Footie Genius

As football fans we all gear up for the restart of the English Premier League on Wednesday. Remarkably football in the UK is getting back underway less than 1 month after the Scottish Premier League decided the best course of action was to cancel the league!  For years Scottish football has been in the gutter. It has been dwarfed by the high wages in England. Its teams have struggled to compete on the European stage against technical opposition. There have been refereeing strikes and an abundance of teams going into administration.  The question has to be asked - why cancel the league?  The above map taken from  europeanleagues.com  shows in green countries which are going to (or already have) continue their seasons. In red are the handful of countries which decided to cancel their seasons - either null and voiding the season, or in Scotlands case awarding a team the title, and relegating a team who could still have fought their way out of relegation.  Why ...

Transfer deadline day has become a big event - with many people throwing parties and creating drinking games based on which catchphrases Jim White will use. The latest Sky Sports Advert which aims to drum up excitement outlines the pitfalls associated with last minute transfers. The advert (link below) highlights key signings and the time they signed on (or slightly after) the deadline. Below I'll analyze those mentioned and workout if they have been a success or a failure: 20:34 Blind Signing for £13.8m Daley Blind has made a slow start at Manchester United. Signed as a left back he has played mostly as defensive midfielder. He has suffered a bit through injury but has made a reasonable start to his United career, but Blind has been criticized  for his constant side passing and patient play and is seen as one of the reasons United have been so slow in attack this year. Verdict: Too early to tell 20:46 Suarez Signing for Liverpool from Ajax in January 2011 Suarez had a r...

Before I start writing posts, I thought I best introduce some of the great football clichés that I will no doubt fall into the trap of using. Here's some of my favourites: The team looks strong on paper: Has a team ever looked strong on paper? With the exception of Porto's  Hulk  I don't think I've ever seen a team or player that looks strong on paper. There are no easy games in international football: This is the excuse that you roll out if your country has only beaten San Marino 1 - 0. He's ran his socks off: Yes if this ever was the case then I'd accept it, but I have never seen it. Most players nowadays actually wear their socks in a stupid position above their knees - e.g. Thierry Henry. They are setting out their stall early on:  This basically means they have started the game, there is no other meaning. This free-kick is in Beckham's range: As talented as Beckham is, I don't need to know every time there is a free kick in the oppositi...