FOOTY FAIR

Football Books You Need to Read: The Glory Game

2016-03-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

Football has changed considerably in the past forty years, but some things never change.

Supporters still fill their weeks going over the details of the previous Saturday's match in their heads, while also hammering rival supporters if their respective teams fell flat on their faces on the weekend.

Veteran players try to work through injuries and convince themselves that they haven't lost a yard of pace, while deep down they know they've lost it.

Youngsters in the reserves work hard and hope upon hope that the first team manager will give them a chance before they splash out on an expensive summer signing in their position.

In the meantime, journalists stay up all night digging for stories that often aren't there.

It's this last point, and of course the mountains of money in the modern game, that football has changed the most.

Media coverage of the major leagues around the world is incessant. You can't escape any updates or rumours relating to your club if you tried. Even fans like myself can spout off about my team or the sport as whole on blogs or sites such as this.

Although many clubs today have leaks that lead to stories beyond the pitch leaking out and some clubs have granted a degree of access to the dressing room to select members of the media, football clubs still mainly try to keep things in house.

In 1971-1972, author Hunter Davies was granted unlimited access to Tottenham Hotspur and the result was one of the finest football books ever written, The Glory Game.

Armed with a pen that spared nothing and no one, Davies was there from the start of preseason training noting the struggles of Spurs new signings to integrate with the squad and witnessing fresh faced youngsters trying to break through into the first team.

The author also spent time with legendary manager Bill Nicholson, who perhaps jaded by his years in the game and the demands of working with a changing generation of players, admitted that he took no joy out of football anymore and that it was just a job to him now.

Davies also rode the trains to away fixtures with Spurs hooligans and unlike other books that have covered football violence he neither glorifies or condemns the people involved, he just provides you with a balanced look at a typical match day for these groups.

The players are remarkably open with the author as well, about their personal lives and contract squabbles.

Although some of the book may come across as a little bit dated, that in itself carries a bit of charm. As Spurs progress through the UEFA Cup and their eventual showdown with another English side, Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final, we get afforded an inside look at the triumphs and tragedies of a professional football club that has seldom been matched by similar tomes.

The Glory Game is a wonderful book that doesn't require you to be a Tottenham fan to enjoy and is the first in our series of Football Books You Need to Read.

Throwback Thursdays: Sponsored Kits Come to England

2016-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Forty years ago this month, Kettering Town became the first club in British football to slap a sponsor on the front of their kit and predictably it was met with a mixed reception.

Kettering Town player-manager (and chief executive) Derek Dougan, a former Northern Ireland international, was the architect behind this controversial move but even he couldn't have possibly imagined the impact this deal was to have on football in the UK.

The flamboyant, but forward thinking Dougan served as the chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) from 1970 to 1978 and was instrumental in the establishment of several important players' rights and helped pave the way to free agency. But beyond the rights of players, Dougan understood that football needed new streams of revenue so after joining Kettering Town from Wolves in 1975 he arranged a deal with local company Kettering Tyres to sponsor the club's shirts in return for a four-figure deal.

In exchange for this cash injection into the tiny Southern League side, the Tyre firm would have their name in large letters across the front of the team's shirts. Kettering debuted their new sponsored shirts for a match against Bath City on 24 January 1976.

An unamused English FA, who hadn't been made aware of the arrangement beforehand, ordered the club to remove the sponsor.

Dougan attempted to pull a fast one by shortening the sponsor on the shirt fronts to "Kettering T" and then claiming that it stood for Kettering Town. The FA weren't fooled and again ordered the club to remove the sponsor or face a £1,000 fine for non-compliance.

The former Wolves maverick was left with no choice but to bow to the FA's wishes.

The FA could not stop the winds of change though and by the following year shirt sponsorship was allowed across Britain.

Hibernian became the first top-flight team in Britain to adopt a sponsor and soon many other clubs followed. Football in the UK has never been the same.

Five Matches That Taught Me Important Life Lessons

2015-10-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

Once in awhile football can transcend what's happening on the pitch, play with our emotions and even teach us things about ourselves.
To the untrained eye the game appears to never change, it's a contest of 22 men or women chasing a ball around a pitch and, to paraphrase Gary Lineker, in the end the Germans win.

But outside the ebb and flow of the action on the pitch we grow up and our lives, like the heroes in our club's colours, change.

In Nick Hornby's seminal novel Fever Pitch, the diehard Gunner tied his life's major events to the fortunes of his beloved Arsenal. That book resonated even with people who despise the North London club because frankly it didn't matter who Hornby supported, it was the manner in which he was able to articulate the way football and more specifically the trials and tribulations of our club's become entwined with our own lives.

Besides being able to tell you that I was sitting in an empty grubby campus pub, trying to stretch out a beer, during my disastrous year at Mohawk when Manchester United beat Porto 4-0 in the 1997 UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final, I can recount several instances of when the game has taught me lessons about life.

The following are five matches that changed my perspective:

Love at First Sight Does Exist

Manchester United vs Everton - FA Cup Final, 1985

Living in Canada in the 1980's meant that football was something I only experienced when I got a bundle of Match or Shoot magazines sent to me through the post from my Nan in England, heard stories of George Best from my dad, or watched the delayed highlights of the FA Cup each May. Live matches were never aired and there was virtually no media coverage of the game here. I was seven going on eight years old in 1985 when league champions Everton took on Manchester United in the FA Cup Final.

All I knew about the two club's was that Everton were a very good side, perhaps second only to the then mighty Liverpool FC their rivals from across Stanley Park in terms of supremacy in England in the 1980's, and United had within their ranks Bryan Robson, a player I had read numerous heroic stories about in the aforementioned magazines my nan used to send me. Of the match itself the only things that stand out in my memory were Kevin Moran being shown the first red card in an FA Cup Final, United hanging on for dear life with ten men and then Norman Whiteside hitting a superb winner in extra-time. I fell in love with Manchester United that day, not because they won necessarily but because of the way they didn't buckle when the odds were against them, kept going forward and of course because they had Bryan Robson.

