Cultured Football #95

Sack the board and more...

Jan 21, 2023

By Martin Cloake for The Football Fan // 1,993 words

Many fans feel that they could do a better job than anyone off the pitch (and, sometimes, eve on it) and when it comes to running football clubs sometimes they are right. Yet it is never as simple as those same people believe. Martin Cloake was on the board of the Supporters Trust for almost a decade and his take on calls for club owners to be replaced is both nuanced and well reasoned. Read everything shared in this week’s Cultured Football; but read this above all.

Niclas Füllkrug: Germany’s New ‘Old’ Striker Continues His Ascent

By Ninad Barbadikar for The Analyst //1,956 words

One of the few bright spots from Germany’s dismal World Cup campaign was striker Niclas Füllkrug. He has bounced around between the top and second flights in Gemany for most of his career but has finally matured into a clinical finisher who is appreciated purely for his ability to find the back of the net.

The role of scouting and recruitment

By David Laszlo for Scouting for Success // 1,631 words

There is much more to scouting players than simply watching games looking for those who stand out. If you want to know exactly how much more, then this is a great place to start.

South American U-20 Championship put Messi and Cavani on the map. Who'll emerge this time?

By Tim Vickery for ESPN // 914 words

I remember Tim Vickery talking up the South American Under 20 Championship back when I used to listen to him on the BBC’s World Football Phone In and it seems that he is still at it. Given how many players are actually making the step from this tournament directly to European football, however, it is becoming impossible to ignore it.

The Past, The Present and The Future: Länk FC Vilaverdense – A Club on the Rise

By Proxima Jornada // 2,522 words

Not many took notice when Länk Football Group acquired 90% of Vilaverdense F.C. SAD back in September 2020 and not because the world had bigger problems at the time: frankly, not many people had heard about this tiny club that has spent most of its history playing in the fourth or fifth tier of Portuguese football. Yet, although initially controversial, the move seems to be paying off and something special might just be brewing in this corner of Braga.

Something Else We Loved This Week

Each year, an increasing number of extremely intelligent people dedicate their time and specialised knowledge to think, analyse and write about their findings on every aspect of the game of football. Jan Van Haaren, a Computer Scientist and PhD in Machine Learning who is currently Head of Data & Technology at Club Brugge, has done for this technical writing what Cultured Football does each week by identifying the best papers, articles and podcasts of the 2022 for others to geek out on.

Thank you for reading Cultured Football. If you’ve clicked on any of this issue’s links, we’d really appreciated if you shared Cultured Football with at least one friend. Thanks!

By Neil Jones for Goal // 2,897 words

Last season Liverpool came as close as any other English club has come to winning all major honours available to them. Five months on, they are struggling to find any sense on continuity and future looks bleak. What has happened?