The Italian Job For as long as I can remember, I have regretted not being born Italian. I am fascinated by everything Italian: culture; food; language but, above all, football. This obsession has so far led me to do things as practical as learning the language to enrich my trips and as unusual as getting […]
Wade Smith Liverpool, Football casual pioneer Wade Smith Liverpool, holds claims to have been one of the most influential shops on the football casual scene. Strolling down Slater Street in Liverpool at the corner of Fleet Street, the unit now occupied by Hardman Pizza will be of little significance to many. Turn the corner onto […]
Leeds Away – Chasing a Playoff place Newcastle away. April 2017 To set the scene, it was a Friday night game, Leeds away to the promotion dead certs Newcastle. We were hoping to secure a place in the playoffs having been away from the top league for so long (those were the days eh). crack […]
West Ham Away Days Back in the 80’s, football away days at times were a drag, the journey to the ground, the trains were always packed or delayed. If you decided to drive you couldn’t park your car without paying exorbitant fees in car parks or bunging the local 10-year-old tearaway a fiver to mind […]
Experiencing Dutch football culture I’ve watched football in quite a few countries around Europe and I find the Dutch football culture to be very similar to the English in terms of support and style. Dutch football clothing Pre-match drinking is a big thing, which isn’t the case in some countries. Similar clothing brands are seen […]
Football Casuals: A Short History British youth culture has led the world for decades, from Teddy Boys to Mods to Hippies to Skins to Suedeheads to Punks…….to the Football Casuals. In essence, the Football Casuals scene in the UK began in the late 70’s but exploded in the 80’s, essentially in England and Scotland initially, […]
It’s more than just a game “It’s only a game” was a phrase my mam would announce whenever I arrived back in the house aged 19 at god knows what time in a foul mood, after being on 3 trains, with a stomach full of warm Carlsberg after getting hammered 3-0 in the pouring rain. […]
The curious case of Nathan Delfouneso 10 years ago our Nathan Delfouneso was hot property. Full of skill and trickery, getting on the end of things for Villa and England u21s. The pace and hard running, a stylish package full of potential. The goals came slowly at first but such a classy looking player would […]
How I got a job as a football mascot and scored at Wembley When you are twenty-nine years old and meant to be a grown-up it’s probably fair to think your chances of pulling on your club shirt and scoring a penalty at Wembley are slim. If you are a fat piss can who supports […]
Football Rivals Man Utd and Liverpool Every team has their football rivals. Football fans are tribal with hatred often coming to the fore. Maybe as we get older that anger and hatred slowly ebb away but we all have that one team that we hate. Geography is the main reason for this hatred and as […]
