Babe of the Month - From Glamour Puss to Sports Broadcaster!

Amy Christophers was born on 6th October 1986 in Truro, Cornwall, England and is currently on a quest to move from top glamour model to top sports presenter. She is also a huge Chelsea FC fan.

Amy decided to quit modelling in 2014, at the height of her career, to follow her real passion and move into sports media.

'Thatsportsspice' her instagram profile and twitter name, Amy is aiming to become one of the best sports broadcasters in the country. She already has a spot on 'talkSPORT' (right) on a Wednesday night/Thursday morning with Adam Catterall and is a Columnist for 'The Sun' newspaper. This year Amy also won the FBA’s (Football Blogging Awards) for Best Football Influencer for 2018.

She has also worked on football podcasts and has appeared on the show 'ontheleftside,' where the presenters take a satirical look at the game of football.

It has not been all plain sailing though, as earlier this year Amy found herself caught up in unwanted headlines, when she was pictured among a group of women leaving the PFA awards with chief executive Gordon Taylor, to continue drinking elsewhere.

That highlighted the barriers the ambitious 31 year-old is having to break down in the face of other people who say she has no right to work in sports media and/or sports broadcasting.

However in three years Amy has completed her journalism studies at Cornwall College, qualified to become a Football Association referee and is now broadening her knowledge further, as she sets her sights on trailblazing a path for women to make an impact in a notoriously male dominated arena.

                 Breaking the mould: Amy Christophers from Model to Sports Broadcaster

However Amy has stated becoming a qualified referee was part of the process of gaining more knowledge and proving her expertise, not because she wanted to be a referee! She then went on to do her journalism qualification to again enhance her knowledge of the game and the world of sports media.

Amy has also gone on to present shows on the Sky platform (below) and says after she finished modelling she knew she had to be a bit more conservative in the way she presented myself:

"I dyed my hair brown for a bit and kept a low profile because I had to shake off that image. I think I have proven myself now, I know my stuff and in the sports world and I feel I am starting to be respected - although I still have a long way to go before I hit all my goals."

Sports media is notoriously difficult to get into, and even more so for women, but Amy is determined  to break the mould!

Former Glamour model and Chelsea fan 

Amy was one of the biggest glamour models in Britain, working under the name of Brandy Brewer (a stage name that came from a combination of the name of her first pet and her mother's maiden name).

In her ten-years career working as model Brandy Brewer she was a regular on the pages of magazines such as Loaded, FHM and Nuts, but sport has always been her passion.

In 2008 she won 'Loaded' magazine's 'Rear of the Year' which really shot her to fame with the lad mags! In 2009 she won 'Miss UK Football Finder' and reached the semi-finals of 'Miss Great Britain,' and in 2010 Amy won 'Nuts Boardmasters Bikini' competition.
Amy went on to become a page 3 girl for 'The Sun' and the 'Daily Star' newspapers.

Under the name of Brandy, she also became a reality TV star appearing in hit show 'TOWIE' and Series 2 of 'The Bachelor' -  the UK version with Spencer Matthews.

Amy is currently freelance but working with major media brands including newly formed 'Sport Convo' a new social media network owned by Gareth Bale and Indian cricket hero Virat Kholi. The company headhunted Amy, stating they knew that she was their girl! Amy rocks up to football stadiums in the branded sports convo Ferrari and invites fans into the passengers hot seat to be interviewed, she also interviews sports stars and films a weekly sports round up. Amy had to learn some Hindi to film certain videos for their Indian cricket audience.

Hosting a radio show and writing a weekly column are her long-term goals and on this Amy said "Basically I want to be presenting a main show and doing a radio show, that's my ultimate ambition"........and she is without a doubt well on her way to achieving her goals!

You can follow Amy on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube

All the very latest football news and gossip across Europe!

The European Championships are over.
Clubs across Europe are preparing for the start of the new season, which begins in just a couple of weeks! Some clubs are away on pre-season tours, others are preparing a little closer to home but every club is looking to strengthen their squads.

Here is a round up of all the latest football news/gossip across Europe today, which includes the likes of: The FA, Leicester City, Manchester City, Paul Pogba, Saido Berahino, Georginio Wijnaldum, Manchester United, Juventus, Crystal Palace, Diego Costa, Arda Turan, Alvaro Negredo, West Ham, Chelsea, Newcastle, Loic Remy and Robin Van Persie to name but a few!


Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri says reigning PFA Players' Player of the Year Riyad Mahrez wants to remain with the Premier League champions - skysports.com

Manchester City will move for Leicester City and Algeria forward Riyad Mahrez, 25, if they fail to sign Schalke's 20 year-old Germany winger Leroy Sane - French Football News‎

It is no secret that Manchester United are interested in Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and have Manchester United have had an £85m bid for the midfielder rejected by Turin club. An Italian newspaper have taken things one step further and say that he will be joining United, for a fee of €125m euros (£104.9m) - Corriere dello Sport (Italian newspaper)

In France they are saying a deal has been agreed for Paul Pogba to return to Manchester United from Juventus. Apparently negotiations will now be formalised over the final price and it is thought it could be €120m euros. It is suggested it could be completed in a ‘matter of days’ - L’Equipe (French daily newspaper)

Juventus want Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko to replace Paul Pogba should he leave the club this summer. The Blues are not willing to part with the Serbia international Matic for anything less than €30m (£25.2m), while Newcastle want €41.7m (£35m) for France international Sissoko - Gazzetta dello Sport (Italian newspaper)

New Bayern Munich head coach Carlo Ancelotti says he will not allow striker Robert Lewandowski to leave for Real Madrid - Sportbild (German sports daily newspaper)

