Premier League
How Stoppage Time Is Actually Calculated, and Why There Is So Much More of It
Added time is not a guess. What the fourth official is counting, why the numbers grew, and why the board is a minimum rather than a maximum.
Adam Clarke
Football writer
Adam is a pen name for SportsBlogging's football desk. The byline covers tactical analysis and competition guides, with a particular interest in how mid-table sides solve problems that bigger squads can spend their way out of. Every piece under this byline is researched against primary sources and match data, and corrections are made in the open.
Covers: Premier League · Champions League · Tactics
Articles by Adam Clarke
Champions League
How the Champions League Draw Works Now a Computer Does Most of It
Four pots, eight opponents and a set of constraints too tangled to draw by hand. Why the ceremony changed, and what the software is actually solving.
Champions League
The Champions League League Phase, Explained Without the Jargon
Thirty-six clubs, eight games each, one enormous table. How Europe's new format decides who goes through, who plays off, and who goes home.
Premier League
How a VAR Decision Actually Gets Made, Step by Step
The clear and obvious error threshold, who says what to whom, and why some reviews take four minutes while others never happen at all.
Premier League
How the Transfer Window Actually Works, From Registration to Deadline Day
Deadline times, deal sheets, registration rules and loan limits. The mechanics behind the drama, and why so many deals collapse at the last minute.
Premier League
How the Fixture List Is Made, and Why Your Club Never Gets an Easy Start
A computer, a pairing system and several hundred constraints. How a season's fixtures are actually generated, and what the algorithm is not allowed to consider.
Champions League
Why the Away Goals Rule Was Abolished, and What Actually Replaced It
For 56 years an away goal could decide a European tie. The reasoning behind scrapping it, and how two-legged ties are settled now.
Premier League
How Football's Financial Rules Work, and Why Clubs Lose Points Over Them
Rolling three-year losses, allowable deductions and squad-cost ratios. What the financial regulations measure, and why a club can spend heavily and stay compliant.