Rising Above It

FREAK!!!!!!!!!!

That's what they shout at Peter Crouch.

He claims to take it in his stride (which presumably is very long!).

I would say his record speaks for itself. And indeed his current performance.

What made me think of him tonight is the news of Jade Goody's death.

I can't help a wry smile when I think about how exposed those people who were so cruel to her are at this moment. Their unkind words echo loudly in the silence.

And now she has risen above it all.

Cat Amongst The Pigeons

I know for some people the transfer window is really interesting and exciting but I have to confess it's not really where it's at for me.

Yes I know it is a vital part of how the rest of the season will shape up. Yes I know it is all part of the madness we call football.

But if I am absolutely truthful, I am much more interested in just watching the football.

And it always feels weird to me when I see players change team and play in different colours.

Like Crouchy.

Or of course Defoe although he may of course be changing them back again soon............

Wouldn't it be a bit more interesting if transfers were a mixture of choice and luck. You could have a system whereby in addition to the current process, all Premiership players had their name put in a hat, then the manager from each team would draw out one name who they got for nothing.

So, Torres to Bolton?

Owen to Sunderland?

Probably a bit impractical but it would put the cat amongst the pigeons.

The Good The Passionate And The ... Er.... Confusing

Sometimes a girl following football is so busy she doesn't have time to post.........

So it was yesterday.

I got home and had just enough time to light our brand new woodburning stove before my guitar teacher arrived. Whilst I was having my lesson my lover made tea.

After eating a delicious veggie shepherd's pie we headed off to the pub to watch the Arse/Tottenham match.

Whilst waiting for the match to start we got chatting to the barman. He revealed that his 13 year old niece is very poorly with an aggressive and degenerative bone marrow disease. She wrote to a charity who try to make the wishes of poorly children come true. Her wish was to have a laptop and meet the Portsmouth squad.

The landlord then proceeded to show us photos of her visit to Pompey, which included her with Sol Campbell, 'Arry and of course the lovely Crouchy (who was sort of bent in the middle so he did not tower over her too much).

As for the match itself - blimey! What a battle!

An in form Arse playing some wonderful football vs the less talented but greatly impassioned Spurs.

Nailbiting to the very last seconds.

Now that - as they say - is real football.

(PS - Looking at the picture above I'm left wondering how many arms and legs Crouchy actually has)

Head In The Clouds

"He's big He's red His feet stick out in bed"

I do love Peter Crouch you know.

He reminds me of my son in a way.

But he is much much much much much much taller.

Liverpool won't be the same without him, that's for sure.

The good news of course is we might see more of him playing now he is at Pompey.

What I like best about him is his 'differentness'. I mean if you had never seen him before and were asked to guess what he did for a living, football player would probably be very low down on the list.

Even at school he stood out from the crowd.

He is confined to a world where almost everything is too small for him.

Good job he has a sense of humour.

See you again soon Crouchie.

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.

The Land Of The Giant

He's a bit of a one-off that Peter Crouch isn't he.

I mean for a start he is the most unlikely looking football hero. Famed for his great goal scoring ability and body-popping celebrations, his propensity to contort his body is legendary.

Not sure if he is quite as bendy as this though.

He reminds me of one of these.

Of course life for a tall boy is not always straightforward.

For example where do you find a bed big enough?

And do you think it is true that taller men are more sexually active and likely to father children? Or that taller men get paid more? And can you believe there is a club called the Tall Persons Club for the vertically endowed?

198 cm up sounds a long way up to me. Imagine how weird the world would look from up there. I wonder if you have to cup your hands and talk up to him to make him hear.

Of course it also means the goal is further away from his head than anyone else. Which means the target is much smaller.

So I guess that does make him a football hero.