Oil, money and football: Hartlepool know all about itMichael Walker: Boris Johnson, like many, sees football through the lens of soft powerSat May 01 2021 - 07:00
Michael Walker: Where are the plaudits for Zinedine Zidane’s coaching career?Frenchman’s managerial reputation remains uncertain despite considerable successSat Apr 17 2021 - 06:00
Evergreen Wes Hoolahan playing central part in Cambridge adventureFormer Shelbourne playmaker is 38 but one of the U’s key menSat Apr 03 2021 - 07:00
Michael Walker: How Ian St John helped turn Liverpool all redThe Scottish striker changed Liverpool and of how many can that be said?Sat Mar 13 2021 - 08:00
Michael Walker: Why Marcelo Bielsa is manager of the season so farSouth American’s relentless intensity and his team’s flair makes everybody smileSat Feb 27 2021 - 08:00
As the glorious past fades, Lionel Messi’s Barcelona future looks more uncertainWith Atlético moving clear at the top it could be another trophyless season for the great oneSat Feb 13 2021 - 07:30
What would Hans Keller have made of Neil Warnock and Pep Guardiola?Michael Walker: In Music, Closed Societies and Football Keller defends individualismSat Jan 30 2021 - 09:00
Key to Dean Smith’s success? Humanity, understanding and a little bit of WalsallAston Villa manager learned at his first club the importance of connecting with playersSat Jan 23 2021 - 06:00
Michael Walker: World from which Colin Bell emerged is all but goneMining, coal, part of the north-east of England’s raison d’etre, has goneSat Jan 09 2021 - 08:00
Michael Walker: Missing fans meant even momentous victories were draped in lossDreadful year also marked by the passing of many football greatsFri Dec 25 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Arsenal’s Arteta revolution is already stallingGunners are in need a major squad overhaul as they struggle for Premier League goalsSun Dec 06 2020 - 09:00
Michael Walker: Chelsea’s significant six provide an upgradeAfter investing €250 million in the summer window Lampard’s team are taking shapeSat Nov 21 2020 - 05:00
Story of Nobby Stiles embodied a special era of footballersMichael Walker: World Cup winner’s book gives fascinating detail on a different timeSat Nov 07 2020 - 07:00
Michael Walker: Is De Gea an answer again amid questions at United?Solskjaer’s team show improvements as Southampton’s faith in Hasenhuttl rewardedSat Oct 24 2020 - 06:00
Big six pay-per-putsch is two fingers to English football’s history and heritageProject Big Picture looks like a cynical step towards a breakaway European Super LeagueSat Oct 17 2020 - 06:00
Dirty Leeds to Flirty Leeds: Bielsa’s transformation continues apaceArgentinean manager is changing public persona of the club at the highest levelSat Oct 03 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Gareth Bale’s place in Real’s history a strange type of gloryAs the great Matt Busby wrote, you can win without affection but you will gain nothingSat Sept 19 2020 - 07:00
Michael Walker: Chelsea might be best placed to close gap on LiverpoolFrank Lampard still needs to sort out things at the back before they can mount a real challengeSat Sept 05 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: There are legitimate concerns about PSG’s purpose as a clubBobby Robson once told us what a football club should be and what it should meanSat Aug 22 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Pressure mounts on Barcelona to stop slideIt’s been five years since they conquered Europe and are increasingly reliant on MessiSat Aug 08 2020 - 08:00
Michael Walker: John Wayne should have had a Jackie Charlton calendarA leader, and for his willingness to be blunt, to challenge orthodoxy, he was cherishedSat Jul 18 2020 - 08:00
Michael Walker: Ian Baraclough staying on trend, from Sligo to Windsor ParkNew Northern Ireland boss provides continuity and has a wealth of youth to tap intoSat Jul 04 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester out-foxing the monopolistsTop four place in Foxes’ hands as members of the so-called Big Six have vulnerabilitiesSat Jun 20 2020 - 05:00
Michael Walker: Fans wish to be supporters, not spectators. There’s a differenceSometimes what’s missing is everything as football returns behind closed doorsSat May 30 2020 - 11:12
Michael Walker: Henry’s hand of faith and its part in French football’s WaterlooA new book on French football looks at their meltdown at the 2010 Word Cup in South AfricaSat May 16 2020 - 14:00