Life is Unfair

England vs West Germany - World Cup Semi-Final, 1990

What can I say about a match that has had numerous books written about it, documentaries centred around it and analysts smarter than I pointing to it as the start of the English football renaissance that eventually led to the Premier League?

Every English football fan worth their salt knows that England played its best football in years in the first half of this match in Turin, but West Germany opened the scoring after the break when an Andreas Brehme free kick deflected off of Paul Parker, and then Gary Lineker equalized at the death. After an extra time featuring chances for both sides, West Germany inevitably won on penalty kicks and Gazza cried for us. I had experienced disappointment before but never on the scale of this. To see your side on the verge of a World Cup Final and to come unstuck on penalties is something I wouldn't wish on most of my enemies. The emphasis there being on most.

I remember feeling nothing but sympathy for Chris Waddle, who missed the decisive penalty kick. He had played perhaps his best match of the tournament against the Germans and had come so close to winning it in extra time when he cannoned a shot off the post. Like life, it was all horribly unfair.

Friends and Family Are Everything

Wolves vs Arsenal - Pre-Season Friendly, 1995

This particular fixture must jump out on this list compared to the more glamorous ones I've noted, but the lesson I took from it is probably more important than any of the others.

The match itself was an unremarkable enough affair that did however feature an impressive goal from Ian Wright that capped Arsenal's 2-0 win over Wolves at the Molineux, as well as a terrific performance by the late Dean Richards who effectively shackled Dennis Bergkamp.

It was what happened after the match that I remember the most though. That season quite a few members of my extended family had Wolves season tickets, which was the reason my brother and I were there to begin with, and after full time we all ended up at a pub near the ground and were joined by a sizeable contingent of Arsenal supporters.

It was a pre-season friendly so there was no bullshit, just a fun hour or so of talking about football, telling stories and sharing a lot of laughs. We had a terrific time and that night I realized that it's not always about the result, it's about the day out and the people you're with, particularly your family and friends.

Heroes Do Exist

Manchester United vs Liverpool - FA Cup Final, 1996

Part way through the summer of 1995 it seemed that Eric Cantona had played his last match for Manchester United. Serving a long ban for kicking a thug at Crystal Palace the previous winter, the man United fans had come to know as Le Roir all of the major news sources in Britain seemed to be hinting at an Old Trafford exit.

But manager Alex Ferguson, a few years away from his knighthood and that horse breeding business, managed to persuade Eric to stay and this proved crucial to his sides campaign. Spearheading a side including many recent graduates of the youth academy, United clawed back Newcastle's sizeable lead at the top of the table and won their third title in four seasons. During the run in it seemed as if every goal or key moment came through Cantona and it was inevitable when his late winner sealed another FA Cup triumph for United.

Legendary baseball slugger Reggie Jackson once called himself the "straw that stirs the drink" after helping the New York Yankees to their first World Series win in a decade, and it's accurate to say that Cantona had the same impact on United. He pushed the club to heights they hadn't reached in a quarter of a century, with an impact that can't be measured in stats.

He did all of this with style and an attitude that he wasn't prepared to take shit from anyone. I've had a few football heroes in the past thirty years, but none stand taller than Eric.

Never Give Up

Manchester United vs Bayern Munich - UEFA Champions League Final, 1999

Another match that needs little description as it's pretty well known that United completed their historic treble by scoring two late goals against Bayern Munich. Few remember how dire a match this was after Mario Bassler opened the scoring for Bayern and before the frantic final minutes.

Deprived of both Roy Keane and Paul Scholes through suspension, United were unable to provide any sort of service to forwards Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole. In desperation Ferguson threw on Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and Teddy Sheringham, and he rest as they say is history.

For the last twenty of the match the atmosphere had been sucked out of the once raucous pub I was in and murmurs of "it's over" slipped out as the clock crept towards injury time. But then the goals came and we all rejoiced.

This match taught me that as grim as things look in life or in sports you can never give up and it also taught me that seven pints of Guinness and six Turbo Shandies in an evening might be overdoing it.

Tottenham's Son Heung-Min Ordered Not to Buy a Red Car

2015-09-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

Some years back a cousin of mine who was working for Wolverhampton Wanderers rolled up to work one day in her new Mini Cooper. Nothing out of the ordinary there, until a co-worker pointed out that her car was white and blue, the colours of Wolves hated rivals West Bromwich Albion!

Needless to say she never heard the end of it.

Hoping to avoid a similar faux pas in their club parking lot, Tottenham club officials have prohibited their new striker Son Heung-Min from buying a car sporting the colours of Arsenal.

So picking up a sporty red car is off the table for the South Korean forward.

Which seems quite harsh, as every young footballer dreams of a flashy red car to go along with their ludicrous clothing choices and blonde "page three" girl's don't they?

“Tottenham officials already told me I can’t even buy a red car,” Heung-Min told Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo sadly.

Besides Tottenham sucking the fun out car shopping, a few other clubs have enforced strange colour based rules like this in the past.

Back in 2006, Manchester City banned red ketchup in their club canteen prior to a meeting with rivals Manchester United. They substituted it with a blue coloured sauce (Smurf blood perhaps?).

Football is a strange game isn't it?

Throwback Thursdays: 50 Years Ago This Week English Football Finally Allowed Substitutions

2015-08-27T12:00:00.000-04:00

While the origins of substitute players in football goes as far back as the early 1860's when organized English public school matches sporadically allowed teams to swap out injured players, it would take nearly 100 years before professional football even considered such a thing.

Through much of football's history though no substitutes were allowed in a match, which often led to players having to stay on the pitch and soldier on if they were injured or fatigued, and occasionally left sides having to play short a player if someone was hurt to the point that they had to leave the pitch.

On the notoriously tough pitch at Wembley Stadium, two FA Cup Finals were ruined in a four year span. In the 1957 showpiece final, Manchester United went down to ten men against Aston Villa after goalkeeper Ray Wood suffered a broken cheekbone with only six minutes played. Despite a valiant effort by the Busby Babes, Villa predictably went on to win the match by a score of 2-1.

