Alex Connor

Freelance Football Journalist

Long Reads

Explore a featured selection of my favourite topics within football

Goalkeeper.com •

Steve Hale: A Goalkeeping Guide To The Play-Offs

The Play-Offs and their outcomes teeter on a perilous knife-edge. The winning team experiences a gushing feeling of accomplishment and euphoria. The losers must face the brutal realisation that a season’s hard work has been decimated. Steve Hale has experienced both sides of this conundrum.

The Englishman has coached throughout the Football League in a tremendous 18-year journey. He has enjoyed stints at Swindon Town, Forest Green Rovers, Walsall, Oldham Athletic, Exeter City, Coventry City, Cr...
Goalkeeper.com •

Sam Walker: The 'academic' GK backing Bradford's charge

“I didn’t want to stand still.” This is the mantra that Sam Walker has adopted in his football career and everyday mentality. Walker is a goalkeeper who constantly seeks improvement. An intense focus upon development has overseen a brilliant career on the pitch and has extended into his endeavours off it.

The Bradford City goalkeeper is ambitious and hungry. He possesses a BA degree in Business Management and Administration and is on course to finish his Global Sport Football Directorship Diplo...
Goalkeeper.com •

Dean Thornton: Ramsdale, Russell Martin, Reflection, & More

Dean Thornton has worked across the football pyramid as a goalkeeper coach, previously at Queens Park Rangers, Milton Keynes Dons, Swindon Town and Swansea City, and currently at Southampton. “17 years later and I’m still coaching,” he says, speaking exclusively to Goalkeeper.com. “I started this journey so young. I made the right decision to go down this route.”

Thornton’s fantastic coaching journey stemmed from a lower profile playing career. As a young...
Goalkeeper.com •

This Year's FA Cup Is Turning Out To Be The Keepers' Trophy

Conor Hazard's heroic performance to send Plymouth through to the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of Premier League leaders Liverpool marked another big afternoon for goalkeepers in this year's FA Cup.

Argyle have had a torrid time of it so far this season in the Championship, sitting bottom of the league, but proved that the magic of the cup is still alive and kicking.

The men between the posts in this years competition have, as usual, been a unique collective from all walks of life (and ac...
Goalkeeper.com •

Darryl Flahavan: From Facing Ronaldo To Beating Slot's Reds

Since he first laid eyes on a football, Darryl Flahavan has been surrounded by various waves of goalkeeping brilliance that have shaped a tremendous playing and coaching career. His older brother Aaron was a professional goalkeeper at Portsmouth and paved the way for Darryl’s introduction to football. “When I was nine, I watched my brother at the Portsmouth Academy and School of Excellence,” he says, speaking exclusively to Goalkeeper.com.

“I would stand on the side of the pitch, catching balls...
Goalkeeper.com •

Andy Quy: Coaching Raya, MLS Franchises, & Promotion Hopes

Andy Quy’s coaching career has shifted him across the Football League in England and offered him the opportunity to flourish in America. But, wherever he has worked, there has been an unwavering common denominator in his mentality. “I love developing players and winning games,” he says, speaking to Goalkeeper.com. “It’s all about the project of the job and the club.”

Quy’s playing days started as a schoolboy on a Youth Training Scheme at Tottenham Hotspur. He then secured a pro contract at Derb...
Goalkeeper.com •

James Hollman: Creator Of ProDeflect, Coaching In The Championship And Premier League

James Hollman’s coaching philosophy is based on collaboration and a thirst for knowledge. “You’ve got to be flexible in terms of relationships and how you teach,” he says, speaking to Goalkeeper.com. “Integration with the team is crucial.”

Hollman’s receptiveness, adaptability, and professionalism have laid the foundations for a distinguished coaching career that has spanned over 20 years and still has significant mileage. It has shifted the 46-year-old across the football pyramid and he’s made...
Goalkeeper.com •

How Neuro-Fitness Technology Could Help Goalkeepers

Train Your Brain. Transform Your Game. The rhetoric splashed across i-BrainTech, a neuro-fitness data company that looks towards a future where brain training is placed upon the same transformative pedestal as physical exercise.

