Archive - The Football Fan

The Great FA Cup Replays Controversy of 2024

The furore over the abolition of FA Cup replays has led to an awful lot of nonsense being talked.

15 hrs ago •

March 2024

The idea of what it means to be a fan is up for grabs again - but it's a debate that distracts from the real issues in football.

Mar 21 •

Sorry we’re not dead yet

Tottenham Hotspur have a problem. Not enough of their longstanding fans are dying.

Mar 7 •

February 2024

A song for Europe

Does a flurry of headlines about the treatment of football fans at European matches herald a change in the mood music, or is it just the same old tune?

Feb 27 •

The great facial recognition experiment

Live facial recognition is a controversial technology that has been challenged in the UK courts and in Parliament. But the police are, once again, using…

Feb 15 •

When football met crypto – a tale that will curl your toes

A superb new book from journalist Martin Calladine lays bare the shocking lack of care and crass ignorance that underpinned football's embrace of crypto

Feb 6 •

January 2024

Mission impossible

When did football become so difficult?

Jan 30 •

December 2023

European Super League - back from the dead?

The long-awaited verdict from the European Court of Justice on UEFA, FIFA and the blocking of the breakaway league is in – so what does it all mean?

Dec 21, 2023 •

November 2023

We’re not really here

The ruling in the Everton case doesn’t mean the Premier League is corrupt, but by adding to the sense that what we see is not what we get it provides…

Nov 29, 2023 •

October 2023

Definitive statements, infernal polemics

The FA's decision not to light the Wembley arch after the attack on Israel has led to a rethink on how and why it takes a stand. What does that say…

Oct 30, 2023 •

September 2023

The regulation will not be compromised

Reform of English football governance is proceeding slowly, too slowly perhaps, but it is important to recognise the gains that are being made.

Sep 14, 2023 •

August 2023

Still Dreaming: New book out on 4 September

My new book, written alongside Alex Fynn, puts the unique story of Tottenham Hotspur at the centre of a wider portrait of the modern game

Aug 14, 2023 •

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