Football journalism

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!

underrated 90s goalies,vitor baia,goycochea,goram

two of these things are not like the others

Seaman was way too prone to stupidly high-profile fuckups to ever have been a serious BGITW contender.

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

― Randy Carol (darraghmac), Sunday, October 14, 2012 12:23 AM (14 hours ago)

not sure what u refer to here

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/71478/Stars-pal-bites-off-eyebrow.html

twice cuckolded and partially eaten but on the other he will of looked at the positives

marchegiani

illgner, kopke, taffarel (<-- last one actually a bit naff)

barhez / llama always shakey

Paddy Kenny was fucking immense in QPR's promotion season two years ago. Just saying.

And I don't mean fat.

that's four hours now the guardian has had "Colliccini is fab and Dzeko is no sub" on the front page

What else is new?

Ah, there you go: 'Chelsea's John Terry to wear anti-racism armband'. I like that they specified the type.

"fucking black armband"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/oct/23/roy-keane-book-extract

found this pretty poor.

As a player, he was of his time by not being of his time: he captured the pre-millennium angst of the outsider who cannot understand the world of which he is part. In doing so he brought to mind a number of pop-culture characters of a similar disposition. Two in particular: Tyler Durden in Fight Club and Tony Soprano in The Sopranos. Like Keane, both raged, raged against the dying of society's light. There are other similarities. The intense adoration Keane receives evokes that of Tyler Durden, while his obtuse charisma, anti-heroism and scattergun frustration is shared by Tony Soprano. Keane, like Soprano, was raging for a better world and a better him. He has always been an incredibly complex man, a compelling fusion of instinctive intelligence and pathological desire.

back in your box.

Amused that they highlight the fact that Rafa gives them a quote for the front cover, and that the quote is "These are the writers as you don't normally see them: when they are fans with pens."

Not too sure that this is the ringing endorsement they think it is.

yeah exactly... fans with pens is as worrying a concept as monkeys with knives.

rob smyth can be pretty bad

definitely.

dunno if it's based on his stuff, but i've always felt there's a tendency on the guardian's football site to try and mention the wire at any given opportunity.

Like Colonel Kurtz, Ronnie Johnsen embodied the defeated machismo at the heart of the Western imperial project.

"pre-millenium angst", like what the fuck does this even mean? usually used to describe radiohead's music.

people felt a unique blend of unhappiness in erstwhile-present-day-year, 1999. the former current year has long been held up as a time of great and distinct feelings of things being rather rubbish.

Klebseron's arrival emboldened Trafford-watchers who had long been used to arrivals from Scandinavia and Holland but never from that far afield. It was said that as he exited the taxi to be greeted by Paul Scholes, he had never seen a person so pale before. Like Doug Liman's thrilling 1999 cult film 'Go', mutltiple narratives were coinciding here, different ideas about what it meant to be a Manchester United player.

aw, i was hoping that was real

Are you aware of the Sachin Nakrani affair, btw?

no, sadly

what's that?

a link to a summary:
http://therepublikofmancunia.com/guardian-journo-will-regret-starting-battle-with-united-fans/

ugh at that website.

That's even more numbing than the Duncan thingy story

Put this here 'cos these guys are too old to be child prodigies as such.

In Bed With Maradona did their list of the 100 best young players in the world this time last year and now they're assessing their progress one year on. Not an obscure list, the vast majority most people will have seen play or would have heard about. The new list comes out Dec 19.

Last year's 100 - http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2011/12/21/the-ibwm-100-the-class-of-2012.html

Progress report on first 20 of last year's 100 - http://inbedwithmaradona.com/the-100-2012-intro/ Click on the names on right hand side.

Some excellent photos as well.

Looked to see if Victor Wanyama made the list, now even more depressed about my impending forties by realising he can still make the next one :(

(putting this here coz a thread on Nigerian football would probably sink without trace)

Interesting exchange on twitter recently between Jonathan Wilson and Nigerian football writer Colin Udoh on the scarcity of away wins in the Nigerian league.

"Jonathan Wilson ‏@jonawils
@ColinUdoh Any explanation as to the poor away form in the Nigerian league? pic.twitter.com/YAetMgqs"

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A8KQHu2CAAA3-Mg.png

Colin Udoh ‏@ColinUdoh
@jonawils
"Corruption/intimidation of match officials, intimidation of away team arising from desperation of home teams to win."
"I have seen a player from an away team deliberately miss what could have been a point-saving PK, just so his side leave unharmed"
"And a GK on fire on the day being begged by his team mates to let home team score after 3-min injury time stretched to nearly 15"
"you hear club officials talk about 'tactical' and 'playing the politics of the game'. It's just double-speak for bribing refs"
"the big (rich) teams that win or draw away from home, usually pay refs to allow 'fair-play', meaning a level playing field."
"I have been assaulted twice in two different match venues. Once for protecting a cameraman filming bizarre ref calls"
"I'll try and tell you a story about a young ref in a few tweets
here's the story. This young ref had just been promoted to the top level, and given a quite critical game to handle
Before he left, away team sent an emissary to his house to 'settle' him. He refused. Claiming he would just do his job.
On arrival in match city, home team sent their own emissary. He turned them down too. On match day, he did a fab job
by his and every standard. After the game, home fans attacked him claiming he was 'settled' by away team. Security got him away
At his hotel, away fans were waiting to assault him, claiming he had been settled by home team.
so he ended up taking a beating from both sides. He took slaps, blows, punches. After that, he started to 'behave'"

The controversial 4-1-9 formation: Jigawa Golden Stars won't win the Nigerian Premier League 2013/14

Bizarre that you can be relegated without losing a single home game because you don't have enough bribe money to win an away game o_O

Are you talking about Rangers?

http://www.insidefutbol.com/2012/12/21/joey-barton-mocks-end-of-world-mayan-prediction/75387/?

haha.

James Milner was speaking at the opening of the Etihad Campus Metrolink tram station, which will operate for matchgoing fans for the first time on Sunday against Leeds United. Milner, along with Roberto Mancini, Joe Hart and Vincent Kompany, has recorded public announcement messages on the trams which passengers will hear.