The Championship Play-Off Lottery!

The gloves are off!

Promotion to the English Premier league (EPL) next season and the huge financial windfall that goes with it is oh so close that clubs and their fans' can almost taste the sweet smell of success! It is akin to dangling a scratch and sniff card in front of a host of clubs, except that this season, for some inexplicable reason the clubs in the race for promotion seem to have lost their sense of smell!

With just eight games to go in the npower Championship there are seven teams that are in with a realistic shout of going up automatically. For those clubs that fail to make the two automatic places and with it a guaranteed place in the top flight of English football next season, four of them must face the drama and potential pain or elation that is part and parcel of the play-off lottery!

Cardiff look almost certain to go up automatically, probably as champions, but that still leaves one automatic promotion spot available, and six teams to fight it out for the right to take their place in the English Premier League at the start of the 2013/14 season.

The teams that fail to take that final automatic spot following a ten month season spanning 46 games will then have the outcome of their season defined by just two, possibly three matches. There is no single sporting event in the world more valuable to the winners, than the victors of the play-offs, who will end up approximately £85million better off, predominately made up from the commercial television revenue that the English Premier League generates. However, by convention the two finalists agree that the loser will keep all the gate receipts from the game, so as to very slightly soften the financial blow of missing out.......(at a guess i would say a figure in the region of £3million - peanuts in comparison).

The Football League Championship play-offs are a series of matches contested by the teams finishing from 3rd to 6th in the Football League Championship table. The semi-finals are played over two legs, with 6th playing 3rd and 5th playing 4th, with the return fixtures following. The final is played at Wembley Stadium and the winners are promoted to the English Premier League.

Cardiff have been top for sometime now, and although they have had the odd wobble over the last few months, so have everyone else around them. Taking Cardiff out of the equation as they are nine points clear of dropping out of the top two places, the battle for the second automatic spot is between Hull, Watford, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest, Leicester and Brighton with Bolton and Middlesbrough in a position to pounce should the wheels fall off of any of the aforementioned clubs in the final month of the 2012/13 season.

As I write only two points separate 2nd placed Hull from 3rd placed Watford, just three points separate Hull from 4th placed Crystal Palace, while six points separate Palace from 6th placed Leicester. Brighton lie 7th on the same number of points as Leicester, but with an inferior goal difference.

Looking at the run-in:

Hull still have to play Watford, Middlesbrough and Cardiff, but face difficult games against Barnsley, Bristol City, Ipswich and Wolves, who are all fighting for Championship survival at the bottom.

Watford's fixtures obviously include Hull, but also Cardiff and Leicester and potentially tricky games against Peterborough and Blackburn who are both fighting to stay in the division.

Forest's run in includes games against Brighton, Cardiff, Middlesbrough and Leicester along with struggling Barnsley and Blackpool.

Leicester's fixtures include games against Brigthon, Bolton, Watford, Palace and Forest and they like Hull and Forest face Barnsley.

Brighton's run in includes matches against Forest, Leicester,and Middlesbrough, along with relegation candidates Wolves and Peterborough and struggling Blackpool.

Crystal Palace would seem to have the easier of the run-ins, but as anyone who watches Championship football knows, there are no easy games in this league hence why no teams have run away at the top or been cast adrift at the bottom. Four points separate the bottom four clubs, and only eight points separate the bottom eleven.

Palace only play Leicester of the current top ten teams, but face a plethora of fixtures against struggling sides, namely Blackpool, Barnsley, Ipswich, Blackburn and Peterborough on the final day.

You can argue that it's better to play teams around you at the top as you are in control of your own destiny, but at the same time they are the form sides. On the otherhand playing the bottom sides may seem a better option, but they will be fighting for their lives and definitely won't role over easily. Perhaps fixtures against mid-table teams with nothing to play for is the best option, but to be honest this is not a division where any one team has the 'right' to beat another team, and the higher you finish the more that club earns financially.

There will also be players at all clubs in the division playing for new contracts or looking to impress the powers that be at other clubs. At the end of the day as a club you firstly need to get out and win your own fixtures, then you will have done everything in your power to put yourself in a the best possible position come the end of the season. What will be will be, but at the end of the day you cannot rely on other teams to do you so called 'favours.'

When the Championship play-offs were first introduced for the 1986/87 season, they originally featured a top flight team as well as the three second tier clubs. This format was continued for the 1987/88, but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged.                                              

                                                              

        The New Wembley Stadium

Since 1989/90, the final has been a single game, played at Wembley Stadium, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, while Wembley was being rebuilt.              

Ipswich Town have been in the Championship play-offs a record seven times: 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, 2004, and 2005, making the final only once and winning it in 2000.

Leicester City have reached the Championship play-off final four times, losing two in 1992 and                 1993 and winning two in 1994 and 1996.

Crystal Palace have also appeared in the final four times, losing in 1996 and winning in 1989, 1997 and 2004.

Birmingham City have reached the Championship play-offs four times consecutively from 1999 to 2002, losing the first three attempts before, in 2002, reaching the Play-Off Final at the Millennium Stadium, and finally winning promotion to the Premier League.

The team finishing highest in the league (third) has succeeded in winning promotion ten times out of twenty-six seasons up to 2012, with the 4th placed team managing four promotions, the 5th six promotions and the 6th five promotions.

The play-off winners have managed to finish above the Championship winners and runners-up in the subsequent Premier League season on five occasions: Blackburn Rovers in 1992/93, Leicester City in 1996/97, Ipswich Town in 2000/01, West Ham United in 2005/06 and Swansea City in 2011/12.

Championship Play-Off Records:

Most play-off promotions: 3 – Crystal Palace (1989, 1997, 2004)

Most play-off finals: 4 – Crystal Palace, Leicester City

Most play-off final defeats: 3 – Sheffield United (1997, 2003, 2009)

Most play-off participations: 7 – Ipswich Town

Most unsuccessful play-off participations: 6 – Ipswich Town (from 7 in total)

Teams without any unsuccessful play-off participations: Notts County (1991), Hull City (2008), Burnley (2009), Swansea City (2011)

Biggest aggregate win: Chelsea 6–1 Blackburn Rovers (1988); Leicester City 6–1 Cambridge United (1992); and Hull City 6–1 Watford (2008)

Biggest home win: Leicester City 5–0 Cambridge United (Semi-final, 1992)

Biggest away win: Birmingham City 0–4 Barnsley (Semi-final, 2000)

Biggest win in a final: Bolton Wanderers 3–0 Preston North End (2001); Sheffield United 0–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers (2003); and Leeds United 0–3 Watford (2006)

Highest scoring final: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (1998)

Highest scoring play-off match: 8 goals – Charlton Athletic 4–4 Sunderland (Final, 1998); Ipswich Town 5–3 Bolton Wanderers (Semi-final, 2000)

Highest scoring tie (aggregate): 12 goals – Ipswich Town 7–5 Bolton Wanderers (2000)

Highest attendance: 86,703 – Bristol City vs Hull City (Final, 2008)

Lowest attendance: 9,225 – Cambridge United vs Leicester City (Semi-final, 1992).

