Reviews from When Saturday Comes. Follow the link to buy the book from Amazon.
Adam Powley charts Darren Caskey’s trip from Spurs to Notts County
Every season at Spurs, there is talk of a young player being touted as “the new Glenn Hoddle”. The names may change but the hopeful expectation remains the same – that there is a hidden talent in the White Hart Lane nursery who will burst into the first team and provide Tottenham with the ready-made superstar they sorely need.
Charles Morris tells how Anthony Hughes left League football behind aged 22
In the summer of 1993 it looked as though 19-year-old Anthony Hughes had the footballing world at his feet. The Crewe Alexandra player had represented England at the Under-20 World Youth Championship in a team which included Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt and Nick Barmby, the latter having become a close friend of Hughes. Earlier in his blossoming career, the tall central defender had been selected as a student at the Football Association’s School of Excellence at Lilleshall. And his club, for whom he had made his debut on the opening day of the 1992-93 season, had a reputation for launching youngsters on glittering careers.
It’s taken a while, but African players are finally beginning to thrive in England. Alan Duncan charts the changes in both English and African football that have made this possible
A popular African adage says that “pushing stops at the wall”. For the best part of the last decade, African players have seen the inexorable push of their compatriots across Europe tending to break down at the formidable wall presented by English football.
WSC speaks to Watford’s Alec Chamberlain about how the game has changed for goalkeepers during his 20 year career
One of the effects of the blanket TV coverage of football is that every player’s mistakes are highlighted. Are keepers given too hard a time generally?
At the risking of sounding paranoid, I definitely think goalkeepers come under the microscope too often, especially in the Premiership and at international level as well. It’s there for all to see, every Saturday night you watch the Premiership and it’s dissected. Outfield players come under criticism, but the commentators hang, draw and quarter you before it even gets to the expert. The advent of super slo-mo hasn’t done us any favours either because when you see things coming in real time I think that’s the only fair way to see whether or not the keeper could have done better. Slow motion makes things looks easier than they were in real time.
Brighton’s veteran goalkeeper talks Chris Eldergill through the ups and downs of a career spanning 24 years, and explains why he’s happy to carry on playing
At the age of 44 and with a wealth of experience dating back 24 years, Dave Beasant is the oldest player in the Football League. The 6ft 4in goalkeeper is currently helping out at Brighton & Hove Albion, having signed from Wigan back in January. Brighton are Beasant’s 13th club and he has now made more than 750 league appearances during his career. His determination to add to this figure is evident.