Sports Category
Sports news, commentary and scores with wit and added value. We compare and contrast the best and worst sports reporting in the mainstream press, blogs, TV and online. We love the English Premier League (Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Manchester City) and all things football but we cover cricket, rugby, the Olympics, tennis, golf, F1 and highlights of the sporting year.
Manchester City Balls: Two City Ghosts Help Yaya Toure Score With The Wrong Foot
LAST night Yaya Toure scored a terrific goal to put the tin lid on Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Aston Villa. But how did the Daily Mail present the strike?
Like this:
Note:
* The Villa player facing the wrong way
* Toure hitting the ball with his left foot
* The banana shot that bends to the right but ends up in the goal’s left-most corner
* The two other City players in close support
The picture is just like the actual goal, then. For all those football fans unable to see the goal on the telly or the web, the Mail’s illustration is an invaluable resource.
Or not:
And from another angle:
Posted: 8th, May 2014 | In: Manchester City, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Arsenal Want Gundogan, Court Matinez But Bid For Stay-At-Home Bender
ARE Arsenal set to buy Bayern Munich’s Javi Martinez?
The Telegraph says they could be:
“Arsenal make approach to Bayern Munich for transfer of Javi Martinez”
But maybe the Gunners will invest that “£100m” transfer budget in Lars Bender? Big money, eh. Or as the Irish Indy notes: “Arsene Wenger warns Arsenal fans not to expect big money signings.” So lots of little signings, then, for that £100m? Er, no. The Mirror says:
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger says he will only make ‘two or three’ signings this summer
Back to the Tele, which continues:
Bender is another Germany-based player who interests Wenger and, although he might be slightly cheaper than Martinez, would still cost around £25 million.
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Fulham Balls: How Michael Jackson Got The Cottagers Relegated
UNSURE why Fulham have been relegated from the Premier League? Mohammed AL Fayed knows:
“This statue was a charm and we removed the luck from the club. When (Shahid Khan) asked me to move it I said ‘You must be crazy’. But now he has paid the price because the club has been relegated.”
The statue was, of course, this one of Michael Jackson, erected outside Craven Cottage in April 2011.
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World Cup Balls: Neymar Is Playing For England
IN readiness for the World Cup, Brazil’s Globo newspaper has launched a webpage featuring the correct way to pronounce many of the tournament’s players’ names. Now commentators can get those funny foreign names spot on, no longer pronouncing Holland’s Arjen Robben as “Tumbling Tosspot”, as many English pundits do.
It’s fair;y entertaining stuff. But one part stands out: Neymar, Brazil’s great hope, is playing for England. For anyone interested, his name is pronounced “Steve”.
Ps. Neymar is so good he’s playing for everyone else , too:
Manchester City Balls: Time To Sack Pelligrini
HOW tabloid journalism, works, with the Sun’s Neil Curtis:
“If City could axe Mancini, surely Manuel faces chop now.”
THE betrayal of Roberto Mancini might just be coming back to haunt Manchester City.
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Posted: 6th, May 2014 | In: Manchester City, Sports | Comment
Liverpool Balls: The Best ‘Constantinopool’ Crystal Palace Memes
LAST night Liverpool did their best to reenact the 2005 Champions League final when the Reds came for 3-0 down to take the game in Turkey to penalties – which they won. Three goals up against Crystal Palace, Liverpool blew it.
This was Constantinopool 2014.
Brendan Rodgers’ team can still win the title, but the winds are with Manchester City, who now need to lose one of their two remaining home matches for Liverpool to taste ultimate victory. That’s unlikely.
As one wag put it: “Sad to see Liverpool choke like Suarez on a particularly gristly bit of Ivanovic.”
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West Ham United Inside the Chelsea Dressing Room After The 1975 FA Cup Semi-Final
FLASHBACK to April 9th 1975:
A cause for dressing room celebration at Stamford Bridge by West Ham United players after they defeated Ipswich Town. (Left to right) Trevor Brookings, Pat Holland, goalscorer Alan Taylor, Bobby Gould (behind scorer), unidentified player with towel, Graham Paddon (dressed) and John McDowell.
Posted: 6th, May 2014 | In: Flashback, Sports | Comment (1)
Constantinopool In Photos: Liverpool Do An AC Milan At Crystal Palace
IT was like the 2005 Champions’ League final all over again – but this time it was Liverpool tossing away a 3-0 lead to draw 3-3 with Crystal Palace. The Premier League title is Manchester City’s to lose now…
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Transfer Balls: Arsenal Sign Diego Costa For Less Than Chelsea Paid For Him
STEVE Stammers has news for all Arsenal fans reading his Daily Mirror column. The Gunners are all set to buy Atletico Madrid’s Diego Costa transfer for £31m.
Arsenal are set to make an audacious move for Diego Costa.
