It's Up For Grabs Now
Thursday, October 30, 2003
In this new spirit of IUFGN glasnost, here's a question for you all. We were reading an old Times piece by Tony Cascarino about retiring players earlier, and it included this paragraph:
"Maybe about 5 per cent of footballers will stay in the game, coaching or managing, but the vast majority will have to start again. Among the many former England players I know, one opened a bookmakers that went bust, another is a postman and a third is a cab driver."
Now we assume the postman is Neil Webb, but what about the other two? Anyone?
Wednesday, October 29, 2003
Keith Curle may extend playing career, to the surprise of those of us who thought he'd quit around 1995
Yeah, we've got ourselves some comments links now. We used to have a message board on the site but it only ever received two posts, so let's see if we can't beat that total by, ooh, September 2005.
We hear that David Davies may be involved in the Tory leadership in a deal with Michael Howard. We assume his role will be to sit alongside Howard in a tracksuit looking serious as Howard reads out his shadow cabinet.
Tuesday, October 28, 2003
Sunday, October 26, 2003
This is linked from the Sunday Times, so you'll have to have a login there. Sorry.
"You are far more likely to see the Manchester United manager dancing around Victoria Beckham’s handbag in China White than you are to actually hear him admit that another team deserved to win because they were the better side" (today's Sunday Times)
Ferguson - "Fulham fully deserved to win the match" (today's Sunday Times)
Who do you reckon the writer of BBCi's Wolves-Leicester match report supports? (look at the fourth paragraph)
'Defuse Beckham row', not 'diffuse', surely? Unless Sakiri wanted to spread it all over the place, which was probably the result anyway
You know those warnings of nuts people hanging around on the Internet? Here's the type of person they may have been thinking of - celebrities Photoshopped into Celtic kits
Saturday, October 25, 2003
We've been sent a picture of Fulham's new mascot, to be unveiled at their next home game. Now, surely everyone is past the stage of laughing at men in animal costumes, especially as the clubs seem to take personal offence if people do, and it's still just a touch childish.
Not that we could ignore this one, though.
Terry Bytes, it's called. And it's a 'notepad'. Not a laptop.
Thursday, October 23, 2003
Tuesday, October 21, 2003
Darlington chairman George Reynolds last week boasted about matching fire with fire should anyone dare criticise his methods. Just in time for the broadcast of a documentary about him, police investigate his threats against the local newspaper editor. What's that they say about all publicity?
Saturday, October 18, 2003
Who says Fulham are always going to be in the shadow of their chairman's ego? Mini-Mo - every Windows operating system should have one
Thursday, October 16, 2003
As is generally the case in football, they do things to an even more ridiculous degree in the lower divisions - Tamworth player admits lying about having cancer
As is generally the case in football, they do things to an even more ridiculous degree in the lower divisions - Tamworth player admits lying about having cancer
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Do they know about googlies in Brazil? We were at this game - full report as only we know how to follow in Armchair Football - and were sitting right in line when Roberto Carlos aimed about six yards wide of the far post. Worth the £4 programme and airhorn-indebted headache, we say
Saturday, October 11, 2003
Presumably Graeme Souness was in the Sky box to add his knowledge of Turkish football, but unfortunately this meant he had to talk about England. Everyone already seems to have noted his "what Alpay did to Beckham just wasn't British", but what about his going against all three colleagues in claiming Gerrard made a meal for the penalty (speaking of which, wey-hey-hey! Beckham's been spending far too long with Jonny Wilkinson, clearly) despite admitting Tugay had stuck his foot out? That's Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, is it, Graeme? We also loved the bit just as Turkey came out for the second half when Keys crossed to Geoff Shreeves for an update on what had gone on after the tunnel fracas, only for him to reveal he didn't know. Speaking of sticking your foot out - Recber on Dyer, anyone?
Meanwhile, you might like to note that Villa's, and thus Alpay's, next game is away at... Birmingham. Now there's a game we've always felt was lacking in passion. Not. Still, now the real business can begin. That being headlines of the 'WILL SVEN STAY FOR EURO 2004?' type.
Friday, October 10, 2003
Now here's expert opinion at its finest : players' off-field activities could get out of hand, warns Collymore
DOWNLOAD OF THE WEEK
No, not the latest Armchair Football special edit, although clearly you all should go there and from there onto the site proper to subscribe (don't think we're not watching, NotBBC Sport Forum, by the way). No, it's this - where more obvious than a Dutch site to host Stephen Lodge going A over T?
Wednesday, October 08, 2003
I GREET YOU IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD
MY NAME IS BYRAN ROBSON OF THE NIGERIAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
I WISH THIS MY PROPOSAL WILL NOT COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE
I CRAVE YOUR INDULGENCE AS I CONTACT YOU IN SUCH A SURPRISING MANNER. BUT I RESPECTFULLY INSIST YOU READ THIS LETTER CAREFULLY AS I AM OPTIMISTIC IT WILL OPEN DOORS FOR UNIMAGINABLE FINANCIAL REWARDS FOR BOTH OF US
IT IS WITH UTMOST TRUST AND CONFIDENCE THAT I MAKE THIS URGENT AND IMPORTANT BUSINESS PROPOSAL TO YOU TO RECEIVE A SUM OF SEVEN MILLION US DOLLARS FOR THE REGISTRATION OF MR ADE AKINBIYI, CURRENTLY RESIDING IN LONDON SE25
MY GREETINGS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY AND I HOPE THIS LETTER MEETS YOU IN GOOD HEALTH
Thursday, October 02, 2003
If you're at all oohing and aahing about whether to join the happy throng on Armchair Football, maybe this will sway you - we've started compiling a lite version in conjunction with 40% Football which will be updated every Thursday until they decide it's a bad idea which hasn't worked out. See, this is the kind of thing we get up to
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
So October clicks round, and still no It's Up For Grabs Now relaunch six weeks after it was much advertised. We're sorry. What can we say? Well, we can say 'contributors backed out or suddenly declared themselves invisible, coupled with the editor mislaying a load of E180s he intended to copy-type stuff off', but anyway. To make up for it, here's an article, surprisingly not written by ourselves, which was intended for the big relaunch - a Luton fan explains just what went on at that club over the summer
Taffarel's car breaks down, so he retires. Bit hasty, we reckon. In other football/car interface news, Teddy Sheringham and the notably less ostentatious Matthew Upson both fail to win two-seater F1 race. Jodie Marsh came up behind them - oh, do your own Mandy Smith-referencing jokes
Kevin Campbell launches a record label - and Mark Morrison is his first signing, but then when you're looking to team up with Duncan Ferguson on the pitch that kind of thing must feel like second nature. Note Cup Final record advance "bit of rapping" warning