The English Premier League:

The competition formed as the FA Premier League on 20 February 1992 following the decision of clubs in the Football League First Division to break away from The Football League, which was originally founded in 1888, and take advantage of a lucrative television rights deal. This deal will be worth £3 billion as of 2013–14, with BSkyB and BT Group securing the rights to broadcast 116 and 38 games respectively.

The Premier League is the most-watched football league in the world, broadcast in 212 territories to 643 million homes and a TV audience of 4.7 billion people.

The Premier League distributes a small portion of its television revenue to clubs that are relegated from the league in the form of "parachute payments". At the end of the current season 2012/13 those clubs relegated from the EPL will get a proposed £23m in the first year after relegation and £18m in the second, followed by £9m a year in years three and four!

In contrast Championship clubs that are not in receipt of parachute payments will receive around £2.3m in solidarity payments. This ridiculously one sided financial divide is currently being looked into by The Football League as they attempt to look at ways of mitigating the advantage of parachute payments handed to clubs relegated to the Championship. Some Football League Club owners who attended a summit meeting last Wednesday (20th March 2013) claimed they may have to walk away from the game if they were forced to compete with clubs that received more in parachute payments than their entire budget for the year.

Attached is a link to The Guardian's article on the subject right here!

Intense Football Rivalry - Crystal Palace versus Brighton

Brighton and Hove Albion host Crystal Palace this coming Sunday lunchtime, the 17th March 2013, as one of the fiercest fan rivalries in British football is reignited again!

At first glance, it may seem strange that one of English football's fiercest rivalries is between two teams 60 miles apart, one Club which resides on the South Coast, whilst the other is in South London.

Correct, they are not in the same county let alone the same city, there's no deep routed historical reason, no trading rivalries between the areas, no religious differences, it's pure and simple - a genuine footballing rivalry based on the fact that both clubs used to play each other a lot and had managers happy to stoke up the fires of rivalry.

Crystal Palace and Brighton are fierce rivals - See why!

Many football fans assume that Millwall and Charlton are Palace’s main rivals, being so close in location, and that Portsmouth 40 miles along the coast might be Brighton's number one enemy.

To really understand the hatred between Palace and Brighton you need to turn the clock back to the 1970's and the days of Mullery v Venables.

Between January 1963 and August 1974 there were no competitive fixtures at all between Palace and Brighton - as Brighton got relegated into Division Four in 1963 and Palace started their climb into the top flight.

Their rivalry did not develop until Palace's relegation to the Third Division in 1974. The clubs had two of the division's biggest followings, communications between Croydon and Brighton were good and many fans were keen to travel to an away fixture.

So in August 1974 the two teams met in full competition, for the first time since the early 1960's in the old Division Three, and both clubs with new nicknames to boot. "The Dolphins" versus "The Eagles" was the first game of that 74-75 season and Palace suffered a 1-0 reverse in front of the largest crowd to watch Palace at home that season. The following March, revenge was metered out by Palace as they defeated the South Coast side 3-0. The win did little to aid Palace's dying promotion effort, but it almost spelt disaster for Brighton, who only narrowly avoided relegation.

The following season Palace got off to a flying start, were undefeated in their opening seven games and sat proudly at the summit of the division. Then came the visit of Brighton and with it a 1-0 defeat. It wasn't a disaster in footballing terms at the time, as come Christmas Palace were sitting pretty at the top of the league by seven clear points. By the time the away fixture came around, Palace were in the midst of the great FA Cup run of 1976, but their league form had deserted them and Palace went down 2-0. Brighton finished the season in fourth, a place above Palace on goal difference and they had completed the 'double' over their rivals.

It was the following season that the fireworks really began!
Terry Venables, fresh out of coaching school under the late Malcolm Allison was the new manager at Palace, and Alan Mullery was appointed the new boss at Brighton, after Brighton manager Peter Taylor rejoined his old mate the late Brian Clough, up at Forest. Both clubs were the biggest in the old Division Three and doing quite well.

In the 1976-77 season the sides meet five times: twice in the league and three times to decide an First Round FA Cup tie. To say neither manager had much time for the other would be understating the case. Palace remained undefeated against Brighton over the season recording three draws and two victories.

It was an FA Cup second round replay at neutral Stamford Bridge that finally ignited the already smouldering blue touch paper that season. Mullery got out of his pram about a number of dodgy decisions from referee Ron Challis, including a converted Brighton penalty that had to be retaken and a disallowed goal! The retake was saved by Paul Hammond. That referee is still known as "Challis of the Palace" down in Brighton! It culminated in Mullery blowing his top in front of the Palace fans who were giving him abuse for his outraged protests. He flung down about a fiver's worth of change into a puddle and screamed "You're not worth that, Palace" - in the end, the police had to lead him away! At the end of the 1976-77 season both sides were promoted.

Alan Mullery's outspoken-ness continued to fan the flames of a rivalry that often violently spilled over into the alleyways, railway stations and park areas of Brighton and Hove and, on more than one occasion, the side-streets and shops of Croydon. It was rumoured that he was motivated by jealousy having wanted the Palace managerial job himself. He decided to change the Club nick-name once again, this time to "The Seagulls"

The 1978-79 season saw Palace, Brighton, Stoke and Sunderland all slog out a nail-biting promotion race. On the last Saturday of the season, Brighton, Stoke and Sunderland had finished their seasons, Brighton ended up top on goal difference, Stoke and Sunderland provisionally claimed second and third, but Palace still had a game in hand - win it and Palace were Champions, displacing Brighton, lose and Palace would miss out on promotion completely, on goal difference.

On the 11th May 1979 Palace defeated Burnley 2-0 in front of a record 51,801 people at Selhurst Park, and in doing so Palace snatched the Second Division Championship title away from Brighton.

The news was broken to the Brighton players at 30,000 feet whilst on route to play in a tournament in the US. That wasn't the only bad news they were receive that day, when they landed they found the tournament had been scrapped, due to a fuel crisis!

The next season saw both clubs in the First Division, Brighton for the first time in their history. To cope with the larger crowds that top-flight football brings, Brighton erected the naffest temporary grandstand of all time on one side. Even their own fans nicknamed it 'The Lego stand'. Palace fans quickly coined the phrase and the Goldstone Ground became known as 'Legoland.'
Later that season, fire swept through the South Stand, gutting the seats and wooden structure. An act which many local fans pointing the finger at Palace fans, who lived in the area! On the field, both sides held onto their First division status.

