Always The Bridesmaid Never The Bride

I know I shouldn't keep posting about Arsenal, being a Foxes fan and all that, but I do feel sorry for them.

And there is something just a bit unsportsman like about Ronaldo - brilliant as he is. I saw some nasty sneers and mocking looks on his face today.

You are very clever and very talented Ronaldo but beware for pride will have a fall.

Wenger may not have won anything this year. But I still rate him.

In the meantime, I would simply like to dedicate this to the great Arsene Wenger.

Better luck next year mate.

They Should Have Gone To Specsavers

Have you noticed how small print these days is getting smaller? And even less small print is getting smaller? In fact I am increasingly coming to the conclusion that lots of things in the world are getting harder to see.

What do you mean go and get your eyes tested Georgina? Are you suggesting it might have something to do with my age?

Well I can understand why you might suggest that. But you see I have good evidence for thinking its not just me.

We have been aware for some time that Mr Wenger and Mr Ferguson are struggling. Even Avram Grant has succumbed.

And we all know that there are a significant proportion of referees with sight deficiencies.

Now I'm a girl who believes in celebrating diversity and I am passionate about finding ways to enable people with disabilities. But if you have this much trouble at home, should you really be refereeing a football match?

It would be good to think there can be a place in sport for those with eyesight problems. Already we have linesmen who sometimes pick up the wrong flag on their way to the match. And the Blind World Cup Football tournament is proof that anything is possible.

They say that disability is made by those around us. If we all only had one arm we would structure our world around us to respond to that. But because the world is, in the main, geared up for so called 'normal' people (if such a thing exists) those who are 'different' have to somehow try to fit in.

So I have been giving some thought as to how we might 'enable' some of these football managers and referees to be able to operate better in the football world.

Maybe it is a colour issue. After all one symptom of this condition is the ability to see fouls by the other team but not your own. Presumably then if you managed a team in a different colour, the problem would be solved. For the managers at least.

Or perhaps players should be fitted with a tackleometer which is able to give instant feedback on how hard they have been hit and where. It could have the double advantage of deterring some of the divers as well, who obviously present a trip hazard to those less able to see what's in front of them.

In truth, I'm not sure how you decide if it's you or the rest of the world. After all, there is every chance that when this or this happens, you are blissfully oblivious.

I Ain't No Prawn Sandwich Fan

You'll all be relieved to know I am back.

It's like I always said. Give a Reading fan a blade of grass and they take a football pitch.

Thanks to those of you who have been leaving comments. I was beginning to think I was at an Arsenal match it was so quiet.

Anyway, one of these comments by a new reader, Colin Randall, himself a football blogger, challenged my fervent Foxes fanship (try saying that when you've had a few) on the basis that I show too much interest in and favour towards other teams.

It made me think about a conversation I had with my lover recently about the prawn sandwich brigade, some of whom (allegedly) change allegiance on a regular basis (only amongst the top four clubs of course).

The sort of think a member of the "prawn sandwich brigade" might say is:

"I think I'll support Chelsea next year. It will be nice to watch a team playing in a different colour for a change."

or

"I chose Manchester United because the parking at the ground is easier than at Liverpool"

As you know I am fairly new to football and have only been a Leicester City fan for about a year. You might wonder therefore how deep the roots of my loyalty really go. I have to confess to asking myself the same question with the threat of relegation looming so large.

I jokingly suggested that if they are relegated I would choose a different team. As I did so I had this really weird feeling. Like guilt. As if I had committed adultery or was at least contemplating it. I quickly realised that I could no more support another team than change sex. Even after such a short time and all the trials and tribulations, I'm a Foxes girl through and through.

But my journey has been about learning to love football and that has included learning to appreciate good football. So inevitably I have watched other teams play and bizarrely (although I don't believe for a minute I am unique in this) have found myself forming opinions and a level of allegiance on the scantiest of evidence.

None of these views would stand up to much scrutiny or analysis but here is my take on the Premiership teams:

Arsenal: I have a love for them because sometimes they play really really beautiful football. I don't like the persona Wenger presents in public but I do think he is a great and passionate manager. And of course my son loves them so I have an understandable affinity
Man U: How could you not love the football they play? I am much less keen on Fergie though even though I know he is a god in many ways.
Liverpool: I feel less pull to them although I love Crouchy
Chelsea: I can't love them Mourinholess
Newcastle: I'm sorry Mosher. I can't love a team who think KK is groovy and look like a packet if mint humbugs
Reading: I have to like them because my lover does. I do sort of - they have an underdog appeal don't they
Everton and Blackburn: Like 'em a bit. No idea why
Sunderland and Tottenham: Well there's Roy Keane and Ramos - yum!
Man City: I have to confess to finding Sven just a little bit sexy..........
Birmingham, Aston Villa and West Ham: No feelings either way
Portsmouth: Not sure really. Harry is a bit too much of a wide boy for my liking
Middlesbourgh and Wigan: Seem a bit dull
Fulham and Derby: I'm sorry. You can't love the unloveable.
Bolton: May they die a horrible death

Yet despite these strange affinities, I couldn't support any of them. Not like Leicester.

