The new Premier League season is so close we can almost touch it. Failing that, we can always swipe, pinch and flick it.
We've compiled a list of this season's must-have football apps, a team sheet that'll help you stay on top of news, find instant results and otherwise itch your beautiful game scratch.
(Image: Rex)
THE Football App
Best for: Stats
The most impressive football app offering that doesn't come from a major media group, THE Football App provides news, results and all the usual paraphernalia on over 100 international league and cup competitions. The amount of information curated by this app is staggering, pulling together news sources, live text commentary, radio streams and heaps of stats from media sources around the world. It's a vast treasure trove of football news, perfect for keeping up with home or international leagues. The live statistics and data bank are particularly impressive.
Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone
Price: Free
Sky Sports Live Football Score Centre
Best for: News
One of the longest app titles ever, the Sky Sports Live Football Score Centre is the solid centre half in your football app line up. Push notifications for your favourite team (unfortunately you only get to pick one), live game text commentary, Champions League video highlights and live photos (!), you won't be let down by the Sky Sports Live... this app. The 'Pub Finder' is also a vital tool for ditching your other half on the weekend shopping trip.
Available for: iOS, Android, Blackberry
Price: Free
BT Sport App
Best for: Video
There's a pretty big if with this one. IF you have a BT broadband account, the BT Sport App is going to drain your smartphone battery faster than the hopes of [insert name of newly promoted side] fans, allowing you to stream any and all games that will be appearing on the BT Sport channels. The app also provides news, video clips and a heap of social media features. IF you don't have BT broadband, this will be a fairly defunct addition to your line up. It's also worth noting that the BT Sport App will apparently provide lots of coverage of the egg-shaped ball sport known popularly as 'rugby'.
Available for: iOS, Android
Price: Free (but requires BT broadband subscription)
Best for: Breaking coverage
So long as you're following the right accounts, Twitter will always be the quickest way of finding out how your team's doing, short of being in stadium to watch the goals thunder in. Get yourself following a healthy list of official team accounts, fan accounts and media groups, and you'll be quicker than Jeff & co. in the Sky Sport's news centre.
Available for: iOS, Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone
Price: Free
TuneIn Radio
Best for: Radio
Call us old fashioned, but there's something special about crouching over a radio broadcast to listen to your team hold out for the win in the dying minutes of injury time. The best of the radio apps is easily TuneIn Radio, which allows you to search from thousands of web-based radio stations (including club radio broadcasts, FiveLive, TalkSport and all the other main UK stations). A must for anyone travelling overseas hoping to hear UK coverage of the games (though don't blame us for the data roaming charges). Splash out on the Pro version and you can record what you're listening to, effectively creating your own podcasts.
Available for: iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, Palm, Samsung Bada (Pro version available for iOS, Android, Blackberry)
Price: Free (Pro: iOS £2.99; Android £3.31; Blackberry £3.50)
