No doubt by now you're so bored of hearing the stat about all other 91 league clubs changing their manager since Arsene Wenger last won a trophy, you wish the Frenchman would up sticks and take the job with PSG that, you suspect, could be his if he wanted it....

"You think your world is safe? It's an illusion. A comforting lie told to protect you."

Newcastle think they're safe - and they are, for this season at least. Sunderland should be too, although it's not yet guaranteed.

Premier League survival, however, is not something that either club should be...

After the Spanish ineptitude comes the Spanish inquisition. The end of an era?

It's a claim that has been repeated since before the final whistle had even blown on Tuesday night, Barcelona looking a shadow of their former selves. Indeed, a closer reflection of what had defined this great Barca...

They mocked Copernicus when he said planets orbited the sun. They laughed at Columbus when he said earth was round. They ridicule Kim Jong-Un, well, pretty much anytime he says or does anything.

Okay, so perhaps the last one is warranted - unless that sometime after writing this blog...

Sunderland fans spent the better half of a decade dreaming of Martin O'Neill being in charge; after just over a year, it's turned into a nightmare.

The Northern Irishman's appointment was supposed to be a storybook wedding; it's ended more like a Hollywood one. There's no happy ending here.

Peter...

Sunderland's Steven Fletcher has taken the 'international break' a little too seriously.

Okay, so the striker may not actually have broken anything, but he has sustained an injury that has ended his season early.

Given his importance, it's not particularly good news for the Black Cats, even without taking...

Gareth Bale may be the name on everyone's lips, or newspaper, app, radio or however else you keep up to date with football. While his recent run of form has been breathtaking, it's worth mentioning three players - all of whom arrived in the summer - who have been just...

He's our 'keeper, our Belgian 'keeper, Simon Mignolet...

Sang to the tune of the, er, classic song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, if there was an official chart for football songs then Sunderland fans' ode to their number one would certainly have been Christmas No. 1.

As it is, no such...

David Beckham has announced that the upcoming MLS final on December 1 will be his last game for LA Galaxy, as he seeks one last challenge. With a career that has seen him enjoy spells at Manchester United, Real Madrid, Milan and - er - Preston North End, where will...

After two months, one rather important Test match and a failed defence of the World T20 trophy, Kevin Pietersen is back in the England squad.

That it took so long, that it dominated - and will continue to dominate - so many headlines and column inches is a testament...

Scrap the handshake

Not something learned, per se, but extra weight was added to the argument for scrapping the pre-match handshake after Anton Ferdinand refused to shake the hands of John Terry and Ashley Cole. As everyone knew he would (and as he was well within his right to do)....

Bradley Wiggins winning the Tour de France. Andy Murray's maiden Grand Slam. Pretty much every 'high profile' gold at the Olympics and Paralympics, including those of the aforementioned 'Wiggo' and 'Muzza'.

What do all of these have in common?

Well, besides being truly remarkable achievements by British sportsmen and women,...

Friday 24 August 2012. Remember the date, it could well be a defining one in the future of Sunderland AFC.

It may not be defining in a long-term sense, not in the way of the Stadium of Light being built or the two takeovers, firstly by the Niall Quinn-led...

Struggling to adapt?

The main event of Sky Sports' Super Sunday was a contest between two teams trying to adapt to new systems, with somewhat mixed results. Liverpool are busy attempting to implement the passing and possession game that Brendan Rodgers believes in, while Roberto Mancini continues to experiment with...

Carlos Tevez is like a new signing

We saw him getting back to his best towards the end of last season, something that was surely a great boost as Man City completed a successful title charge. Now, with a full pre-season under his belt, and personal problems seemingly behind him,...

20 years after 'The Greatest Team Ever Assembled' was, erm, assembled, a new group arrived in London hoping to not only replicate, but also better the achievements of 1992s Dream Team.

The USA men's basketball side that won gold in Barcelona back at the beginning of the 90s is...

Memories. Moments. Medals.

London 2012 may have ended, but what it's created will endure for generations.

No one - be it Seb Coe, Mystic Meg or whatever 'psychic' animal is flavour of the month at the moment - could have predicted just how much of a success these games could...

Carlos Cuellar has become the first signing in what could be a busy summer for Martin O'Neill and his Sunderland side.

Cuellar, 30, joins on a free transfer after his contract with Aston Villa expired, signing a two-year deal with the Black Cats.

Rumour had been rife that the...

'All they do is pass,' say many. 'I'd rather watch paint dry,' a few quip. 'Boring,' has become the general consensus. This is what has become the common perception of a once revered Spanish side.

At Euro 2008, an entire continent was enamoured by the way Xavi, Iniesta et al...

An England side going out of a major tournament at the quarter final stage. On penalties. But don't stop me just yet, you haven't quite heard this one before.

Before Euro 2012 began, talk was of how low expectations were. So low, in fact, that England might actually be able...