Last weekend saw Wayne Rooney reach another milestone in his football career. The England international netted twice in the 5-0 demolition of Wigan and secured his 100th goal for the club in the process of doing so. Compared to many of the faceless players that grace the Premier League, Rooney has enjoyed a colourful life. His high-impact introduction to professional football ended with the winning goal against Arsenal who were still Champions of England at the time. Since then, Rooney has made

The League Cup tie between West Ham and Millwall last night was, unsurprisingly, marred by large amounts of trouble before and after the game. Having had the pleasure of visiting the New Den last season, it's still very apparent that a club that has made massive strides in developing a community spirit still struggles to contain the obvious hooligan element that still exists. The club should still be applauded for its work though, especially as I'm old enough to remember how a trip to the Cold

It's amazing how things can pass down through generations, isn't it? I remember some strange feelings towards football as a formative teenager and many of these pecularities stemmed from simply being at a game on a Saturday afternoon. I was at home when I went to football and being part of a collective group mattered to me. The thought of actually missing games filled me with dread. There was a feeling of self-loathing and guilt that used to follow me around in the days leading up to a match that

A little more than 18 months ago, Chester City were riding high in League Two and dreaming of promotion to the 3rd tier of English football. Although their season subsequently nose-dived into oblivion, even the most pessimistic of Chester fans could never have forecast the events of the past couple of months. The existence of the border city club now hangs on the finest of threads and their involvement in the Blue Square Premier Division has been stalled by financial crisis and continued difficulties

Around ten years ago, when my eldest lad had just turned six years old, I decided to make use of the rather expensive football boots that I'd bought him for kickabouts in the back garden and ran him down to a Saturday morning fun session that I'd been hearing about from a few other Dads with boys of similar ages. I walked away incredibly impressed. With one significant exception, the parents and helpers at the session seemed completely dedicated to one thing - The enjoyment of the game. I was issued

As the Carling Cup got underway this week, only to be overshadowed by a half-decent England performance in the Netherlands, the perennial question of the competition's validity in modern day football arises yet again. Since the arrival of the Premier League and the glut of money that surrounds it, even the most committed of top-flight strugglers find it necessary to field weakened sides full of youngsters in a confusing effort to preserve their key players. Such is the importance of Premier League

I recently had the good fortune to pick up a little extra work writing for sports-betting web site in the United States. My weekly column will eventually focus on every top flight game with a brief analysis of team news, managerial battles and a correct score forecast on each individual fixture. It's a fun position that just about covers the occasional can of beer I dink while writing it and the site is very expressive about my predictions being treated as entertainment instead of as a means to

Flicking through YouTube a couple of weeks ago, the clever software that makes suggestions on items I may enjoy viewing made the somewhat absurd assumption that I'd be interested in the latest Nick Love offering due out later this year. The Firm (2009). How civilised! I can still remember the first showing of \'The Firm' on BBC1 back in the early eighties. My only interest in it stemmed from the appearance of Philip Davies as Yeti, leader of a fictitious Millwall mob that specialised in car vandalism

When asked to make a contribution to this particular blog, I was asked to try and include a humorous story or anecdote that might appeal to other fans. Over the years, I've found that the events on a football field rarely typify the excitement of the terraces and the banter that's shared between supporters. One of my favourite stories comes from a fantastic day out at Edgeley Park near the end of the 2007/2008 campaign. As a follower of Milton Keynes Dons, I've become fairly thick-skinned to

It's amazing that after a full summer of silence, Chelsea defender and England Captain John Terry finally manages to find his voice in the same week that his club confirms he'll be on the same money as Frank Lampard next season. The ongoing saga that saw Manchester City flop a massive wedge of Arabian money onto the desk of Mr Abramovich seems to have finally ended, with JT managing to resist the lure of making the Carling Cup a priority for the forthcoming season. There's still one thing that