To add insult to injury, it was Villa forward Peter McParland who had knocked Wood out of the match that scored both of the Birmingham side's goals.

In 1960 it was Blackburn Rovers that were cursing their luck at Wembley when the future Wigan Athletic owner Dave Whelan went down with what turned out to be a career ending broken leg on 43 minutes.

Playing with an extra man, an already strong Wolverhampton side shrugged Blackburn aside 3-0 to take the cup back to the Black Country.

With the high profile nature of incidents such as this the English Football League had no choice but to soften their stance on substitutions and for the 1965/1966 season they would allow for one substitution per side that could be made to replace an injured player.

Fifty years ago this week, Charlton Athletic's Keith Peacock became the first substitute used in the Football League when he replaced his side's injured goalkeeper Mike Rose, eleven minutes into their away match against Bolton Wanderers.

The midfielder, who was a one club for life man that made 532 appearances for Charlton between 1962 and 1979, was unfortunately unable to prevent a 4-2 defeat for his side though.

The league would persist with it's rule of only one substitution allowed per side in the case of injury for two seasons before seeing sense and eventually allowing for tactical substitutions as well.

Four Epic Football Kit Blunders

2015-08-18T08:00:00.001-04:00

Major League Soccer club Orlando City and its goalkeeper Tallman Hall turned some heads this weekend after the shot stopper was spotted wearing a keeper shirt with the words "Team Crest Here" in place of where the club's badge was supposed to be on the shirt.

Hall and Orlando City however, were not the first player or team to have an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction in the world of football so today I give you my 4 all-time favorite football kit blunders.

#4 - That's not how you spell my name

Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder is just one of many footballers that have had their last names misspelled on the back of their shirts, so this will be the only player name spelling error on the list. "Andesron" wore this misspelled jersey in United's season opener back in 2012.

#3 - There's only one H in palace

If you think misspelling a player's last name on the back of the shirt is bad, Crystal Palace's spelling error was much worse. In 2004 the club had their own name misspelled on the team badge by adding an "h" to "Crystal" for an unknown reason. The blunder was so funny that it inspired a chant from the Palace supporters: "There's only one h in Palace!"

#2 - Upside down

When Wolverhampton fan Richard Gough ordered his favorite club's shirt for a low price he was quite happy with his purchase. But when the jersey came with the club badge sewn-on upside-down Richard was understandably upset and took on social media to vent his frustration. The club did respond to Mr. Gough with an appropriately humorous upside-down apology letter and they also treated him with some awesome gifts.

In case you can't read the letter attached, here is what it says:

Dear Richard,

I'm very sorry to hear you've received a shirt with an upside down badge on it.
Although we've been riding on the crest of a wave recently, in terms of results, we pride ourselves on the quality of our shirts and we certainly don't get a badge of honour on this occasion.

That said, the world can sometimes look better upside down — last year's league table being just one example.

Please accept our apologies, along with a ticket (printed the right way up) to our home game versus Shrewsbury on the 15th March. We'll also take you into the Dressing Room to meet the players before the match, where you can get both shirts signed.

Thanks, as always, for your support.

Best regards,

Matt Grayson
Wolves

#1 - Liverpool El-Mahalla

By far my favorite kit blunder of all time was when Egyptian side Ghazl El-Mahalla’s kit-man forgot to bring his goalkeeper's shirt to a match against Al Ahly. With the appropriate kit nowhere around, the man in charge of providing his players with the gear opted for the only option at the time, picking up a replica Liverpool goalkeeper jersey from the local sports shop. The club's shirt sponsor McDonalds was even plastered over Liverpool's partner Standard Chartered.

My 10 Favourite Club Crests - Iain

2015-04-12T16:00:00.000-04:00

You'll often hear that a player really plays for the badge and although I think there's a certain amount of hyperbole in that statement a club's badge is important.

It's a key part of a club's identity and holds special meaning to supporters. A badge is not something that can, or perhaps should, be messed with as some owners have found out in recent years.

Here are ten of my favorite club badges:

Sampdoria

Ever since the early 1990's when I first started keeping an eye on Italian football, the club badge of Sampdoria interested me. It's incredibly unique with the profile of a grizzled man smoking a pipe. It's actually a sailor known by the old Genoese name of Baciccia.

Robinhood Suriname

It's hard to dislike a club named Robinhood, especially when they have such a cool looking club badge with crossed swords, but with Suriname's most successful clubs motto being "No Fight, No Glory" you see how this badge really hits the mark.

Penarol

Uruguayan giants Penarol's badge features bold contrasting yellow and black colors in a powerful shield befitting of the 49 times league champions. The badge is completed with the eleven stars signifying eleven players.

Valencia

Admittedly I probably like this badge because I am a big Batman fan, but Valencia's club badge is a perfect example of a team incorporating their respective cities coat of arms into a football badge. The bat, by the way, symbolizes good luck thanks to the legend of a bat landing on the flag of King James of Aragon prior to a decisive victory over Saracen forces.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

The sharp and bold design of the Wolverhampton's 'Wolf Head' is one of my favourite club crests in English football. Even the colors of old gold and black hold special meaning, as they signify the Wolverhampton city motto "Out of Darkness, Cometh Light".

F.C. Twente

Twente, nicknamed The Tukkers or the much better Pride of the East, sport what I think is the best looking badge in Dutch football. The fierce stallion with it's tail on fire, sitting in front of a classic football pattern with a nice clean font and only two colours is a real timeless design.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

This is a strange choice you're probably thinking, and indeed it's a pretty simple text based crest, but it says all it needs to in a big and bold font face. It also looks like the badge says "FUCK" on it, which is probably what caught my attention.

The Strongest

Bolvia's The Strongest might just have the most badass name and badge in football. Everything about the club's identity screams out, "We're bad mothers. Come and have a go if you think you're hard enough."

