Football journalism

Ezra Pound described his incomplete poem, Cantos, as a "rag-bag", but he could just as well have been talking about Queens Park Rangers' style of play.

Was that Richard Williams? Please tell me that was Richard Williams.

once again williams is surprisingly found innocent

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/oct/05/premier-league-10-things-weekend

it's this new (?) prat at the graun, not his only choice line either

£'s the cuntos morelike amirite

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/oct/03/steven-fletcher-sunderland-scotland

first comment hall of fame btw, sweet as a nut

And then there is the question of Gervinho. The Ivory Coast international often looks like an embarrassed teenager on an early sexual encounter; he's scoring, yet most of his time is spent fumbling around without really knowing what to do.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/19885940

I once got a text off Coyle that featured a smiley face. He is an easy man to like.

cool story

that gurning bio pic.

International weeks are a killer, mentally. I felt Coyle's passing should be marked, but I just couldn't get it together to revive any thread for it.

I wasn't sure where else to put this because Ray Hudson isn't really a journalist and there's no commentary thread I'm aware of. But seriously, this is one of the best things: http://illustratedray.tumblr.com/

wait, we really don't have a general commentary thread? ilf is still just an infant

Coyle got such a free pass from journalists and pundits in general it was ridiculous. He took down a Bolton team that had been established in the top flight for an entire decade and no one seemed that bothered. Even 2/3rds of the way through last season people like Alan Hansen were still saying "he's a good manager, he'll sort it out..."

i believe i have a guffbank thread somewhere

AVATAR EYES

Eh I think the free pass was more due to a player actually dying midgame tbf

Nah it was happening before that. Martinez gets a similar free pass.

http://i.imgur.com/KHe3O.png

they've changed it now. This slipped by them though

Banks, who won 7 caps for the Three Lions

would of won more if he had of played for one of the sky 4 and not stoke

Is there anything de Gea could conceivably do to move into the 'not crap' pile?

bulk up, get intimidating tattoos, date hollyoaks extra and then dump them with a text sent at exactly the same time as he is photographed leaving a brothel

And is there anything Hart could do to be not the best keeper in the world?

has there ever been a bad boy goalkeeper in the epl?

Bosnich?

closest thing i can think of is charles itaandje and his prodding of damien plessis during the hillsborough ceremony

change nationality
xp

Paddy Kenny's a bad boy AND a bad keeper

bosnich true....although he was more a floppyhaired, slightly foppish coke-bloated waster and rather than a really intimidating type

paddy kenny had part of his ear bit off in a 'nightclub incident' iirc but he seems just generally hapless in all respects

http://www.footyplace.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Mark-Bosnich.jpg

What is everyone's view on the awkward shoehorning of Joe Hart into BGITW theories? It's fucking stupid, right? Is it because Cashley is winding down and twp just won't stand up to Danny Alves and we need at least 1 player to be the best in the world? It's not like Buffon and Casillas are even close to retiring and both won the league last season/CAPTAINED THEIR COUNTRIES TO THE FINALS OF THE EUROS.

his distribution is shit, and he seems to specialize in doing four or five good saves and then conceding a relatively easy goal

best in the world

u know who would be a good person to ask abt this

bozza

http://cache.images.globalsportsmedia.com/news/soccer/2007/10/20/newswide11915732200.jpg

More of a psycho than a badboy really.

BGITW has always been an Englishman, ever since I first became aware of football. It's just one of those truths that is self-evident and always has been. Banks begat Shilton, who begat Clemence, who begat Shilton again, who begat Seaman, who eventually begat Joe Hart. The David James era was helluva awkward, because for the first time in forever there was a prolonged spell where you couldn't pretend England's no.1 was the top top man.

Not that I was around in the Banks era you understand, I'm just going by the received wisdom in my childhood footy encyclopaedias. Sometimes the BGITW can be non-English, but only if he's an honorary Englishman like Jennings or Schmeichel.

Lev Yashin is the only exception.

Being a kid in the 90s I was naturally more in love with strikers and wingers to know the answer of this so-

Was it a legit case of Schmeichel and Seaman as world's #1 and #2? You don't really hear about other guys, maybe Oliver Kahn?

Chilavert!

Not really

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gardien_europ%C3%A9en_de_l%27ann%C3%A9e

Ravelli, Pagliuca, Barthez, van der Sar, Walter Zenga ... I dunno tbh, goalkeepers then rarely moved countries or even clubs, so it's down to World Cups really. I don't know if it was a vintage era or not.

it shows how badly represented goalkeepers get in history that i only know 2 of those, because they played for utd (well i knew vds before) and zenga sounds vaguely familiar.

You don't know Pagliuca? James Richardson died in vain

A guy in my class went to the hairdresser circa 1990 and asked for a Walter Zenga cut, and got all incredulous when the barber hadn't heard of him.

Haha. Gianluca Pagliuca, Sampdoria legend.

the zenga cut still holds up today, imo.

paddy kenny had part of his ear bit off in a 'nightclub incident' iirc but he seems just generally hapless in all respects

he fucking wishes it was (a) merely an ear and (b) a mere 'nightclub incident'

pagliuca was amazing!