Author Archives: Richard Farley

Wayne Rooney’s match-winner against Ukraine seemed to temper a meaningful critical review of his return. Rusty with his first touch and flashing a footballing mind working quicker than his out-of-practice reflexes, the tournament debit showed he wasn’t far from being … Continue reading →

Nothing ruins joyous occasion like dour tactics. They can’t overshadow another call for goal line technology, but they obscure Wayne Rooney’s return. They can also put a rousing performance from John Terry on the backburner. Regressing to the approach he … Continue reading →

Even if Wayne Rooney was available, England would have been happy with four points from their first two group games. And given their inexplicable reverence for a France (as if France weren’t a team that flamed out of the last … Continue reading →

While it’s a slight exaggeration to say Theo Walcott changed Friday’s game, he certainly defined it. Coming on in the 61st minute, Walcott’s third touch of the match bent the back of Andreas Isaksson’s net. Seventeen minutes later, Walcott blew … Continue reading →

It’s only recently that congestion in the midfield of French power Olympique Lyonnais finally cleared up, leaving Sweden international Kim Kallstrom as an unlikely last man standing. Four years ago, when free kick specialist Juninho Pernambucano was ending a You … Continue reading →

Those who kept reminding us about France’s talent forgot to mention inexperience. Franck Ribery and Florent Malouda have been mainstays for some time, but amongst the other key contributors to Les Bleus’ attack, there’s no big tournament experience. Karim Benzema … Continue reading →

Is it too much to suggest the difference between Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Stewart Downing could decide England’s first match? Of course it is. Questions like that are excessively incendiary, particularly when leaned on as leads for blog posts. Accept my … Continue reading →

Despite a top of the table that’s providing little reason for conversation, myself, Kartik Krishnaiyer and Laurence McKenna have plenty to discuss on this edition of the EPL Talk Podcast. In the hours before the show went to tape, Stan … Continue reading →

On this edition of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast, co-host Richard Farley returns to join partner Christopher Riordan, giving the duo a chance to take an early look back on their preseason picks, using the season’s first few weeks … Continue reading →

With Richard Farley lost somewhere along the West Coast (yet still able to write this post), your regular co-host Christopher Riordan welcomes Kevin McCauley back to the show just in time for the upcoming Major League Soccer weekend. But before … Continue reading →

The English Premier League put two more clubs through to the quarterfinals of UEFA Champions League, with mid-week action seeing Manchester United and Chelsea qualify for the final eight. They join Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Milan last week, by sending … Continue reading →

It’s the third and final part of the Major League Soccer Talk Podcast, where myself and co-host Christopher Riordan talk about the teams in each conference we see finishing in the top three. In both the Eastern and Western circuits … Continue reading →

Manchesters City and United are slated to meet in the FA Cup semifinals after weekend victories over Reading and Arsenal, with the Royals putting up the better fight. The Gunners were unable to get past a patchwork United side, leaving … Continue reading →

Wins by Manchester United and City have set up a derby in the FA Cup semifinals, though the story of the weekend will be the Gunners, who saw an exit to a third competition in two weeks in failing to … Continue reading →