Lies, Damn Lies and Football Statistics

I have a secret passion. A love that dare not speak its name. A lust so dark, so devious, so downright sickening that I have never til now made it public. After a long day at the office, I run home, up the stairs, close my curtains and double lock my door. My eyes dart around the room as the website loads, my face blushes, the photos of my friends and family on my wall stare out at me with dead-eyed condemnation. Finally, the release comes - I can gorge myself on football statistics until morning comes.

The Other Half: The Unreported World of Women in Football

Sian Massey Photo: Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

You’ve heard of the WAGs. Now meet the WIFs. Last week the BBC aired Sexism in Football, a documentary that put the spotlight firmly on the Women in Football (the WIFs). The organisation was founded five years ago, and yet their existence came as news to many. The WIF shave never actively sought publicity, and have received little attention from the national media since they were established. Up until now. Upfront and often uncomfortable, Sexism in Football showcases a series of interviews with prominent female members of the footballing community.

The Enigma of Mario

Occasionally in football, a player comes along who stands out from those around him. A player whose eccentricity and charismata earns admiration from fans of every football club across the country. A player who has an aura of mystique around them and is remembered long after he retires. Cantona embodied this, as did Gascoigne and of course George Best. But what made these players so special was that they displayed their charisma with a ball at their feet and used their imagination to dazzle on the football pitch.The potential for this sort of player arrived in the premiership in 2010 in the form of Mario Balotelli. There is not a single football fan in Britain who has not been captivated by what the young Italian has brought to the division both on and off the field. But while Best, Cantona and Gascoigne will be remembered foremost for their genius on the football field, Balotelli is in danger of being remembered for his roguery off it.

Play it from the back...

I feel as this is my first contribution to the Trequartistas blog I should just put it out there; I’m a Leeds fan. Quite possibly the zenith of the bittersweet football club, the ultimate marmite team. No matter who has donned the classic white strip from the delightful and legendary Bremner, Gray and Radebe, the likes of Hunter, Smith and Bowyer will plague my beloved club with its ‘Dirty Leeds’ stigma. By the time I realized I was a born ‘White’ Leeds had just been knocked out of the 2001 Champions League semi-final to Valencia, I never knew what I had missed.

A worried Spurs fan

Saturday morning’s game left much to be desired. Many Spurs fans will feel that a point at the stadium of light is nothing to be ashamed of, and i’d be inclined to agree. However, it is not the point that bothers me so much as the manner in which we got it.

De Gea. Was he worth it?

Photo: Andrew Yates/AFP/Getty Images

As my first article for this blog I am going to write about my beloved Manchester United. The season is nearly over and after today's displays it looks like Man U will clinch it. It’s been a weird season for Man U supporters; not having a lovely Tuesday or Wednesday 19.45 game to watch, it sadly has been Thursday 18.00 on Channel 5. I’m not a Champions League snob, but I have become accustomed to such a lifestyle. The constant threat from Eastlands has also been a huge worry.

Comedy of Errors

Wolves are down.

Now that we have that out of the way, the path is open to focus on who will be joining them in losing out in one of the most intriguing, infuriating and unpredictable relegation battles in living memory. The oddities at the top of the table have been well documented; the inconsistencies of 3 of the old "Big 4" coupled with the rise and fall of the big spending Manchester City and the incomprehensible continued success of the worst Man U squad of the modern era. Yet at the bottom the tale has been just as interesting. The old adage that only 40 points means safety has been disregarded as 5 staggeringly awful teams have slogged it out and, while it has been far from pretty, the mercurial inconsistencies of all of them have made it impossible not to watch their various implosions from behind the sofa.