According to the Collins English dictionary, a 'sleeping giant' is "an organization that has unrealized potential". When the phrase is used in football the average fan will cite several examples, and often the same clubs will come up. However, I started to wonder how fair the label is, are some sleeping giants overlooked whilst others fail to live up to the hype?
It is finally feet up time for Thierry Henry. This week he officially announced his retirement from playing and can now sit in his arm chair at home and reflect on a job well done. A glittering career has drawn to a close. Like acting greats such as Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, Henry now has a body of work to truly be proud of, and any slight blemishes like an unsuccessful spell at Juventus (or ‘Meet The Fockers’) can be lost to history.
Which position would you say is now the most important in football? That’s a difficult question to answer for a team - or squad - sport where the form or performance of one player should have little effect on the fortunes of the team as a whole.
A week ago I wrote about Steven Gerrard and his much talked about contract negotiations with Liverpool. The discussion was based around whether Gerrard should want to stay at Liverpool and whether Liverpool should want to keep him. The answer to that second point has become all too obvious in the last 72 hours as Liverpool took another massive leap backwards.
Rangers manager Ally McCoist, normally the most gregarious of characters, is suddenly looking his age. Gone is the twinkle in his eye, and the cheeky-chappie persona that even his fiercest critics have grudgingly admired in the past. Instead, a haunted, weary expression seems to have attached itself to the Ibrox boss’s features of late.