The 25-year-old Atletico Madrid star has a £31million release clause in his contract…
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Posted: 4th, May 2014 | In: Arsenal, Chelsea, Sports | Comment
May 4 1976: Liverpool Win The League At Wolves
FLASHBACK to May 4 1976: Liverpool win the League with a win at Wolves. Liverpool needed a win or low-scoring draw to pip QPR to the title.
They did it, winning 3-1. The defeat meant Wolves were relegated.
In this photo, we see the dressing room. No selfies back then:
Liverpool celebrate winning the League Championship after their 3-1 victory: (clockwise from top l) Tommy Smith, Ian Callaghan, Steve Heighway, Phil Thompson, Jimmy Case, Kevin Keegan, Emlyn Hughes, Phil Neal, David Fairclough, Ray Kennedy, Ray Clemence
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Posted: 4th, May 2014 | In: Flashback, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Chelsea Balls: Jose Mourinho Says His Family Are Like The Smurfs
IS Jose Mourinho going a bit, you know, Tonto?
In the Programme notes for Chelsea’s match with Norwich, Jose delivered a few words to his son. The lad’s name? Oh come on. It’s Jose Junior. D’ur!
Writes dad:
Thank you, kid, for being my kid.
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Chelsea Balls: Blues Ban Fan For Being Annoying
CHELSEA fan Connor is banned from Stamford Bridge. Why? What did he do? Is he a hooligan, a Headhunter? Did he call someone a “fu*king black cu*t“? No. That doesn’t get you a stadium ban. That just gets you banned from going on the pitch during the game.
No. What Connor did was to engage is ‘Persistent Standing’.
He is guilty of what police, Government and everyone who hates football calls “anti-social behaviour”. He is guilty of displaying passion.
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Posted: 3rd, May 2014 | In: Chelsea, Sports | Comment (1)
Spurs Balls: Bring Back AVB All If Forgiven – And Tim Sherwood Is A Shoo-In For The England Job
HOW they cheered when Tim Sherwood replaced Andrew Villas-Boas as Spurs manager. Tim was a “man’s man”. Tim would get Spurs into a brilliant fifth.
And then it came to pass that Tim proved himself to be not all that good. In fact, he is worse then AVB.
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Posted: 3rd, May 2014 | In: Sports, Spurs | Comments (4)
Chelsea Balls: Diego Costa Signs For £128m Plus, Say The Experts
DIEGO COSTA will play for Chelsea next season. Says the Sun in the “exclusive”:
A top Stamford Bridge source confirmed last night: “Diego Costa will be a Chelsea player next season. It’s a done deal.”
He’s joined for £32m?
Or as Goal.com says:
DONE DEAL: Diego Costa agrees to £35m Chelsea move
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Manchester United Balls: Paper Mistakes Harold From Neighbours For Louis Van Gaal
AND Manchester United’s next manager is… Harold Bishop, from the hit daytime telly show, Neighbours.
Spotters: @samcgray, colinfairley
Posted: 2nd, May 2014 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment
Middlesbrough ‘Superfan’ Who Ripped Up The Koran Is Guilty Only Of Being A Godless Idiot
MIDDLESBROUGH FC fans Julie Phillips, 50 and Gemma Parkin, 18, travelled to see their club play Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on December 7, 2013. They went equipped with a copy of the Koran, not to hold in prayer as they willed their team to score. Julie, a Middlesbrough Council employee, ripped pages from the religious text and distributed them to other fans to shred.
The pair ended up at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court, where they claimed they had no idea the book in their hands was the Koran. Parkin said she’d been handed it at a Birmingham market. They claimed they were simply “making confetti”.
Only – get this – they had told a steward they were ripping up a copy of the Koran. Oops. That’s idiots for you.
Steward Matthew Corns told the court he heard chants about Muslims and the Koran as the book was passed around and ripped up.
Said Phillips:
“I was mortified. Very ashamed and disgusted in myself. It was just a book of some sort, I can’t remember if the cover was on. It was just white paper.”
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Posted: 1st, May 2014 | In: Reviews, Sports | Comments (4)
Chelsea Balls: When Jose Mourinho Said It’s Easy To Win 1-0
BACK in December 2013, after Chelsea lost to Sunderland in the Capital One Cup quarter-final, a pouting Jose Mourinho told the media:
“We may have to take a step back in order to be more consistent at the back. It’s something I don’t want to do, to play more counter-attacking, but I’m giving it serious thought. If I want to win 1-0, I think I can, as I think it’s one of the easiest things in football. It’s not so difficult, as you don’t give players the chance to express themselves.”
Last night, Jose’s joyless Chelsea were 1-0 up away to Atletico Madrid in the semi-final of the Champions’ League. They then let in three without further troubling the scorers.
To think, they used to call him The Special One.
Never go back….
Liverpool Balls: ‘Girls’ Ring The Bell In London As Arsenal take on Liverpool in The FA Cup Final
FLASHBACK to April 29, 1950: Arsenal take on Liverpool in the FA Cup final:
London’s April downpour couldn’t damp the enthusiasm of these Liverpool girls, garlanded with the colours their team and ringing a hand-bell, as they toured the city before going to Wembley Stadium
Posted: 1st, May 2014 | In: Flashback, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Arsenal Balls: One Man’s Decade-Long Search For David Seaman’s Retina-Burning Euro ’96 Kit
DID you look at the kit Arsenal and England’s David Seaman wore at Euro ’96 and think ‘I want me one of those’?