The following season Palace were relegated but Brighton went on escaping relegation for another two seasons, band managed a Cup Final appearance in their last season in the top flight.

In November 1981 Palace played a 'friendly' against Brighton and came away with a credible 1-1 draw adminst another management upheaval at the club as Dario Gradi made way for Steve Kember. Then in a enormously unpopular move, Ron Noades appointed Alan Mullery as manager. Palace fans couldn't not swallow this and deserted the Club in large numbers, whilst some drifted back slowly over the years - plenty never came back at all. One of Mullery's first games in charge was a home 'friendly' against Brighton, which Palace managed to win by a single goal.

Palace renewed acquaintance with Brighton again in the 1983-84 season, the second year of Mullery's two years. The now traditional Christmas and Easter games saw Mullery stick the dagger even further into mortally wounded Palace hearts, yes, he let them get away with all six points again. This were the nadir of recent Palace history and the serious violence that followed the April trip to the Goldstone served only to counterpoint the frustrations.

Mullery slipped away quietly to Q.P.R. after two relegation struggles, giving way to managerial new boy Steve Coppell. His first season saw an early South Coast encounter end in 1-0 defeat, but the home game saw a Trevor Aylott goal ensure a deserved draw. The game was surrounded by controversy with Palace defender Henry Hughton sent off for a late tackle on Brighton winger Gerry Ryan, who sustained a badly broken leg, which ultimately ended his playing career. The Brighton Manager Chris Cattlin claimed in the press it was the worst tackle he'd ever seen, but Ryan himself refused to condemn Hughton.

In the 1985-86 season Palace lost at Brighton on New Year's Day, a game mainly remembered by Palace fans for a scandalous dive by Terry Connor which earned Brighton a penalty. Late in March, Palace managed to chalk up a narrow league victory against their rivals in the reverse fixture.

Later that year in another bizarre twist of fate surrounding the two clubs, Brighton re-appointed the 'Prince of Darkness' Allan Mullery OBE as their new manager.

The following season, Palace fans saw this as their chance for revenge on Mullery in the Boxing Day fixture of 1986. The players duly obliged as Palace beat their rivals and relegation strugglers. By Easter Monday, Barry Lloyd was in charge of a Brighton side that had not won a League game for three months.........enter Palace, chasing a 'play-off' place, but on the day they somehow contrived to lose 2-0 to a woeful Brighton side, that were up for this fixture and ultimately this result helped end Palace's play-off hopes for that season.

The mood of the Palace fans was not pleasant, angry at the scoreline and fed up at being so tightly packed onto a tiny corner terrace, when the Brighton fans had the run of the open East Terrace. With ten minutes left, a sizeable number stormed out of the terrace, to confront Brighton fans in their own end. The ensuing violence spilled out of the ground into Phoenix Park which played host to several running battles before The Sussex Constabulary eventually brought order to the seaside town.

There was some consolation for Palace that the result did nothing to assist Brighton's survival. They ended up getting relegated, thanks in the main to the ministrations of their one-time idol, Alan Mulllery.

Two seasons later and Brighton were back in Division Two. Palace lost at Brighton in another Boxing Day encounter in 1988, but the return fixture on the 27th March 1989 still holds a place in the English League record books thanks to a certain referee named Kelvin Morton. Morton awarded five penalties, Palace were given four of those five and incredibly managed to miss three of them - but Palace still won the game 2-1! Morton also sent off Brighton midfielder Mike Trusson in the first-half.
That season Palace were promoted to Division One via the play-offs, whilst Brighton finished 19th.

However, the two did not play in a league encounter between 1990 and 2001, although there were have been a number of 'pre-season friendlies' staged between the sides, all at Brighton!

The first in August 1992, saw an injury-struck Palace side once more deliver a below par performance, although still managing to win 1-0. This game was originally scheduled for a Saturday afternoon, when it would have attracted a much larger crowd, but was eventually played on Friday night. Possibly the only friendly fixture ever to have been moved on Police advice!
After the game, however, it was Palace fans getting back on the train who were subjected to a CS gas attack at Hove station.

That season ended with Palace's relegation from the Premier League, whilst Brighton having survived a number of High Court actions maintained their Division Two status.

In August 1993, a second 'friendly' took place, the game was to have been a testimonial match for Palace player Gary O'Reilly, but a row about gate receipts scuppered that. Once again, some Palace fans were subjected to another tear gas attack, this time before the game in a pub. Just for a change, Palace really turned on the style on the pitch. A 2,000-strong Palace posse of supporters saw Palace score three times without reply. A performance that underlined the major difference in class that now existed between the sides.

The 2000-01 season saw Brighton, under the stewardship of Mickey Adams, promoted out of Division Three as Champions, Palace on the other hand, had a shockingly bad season and coming into the final week of that season they were firmly ensconced in the relegation zone.

On the morning of Sunday 6th May 2001, Brighton paraded their Division Three Championship trophy through the streets of Brighton, and afterwards their supporters settled in pubs everywhere to watch Palace get relegated to Division Two, thereby setting up two mouth-watering encounters. For 87 minutes, the party was in full swing, then Dougie Freedman worked his magic and his epic late winner at Stockport sent the South London fans' delirious and the Brighton fans were left inconsolable!

Crystal Palace beat the drop - 2000/2001 season

The following season, despite losing manager Mickey Adams to Leicester, Brighton appointed former Palace legend Peter Taylor as manager. Taylor helped Brighton get promoted as Champions, thereby setting up two more spicy Brighton versus Palace derby matches for the forthcoming season, before he walked out on them. Another ex-Palace player, Martin Hinshelwood was appointed the new manager.

So 2002 saw the return of Brighton to the second tier but they started the season poorly and Hinshelwood was kicked upstairs, and then the unthinkable happened - they went and appointed Steve Coppell, the former Palace manager as their new boss a couple of weeks before Palace hosted the South Coast side at Selhurst Park!

On 26th October 2002 Palace thrashed them 5–0 in a memorable game, with Palace striker Andy Johnson scoring a hat-trick. That date and scoreline is etched in Palace history forever!

The return fixture, the following March was a dull affair, the game ended 0-0 with Palace full-back Danny Granville getting himself sent off, but endearing himself to the Palace faithful by telling the jeering Brighton fans near the tunnel to "f*ck off".

Brighton were relegated that season, making Steve Coppell an even bigger cult hero at Palace, for taking their bitter rivals down a division, while Palace finished the season mid-table.

Brighton bounced straight back through the play-offs into Division One in 2003-04, only to find Palace had already left the Division by the gentleman's exit, promoted into the Premiership via the play-offs.

Palace got themselves relegated from the Premiership straight away, whilst Brighton managed to take it right to the last day of the season before narrowly ensuring their survival in 2004-05.