Chicago Fire

Although some of the MLS badges are a bit too corporate looking or derivative of European sides, Chicago got everything right by celebrating their famous fire service in not only the club's name but in this brilliant club crest.

Guangzhou Evergrande FC

Some clubs have mottos like "Prepared" or "All for One", but Guangzhou Evergrande FC of China don't fuck around. Their motto is "Be the Best Forever" and that's fitting for a fierce badge like this.

Concepts: A New Look Wolverhampton

2015-04-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

We have recently received a submission from a designer called Cory Mizer with his redesign idea for English football club Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Here is the description of the project and the club in the words of the designer himself.

Wolverhampton Wanderers is a proud club based in the West Midlands of England, just outside of Birmingham, in Wolverhampton. Although recently suffering back to back relegations to League 1, the club won the title this season and have jumped back into the Championship. Wolves as they are known, have won the top flight on three occasions, the last one being 1958-'59, and have lifted the FA Cup 4 times, and the League Cup 2.

I choose to re-brand Wolves because of the history of the club. The logos of the glory days and into the 70's were my favorite, and although I have zero issue with the club's current badge, the 3 wolves leaping through the air, and the single wolf jumping the name will always remain my favorites.

5 Whacky Examples of Mascot Hijinks

2015-04-06T16:00:00.000-04:00

The point of having mascots at football, or any sporting event for that matter, is for the kids, right?

At least that's what I've always thought. I think of them as the Ronald McDonald's of the sporting world, that keep the kids entertained and leave them wanting to come back for more.

But some mascots don't exactly act like child entertainers at times and either get caught up in the emotions that football can stir up in many of us, or are just completely batshit crazy and shouldn't have ever been allowed to put a fuzzy mask on in the first place.

Here are a few of my favourite instances of Mascot Hijinks:

Friar Tuck is Off!

Kettering Town's Friar Tuck mascot wasn't exactly acting the role of a holy man when he was sent off for swearing at the Swansea goalkeeper Tony Millington in November 1969. Even the evil Sheriff of Nottingham didn't get told to 'fuck off' by the good friar, so you have to wonder what Millington did to elicit such a verbal onslaught.

That's Bullshit!

Hereford United's mascot drops a massive load before the Hereford United v Arsenal FA Cup 3rd Round match at Edgar Street, Hereford in January 1985. Behind him cleaning up his fresh mess on the pitch is chairman Peter Hill. Hard to see Roman Abramovich cleaning cow shit off of the pitch at Stamford Bridge isn't it?

What the Hell Vinnie? He's Just a Kid!

Hardman Vinnie Jones scythes down a young Leeds United mascot in 1990 who foolishly wandered onto the pitch. That'll teach the little rascal!

Where's the Drummer? You Bunch of C**ts!

Torquay United football club’s seagull mascot, Gilbert the Gull, ruffled Grimsby fans’ feathers in October 2014 when he waddled over to the away fans after Grimsby scored their third goal in a 3-2 win, "Where's the drummer? You bunch of c**ts and cocks!" He then asked if any of them wanted to come down to the pitch and "have a go" at him. Perhaps suffering from some new strain of bird flu, the angry bird was later reprimanded by his club.

When the Wolf Finally Got the Three Little Pigs

Wolfie, Wolverhampton Wanderers mascot, is no stranger to controversy as the Midlands club's costume wearing mad dog has several times been accused of taunting other mascots and fans. The big bad wolf's antics reached a climax against Bristol City in November 2001 when he got into an on-pitch fight with three little pigs. "Have some of that, you little swine!"

Sir Jack Hayward: The Man Who Saved a Club

2015-01-13T16:00:00.001-05:00

As news filtered out today of the passing of 91 year old English business man Sir Jack Hayward in Fort Lauderdale, fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers were united in mourning for the man who was primarily responsible for raising their club from the ashes.

Between 1949 and 1960, Wolves were one of the best sides in England as they captured two FA Cups and three League Championships under the stewardship of their legendary manager Stan Cullis. The club also helped stoke the flames for the formation of an official European Cup competition after their successful friendlies against the top continental sides of the time like Spartak Moscow and Honved.

After mixed fortunes over the next two decades though, Wolves had fallen on desperate times by the 1980’s as they tumbled all the way down into the old Fourth Division and were twice in danger of going out of existence all together.

Their once great home, Molineux Stadium, which had regularly hosted crowds in excess of 40,000 in Wolves glory years, had become dilapidated by the middle of the decade and two of the ground’s four stands were closed as they did not meet safety standards.

The ground, and indeed the club itself, were transformed though when millionaire businessman and philanthropist Sir Jack Hayward returned to Wolverhampton to buy the club he had supported as a boy in May 1990.

Getting to work first on bringing the Molineux in line with the Taylor Report, which outlawed terraces in England’s top two divisions by the 1993/1994 season, Hayward oversaw the complete redevelopment of three of the grounds four sides by the end of his third year in charge.

Wolves went from having half of a crumbling relic of a stadium to proudly owning one of the finest grounds in England when the Molineux was officially reopened with a match, appropriately, against Honved in December 1993.

Sir Jack’s investment in his beloved Wolves didn’t end with the ground though, as he invested significant amounts of his own money in upgrading the club’s coaching staff, scouting network and playing squad. It’s been estimated that Hayward sunk over £70 million of his own funds into the club.

After several near misses, the club finally achieved Hayward’s dream of promotion into the English Premier League in 2003, by virtue of an emotional 3-0 victory over Sheffield United in the Promotion Playoff Final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Although the club would only manage one season in the top flight, by the time Hayward sold the club on to Steve Morgan for a nominal fee of £10 in 2007, with the assurance that Morgan would invest at least £30 million in the club, Wolves were on much firmer financial ground than they had been 17 years earlier.

Appropriately, one of the stands at the Molineux is now named after Sir Jack Hayward and the ground is a lasting testament for what he did for the club.

When the man who had done so much for his local side visited the club museum to see a tribute to him a few months back, he simply signed the visitor’s book with the message:

“Glad to have helped.”