Talks are ongoing between Stoke and Liverpool with a £13 million fee agreed to take Joe Allen to the Britannia Stadium - skysports.com

Olivier Giroud is unlikely to leave Arsenal this summer, according to his agent Michael Manuello. Uncertainty has surrounded the 29-year-old's future, with reports suggesting he could be on his way to Napoli with Gonzalo Higuain potentially heading to the Emirates Stadium - Evening Standard

Atletico Madrid are the only club to have 'bid' for Arsenal target Gonzalo Higuain, according to Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis, although Italian champions Juventus Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are all 'keen' on the striker - skysports.com

20 year-old defender Rob Holding's transfer from Bolton Wanderers to Arsenal will be completed in the next few days - skysports.com

Former Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie has been heavily linked with a return to the Premier League this summer, after spending a year in Turkey with Fenerbache.
It is reported that Stoke and Middlesbrough are in pole position for the 32-year-old's signature, after West Ham turned down the opportunity to bring him back to London - The Mirror

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes has said that West Brom have rejected more than one offer for 22-year-old striker Saido Berahino, which reports suggest could have reached £20m. Crystal Palace and Watford are also interested in Berahino - skysports.com

Chelsea have emerged as favourites to sign Real Madrid forward Alvaro Morata - The Sun

Alvaro Negredo will join up with Aitor Karanka’s Middlesbrough squad in Spain today. The Valencia striker has agreed a one-year loan deal with an option for Boro to make the deal permanent next summer. The former Man City frontman will have his medical with the Middlesbrough doctors out in Marbella - skysports.com

However Middlesbrough's pursuit of Borussia Dortmund defender Neven Subotic has broken down, and the defender will travel back to Germany. Boro had agreed a fee of around £8m with Dortmund for the Serbia international and he was shown around the club's facilities nearly two weeks ago - skysports.com

Scans have revealed that Michael Dawson has sustained significant damage to the medial collateral ligament in his knee. The Hull City defender is expected to be out of action for three months - bbc.co.uk

Atletico Madrid may turn their attention to Liverpool's Belgium striker Divock Origi, 21, if they fail to sign Spain international Diego Costa, from Chelsea - Bleacher Report

Newcastle may be interested in signing Liverpool's Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva, 29, as part of a deal taking Georginio Wijnaldum to Anfield, with the Magpies valuing Wijnaldum at £27m - Daily Telegraph

In Holland it is being reported that Everton and Tottenham will both bid for Newcastle's 25-year-old Georginio Wijnaldum, sparking a bidding war - De Telegraaf (Dutch newspaper)

Tottenham have ended their interest in Newcastle midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum. Spurs were keen on the Dutch international but manager Mauricio Pochettino has decided he is too expensive, with the Magpies unwilling to budge on their £25m valuation - skysports.com

Chelsea and Everton will go head-to-head to sign Napoli and Senegal international defender Kalidou Koulibaly. Chelsea are understood to have had a £20m bid rejected by Napoli, but the London club are set to revise their offer.
Everton meanwhile, backed by new owner Farad Moshiri, are willing to spend £37m on Koulibaly as new boss Ronald Koeman aims to steer the club back into Europe - The Sun

Liverpool have confirmed the signing of 30-year-old Estonia centre-back Ragnar Klavan from FC Augsburg. Klavan, who has appeared 112 times for his country, is believed to have cost the club €5m (£4.2m), with reports suggesting he has signed a three-year deal - bbc.co.uk and skysports.com

Burnley and England international goalkeeper Tom Heaton has chosen to extend his stay at Turf Moor. Heaton, 30, joined Burnley from Bristol City in 2013, and was part of England's Euro 2016 squad has signed a new four-year deal - skysports.com and bbc.co.uk

Swansea are reportedly keen to sign Tottenham's Nacer Chadli. Spurs value the Belgian at around £15m, which would be a club-record fee for Swansea - Daily Mirror

Turkish side Besiktas will target Chelsea's France striker Loic Remy, 29, if they fail to agree a deal with Fiorentina for Germany international Mario Gomez - Evening Standard

Germany striker Mario Gomez says he will be leaving Besiktas because of the "political situation" in Turkey - skysports.com

Europa League champions Sevilla have completed the signing of Palermo midfielder Franco Vazquez. The 27-year-old has signed a five-year deal - skysports.com

Barcelona are willing to sell £20m-rated Turkey midfielder Arda Turan, 29, with Chelsea and Arsenal are both said to be interested in the Turkey international - Talksport

Barcelona pair Munir El Haddadi and Sergi Samper have signed contract extensions, the La Liga champions have confirmed. Both Munir and Samper have penned a three-year renewals that will see them remain at the Camp Nou until June 2019.
Munir has a €60m (£50.1m) release clause in his new contract, while Samper has had a €50m (£42m) clause inserted in his deal - skysports.com

Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Swansea and West Brom are interested in West Ham's £15m-rated Senegal striker Diafra Sakho. However Diafra Sakho will not be sold until West Ham find replacements, according to co-chairman David Sullivan - Daily Mirror and bbc.co.uk

Manchester City and Manchester United both want 17-year-old West Ham defender Reece Oxford, who is valued at £15m by his club - skysports.com

Manchester United are eyeing a £25m move for the Monaco and Brazil international full-back Fabinho - Daily Mail

Manchester City are close to signing 24 year-old Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli, for £4m from Real Sociedad - Guardian

Newcastle have agreed a fee with Blackburn Rovers for defender Grant Hanley. The Scotland international will travel to Tyneside for a medical today after a fee of £5.5m was agreed between the sides - skysports.com

Aston Villa 'keeper Brad Guzan could be set to leave the club on a free transfer, ahead of a switch to Middlesbrough. The Teeside club announced the signing of Spanish World Cup-winning goalkeeper Victor Valdes earlier this month - Telegraph.

