The Football Mine

On eve of Afcon try today’s Guardian quiz (Spoiler it’s quite tricky)

Goals, glory and Akwaba: how much do you know about Afcon? – quiz The tournament kicks off again this weekend – test your knowledge with our Africa Cup of Nations teasers

Fancy a couple of Premier League Nuggets on hat-tricks & own goals. Of course you do

2023/24 Premier League Nuggets 29 December MW 18 & 19 HAT-TRICK HEAVEN Chris Wood’s hat-trick against his former club Newcastle was the eighth of the season equalling the number scored throughout the whole of last season. Wo…

Christmas is coming so what better than a football quiz on this year’s football …

Winners, losers and cup runs: test your knowledge of club football in 2023 How much can you recall from the calendar year in the Premier League, EFL, Champions League and beyond?

This week’s Premier League Nuggets includes the startling stat that there have only been 3 goalless draws this season, an all time low. Crystal Palace have been involved in 2 of them …

2023/24 Premier League Nuggets 15 December MW 16 VILLA HOME COMFORTS By beating Arsenal and Manchester City in quick succession at Villa Park, Aston Villa secured their 14th and 15th successive Premier League home wins. A run th…

Now and again I get the chance to write about some of the good things from the world of football, here’s a fine example -

Football Beyond Borders: 10 years of using sport to change young lives Over the last decade, the charity has taught thousands of young people life lessons on the pitch and in the classroom

10 November MW11 BLADES LEAVE IT LATE Oliver Norwood’s 100th minute penalty against Wolves finally secured Sheffield United’s first win of the season. They shot up to four points and on the same tally as Burnley who set a record of six successive home defeats from start of season. The Clarets also lost their last two home matches of their previous PL season so their last win at Turf Moor was 24 April 2022 against none other than Wolves....

Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 10 November MW11 BLADES LEAVE IT LATE Oliver Norwood’s 100th minute penalty against Wolves finally secured Sheffield United’s first win of the season. They shot up to four points and on the same ta…

3 November MW 10 NEW BOYS, OLD TROUBLES Another pointless round of matches for the promoted three. With just a solitary point from their first ten matches, Sheffield United are beginning to look a tad beleaguered. A goal difference of minus 22 is the joint worst of any side at the bottom of Premier League after ten matches. Norwich in 2021/22 had the same goal difference at this juncture, but only one other team has mustered just one point at this stage of the season and that was none other than Sheffield United in 2020/21....

Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 3 November MW 10 NEW BOYS, OLD TROUBLES Another pointless round of matches for the promoted three. With just a solitary point from their first ten matches, Sheffield United are beginning to look a …

27 October MW9 PROMOTED TRIO REACH DOUBLE FIGURES Luton’s creditable draw at the City Ground meant that the promoted trio have now reached double figures with The Hatters being responsible for half of those points over their combined total of 27 matches. Meanwhile Sheffield United’s one point after 9 matches is the same as The Blades’ 2019/20 campaign, when they did not win their first match until MW18, ultimately reaching 23 points....

Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 27 October MW9 PROMOTED TRIO REACH DOUBLE FIGURES  Luton’s creditable draw at the City Ground meant that the promoted trio have now reached double figures with The Hatters being responsible fo…

In the late 1980s and early 1990s Jack Charlton oversaw the Republic of Ireland’s status as a football nation shift dramatically from also-rans to a top 10 FIFA ranking, taking them to a World Cup quarter-final along the way. Charlton was responsible for casting the net for potential players far and wide, searching through the genealogy of various players to track down anybody with Irish roots....

From playing ‘Football Manager’ to improving Guinea-Bissau’s squad – the story of Jack C. 2.0 In the late 1980s and early 1990s Jack Charlton oversaw the Republic of Ireland’s status as a football nation shift dramatically from also-rans to a top 10 FIFA ranking, taking them to a World Cup …

6 October MW7 RED MIST Liverpool’s two red cards on Saturday night took their tally for the season to four in just seven matches, which is as many as they received in over four seasons. The previous four red cards spanned 167 matches and almost five years between James Milner being sent off in January 2019 against Palace and Alexis McAllister’s dismissal against Bournemouth in MW2 (which was later rescinded)....

Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 6 October MW7 RED MIST  Liverpool’s two red cards on Saturday night took their tally for the season to four in just seven matches, which is as many as they received in over four seasons. The p…

Friday lunchtime Premier League Nuggets include a tint shard of consolation for Sheffield United fans and some red mist

Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 29 September – MW 6 BLADERUNNER There isn’t too much to offer as consolation to Sheffield United fans after their 8-0 shellacking at the hands of Newcastle on Sunday but here we go. The good …

29 September - MW 6 BLADERUNNER There isn’t too much to offer as consolation to Sheffield United fans after their 8-0 shellacking at the hands of Newcastle on Sunday but here we go. The good news for Blades fans is that in the last twenty seasons only four times has the club that suffered the heaviest defeat of the season been relegated - Norwich in 2013/14 and 2021/22, Aston Villa in 2015/16 and Hull in 2016/17....

Premier League Nuggets 2023/24 29 September – MW 6 BLADERUNNER There isn’t too much to offer as consolation to Sheffield United fans after their 8-0 shellacking at the hands of Newcastle on Sunday but here we go. The good …