Glee with Fame

Thanks to everyone at umbro for a couple of mentions on their great blog. Great brand and a great website design.

And I really enjoyed the tune.

Shaw Quality

I enjoyed Sam Wallace's memories of 2009 (The Independent). I agree with him that 'Time of our Lives' on Sky Sports is one of the best football programmes on TV. If you have not seen it, you are missing one of the simple pleasures of the game - the pleasure of reminiscing about the good old days! The programme is hosted by Jeff Sterling. Sterling is brilliant at interviewing old pros. He listens like a fan but interviews like a journalist. My favourite episode was the Villa programme with Allan Evans, Tony Morley and Gary Shaw, discussing their success in the early 80's. Gary Shaw was an absolute star on the programme.

Profit and Loss for Week 17

Accumulated Total Outlay Accumulated WinningsProfit/(Loss)
£49.60 £15.02 -£34.68

Help!

Allen Key opens the Door

When I was about 15, I thought it would be a great idea to be a sports photographer. So I wrote a letter to the press officer at QPR and asked for a press pass. And to my amazement, he sent me one.

I turned up at Loftus Road, showed my pass, and within minutes I was on the grass to the side of the goal with the professional photographers.

The only difference was that I had an Olympus Trip costing £14 while they had kit worth thousands. My career as a photographer finished with the photo to the left - Clive Allen scoring a poachers goal.

Merry Christmas to everyone.

Week 17 Flutter Predictions

Hope you are still enjoying the snow. My choices for my Super 5 accumulator :-

• Manchester City
• Spurs
• Liverpool
• Southampton
• Middlesborough

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

• Hull 0 v 2 Manchester United
• Birmingham o v 2 Chelsea
• Liverpool 3 v 0 Wolves

Ok, maybe I should keep away from Manchester City.

African Stars in 2010

The Africa Cup of Nations will be taking place in Angola in just over two weeks. I have identified two lesser known players who may shine:-

1. Dominic Adiyiah (Fredrikstad) - voted Ghana's most exciting player in 2008. Soon off to AC Milan.
2. Nicolas N'Koulou (Monaco) - Cameroorian young defender who has been very good in his first season in France.

Are there any other brilliant African young players we should be looking forward to watching?

Diamond Light Brighter in Marseille

After my post yesterday, about wingers with no pace, I was emailed a link to a Chris Waddle video. I knew Waddle was a pretty good player, but the video seems to show that he was brilliant in France. Someone should give him a coaching job looking after wingers.

Top Five - Wingers with no Pace

The modern game expects every winger to have the speed of Usain Bolt. Below are listed my top 5 British wingers who prove that the brain moves faster than twitch muscle fibers -

1. Eddie Gray (Leeds United) - a fantastic player. His two goals against Burnley in 1970 are awesome and his ability to sell a dummy made Mothercare envious.


2. John Robertson (Nottingham Forest) - from what I remember, he only seemed to have two tricks but no one could guess which one he was going to use. Old school top class footballer.


3. Chris Waddle (Spurs) - looked like a nashville drummer. Very unique dribbling style.


4. Pat Nevin (Chelsea) - small and light weight but could turn like a Strictly Come Dancing contestant.


5. Charlie Cooke (Chelsea) - another great Scottish winger. Where have they all gone?

Fab Football Books

My three favourite football books of all-time are:

1.Football Against The Enemy - by Simon Kuper who travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them. This is without a doubt the best book about football I have ever read. Why has it not been made into a documentary?

2.The Damned Utd - by David Peace. You may have seen the film. The book is better; darker and funnier, a brilliant deconstruction of the male psyche ( no, really, this is a brilliant novel).

3.Fever Pitch - by Nick Hornby -the classic book about what it feels like to be a fan. A modern classic.

Any other recommendations?

Profit and Loss for Week 16

Accumulated Total Outlay	Accumulated Winnings	Profit/(Loss)
£46.50	£15.02	-£31.48

I am starting to feel the pressure. However, with a few days off this week, I can take my time in picking my winners and scores. Any advice from my readers would be welcomed.

Week 16 Flutter Predictions

Hope you are enjoying the snow. My choices for my Super 5 accumulator :-

• Arsenal
• Spurs
• Crystal Palace
• Derby
• Norwich

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

• Everton 2 v 0 Birmingham
• West Ham o v 3 Chelsea
• Manchester City 3 v 0 Sunderland

Ok, maybe I should keep away from Manchester City.

