Day: August 13, 2012

The 200% Pre-Season Previews: Manchester United

Posted by | Aug 13, 2012 | |

Here we go again, then. This has been a summer of discontent at Old Trafford, with any activities in the transfer market comfortably overshadowed by the issuance of and reaction to a highly controversial IPO which has further divided supporters of a club which has seldom seemed ‘United’ in any sense other than in the continuing and relentless pursuit of success. Some have argued that this rancour is a prelude to the collapse of the Manchester United empire, but what we have seen since the end of last season has been little new, rather the reheating of arguments that have plagued – but only really partially actually affected – the club since the Glazers first rolled into town more than eight years ago. And perhaps the most noticeable symptom of this ongoing non-battle for power this summer has been that pre-season previews of Manchester Uniteds prospects for the coming nine months have been as much about the inner workings of the New York Stock Exchange as they have been about football. Perhaps the question regarding the ownership of the club is not one of whether the current owners are good for the club. Perhaps even the question of what can be done about them is one that seems unlikely to yield a positive answer for those who regard the Glazers as no more than parasites leaching on the back...

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The 2012 Olympic Games: The Mens Medal Matches

Posted by | Aug 13, 2012 | |

Only a few souls got into Newcastle’s St. James’s Park in time to see Mexico play South Korea in the two sides’ men’s Olympic football tournament group game. And their emotions now probably range between smug (“I saw the Gold and Bronze medalists playing each other”) and disbelieving (“I saw the Gold and Bronze medalists playing each other???”). That wretched 0-0 draw was one of the tournament’s worst games. It was certainly in the tournament’s worst group. It gave no indication whatsoever that the tournament’s first and third best teams were on view. And if any of those present tell their grandchildren they were there, they won’t dwell on the match itself any longer than it took Mexico to score in Saturday’s final against Brazil. Mexico weren’t even the better side on that grey Newcastle day. But they got better with each game, in the manner of more than one team in international tournament football over the years (think Italy in the 1982 World Cup, unable to beat Poland, Peru and pre-famous Cameroon before springing their own surprise on Brazil and eventually beating the world…including Poland again). They made light of striker Giovanni Dos Santos’ injury halfway through their semi-final win. Dos Santos’s dangerous strike partner Oribe Peralta took centre-stage in photogenic fashion with his stunning goal against Japan and, for different reasons, his equally stunning goal in the...

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What The Premier League Clubs Kits Should Look Like: Part Two

Posted by | Aug 13, 2012 | , |

With just days left until the start of the Premier League season, our very own artist Ted Carter has been continuing to amuse himself by deciding unilaterally what the kits of the divisions clubs should be look like, and he has allowed us to share these with you. The artist would like it to be remembered that he is colour-blind, and that you can see Part One of this mini-series here. For those of you that are concerned by such things, Mungo will return for another series on the thirtieth of August. Queens Park Rangers   Reading Southampton Stoke City Sunderland   Swansea City   Tottenham Hotspur   West Bromwich Albion   West Ham United   Wigan Athletic   You can follow Dotmund on Twitter by clicking here. You can follow Twohundredpercent on Twitter by clicking...

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