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Living the Bream – Liga Fever
Roll out the barrel of adjectives! Awesome, monumental, surreal? Or a touch more street, like dope, sick, epic, banging? Whatever, I prefer the old-fashioned dog’s bollox, which is of course a noun phrase. Having unwisely written on social media that I would do a piece in the improbable event of Grimsby beating Manchester United, I…
It’s The Balls! 2021-2022 LaLiga round-up. – Liga Fever
It’s The Balls! 2021-2022 LaLiga round-up. Never mind the bullocks – it’s The Balls Omicron arrived on a free transfer, the crowds came back, masks were breathed into and sarnies smuggled whilst Real Madrid, and not their noisy neighbours Atlético, won the title with an ease that was not on the cards in pre-season. Strange and unexpected…
No Karim no party? – Liga Fever
Real Madrid’s decision to wear black for the clásico at home – unprecedented if you ignore the time they once wore pink – gave the headline writers some cheap and instant metaphors for their weekend round-ups. The obvious one being that they’d dressed up for their 120 year anniversary with a kit designed for the…
Good day Barça sunshine – Liga Fever
If Real Madrid win their visit to Mallorca on Monday night – or if by the time you’re reading this they already have - you might be tempted to conclude that the race for the title, if thus it can be called, is over. In truth it hasn’t really been a race, and Sevilla don’t…
Bienvenido a tu casa (Welcome home) – Liga Fever
Beginning of new chapter for new edition of 'Tormenta Blanca' (White Storm) - out in Spain late Oct/November. T & B Editores. It’s August 14th, 2024, it’s dark, quite late, and I’m walking through the deserted main street of a tiny town called Villadepalos, in the province of León, about a hundred kilometres east of…
A curious communion. – Liga Fever
Grimsby v Solihull, June 2022 When anyone asks me which team I support, I always flinch slightly at the verb. I don’t ‘support’ Grimsby Town. The word suggests a pastime, a hobby, a magnanimous gesture. My relationship with this team is something entirely different, as if they were an inexorable part of me, and me…
Spain, Denmark and the Vulture – Liga Fever
La Selección, 1920 Saturday's Nations League game in Murcia between Spain and Denmark brought back certain memories for me personally, but it was also a signficant fixture in other ways, not least because Denmark are top of the group, Spain were without Rodri, Simón, Carvajal, Nico Williams, Olmo, Le Normand and Uncle Tom Cobley 'n…
No mysteries – Liga Fever
I’ll be brief this week, since there is no mystery to the round-up. Almost everything went to plan, with no surprises – which means that if anyone got a high score on the quiniela (football polls) this week in Spain, they’ll be disappointed with the prize money. Pride of place must go to Jeremy Jesus…
Wot – no beer? Give us a break. – Liga Fever
If instincts do actually plead, then mine are pleading with me not to write this piece, but bollox to that. It’s been 9 years in the silent making, and on the eve of the World Cup in Doha that I allegedly kissed ass for in an (in)famous article for ESPN back in 2013, I thought…
Walking Football, or Paradise Regained – Liga Fever
The Long(ish) Read 'Today and tomorrow/And yesterday too/The flowers are dyin'/Like all things do' It comes to us in a dream sometimes – some subtle scent of the person that we once were, à la recherche du waistline perdu. Skewed by the random freedom of our neurons to take liberties while we snore, I sometimes…
Gary-Gate – Liga Fever
Multiple choice examination. Tick one answer only. Only one answer is correct. (Answers now in bold - apart from Number 2, in case she sets her lawyers on me. But you know the answer, m'lud.) Q1: Gary Lineker is a left-wing snowflake Gary Lineker is responding correctly to an important ethical issue. Gary Lineker is…
Spain, Denmark and the Vulture – Liga Fever
La Selección, 1920 Saturday's Nations League game in Murcia between Spain and Denmark brought back certain memories for me personally, but it was also a signficant fixture in other ways, not least because Denmark are top of the group, Spain were without Rodri, Simón, Carvajal, Nico Williams, Olmo, Le Normand and Uncle Tom Cobley 'n…
Bienvenido a tu casa (Welcome home) – Liga Fever