Fab Football in the Movies

I normally try to choose three favourites. But to be honest, I have never seen a film that reflects the joy or pain of the game.

The only football clip that comes close can be found in Kes [DVD] [1969] by Ken Loach. Within this wonderful film, Brian Glover plays a sports teacher. The scene on the football pitch is brilliant.

Hart Rangers

According to reports this morning, Paul Hart has been appointed as the manager of Queens Park Rangers. This seems a good appointment for the west London team, as Hart has an excellent record developing young players and QPR has a good track record of giving young players an opportunity in the first team.

Profit and Loss for Week for Week 15

Accumulated Total Outlay	Accumulated Winnings	Profit/(Loss)
£43.40	£15.02	-£28.28

Week 15 Flutter Predictions

My choices for my Super 5 accumulator on this very foggy morning are:-

• Chelsea
• Spurs
• Sunderland
• Leicester
• Southampton

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

• Liverpool 2 v 0 Arsenal
• Bolton o v 2 Man City
• Stoke 0 v 0 Wigan

Small World, Big Headache

At the start of the month, I added a free counter from FLAGCounter.com. Every time someone from a new country visits footballonthewire.com, a new flag is added to my counter. The total number of visitors from each country is shown on the bottom right of my website.

It's fab. And addictive. Since I added the counter, I have been visited by readers from over 60 counties. I yearn for the other 120 counties in the world. I will not stop posting until I have been visited by someone from Burkino Faso, Cyprus, Zambia, Chile.......Ok, I need to speak to someone.

Soccer Sequence No.15

I don't think you can argue about the choice in 2009. But can you spot the sequence link?

1994, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2009

For some more number puzzles, click on Soccer Sequences.

Profit and Loss for Week 14

Accumulated Total Outlay	Accumulated Winnings	Profit/(Loss)
£40.30	£15.02	-£25.18

I lost my accumulator because the MK Dons drew. Please check my comment at the bootom of the 'Week 14 Flutter Predictions' post.

Official World Cup Draw

The official draw is complete and there some great games to look for- Germany v Ghana, Brazil v Ivory Coast, Argentina v South Korea. I cannot wait.

But who will win it?

Unofficial World Cup Draw

The Unofficial World Cup Draw has finally been made. And there are some fantastic games to look forward to, including Porugal v Holland, Germany v Uraguay and England v Ivory Coast. Why not have your own draw. You know it will be more fun than the 7 hour spectacular(!) that is taking place tomorrow. And remember, if you don't like the draw, just put the names back in the hat and start again.

Solid as a Rock

Eight goals were scored in the Harrow Borough v Waltham Abbey last week. But it is not the goals that fans will remember. Have a look at this astounding miss by Rocky Baptiste. This is why we love the game.

Week 14 Flutter Predictions

My choices for my Super 5 accumulator on this cold winter evening are:-

• Arsenal
• Aston Villa
• Newcastle
• Norwich
• MK Dons

My score predictions for the Small 3 are:-

• Manchester City 2 v 0 Chelsea
• Everton 1 v 0 Spurs
• Blackburn 1 v 0 Liverpool

In recent weeks, I have been let down by Manchester city, Middlesbrough and Millwall. Teams starting with the letter M owe me big time.

Broken Records

Since Jermain Defoe's 5 goals against Wigan in the Premier League, the newspapers and football programmes have stated this is a record. Now it may be a record for the New, Much Improved, Premier League but it is not a record for the English professional leagues nor the top division. Joe Payne has the all-time record with 10 goals while playing for Luton in the 3rd Division , while Ted Drake and James Ross hold the top division record with 7 goals.

Re-branding should not lead to the re-write of the history of the game. Do I ever stop moaning? No need to answer.

Big Draw for the Draw

The draw for the World Cup groups will be taking place tomorrow night. Don't you just love a big football draw. I can't wait, so I will be completing my own 'Unofficial World Cup Draw' tonight. I bet you just cannot wait. Come back later to see who the big and small teams will face in South Africa..

Soccer Sequence No.14

This could be added to next year? But then again, probably not.

1930, 1978, 1986, 1990

Profit and Loss for for Week 13

Accumulated Total Outlay	Accumulated Winnings	Profit/(Loss)
£37.20	£15.02	-£22.08

Another correct score - predicting the Liverpool score was pleasing. Maybe I'm on a roll.