Michael Robinson was a man who both loved the story and loved telling itMichael Walker: Former Ireland international won at life both on and off the pitchSat May 02 2020 - 06:00
My favourite sporting moment: San Sebastian erupts after Big Mig deliversJuly 4th, 1992: The Tour de France gets underway in the Basque CountryMon Apr 13 2020 - 07:00
Michael Walker: Carrying space and the benefits of learning to stand stillBenefits of movement in football are well documented, but ability to stay put is key alsoSat Mar 28 2020 - 08:00
Giants in Green: Michael Walker’s greatest all-time all-Ireland XIOur soccer columnist takes a look back on the footballing giants in greenSat Mar 21 2020 - 07:00
Michael Walker: Football must seize the opportunity in Covid-19 crisisUefa will be required to play leading role as game deals with enormity of coronavirus outbreakSat Mar 14 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Anfield set to burn again as Liverpool address unfinished businessKlopp has every reason to trust his side as Bournemouth and then Atletico come callingSat Mar 07 2020 - 11:10
Watford’s survival looks in good hands with Pearson at the helmCertain similarities can be drawn with manager’s miraculous escape at LeicesterSat Feb 29 2020 - 07:00
Jimmy Greaves: A working-class hero who defined a generationKnighthood would do little to burnish stellar reputation of former Spurs goal machineSat Feb 15 2020 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Hearts and Wimbledon show that fan ownership model can workThe question of just who owns football is raging just now in BritainSat Feb 08 2020 - 08:00
Michael Walker: West Ham join Arsenal in gaining a stadium but losing part of club’s soulJust like Arsenal’s move from Highbury, the Hammers left something behind at Upton ParkSat Feb 01 2020 - 07:00
Manchester United badly need another Harry Maguire masterclassHe scored for Leicester against Liverpool a year ago, but can he step up for Solskjaer?Sat Jan 18 2020 - 08:00
Michael Walker: José Mourinho has a job of work to right listing Spurs shipKane’s injury the latest blow for a club badly struggling to build on last year’s promiseSat Jan 11 2020 - 06:00
Brian Barry-Murphy: ‘When we played Man United, it was like Cork in the All-Ireland’Newcastle’s visit in FA Cup a welcome break from relegation fight for Rochdale bossSat Jan 04 2020 - 07:00
James McCarthy clocking the milestones on long road backMidfielder completed 90 minutes for first time in three years and has eyes on SlovakiaSat Dec 28 2019 - 07:00
Michael Walker: The soccer moments that defined 2019Emiliano Sala’s death and the unravelling of the FAI bookended a remarkable yearSat Dec 21 2019 - 07:00
Style and substance has Bielsa and Leeds marching on togetherRespected Argentine coach presiding over a transformation in club’s fortunesSat Dec 14 2019 - 07:00
Michael Walker: United keeping faith in Solskjaer gambleBoth clubs enter Manchester derby with concerns but one deals in trust, the other in hopeSat Dec 07 2019 - 05:00
Michael Walker: Belfast’s Elisha Scott - the first king of the KopGreat goalkeeper’s long career sealed his place in the pantheon of Liverpool’s all-time greatsSat Nov 30 2019 - 06:00
All to play for as Irish football embarks on a potentially pivotal new decadeThings are in flux on the island and it’s hard to know what shape the game will be in by 2030Sat Nov 23 2019 - 06:00
Northern Ireland’s loss is Stoke’s gain as O’Neill plans long goodbyeFormidable manager has overseen a remarkable transformation in North’s fortunesSat Nov 16 2019 - 09:00
Woodgate and Keane began with hope - now it’s a goal drought and injuriesMichael Walker: As Middlesbrough go to QPR they have not scored in their last four gamesSat Nov 09 2019 - 07:00
Exceptional Agüero is the master of unexceptional goalsThe players around him may be a reason why the striker is not given due creditSat Oct 26 2019 - 08:38
Time not on Solskjaer’s side as Manchester United face into a tricky periodA home defeat to Liverpool would pile added pressure on Old Trafford bossSat Oct 19 2019 - 06:00
Remembering the night a 30-year-old George Best nutmegged Johan CruyffDerek Spence recalls the famous night when he netted a late equaliser against the very bestSat Oct 05 2019 - 06:00
Michael Walker: Intense Old Firm rivalry softened by respectLennon’s words might find an audience, and presence at Ricksen funeral might start rethinkSat Sept 28 2019 - 06:30
