Leicester City are not usually considered part of English football’s elite. Rarely are they described as one of the Premier League’s top teams, and even a recent title win wasn’t enough to convince fans they were here to stay.   However, after another season challenging for a Champions League spot, it is fair to call…

An open training session at FC Volendam sparked an intriguing combination of two varying footballers by an idle spectator: “Joey De Bruyne”, he giggled to himself. This seemingly impalpable comparison between a Premier League-winning Belgian and young Joey Veerman did in fact draw similarities.   Whilst ignored by Ajax and PSV Eindhoven for playing ‘monotonous…

Dominating the competition like very few before it, Benevento earned promotion to Serie A for just the second time in its history after comfortably finishing on top of Serie B in 2019/20. Under the guidance of Filippo Inzaghi, the Stregoni broke records in the Cadetti as they went on to seal their promotion with seven…

Fulham’s last spell in the Premier League wasn’t long ago. They earned promotion from the Championship via the playoffs in the 2017/18 campaign but were subsequently relegated twelve months later after finishing nineteenth in the top flight. Their struggle to survive due to poor recruitment, something Scott Parker is eager not to repeat this time…

Whenever teams are promoted to the Premier League it is almost certain those sides are seen as favourites for relegation back to the Championship. However, Leeds United, West Brom and Fulham provide interesting subplots that could replicate the exploits of Sheffield United last season.    Leeds United   Promotion to the Premier League ended 16…

The university city of Rennes marries the disparate ideas of academia and youthful inhibitions in a way that transcends the hauntingly elegant gothic confines of its university campus.   Stade Rennais, commonly referred to as Rennes, owe their recent success to three generations of this modest French city’s learned culture. From the group of former…

Despite a stuttering campaign last season which saw four different managers take charge of Hertha Berlin, the team from the west of Germany’s capital enjoyed a brief revival following the resumption of the Bundesliga post COVID-19 lockdown. Under new manager Bruno Labbadia, Hertha returned to action by winning three and drawing one of their first…

In the final match of the 2019/20 season, Leicester City welcomed Manchester United to the King Power Stadium, with the Foxes in need of a win to ensure qualification to the Champions League for the first time since 2016. Leicester would go on to lose 2-0, finishing four points behind fourth-place Chelsea, who had defeated…

Manchester United finished the Premier League season on a high, beating Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium to secure Champions League football next season. However, whilst they missed out on a place in the FA Cup final after losing to bitter rivals Chelsea in the semi-finals, they could still get their hands on…

On July 11, 2020, Kevin Friend blew his final whistle at an empty Carrow Road as West Ham dismantled Norwich 4-0, confirming a record-breaking fifth relegation for the Canaries in the Premier League era. But just how did it go so wrong for Norwich this season?   In April 2019, Norwich sealed the 2018/2019 EFL…