How do they aim to achieve this? i-Brain says it has created a “new era of training” in the form of a video game, controlled by the innate power of the mind and visualisation. This ground-breaking neuro-training game enhances footballers’ performance on the pitch, aids...
Goalkeeper.com •

Save Well For Less: Goalkeeper Bargain Buys

What does history tell us about the clubs who've bought well in the transfer market?

With a longer life span in their careers and perhaps more of a reluctance of clubs to change their shot-stopper, it is the perfect opportunity for positional longevity. Yet, there is an underlying reluctance for the transfer budget to be splashed on a goalkeeper: but why?

Of course, there is an ignorance attached to the position. Not from goalkeepers themselves but the outsiders. Goalkeepers are inherently und
Goalkeeper.com •

How A Transfer Can Make Or Break A Goalkeeper's Career

They may not always make the headlines, but history shows transfers may hold that extra bit of weight for goalkeepers.

Every summer, big money moves revolve around the titanic centre-back, the technically gifted full-back who can invert into midfield, the boundlessly energetic and creative box-to-box demon, the tantalizingly talented playmaker, and the lethal goal-addicted marksman.

Rarely do goalkeepers monopolise the headlines in such an intoxicating and frenzied manner. Nevertheless, like a
Goalkeeper.com •

When Goalkeepers Go Up For Corners...

An abandonment of all tactical nous or an important emergency maneuver?

A glance over at the bench. The reluctant nod of the manager. The eager anticipation of every onlooking fan. The sight of a goalkeeper marauding forward for a corner kick in search of a late equaliser or winner is a glorious storyline.

This desperation, intertwined with the unexpected nature of a goal, is a rare and beautiful utopia in football. This tactic is perhaps the ultimate abandonment of all tactics; last-ditch and
Goalkeeper.com •

Why Are Goalkeepers Often Passed Up For Awards?

Those between the sticks rarely find their names inscribed on the trophies of football's greatest individual awards…

1963 was an anomaly year for the goalkeeper.

In a rare moment of clarity and recognition, Lev Yashin received the Ballon d’Or. Yashin, who was notoriously nicknamed the ‘Black Spider’, pipped the likes of Jimmy Greaves and Eusebio in the rankings, and remains the only goalkeeper to have scooped the award. For a split-second, the goalkeeper had superseded all other positions as t
Breaking The Lines •

Billy Gilmour: Brighton’s Slick Scotsman Is on the Right Track

It was so clear at the beginning. In 2020 – days before the nation dived into lockdown and with Frank Lampard in his first spell as Chelsea manager – Billy Gilmour announced himself at Stamford Bridge.

In an FA Cup match against Liverpool, the 18-year-old played with blinding maturity and elegance. At the time, Gilmour had managed just six outings and 281 minutes for the Blues. Nevertheless, he was undeterred by facing Fabinho. He strutted around, spraying the ball with purpose and bravely crun
Goalkeeper.com •

Fail To Prepare, Prepare To Fail: The Penalty Shootout

The penalty kick is one of the many fine margins underpinning football's perilous and changeable nature.

Former Brighton man Mat Ryan has labelled the prospect of a penalty save as something that “motivates” and “excites” goalkeepers. It is their uninterrupted shot at glory. The taker is at their most vulnerable and the shot-stopper is at their most punishing.

The Athletic’s John Muller adamantly believes that penalties are “too generous a reward”, due to the perceived advantages for the taker
Breaking The Lines •

Joao Pedro: Brighton’s Latest Masterstroke in Recruitment

If there’s one thing that Brighton Hove & Albion have become renowned for since ending a 35-year absence from the top-flight in 2017, it’s their ability to pinpoint hidden gems worldwide and develop them into technically efficient, productive, and eye-catching forces. It is a tactic that has generated wonderful free-flowing football and inexplicable profit.

Others have attempted to replicate Brighton’s diligent mastery of building from scratch. When Todd Boehly assumed Roman Abramovich’s cut-th
Goalkeeper.com •

The Best Goalkeeper Kits Of All Time

Football's 'maverick' position sustains its reputation in its fashion choices…

In the conversation of the game’s most iconic kits, goalkeeper jerseys are criminally overlooked.

