As one of the most imperious defenders of his generation, Tony Adams is still revered to this day. Though primarily an Arsenal legend, the Romford-born centre-half was also a fantastic player for England. Indeed, he spent a 19-year playing career with the Gunners, winning a haul of trophies including four top-flight titles, three FA Cups titles, and a pair of League Cup titles. On top of that, he played a role in the UEFA Cup Winners Cup win.

He also had the honour of captaining Arsenal to league titles in three different decades, cementing his legend as one of the best of all-time.

What made Tony Adams so special?

From a defensive point of view, Adams was an organiser and a leader. Despite living through a torturous personal life at times, Adams was always on-hand to command the team, to cajole teammates into position, and to know when to push up and drop back. He was a tremendous leader, with a chess-like view of the Arsenal defence.

Coached under George Graham and taken to a new level under Arsene Wenger, it was a defensive zeal mixed with a humble, honest personality that made Adams the most relatable of elite footballers.

What does Tony Adams do now?

Today, Adams has been involved in the coaching side of the game. He has coached at clubs like Portsmouth and Granada, and has also been involved in assisting the Granada ownership in the past. He has a career history of managing at clubs like Gabala in Azerbaijan, too, having shown an open-mindedness to try new things and step outside of his comfort zone.

At 54, Adams is unlikely to match his playing career as a coach but he has gained a reputation as an insightful, thoughtful pundit whether talking about football or about other aspects of life.

As one of the most prolific midfield goalscorers in modern history, Frank Lampard is a player who commands respect. The former West Ham United academy graduate spent time at Swansea City on loan, but played the bulk of his career games with Chelsea Football Club. Becoming a legend at the club, he became their all-time top goalscorer before spending time playing for the City Football Group, both in Manchester and then in New York.
Without doubt, Lampard has become a specialist in goalscoring midfield play and is seen as a reference point for any player looking to achieve similar numbers today.
What made Frank Lampard so special?
His ability to move around the box, finish with both feet and his head, and also score from distance made him a constant threat. In his career, he scored well over 200 goals – an incredible return for a midfielder – and developed from a more box-to-box midfielder to an attacking midfielder of world-class repute.
Even towards the end of his career, Lampard was a regular goalscorer in MLS, using his intelligent movement off the ball to great effect. He was a tremendous athelete, too, always looking to retain physical strength even as his career progressed to near-retirement.
What does Frank Lampard do now?
Today, Lampard is currently a football pundit. He used to manage, having managed Derby County and then Chelsea. However, he was sacked from Chelsea for poor results after a summer splurge, but his work with various youth development players at Chelsea helped to ensure that Lampard had at least some legacy in the clubs 2021 UEFA Champions League victory.
Though he might no longer coach, he is now a pundit and takes part in various football punditry shows across the years, and has become a respected voice within the game for his insights.

When reading into English football, you’ll be introduced to a whole host of clubs who are known outside of the English and British shores. Clubs from the northern, middle and southern parts of England are recognised as some of the biggest in the world. To the northern part of England, we have teams from Liverpool and Manchester. Towards the middle of the country, we have teams from the Midlands and Yorkshire with massive support and fanbases. London, too, houses many big clubs. But who is the most successful overall?

As of 2020, the most successful club in England is Liverpool Football Club. The Reds are the most successful club in England with a whopping 48 major honours to their name. Having recently added major tournaments like the FIFA Club World Club, UEFA Champions League, and English Premier League, the Reds have usurped their eternal rivals Manchester United as the most successful club on English soil.

Since being founded back in 1888, the Football League has seen many clubs come into existence and do well. None, though, quite match up to Liverpool. Despite not being the record holders for league titles (United hold that record, with 20), or FA Cups (Arsenal), the Reds do have a European record on these shores with six European Cups; nearly as many as the rest of England put together!

With fourteen international titles to United in second place with eight, the Reds easily have a handle over their illustrious rivals on European shores. And with just a single domestic title now separating the two teams, it’s clear that this rival could be set for some to-and-fro over the next years.

In fact, Liverpool come out on top in every metric apart from Premier League and FA Cup wins when it comes to United: United, though, do have an Intercontinental Cup and a Cup Winners’ Cup – two defunct trophies that the Anfield side now cannot win.

When a player is fouled in football, they will be given a free-kick. This is the opportunity to take a single uncontested kick, pass, or shot of the ball without an opposition player allowed to be within 10 yards of you. However, we get different forms of free kick in the sport of football – the two most common forms are known as indirect and direct free kicks.

An indirect free kick will be signalled by the referee by raising the arm above their head. The signal is maintained until the kick is actually taken and the ball either touches another player or goes out of play. However, you cannot score a goal directly from an indirect free kick. Perhaps unfairly, the free kick must be retaken if the ball enters the net – even if the referee has failed to make the symbol for an indirect free kick.

Indirect free kicks are different from direct free kicks both on how they are awarded and how they are used. Indirect free kicks tend to be given for a variety of different reasons, but the most common reason for an indirect free kick would be a player being called offside. Normally, indirect free kicks are given for technical fouls as opposed to a standard foul.

So, it could be something be given for all manner of things, including ‘dangerous play’ or ‘impeding progress without making contact’. Suffice to say, the rules are quite vague. Indirect free kicks can be awarded for things as varied as dissent, using foul language, or for covering any kind of foul the referee deems outside the spirit of the game without necessarily being in the rules.

Deliberate pass-backs and pickups from goalkeepers are another common one, though less regularly seen in the modern game due to how long the pass-back rule has been removed. Indirect free kicks are often given; we just don’t realise due to where they are provided and how unlikely a shot on goal would be anyway.