Rest in Peace, Sir Jack.

Football Statues (Gallery)

2014-11-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

In this world you have only one life, and I gave mine to Wolves.

The quote above is from Wolverhampton Wanderers legendary manager Stan Cullis who led the club through their halcyon days of the 1950's when Wolves rivaled Manchester United for English supremacy with three league titles and two FA Cup's under Cullis.

This brilliant quote is inscribed under the statue of Cullis that sits outside of the stand also bearing his name at Wolves' Molineux Stadium.

I first saw the Cullis statue in the flesh on a visit to the ground in 2006 and was impressed by the relaxed pose, the terrific attention to detail and the wonderful inscription that simply stated what the club had meant to the man.

This statue and the one of Wolves captain in the 1950's Billy Wright on another side of the ground were both sculpted by James Walter Butler and both marvelous pieces of work.

Whenever I visit a football ground I always make a point of seeking out these statue of the games greats, and snapping a quick picture, like the one I took below of Manchester United's George Best, Denis Law, and Bobby Charlton on a trip to Old Trafford in 2011.

However one group, The Sporting Statues Project that was featured in a recent article in Four Four Two have taken the appreciation for football statues a step further and have carefully cataloged photos and details for statues all over the world.

You can visit their site at: http://www.offbeat.group.shef.ac.uk/statues/

In the meantime, here are five of my favourites from their great site:

(Photo by Carlos Benavídez ©)

(Photo by Felipe Camara ©)

(Photo by Hardamik ©)

(Photo by Paul Horne ©)

(Photo by Pedro Montes ©)

5 Players Who Retired too Early

2014-09-06T09:00:00.000-04:00

The saying "it's better to burn out than fade away" is often quoted when a rock star drinks, drugs or shags him or herself to death.

Although some footballers are not immune to those three particular vices themselves, this phrase can more typically applied to players who shone brightly for a few moments, but left football and their fans behind prematurely.

The following are a few examples of players whose time in the spotlight was up sooner than expected.

George Best

There's a saying in parts of Ireland that "Pele good, Maradona better, George Best". That's the esteem in which many people who grew up in the '60s and early '70s hold Best. Bestie was a bright flame who burned out too quickly for Manchester United and Northern Ireland fans though. After two league titles, a European Cup and a Ballon D'or trophy, his wild lifestyle and the decline of a post Matt Busby United led to his departure from top flight football at only 27. He tried several comebacks in the following years, but it was always a case of what might have been for the boy from Belfast.

Marco van Basten

Although the great Dutch striker officially hung up his boots at the age of 31, he was effectively finished at only 29 after a crippling ankle injury. Van Basten though had a sparkling career at both club and international level, helping the Dutch to their only major trophy at Euro '88 and was a part of the brilliant AC Milan side of the late '80s. However, his early departure from the game was desperately sad to witness.

Peter Knowles

A talented midfielder for Wolverhampton Wanderers in the 1960's, Knowles had the misfortune of joining the club just after their glorious heyday under legendary manager Stan Cullis. Wolves were relegated from the top flight in the mid-60's and as they struggled to get out of the Second Division the young Knowles, who was on the fringes of the England side, repeatedly pushed for a move. Although the club refused, he did eventually leave the Midlands side, but not in the way expected. While in Kansas City on a pre-season tour, Knowles became a Jehovah's Witness and said he no longer had any interest in football, but would see out his contract. However only eight matches into the 1969/1970 season the 24 year old Wolves midfielder decided that he would prefer to devote himself to spreading the good word, rather than chase around the Molineux, and promptly called it a day.

Carlos Roa

Staying with the topic of religion as a reason for players to retire prematurely, you would struggle to find a stranger case than Carlos Roa. After some strong performances for Argentina at the 1998 World Cup, the Mallorca keeper walked out on his contract with the Spanish club a year later to prepare for the end of the world with his Seventh Day Adventist church. Unfortunately for the 30 year old keeper, but fortunately for the rest of us, the world didn't explode on January 1, 2000. Roa eventually came out of retirement, but was never able to get his career back on track.

Hidetoshi Nakata

Arguably the most famous Japanese player ever, Hidetoshi Nakata made an impressive breakthrough into Italian football at a young age, spending time at Perugia, Roma, Fiorentina and Parma. Despite being only 29 years old during the 2006 World Cup, he announced his retirement after the finals. Besides taking up a new career, to quote Derek Zoolander, as a ridiculously, disgustingly good looking male model, he also said he wanted to "see what was going on in the world." Someone should have told him to open a newspaper occasionally and then book a week in Benidorm, but never mind.

Repeating as Champions in England

2014-08-10T15:00:00.000-04:00

In the last 55 years, only three clubs in England have managed to repeat as champions.

As Wolverhampton Wanderers, captained by England legend Billy Wright, finished off their second consecutive season as First Division champions in 1958/1959 the era of the Midlands clubs dominance was coming to an end. Indeed, that season marked a sea change in English football as fewer clubs would be able to compete for the top division title and even fewer still would be able to repeat as champions.

Indeed only three club sides have been able to successfully defend the title since that 1958/1959 season and Manchester City will be hoping that they can add to this list in the coming season.

Liverpool: 1975/1976-1976/1977, 1978/1979-1979/1980, 1981/1982-1983/1984

Largely under the guidance of manager Bob Paisley, Liverpool enjoyed an incredible run of right titles in ten years. Blending youth with experience, and knowing when it was time to make changes to the squad, Paisley's side played an attractive brand of quick passing football. Besides their domestic success, Liverpool also won three European Cup's and a UEFA Cup in this period. With Paisley retiring at the end of the 1982/1983 season, Joe Fagan stepped into the managers chair to collect another League title and European Cup in 1983/1984.