Brighton gained revenge in 2005 with a 1–0 win at Selhurst Park, however, a month later at the Withdean, Palace twice came from behind, with Dougie Freedman scoring his 100th and 101st goals for Palace and Jobi McAnuff scoring in the very last minute to win the game 3–2.

 Brighton lose to Crystal Palace in a thriller on the 20/11/2005

Despite Brighton and Palace sharing the spoils in the 2005-06 season, Brighton were relegated, finishing bottom of the table, winning just 7 of their 46 league games. Palace finished 6th but lost in the play-offs to Watford. Brighton then spent the next five seasons in League One, before finally winning promotion back to The Championship.

However both Clubs and both sets of fans are in a much better place now than they were several years ago. A lot has happened and a lot has changed for the good.

Brighton were promoted as League One champions in 2010-11 and have former Chelsea, Spurs and Uruguay international Gus Poyet as boss. On 31st May 2011 they moved from their temporary home at the Withdean Stadium, (which was not predominantly a football ground, having been used for athletics throughout most of its history, and previously as a zoo), to a shiny new 27,000 all-seater stadium, sponsored by AMEX, situated just outside Brighton in Falmer. They finished last season in a respectable 10th place in their first season back in the second of  English football, and they currently lie just outside a play-off spot this season.

Meanwhile Crystal Palace survived administration in 2010 and two successive relegation battles in 2009-10 and 2010-11 before steadying the ship last season, as they comfortably maintained their place in The Championship and also reached the League Cup semi-final. With the current owners in place, and Ian Holloway at the helm, the club are finally on sound financial footing, and in Holloway, they have one of the most passionate, charismatic and determined managers in the league. They have exceeded expectations on the field so far this season and currently lie 4th in the table, three points off a top two place, and have a support base, particularly on the road, that is the envy of many fellow Championship clubs.

So the 27th September 2011 saw the two rival teams meet for the first time since November 2005. Brighton newly promoted had started the season well, Palace steady if unspectacular!

Palace beat Brighton 3-1 at the Amex Stadium on 27th September 2011

It was to be a memorable game as Brighton took an early lead. Things remained that way until the final ten minutes of the match as Palace roared back with three goals to inflict on Brighton their first ever league defeat at their new home! Not only were Palace the first team to win at the AMEX in a league game, one of the Palace goalscorers that night was Glenn Murray, a former Brighton player who Palace had picked up on a free transfer from their rivals in May 2011. This sent many Brighton fans into meltdown and coined the phrase 'FFS Murray' (For F*cks Sake Murray), a comment heard to be made by a frustrated Brighton fan in the crowd following the strikers goal on that infamous night.

The reverse fixture at Selhurst Park on 31st January 2012 was less spectacular although still somewhat fiesty. The game ended 1-1, both goals coming from penalties and five players were booked!

On the 1st December 2012 Brighton visited South London and that man Glenn Murray scored twice against his former employers, as Crystal Palace recorded a comfortable 3-0 victory and went top of the league. More controversy surrounded this derby match as Brighton had Lewis Dunk sent-off after just eight minutes and Palace were awarded two penalties in the game.

No wonder there is a rivalry between the two clubs, with a history like that....................................

Now this coming Sunday lunchtime the two sides face each other again once more, with Palace lying 4th in the league table and Brighton currently 7th. With only nine games left of the season this match is crucial to both sides, with a place in the lucrative English Premier league next season a distinct possibility, if both Clubs can finish the season strongly. Brighton go into the game short of strikers while Murray is currently the second highest goalscorer in Europe, taking in the top 2 divisions in each of the 5 leading European leagues, with a total of 30 goals. Murray is second only to Lionel Messi of Barcelona in the goalscoring charts!

For a player who hand been at the South Coast club for three and a half seasons and had a goalscoring record of almost one in every other game, it was a strange and seemingly bad error of judgement on Brighton's part to let Murray go for nothing, rather than offer him an improved contract. The Cumbrian born hitman has come back to haunt Brighton twice already since his move to Palace and has gone on to prove himself a leathal marksman at Championship level, so it must be a bitter pill to swallow for his former club.
Will it bite them on the backside once more come the final whistle at 2pm on Sunday.............we shall see!

Brighton & Hove Albion v Crystal Palace - Sunday 17th March 2013, kick-off Noon

Follow these twitter accounts for the latest news & views of the fans of Brighton & Crystal Palace:

North StandChat, RednBlueArmy, FiveYearPlan and WeAreBrighton

Insane Sports – ChessBoxing

Looking to take up a new hobby or sport, well I may have found you the perfect activity, a combination of physical prowess and mental agility – Chessboxing!

A curious combination of brain and brawn, the sport of chessboxing has seen an explosion in popularity in recent years. Inspired by a science fiction graphic novel, the sport combines the physical action of the squared ring with the mental agility of the chequered board classic. The matches see competitors alternate between three-minute boxing exchanges with four-minute rounds of speed chess, with a one minute break between rounds. The winner is then determined by knockout, checkmate or referee’s decision.

A knockout or checkmate can lead to an early win, and the fight can also be cut short if a player exceeds the chess time limit (12 minutes per contest) or the referee decides the fight has to be aborted. If the game of chess ends with a tie, it is settled with the points earned in the boxing rounds. If the boxing fight ends with a tie, the player who had black on the chessboard wins.

The same people box and play chess, a common misconception is that there is a handover between a chessplayer and a separate boxer.

The game in it's current format originated from the mind of Serbian cartoonist Enki Bilal, who penned a graphic novel 'Froid Équateur' (literally ‘Cold Equator’) featuring the game in 1992, in which the themes of a healthy spirit in a healthy body and aggression management played a role.

However purists argue that the game was originally conceived in the 1991 Finnish film 'Uuno Turhapuro, herra Helsingin herra,' in which a man makes chess moves over a hands-free telephone headset while simultaneously beating seven bells out of another man. This makes me wonder why they don't do actual chess boxing that way, but who am I to tell them how to do their jobs!

The World Chess Boxing Organisation (WCBO) is the governing body of the sport chess boxing. The WCBO was founded in 2003 and has its headquarters in Berlin, Germany. Its current president is Iepe Rubingh, founder of the sport.
The WCBO's motto is: "Fighting is done in the ring and wars are waged on the board".

Chessboxing events have taken place in London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Calcutta. The contestants boast names such as: Anti-Terror, the Beast, the Slice and the Priest.

The first official chess boxing fight ever to be held was the Middleweight World Championship between 'Iepe the Joker' and 'Luis the Lawyer' on the 14th November 2003 at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. 'Iepe the Joker' won the match after a dramatic fight in the 11th and last round when 'Luis the Lawyer' exceeded his chess playing time limit.

