Cult Hero

It's been a while but our cult hero section is back! With Super Gerry Francis making it into the hall of fame! QPR fans will remember that youthful look and even though he has aged since his playing days, his hair hasn't .... well it's gone grey but other than that the famous GF mullet is still going strong!

The Weekender

After a bumper festive season The Weekender is donning his new sheepskin jacket Father Christmas bought him and is heading out for another two days of footballing merriment.
The Boxing Day schedule was enough to keep the cold turkey @ bay but a full weekend fix is in order!
With no Christmas Card from Fergie this year he's going for West Brom to pull off a shock @ Old Trafford, but it's not looking good for the chasing pack either......
He has better news for The Toon though where Mike Ashby welds the sack like Santa Claus on a can of red bull and a 'arry Christmas for the Super 'oops with a win @ last against Liverpool!

Steven Fletcher's Pink Y-Fronts............

So with fingers hovering over the keyboard in a dinghy East London pub where Wi-Fi has only just been invented, our two old skool pundits with the help of Edison the tea boy translating and typing chew the fat over the latest footballing events...........

The Midweeker : Before we get started, my word Edgar Davids has made a difference to Barnet! He maybe 90 odd, but already in the 2 games he has kicked a ball, Barnet have looked like world beaters! It wont be long before the skillful icon takes the Bee's into the top flight of the English game (OK a slight exaggeration lets start with getting them promoted to league one!)

Meanwhile in Ipswich, it's all gone a bit wrong...... last nights defeat was the last straw and Jewell found himself out of a job again, fans where up in arms, I mean the amount of dosh they have splashed out yet if anything they have gone backwards not forwards, a bit like the latest muse album! Rumours have it that the tractor boys are screaming for Mick ' I can smell round corners' McCarthy!

The Weekender : Muse?? Don't try and get down with the kids, you don't want to get caught up in those Jimmy Savile rumours! My money's on Redknapp for the Tractor Boys, lives just down the round and look's like a mashed swede the fans are gonna love him!

Shame to see Jimmy Bullard call it a day now there was a looker and had cult written all over him, nice to see someone play with a smile on their face! That's one thing you can say about the lower leagues there's none of these fancy dan prima donas like we get in The Premiership.



MW: Yeah and while we're on the subject did Jim fix it for you? I tell you what else gets my goat up, bloody multi-coloured footy boots, i mean whats wrong with the old Adidas world cup classics? Brian Clough would turn in his grave if he could see the state of the game these days! Our mate Martin O'Neil ain't a fan of them either, rumour has it that he fines Sunderland players for wearing them! While we're on the topic of Sunderland, I can't believe Steven Fletcher wears pink y-fronts when he enters the field of play, apparently he has a pair of lucky pants, which were white until a recent washing mix up, his Missus put her red socks in with them!

WE : What's all this argy bargy with John Terry, he was found not guilty in court and then found guilty by the FA! But still certain players have beef with them? We all know the FA couldn't organise a p*ss up in a brewery but they've served the punishment so it should be end of! Mind you back in our day it was all sorted out on the pitch, players had more respect for each other and if they didn't they'd get clobbered off the ball with and not even get a yellow card........bring back Tommy Smith or Ron 'Chopper' Harris they'd sort 'em out!

And while we're at it I thought I was still watching Tom Daley the other week, turns out it was just MOTD with Suarez and Bale diving all over the place........STAY ON YOUR FEET as our mate Wilkins would say!

MW : Yeah just picture this, Tom Daley steps up to the diving board and then pulls out from behind his skin tight speedos a size 5 football and boots it into the crowd! Diving should be kept in a pool and football on the pitch! Not sure why players feel the need to dive! I mean now with sky live pause you can watch it in slow mo, and the expression on the players face is almost believable, although they do look a bit special! Oh and before I forget according to Neil Warnock, even goalkeepers are playing up to the camera! Just ask Chris Kirkland! he went down like a sack of spuds!

WE : Was good to see St James' Park go back to it's proper name after all that "www.bollocks.com stadium" malarkey the other day! With all this naming rights's bull the heart is being ripped out the game and in this age of instant success it's good to see that Alan Pardew has been signed up for virtually the rest of his life! The fans will change their tune about the 'cockney mafia' once the success starts coming in..........

MW : The final thought of tonight goes to our QPR fans.... how long can Mark Hughes last @ QPR, i mean the bloke is proper w**k! The best thing for him is to hold his hands up and just admit that he ain't got a clue what his doing! Could 'Arry end up at Loftus Road or will Joey Barton make a shock return as player manager?

WE : As always mate, it's been emotional.......   



Scout and about - Shaun Wright Phillips

When our resident Scout comes into the office on a Monday morning, he usually brings with him tales of young, new, little known players he has seen on his weekends away.  Royston Drenthe @ Everton, Rubén Rochina with Blackburn or Paul Pogba @ Old Trafford amongst others have all had him salivating into his first hot cuppa and cheeky Hob Nob of the day.
So this week when the name Shaun Wright-Phillips was on every one's lips we thought we'd heard it all before. But with his early season form and promise of regular first team football, SWP could about to be a player revitalised.

Arriving @ Loftus Road as the transfer window had started to creak to a close, Shaun faced an on the spot interview from the Sky Sports Reporter who had taken up squatting rights there that particular evening and it was clear for all to see that he really didn't want to leave Manchester, but with the only other option that of getting splinters on his bum from warming the City bench, he decided the time was right to leave the club he loved and played for twice for a new life in West London.

Now 29 years of age it's fair to say that he wasn't helped in his first few seasons at Maine Road by lack of stability at the club, going through managers like a dose of salts and the added bonus of relegation probably didn't help.
But after breaking into the side under Kevin Keegan he became a fans favourite winning the 'Young Player of the Year' award on four successive occasions. It was then that he first appeared in an England shirt and attracted the attention of Chelsea, who paid £21m for his services.

Once again managerial turmoil at a club hindered his career, add to that this time the owners need for instant success and SWP was once again on the periphery of things. During his time he did however continue to appear and score for his country.
Inevitably really after one managerial shake up too many he fell out of favour completely and was granted a return to the Sky Blues.

Without taking anything away from QPR something SWP is more likely to get now is first team football and of course if a player is playing week in week out their confidence and form improves. This could lead to a return to the England set up where his bustling, energetic approach has earned him praise on International Duty in the past.
England have had their fair share of wingers trying to stake a claim for a regular spot in the team, but even if the early season form of Ashley Young has made him a first choice, there is still a place on the other flank there for the taking.
Let's hope for Shaun's sake that the recent  takeover @ The Hoops doesn't mean a case of history repeating and that this new start isn't another false dawn.