The Archive

They weren't very popular but Don Revie's Leeds United side were certainly effective. James Calder takes a look back at their first League success

The long-term significance
This was Leeds United’s first League title. Developing what Geoffrey Green of the Times described as a “cult of collective anonymity”, the meticulous Don Revie shaped a resilient yet ruthless side that had won few friends since gaining promotion in 1964. But among the grit were regular flashes of brilliance. That, and their ability to absorb punishment and counter-attack to great effect, earned them general recognition as worthy champions. After their near-misses in previous seasons, championship success allowed Revie’s side to adopt a more expansive style. And though the “dirty” tag remained and only one more League title would follow, their consistency and organisation provided a blueprint that other less gifted teams tried to copy, Arsenal among them.

Read more…

The bosses at Major League Soccer in America thought it necessary to spend millions on a new web presence. Ian Plenderleith points out why it has been a disaster

“The days of the 800-word think-piece are over,” a football journalist recently told me as we discussed the state of internet writing. With all that content being condensed into ever shorter formats, readers want easily browsed headlines, Twitter snippets, news-based blog entries that end with a question, controversial quotes and a space at the bottom where they can launch in with their opinions. Those long paragraphs just give us a headache and take up time better spent watching that shaky YouTube clip where the loco ref scores with an overhead kick in a Paraguayan Fourth Division game before taking a out a handgun and opening fire on the crowd.

Read more…

Labour's suggestion for the governance of football reflect changes in political momentum, a failed financial model and thoughts about the future of the game. Tom Davies explains

Time was when politicians would stand on what they would do to football supporters, not what they’d do for them. However, the Labour party proposals to give fans a stake in their clubs – first option to buy them when put up for sale as well as to compel supporter-friendly reforms to the game’s governance – indicate how far we’ve come since the days of ID cards and away fan bans.

Read more…

The Premier League's generosity in giving larger hand-outs to its relegated clubs may not quite be all it seems. Mike Holden explains

Three years ago, three American economists emulated the non-fiction phenomenon Freakonomics with a book documenting their mathematical studies into sports data. Among other things, The Wages of Wins looked at the “competitive balance” of leagues across a variety of sports using a formula known as the Noll-Scully measurement, leading them to conclude that basketball will always have a competitive balance problem due to the relative lack of tall people.

Read more…

Steve Menary looks at the changing faces and new ideas in football's hierachy

The shock departure of Ian Watmore after less than a year as FA chief executive rather overshadowed another change in the game’s executive merry-go-round. Shortly before Watmore’s sudden exit, Greg Clarke was confirmed as Football League chairman to replace Lord Mawhinney, who stepped down after seven years.

Read more…