Chessboxing is the ultimate challenge for both the body and the mind. More and more contemporary athletic disciplines are characterised by multifaceted challenges. It’s comparable to a biathlon, as one example. Extreme physical stress is combined with a huge mental challenge. Chessboxing is a bit more radical than a biathlon, but through targeted training, the body can be prepared for matches just as well as it can for a biathlon. The alteration between boxing and playing chess represents the biggest challenge.

Naturally you might assume that a professional boxer would automatically have an advantage and could potentially win the world champion title in the second round of the fight?

However Championship fights require fulfilment of the following:
You must be younger than 35, be in an exceptionally good state of physical fitness, have experience in a minimum number of 20 boxing matches and your chess ELO rating must not be lower than 1800. If you don’t have an ELO rating yet or any comparable ranking from a national chess organisation in your country, our chess trainer will test your skills online. Someone like Vitali Klitschko would need years of training to achieve the chess rating required.

As its popularity grows, there are hopes that one day the sport will be recognised by the Olympics.

The next Chessboxing event takes place later this month, on the 23rd March 2013 at the Scarla London, 275 Pentonville Road, London N1 9NL, from 7pm until late. 
Tickets are £20 in advance or £25 on the night - the perfect 'Mother's Day' gift!

You can follow the London Chessboxing scene including forthcoming events and videos on Twitter

Babe of the Month - Sexy WAG Sarah Brandner

Sarah Brandner was born on 12th December 1988 in Munich, Germany. Sarah is not by any means the first WAG who has worked as a model. She became a model like many when she was discovered on the streets by an agent who spotted her and asked her if she would be interested in modelling. At first she wasn't so sure, especially because she was only fifteen years old at the time.

At 5'11" tall and with a perfect figure (84-60-90) Sarah eventually decided to venture into modelling and was soon on the books of Place Models in Hamburg, Germany.
She is perhaps best known for featuring in the 2010 Sports Illustrated Body Painting Issue, along with Abbey Clancy, Bethany Dempsey, and Melissa Satta. She has also done notable work for German magazine Bild, and GQ Germany.

It was during her time at school where at a social event she first met footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger, but it wasn't until they met again in Ibiza in 2007 that they started dating, and the couple now live together in Munich.

Her modelling career has taken Sarah to change her residence address several times from Milan to New York and from New York to Munich, where she is currently living with her famous beau.

Unlikely Superhero – Crystal Palace’s very own Rambo!

When Peter Iain Ramage signed for Crystal Palace on a one-year contract in August 2012, even as a Crystal Palace fan I have to say I was left feeling somewhat uninspired!


I had witnessed the Whitley Bay born defender in action for ‘The Eagles’ during his five month loan spell with us during the 2011/12 season. To be fair to Ramage  during that time (which included 17 league appearances) he tended to be used by the then manager Dougie Freedman as a ‘utility’ player, and he flitted between the full-back and centre-half positions.

Ramage - In the form of his life!

As a result the 29 year-old had little opportunity to put a marker down, and establish himself in an ever changing back-four. In the first-half of the 2011/12 season Palace were in a defensive mess as they juggled numerous players in an attempt to find a settled back-four. By the time Ramage’s loan period had come to an end on the 15th January 2012, he had played with 11 different defensive partners in McCarthy, Davies, Tunchev, McGivern, Gardner, Clyne, Keinan, Eagan, Parsons, Moxey and Parr.

However Freedman had no hesitation in re-signing the Geordie lad for the start of the 2012/13 campaign. The signing of Ramage may have been initially as cover following the loss of Club captain Paddy McCarthy. McCarthy sustained a groin injury in the summer, and as I write is still sidelined and has yet to feature in a first-team game this season.
However it has proved to be an inspired signing as the player affectionately known as ‘Rambo’ has played a pivitol role in a wonderful season so far for the boys from SE25.

Rambo has established a solid, no nonsense central defensive partnership with Irishman Damien Delaney (right) this season, and his passion and desire is written all over his face during the heat of battle! Ramage has started 31 of 33 league games this season, come on as a substitute in another and since our opening day defeat to Watford at Selhurst Park, Crystal Palace are unbeaten at home this season, a run of 16 games at ‘Fortress Selhurst.’

It must be said that several of the reasons for the success on the pitch this season can be attributed to confidence, attitude, belief and fitness. But unlike last season stability in defence in terms of personnel has been crucial.

Before Palace signed Delaney from Ipswich on the 31st August, Ramage was paired at the heart of the defence with Aaron Martin a loanee from Southampton, but Palace lost their opening three league games of the season conceding nine goals in the process. Upon his arrival Delaney was immediately paired with Ramage and the two have been inseparable ever since, other than a three game suspension handed to the Irishman for seeing red at Huddersfield just before Christmas.

Despite the upheaval with the departure of the rather flaccid Dougie (the grass is not always greener on the other side) Freedman and the backroom staff to Bolton in late October, and the subsequent arrival of the flamboyant Ian Holloway as his replacement in the managerial hot seat, Rambo has rolled with it all, without flinching or suffering any long term heartbreak! In fact Holloway’s arrival has probably seen Ramage develop as a player due to the Bristolian’s style of play, which allows players to express themselves a lot more by playing a fluid passing game with the emphasis on getting forward more often, rather than strangling the life out of a 1-0 lead!

    Ramage (wearing 28) shows what it means to him after scoring against Watford this month!

Ramage has even contributed with some rare but vital goals this season. He has in fact scored twice as many goals for Crystal Palace this season than he has over his entire professional career, having made his first-team debut for Newcastle United as a substitute in a UEFA Cup tie on the 16th March 2005.

His first goal in the red and blue of Palace came at The Walkers Stadium in October, as the Londoner's turned over the then league leaders Leicester City 2-1. Ramage then bagged a consolation goal in a 2-1 defeat at Leeds in November, before netting a vital goal at Watford this month, followed by a second goal in consecutive games as Palace thrashed Middlesbrough at Selhurst Park last week. His smart turn and shot against Boro’ was a goal that any striker would have been proud of, and it was also his first goal for the club at Selhurst Park.

On the pitch Rambo is the consummate professional, whilst off the pitch he comes across as a great lad, a family man who will always takes time out to chat to the fans and someone who loves a bit of banter with his team-mates. I imagine he is an inspirational, yet calming figure in the dressing room and someone that all the lads, particularly the youngster’s look up to!

He is also becoming somewhat of an unlikely favourite among the fans. You cannot as a football fan fail to revere a man who gives everything, a player who wears his heart on his sleeve and plays for the badge on his chest.......and who always goes to, and applauds the fans at the end of every match!


Rambo you are a credit to yourself and Crystal Palace Football Club and you won’t be far off winning this season’s Palace ‘Player of the Year’ award as voted for by us, the fans!

