Christmas may be just around the corner, but there’s been little festive cheer surrounding Scottish football of late. The headlines have been dominated over the last week or so by what is referred to these days as simulation – we traditionalists still prefer to call it diving, of course.
On Tuesday evening I was present amongst the away fans at the Karaiskakis Stadium to witness Olympiakos versus Arsenal in the Champions League. Although the result wasn’t to end up matching my expectations, the experience as a whole was to more than make up for the disappointment.
Scott Parker is currently at the top of his game. The reigning Writers Player of the Year has cemented his place in England’s midfield and won Novembers Premier League player of the month. But what perhaps makes this even more impressive is that Harry Redknapp and Spurs paid just £5million for his services this summer. Shrewd business no doubt but is it the best (bargain) transfer in Premier League history? The below deals may have something to say about that…
We football aficionados just adore a slice of misty-eyed nostalgia occasionally. How wonderful it is to watch footage of – or simply think back to – a bygone era from time to time, when pitches were like mud baths, and the players were proper hard men, sporting jerseys with sewn-on badges and socks rolled down round their ankles.
It’s long been thought that Football is ahead of the curve when it comes to tackling racism. Whilst this is an idea that has been fuelled by those within the game, on the surface there does appear to be some truth in it.