Safe standing: a view from the North
Is safe standing the answer to any atmosphere-related woes?
What if I were to tell you that one of the finest film directors on the scene is a Brighton fan? He hates P****e, loves De Zerbi and remembers the dark days.
What if I were to tell you that one of the finest film directors on the scene is a Brighton fan? He hates P****e, loves De Zerbi and remembers the dark days.
‘Hipsterball’ or how our culture is being co-opted by those who now think it’s cool.
Over the last ten years or so football has become cool. Those who previously scoffed at the brashness or perceived unsubtlety of the football culture we were steeped in have decided it’s now for them.
The WSL: a missed opportunity to get it right
It's June 2005 and a solitary column in the inside back cover of The Times informs readers that the English women's team will take no further part in their home tournament. The Albion are about to embark on their sixth season at The Withdean.
Buona Notte
It’s 11pm on the 31st of January 2023… Tom Hylands shares his thoughts as the transfer window gently closes.
Bored Ape Football Clubs
Ok, so you might be thinking by now, isn’t the crypto infestation into football very much yesterday’s problem? After all, the crypto universe famously crashed down to earth in May. Doesn’t everyone know by now to steer clear of a sector awash with hacking, bankruptcies and get-rich-quick hucksters? But there’s the rub, we’ve been here before.
‘POPPY DAY’
'The personal, discreet and sombre notion of wearing a poppy on a lapel, honouring the fallen, replaced by bloated and undignified pageantry'
James William on ‘football's manipulated relationship with nationalism' from Dogma Issue 5 (December 2021)
ROBERTO DE ZERBI: UN ALTRO LIVELLO
Getting to know Roberto De Zerbi, with Italian football disciple Marcello Goussot. From Napoli, to Monza, to Foggia to Darfo Boario: to understand Roberto, first we must understand his journey, and the teams and clubs that have shaped his approach to football.
GLASS CEILING
It is highly unlikely that Wu-Tang legend Method Man penned those famous bars about the Premier League way back in 1993, but nearly thirty years later, they ring loud and true. Propped up by billionaires, consortiums and eye watering television deals, the Premier League has become a commercial juggernaut.
AU REVOIR, LE PETIT SHITHOUSE, ET MERCI POUR LES MOMENTS.
‘a decent Premier League football player... an exceptional one, on his day, if the stars are aligned & he doesn’t have time to contemplate the consequences of failure before striking the ball’
ABSOLUTELY FAB-ULOUS
Graham Potter once said that “the most important relationship at a football club is the one between the supporters and the players”. For all his innovative, troubleshooting, possibly slightly dry characteristics as a tactician, GP is clearly someone who gets the perils of modern football.
ROBERT SANCHEZ: CLOSER TO GOD
“I saw him, yeah” we’ll boast in pubs in 20 years or when he lifts the World Cup with Spain or wins the Champions League. This guy Sanchez. He’s just that little bit closer to god.
‘LIES, DAMNED LIES, AND STATISTICS’ - A POSITION ON THE IRRELEVANCE OF STATISTICS IN FOOTBALL
The cold hearted, emotionless prevalence of statistics permeates every aspect of our post-truth lives. Where nothing means anything unless it's quantifiable. .
ESTEBAN ALZATE
We love Steven Alzate, we always have.
And to prove it we dug into the Dogma archive for some (slightly updated) words, first published in Issue 2, on our Colombian-Camdenian starlet
A MERE PAWN IN THE WARS TO COME
Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, Ben White, Yves Bissouma all touted around like Oliver Twist on X Factor in a shop window in Amsterdam. Roll up, roll up, you've been plucked from obscurity to be judged by the baying mass. 'Do a little dance for us, that's it, show us your highlights reel' 'how much is he worth? 50 million?' 'no chance, 75 million?' 'they wouldn't pay that for him' ‘he’s exactly what we need’. How lucky you are, Football Twitter and some feckless pundit have decided ‘it could be you!’.
GOODBYE ALIREZA
‘Is it fair to write off his Albion career as a failure? £17m is a fuck tonne of money. But in the overall scheme of things - and bearing in mind that Premier League football involves throwing insane amounts of money at players and agents in the hope of achieving some minor incremental gains - I think Alireza can point to evidence of contribution. Something positive, in return for the money invested in him’