Arseblog has teamed up with Thomas Cook Sport, official travel partner of Arsenal, to offer two lucky fans the chance to win a pair of tickets to their Barclays Premier League clash with Blackburn Rovers on Saturday 4th February.

The Gunners will be in search of three valuable points against and some revenge against a Blackburn side for whom we scored two goals back in September.

Harimau Muda have announced they will play their SLeague home games at Yishun Stadium. Personally I would have liked them to use Larkin Stadium across the Causeway in JB but its floodlights ain't too good. Is it close enough to Malaysia to tempt supporters to cross the border for a game? Hope so.

So, it's all over, Arsene. In a season in which we have celebrated 125 years of glorious tradition and history it has come to this. With the news that the imperious gladiators of global football have grasped an unassailable nine point lead ahead of our once proud team, surely it is time for Arsenal to fold.

This is the exact pose Sergio Aguero makes on the way to the Manchester Market every Sunday for tea and biscuits! Can't blame the bloke, he's really enjoying life at the club.

We know you Scousers aren't entirely happy about losing 3-0 to Mancini's Men last night, but that's how football is.

Seldom has there been a less savoury title for a specific football match than The Split Testicle Match, but this is the name that has been given to the Boxing Day League Two match between Crawley Town and Gillingham, in which the visiting side's Chris Whelpdale suffered an injury, of which only the most cursory of descriptions may have sent many males wincing and clutching their groins.

Date: Friday Sep 30 2011
Ground: Berriew Recreation Ground
Comp: Spar Mid Wales League Division One (Welsh step three)
Match: Berriew 4 Rhayader 4 HT: 1-3
Sequence: 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4

ATT: 50 (headcount)
Additional: Entrance £3.00, Programme NONE Coffee 80p

Berriew Recreation Ground in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 6, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 7
Total 27

Another Welsh ground pinched from what would have been an unmemorable Friday evening.

Date: Friday Sep 30 2011
Ground: Berriew Recreation Ground
Comp: Spar Mid Wales League Division One (Welsh step three)
Match: Berriew 4 Rhayader 4 HT: 1-3
Sequence: 0-1, 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 2-3, 3-3, 4-3, 4-4

ATT: 50 (headcount)
Additional: Entrance £3.00, Programme NONE Coffee 80p

Berriew Recreation Ground in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 7, Structures/Terracing 6, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 7
Total 27

Another Welsh ground pinched from what would have been an unmemorable Friday evening.

Arseblog has teamed up with Thomas Cook Sport, official travel partner of Arsenal, to offer a double Christmas treat for four lucky fans. We've got a pair of tickets for the Barclays Premier League games against Wolves on Monday 26th December 2011 and another pair for the QPR game on Saturday 31st December 2011.

SHAH ALAM - Malaysia Super League (MSL) champions Kelantan are in the frame to face V Sundramoorthy's LionsXII in the opening game of the 2012 season, but the fixture will only be confirmed next Wednesday.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) vice-president Datuk Hamidin bin Haji Amin told TODAY that while they have drawn up a tentative schedule of fixtures, they will only be released after a final round of checks of stadiums this week.

SHAH ALAM - Malaysia Super League (MSL) champions Kelantan are in the frame to face V Sundramoorthy's LionsXII in the opening game of the 2012 season, but the fixture will only be confirmed next Wednesday.
Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) vice-president Datuk Hamidin bin Haji Amin told TODAY that while they have drawn up a tentative schedule of fixtures, they will only be released after a final round of checks of stadiums this week.

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RUGBY TOWN JUNIORS 0–5 LOUGHBOROUGH STUDENTS Saturday 10th December 2011 Midland Combination Under-21 section; East / North Division Kilsby Lane
The first part of a "double" today, as having been impressed with the Students when I saw them beat Stapenhill 4-1 in October, decided to take in their away fixture at Rugby Town Juniors.

The Belgrade Derby: A World Phenomenon
Crvena Zvezda 0-2 Partizan Belgrade (26:11:11)
The taxi ground to a halt with the floodlights of the Marakana rising in the distance, writes Andy Hudson. A single policeman tried to control the traffic from six different directions; the angles of his hands lost amidst the steam billowing from his mouth.