Manchester United: 1992/1993-1993/1994, 1995/1996-1996/1997, 1998/1999-2000/2001, 2006/2007-2008/2009

If Liverpool owned the 1970's and 1980's, the next two decades belonged to Manchester United. Under manager Sir Alex Ferguson, United ended their 26 year wait for a league title in 1993, and after that there was no stopping the club. During this period of dominance, Ferguson crafted three very different sides that incorporated big signings and talented stars from the clubs much heralded youth system. Besides surpassing Liverpool's record haul of league titles, United also picked up two Champions League titles to go along with a heaving cabinet full of other honours in what is the clubs most successful era.

Chelsea: 2004/2005-2005/2006

In the midst of Manchester United's era of domestic dominance, Chelsea was acquired by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich who pumped hundreds of millions of pounds into the club. His key acquisition though was in landing Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho, who was fresh off of an unlikely Champions League triumph with Porto in 2004. With Mourinho at the helm, and an expensively assembled squad, Chelsea swept to two league titles in a row. During this time, the West London club did not lose a single league match at Stamford Bridge.

The Loyal - 15 Footballers That Only Played For 1 Club

2014-07-30T09:00:00.000-04:00

Stars must align in order for a footballer to spend their entire careers with just one club. Now more than ever it is becoming the norm for players to move from club to club in search of the big pay-day or an outfit that will provide them with more chances of trophies or medals. And while it is not always up to the players whether they can stay at the same club for the duration of their career, footballers that have managed to accomplish this have a special place in the hearts of the supporters.

We take a look at 15 incredible footballers who spent their entire professional careers wearing just one badge.

Tony Adams - Arsenal FC

In 1980 Tony Adams joined the Arsenal youth system, a stint that would turn into 22 years at the London club, 19 of which were in a professional playing capacity. In his time at Highbury the English international and London native had won 4 league titles and 3 FA Cup championships with the Gunners.

Jimmy Armfield - Blackpool FC

A Blackpool FC legend, Armfield played for the Tangerines for 17 years. Although the full-back did not manage to win any trophies with his club, Armfield was in the England squad that won the World Cup title in 1966. He retired from professional football in 1971.

Franco Baresi - AC Milan

Franco Baresi spent a total of 25 years with AC Milan. His first five were as a youth player, with an additional twenty as a professional, in which he recorded over 500 appearances, winning the Serie A title 6 times and the Champions League / European Cup on 3 occasions. In 1997, the Brescia native retired from professional football.

Giuseppe Bergomi - Inter Milan

Born in Milano, Bergomi would go on to play for his hometown club for 20 years starting in 1977. In his two decades with Inter, Bergomi won the Italian title just once during the 1988-89 season and was also a part of the Italian squad that went on to win the World Cup in 1982.

Jamie Carragher - Liverpool FC

Born in the tiny town of Bootle in Merseyside, Carraagher had switched between Liverpool's and Everton's youth system twice. Once he made his professional debut with the Reds however, he would never leave for another club again. In his 17 year career at Anfield, the English international defender would go on to win the FA Cup twice and the Champions League once with his club, before retiring as a "red" in 2013.

Jack Charlton - Leeds United

Surely his brother Sir Bobby Charlton would also make this list if he didn't spend a season with Preston North End and Irish club Waterford United late in his career. Jack Charlton however was dedicated to just one club throughout his playing years, that with Leeds United. Picking up his professional debut, Jack would go on to play at Elland Road for 21 years, appearing for his club in over 600 matches. Before his retirement in 1973, Jack helped his club to its first league title in 1969 and an FA Cup win in 1972.

Ryan Giggs - Manchester United

At the age of 15, the Cardiff native Giggs swapped the Manchester City youth system to that of their city rivals United. Fast-forward an astonishing 27 years, and Giggs retired from a storied playing career a "Red-Devil" having never left the club. In his 24 years as a professional at Old-Trafford, Giggs have won the English league title an astonishing 13 times, that on top of his 4 FA Cup and 2 Champion League wins. Although Giggs has retired from playing football he never really left United, picking up various coaching roles with the club.

Ledley King - Tottenham Hotspur

Considering a career plagued by chronic knee problems, Ledley King managed to stay with the Spurs for 13 years before his retirement from football in 2012 at the age of 31. King was an outstanding defender who is said to have gone even longer in his playing career than expected considering his constant injuries. Although he only managed to surpass the 200 match mark in his time with the club, the East London native is still considered by many as one of the better defenders in the club's history.

Paolo Maldini - AC Milan

Paolo Maldini was born in Milano in 1968. 10 years later he was already a part of the AC Milan youth system, making his professional debut with the club just seven years after that at the age of 17. Maldini's time with the club totals an incredible 32 years, 25 of which he spent as a professional. In his time with Milan <aldini helped his club to 7 Serie A titles, 5 Champion League / European Club wins and an equal amount of UEFA Super Cup titles as well. After Maldini's retirement at the age of 41 in 2009, his legendary #3 shirt was retired, with nobody able to wear it in the club's future. Maldini did however give consent to the club that either one of his two sons would be able to wear the number if they so choose if they ever play for AC Milan.

Billy McNeill - Celtic

Born in the tiny town of Bellshill (about 12 miles outside of Glasgow), McNeill would go on to record nearly 500 appearances for Celtic in his 18 years at the club. While with the Bhoys, McNeill helped his side to 9 domestic championships, seven Scottish Cup wins and a European Cup title in 1967, before retiring from professional football in 1975. McNeill would go on to manage the only club he had played with on two separate occasions for a total of 9 years. As a manager he managed to provide Celtic supporters with more joy, helping the club to 4 more league titles and 3 cup victories.

Gary Neville - Manchester United

Born in Greater Manchester, Gary Neville spent his entire 19 year professional career with United. In his time with his club the full-back managed to win the Premier League title 8 times, while picking up 3 FA Cup and 2 Champions League wins. Neville retired from football in 2011 for a career in sports television.

