In this new series, the Sandals For Goalposts team will post what they’ve liked reading in the past month. Of course, the material will be as afrocentric and asiancentric as possible, but football is football and sometimes there are articles that are essential reading across the board.

 Road back to the top of Ligue 1 by Andrew Gibney on BeInSport

French Football Weekly’s Andrew Gibney on Nantes. Newly promoted Nantes, who have been one of the surprises of Ligue 1 so far this season, have the impressive Senegalese duo of Issa Cissokho and Papy Djilobodji, who have both recently won call-ups to the national side, as well as Togo’s Serge Gakpe.

Herve Renard: Sochaux get into bed with suave Renard by Sam Crocker on French Football Weekly AND Foxy Herve Renard can transform Sochaux into Lions by Salim Masoud Said on Get French Football News

Sandals For Goalposts team likes to spread its wings from time to time, loaning its quality to other wonderful sites. Sam Crocker and Salim Masoud Said have kept a keen eye on Herve Renard and few were better positioned to drop the knowledge on his idiosyncrasies after the Frenchman made the switch to Sochaux.

Remembering Bruno Metsu’s Senegal by Michael Cox  on ESPN

The SFG team would wager that there hasn’t been a better article written on the Senegal 2002 team. At over 2000 words it’s a lengthy read but it contains almost everything you need to know on a Senegal team that came as close as any African team to become the first to progress past the quarter-finals of the World Cup. RIP Bruno Metsu.

Why is Nigeria the world’s toughest league in which to get an away win? by Paul Doyle on The Guardian

From fear of violence to the corruption of match officials, this article covers the the reasons why away teams in The Nigeria Premier League struggle to capture any points from home sides. An excellent article indeed.

The steady rise of Kenyan football by Terry Cornick on These Football Times

An in-depth article on the rise of Kenyan football. Terry probes the historical factors that have played a huge part in the growth of Kenyan football, with the piece further examines whether or not the nation will be a formidable powerhouse both domestically and on the international stage.

Only football divides Tanzania by Omar Mohammed on Global Voices Online

Tanzanian journalist and Simba fan Omar Mohammed takes through the eventful Tanzanian Classiko between Simba and Young Africans. One of the unheralded derbies in world football but few are more intense.

Maturing Guinea looking for stability by FIFA.com (African Football Media)

A progress report of sorts on how the Syli nationale have developed in the last six years. This evaluation is done through the eyes of Michel Dussuyer, who is in his second stint with the West African nation.

Tactical Analysis: The Black Stars of Ghana, Egypt’s final hurdle by Hosam El-Aker on KingFut.com

Hosam breaks down Kwesi Appiah’s high velocity approach and forewarns of many dangers that Egypt could face, including: Why zonal marking may be efficient, the absence of Ahmed Hegazy, Ghana’s unrelenting play for 90 minutes.