Transfer news coming from Portugal, concerning two Benfica players, who could be coming to a Premier League club. Reports that Talisca, a 22-year-old Brazilian attacking midfielder, and Eduardo Salvio, 26, an Argentina international winger, could both be moving in a joint deal worth £50m (£41.9m). Where are they going? The paper doesn't say, but does add that club president Luis Felipe Vieira is negotiating a deal in London - A Bola (Portuguese newspaper)

Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho is willing to let defender Tyler Blackett, 22, and strikers Will Keane, 23, and James Wilson, 20, leave Old Trafford - Daily Telegraph

Fulham are hopeful of agreeing a loan deal for England Under-21 international James Wilson - The Sun

Liverpool goalkeeper Adam Bogdan has joined Wigan Athletic on a season-long loan - skysports.com

West Brom goalkeeper Boaz Myhill has signed a one-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2018 - skysports.com

Real Madrid youngster Borja Mayoral will leave the club’s training camp in Montreal to finalise his loan move to Wolfsburg. The striker, 19, will head to Germany today to sign his season-long deal with Wolfsburg - Marca (Spanish newspaper)

Aston Villa say that Stiliyan Petrov will not be offered a playing contract, but will be offered a role at the club - skysports.com

Arsenal have signed 16-year-old Norway defender Erik Tobias Sandberg from Lillestrom SK - The Sun

Stoke City are keen on striker Jose Angulo, 21. He plays for Independiente del Valle in his native Ecuador - Guardian

Sheffield United have turned down a £1m bid from Birmingham City for their young striker Che Adams - skysports.com

Bury have completed the signing of 30 year-old defender Leon Barnett on a two-year deal after his release by Wigan Athletic - bbc.co.uk

Rotherham United have secured the signature of 22-year-old Brighton's Jake Forster-Caskey. The central midfielder has 12 England under-21 caps, and signs on a season-long loan - skysports.com and bbc.co.uk

Luton Town striker Jack Marriott has pledged his long-term future to the club by signing a new three-year contract - skysports.com

Port Vale have signed midfielder Sebastien Amoros on a one-year deal, with an option of a further year. The 21-year-old joins from Monaco, where he came up through academy - skysports.com

Burton Albion manager Nigel Clough is hoping to offer Irish teenager Ryan Delaney a permanent deal with the club. Defender Delaney, 19, currently with Wexford Youths, has impressed the Brewers boss while on trial - skysports.com

Chelsea youngster Alex Kiwomya has joined Crewe on loan until 9th January 2017 - skysports.com

Crawley Town have signed midfielder Billy Clifford on a one-year deal following a successful trial, the Sky Bet League Two club have announced - skysports.com

Hearts have signed striker Tony Watt on a season-long loan from Charlton - skysports.com


# New rules to stop "intolerable behaviour" by players and managers have been introduced in English football.
In a statement, the Premier League, English Football League and Football Association said poor conduct has reached "unacceptable levels."
Starting this season, red cards will be issued to players who confront match officials and use offensive language.
Behaviour within the technical areas will also be more rigorously enforced.

The Luis Suárez Crime Sheet!

Liverpool's £22.8 million forward Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz hasn't won over many fans outside of Merseyside since his move to the English Premier League in January 2011. Last season he spent nearly as many games suspended as he did score goals. The Uruguayan undoubtedly has talent, but he's spent more of his time rolling around on the grass than he has dribbling the football.

The Liverpool striker found himself in hot water again last Sunday when his bite on Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic (right) sparked universal condemnation and resulted in the Football Association slapping a ten game ban on the tempestuous Uruguayan.

Luiz Suárez first gave a glimpse of his dark side aged 15, when he was sent off for head-butting a referee and breaking the official’s nose.

Since then, the striker, nicknamed "El Pistolero" meaning "The Gunman" has scored goals and courted controversy wherever he has played.

Here is a list of the the life and crimes of football's serial offender!

February 2007 - Suárez makes his senior international debut for Uruguay on 8th February 2007 in a 3–1 win against Colombia. He is sent off in the eighty-fifth minute after receiving a second yellow card for dissent.

November 2007 - Internal suspension at Ajax for half-time bust-up with team-mate Albert Luque over a free-kick.

July 2010 - During the 2010 World Cup quarter-finals, Suárez (right centre) prevents Ghana's Dominic Adiyiah from scoring in the final minute with a deliberate handball on the goal-line and is subsequently sent off. A penalty was awarded but missed by Asamoah Gyan and footage showed Suarez celebrating on the sidelines. Uruguay eventually went through to the last four on penalties.

July 2010 - In a match for Ajax against FC Twente with the game approaching half-time Suárez loses possession on the edge of Twente's box and tries to win back the ball with a 'shocking' tackle on Cheick Tiote, and in the process feigns injury himself. The referee didn't hesitate in showing the Ajax skipper a straight red card.

November 2010 - Playing for Ajax versus title contenders PSV Eindhoven in November 2010, team mate Rasmus Lindgren had been shown a red card for a reckless tackle on Ibrahim Afellay. A scrap ensued and Suárez decided to bite Otman Bakkal on his shoulder (below). A subsequent seven game ban followed.

