Blogcritics Author: Ally Brown

Euro 2008: Spain Deserving Winners Of A Wonderful Tournament

Ally Brown — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:21:10 EDT

Spain are the winners of Euro 2008, and they thoroughly deserve it. It's been a brilliant tournament.
Spain 1 - 0 Germany42 years of hurt: Spain's reputation as perennial underachievers can finally be put to bed, after they ended over four decades of failure with a fantastic victory in the Euro 2008 final against Germany. Despite missing tournament top scorer David Villa through injury, Spain's majestic midfielders barely allowed Germany a...

Euro 2008 Semi-Finals Roundup And Finals Preview

Ally Brown — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 00:38:58 EDT

More drama in the Alps as Spain and Germany earn their places at Euro 2008's final showdown.
Euro 2008 SemifinalsGermany 3 - 2 TurkeyThis should have been easy for Germany. Turkey, decimated by injuries and suspensions, only had three fit outfield players on the bench, and were missing several of their best players like Nihat, Tuncay, Emre, Arda, and first-choice goalkeeper Volkan. Yet they still were by far the better team in...

Euro 2008 Quarter-Finals round-up

Ally Brown — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 09:57:28 EDT

What an extraordinary tournament Euro 2008 is turning out to be...
Portugal 2 - 3 GermanyIn the first of the quarter finals, Group A winners Portugal took on Group B runners-up Germany. Both teams had stumbled in their groups: Portugal had fielded a reserve side and lost 2-0 to hosts Switzerland, while a full-strength German side had tepidly lost 2-1 to Croatia. It was the Germans who were quickest from the blocks...

Euro 2008 Group Stage Round 3

Ally Brown — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:42:10 EDT

The final quarter-finalists are found as Euro 2008 prepares to get down to serious business
In Group A, hosts Switzerland exited the tournament in style with a 2-0 win over group leaders Portugal. The Portuguese, who had already qualified, fielded a reserve team to keep their whole squad sharp in preparation for their quarter-final tie, meaning key players like Deco and Ronaldo were rested. The Swiss took advantage by winning 2-0, with...

Euro 2008 Group Stage Round 2

Ally Brown — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 23:13:43 EDT

Euro 2008 gets better and better, and that's mostly down to the Dutch
The Netherlands have been killing it in the Group of Death, Group C. Fresh from their thrilling 3-0 victory over world champions Italy, the Dutch continued their sizzling form by thrashing World Cup finalists France 4-1. After an early goal by Dirk Kuyt, France passed up several chances to level the score. They were punished when Robin van Persie...

Euro 2008 Group Stages, Round One

Ally Brown — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 16:46:37 EDT

The first round of games in Euro 2008's group stages are over, and it's the Dutch and Spanish who are leading the charge.
The first round of group games in Euro 2008 is complete, and everybody's talking about two teams -- Holland and Spain.Many pundits, myself included, predicted that the Netherlands would struggle in their impossibly tough group. But they confounded their critics with a magnificent display, beating world champions Italy 3-0. Their...

Blogcritics Euro 2008 Preview: No British Isles To Be Seen

Ally Brown — Mon, 2 Jun 2008 13:37:11 EDT

Blogcritics previews the forthcoming European Football Championships to be held in Switzerland and Austria...
The UEFA European Football Championship 2008 kicks off on Saturday, when co-hosts Switzerland host the Czech Republic in the first Group A game in Basel. The Euros are the third most-watched sporting competition in the world - after the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics - but this year there will be less interest for the English-speaking world, as...

Is This The Death of English Football As We Know It?

Ally Brown — Fri, 8 Feb 2008 23:58:25 EST

The New Wave of foreign billionaire chairmen reveal their devious masterplan: to fly the Premiership away from their devoted fans.
The Premier League in England announced plans on Thursday for a shake-up of their Premiership league system, involving a new 39th fixture to the season which would be played abroad. The plan, which is still said to be in its early stages, would involve a draw being made so that 10 further matches can be played, possibly at the end of the season,...

Scotland Appoint George Burley As National Boss

Ally Brown — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 19:58:07 EST

They have finally chosen a national football manager from a shortlist of 5 Scots.
The Scottish FA announced today that George Burley would take over as national team manager. The move comes two months after the departure of Alex McLeish, who left to join Premiership club Birmingham City. Burley was chosen from a shortlist of five drawn up by the SFA, which also included former Derby boss Billy Davies, Motherwell's Mark McGhee,...

Hearts Rule Heads As Newcastle United Appoint Keegan Again

Ally Brown — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 11:41:27 EST

Newcastle re-appoint Kevin Keegan as manager, 11 years after he left, leaving Geordie fans in raptures while everyone else is puzzled.
Beleagured Newcastle United fans are rejoicing today after the club announced the return of Kevin Keegan to Tyneside to take over as manager. Keegan’s sheer presence seemed to have a revelatory effect on his new charges, as he watched his side trounce Stoke City 4-1 at St. James Park last night. It was exactly the kind of assured display...