win over Man City confirmed, that protege status was indeed no joke.
Luis Suarez, having revealed himself to be the most famous vampire since Dracula himself, will next be striking at Newcastle’s home, St James’ Park. This being an occasion with many thousands of people attending, will be the perfect chance for this particular day-vampire to continue his old-fashioned brand of retribution on society.
Ryan Taylor’s hopes of a return this season, and probably the next one, took a killer blow this week when he suffered a recurrence of his cruciate knee ligament injury. The Newcastle full-back joins the unfortunate list of injury-prone Premier League stars, of which there have been many.
Sometimes a club must uproot themselves and start again elsewhere – whether that be because 25,000 seats just isn’t enough to sustain the club anymore, or because bits of the main stand are falling and crushing passing linesmen. Whatever the reason, such a change can often affect a club’s form in the short-term.