No - there is no doubt about it. Given the choice between a pie and a prawn sandwich I'll take the pie every time.

There's Nothing Like A Mother's Love

Happy Mother's Day!

They say, don't they, that no matter how ugly or awful someone is, their mother probably loves them. And in most cases I am sure that is true.

Despite the heartaches it is a real gift to be a mother. It is certainly one of the joys of my life.

It won't surprise you to know, therefore, that mothers are often an important feature in the lives of footballers.

For example, there is evidence to suggest that Arsene Wenger's mother is responsible for steering him towards the Gunners rather than any other team as a child. I mean look what she named him for goodness sake!

And even if they have not influenced them in a particular direction, footballer's mother's can sometimes provide us with an insight into what has inspired their offspring. Kevin Keegan will certainly be hoping Berbatov's mother's belief her son has Newcastle running through his heart will help him attract the Bulgarian player to the club in the summer.

And the theory that a love of football can be inherited seems to be proved by the fact that Frank Lampard's aunty is married to Harry Rednapp, and their son, Jamie, Frank's cousin, also has a career in the beautiful game.

Of course, the maternal influences have not all been good necessarily. There is a rumour, for instance, that Wayne Rooney's mother is responsible for his distinctive facial features because she fed him too many sprouts as a child. If that is the case, then maybe if I had put more pressure on my children to eat up their greens, one of them would now be a footballing god too. How we mothers let our children down!

And isn't it heartening to know that even one of the most famous football manager's in the world at the moment, Fabio Capello, is still the subject of his mum's worries, not least because she is concerned he may do so well that England triumph over Italy.

At the end of the day, there's nothing like a mother's love.

Vive Les Éléphants!

20th January sees the start of the African Cup of Nations tournament.

What has that got to do with us you might ask? Well try asking Arsene Wenger who expects to lose Toure (Ivory Coast) and Eboue (Ivory Coast) for at least four weeks to play there, plus any recovery time they might need. Or Avram Grant who stands to lose Drogba (Ivory Coast), Kalou (Ivory Coast), Obi (Nigeria) and Essien (Ghana) for the same period.

The tournament is currently held every two years and because of the number of African players now in Premiership teams has a significant impact upon English football.

The suggestion of those such as Wenger and Grant is that the tournament should be changed to the summer, possibly June time.

Its a tricky one. On the one hand most would agree that the English Premiership is the top football league in the world. On the other I can't help thinking why should Africa be the ones to change. Maybe it is the FA that should look at the scheduling over here.

Controversial of course! And unlikely to happen. But as a point of principle it would be good to see a somewhat less Eurocentric view of football.

Looking at past results, the host team for the tournament are most likely to win. Next year's host is Ghana who have won the trophy 4 times previously. Not surprising then that they are one of the favourites to win this time.

When you look at the quality of some of the players in the Ivory Coast team though they must be in with a chance. Amazing when you look at the size of the country compared to some of the others. If I was a betting woman they I would probably put my £1 each way on them.

You heard it here first.

Clash Of The Titans

Leicester play Colchester tomorrow - away.

But while those little Foxes are wending their way down to Essex, preparations will be underway for another battle. A conflict of epic proportions.

On the one side, fierce, attacking, energetic dynamism. On the other, the grace and beauty of one-touch football.

I am talking of course about the match between Manchester United and Arsenal.

On current form they are the two best teams in the country. They are neck-and-neck at the top of the Premiership, with only 3 goals separating them.

The two managers are as different from each other as their teams. And things are somewhat - er - "tense" between them.

Ferguson considers Wenger "aloof", not least because he once refused to have a post-match drink with him. He also referred to him as "a disgrace" for allegedly taking no action when Arsenal fans turned him into a walking little chef after a match. The police have even been involved in the vitriolic war of words, cautioning that the conflict could be replicated between the rival fans.

So what is that really all about? I mean OK they are professional rivals but by all accounts some of the conflict has been bitter and personal.

Perhaps there are some deep-rooted class issues. Ferguson with his Glaswegian, working-class background. Wenger the son of a Strasbourg restaurateur.

Maybe there is some complex, homo-erotic dynamic that each is trying to repress and deny, leading to outward rejection and distancing.

Or I suppose it is possible they simply don't like each other.

In any event I think we can expect a compelling match. So I shall be down at the local football pub with my lover. He'll be cheering for those little Red Devils. And I'll be shouting "Up the Arse!"