Down in the Box | Feature articles and opinion on football's biggest stories

Grey areas, black days and not waving the white flag

On Friday, the Football Association charged Chelsea’s John Terry with using abusive language towards the QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Juliet is a slag. And so is your mum. Your girlfriend…

Spiky but prevalent, Keane’s point should not be rejected in a bow to acrimony

In a partly familiar fashion to a decade ago, Roy Keane has found himself a lone voice railing against an acceptance of failure cultivated by the association and embraced by…

Ireland’s tactical rethink inhibited by the confines of their captain’s versatility

Having seen his team thoroughly out manoeuvred by Hungary in Budapest, Giovanni Trapattoni has suggested a belated and improbable tactical insubordination. On Monday evening, the predictable looked to precede the…

Nobility in the face of a great evil could be Balotelli’s biggest weakness

Italy striker Mario Balotelli claims he will “kill” anyone who directs racist abuse towards him in Poland or Ukraine during the European Championship campaign, or beyond. The role of protagonist…

Features

0October 3, 2012
DITB Review: Betegy.com

Down In The Box has given the newly relaunched Betegy.com a test drive, and we like what we see. Picture the scene. It’s late Saturday morning, or even early afternoon,…
0July 30, 2012
#DITBcasacomp

Down In The Box has teamed up with Casa Rebelde to offer you the chance to win a COPA football t-shirt. Located in Crow Street in the Temple Bar area…
0July 25, 2012
Down In The Box Gets Published

Download, read and keep the latest Down In The Box column, as seen in Colchester United’s ‘We Are United’ matchday programme. Downloads (right click and ‘save’) Column One – Saturday,…
0July 17, 2012
UEFA U19 Championship

On Tuesday July 3rd, the UEFA European Under 19 Football Championships will kick off in Estonia and Down In The Box will bring you every kick with the return of…
0June 1, 2012
DITB Elsewhere

Down In The Box has made various appearances guest blogging on other sites. Any Down In The Box work that appears elsewhere on the web will be linked to here. Back Page…
1May 6, 2012
Republic of Ireland Euro 2012 Squad Announcement – LIVE

On Monday May 7th, Down In The Box brought you extensive live blog coverage of Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland Euro 2012 squad announcement. Below, you can relive the build…

Latest Articles

0October 24, 2012
Willingness to gamble with sponsorship morality on the wain

The world’s biggest sides and their ties with leading gaming companies are as prevalent and lucrative as ever. A few years ago if you would have asked football fans whether…
0July 31, 2012
Grey areas, black days and not waving the white flag

On Friday, the Football Association charged Chelsea’s John Terry with using abusive language towards the QPR defender Anton Ferdinand. Juliet is a slag. And so is your mum. Your girlfriend…
0July 9, 2012
“We used to watch England sneak out of the hotel window. That blew up in their faces”

Penalties, partying and a Partridge in Ayia Napa; the story of Brian Kerr and the Republic of Ireland’s 1998 European Championship triumph, by the players that lived it. Two qualifications…
2June 17, 2012
Spiky but prevalent, Keane’s point should not be rejected in a bow to acrimony

In a partly familiar fashion to a decade ago, Roy Keane has found himself a lone voice railing against an acceptance of failure cultivated by the association and embraced by…
5June 5, 2012
Ireland’s tactical rethink inhibited by the confines of their captain’s versatility

Having seen his team thoroughly out manoeuvred by Hungary in Budapest, Giovanni Trapattoni has suggested a belated and improbable tactical insubordination. On Monday evening, the predictable looked to precede the…
0June 2, 2012
Nobility in the face of a great evil could be Balotelli’s biggest weakness

Italy striker Mario Balotelli claims he will “kill” anyone who directs racist abuse towards him in Poland or Ukraine during the European Championship campaign, or beyond. The role of protagonist…