You can follow Peter Ramage on twitter or find him after training at most good coffee outlets, with Damien Delaney and Andre Moritz!


Pictures courtesy of: FiveYearPlanFanzine.co.uk and RednBlueArmy.co.uk

You can’t buy experience! - Why ‘Super Kev’ can shoot Crystal Palace to the promise land!

Kevin Mark Phillips, may be diminutive in height but he has a presence and aura that is both dynamic and effective, and Ian Holloway’s capture of ‘Super Kev’ on a transfer deadline day loan to Crystal Palace may be pivotal in ‘The Eagles’ attempt to successfully secure promotion to the Premier League this season.

Kevin Phillips comes off the bench to equalize for Crystal Palace at Watford last week

As numerous names and potential Palace targets such as George Boyd, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, Albert Adomah and DJ Campbell were banded about during the hectic January transfer window, many Palace fans were bemoaning the fact that Kevin Phillips was even in the frame!
There were still a lot of furrowed brows when he signed for the South London Club on loan until the end of the current season. Phillips was seen by many as a footballing veteran at 39 years young, with over 450 senior starts spread over a career spanning nearly 20 years. Numerous fans questioned the signing of Phillips and the ambition of the club, in what many saw as a gamble on a player who was surely over the hill!

On his move to Palace Phillips was the ‘ultimate pro’ saying exactly what the Club and fans alike wanted to hear: "Every time I pull on a Palace shirt or a training kit I will give 100 per cent and I thoroughly look forward to it. Palace are an exciting team, I enjoyed working under Ian Holloway at Blackpool and I really look forward to working with him from now until the end of the season."

Since joining Palace, Phillips had made two substitute appearances and on both occasions he has been instrumental in a change in fortune on the pitch. Less than two weeks ago the Crystal Palace team trudged off the Selhurst Park pitch at half-time looking crestfallen, after a woeful first-half performance against London rivals Charlton. The visitors had dominated the first 45 minutes and deservedly led at the break. Palace were lacklustre and void of ideas. Holloway took immediate action and the former England striker was handed his debut as a half-time substitute.

Murray and Phillips (right) celebrate!

This change in personnel clearly had the desired affect as Phillips helped spark a dramatic turnaround. Two goals from the Championship’s top scorer Glenn Murray secured a dramatic 2-1 victory for Palace, with Phillip’s orchestrating a calm, creative and significant influence on the game.

The Palace manager was naturally delighted by Phillip’s debut and the social message boards were awash with praise for the Hitchin born striker. Sentences containing adjectives such as classy, sublime, nippy, polished and impressive were used to describe the impact Phillips had on the match. As a result many fans were forced to eat at least a little piece of humble pie.

A week later and he was at it again, as Palace rescued a point at high flying Watford, despite going into the break two goals down.

Phillips’ introduction at Vicarage Road 10 minutes after half-time culminated in a non-stop second-half onslaught by a rejuvenated Palace team with Phillips and teenage sensation Jonny Williams playing a father and son age defining double act, culminating in Palace coming away with a well deserved point. Phillips firstly providing a good foil for fellow striker Murray, and secondly getting the all important equalizing goal, as he made a wonderfully timed run into the penalty box to expertly dispatch Jazz Richards’ low cross at the far post - his 243rd career league goal!

I don’t think the first 80 minutes of football played by Phillips in the red and blue shirt should be underestimated, as his introduction on both occasions has been quite simply ‘game changing.’ Most players take a while to settle in at a new club, but not ‘Super Kev.’ He signs for Palace, moves down to the South of England, meets up with his old manager, his new team-mates, has a training session or two, and on match day he puts in a couple of performances that make him look like he has been at the club since the year dot!

Not only is a Phillips a class act on match day, but I am sure his experience and knowledge will rub off on the youth in a Palace squad with some outstanding young talent at its disposal.

Throughout his professional career Kevin Phillips has averaged nearly a goal every other club game and commanded transfer fees with a cumulative total in excess of £5million. Palace are his eighth club since he turned professional in December 1994, and he represented England on eight occasions making his debut against Malta in Ta’Qali in June 2000 under the stewardship of Kevin Keegan, before bowing out of the England set-up, against Holland in the Amsterdam Arena in February 2002 under Sven-Göran Eriksson.

In 1999-2000 Phillips was the Premier League Player of the Season, the Premier League top scorer with 30 goals for Sunderland, a tally which won him both the Premiership Golden Boot and the European Golden Boot. He remains the only Englishman to win the European Golden Boot.

Phillips was a Football League Championship winner and the Football League Championship Player of the Year with West Brom in 2007-08, and a Football League Cup winner with Birmingham City in 2011.

Last season at the tender age of 38, Phillips helped Blackpool reach the Championship play-off final at Wembley, and finished as the club’s leading scorer with 16 Championship goals in 41 appearances.

When speaking on his arrival at Palace, Phillips was visibly grateful to Ian Holloway for bringing him to the club and giving him one final hurrah. He said: "I don't want to let him down (Ian Holloway). He's brought me here and I want to repay the faith he has shown in me".............and believe me, he has already started to repay the belief Holloway showed in him!

Could Mr P be the transfer coup of the season for Crystal Palace? That one individual that brings a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the table every day he is at the Club, whether it be on the training ground, in team meetings or on match day?

Time will tell, but for now it looks like a very shrewd bit of business on the part of Ian Holloway and the owners of Crystal Palace Football Club.

You cannot buy experience, so Mr Kevin Phillips welcome aboard the Crystal Palace rollercoaster! It’s never dull, so hold on tight and enjoy the ride!

# Photos courtesy of the BBC and The Sun Newspaper Group.

Going Going Vonn! Crash injuries end Lindsey Vonn’s season, but not her hopes!

One year and two days before the women's downhill at the Sochi Olympics in Russia, American Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn, whose record breaking ski-racing career has frequently mixed stirring triumph with frightening spills, suffered debilitating injuries to her right leg in a violent crash during a race at the World Championships in Schladming, Austria yesterday  —  putting her out for the rest of this World Cup season and potentially complicating the defence of her Olympic title.

Lindsay Vonn is hospitalized after this fall in a super-G race in Schladming, Austria on Tuesday

The United States Ski and Snowboard Association announced on Tuesday that Vonn suffered two torn ligaments in her right knee — the medial collateral and anterior cruciate ligaments — as well as a fractured lateral tibial plateau in the same knee after crashing in the super-G in Schladming.

Vonn, the Minnesota-born skier took a month off this season after being hospitalised for an intestinal illness in November, and had just regained her form with two wins last month.

Tuesday's race, the first of the World Championships, was delayed nearly four hours because of fog. There were more than ten separate delays as officials struggled to get the race in with daylight fading. Vonn led Slovenia's Tina Maze, the best female skier during this World Cup season after the first stage of the race.