The Belgrade Derby: A World Phenomenon
Crvena Zvezda 0-2 Partizan Belgrade (26:11:11)
The taxi ground to a halt with the floodlights of the Marakana rising in the distance, writes Andy Hudson. A single policeman tried to control the traffic from six different directions; the angles of his hands lost amidst the steam billowing from his mouth.

Cut and paste the post for the Dortmund away fixture .....

Except, Arsenal were in the midst of our terrible run and some of the players who have now bedded in were still struggling. That is not all, our Centre Backs had yet to be formally introduced and with Aaron out, Benayoun started. The stadium was full of fervent and expectant BD fans.

Non-League blog: Floodlights, fundraising and fuzzy heads

After two years of take, take, take, MirrorFootball has decided to give something back to the game. We've adopted our very own football team: the mighty Buckley Town! They play in the Huws Gray Alliance league the second best league in Wales!

$2 million for a Summer of Soccer in 1960: several decades before Soccer United Marketing and others figured out the value of bringing Europe's best teams to play in North America during their summer breaks, New Yorker Bill Cox had already given it quite a shot with the International Soccer League.

I've heard there was a special chord

That Ray Hudson sang when Messi scored

But you don't really care for pundits, do you?

It goes like this

The fourth, the fifth

The Xavi pass, the Andres split

The baffled d decomposing Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Your faith was low you needed a lift

You saw him darting on the pitch

His beauty in the floodlights overthrew you

He glued you to a Nou Camp chair

He climbed your throne, he showed you flair

And from your lips he drew the Hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Halleluja, Hallelujah

There was a time when you tread below

Dinho was fat & Marquez slow

But now you look down upon me, do you?

Back in London for a conference and I could not miss an opportunity to see Arsenal play Bolton tonight at the Emirates. It might just be me, but there is something special going to a match at night. For some reason the atmosphere is also better under the floodlights. And tonight was no different.

Back in London for a conference and I could not miss an opportunity to see Arsenal play Bolton tonight at the Emirates. It might just be me, but there is something special going to a match at night. For some reason the atmosphere is also better under the floodlights. And tonight was no different.

UEFA's weekly wrap is always excellent, but this quote from Otelul Galati president Marius Stan is both funny and eye-popping. Because be honest you didn't know who they were until the Champions League draw.

"They are celebrating 25 years with Sir Alex Ferguson on the bench and we are celebrating 25 weeks since we have had floodlights at the stadium.

That's the amount of time that the New Goal Line Technology system has to inform the referee if the ball has crossed the line or not.
The first test phase, due to be carried in the next few months, will be conducted by the Swiss technology research institute EMPA.
"EMPA is a government-funded research institute," project leader Martin Camenzind said.

The Green

The green of the grass. Every time. It's greener at Arsenal than anywhere else. The only time I can remember it being as green somewhere else is the first time I saw Arsenal play live. It was some time in the mid-80s, in a pre-season game against Shamrock Rovers here in Dublin.

Under floodlights, a packed terrace in a south Dublin suburb, a battle of the O'Leary brothers if I recall correctly (of course it's possible I've just augmented my memory of it).

By Chris Wright

As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a floodlight loved floodlights and that strange, ethereal, almost 'lunar' quality that they tend to lend to football matches but enough about my little fetishes, let's get on with it.

Tally ho!

By Chris Wright

Ten more wonderful vintage photos picked at random from the Pies' archives...

A police alsatian attempts to relieve Fortuna Dusseldorf forward Dieter Woske of his shorts after sliding into the net trying to convert a cross against Koln, 1959

Three Manchester City old boys catch forty winks on a bench in Trafalgar Square before their side's FA Cup Final against Birmingham City at Wembley, 1956

Mourners gather in silence as the coffin of Manchester United captain Roger Byrne arrives at Flixton Parish Church.

Which are the best games of the season? Well, to me they have always been the Autumn midweek night games. The games start in sunshine and finish under floodlights, it is early season so the fans are excited, the team has gone through pre-season and are all fit and raring to go. These are nights that live long in the memory.

Date: Saturday Apr 30 2011
Ground: Ponciau Park
Comp: Cymru Alliance (Welsh step two)
Match: Rhos Aelwyd 1 Cefn Druids 2 HT: 1-1

ATT: 86
Additional: Entrance £3.00, Programme £1.50

Ponciau Park in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 5, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 8
Total 28

Rhos Aelwyd were promoted to the Cymru Alliance last season.