Thomas Schaaf - Werder Bremen

Born over 500 kilometers away from the city of Bremen (in Mannheim), Schaaf arrived at the Werder Bremen youth academy at the age of 11 in 1972. Six years later he made his professional debut, although for the first two years as a pro Schaaf would rotate between the main squad and the reserve squad "Werder Bremen II". When he retired from playing in 1995, Schaaf had already been at the club for a total of 23 years, in which he had won the league title and cup twice. But even after his retirement from playing football, Schaaf went on to stay with the club in various coaching roles for an additional 18 years, eventually becoming the senior squad manager. As the coach of the senior squad Schaaf brought his beloved club another 3 cup wins and a league title during the 2003-04 season. This year Thomas Schaaf left Werder Bremen for the first time after he was appointed the head coach of another German club Eintracht Frankfurt.

Paul Scholes - Manchester United

Another Manchester United great, Paul Scholes spent 22 years with the Red Devils, two of which were with the youth system, and twenty years divided between one very long and one short stint. Born in Salford (about 10 minute drive to Manchester city center), Scholes originally retired from football in 2011 after 18 years at the club. In January of 2012 however, Scholes became the hometown hero once more as he returned to the club due to an injury crisis at Old-Trafford, and eventually decided to stay with the club for one more season after that. In his time with the club Scholes enjoyed 11 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cup wins and 2 Champions League wins with the club.

Billy Wright - Wolverhampton Wanderers

Native of Ironbridge which is about 20 miles outside of Wolverhampton, Billy Wright would become an English football legend being the first to have 100 matches for the English national team to his name and having played in nearly 500 matches for Wolverhapton, a club which he would never leave to play elsewhere, kind of. During World War II Wright did play some matches as a part of the Leicester City squad. This was due to the fact that Wolverhampton have suspended competitive play due to the war, but Wrights participation with Leicester was recorded as "guest player" and therefore was never official. Wright retired in 1959 at the age of 35 and would go on to manage Arsenal for 4 years. Billy Wright passed away in 1994 at the age of 70.

Lev Yashin - Dinamo Moscow

Lev Yashin was so dedicated to his hometown club Dinamo that not only did he play for the football club, he also stood between the pipes for their hockey outfit and even managed to win the USSR Hockey Cup in 1953. With the football club however Yashin spent spent 20 years, the goalkeeper that is still referred to by many as the best ever helped his club to 5 USSR championships and 3 domestic cup wins. Yashin retired both from international and club football in 1970 at the age of 41. To learn more about Lev Yashin's career you can read our World Cup Heroes - Lev Yashin

Musicians Who Love Football

2014-07-25T18:00:00.000-04:00

What do Dave Grohl, Julio Iglesias and Sir Elton John all have in common?

If you answered that they're all musicians then you're correct, but they are also football fans and the real reason they're featuring on this website. Today celebrities are quick to pledge their allegiance to football clubs to show they have the common touch and are actually real people, but there are musicians out there that genuinely love the game and are real fans. The following are ten examples of football supporting musicians. Please feel free to add any others you can think of in the comments below.

Dave Grohl - West Ham United

The former Nirvana drummer, Foo Fighters guitarist and lead singer, and all around music impresario is a big fan of Premier League football and said in a VH1 interview that West Ham are his club of choice. West Ham do seem to be a trendy choice though for celebrity fans, but Grohl is a pretty straight shooter so I'll take his word for it.

Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris - West Ham United

Whereas you can maybe question if Grohl’s blood bleeds claret and blue, there’s no doubting the allegiance of Iron Maiden legends Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris to West Ham. Both are huge fans of the Hammers and have been since childhood. Harris was actually offered a trial with the Upton Park club as a teenager before opting for a career in music. When they aren’t summoning hellfire, Iron Maiden also runs its own football team made up of band members and their friends. Harris also plays a guitar that designed with Hammers colours at most Maiden concerts.

Fatboy Slim - Brighton & Hove Albion

English DJ Fatboy Slim, the artist behind some of the most memorable videos of the late ‘90s and a driving force behind the dance scene of that era, is a part owner of Brighton & Hove Albion. Fatboy Slim, real name Norman Cook, got his start by helping to grow the hip hop scene in Brighton in the early ‘80s and later returned to the sea side town after his career took off to purchase a 12% stake in the local football club.

Sir Elton John - Watford

The legendary recording artist is not just one of the bigger football fans on this list, but he was also once the acting chairman of Watford Football Club. Taking the club over in 1976, John sunk large amounts of his own money into the Hornets and saw them rise through the divisions under manager Graham Taylor. Incredibly for a club of their size, they finished runners-up for the league title behind Liverpool in 1983 and were losing FA Cup Finalists to Everton a year later. Although John no longer owns the club, he still sits on their board and continues to put money into Watford FC.

Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler - Aston Villa

With both Osbourne and Butler born in Aston, Birmingham there was only one club the former Black Sabbath legends could support and that was The Villa. Although you’re more likely to see Geezer at Villa Park these days than the Godfather of Heavy Metal, both are lifelong fans of the Midlands side.

Robert Plant - Wolverhampton Wanderers

The former Led Zeppelin lead singer is not just a fan of his local side Wolverhampton Wanderers, but has confessed to being obsessed with Wolves. Plant became a fan of the club, as a young boy, in their halcyon days of the 1950’s when they won three league titles and fell in love with Wolves when he was waved to in the crowd at his first match by captain Billy Wright. Plant has said that “Wolverhampton Wanders is paradise, a nightmare, a barrel of laughs and a whole lot of heartache.” He said that he was accused at one point of Wolves being one of the reasons behind his divorce.

Rod Stewart - Celtic

Although he’s yet another celebrity that dubiously claims to support West Ham, the club that’s closet to the Scottish crooner’s heart is Celtic. Stewart even mentioned his love for the club in his hit song “You’re in My Heart”. Rod was actually quite a talented player as a youngster and played in Brentford’s youth system. He is still often seen at both Celtic matches and Scotland internationals.

Julio Iglesias - Real Madrid

The world renown Spanish singer has been a fan of Real Madrid for most of his life and was once the goalkeeper for Madrid's reserve side, Real Madrid Castilla. Always maintaining that he had "more courage and attitude than talent", Iglesias' football career was ended as a result of a serious car accident. With his lower spine smashed and his legs subsequently damaged for life a nurse gave him a guitar to help pass the time away in his hospital bed. The rest as they say is history. Despite leaving football behind, Iglesias is still very much a fan of the Madrid side.