Vonn who was the 19th racer out of the starting gate for the second stage, skied well at the top of the course. She led Maze by 0.04 seconds at the first checkpoint, and was just 0.12 seconds back at the second interval, and seemingly on her way to a medal, if not victory!

About 42 seconds into her run, as Vonn made a right-footed turn and arced her skis to the left, she navigated a jump at the same time. Vonn soared above the snow a little off balance with her hands behind her torso rather than in front of her chest, which usually ensures a more stable landing.

Returning to the snow, her right leg splayed briefly to the right and her knee hyper-extended inward and toward the left. She pitched forward at the same time and began to flip forward. Her right ski came off, cartwheeling down the slope after her. Vonn came to a stop a few hundred feet down the slope without making contact with the protective fencing, though she did plough through a gate. She was attended by medical personnel for 12 minutes on the side of the trail and airlifted to a hospital.

Christian Kaulfersch, the assistant medical director at the worlds, said Vonn left the Schladming hospital on Tuesday afternoon and will have surgery in another hospital. "She first wanted to go back to the team hotel to mentally deal with all what has happened."

The Olympic downhill champion will have surgery next week in Vail, Colorado. Due to intense media attention, neither she nor the U.S Ski Team would say when she's leaving Austria.

"She'll be heading back to Vail (Colorado) and I will be doing surgery on her knee early next week," team physician William Sterett told The Associated Press today.

Maze won the race, with Switzerland’s Lara Gut taking silver and American Julia Mancuso, Vonn’s longtime rival, winning bronze.

Vonn has enjoyed a significant amount of media attention for an alpine skier, making her the face of her sport. She has appeared on The Today Show, Access Hollywood, and The Late Show with David Letterman and has picked up endorsements from notable companies such as Head, Oakley, Red Bull, Rolex, and Under Armour.

Vonn appeared in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Edition that featured Winter Olympians in 2010. Her assets were estimated to be worth over 2.5 million dollars back in 2010.

Olympic skier Lindsay Vonn on the set of her Sports Illustrated swimsuit shoot back in 2010 

Vonn's list of injuries at major championships is long:

Two years ago, she pulled out midway through the last worlds in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, because of a mild concussion.

At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Vonn skied despite a severely bruised shin to win the downhill and take bronze in the super-G.

At the 2009 worlds in Val d'Isere, she sliced her thumb on a champagne bottle after sweeping gold in the downhill and super-G, forcing her out of the giant slalom.

At the 2007 worlds in Are, Sweden, Vonn injured her knee in training and missed her final two events.

At the 2006 Turin Olympics, she had a horrific crash in downhill training and went directly from her hospital room to the mountain to compete in four of her five events.

Lindsey Vonn faces yet another enforced break from her sport, but this one occurs with only a year to go before the Sochi Olympics.

Lindsey Vonn is on pace to become the most accomplished female skier ever. Her career resume is as follows:

• 1984: Born: St. Paul, Minnesota, United States
• 2000: World Cup debut aged 16 in Park City, Utah
• 2002: Competes at Winter Olympics in Utah aged 17 in downhill and combined
• 2004: Claims first World Cup race win at Lake Louise in Canada
• 2008: Wins first World Cup title to become only the second American woman to lift the trophy
• 2009: Wins World Championships in Val-d'Isère, France, and becomes first American to win women's world super-G title
• 2010: Wins gold in the downhill and bronze in super-G at the Vancouver Olympics
• 2012: Regains World Cup overall title

                      4 Overall World Cup titles

                    16 World Cup discipline titles, tied 1st all-time 

                    59 World Cup victories, the 2nd most all-time (3 shy of record).

Babes of the Month - Absolutely Booty-Full

An Alternative List of Football Club Fines

This week Arsène Wenger found himself commenting on the Gunners’ disciplinary policy after a document printed on Arsenal headed paper, detailing a list of rules for players and the cash penalties if they were broken appeared on the internet after a fan, reported to be a friend of club doctor Gary O’Driscoll, took a photo of the fines sheet during a tour of the training ground.

Arsène Wenger's strict disciplinary regime was exposed this week!

The supporter then posted it on a file-sharing website, believing it would be seen only by himself and his close friends, only for the document to go ‘viral’ across the net.
It then emerged as to why Arsenal manager why defender Per Mertesacker had become the club's debt collector.

The German international is responsible for rounding up fines from fellow players who fell foul of the club's internal disciplinary rules,with fines doubled if they are not settled in seven days. Wenger joked: "The Germans do well economically and we respect that. They are the only ones that make money in Europe. That's why we've chosen a German," the Frenchman added of the 85-times capped Mertesacker.

The fines included are £1,000 for players not turning up for matches they are not involved in, £500 for arriving late for travel or training, £250 for not turning up on time to a team meeting or meal and £100 for taking a newspaper, laptop or phone into the medical area or dressing room.
The Gunners boss even lays down the law over the clothing worn by his players, with £100 docked for items deemed inappropriate.

List of Arsenal FC 2012/13 Player Fines

Here is an alternative and light-hearted list of football club fines for players' whose behaviour may be considered not becoming of their club, amateur or professional:


50p fine:

• Dirty boots (Cleaning your boots in the changing room on match day does not constitute having clean boots’ and you will therefore still receive the fine).
  
• Not running the line.
• Putting your kit on back to front.
• Air kick.
• Foul throw.
• Putting the ball over the fence and not retrieving it.

£1 fine:

• Not showering post-match.
• Not doing the nets (Before and after home games).
• Claiming goals that were really crosses.
• Wearing shit casual clothes. 
• Taking kit home (£1 per garment).
• Arguing with team mates during game.
• Hitting the woodwork (this ain't the cross-bar challenge!).
  
  
  

£2 fine:

• Backchat to manager.
• Penalty miss.
• 'Chump of the Match' (Voted by the players individually in the changing rooms after the match. The person with most votes gets fined - they can be nominated for anything for e.g. a f*ck up during the match, an all-round piss poor individual performance etc).
• Talking during gaffers pre-match / half-time team talk (even if he is speaking boll*x).
• Participating in a training or match day bust up with a teammate.
• Not staying for a post-match beer (Home or away).
• Milking injuries.
• Smoking during a game (£2 per fag).

£5 fine:

• Own goal.
• Excessive showboating (e.g Back healing the ball when you could just pass it normally).
• Pleasuring a dog - Four legged variety.
• Wearing make-up on match day.
• Leaving a game before it has finished.
• Pulling out of a match due to charity work. 

£10 fine:

• Not wearing ladies underwear for a cup game.
• Throwing up at an official club function.
• Bringing along a 'minger' to a match (if in doubt the Club Committee will decide).
• Arguing against fines.

£150 fine:

• Any form of misbehaving with a players' missus!

