Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
"If you take the long view with Chelsea — the view that starts on the day Roman Abramovich bought the club in 2003 — the amazing thing isn't that they won the Champions League but that they won it the way they did – as underdogs"
World's most popular sport is deeply corrupt. Football (soccer) "match fixing has become a massive worldwide crime, on par with drug trafficking, prostitution and the trade in illegal weapons." A key fixer says he'll lift the lid
Conn grew up supporting Manchester City. Now they've won the Premier League title, 44 years after their last championship. Here's what it means to be a City fan, and what Sheikh Mansour's millions have done to the club
Sir Alex Ferguson signed Bébé for £7.2m in 2010 but he started just two matches. Ferguson later admitted he hadn't seen Bébé play, not even on video, before signing him. Now Portuguese police are investigating the transfer
"Football serves a deep human need for community, and that – plus the unscripted drama of the game – explains its success. It's why a co-operative form is a perfect fit with football." The game's authorities should recognise this
Enjoyable account of London's long and expensive journey from candidate city to host of 2012 Olympics. Contract enforces extraordinary commercial demands and allows IOC to act like a state within a state. Was it all worth it?
"2012 may be remembered in Britain as the year East London got branded. London’s Olympic year has certainly given major brands unprecedented chances to attach their names to redeveloped sections of the city"
Green looks through the spin from club executives and crunches the numbers. And it's not a particularly pretty picture, if you're a Liverpool fan. Keeping Liverpool competitive is going to be a tall order for the near future
"Liverpool have thrown away a vast amount of money – more than a quarter of a billion pounds per my calculations." If that's now in the past, what of future challenges? Match-day revenue is less than half Arsenal's. It needs to rise
Rockets. Fighter jets. Roads closed. Billions wasted. All this for sport? "The Olympics have become an Orwellian parody of what happens when a world agency blackmails a government aching for prestige into spending without limit"
Despite their failure to reach this year's Champions' League final, they're by common consent the best two club sides in world football. But are their debts similarly world class? It depends how you count them
You can't put a price on nights like Tuesday, when 10-man Chelsea held out against Barcelona for a remarkable triumph. Well, er, actually you can. Here is the analysis you need for how Champions League revenue will now pan out
