Warming The Cockles Of Your Heart

We all know football can create surprises.

Sometimes it is when the mighty are slain by the lowly.

Sometimes it is when the size of the battering is very large.

In the case of Weymouth though, a large beating is no surprise given their current difficult circumstances.

And I suspect this story has some way to go before its denouement.

Not least as it seems to bringing out the best in the world of football.

As they say, every cloud has a silver lining.

Just warms the cockles of your heart doesn't it (wherever they are??!!)

Neigh Lad!

You know what they say about Gazza.

Wherever he goes, trouble is never far behind.

He has only been here a few weeks.

But look at the effect he has had on the place already!

Maybe....

I don't believe a word of this - do you?

Superstition indeed!

But what were they really up to?

Finishing a computer game?

Having a fight?

Maybe some things are better left as a mystery.

This didn't impress my much either.

Just imagine my lover doing something like that..............

Maybe some things are better left unimagined.

Can Football Make You Go Blind?

My lover and I have taken a liking to porn.

No stop! Not that sort of porn.

Football porn.

It all started when my lover bought me a DVD called "A Decade of Great Goals - Football Heaven"about the first 10 years of the Premiership (two pounds ninety nine from a charity shop).

Sitting watching 103 minutes of goal after goal proved to be a stimulating experience.

And I have to confess the "feel good" factor it elicited was not just simply satisfaction that I was furthering my football knowledge.

There was definitely more than a hint of dirty pleasure about it.

I do wonder if there is a need to limit this sort of self-indulgence though. Maybe I should not be watching the DVD that arrived yesterday with 220 hours of old Match of the Day footage.

I have heard in other settings it can make you go blind.

Eeeekk!!

Do you know when you are not worrying about something?

And then someone tells you not to worry?

So you start worrying about it.

There was I happily enjoying our 12 point lead

Then Mandaric (or Mandarin as I called him in a Freudian slip earlier) comes out and says Nigel Pearson is not leaving.

Despite Premiership interest in him.

Eeeekk!!

Unequivocal

I spoke to my Gooner correspondent in the field today.

Georgie Junior.

Or Junior Goonier as I'm going to call him from now on.

(How embarrassing am I to have as a mother?).

I said to him;

"People are saying Arsene Wenger has lost the plot and it is time to go. What is your view on that?" (I chose not to mention that my lover has taken to calling the French genious 'Arsnic Wenger')

"People who say that", says Junior Goonier "People who say that need to go back to where we were when Wenger arrived. He has achieved so much with the club. We have had a difficult season with injuries. If we can get a place in the Champions League then we should, but if we don't then it is the UEFA cup and prepare for next season. We will come back."

Pretty unequivocal I would say.

And I trust his judgement.

Unequivocally.

Eat Drink And Sleep Football

Yesterday, my lover and I spent time talking about the matches on in the afternoon.

Including of course Leicester City.

We listened out for the results then talked about those.

We spent 2 hours watching a DVD of the first 10 years of the Premiership.

Then we watched MOTD.

We got up this morning and watched the Championship matches on ITV, including a brief flash of Matty Fryatt scoring.

We chopped wood listening to Talk Sport.

We talked about today's results.

And we are going to be watching MOTD2 in a little while.

You have to say - without football my life would be completely empty.

Wouldn't it?

A Load Of Offal

I saw a heart warming story on the regional news last night.

A Bristol Rovers fan gave his wife a kidney for Valentine's day.

Not as in bought from a butchers.

But as in under general anesthetic removing and replacing.

Maybe not the most obvious gift but romantic in its own way.

As a reward, players from the Rovers made a DVD for him telling him how groovy he is.

Nice eh?

It mirrors my own experience in a way.

I was kind to my lover this morning.

And Matty Fryatt scored a goal this afternoon for me.

Look Into My Eyes

I went to a business lunch today.

I wasn't sure what to expect. These things can be somewhat grim at times. Great at others.

Anyway, it turns out that they have a guest speaker.

A clairvoyant.

And she was an excellent speaker. She seemed very straight and genuine - and modest.

I did have the thought that she might have hypnotised us all.

But even if she did, we are all entitled to a little hypnosis-fuelled fantasy now and then aren't we?

By the end I had made up my mind I was going to go for a reading.

But my intention to book something in was thwarted when I got talking to my neighbour at the dinner table.

She's only having singing lessons!

In the town I live in!!

So before you could shake Filbert Fox's tail once, I've got the name and the number of the teacher.

I might still go and see the clairvoyant though.

She might be able to tell me if I'm ever going to be famous.

She might even offer a few clues as to how the Blues will do the rest of the season.

There Ain't Nothing Like A Dame

I've been pondering.

What do you think of this Jade Goody business?

She is the epitome of the celebrity culture we live in.

The culture all top footballers have to manage.

Some do it well.

Some less well.

A culture that is so very fickle.

One minute they revile you.

The next you are a national hero.

What next?

A damehood?

Or knighthood?

I'm Back, I'm Back.......and on the Right Track

The boy is back.