October 2011 - Everton's Jack Rodwell is shown a red card for a 'fair tackle' on Luis Suárez. However, the Liverpool player goes down like he'd been shot and the Everton midfielder sees red, which was later overturned on appeal.

October 2011 - Suárez racially abuses Manchester United's Patrice Evra during a Premier League match at Anfield on 15th October. Suárez is later found guilty by the FA and is banned for eight matches and fined £40,000 ($60,000).

December 2011 - After a 1-0 defeat at Fulham in December 2011, Luis Suárez is seen making an offensive gesture (raising his middle finger) in the direction of the home fans as he walks off the pitch. During the match the Uruguay international was subjected to chants of "cheat" after referee, Kevin Friend, turned down a penalty appeal when he went down following a challenge on him by Brede Hangeland.
Suárez is subsequently given a one match ban, immediately prior to his FA suspension for racial abuse coming into effect.

February 2012 - In Suárez's first game back following his eight game suspension for racially abusing Evra he clashes with Tottenham defender Michael Dawson. Dawson beats Luis Suárez to a ball down the line and concedes a throw in. As Dawson falls over in making the clearance, Suárez decides to go over to the defender and kick him whilst on the ground. If kicking Michael Dawson wasn't enough, Luis Suárez also puts his boot into Scott Parker's stomach in the same game.

February 2012 - Manchester United and Liverpool meet in the first match between the two clubs since the Suárez/Evra racial abuse incident, and much hype surrounds the game. With the chance to put the racism row behind him ahead of the big match Luis Suárez decides not to shake hands with Patrice Evra and he make the headlines for all the wrong reasons once more. United boss Sir Alex Ferguson says: "For a club with their history, I'd get rid of him, I really would." 

October 2012 - Suárez dives in front of David Moyes to celebrate a goal after the Everton manager had accused him of diving.

January 2013 - Suárez is involved in controversy when his handball directly leads to him scoring the decisive goal in Liverpool's 2–1 win over Mansfield Town in the FA Cup third round tie at Mansfield on the 6th January 2013.

February - 2013 Luis Suárez's indiscipline again sullied another excellent individual performance in Liverpool's Europa League win against Zenit St.Petersburg, as the Uruguayan stamps on Zenit defender Tomáš Hubočan (below).
Neither the referee nor the official beside the goal apparently saw the incident, and UEFA decided to take no further action, despite having the option of reviewing the incident on video after the game.

March 2013 - In a heated battle with Manchester United, Liverpool's Jamie Carragher attempted a nasty challenge on Rafael only for the Brazilian to commit a terrible foul on Lucas just seconds later. This resulted in a scrap between both sets of players in which Luis Suárez did something commonly associated with girls, and pulls Rafael's hair.

March 2013 - Suárez appears to punch Chile defender Gonzalo Jara on the chin during a World Cup qualifier. The Liverpool striker was jostling with defender Jara during his country’s 2-0 defeat in Chile when he struck out with his fist. Argentine referee Nestor Pitana took no action at the time, but Suárez could still face a lengthy ban should any retrospective action be taken by FIFA.


....................................to be continued!

Congratulations to the England Under 16's Football Team

England's Under 16's regained the Montaigu Tournament title after beating France 5-4 on penalties in the final, which took place in the Stade Maxime Bossis stadium in Montaigu (west central France).

The Montaigu Tournament (In French: Tournoi de Montaigu) is an international association football competition that is contested by under-16 national teams.
The tournament was founded in 1973 by Dutchman André Van Den Brink who was the president of FC Montaigu, a French amateur football team. The tournament is also known as "Mondial Minimes".

This year's England team went one better than last years crop of Under-16 internationals, who lost in the final to Portugal in this annual competition, allowing captain Ryan Inniss to lift the Montaigu trophy.

Kenny Swain's side reached the final by topping their four-team group with seven points. They beat Uruguay 5-0 and the United Arab Emirates 3-2, before a goalless draw against Guinea on Saturday.

This win over France was the fourth time England have won the tournament, and rounds off a successful campaign for the England U16 team, who last month also lifted the Victory Shield for the tenth straight year. Next up for these Young Lions is the Nordic Tournament during the close season.

The England Team that beat France to win the Montaigu Tournament:

George Willis - Sheff Utd (GK)
Ryan Inniss - Crystal Palace (captain and pictured right)
Fankaty Dabo - Chelsea (off 80')
Luke Shaw - Southampton (off 69')
Jordan Graham - Aston Villa
Joe Rothwell - Man Utd (off 39')
Diego Poyet - Charlton
Jordan Houghton - Chelsea
Reece Mitchell - Chelsea (off 41')
Kieran Wallace - Nottm Forest
Devante Cole - Man City (off 54')

Substitutes:

David Moli - Liverpool (on 41')
Callum Robinson - Aston Villa (on 54')
Ben Pearson - Man Utd
George Cole - Chelsea (on 39')
Jack Rose - West Brom (GK)
Max Clark - Hull (on 69')
Lawrence Gorman - Nottm Forest (on 80')

Manager: Kenny Swain

The Resurrection of the Home Internationals!

The Football Association will confirm today (11th January) that Vauxhall has signed a four-year deal to be the new sponsor of the England football team, which could in turn lead to the revival of what was the oldest international competition before its demise over a quarter of a century ago - the 'Home International Championships.'

Vauxhall has also signed sponsorship agreements with the three other home nations, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Discussions between the home nation associations are ongoing and could lead to a tournament played over three international windows and some seven months, from November 2012 to June 2013, to coincide with the FA's 150th anniversary celebrations. There are aspirations to make it a regular event thereafter, although today FA general secretary Alex Horne poured cold water on the idea it could become a permanent arrangement. "We're talking to the home nations about a possible one-off round of matches with them in 2013, to mark our 150th anniversary," said Horne

The annual competition, last contested in 1984, was a regular fixture on the football calendar for about 100 years.

