As summers without a World Cup or European Championship go, 2025 was an especially eventful one, with the football literally not stopping since the most recent Premier League campaign reached its conclusion on the final Sunday in May. The Champions League final blended straight into the UEFA Nations League finals and World Cup qualifiers, beforeContinue reading “2025/26 Premier League preview: Could we have a four-way title battle for the ages?”
Author Archives: liamtogher
Euro 2024 review: A disappointing tournament with deserving winners
After the last European Championship was played across 11 countries in front of limited capacities in an odd-numbered year, and the subsequent World Cup was held in a miniscule nation in the lead-up to Christmas, Euro 2024 in a German summer felt like a welcome restoration of the needle to normality. The tournament began withContinue reading “Euro 2024 review: A disappointing tournament with deserving winners”
Euro 2024 preview: Glory up for grabs in Germany with several genuine contenders
After a European Championship held in front of sparse attendances due to COVID restrictions in 2021, and a World Cup 18 months later held in tandem with the hanging of Christmas decorations, the football calendar is finally back in sync as UEFA’s showpiece event descends on Germany over the next month. The nation staged aContinue reading “Euro 2024 preview: Glory up for grabs in Germany with several genuine contenders”
Jurgen Klopp didn’t just deliver trophies. He brought us the happiest times of our lives.
I was en route to Cork on 4 October 2015 when I saw the news that Brendan Rodgers had been sacked as Liverpool manager. Thoughts turned instantly to who’d be brought in to replace him, with Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp purported to be the frontrunners. I didn’t think either of those were realistically attainableContinue reading “Jurgen Klopp didn’t just deliver trophies. He brought us the happiest times of our lives.”
2022/23 Premier League review: Arsenal were admirable but Man City were inevitable
The Premier League has seen some rather unusual scheduling in recent years, between the 2019/20 campaign which took nearly a full year from start to finish and the truncated following season which was wedged into eight months. Even 2021/22, which ran along the traditional August-May lines, had a pile-up due to a spate of COVID-relatedContinue reading “2022/23 Premier League review: Arsenal were admirable but Man City were inevitable”
World Cup 2022 review: Messi and Argentina have their moment at last after a final for the ages
None of the 21 previous World Cups had as prolonged or as contentious a build-up as the 2022 finals in Qatar, with allegations of corruption, the fatalities of thousands of migrant workers in stadium construction and the controversial mid-season timing all serving to make this a potentially very troubled tournament. The off-field issues didn’t subsideContinue reading “World Cup 2022 review: Messi and Argentina have their moment at last after a final for the ages”
World Cup 2022 preview: Here’s hoping the football can outshine the dark shadows over Qatar
It has been almost 12 years since that earth-shattering December day when then-FIFA president Sepp Blatter took us all by surprise and announced that the 22nd World Cup (coincidentally taking place in a year ending with 22) would be held in Qatar, a country whose land mass is smaller than Cork and Kerry combined. EverContinue reading “World Cup 2022 preview: Here’s hoping the football can outshine the dark shadows over Qatar”
Mentality monsters no more: End of an era for Jurgen Klopp’s special Liverpool team
It was seven years ago this month that Liverpool FC announced Jurgen Klopp as the 21st permanent manager of the club. As the German wore a beaming smile during his official unveiling, his facial expression mirrored that of many of the club’s supporters, including this writer. Considering that the Reds were a lowly 10th inContinue reading “Mentality monsters no more: End of an era for Jurgen Klopp’s special Liverpool team”
2022/23 Premier League preview: Plenty of new faces but expect some familiar storylines
The 30th Premier League season went down as one of the most dramatic, certainly in terms of the final day swings and roundabouts. Manchester City just about fended off Liverpool in a frenetic tussle at the top between two exceptional teams, Tottenham pipped Arsenal for the final Champions League spot and Leeds overhauled Burnley atContinue reading “2022/23 Premier League preview: Plenty of new faces but expect some familiar storylines”
2021/22 Premier League review: Two titans treat us to tremendous title race
Overall, there was plenty of satisfaction to be gleaned from the 30th Premier League season. After the near-total shutout of 2020/21 and the delayed end to 2019/20 due to COVID, stadia were full once more, bringing a feel of authenticity back to England’s top flight. We were also treated to several intriguing battles right upContinue reading “2021/22 Premier League review: Two titans treat us to tremendous title race”
Man, Ball and All 