Showing 1 - 10 of 35
Lincoln's Imps the first English side to celebrate promotion
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 11/04/2026
» We are at the business end of the 2025-26 season in the English Football League and the first club to celebrate promotion are Lincoln City of League One. The Imps' 2-1 win at Reading last Monday was enough to guarantee a place in the Championship, the first time they have been in the second tier in 65 years.
Sounds of Prokofiev inspires Black Cats in Premier League opener
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 23/08/2025
» The most interesting aspect of the first week's results in the Premier League is that two of the newly promoted teams won their opening games, unlike the clubs involved last season, all of whom were later relegated. It is only the third time the newcomers have experienced such a good start since the Premier League was established in 1992.
When Spurs did the 'Double' in the remarkable 1960-61 season
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 01/02/2025
» Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened Leicester City last weekend has understandably put a lot of pressure on Australian boss Ange Postecoglou. It was their sixth defeat in seven Premier League games and left Spurs in an embarrassing 15th place.
'3 B's' give hope to the smaller clubs
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 14/12/2024
» Back in the 1960s as a teenager I would regularly visit Elm Park to watch my home town team Reading in the old Third Division. Among the visiting sides were Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford. Just like Reading, these clubs looked destined to stay in the lower divisions forever although by some miracle Reading made it to the Premier League in 2006 for an all-too-brief stay.
Big day for England's 'lost souls'
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 06/07/2024
» The Euro 24 quarter-finals are already under way and unbelievably England are somehow still in the mix. Their performances have been so uninspiring they are going into tonight's match against Switzerland as underdogs. This is a team England would be normally be expected to beat comfortably.
It's a stable season for managers
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 08/06/2024
» One of the more intriguing aspects of the recently concluded Premier League action is that there were only three managerial changes during the entire season. This was in sharp contrast to the previous season which proved to be a merry-go-round with only nine of the top-flight teams keeping the manager they had started with.
Tough times for clubs in the ‘Steel City’
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 13/04/2024
» Football fans in Sheffield can be forgiven if they are currently feeling a strong sense of déjà vu. Three seasons ago in March 2021 the opening paragraph in this column read: “It has not been a good year for football fans in the city of Sheffield, with United almost certain to drop out of the Premier League and Sheffield Wednesday clinging on by their fingernails in the Championship relegation battle.”
Could relegation of Premier League clubs be decided in the courts?
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 23/03/2024
» The four-point penalty imposed on Nottingham Forest for rules infringements is a reminder that things aren't running quite as smoothly in the Premier League as the organisers would like. It means that at the end of this season there will be at least a couple of asterisks necessary to explain the final league standings.
Sweet success: A ripe time for Bournemouth's Cherries
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 16/12/2023
» You can forgive supporters of AFC Bournemouth if they are feeling pretty good about life at the moment.
Relegation favourites Cherries ripe for another season in top flight
Sports, Nobby Piles, Published on 06/05/2023
» It is no secret that AFC Bournemouth began this Premier League season as hot favourites for relegation, a view that was quickly cemented last August when they were crushed 9-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.