The interruption of the 1980-81 competition by the troubles in Northern Ireland did not help the championship's cause, nor did repeated bouts of hooliganism.
When England and Scotland fielded weakened teams in 1983-84, the British Home Championship was effectively finished.
Although the England versus Scotland fixture continued for another five years, the extended season and the importance of other tournaments had finally taken its toll.

Over recent years, there have been calls for its return, with only the English FA remaining opposed. However it looks like things are about to change. One of the main reasons for the the English FA's U-turn is seemingly financial.

The FA's finances have been hit hard in recent years by the expense of rebuilding Wembley and the implosion of its broadcast partner Setanta. This has come at a time when the governing body has spent heavily on the likes of Fabio Capello and making an unsuccessful bid for the 2018 World Cup.

Back in 1884 England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland were all playing international football. So the idea that they should all play each other in an annual league was a logical step.

Of the 89 tournaments, Wales won the tournament outright seven times and Northern Ireland three, while England and Scotland were far ahead with 34 and 24 wins respectively. Until 1979 titles were decided only on points, and not goal difference. 20 titles were shared as a result, and on one occasion, in 1955-56, the four nations split the title after they all finished on three points apiece.

In 1980-81 there was no winner because England and Wales refused to travel to Belfast owing to civil unrest.

In 1949-50 and 1953-54 the championships were used to decide World Cup qualifiers, with the top two teams going to the finals. However in 1950 Scotland, despite finishing second, opted to stay at home and withdrew from what would have been their first-ever World Cup appearance, a tournament held in Brazil that year.

The 1976-77 Championship came down to the final game between England and Scotland at Wembley. Scotland won the game 2-1, making them champions. A huge pitch invasion by the overjoyed Scottish fans ensued, causing extensive damage ensued as the pitch was ripped up and taken back to Scotland in small pieces, along with one of the broken crossbars!

Nonetheless, the games between these two fiercest of nations provided some of the happiest stories in Scottish football, including the 5-1 victory in 1928 in London and the 3-2 victory on the same ground in 1967, just nine months after England had been crowned World Cup winners.Scotland also suffered some shocking hidings down the years, including a 7-2 defeat in 1955 and a 9-3 hammering in 1961.

Ref-ing Mad? Well Now You Can Do Something About It!

Another shocking refereeing performance is a 'handy' excuse when your down the pub with your pals, after your team has lost, but as handy as it may be, nowadays it has become a more regular & genuine cause for complaint amongst almost ALL football supporters.

Now YOU can do something about it! And shortly I will tell you how!

Why would you want to bother in the first place I can hear you saying?
What difference will it make?
You can't change the result?
You can't get the game replayed?

Last Saturday I was at Selhurst Park to watch my team play host to Ipswich Town in a Championship League game. The 4-1 reverse suggests Palace were well beaten BUT the performance of the referee Mr. Penton from Sussex was awful, dire, atrocious, diabolical, calamitous........the list of expletives could go on & on!

Now I realize every supporter of every football club has got MANY a hard luck story they could instantly recall if asked, that involved a refereeing decision that changed a game, cost your team points, perhaps promotion or relegation, even administration!

To swallow these travesties of justice can take some doing as a fan & I am simply pointing out a recent one that affected me & more importantly MY club!

In just 90 minutes the referee awarded Ipswich a free-kick following a clean ball winning tackle made by a Palace defender that Town scored directly from, a second goal that looked suspiciously offside, a third goal where during the build up the ball quite clearly went out of play & the resulting cross led to a goal. And to put the icing on the cake, at 2-1 down Palace midfielder Nicky Carle was unceremoniously tripped from behind in the penalty box. A penalty & a red card should have ensued, but nothing was given.
Sound familiar?

To emphasise the point here are a small selection of comments left by Palace supporters on the messageboard of their own fans website holmesdale.net following the game.
(Warning: Some strong language now follows!)


'Over and above the fact that the team were utterly devoid of any creation or desire yesterday, the ref was totally shocking. It took him 5 minutes to decide we'd actually scored (because he was no where near the play), he missed the penalty and several other decisions were so blatantly wrong even some of the players from both teams were left scratching their heads. The man was a joke.'

'The game is rotten to the core. Decisions can't be challenged, speaking out brings charges of bringing the game into disrepute, rules are openly flouted with impunity and criticism is silenced.
Football is f*cked, my friends. Get used to it.'

'Mr Penton is clearly a blind, incompetent w**ker who shouldn't be let loose on an under 7's game, let alone an important match like yesterday's. The tackle on Carle was one of the most blatant penalties I've ever seen in 35 years of watching football and, in the context of the game, robbed us of at least a point.
As others have said and I commented at the time, the defender should also have walked, which would have given us a great chance of what seemed like, at 2-0 down, an unlikely win.
And as Lombardo said, it was a fantastic move which deserved a goal at the end of it. I hope Mr Penton is happy with his act of daylight robbery, the useless pri*k.'

'A couple of weeks ago I saw the worst penalty in 40 years of watching football that was given against Exeter v Brentford. Amazing how, for such a culturally important sport not to mention the thin line between success and failure, that decisions rest with one man who hasn't even played the f*cking game.'

'Thing that annoyed me about it was the fact he gave them a freekick, which resulted in their first goal, when Clint Hill slid in from behind and clearly got the ball. Yet when an Ipswich player slides in from behind and clearly doesn't get the ball, we get f**k all. Can't help but think if it was outside the box he would have given it as a foul.'

