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Football Food For Thought RSS

Football Food For Thought. Opinions and thoughts from the betting.betfair team from the Premier League to the Champions League to the World Cup. This is where opinions come to live and whatever your football PoV it is sure to disagree with someone here!

Do great players make great managers?

Not bad for a former shoe salesman. Arrigo Sacchi (pictured in his Parma days) was the last manager to win back-to-back European Cups

We can all list the great modern-day managers who were brilliant players but for each of those there's a top gaffer who was an ordinary player or who never played the game at all. Paul...

4

Paul Moon

7 Sep 2011

Welsh football to remain in freefall

Joe Allen is one of five Welsh players who regularly plays for Swansea

Wales-based Paul Moon tells us why the future of Welsh football is bleak and not even the promotion of Cardiff or Swansea to the Premier League can save it....

3

Paul Moon

23 Mar 2011

Tottenham Hotspur: Who's the best partnership up front?

He's no fans' favourite bur Roman Pavlyuchenko is something of a lucky charm for Spurs and his partnership with Peter Crouch is Spurs' most successful

Few teams in the Premier League have experimented with more partnerships up front than Tottenham Hotspur this season. But which one has yielded the most goals and win ratio, asks Micahel Cox....

1

Michael Cox

16 Mar 2011

Ryan Giggs: The ultimate team man but not the greatest

He may be a little greyer and a yard slower but Giggs is still absolute class

Ryan Giggs has been around longer than the Premier League and won just about every club honour up for grabs. But where does he rank alongside the greatest United legends and where was the one...

7

Paul Moon

27 Feb 2011

The best defensive partnerships win you trophies

Great partnership, shame about the kit.

Paul Moon on some of the best defensive partnerships of yesteryear, the best around right now and the necessary ingredients to form a good one....

2

Paul Moon

19 Jan 2011

Gary Speed: Decent appointment but miracles won't happen overnight

Learning from the master. Gary Speed played under Bobby Robson at Newcastle; pictured here picking p a special ward after playing his 400th Premier League match

The response to the appointment of Gary Speed as the new Wales manager up and down the country has been a mixed one though his credentials as a player and a professional are strong ones....

1

Paul Moon

20 Dec 2010

Why the goalkeeper rarely becomes the gamekeeper

David James says football is very black and white for goalkeepers

The stories of goalkeepers becoming successful managers are far and few between. Strange coincidence or are there deep psychological explanations? Gary Boswell investigates....

6

Gary Boswell

16 Dec 2010

Nasri proves that Wenger's long-term strategy works

Samir Nasri is approaching peak form after being given the time to develop

Arsene Wenger has been criticised for playing a young team in Carling Cups past - but that competition has provided the perfect arena to blood youngster and it's the Premier League that is benefiting now,...

0

Richard Aikman

5 Dec 2010

Same old story as punters enjoy bigger winnings with correct score bets on Betfair

Jason Roberts' goal helped Betfair punters enjoy big winning

Wins for Blackburn, Bristol City and Cesena on Wednesday night reward correct score backers on Betfair...

0

Andrew French

11 Nov 2010

The Betfair Contrarian: Why Wayne Rooney will stay at Manchester United

Staying put. The Betfair Contrarian is adamant Rooney will still be at Old Trafford at the end of the January transfer window

The footballing world is adamant Wayne Rooney is off and the Betfair market agrees, making him odds-on to leave in Januray. But the Betfair Contrarian is having none of it......

0

The Betfair Contrarian

20 Oct 2010

Football Management: Why do they do it?

Carlos Alberto in illustrious company but his management career didn't quite achieve the dizzy heights of his playing career

Did you really ever expect to see World Cup winning captain Carlos Alberto manage Azerbaijan? Jamie Pacheco wonders why former superstars of the game are happy to drop down a few levels to be involved...

0

Jamie "The Pacman" Pacheco

14 Oct 2010

Gordon Taylor Interview: Pay differences are down to ability

PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor enjoyed a successful career as a player before turning to Union work

Ever keen to hear the views of football's big names, betting.betfair sent Paul Moon off to interview PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor to ask him what he made of the Dan Gosling affair, Robinho's exit...

2

Paul Moon

6 Oct 2010

Football Agents: Love'em or hate 'em, they're here to stay

Monster deal. Eric Hall was one of the very first football agents to become a household name

Accused of all sorts of things, from shoddy deals to taking too much money out of the game, the football agent is an important part of modern-day football. Just what is a football agent and...

1

Paul Moon

12 Sep 2010

Time to Foster more Great British goalkeeping talent

Ben Foster is looking good again

Paul Moon's angry again - and it's the state of the country's keepers that's getting him in a lather...

1

Paul Moon

22 Aug 2010

Football Food For Thought