And what a fantastic display.

Music Of The Heart

I received a telephone call from Radio Gloucestershire today.

They want me to go on Desert Island type programme.

I have to choose 10 songs I like. Then email them to the man at the studio.

He is then going to interview me about why I have chosen them.

Here is my first draft;

1. You'll Never Walk Alone - A love song for my Liverpool loving lover
2. Outfox The Fox - Because it will never happen
3. We are the Champions - Because we are going to be
4. The Ball Song - Well it's obvious isn't it?
5. Vindaloo - Every girl loves a good chant.
6. Three Lions - Because I like football of course.
7. We'll Meet Again - A message to all the Premiership teams to let them know we are on the up
8. Chelsea Dagger - The sound just makes my heart light up. Another goal at the Walkers.
9. Thanks For The Memories - ....of when Jose lit up the Premiership.......
10.I Will Always Love You - The way I feel about football.

What do you think?

When Sheep Fly

I am a Leicester City fan and therefore unable to say anything positive about any of our neighbouring competitors or risk breaching the laws of blasphemy.

If I wasn't, though, I would have to say that Derby County put up an amazing fight against The ManUre today.

Sure they were outgunned. But they played with real tenacity and spirit.

Nigel Cluff is proving to be a very interesting character. Different in so many ways to his father, but having his own sizeable portion of charisma and flair.

Watch that space I would say.

Derby are on the up.

A Bit Of Spice

A funny old footballing day.

With some fairly lack lustre performances I gather.

Fulham unable to beat off Swansea.

Pompey and Man City slogging it out with Portsmouth just managing to pull a couple out of the bag on the back of a determination to show support for the decision to get rid of Adams.

Chelsea in a scoreless draw at half time with lowly Watford.

And Leicester made me hold my breath for a while this afternoon until they equalised against Swindon.

Lets hope the indian takeaway I'm having for my supper has a bit more spice.

Love That Man

I am sorry to learn of Joe Kinnear's medical problems.

Having been very close to someone who has recently undergone the process.

One of the many things I have learnt from this experience is that it strips you right back to the person you are.

It isn't Joe Kinnear the Newcastle football manger on the operating table. Nor any of the other roles he plays in his life. Husband. Father.

It's Joe Kinnear the man.

As alone as he was when he came into the world.

He will need all the love and support he can get.

And for those around him to retain their hope.

So forgive him his mistakes, including being misguided enough to manage The Magpies.

And think kind thoughts and send him good wishes.

How To Make Friends

Home at last!

London is OK in its own way - it's the home of the Gunners after all.

But being more a country girl it's nice to come back to snowbound Gloucestershire.

And I come back with three more friends made through football.

It started when during one of the breaks, whilst waiting for the trainer to return, I was reading my March copy of FourFourTwo.

"You don't look like a typical FourFourTwo reader", a voice from across the room said.

So I told him the story of how I came to football. That it wasn't long ago and that I approached it with cynicism. How now I love the game with a passion and write a daily blog.

I gave him my card.

By this morning he'd taken a peek.

The conversation was joined by the man next to me. Who is a Liverpool fan it turns out. And who thinks Robbie Keane is a nightmare and Rafa is brilliant.

Then at lunch time today I sat next to a Chelsea fan and we agreed it was time the special one returned.

Football's such a great way of communicating isn't it.

Thank Goodness For Football

You are looking at a girl who is dedicated to her cause.

Well reading her words anyway.

I'm playing away today.

Not in the sexual sense I might hastily add.

But as I write to you I am sitting in a seedy internet cafe in seedy Kings Cross in order to write this post, contemplating my return a little later to a seedy hotel room.

You think that's bad. The reason I am here is because I am on a two day finance course.

Aha! I knew that would get your sympathy.

It's not all doom and gloom though.

For a start I have just spent a wonderful 90 minutes in the British Library. In addition to such exhibts as original Beatle manuscripts (or rather scribbles on bits of scrappy paper as a number were) and a first edition of Darwin's "On The Origin of Species", I was treated to a recording of Stanley Matthews (the 'wizard of the dribble' so I gather) from 1954 (or rather Sir Stanley Matthews as he later became).

What I gleaned from that was that he was bonkers about football from as early as he could remember and took every opportunity to hone his skills as a boy. When he was about 10 he played in a team that won a match 18-1, Matthews scoring 9 of them. The next day at school he was summoned to see the headmaster, who gave him sixpence for his achievement.

As the interviewer on the recording said, he was a professional from that point on!

And that's not even the end of football delight for me today. After a meal in one of the local restaurants (should I go Italian or Indian?), I'm going to be snuggled up in my room, with a bottle of beer, a bag of nuts and the England match on the telly.

I'm missing my lover terribly of course.

So thank goodness for football.

A Movin' And A Groovin'

Have you seen the T-Mobile advert?

The one with all those people at the station.

No mean feat.

I was blown away the first time I saw it.

Top drawer.

Which is why it should be no surprise that the follow up advert is aiming to go one better.

With no other than that body popping favourite of ours ......... Crouchy!