'By the way did anyone notice that on their 3rd goal the ball CLEARLY went out for a throw in right next to the linesman but he did not see it!! Really annoyed cos otherwise we could have continued to fight back...'


So there we have it..........a group of very unhappy fans!

Now here is what WE as football supporters can do in an effort to clean up the game. We exercise OUR rights & using the particular example described above, do so by demanding that all match officials:

* Meet a standard above & beyond the current one in place.
* That they should be held accountable for their errors of judgement.
* That they should have to stand up & explain the reasons behind their decisions.
* And if necessary introduce new technology, if it will help cut out some of the
abysmal errors of judgement that occur, all too frequently week in, week out.

Now you & I know that this is not going to happen because of a few dodgy decisions made by a Sussex official in South London on a wet afternoon in January. Yes, you can write to the Football Association & complain, but I know you will be lucky to get your grievance even acknowledged.

However, The Independent Football Commission(IFC) was for six years (2002-08) an integral part of football’s self-regulatory system.
The IFC has now closed & has been replaced by the Independent Football Ombudsman (IFO).

The Independent Football Ombudsman was established at the beginning of the 2008-09 season & has a clear remit to receive & adjudicate on complaints from football supporters & participants which have not been resolved by the football authorities, and to raise any policy issues which have been highlighted by those complaints, directly with The FA, Premier League & The Football League.
The creation of an Ombudsman will maintain a position as the independent and final arbiter of football complaints.

Here is a piece of text from their website regarding complaints:

The IFO is the final stage on complaints involving customer issues. An individual, a group of individuals or an organisation who feels aggrieved at the service received from a provider should, in the first instance, take that complaint to the provider. That will usually be the football club which provided the service, but it could be one of the Football Authorities if they were responsible for the service (for example, the FA in the case of England matches).

Each club and each Authority has a customer charter which should explain how a complaint can be registered and how it will be dealt with. If the service complained of rests with a club and it fails to satisfy the complainant, then the complainant can revert to the appropriate Football Authority (for example, to the Premier League if a Premier League club is the subject of the complaint). If, thereafter, the complainant remains dissatisfied, he or she can appeal to the IFO. In addition, if the relevant Football Authority has not responded substantively to a complaint within six weeks of receiving it, the Authority will either refer the matter to the IFO for consideration or will explain to the IFO why further time is required to deal with the matter.

Where the IFO receives a complaint prematurely, ie where it has not gone through the earlier stages described above, the IFO will refer such complaints to the relevant body for consideration.

I am bringing this to the attention of ALL football fans fed up with ANY aspect of 'the beautiful game.'
If enough supporters took the time to air their grievances to the IFO then maybe, just maybe they will be forced to review the complaint in question, whatever that may be!

If 'X' number of thousands of supporters stood up for change then perhaps something might be done. Don't just air your issue(s) with your pals, on messageboards or keep it to yourself.......write a short paragraph on the subject (be it referees, ticket prices, stadium facilities......etc) in the 'complaints' section on the IFO's website.

Here is the link to the site & good luck!
Link

Remember, football needs football fans. Without us there would be no game in it's current format. Clubs would go out of business, it would become a semi-professional game at best, supporters would lose interest, people would lose their jobs.
It's time for the supporters to have their say & help make a difference.

SIMON JORDAN on the state of our game, the Bostock fable, an array of his Infamous Quotes from over the years.....along with my own thoughts!

SIMON JORDAN has delivered the most damning verdict ever on the crumbling state of the beautiful game.

Jordan, the flamboyant Crystal Palace chairman has finally decided to walk out on football as the game descends into a bickering war over players’ inflated contracts, lack of loyalty, greed, corruption and arrogance.

The final straw came after seeing Tottenham run off with the Eagles' Academy gem John Bostock for the price of “a packet of crisps,” and culminating in Manchester United superstar Ronaldo’s absurd claim that he is being treated 'like a slave'.

Jordan admits to being disillusioned with the game even before he was pushed over the edge by an FA tribunal’s decision to award Palace just £700,000 compensation, (rising to £1.25 million with add-ons), for youth player John Bostock following his controversial transfer to Tottenham last month.

Jordan, who has run the show at Selhurst Park since 2000, is so dispirited by big clubs stockpiling all the best young talent that he is on the verge of quitting.

Palace, who lost in the Championship play-off semi-finals two months ago, handed Bostock his League debut at the age of 15 last season.

But their far-sighted investment in youth merely alerted big clubs to his potential, and Jordan felt bitter when Spurs manager Juande Ramos snatched the teenager.

Eagles manager Neil Warnock revealed: 'I’ve never seen Simon as disillusioned as I did over the Bostock affair. He’s still enthusiastic about Palace, but he feels utterly saddened by the way football is heading.'

He was devastated, absolutely rock-bottom, because he loves the academy and he knows how important it is to the club.

Jordan was so upset that he went back into the tribunal and told them, 'I don’t know what clubs like Palace can do to keep our brightest youngsters. Big clubs can tap up all the best 14 to 16-year-olds and we haven’t got a cat in hell’s chance of signing them now. We’ve nurtured Bostock since he was seven years old, we put him in the first team when he was still only 15 and we’ve done all the hard work.'

'And all we get for it is a tribunal fobbing us off by saying it’s a record fee for a player of his age - but they are out of date because really it’s peanuts.
Look at Aaron Ramsey - he’s only 18, but he’s just gone to Arsenal for £5 million, and we only get £700,000 for Bostock. It’s crackers.’

