Charlie Rhodes

Saturday’s El Clasico between Barcelona and Real Madrid lived up to all expectations; there was passion, spell-bounding skill and goals – the only thing missing was the heavily anticipated Madrid…

During his 1990s assault on celebrity culture, Paul Kaye creation Dennis Pennis battled his way to the front of the media scrum surrounding Some Like It Hot actor Tony Curtis, ageing gracefully on the arm of a pneumatic blonde, at a film premiere. ‘My name’s Dennis, man,’ he explained, having caught Curtis’ eye. ‘I specialise in making celebrities look ridiculous… but I don’t think I’ll bother this time.’ Immediately spinning on his heel, Pennis leaves the date stifling a giggle while Curtis struggles to fix a recovery stare on the middle distance.

With 15 points separating the top five teams in the English Premier League, the race for a top four place is well and truly on. If you bet on football,…

Before football became an ‘integrated leisure experience’ (thank you, FA Blueprint for the Future of Football), deciding to go to the game required nothing more than a pat of your pockets. Keys? Wallet? Right, I’m off.

Few developments in modern football have provoked such undiluted sadness as the demise of the FA Cup. If the spirit of English football could be encapsulated in one thing, it would be the FA Cup: a chance for anyone in the pyramid to have a go and see how fate was feeling. It mattered.

Of the four English representatives in this season’s UEFA Champions League, Arsenal and Chelsea are assured of a passage through to the knockout stages; both Manchester clubs must perform in…

The old European system was almost perfect. The European Cup was the big one, the UEFA Cup was a kind of alternative prom, and just about the only thing wrong with the Cup Winners’ Cup was the fact that nobody knew where to put the apostrophe, or whether there needed to be one in the first place.

Nine teams are through from the group stage but 16 other sides can still dream of joining them this week. Here’s a look at the the key deciding matches of…

Dave Mackay is perhaps the best example of the strong, silent type so commonplace in football’s past. Mackay was the definitive man’s man, and definitely one of the good guys, an outstanding left-half who was at the heart of the most successful spells in Hearts’, Tottenham’s and Derby’s histories, and a truly honourable man.

With the 16 teams competing in Euro 2012 now selected and the qualifying process complete, all eyes look to Poland and Ukraine as time ticks down.

The last round of the Champions League group stages sees a number of mouthwatering and do-or-die ties. If you’re going to be betting on football, you should be very careful…

Man United is in danger of slipping to third as Spurs step up their game as Newcastle and Chelsea face-off for the UEFA Champions League spot.

There’s only one more month left in 2011, and it looks like the year will go out with a real bang from a football standpoint. December features several must-see matches,…

Liverpool once again take centre stage this weekend when they play host to Premiership leaders Manchester City at Anfield on Sunday (4pm KO, Live on Sky Sports 1), and they…

If you’re a football fan, there’s a lot to look forward to in the remainder of November, as we will see some of the game’s biggest names go head-to-head on multiple fronts over the next week-plus.