Faustino Asprilla: a hero or a villain for the Magpies? Photograph: Mark Thompson/Allsport/Getty Images
Football’s essence is its simplicity - 22 men, an inflated pig’s bladder, an inflated ego with a whistle - but, as Leslie Grantham would tell you, sometimes a strength can also be a weakness. People rush to form straightforward opinions, to eschew [...]

Rivaldo - the greatest since Maradona? Photograph: Nuno Correira/Getty Images/Allsport
A common, if slightly cringeworthy, observation of pundits in this country is that, if you could marry British will with continental skill, you would have the perfect footballer. Such a mixed recipe was thrillingly in evidence in Diego Maradona. Since then, however, perhaps only Rivaldo has [...]

Bryan Robson celebrates his goal against Holland. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Getty
Footballers pride themselves on taking one game at a time, but it is impossible to review their performances in such a way. All act as details on a bigger picture, from which judgement is made. If they didn’t, Avram Grant would still have a job, and [...]