Brian Johnson - Newcastle United

Although thought of an Australian band, the lead singer of rockers ACDC, Brian Johnson, is in fact from Newcastle and is a massive fan of his local side. Johnson even appeared in a cameo role as a Newcastle United shirt wearing fan in the film “Goal: The Dream Begins”.

Noel and Liam Gallagher - Manchester City

Oasis’ Gallagher brothers are both huge fans of Manchester City, but pretty much everyone on the planet knows that as they are so vocal in their support for the club. The elder brother Noel often appears on British radio station TalkSport to talk about City and other football matters. Both can be spotted at many of City’s bigger matches, but in separate boxes after a major falling out between the two a few years back.

Throwback Thursdays - Wolves vs. Honved and the Birth of the European Cup

2014-05-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

On December 13, 1954, at a packed Molineux Stadium, the mighty Hungarian Champions, Honved, played a match against English Champions Wolverhampton Wanderers that many argue provided the final push towards the creation of a European Cup of Champions.

As the finalists Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid go through the final preparations for their 2014 Champions League Final clash on Saturday, this week in Throwback Thursday's we take a look back at the birth of the European Cup and a pivotal friendly that proceeded it.

The European Cup, the predecessor of the Champions League, was first contested in the 1955/1956 season and was won, incredibly, for the first five years by Real Madrid. Prior to the birth of this knockout tournament of champions, there had been no way to decisively determine the best side in Europe.

As early as 1897 though, a Challenge Cup had been contested by the top club sides from within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following World War 1, and the resulting political shifts across Europe, a new cup competition was created called the Mitropa Cup that included clubs from Central and Eastern Europe. The main countries, whose clubs featured in this tournament, were Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania and Italy. The Mitropa Cup was first contested in 1927 and did much to develop the level of play in the countries involved.

In Western Europe however, clubs had to be content with high profile friendlies in order to test themselves against sides from other countries. Although a Latin Cup between clubs from Spain, Portugal, France, and Italy had started after World War 2, a need for a Europe wide tournament was still there. The European Cup just needed a final push to get it off the ground.

The Magical Magyars

In the early 1950's the strongest National side in Europe, and perhaps the world, was Ferenc Puskas' Hungary. The Magical Magyars, won Olympic Gold in 1952 and then went on to smash England 6-3 at Wembley, becoming the first side from outside the British Isles to triumph on the Empire Stadium's hallowed turf.

Deploying a deep lying centre-forward in Nándor Hidegkuti, and playing with a fluid formation that would heavily influence the Dutch "Total Football" of the 1970's, Hungary made the England defense look "like a fire brigade rushing to put out the wrong fire."

Hungary went into the 1954 World Cup as firm favourites, and only an injury to Puskas and a questionable offside call kept them from glory, as they fell 3-2 to West Germany in the Final.

In December of 1954, the Hungarian club side Honved, which contained the future Real Madrid star Puskas, along with future Barcelona ace Sándor Kocsis and most of the Hungarian National side, came to Wolverhampton to play in a high profile flood-light friendly against Wolves. The English Champions, managed by Stan Cullis, were known for their direct wing play and were thought to be no match for the sophisticated Hungarians.

Although, Wolves enjoyed a golden period in the 1950's matching Manchester United with three league titles, and playing several other high profile matches against top European sides, many like my Grandmother who were privileged to be there that night, have said that there's never been a match like it at the Molineux. The ground was bursting beyond capacity, with many only seeing the ball when it went up the air, but the atmosphere was electric as the West Midlands crowd strained to see what their side could do against mighty Honved. The match was also carried live on the BBC, which was extremely rare in those days.

Predictably, Honved took a two goal lead in the first half with goals from Sándor Kocsis and Ferenc Macho. But after what was no doubt a stirring halftime team talk by the volatile Cullis, Wolves got back into it with a goal from Johnny Hancocks early in the second half. With fifteen minutes to go, Roy Swinbourne headed an equalizer and then within 100 seconds he had scored the winner, sending the 55,000 strong crowd into raptures on what is arguably the most famous night in the clubs history.

After the match, the British press raved about Wolves brave comeback and said that they drew on the "Spirit of Lord Nelson" in order to overcome the Hungarians. Some papers went as far as to call Wolves the "Champions of the World".

Over in Europe, the British reaction to Wolves victory did not go down so well. Gabriel Hanot, the editor of L'Equipe had this to say:

"Before we declare that Wolverhampton are invincible, let them go to Moscow and Budapest. And there are other internationally renowned clubs: AC Milan and Real Madrid to name but two. A club world championship, or at least a European one – larger, more meaningful and more prestigious than the Mitropa Cup and more original than a competition for national teams – should be launched. "

Impressed by the success of the Campeonato Sudamericano de Campeones (South American Championship of Champions) in Chile in 1948, Hanot had already put forward a proposal to UEFA for a tournament between European football's Champions. Spurred on by the reaction to Wolves victory, Hanot pressed the issue further until UEFA agreed during their congress in March of 1955 to the formation of a European Cup.

The tournament would begin play in the fall of that year, eventually morphing into the Champions League in 1992, and has arguably become the greatest prize in club football.

This Saturday, as Real Madrid seek their tenth "Cup With the Big Ears", supporters of Wolves and Honved can be proud of the part their clubs played in prompting a determined French editor to get this great tournament off the ground all those years ago.

Best of the FA Cup Final (Gallery)

2014-05-16T16:12:00.001-04:00

As Hull City and Arsenal take to the pitch at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, May 17, 2014, it will mark the final of the 133rd season of the FA Cup. The Football Association Challenge Cup, it's full title, is the oldest knock-out cup competition in world football.

To mark this special date on the football calendar, we here at FootyFair have put together a gallery of memorable images celebrating the winners, losers and supporters that have played a role in the FA Cup Final through the years.