Warnock has warned Bostock that, for all the glamour of a Premier League club’s payroll, his talent could wither on the vine at Tottenham.


Certainly the youngster is unlikely to dislodge £16 million Croatian Luca Modric from the first team, and Warnock fears Bostock (right) may join the forgotten generation of home-grown prospects whose path to regular football is blocked by big-money foreign signings.

‘If anybody thinks the big clubs don’t go around tapping these kids up, they are going soft. They are living in cloud cuckoo land.’

‘I think Bostock would have broken into our first team next season and played regularly in the Championship. The only reason he didn’t play more often after Christmas was that he had ten O'level exams coming up.’
I was dead straight with him and told him that I had lined up this Australian lad (Nick Carle from Bristol City for £1 million), but I wouldn’t sign him if Bostock wanted to stay because I didn’t want to block his progress.’

So I asked him and his dad if they were going to sign for us, and they were adamant, ‘Yes, we’re definitely going to sign for Palace.’ Next thing I know, he’s off to Tottenham.

‘Is he going to get in their team ahead of Modric? There’s no way he’ll get in the side at Spurs for three or four years - he would have been better off getting 50 to 100 games under his belt with us.’

‘We need new legislation to stop big clubs tapping up all the best kids before they are 16 because, at the moment, there is nothing we can do to stop it.
It’s a sad day for football when you spend nine years cultivating talent in your academy system so the big clubs can just come along and pick them off.’

We all know Simon has his critics, but I think a lot of neutrals will look at this particular case and feel sorry for him because it’s just not right.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jordan has become one of the most outspoken personalities in football since buying Palace out of administration eight years ago at the age of 32, which made him the youngest chairman in the Football League.

He made around £40m after selling his firm The Pocket Phone Shop to the Carphone Warehouse and immediately pledged to have the South London club back in the Premier League within five years. He achieved his goal of seeing his boyhood club play in the top flight - albeit for just one season as Palace were relegated in dramatic style on the final day of the 2004/05 season.

But it did not take long for him to grow tired of the way football is run.

If Jordan, who used to step out with underwear model Sophie Anderton (below), does leave the game, football will be a duller place.


As the 40-year-old multi-millionaire businessmen prepares to sell his Championship club to the highest bidder, love him or loathe him, Simon Jordan always has something interesting to say:



Never short of an opinion, here are some of Simon Jordan's best lines.

1/ “You read on the front pages of newspapers about people unable to sell their homes and heading for the bread line - but you read on the back pages about footballers turning down £150,000-a-week offers!"

2/ “Footballers live on an island called ‘Football World’ where everything they do is right and everything that is said about them is wrong.”

Jordan is also disgusted that Chelsea’s England midfield star Lampard, 30, is continuing to hold out for a mammoth £150,000-a-week deal at Chelsea.

3/ “There is not a footballer or any kind of sportsman on the planet worth £150,000-a-week,” he said. “I can tell you a few surgeons who are - but no sportsman."

4/ “The more I watch this ‘Planet Football’ and see the back pages dominate the front pages and people like Coleen McLoughlin - who is just a plain little girl from Liverpool - set up as role models," I think to myself: "What the hell is going on?"

5/ “The moment the door of Selhurst Park hits me on the a***, I will not be coming back.”


He directed plenty of his venom at players’ agents, who he believes are responsible for many of the ills of the modern game.

6/ “Agents are nasty scum,” he said. “They’re evil and divisive and pointless."

7/ “They only survive because the rest of the sport is so corrupt and because leading football club people employ their sons in the job.”

8/ “In my opinion, no owner in their right mind would willingly invite an average agent into his academy, any more than a brothel owner would let a syphilitic nutter into his whorehouse."


But, amazingly, Jordan also took a pop at the long-suffering fans who have to dip further into their deep pockets every time a player agrees a new contract.
He insists the fans’ expectations increase the pressure on clubs to go after the best players and that in turn, hands all the power to the men in the dressing room.

9/ “If you get 60,000 people singing your name every week, you lose touch with reality.”

10/ “Fans wonder why they have to pay £50 for a kit for their son - but the price is that because they’ve been clamoring for better players.”

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other off-the-cuff classic Jordan quotes include:


11/ "I had an Aston Martin phone worth £15,000 given to me as a present. I dropped it in a gin and tonic about 15 seconds after opening it."

12/ "I'd rather support Millwall than sell Andy Johnson."

13/ "What does Everton chairman Bill Kenwright think he will get for £6m? Andy Johnson's trainers."

14/ "Even if I built a 50,000 seat stadium and bought Ronaldinho there'd still be complaints about crap hot dogs."

15/ "In retrospect, of course I regret calling them (Charlton fans) morons. Imbeciles would have been more appropriate."

16/ "Charlton have a cheap matchday coach service that goes out into Kent to nick Gillingham fans - that's pretty clever. We might start sending a coach to Brighton."

17/ "In terms of the credibility the papers have in dressing rooms, I've had players arguing their worth based on the marks out of 10 they get in The Sun."

18/ "I don’t give a f*** about football protocol and the other club owners. They want me to sit and have lunch before the games. F*** that. I don’t go to football to drink chardonnay in the boardrooms with those tossers. I go to win games. I don’t have anything in common with 90% of football club chairmen. They don't interest me."

19/ "Without being arrogant, I am probably the highest-profile club chairman in the country. Whether it is because I am young or I fight causes or I have a big mouth or I date silly girls, I don’t know."

20/ "In some ways I admire football fans because in what other business can you serve up crap and then have people come back for more?"