Beginning of new chapter for new edition of 'Tormenta Blanca' (White Storm) - out in Spain late Oct/November. T & B Editores. It’s August 14th, 2024, it’s dark, quite late, and I’m walking through the deserted main street of a tiny town called Villadepalos, in the province of León, about a hundred kilometres east of…
Walking Football, or Paradise Regained – Liga Fever
The Long(ish) Read 'Today and tomorrow/And yesterday too/The flowers are dyin'/Like all things do' It comes to us in a dream sometimes – some subtle scent of the person that we once were, à la recherche du waistline perdu. Skewed by the random freedom of our neurons to take liberties while we snore, I sometimes…
Gary-Gate – Liga Fever
Multiple choice examination. Tick one answer only. Only one answer is correct. Suella Braverman is a deluded fascist Suella Braverman is a delusional fascist Suella Braverman is a patriot All of the above. Gary Lineker is a left-wing snowflake Gary Lineker is responding correctly to an important ethical issue. Gary Lineker is not a patriot.…
A curious communion. – Liga Fever
Grimsby v Solihull, June 2022 When anyone asks me which team I support, I always flinch slightly at the verb. I don’t ‘support’ Grimsby Town. The word suggests a pastime, a hobby, a magnanimous gesture. My relationship with this team is something entirely different, as if they were an inexorable part of me, and me…
No Karim no party? – Liga Fever
Real Madrid’s decision to wear black for the clásico at home – unprecedented if you ignore the time they once wore pink – gave the headline writers some cheap and instant metaphors for their weekend round-ups. The obvious one being that they’d dressed up for their 120 year anniversary with a kit designed for the…
No mysteries – Liga Fever
I’ll be brief this week, since there is no mystery to the round-up. Almost everything went to plan, with no surprises – which means that if anyone got a high score on the quiniela (football polls) this week in Spain, they’ll be disappointed with the prize money. Pride of place must go to Jeremy Jesus…
Paco Gento and a bookshop in Leeds – Liga Fever
Quite a compelling weekend’s action in Spain, with some knife-edge encounters but also the death of Paco Gento, mourned at the beginning of the Elche match in the Bernabéu. One of Spain’s most iconic players, his fame and influence bestrode two eras – from the post-war crackling radio generation to the emergence of a television…
Wot – no beer? Give us a break. – Liga Fever
If instincts do actually plead, then mine are pleading with me not to write this piece, but bollox to that. It’s been 9 years in the silent making, and on the eve of the World Cup in Doha that I allegedly kissed ass for in an (in)famous article for ESPN back in 2013, I thought…
Good day Barça sunshine – Liga Fever
If Real Madrid win their visit to Mallorca on Monday night – or if by the time you’re reading this they already have - you might be tempted to conclude that the race for the title, if thus it can be called, is over. In truth it hasn’t really been a race, and Sevilla don’t…
Of cows’ arses and banjos – Liga Fever
Funny old thing, isn’t it – the way that certain teams become a byword for a certain approach, or a certain ability – and then they suddenly forget how to do it, for no apparent reason? But football’s a funny old game, and that’s why we love it so. I refer principally to the rather…
Matchday 22 – Liga Fever
In our last Quiniela, Phil and I started to compete on our weekly predictions. It wasn’t an auspicious start by any stretch of the imagination: after a decent 2/3 in Saturday’s matches, both of us only got one result right in the remaining seven matches, ending up tied at 3/10. This weekend looks a lot…
It’s The Balls! 2021-2022 LaLiga round-up. – Liga Fever
It’s The Balls! 2021-2022 LaLiga round-up. Never mind the bullocks – it’s The Balls Omicron arrived on a free transfer, the crowds came back, masks were breathed into and sarnies smuggled whilst Real Madrid, and not their noisy neighbours Atlético, won the title with an ease that was not on the cards in pre-season. Strange and unexpected…
Oh Dani Boy – Liga Fever
Oh what a lovely weekend, with lots of interesting games and results to keep LaLiga lovers happy - where the sun finally broke through the clouds at Barcelona, shining on the Catalan paupers as they fielded their glossy new collection of Premier League rejects. Only Griezmann was missing from the party, but Luis Suarez did…