Football analysis by Mark Payne
Mark Payne is a journalist currently living in Sydney, Australia. He is a weekly correspondent for ESPN's online service and a contributor to a host of business, travel and lifestyle publications.
It has only taken four days but the last remnants of the World Cup drug are leaking out my system. Time then, to turn the focus back to United, the coming season and an appraisal of how things may unfold. Currently our newly-kitted out lads are touring around the US and it is always interesting [click to read more]
Fergie must be absolutely delighted. The first rays of sunshine have only just fallen on July and all of his playing squad are now on holiday. No longer subject to the pressures of a major tournament’s taxing final stages, on the surface this is wonderful news for Manchester United, but is it a double-edged sword? [click to read more]
This is juicy. Perhaps too juicy, but my source swears by it. Make your own judgement call. It would explain a lot. Anyone out there believe this? “Courts held a further 2 week gagging order on steven gerrards private life, turns out he got his wifes sister pregnant (not a 16 year old ) Will hit the newspaper [click to read more]
The World Cup is the perfect time for the football world to congregate and share its talents for all to see. Every four years the rules get a tweak and the game is introduced to new types of technology, for example the Jubilani ball, that help improve the speed and fluidity of the sport. In the [click to read more]
his is Mark Payne, he is 702 Breakfast World Cup Rover. Mark has been out every morning across Sydney soaking up the world cup with fans of every nation. He will be out every morning speaking to Adam on 702 Breakfast. On Monday Morning Mark was with the German fans down at the Rocks [click to read more]
As many of you will know, I am working as a roving fan reporter for the ABC in Sydney this World Cup. This morning I had the pleasure of seeing Germany put in the first decent performance of the tournament at the Lowenbrau just across the water from the famous Opera House. Below are some [click to read more]
Panorama used to be the pinnacle of investigative news reporting. We did not see those giddy heights scaled in this week’s program on the Glazers. Although I very much liked the allusion that our American owners look somewhat like garden gnomes, it was definitely cheap television. Richard Dimbleby must be spinning in his grave. What the [click to read more]
With Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo tipped to make huge splashes at this year’s summer jamboree, two Manchester United alumni are set to take centre stage at the World Cup for possibly the first time. I thought this would be a nice opportunity to look back through the archive and see which United players had [click to read more]
Clouds were gathering at the start of this season with the departures of Ronaldo and Carlos “cough” mercenary “cough” Tevez. The Guardian predicted United would finish sixth and this very correspondent said that four in a row would be too much to ask. Michael Owen’s signing had gone down like a turd sandwich and many [click to read more]
“When I were a lad”, as begins the famous Monty Python skit with four Yorkshiremen. Various tales of hardship are shared out between the grumpy old gits about how tough it was growin up tup north. Who’d a thought United’d struggle without young Wayne? Well, everyone actually. Unfortunately, some of also thought that Berbatov would step [click to read more]