English FA ponder taking the splash with retrospective new ‘diving’ rule
January 18 – The English Football Association is considering introducing retrospective bans on players who dive or feign injury.
Performance
Germans recall Hrubesch to national duty after Flick quits
January 17 – Already embroiled in the 2006 World Cup bid scandal, German football has suffered another internal administrative blow with the premature departure of sporting director Hansi Flick, with former under-21 coach Horst Hrubesch hauled out of retirement to temporarily replace him.
Club vs Country: Klopp vents frustration over Cameroonian Matip’s eligibility
January 16 – When is retirement not retirement? FIFA have been asked by Liverpool to make a ruling over the eligibility of Cameroon defender Joel Matip after the club was forced to leave him out in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester United.
Guardiola feels the cold wind of an unrelenting Premier League winter
January 16 – Hailed as a Messiah and the most sought-after coach in Europe when he joined Manchester City after blazing a trail at Barcelona and then Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola appears to have conceded that winning the Premier League title in his first season in England is over.
Club vs country: Big 5 clubs count cost of African stars as AFCON set for kick off
January 12 – As European league seasons hot up in the second half of campaigns, the impact of losing players to the African Nations Cup, which begins on Saturday, is once again likely to take its toll.
Stats predict league wins for Chelsea, Real Madrid, Bayern, Juve and Monaco
January 11 – Chelsea are going to win the Premier League, Real Madrid will win Spain’s La Liga, Bayern Munich will top the Bundesliga and Juventus will champion in Italy’s Serie A. In France PSG will get knocked off their perch by Monaco for the Ligue 1 title.
Ronaldo heads strikers ranking; de Bruyne, Coutinho and Payet run the midfield
January 9 – With FIFA set to announce the winners of the voting at its new ‘BEST’ annual awards event, the CIES Football Observatory has developed a more technical methodology and ranking of the best players in Europe’s big-5 leagues by position. And Cristiano Ronaldo tops the list.
Boston Breakers get three first round picks as NWSL prepares 2017 college draft
January 5 – The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has released a list of 148 college players for its 2017 NWSL College Draft which will take place at the same time as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention in Los Angeles on January 12.
The New Saints soar to new record, beating Ajax’s winning streak
January 3 – A tiny Welsh team have won a glorious place in the global footballing record books after beating the longest winning streak in top-flight football set by Johan Cruyff’s Ajax 44 years ago.
Southgate warms to England task with view to delivering knock-out punch
January 3 – New England manager Gareth Southgate says he would love to be the man to end the country’s record as the great under-achievers despite having a squad full of Premier League millionaire footballers.
Bradley says he needed more time as Swansea struggle to find replacement
December 30 – Bob Bradley, the former US national team coach sacked by Swansea City after only 85 days in charge, says he could have made a success of being the first American to manage an English Premier League side if he had been given more time by his fellow Americans who appointed him in the first place.
Swansea City end Bradley reign. Giggs rumoured to be next up
December 28 – It was always a somewhat risky appointment. But before he had managed to get his feet firmly under the table, Bob Bradley, the first American coach to take charge of a top-flight English club, has been shown the door at Swansea City after only 85 days.
From pariah to messiah. Allardyce is forgiven but not forgotten by Crystal Palace
December 28 – He may have only been England manager for 67 days but he was only out of the game thereafter for less than three months.
Argentina end year without silverware but top of the FIFA Ranking table
December 23 – Argentina, whose national association is under the control of a FIFA normalisation committee, will at least finish the year as the world’s number one nation on the pitch, according to the final FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking for 2016.
Welsh wizards: The New Saints look set to march past Ajax record
December 23 – An unheralded club in Wales is on the verge of making international football history. Welsh Premier League champions The New Saints have already established a Welsh Premier League record of consecutive wins but now they are close to setting a new world record of consecutive victories in all competitions.