Author
Clubs
Why football sticker albums survived the digital age
Trading stickers should have gone the way of the cassette tape; instead the hobby grew, because swapping cannot be downloaded.
Articles by Gordon Fielding
Analysis
Why a back three requires specific, not generic, wingbacks
A back three does not simply add a defender — it multiplies the demands on the two widest players, who must be attackers, defenders and midfielders in the same movement.
Gordon Fielding
Sport News
Why fan TV money changed broadcast deals for clubs and leagues
Direct-to-consumer channels and club-owned media gave teams a way to sell their own matches and programming, which quietly rewired how broadcast contracts are priced and structured.
Gordon Fielding
Development
How academies track player load data to protect developing bodies
GPS vests, acute-to-chronic ratios and bio-banding have changed how academies manage the workload of young footballers.
Gordon Fielding
Analysis
Why pressing traps fail against a single striker
Pressing traps are built to hunt the ball in packs, and a lone striker starves them of the numbers they need to close it down.
Gordon Fielding