Welcome to Added-Time!

June 18, 2020Posted inAbout Us
Hello Readers, However you arrived here, thank you for visiting Added-Time. This is a project I have been thinking about for a long time, and I am extremely excited to finally get it off the ground.  There are a lot of places on the internet where you can consume information about the beautiful game, so why should you spend some of your valuable time here? For fans who are insatiably curious about football, soccer, or whatever you call it (and yes, if the fact that I use the two interchangeably really bothers you, I urge you to close this window…

“It’s magic, you know…” FA Cup Third Round Reflections

January 15, 2021Posted inFA Cup
Call me naïve or an “old soul,” but I’m a big fan of the FA Cup. I’ve always been attracted to the obvious historical significance of the oldest national football competition in the world, but in an age where the financial and competitive supremacy of the “superclubs” rapidly intensifies and rumors of various permutations for a “European Super League” abound, it is really the quaint meritocracy in how the competition engages the English pyramid below its top two tiers that makes the Cup potentially so refreshing.  736 clubs from the top 10 tiers in England have now featured in the…

Slaven Bilic treated badly, but West Brom’s decision evidence that EPL survival is more vital than ever

December 22, 2020Posted inPremier League, West Brom
AND WE’RE BACK!  Yes, it’s been a while since I last posted here in August, and as the cliché goes, four months is a long time in football. Barcelona almost lost the GOAT but is now out a president instead (there was only going to be one winner in that battle). Sadly, the game also lost the primary reason why so many fans -- including plenty in Argentina itself -- refuse to bestow that “greatest-of-all-time” title to Messi like I just did. With the death of Maradona, the soccer world said goodbye to its preeminent tragic hero (with George Best…

Atalanta vs. PSG: A reflection on a brutal end to a twisted Cinderella story (for The Observer)

August 17, 2020Posted inAtalanta, Champions League, Serie A
Well, drama was certainly not in short supply during the Champions League quarterfinals last week in Lisbon. Barcelona's historic capitulation vs. Bayern Munich drew the most headlines, but for eighty-nine minutes Wednesday night, it looked like the first tie between PSG and Atalanta would be the story of the round. Atalanta's Cinderella run in the Champions League took a dark turn in February when a magical night at the San Siro vs Valencia likely helped the novel coronavirus consume the city of Bergamo. Before and after football resumed in Italy, however, the team helped the epicenter of the country's outbreak…

A Wholesome EFL Playoff Roundup (so you can forget Man City gets away with everything)

July 14, 2020Posted inEFL
League 1:Monday morning was a bad moment to be rooting for the “little guys” of the footballing world, but the afternoon got much better if you were in need of a wholesome underdog story. While state-bankrolled clubs may have essentially been given the green light to commit accounting fraud with impunity when CAS lifted Manchester City’s two-year Champions League ban and cut two-thirds of their fine from UEFA (more reaction on this to follow), Adebayo’s Akinfenwa’s endearing solicitation of a congratulatory message from Jurgen Klopp gave football fans an opportunity to let go of their cynicism as Wycombe Wanderers were…

The Best (and Worst) Day of the Year, Followed by a Party Thirty Years in the Making

June 30, 2020Posted inCrystal Palace, Liverpool, Premier League
When the phrase “circle the calendar” is used by football fans, it refers to a very select group of matchdays on the fixture list. For many supporters, regardless of whether one’s club is a continental giant or local minnow, these days define seasons. Whether critical points or just bragging rights are up for grabs, derbies occupy a sacred spot in the minds and hearts of football fans. My odd-dual fandom of Liverpool or Crystal Palace, however, means that there is a fixture that occupies a place on my soccer calendar above the Merseyside derby, the North-West Derby or “English Clásico”…