All fines are listed as a guideline and the 'fines master' and committee have the right to change or add to them at any point without any notice.

All the money that gets collected will pay for the Christmas do and go towards trophies for the end of season do.

Bizarre Global Football Stadium Names - Past and Present

Here is a list of some of the weirdest, wackiest, off the wall and most amusing football venue names around the globe, both past and present!


The Dripping Pan: 

Lewes Football Club is an English football team based in Lewes, East Sussex. The club are currently members of the Isthmian League Premier Division, and play at The Dripping Pan (often just called The Pan). Although one of the more obscure stadium names you’ll ever come across it’s a ground steeped in history. Local Lewes legend suggests it was part of the salt making industry run by monks from the Cluniac Lewes Priory.



This also accounted for the pitch being sunk below ground level and being surrounded by grass banks on all sides, allowing spectators to sit at the top and watch the game.

It has been the home of 'The Rooks' since their beginnings in 1885 and has a capacity of 3,000 although only 300 of those are seated. The Dripping Pan was chosen as one of the Top 5 Non-League away days by the football blog 'The Ball is Round' in September 2010.


Wankdorf Stadium:

A headline-writer’s dream became a reality with the birth of the outrageously comical stadium name given to the Swiss club team BSC Young Boys. As a result arguably one the was inspired by the move of Young Boys from the old Wankdorf to their new Stade de Suisse Wankdorf in 2005. ESPN cooked up a storm with the story by using the simple but effective line: ‘Young Boys Wankdorf erection relief’.

The old Wankdorf Stadium (German: Wankdorfstadion) was a football stadium in the Wankdorf quarter of Bern, Switzerland, and the former home of Swiss club BSC Young Boys. It was built in 1925, and as well as serving as a club stadium, it hosted several important matches, including the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final, the 1961 European Cup final, and the 1989 Cup Winners' Cup final. The Stade de Suisse, Wankdorf has been built in its place.

The band Muse credits Wankdorf stadium as inspiring the aptly named 'Wankdorf Jam'


Hunky Dorys Park: 

Drogheda United Football Club (Irish: Cumann Peile Dhroichead Átha Aontaithe) is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The Boynesiders were once dubbed the 'Chelsea of the Irish league' due to their big-spending ways which landed them the FAI Cup in 2005 and their first ever league title two years later. Things went downhill rapidly shortly afterwards, with the club enduring financial problems. Step forward Ireland’s leading crinkle-cut crisp brand to bail them out and save the day in 2010. They now play in a stadium named after the number one crinkle cut crisp brand in Ireland - Hunky Dorys.

Dubbed ‘the Chelsea of Ireland’ the clubs relaxed mentality when it came to spending landed them in serious financial peril. Everything appears to be hunky dory (forgive me) at Drogahead now as they continue to fight at the top of the League of Ireland Premier Division.


Giant Axe:

Lancaster City F.C. is an English football club based in Lancaster, Lancashire. The club are currently members of Northern Premier League Division One North and play at Giant Axe, located close to Lancaster railway station and both Lancaster Castle and Lancaster Priory Church. It has been their home ground since the formation of the original club 1905.

The reason for the idiosyncratic name is that when the ground was first built it was the centrepiece of a sports club, the exterior wall of which was, when viewed from above, the same shape as an axe head!


Cashpoint Arena:

The Cashpoint Arena is an Austrian football stadium in Vorarlberg Altach. It is the home of  SC Rheindorf Altach, a football club playing in the Austrian First League, which is the second tier in Austrian football. The stadium was built 1989-90 and was opened on 1st June 1990 under the name Schnabelholz, and has a capacity of 8,500 spectators. It's sponsors are Cashpoint, one of the largest bookmakers in Europe.

The stadium offers a unique atmosphere because the visitors are near to the playing field. But the stadium is not only used for football, but also for open air concerts and other events.


Pizza Hut Park: 

FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas suburb of Frisco, Texas which competes in Major League Soccer (MLS)
The FC Dallas Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium with a 20,500-seat capacity, built and owned by the city of Frisco, Texas. Aside from the main field inside it has 17 grass and artificial football pitches outside.

In 2005, the naming rights to the facility were acquired by the large pizza chain Pizza Hut whose corporate headquarters are in Plano, Texas (a northern Dallas suburb). On 7th January 2012, the naming rights sponsorship ended and the facility is now known as FC Dallas Stadium.


Bargain Booze Stadium:

Wincham Park, home of Witton Albion F.C. is a football stadium in Wincham, a parish on the edge of Northwich, England. The Club was founded in 1887 and currently play in the Northern Premier League Premier Division (seventh tier of the English football league system).

The stadium has had a number of names due to sponsorship deals; these include the Bargain Booze Stadium, Brittania Carpets Stadium and its current name, The Help For Heroes Stadium.


KitKat Crescent:  

The last place you would expect a Swiss sweets manufacturer (Nestlé) to set up a factory would be in the picturesque City of York. But thank goodness they did as in 2005 they bailed out the towns football club, renaming Bootham Crescent after one of their popular chocolate bars.

KitKat Crescent remained for five-years before the naming rights deal expired. The ground returned to being known as Bootham Crescent after this arrangement expired in January 2010. The league two sides ground currently has a capacity of 7,872.


Mitsubishi Forklift Stadion:

Mitsubishi Forklift Stadion is a multi-use stadium in Almere, Netherlands. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Almere City Football Club, a Dutch football club founded in 2001. Almere City play in the Jupiler League, the second tier of Dutch football.

They can trace its history back to 1972, with the merger of DWS, Volewijckers and Blauw-Wit into FC Amsterdam. Disgruntled DWS supporters founded their own club, called De Zwarte Schapen, named after their nickname, which translates as Black Sheep.

In March 2010 the club was renamed AFC Almere City, before being changed again a few weeks later to Almere City F.C. as the AFC prefix was deemed to be too reminiscent of the club's partners AFC Ajax. The stadium is able to hold 3,000 people (500 seated) and was built in 2005.


Gay Meadow:

The Gay Meadow is the former home ground of Shrewsbury Town F.C. The ground closed in June 2007, at the end of the 2006-07 Football League season, as the club moved to a new stadium, the New Meadow, also known as the Greenhous Meadow for sponsorship purposes.

The Gay Meadow's location on the banks of the River Severn meant the club suffered with flooding. Severe floods in 1998, 2000 and frequently since had affected the club, with several matches postponed, a flooded pitch and flooded offices and changing rooms.
Supporters of the move claimed that the risk of flooding along with the Gay Meadow's cramped location, meant that a move to a new ground was essential in order for the club to remain as a Football League club.

Shrewsbury Town went 34 games unbeaten at the Greenhous Meadow between March 2011 and September 2012, a record stretching over three different seasons.