The Football Ramble Blog

Give us number ten and be on your way

01 October 2010 | Andy Brassell

Real Madrid have been playing competitive football under José Mourinho for precisely 27 days, and already the inevitable smarting about style has begun...

Russia’s relegation battle heats up

30 September 2010 | James Appell

On Saturday leaders Zenit welcomed mid-table Saturn to the Petrovsky and promptly wiped the floor with them. The relegation places also looked pretty much sewn up going into this weekend's fixtures. What a difference a game makes...

Playoff picture begins to take shape

29 September 2010 | Chris Nee

It's that time of year again when supporters of Major League Soccer begin to look at not two tables, showing the straight standings from each of the two conferences, but one mashed-up East-West hybrid that crystallizes the chaos of the race for the playoffs...

Referee, yet another blunder…

27 September 2010 | Jim Campbell

For the second time in recent weeks referee Stuart Attwell has been involved in a controversial incident. At 27, Attwell is the youngest referee in the Premier League and the evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the pressures that come with taking charge of such high profile games are currently too much for him...

The never ending metamorphosis of the Copa Sudamericana

25 September 2010 | Rupert Fryer

On Wednesday night Juan Veron led his Estudiantes side out to face Newell’s Old Boys knowing nothing less than victory would keep his hopes of another intercontinental crown alive.

Middlesbrough FC Ladies in Pyongyang - Part 3

24 September 2010 | Our Man In Pyonyang

The final part of our exclusive report from Our Man in Pyongyang…

Ajax and the battle for the soul of Dutch football

24 September 2010 | Andy Brassell

If anything was going to kill the brazen over/misuse of the phrase Total Football, it was the Netherlands team from this summer’s World Cup. Everybody’s second-favourite international team became rightly vanquished villains for the majority.

Middlesbrough FC Ladies in Pyongyang - Part 2

23 September 2010 | Our Man In Pyonyang

Part Two of our exclusive report from Our Man in Pyongyang… Part Three follows tomorrow.

The North Caucasus: Russia’s toughest away days

23 September 2010 | James Appell

Football across Russia put on a united front last weekend. In the wake of a series of terrorist attacks in the unstable North Caucasus region - the worst of which, a bomb blast in a Vladikavkaz market, killed 19 and injured over 100 - Russia's football authorities decided to make a statement.

All change in Toronto

22 September 2010 | Chris Nee

A glance at the Major League Soccer tables is almost always misleading in one way or another. Toronto FC sit in third position in the Eastern Conference. Surprising, then, that last week TFC's owners, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), fired head coach Preki and director of soccer Mo Johnston?

Middlesbrough FC Ladies in Pyongyang - Part 1

22 September 2010 | Our Man In Pyonyang

Part One of our exclusive report from Our Man in Pyongyang... Part Two follows tomorrow.

Three down, 17 to go

21 September 2010 | Joel Richards

It was for the best. It was time to leave. I’ll get my things tomorrow. This season in Argentina, managerial sackings have been like the proverbial wait for the bus. You wait ages for one, just one, to come along, then three arrive at the same time.