Football Diary

by Patrick O'Connor

THERE may not be much football being played at the moment in the run-up to the start of Euro 2012 but that doesn't mean there hasn't been much activity.

Football purists will be delighted by the news that the game's governing body in England, the Football Association, has decided that small-sided formats for certain age-groups will be mandatory from now on.

WITH the football season nearing its conclusion (apart, of course from the European Championships) thoughts are already turning towards the big sporting occasion of the summer, the 2012 London Olympics. And one of England's top ex-players has put the cat among the pigeons by suggesting that Olympic football should be played by amateur footballers, not professionals.

FORGET about tactically constipated football matches in the top leagues or the never-ending stream of European fixtures where substitutes have to study a spread-sheet with the coach before coming on.  No, if it’s good, old-fashioned entertainment you’re after, you can’t beat the lower leagues in the Football League.

Football Diary
by Patrick O’Connor

WILL tikki-takki be the legacy of the 2010 World Cup?

Tikki-takki (or tiki-taki as it is sometimes written) is the word describing the intricate, closing passing possession football favoured by World Cup winners Spain and also top European club side Barcelona.