Sam Johnson Football

Sam Johnson is a freelance football journalist who is currently writing for Squawka.com. He also runs Tacticalnewspaper.com - a social Football Manager tactics website that connects people with others who share the same interests.

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Talking Tactics: How Chile silenced Spain at the World Cup

Since its grand opening some 64 years ago (although not officially completed until the mid-1960s), the Estádio do Maracanã has been one of football’s most imposing amphitheatres, in the country, many say, is the spiritual home of the beautiful game....

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Talking Tactics: How Wayne Rooney struggled to cope with Italy’s right-hand-side

With the 2014 World Cup averaging 3.7 goals per game prior to kick-off at Arena Amazônia, in the hot, muggy and oppressive heat of Manaus, it was up to England and Italy, two heavyweights of the international game, to continue the entertaining trend in...

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Roy’s Watching: Three things England would have learnt from Italy’s World Cup warm ups

Cast against the backdrop of the Rocinha favela cascading down the hillside above São Conrado, Roy Hodgson and his trusty team of backroom staff are no doubt sifting through tactical guides, instructions and late night musings scribbled on pieces of loose...

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Golden Oldies: Europe’s top five performing over 35 year olds

Some would argue, understandably, that possessing gifted footballers with unmatched natural ability is a vital ingredient in achieving success, allowing coaches to experiment with various formations and tactical instructions in the knowledge that the squad...

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Has Allardyce surrendered control? Delving into the mystery of Zarate to West Ham United

On a cold, damp and frosty Wednesday morning, with the mist only serving as a reminder that I happen to dwell in gloomy Wales, I take a mouthful of tea out of the time-worn and shamefully stained mug clasped in my hand. Standing at the rear window in...

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Best of the bargain bucket: The three most inventive players from Europe’s relegated clubs

Whether a team is battling for domestic honours and European acclaim, or fighting for survival at the foot of the table, they all need a selection of key players within key roles at important locations on the pitch. Individuals who, when all else fails,...

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The Premier League’s unfortunates: 5 things that went wrong for Cardiff, Fulham & Norwich

The 2013-14 Premier League season is over. Nine months, 38 matches and a ruddy entertaining series of events. But what do we have to show for it? Well, Liverpool certainly surprised the masses with their gutsy onslaught, sandwiching themselves between the...

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Too open, too soon: How Chelsea’s attacking switch proved costly vs Atletico

How would you prepare for a Champions League semi-final? Think about that for a second. Prior to the night in question, perhaps you would scrutinise video after video, night after night, in an attempt to absorb every bit of tactical information from your...

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The Decline: Three players whose incredible form has vanished in the second half of the season

Stretching from August to May, the Premier League season is widely regarded as a long old slog with little time for rest. Nine months of exhaustion as each team strives to achieve their respective end of season targets, with the cost of failure ultimately...

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Talking Tactics: Atletico Madrid vs. Chelsea – How Mourinho outsmarted Simeone at the Vicente Calderon

On Tuesday night, situated on the banks of the Manzanares, 52,560 raucous fans generated an electrifying and pulsating atmosphere within the imposing walls of the Vicente Calderón Stadium, as Atlético Madrid and Chelsea sought to establish an early...

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Talking Tactics: Why Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal are so vulnerable against the likes of Chelsea & Liverpool

The Premier League, much revered around the world, has witnessed a great deal of change throughout the last ten years, shaping and sculpting its history and propelling England’s elite domestic competition to new heights of global appreciation. A decade...

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A Perfect Fit? Why This Ex-Spurs Showboater Will Take Serie A By Storm

Relegation to the Championship is a thoroughly unpleasant experience. Tears are shed by devoted fans resigned to the fact that weekly excursions to glamorous Premier League stadiums, brimming with an enchanting, rich and varied history, are a thing of the...

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Outscoring Messi: Is Liverpool’s £22m Superstar Europe’s Finest Striker?

The Champions League makes its much welcome return this week following its annual winter break, with every team now focused on lifting the esteemed trophy on Saturday 24 May. Fame, fortune and prestige await the teams lucky enough to advance through the...

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Talking Tactics: How Moyes & Man Utd Silenced Flamboyant Arsenal

Drab, boring, forgettable, mediocre and downright average. Those are just a few of the adjectives used by the national media this week to describe Manchester United’s clash with Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday night. A game very much absent...

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Pardew’s Perfect Plan? This Is How Newcastle Can Take Sherwood’s Spurs Apart

The first half of the Premier League season has passed. The midpoint quickly followed. We’ve now reached the business end of the season, where a run of good form can generate a snowball effect, propelling a team to greatness and end of season...

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Talking Tactics: How Rodgers Masterminded Liverpool’s Demolition Of Arsenal

When the doors to the Premier League were left ajar to the rest of Europe on 15 December 1995, following the approval of the Bosman ruling, many people on these shores were hoodwinked into believing that stylish, elegant and technical football belonged to...

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Talking Tactics: 3 Ways Mourinho Exploited Man City’s Creative Machine

At certain stages of the season, throughout every league in the world, there are particular fixtures that play a major part in defining and shaping the ambitions of title contenders, as well as those struggling to remain in the division, stranded at the...