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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Selected Highlights
43. Eberechi Eze (Arsenal)
40. Viktor Gyokeres (Arsenal)
32. Ezri Konsa (Arsenal)
25. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal)
15. David Raya (Arsenal)
09. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
06. Bruno Guimaraes (Arsenal)
05. William Saliba (Arsenal)
04. Gabriel (Arsenal)
03. Declan Rice (Arsenal)
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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You're one down in a three-match series. It's the last session of the fourth day of the second test. You're miles behind with only a few wickets left. Do you
A: Bat circumspectly to try to get to stumps, hoping Day Five will be a washout and hence the destiny of the series will still be all to play for?
B: Throw one wicket away in order that the sole specialist batsmen left can complete his century and get 'on the honours board', then throw away the remainder of the wickets in a happy go lucky, let's get it over, slugfest from tailenders?
Clue: It may be cricket but it's not test cricket etc
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Why is one always filled with an air of confidence when catching sight of Xabi Alonso in the Chelsea dugout? I'll pick out a few possible reasons that spring to mind
* Rugged good looks without any tinge of the matinee idol
* A hairstyle that is businesslike though not aggressively so
* His default facial expression, serious but not solemn.
But that could be my dad. Is it because we remember
* Five years as the maestro at Anfield
* Five more at Real and three at Bayern
* A hundred plus caps for his country
* 'The finest midfielder of his generation.'
All true but irrelevant for a managerial career. So is it
* Unexcelled managerial success at Leverkusen
* Dignified departure from Real politicking
* Being a Basque.
Nowhere like enough to guarantee success at the Bridge. But it does it for me. How about you?
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Did you notice Martinez, the newly arrived goalie from Villa, was hunkered down with his Chelsea team mates in the pre-kickoff heads together bonding ritual, came up too soon, looked around and hurriedly ducked back down into the huddle.
Then, after a bit, he came up again but it was still too early doors. He looked around one more but this time mutely expressed his dissent from such tiresome collective folderol by declining to go back down again.
My verdict? Emiliano will soon be on his travels. I used to be a goalie and I know: you're already considered a bit weird by your outfield team mates so you always keep your head down.
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Wile E. Coyote
In: Arizona
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The Eagles have lost all three pre-season practice games. This is because they refused to use any of their best players in case they get injured, and also refused to try out anything that might give away their new offensive scheme.
They could lose now to the Commanders because of lack of practice.
Still there is hope, after one quarter of failed clever, clever play passes, Philly will revert to the tried and trusted, of Jalen just getting it to Saquon, or Tank, and just letting them run through or over the opposition.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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| "Brentford have been in charge, Leeds have been completely stoical up to this point." MotD commentator |
This is either the most cultured of malapropisms or our man in the sheepskin coat is a philosophical revisionist to be reckoned with.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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But at least they didn't lose 37-13 to the Browns (the Browns!) because as The Adulterer said, 'We're very thin. I couldn't risk anyone who is actually going to play when the season starts.'
"That's all very well, coach, but what happens when they do and get injured?"
"I don't know, I'll have to ask... er... I'll get back to you on that."
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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I asked my boyfriend to buy me a romper suit for Christmas in Fulham's away colours: powder blue with pink flashings. He said, "Sure thing, doll, but I'm a bit brassic so I'll have to Jimmy Hill you for it."
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Commissioner Goodell has predicted an NFL team outside the USA is inevitable so The Athletic was coming up with suggestions. Starting with a couple of inevitables, here are my comments
* The Mexico Azteca and the Toronto Mounties
* The London Monarchs/ the London Royals showed what the Americans think about us rather than what we think about ourselves
* The Glasgow Greens shows Americans don't know much about Glasgow
* The Berlin Blitz shows they don't know much about German history either
* Though the Dublin Rebels just about passes muster
* Whether the Vatican City Bishops will get the home gates is problematic unless they're playing the Arizona Cardinals
* The two I liked were Stockholm Syndrome and Seoul Train.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Meanwhile the real thing has already gone global.
| The Athletic wrote: | | To access coverage of England’s top flight in the country it is played in, football fans from the UK can expect to pay more than £50 per month. The Athletic compiles just how much football fans across the globe can be expected to pay to watch the Premier League across the coming season, a league with nearly two billion followers worldwide. Monthly PL subscription cost worldwide... |
Albania £25.58
Andorra £44.49
Austria £21.39
Belgium £29.93
Bulgaria £6.84
Czech Republic £8.27
Denmark £58.83
Estonia £17.10
Finland £34.21
France £25.65
Germany £21.38
Greece £22.25
Iceland £87.77
Republic of Ireland £62.44
Italy £28.23
Latvia, Lithuania £17.10
Malta £11.96
Netherlands £17.10
Norway £55.34
Romania £5.12
Poland £15.61
Portugal £22.23
Slovakia £8.55
Spain £22.23
Sweden £61.79
Turkey £3.52
Australia £16.95
Chinese Taipei £32.57
Hong Kong £20.40
Indonesia £7.19
Japan £12.82
Malaysia £17.68
Myanmar £6.65
New Zealand £29.53
Singapore £23.55
South Korea £10.79
Thailand£9.44
South America £10.04
United States £9.59
Middle East and North Africa average of £5–£8.50
There seems no rhyme or reason except I don't think anyone here is prepared to pay anything at all to watch anybody else's. They're included in general sports packages.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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| Last weekend, the new college women’s volleyball season started with a match on Fox, the first of an unprecedented eight matches airing nationally on the broadcast network this year. |
This is something the Americans do well and nobody else does at all. Promoting new televisual sports.
Channel 4 used to do it here -- remember Kabaddi and Sumo? -- but now, despite there being dozens of sports channels and several terrestrial channels on the hunt for cheap airtime filler, the only novelties seem to be--I always suspect--politically correct gestures to women's versions of the standard men's fare.
As someone who was minorly addicted to both Kabaddi and Sumo in my time, this is a shame. I'd even be prepared to entertain women's Sumo.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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I would like to make it clear that, other than state television channels, political correctness plays no part in scheduling. Women's sport is shown because there is a market for it.
However schedulers themselves are subject to politico-social biases.
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Mick Harper
Site Admin
In: London
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Pundits passing judgement during the transfer window had a regular refrain:
| 'The player you buy must be a step-up from the player you've already got in that position, unless he is filling the gap in your squad created by a departing player.' |
Now that might sound like a truism but it ignores one thing. Your squad is the right size. There are certain rules and regulations about squad sizes for Premier League clubs, at home and abroad, but the universal practice is to have
* three goalies
* two players for each outfield position
* two 'utility' players
* for a total of twenty-five
* which happens to be the maximum allowed under the rules and regulations.
| But is this really optimal? |
We can all observe that at least half a dozen members of the squad will get to appear in a competitive game of football during the season either hardly at all or not at all. That can scarcely be conducive to playing well when they do get the call.
Nor is it conducive to overall enjoyment of football since half-a-dozen times twenty excellent footballers will not be enjoyed by the watching public.
| So the rules, regulations and ingrained habits of top level clubs should be altered. |
You can have a squad of twenty-five first team players, as before, but instead of the odds and sods kicking their heels indefinitely on your bench, they can go off and play for any lower league side. Whoever you want, whenever you want, for as long as you want, and subject to instant recall.
Not a transfer, not a loan, a guest appearance. The player gets some much needed match practice, the people of Port Vale get to see a star in the flesh, and vice versa. But it'll never happen so it should be made compulsory in everyone's interest.
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