My problems with Birmingham started when I went into the boardroom at St Andrew’s and David Sullivan (the co- owner of the then Coca-Cola Championship leaders) came up to me and said: ‘Simon, I have known you for a few years but you keep yourself to yourself. Are you gay?’

21/ (On Birmingham's David Sullivan and David Gold) "I think they are disingenuous. The ethics with which they do business, I don't appreciate. I have had enough dealings with them to be able to have that view. Am I surprised? They sell dildos for a living. That gives you a judgement on what they may or may not be."

22/ "If I see another David Gold interview on the poor East End Jewish boy done good I'll impale myself on one of his dildos."

23/ "I think in life you get what you deserve. Despite my distaste for the owners, I don't wish any club bad luck. If Birmingham go down, am I going to shed a tear? No. Because the best thing about Birmingham is the road out."

24/ (On suing Iain Dowie) "I would not issue a writ through my lawyers on a point of principle, I will issue it on a point of law because a point of principle is expensive, as Iain will find out."

25/ (On how he would deal with then Newcastle bad boy Craig Bellamy) "I'd strangle him with his own tongue."

26/ (When West Ham beat Man Utd in the first game after Alan Pardew had gone) "If I'd have been him, I'd have gone down the training ground, said ‘thanks lads' and pulled out an AK-47. They hadn't done it for him, but they could beat the champions for Alan Curbishley. F****** unbelievable."

27/ "At the end of the day, I have a certain hairstyle. Whether I'm too old to carry it off now, I'm not sure. But it's a subject for discussion, and there's only one thing worse than people talking about you - and that's people not talking about you!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In my opinion: Football needs more people like Simon Jordan not less - heart on his sleeve, money where his mouth is, and a true appreciation of what football means to its community.
He is simply saying what we all know to be true.

Simon Jordan’s comments capture what lots of football fans in general think today. The game has lost its way with inflated wages, huge transfer fees, spoilt egotistical footballers and their wags, and corrupt agents and foreign owners who have no idea what our game is all about.
Football is big business, with the sporting element now of secondary importance!

Those who are saying Jordan is only speaking out now he's going are wrong. Remember the stand he took over Steve Bruce going to Birmingham, Iain Dowie getting out of his contract to go to Charlton, or his refusal to pay Tim Cahill's agent a fee when Palace were trying to sign him from Millwall.

Jordan rescued Crystal Palace from going under. He rescued a club that he loves. He has put his money where his mouth his. He has supported his managers to the hilt. Jordan is a Palace fan, one of us and has the club and its supporters at heart. He wants the best for the club and the Bostock affair has left a foul taste in the mouths of all those involved with CPFC.

He may be disillusioned, as all true fans must be with the way football is going, but his stand over the Bostock affair has at least brought the matter of Academy development to the attention of UEFA. Whatever else Platini has said, surely it is no coincidence that he has since put forward proposals for the protection of Clubs who produce young local talent?

Fans must shoulder some of the responsibility. Surely they realize that each and everytime they put their hand in their pocket and spend their hard earned money on 'their' team, that all they are doing is simply continuing to feed greedy players, agents and owners.
Footballers have been treating supporters like mugs for years, and we fall for it every time. You can't moan about footballer’s earnings and then happily hand over the likes of 50 quid for a match ticket or an acrylic club shirt.

Sooner or later though the long suffering fan is going to say enough is enough and they are going to stop going to matches, stop purchasing merchandise and start cancelling their Sky Sports subscriptions.

I agree with the fans who now go to watch lower-league football - you'll see guys giving their all at a reasonable price.

As a Palace fan, I have great respect for Simon Jordan. He took a club he loves and I love out of the hands of the administrators, turned them around and did as he promised, took us to the promised land - the Premiership (albeit for one season). This man has always spoken his mind. So to all those who disagree with Jordan’s comments about football and want to slag him off – could it be because he is a successful businessman and a self made millionaire, and therefore you might be a tad bitter and jealous?

Good luck Simon Jordan in whatever you do next. Your chairmanship and loyalty will be sadly missed when you sell up.

'From Russia With Love' - The Kremlin

To the Enklish editor.

Good Evenin Zar,
May I say a chilly hallo from Moscow.
I vill keep this brief but I have many peoples to thank.

Thank you....to The Enklish feetball team, I have niver bin to Austria or Switzerland.

Thank you....to McClaren (Steve not Mercedes).

Thank you....to Muddlesbrough for giving you McClaren.

Thank you....to Paul 'Anne Bancroft' Robinson.

Thank you....to referee Luis Medina Vantalejo, sponsored by Abramovich.

Thank you....to the Enklish FA for agreeing to play on plastik.

Thank you....again to McClaren for being cumpletely taktically inept.

Thank you....to the fans for spinding your hard earned loose change in our City and getting a beeting, on and off the pitche.

Thank you....Macedonia for zero-zero at Old Trafford last October.

Thank you....again to the FA for flooding your League viv foreigners and we for flooding the pitche.


Hail.....Tchaikovsky, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Yeltsin, Putin, Gorbachev, Catherine the Great, Brezhnev, Korbut, Sharapova, Karpov, Kasparov, Bubka, Rasputin......to name but a few!

God bless: The Queen, Brown, Prescott, Livingstone, Benny Hill, Brotherhood of Man, Porky Parry, The BBC........


You Enklish people, hinjoy next Summer.
Don't think Austria and Switzerland, more Alton Towers and Southend-on-Sea.

Have a large Stolichnaya on us, and thank you.

Cheers!
Vladamir Rosstoffski
xx.