Bring back Manish

Be careful what you wish for. Better the devil you know, than the devil you don’t. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side; that other side being Channel 5 in this instance.

From the sublime to the ridiculous

What with the recent well publicised and much debated failure of English sides in Europe this season, I thought it was perhaps interesting to look back to the heady days of 2008 when English football was celebrating three teams in the semi-finals of the Champions League for successive years and looking forward to an all Premier League clash in Moscow.

The collective versus the individual

How the experience of young Darnell Furlong shows the importance of partnerships on the pitch and not existing in isolation

Should Ched Evans by given a second chance?

As he's released from prison, CollinsBeans has its say on the Ched Evans debate

Cult Hero: Frank Lampard

“BREAKING NEWS! We now go live to the Britannia Stadium car park…”

Jim White, yellow ties, Harry Redknapp’s car window, fax machines and Peter Odemwingie; just like the rest of the football world, transfer deadline day now has its own clichés. And alongside those clichés comes the ever increasing belief that fans are now more excited by, and more eagerly anticipating the day of last minute deals, ridiculous rumours and loan moves for unwanted League 1 strikers than FA Cup final day

Wandsworth Athletic – the third gold star

A triumphant return to Rocks Lane 

Wandsworth Athletic Cult Hero: Pikey Runt

Stick or Twist?

Almost two thirds of our way through the mythical January transfer window and most clubs have kept their powder dry, but in the next 10 days teams at the top, and arguably more importantly, teams at the bottom, must decide whether to take that big gamble - spend money now…or end up paying later 

Conspiracy, bad luck or something in between?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A trip back through the archives to 2009 and one of Chelsea’s many controversial Champions League clashes with Barcelona. This was the one officiated by Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo. It was the one infamously described by Didier Drogba as “a f**king disgrace”…

In Jose we trust

It’s good to have Mourinho back

 

More than just a game?

Rivalries manufacture the drama that gives you sport at its most intense and compelling best and at the apex of sporting spectacle is the fixture now known the world over as El Clasico: Real Madrid against Barcelona.

Reality bites

The received wisdom of trying to achieve top flight survival is that encounters with the teams around you will dictate your future. Games against Champions League contenders are written off as freebies; hope for little and expect nothing. Defeat to Swansea however – with no disrespect meant to an evidently impressive Welsh football team – was a sobering experience. 

To infinity and beyond

You have to feel for Woody. He’s been the favourite, most loved toy from childhood to young adolescent and yet, when something sparkling and brand new has come along he’s consigned, if not to the dustbin but to the back of the shelf; or in football parlance not quite flung at the nearest scrapheap but sent on loan to Barnsley.

Silverware for Wandsworth Athletic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following a week of eye-watering £85m transfers and £300k-a-week deals, CollinsBeans brings you an update from the gritty, real and grounded world of midweek amateur football. And it’s a story of hope, with Wandsworth Athletic overcoming the first hurdle in the new chapter of their history…

CollinsBeans Big 2013/14 Fans Preview: Edition #4

With the season now well underway we’ve come to the final part of our fan previews for 2013/14. It may seem like our final fan is a bit lonely but really, given the crazy soap opera that was Blackburn Rivers last season we thought that they deserved a section all to themselves

CollinsBeans Big 2013/14 Fans Preview: Edition #3

With the Premier League kick off less than 24 hours away we are happy to bring you the third edition of our big fan previews. And while we feature a club newly arrived in the ‘promised land’ we also remember that some other leagues are already well under way. With that in mind come join us for previews from teams where, from promotions to relegations with several managers in between, there never seems to be a dull moment.    

CollinsBeans Big 2013/14 Fans Preview: Edition #2

From our first edition in London we travel northwards to the industrial heart of England and the North West. So join us as we delve into three more fans hopes and fears for the new season and our big season previews for the reigning champions and both the blue and red side of Merseyside.

CollinsBeans Big 2013/14 Fans Preview: Edition #1

You’ve read your newspaper previews, heard what the ex-pro’s and esteemed pundits (as well as the not so esteemed ones) have to say, but with the 2013/14 season’s big Premier League big kick off now almost upon us, and the football league (and those up and down Britain’s footballing pyramid) campaigns already under way, it’s time to hear what the real supporters have to say. So join us over the next few days as CollinsBeans has looked into its address book and assembled a crack bunch of friends and experts to tell you just how the next 10 months ahead will pan out for their teams. These are the real people in the know so come and see what they have to say...   

You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone…if only it went away though

When something is in your face 24/7, rolling across your sub-conscious like a bright yellow BREAKING NEWS! ticker you start to lose that feeling of anticipation: it becomes difficult for your heart to pine for something when it never leaves your sight.