James Hamilton on Sport History and Psychology
When Sven Goran Ericksson put out his first squad back in 2001, it sprang surprises, not least for Charlton’s Chris Powell. Powell was an effective left-back for England until Ashley Cole was ready (at the time, he was another surprise – too young, too inexperienced, it was thought by many). There are none in Capello’s…
As you’ll know by now, Manchester City fans have appealed to Manchester United to abandon the minute’s silence in honour of the Munich dead at their match this weekend. There’s been a certain amount of debate about what this lack of trust in the fans’ behaviour says about modern society, and modern football culture. Just…
So: the appointment of a manager who hasn’t seen a league game for longer than I have is followed up by the appointment of a Director of Football who not only has no experience of the job, but who – really, truly, honestly – isn’t anyone’s idea of the first step towards a continental style…
UPDATE: also see George Szirtes’ contrasting view here and here. British football can choose, if it likes. But there are only two options. Either determine to develop the most skilled young players in the world, and the most intelligent, groundbreaking tactics. Or go for that heady, nostalgic, quick fix, with its underpinning of panic and…
Norm’s latest poll put me in mind of a list of my own – my ten favourite footballers. Not the ten I think the best. Just the ten closest to my heart, as it were. I found choosing my ten “favourite” novelists revealing – what a fireside and slippers little Englander I turn out to…
Smoking was the twentieth century’s badge of adulthood. At one point, three quarters of the population of the United Kingdom were smokers. Now it’s down to a quarter. Cigarettes are going the way of bowler hats and leaded petrol. It’s happening because people are stopping smoking in droves. Most of them are doing it without…
When things go bad on you, you need distractions. Thankyou Chasetown, for getting an entire weekend’s worth of perfect distraction underway: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiPa9lllIcI&rel=1] Although Cardiff pulled it out in the end, Chasetown set the tone. This was one of those Third Round weekends. I don’t know which I enjoyed most. Havant and Waterlooville, who sound like…
As a preliminary follow-up to my previous article, I thought it would be useful to review some of the existing smoking cessation approaches from the point of view of someone who has worked extensively with smokers. I’m going to touch upon NRT (nicotine replacement therapy), group counselling, hypnotherapy, and acupuncture. There are others out there,…