Andy Ryan
A fan of QPR, Thierry Henry and ludicrous cup upsets. Have written for When Saturday Comes Magazine and legendary QPR fanzine, "A Kick up the Rs". Editor of Jilt Magazine (www.jilt.org.uk) - nothing to do with football but quite fun.
Championship Update: Is Strachan taking Middlesbrough backwards?
The miracle of Turf Moor It is hard to take positives from a game in which you throw away a 3-1 lead in the final ten minutes but Preston should be encouraged by the majority of their performance. Winger Keith Treacy was outstanding. As for Burnley, they were limp, lacklustre and completely reliant on the…
This weekend in the Npower Championship
Derby (until the 92nd minute) show how to stop QPR QPR have hit 9 in their opening 3 games but, until a late collapse, Derby nullified them. They got tight quickly in midfield and stopped the league leaders from creating chances. Rangers need to learn how to cope with this; sides are not going to…
What we learnt on the 1st day of the Championship
It is a very bad idea to draw conclusions from the opening day of the season. Here we go: 1. An open division You could dismiss all the upsets as opening day madness but they may be a sign of things to come. No team in this division stands far above the rest; expect more…
Ghana 2 USA 1 – An African success for an African World Cup
Read the Ghana v Uruguay preview. In a sentence After a tense ending to the 90 minutes, Black Stars strike early in extra-time to progress. Just like I wanted to see Spain play last night Ghana moved the ball brilliantly in the first-half, far better than in their previous games. There was pace, patience and…
Spain 2 Chile 1 – Del Bosque’s men avoid Brazil
In a sentence Off-colour Spain are helped to victory by a mad dash from Chile’s keeper and an early sending-off. Not looking like favourites Spain are another European team who have been poor in the group stages (at least they are still in South Africa). The opening of the game saw their defensive sluggishness…
England 1 Slovenia 0 – Crisis, what crisis?
In a sentence England dominate but have to survive a nervy finale. Unrecognisable Just three changes from the Algeria nightmare, but England were a different side. The confidence was back and with that came quality movement and passing which made goals look inevitable. Players who had previously gone awol looked determined to assert themselves on…
South Africa 2 France 1 – So long Bafana Bafana, good riddance to Les Bleus
In a sentence Despite a flying start and a one man advantage, South Africa fail to get the goals necessary to progress. Electrifying before a limp finale At half-time, the improbable seemed to be on but the second half saw the game fade. It would have been great to see Domenech, in his final…
Portugal 7 North Korea 0 – So you wanted more goals?
In a sentence A rout. Less organized in defence, more swashbuckling in attack Compared to their defiant effort against Brazil, North Korea were sloppy at the back. Portugal’s fifth and sixth were gifted by defensive errors. Several of the others were the products of loose marking. That being said, for the opening half hour they…
Brazil 3 Ivory Coast 1 – Bad tackles and play-acting rather than Samba football
In a sentence Brazil cruise to victory while tempers flare. Lethal even when half-hearted Brazil’s first half performance was tepid: the tempo was slow and the penetration was limited. But they still scored. It’s time to roll out that old cliche about how the best teams are those that still win even when the play…
Ghana 1 Australia 1 – Black Stars squander, Socceroos fight
In a sentence Ghana waste their one man advantage, while Australia rally strongly in the second half. Don’t shoot! Hopeful long shots formed the bulk of Ghana’s attacking efforts. They needed to be more ambitious and create quality chances. Their best moment was Boateng’s pass to Gyan in the 71st minute: a simple ball that…