Date: Saturday Apr 30 2011
Ground: Ponciau Park
Comp: Cymru Alliance (Welsh step two)
Match: Rhos Aelwyd 1 Cefn Druids 2 HT: 1-1

ATT: 86
Additional: Entrance £3.00, Programme £1.50

Ponciau Park in pictures

Ground Statistics (marks out of ten, maximum 40)
Character 8, Structures/Terracing 5, Hospitality 7, Backdrop/Scenery or aesthetics for larger stadiums 8
Total 28

Rhos Aelwyd were promoted to the Cymru Alliance last season.

Date: Wednesday Apr 27 2011
Ground: The Pavillions
Comp: NW Counties League Division One (step six)
Match: Runcorn Town 5 Wigan Robin Park 0 HT: 4-0
McShane 9, Kinsey 15, Carey 27, 33, Adegbenro 82

ATT: 80
Additional: Entrance £2.00, Programme £1.

Date: Wednesday Apr 27 2011
Ground: The Pavillions
Comp: NW Counties League Division One (step six)
Match: Runcorn Town 5 Wigan Robin Park 0 HT: 4-0
McShane 9, Kinsey 15, Carey 27, 33, Adegbenro 82

ATT: 80
Additional: Entrance £2.00, Programme £1.

Cheer Up , Kevin Keegan

On course, for United to now go on to win the Double, having secured their place at Wembley, much depended on how Newcastle handled the pressures of the league run-in.And we got a very significant clue only a few days after the semi-finals, in one of the all-time great Premiership matches, on 3 April, 1996.

Cheer Up , Kevin Keegan

On course, for United to now go on to win the Double, having secured their place at Wembley, much depended on how Newcastle handled the pressures of the league run-in.And we got a very significant clue only a few days after the semi-finals, in one of the all-time great Premiership matches, on 3 April, 1996.

Tom Tully surely performed a double take when he happened upon the match report from Southampton's final stand at The Dell. Having written so many tales of glory for Roy of the Rovers, he likely thought his work had been plagarised when news came through that the final goal at those grounds, after 103 years of football, was a match winner over Arsenal scored from the foot of modern club legend Matt LeTissier.

Following his quite excellent piece for us about non-league videos a couple of days ago, we are pleased to welcome Mike Bayly back from the Non-League Day initiative. Mike wrote a book called "Changing Ends", about a season in non-league football, last year, and this excerpt from the book traces the history of Dudley Town FC, the representatives of the largest town in Britain never to have hosted league football.

Diego Lugano goes in for the kill.

• Part 2 of a CA preview. (Three Match Ban)
• Like reality TV. (The DA)
• The floodlights. (EFW)
• The best of the rest. (The Best Eleven)
• Hip check? (KCKRS)
• Up high, up high. (IBWM)
• Head in the sand.

The Mighty Lighty Of Plzeň FC Viktoria Plzeň 2-1 Hradec Králové European Football Weekends Czech correspondent, Iain Thomson takes one last look at the best floodlights in Europe before - deep breath now everyone - they are hauled down..... This report, my first for EFW, is rather belated due to a terminal case of having-lots-on-my-plate-and-not-getting-round-to-it, but here you go: The Czech

I've lived and worked in more than half a dozen countries over the years and each has its own little foibles without which there wouldn't be much to talk about in he pub after a long shift.
Bangladesh it must be said has more than its fair share of foibles. Luckily for me, when I was living there, most of them occurred outside of the bubble I existed in at the time but one foible did impact the whole country and that was the dreaded hartal.

A couple of years ago I wrote a very short blogpost with a picture of Aston Villa's floodlights from the 70s/early 80s. They really are a wonderful sight.

Yesterday a comment was left on that post that I feel requires greater exposure, here it is, in full:

A sight to behold

Hi, thanks for posting the Villa lights.

A couple of years ago I wrote a very short blogpost with a picture of Aston Villa's floodlights from the 70s/early 80s. They really are a wonderful sight.

Yesterday a comment was left on that post that I feel requires greater exposure, here it is, in full:

A sight to behold

Hi, thanks for posting the Villa lights.

There's been controversy and drama at both ends of the table in the Scottish first division this week.

At the bottom end, with Stirling Albion already relegated, Ross County and Cowdenbeath now face a straight fight to avoid the play-off spot, and County took a three point advantage this week by winning their game in hand the twice abandoned game against Queen of the South which finally went ahead at a neutral venue.