What do you reckon?

Surprise! Surprise!

Another quiet 24 hours in English football then!

A brace of managers bites the dust.

Unlike Tony, I'm not really surprised that Pompey has let him go.

Bit more taken aback at the timing of the Che$ea sacking though.

Still what do I know?

I'm just a girl.

With more important things to think about.

Like how did this happen?

Hey Big Spenders

Despite expectations, Manchester City were not the highest spending club in the transfer window.

It was in fact Tottenham, who spent 48 million.

Liverpool, Everton, Fulham, Sunderland,Middlesborough and West Brom spent nothing.

A total of 160 million pounds was spent but if you take out the two big spenders, the rest who spent only paid out an average of just over 5 million each.

Of course Man City would probably have spent more had they not been the subject of the odd high profile rejection.

What does Georgina think of all this?

Well like many girls I like a man who is prepared to splash a bit of cash.

Preparation H

Standing up and speaking in front of the press is not an easy thing to do.

In fact some miss out the speaking bit all together.

Others are just made for the part of course.

Anyone with any sense in that situation will prepare.

And I'm delighted to reveal I have managed to get hold of some top secret documentation which provides a little insight into the preparation.

For one manager at least.

Follow the script and see if it works.

Georgina In Wonderland

It's been snowing.

And I'm just luvin' it girls.

Waking up to a white world is just fantastic.

It's like Wonderland

So much fun to be had.

Let's hope it brings a smile to the face of a certain Man City fan who's been feeling more blue than usual.

He needs to get himself a bit of this.

I won't be revealing my tattoo for a few days.

Why?

Well we wouldn't want the sun melting all that snow would we.

He's Not Such An Ugly Duckling

There once was an ugly duckling.

Or rather a gosling to be more exact.

One day a strange thing happened.

The lights went out.

And when they went back on .................

He had turned into a beautiful goose.

Better Than Sex?

So there I was.

After a rather traumatic journey to Leicester (from Gloucestershire via Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire - don't even go there!), and a 20 minute dash at the hotel to unpack and put my glad rags on, I walked through the doors.

The Walkers Stadium.

Moaning as my colleagues dragged me off the carpet whilst I kissed the embedded LCFC badge.

Gasping as I walked along the photo-adorned corridors full of Foxes' teams and past star players.

Gazing into the eyes of Gary Lineker as he stared out at me from the wall.

Whimpering as I looked out into the dark at glimpses of the beloved turf.

I was in such ecstasy I could have howled at the moon.

An experience better than sex?

Well being a lady I couldn't possibly say.

Calm your skin down !

Georgina's away everybody. She's having a night away being important. Actually, she's not only being important, she's also being lovely, charming, articulate, sexy, musical and.....er.....footbally I expect. Love to her.

As I sit, in our love nest typing away, she's here, Ladies and Gentlemen. Georgina has come to entertain the fans !

I know the food she'll eating tonight will be prepared here.

So it's me tonight, I'm afraid.

The old man.

To be short and sweet was what I'd planned, but goodness, the power of the pen.

Two stories dominate in my head. The Arshavin Matter is one and the other ? Of course, my falling out with Raffa.

I've supported Liverpool for a long time, through thick and even thicker . Sometimes, I've loved the Manager, sometimes, I've been indifferent and sometimes, like now, I haven't known what to think.

But today, something clicked in my head. I've almost had it up to my back teeth with Raffa.

Over the years I have supported this great English tradition of a club, they have often flattered to deceive but never deceived to flatter.

I know they are a fairly safe club to support !

Always there, or thereabouts, is how I've looked at it. Not in danger of any real trouble.

A club, however, with deeply passionate supporters and strong sociological roots.I believe the fans now really crave success.

Lately, as I've grown older and less patient with waiting, I begin to see their point.

I am so bloody angry about the Robbie Keane matter and I wonder to myself, how did this happen ?

How did a really great player fail to fit in and do what he does best ? Then I think ,

Who is in charge of the ship ?

And then I realize it's all a huge mess. From the top down and Raffa is probably just doing his best in difficult circumstances. Poor man ?



In other news, I was delighted to hear Mr Arshavin utter the words, "I am Gooner" Yet another mid-field play-maker to further complicate Mr Wenger's head and make them fall over one another.

Oh and in Durham and Wrighty last week, they had a guy on the phone who said, "calm your skin down man"

I know what he means.

Georgie Gets All Keen

My lover is keening.

Keening over Robbie Keane.

He's heard that he has left Liverpool and gone back to Tottenham.

And he's not keen.

My lover that is.

Not Keane. Because he is.

Keen I mean.

And Keane.

Anyway my lover has a keen sense of loss.

I'll have to think of a way to cheer him up.

Perhaps what he needs tonight is a keen woman.

Under Pressure

How ridiculous!

A story that states MK Dons are "keeping the pressure" on Leicester City.

You call 10 points pressure?

Only if you are the bottom of the table mate.

I'll tell you what pressure looks like.

Pressure is trying to remain cool in the face of this.

Or this.