His second kit was little better.
Joel did. He looked at strip of man-made vomit fibres and thought it a good look.
But when Joel looked for “Euro 96 England goalkeeper kit” on the web, he found nothing.
And then – a mere ten years of searching later – Joel posted the following photo to his Facebook page.
Now Joel never leaves home without it:
Talking Point: What Do Football Pundits Mean By ‘A Gilt-Edge Chance’?
Talking Point: The Gilt-Edge Chance.
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Chelsea Balls: BBC Says Atletico Madrid ‘Win The Tie’ After Just 64 Minutes Played
CHELSEA are playing in the semi-final of the Champions’ League. They are 1-2 down, needing two goals to progress to the final. They can give up because the BBC says the game is already over:
Sage-like wisdom from the Beeb:
Manchester United Balls: More What The Experts Said When David Moyes Was Made Manager
EPISODE 2 of what the experts said when David Moyes was made Manchester United manager:
Russell Brand, The Guardian, May 21 2013:
This is why the emphasis at Old Trafford is on continuity rather than revolution, with Moyes as Bob Paisley and Scotland as some giant, rugged Anfield boot-room. Ferguson’s potency must be bestowed, a hereditary successor appointed. If there could be a son selected from those available it would not be Darren Ferguson schooled at The Posh but David Moyes, stern and stoic, hewn if not from the same DNA, then the same rock, the same nation, the same mythic paradigm. Sir Alex has urged his followers not to call him Boss, to reserve that moniker for Moyes. He has appointed and anointed, given unto them his son, if not his flesh, his likeness.
Russell Brand, The Guardian, May 23 2014:
Ferguson when he was asked to nominate a successor, the nearest approximation of an Anfield boot-room appointment considered instead to be the translucent Moyes, a pale imitation of himself, so pale in fact his impotent palpitations could be witnessed on a vascular level as United throbbed to a final flaccid loss at Goodison Park. Moyes, a pale imitation of himself, so pale in fact his impotent palpitations could be witnessed on a vascular level as United throbbed to a final flaccid loss at Goodison Park.
Jeremy Cross, Daily Star, Feb 27, 2014:
EXCLUSIVE: Manchester United boss David Moyes will not be leaving Old Trafford – DAVID MOYES will not be sacked as Manchester United boss – despite mounting speculation that he is set to leave Old Trafford.
The Sun, May 10, 2013:
The passion and determination that were the hallmarks of Moyes’s 11 years at Everton make him the outstanding candidate”
And the pick of the bunch:
Barney Ronay, the Guardian, October 4, 2013:
“And yet for all this Moyes is an excellent manager who could probably succeed anywhere with the right backing. He can even afford to tread water a little while he finds his voice…”
Barney Ronay, The Guardian, April 22, 2014:
Farewell, then, David Moyes. You made some mistakes as Manchester United manager. But none of them, let’s face it, as gapingly inept as the decision to appoint you Manchester United manager in the first place… In the end Moyes’s greatest failing during the last 10 months was simply to walk into Old Trafford and act like David Moyes…
Posted: 30th, April 2014 | In: manchester united, Sports | Comment
Norwich City Balls: Carlo Nash Is The Fans Player Of the Year And Has Yet To Play A Match This Season
AND the man on track to be Norwich City fans player of the year 2013-2014 is… Carlo Nash.
Nash is the 40-year-old third-choice goalkeeper who has yet to make a single first-team appearance this season.
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Donald Sterling Is Blackballed From Basketball For Being A Private Racist
Los Angeles Clippers team owner Donald Sterling watches his team play in Los Angeles.
IT has to be said that Donald Sterling, the owner of the Clippers basketball team, doesn’t sound like the very brightest of bunnies. He’s a billionaire, self-made, so obviously he has some brains. But if you had fairly racist views would you really go into a business where you’re going to end up paying black men tens of millions of dollars a year? Which is pretty much that the owner of a basketball team in the US NBA does end up doing.
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Spurs Balls: Hoddle, Sherwood And De Boer Miss Out As Louis van Gaal Gets Manger’s Job (Say Experts)
WHO will be the next manager at Tottenham Hotspur? The current incumbent is Tim Sherwood. He feels unsettled:
“Every Press conference I do it’s ‘this manager’s coming in… Van Gaal, then Hoddle, this one and that one. Some of these managers are actually touting themselves for my job and I don’t think that’s right. If anyone asks me about another job I just tell them they’ve got a manager. Until they haven’t got a manager and I haven’t got a job, say nothing.”
Anyone think Sherwood will retire gracefully back to his former job as reserve team coach?
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Posted: 30th, April 2014 | In: Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