In recent years, goalkeeper kits have largely lost their identity. Lent to mundanity and mainstream design, they have become unexciting and unsurprising, especially when based on templated designs.

But there was a time where goalkeeper kits were just as unique as the men and women who wear them. With kit design in prof
Football Paradise •

Irresistible: Thank You, Eden Hazard

Football lacks entertainers. The wonderful ability of an individual to captivate and tantalise stadiums with an uncoachable skill, distinguishing them from everyone else, is fading. Eden Hazard’s retirement is a poignant reminder of a player who achieved this unreachable feat.

While Hazard’s dream move to Real Madrid in 2019 materialised into disaster, his legacy extends beyond the realm of numbers and statistics. Hazard brought something different. The low centre of gravity, close control, inc
Breaking The Lines •

Jude Bellingham’s Ascension into Real Madrid’s Kingdom

The world is at his feet. Jude Bellingham is just 20 years old and has already amassed over 180 senior appearances, establishing himself as one of the globe’s most mesmeric and daunting talents. Bellingham’s journey began at his boyhood club Birmingham City, but it was at Borussia Dortmund where his development skyrocketed at an incomprehensible level. A tremendous three seasons with Die Schwarzgelben earned the Englishman an £88.5m move to Real Madrid earlier this summer.

In his short time on
Breaking The Lines •

Rodri: The Unsung Hero of City’s Unassailable Dominance

Dani Carvajal’s impudent panenka clinched the UEFA Nations League. It was Spain’s first international title in 11 years and yet another landmark for Rodri. The midfielder completed a gruelling 120 minutes in his last encounter of a record-breaking season before he coolly dispatched his spot-kick to afford La Furia Roja the fateful victory.

Alongside this, he is also the unwavering metronome of Pep Guardiola’s blue-blooded juggernaut. The former Atletico Madrid man played a starring role within
Breaking The Lines •

The Glorious Resurgence of Willian at Fulham

Mikel Arteta’s first full season in charge was tumultuous and depressing as the club succumbed to another eighth-place finish. The Brazilian departed Arsenal as a villain – an agent of the Gunners’ cross-city West London rivals. The winger was scapegoated, accused of taking advantage of Arsenal’s generous three-year deal, rewarding the club with nothing but inconsistency, invisibility, and criminally little productivity.

In the summer of 2021, just twelve months into his new adventure, Willian
Football Paradise •

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia: Naples’ Immortalised Son

Napoli’s first Serie A title in over three decades was won in spectacular fashion, with the Partenopei dominating rivals all over the pitch. One player, the Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, has managed to grab headlines for his dazzling attacking contributions. He looks at home on a football pitch, writes Alex Connor, blissfully playing the game at his pace.

Depart at the Napoli Piazza Cavour station, and make your way down the Via Foria, which merges onto the Corso Amedeo di Savoia to the Via T
Football Bloody Hell •

Gianfranco Zola: The technician who married artistry and experimental genius

Zola was the footballer who married artistry and experimental genius. He possessed a stupidly brilliant technique and ability, whilst oozing a dazzling flair.

Thanks to his inherent gift and his marvellous odyssey across Italy, English football became blessed with a new, exciting, and irresistibly talented profile of an attacker.

Nicknamed the ‘magic box’, Zola’s catalogue of goals is ridiculous and the happiness he’s bought is everlasting. The story of a player who endeared himself to the hea
Football Bloody Hell •

Diego Forlán: The unplayable Uruguayan and his mastery of the Jabulani

The infamous sky blue jersey of La Celeste is decorated by the captain’s armband. Number 10 draped across his shirt and long dirty blonde hair pushed by a band. Jet black Adidas F50’s, outlined with a luminous yellow finish. This was Diego Forlán – the most threatening and dominant force of the 2010 World Cup. Forlán finished as the joint top scorer with five goals, including the goal of the tournament, and won the Golden Ball as the best player. The secret of Forlán’s devastating success in Sou
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