By Chris Wright
As you may have seen at the weekend, faced with the prospect of having to chase down Sunderland
whippet James McLean, Per Mertesacker's ankle gave up the ghost and tucked itself underneath the
rest of the lithe German in a bid to get out of the way as the Irish winger hurtled through to
score the opener.
By Tony Attwood
It has been interesting to read comments on blogs which but a short while ago were calling for
"glass ankles" Van Persie to be set aside, and yet without a blink (or an admission that they were
wrong) are now blaming the Arsenal management for not having tied the same VP [..
By Chris Wright
It's not often we get to share 'highlights' from Indian football, but this little gem from the
I-League merits a mention. East Bengal spanked Pailan Arrows 4-1 last Tuesday, with the home side's
third goal of the afternoon being well worth another look.
This might be a touch simplistic and naive, but...
Shouldn't DVDs on 'how to tackle' be handed out to the youth teams of Premiership clubs, rather
than the guys getting six figures a week to go in at some poor man's ankles?
But the higher ups at the FA in England have deemed it a necessary act.
Raul was actually born in 1947. True story. In the sort of fixture that makes you rub your eyes in
the confused half-light of early season-meets season's end, Schalke is visiting PPL Park today to
rub elbows (and hopefully not ankles) with the Union. It is a bizarre scheduling quirk that adds
the burden of a midweek game to the clogged schedule of a Union team which has had little luck this
By Chris Wright
First things first: Sincere apologies for that god-awful pun. I tried to rise above it, and
failed. Miserably.
Anyway, Newcastle inflicted defeat upon Mark Hughes in his first game in charge of QPR, with a
neat solo effort from Demba Ba's deputy Leon Best proving to be the difference between the two
sides at the Sports Direct 80% Off Insane Spring Sale Arena.
By Chris Wright
Pies' undoubted highlight of the weekend, Craig Bellamy and his rubber band (I think I saw them
play at a wedding once) going through a bit of choice choreography on the touchline at Anfield on
Saturday...
The sad fact is, some sports scientist somewhere has spent good money running test after test to
show that warming-up with a laggy band around the ankles can increase muscle efficiency by 0.
By Chris Wright
Pies' undoubted highlight of the weekend, Craig Bellamy and his rubber band (I think I saw them
play at a wedding once) going through a bit of choice choreography on the touchline at Anfield on
Saturday...
The sad fact is, some sports scientist somewhere has spent good money running test after test to
show that warming-up with a laggy band around the ankles can increase muscle efficiency by 0.
AAAAHHHHHHHH I AM ARTUR BORUC AND THIS IS A LIST OF THINGS THAT MADE ME ANGRY THIS WEEK:
1. VIDEO CAMERAS -- IF THERE IS A VIDEO CAMERA BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW THEN I AM NOT GOING TO BE
HAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!! IF THERE IS NOT A VIDEO CAMERA BEHIND ME RIGHT NOW THEN I AM NOT GOING TO BE
HAPPY!
They say diamonds are a girl's best friend, but the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team has a new best
friend: a regeneration kit.
What is a regeneration kit?
It's a kit with a foam roller, a tennis ball, a lacrosse ball and elastic bands of varying
resistance.
Foam roller: used for self-massage, to warm up the tissue and work out soreness.
Bridgeview, Ill. (March 24, 2012) - On a windy and surprisingly cool evening at Toyota Park, the
Chicago Fire were able to put the pressure on the Philadelphia Union early, and then hang on for
their first win of the season.
Dominic Oduro scored for the Men in Red in the 27th minute off a cross from Marco Pappa for the
only goal of the match and Paolo Tornaghi made some crucial late saves as a Fire defeated the Union
1-0.
In the initial response to the announcement that work would soon begin on a ridiculous $1
billion Real Madrid-themed resort island in the United Arab Emirates, the focus was obviously on
talk of brand growth and jokes about Pepe. But now that the plan has progressed and the foundation
stone has been laid, Marca has noticed a tiny but interesting change Real Madrid made for this
project.
I'm writing this post just a few miles away from Buck Shaw Stadium, home of the San Jose
Earthquakes. Have I traveled down to the Bay Area to scout the Earthquakes first hand? To watch
their practices with an eagle eye hoping to decipher tendencies that may surface in their upcoming
match with the Seattle Sounders?
By Chris Wright
My my, it's just one big, happy family at Racing Club at the moment.
Days after a 4-1 derby loss against despised local rivals Independiente saw their coach resign
and their super-fruit-loop-loco Colombian striker Teofilo Gutierrez go paintball
gun-happy on his own teammates in the dressing room afterwards (incidentally, Gutierrez
has since been loaned out to Lanus), comes this debacle.
Just what Spurs needed three points. No alarms, a decent effort that lacked a cutting edge to
convert our massive superiority into more goals but none was needed in response to opponents who
reeked of the sickly unpleasant odour of apathy. And people have said our players don't care. I'm
surprised the Blackburn squad could summon up the effort to climb the stairs of the team coach.
There was one moment among many during Saturday's Montreal - Portland game where the Impact decided
to fight through a crowded box and take their chances. This was soccer without space. Enough ankles
and feet made sure the ball got nowhere near goal. There was no threat from the wings, and, once
committed, no real direction in that cavalcade of players.
Arsenal fans react in horror after RVP didn't sign on the dotted line
Fear, loathing, paranoia struck Arsenal when the news broke of RVP failing to renew his contract
on meeting with Arsene Wenger and Ivan Gazidis on Wednesday. There is a reason why these are called
negotiations and RVP will obviously take into account what the other clubs have to offer so he can
come back to the table to see if Arsenal can improve their terms.
By Chris Wright
Talking to Danish magazine Cover Man, Nicklas Bendtner has claimed to have been the victim of a
deliberately spiked drink, recalling one particular night out at London nightclub Boujis last year
that saw the bleary-eyed Dane papped with his trousers around his ankles while
attempting to leave the scene without attracting any undue attention an incident which later cost
him two weeks' wages.
By Chris Wright
Talking to Danish magazine Cover Man, Nicklas Bendtner has claimed to have been the victim of a
deliberately spiked drink, recalling one particular night out at London nightclub Boujis last year
that saw the bleary-eyed Dane papped with his trousers around his ankles while
attempting to leave the scene without attracting any undue attention an incident which later cost
him two weeks' wages.
