Kissin' And Spittin'

I've kissed a few strange things in my life as you can probably imagine.

Frogs that never turned into princes. Money goodbye on many occasions.

Oh and of course the life size poster of David Essex I had on my wall when I was 14 (which I kissed a lot actually)

But I can truthfully say I have never kissed a badge. Something that appears to be all the rage in the world of football at the moment.

Rooney's at it. Barton's at it.

And they are not the first.

Rooney though seems not content at limiting his spread of mouth germs to his own shirt.

In 2003 he was in trouble for spitting at Everton fans.

Five years later, older and wiser, he is in trouble for spitting again. This time at a photographer.

Personally I think Bobby Robson had the right idea when he tried to integrate such activities into the game itself

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)

Say Cheese

There are some with cause to smile to the camera today.

Some who look understandably sheepish.

Another who looks unsurprisingly sad.

Some who look decidedly worried.

And then of course......... some who just look gorgeous.

Horrah For That Man!

According to Third Sector, the charity newsletter, Rob Green the Westham goalkeeper is a runner-up Celebrity Charity Champion.

He spent his summer holiday this year raising more than 30k for the African Medical Research Foundation by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.

The other strength of his contribution is the way he has used his celebrity status to attract publicity for the project, as well as linking football-playing street kids into the charity by providing a great role model.

I don't know about you but I think that is pretty groovy.

Which is more than can be said for the two goals he let in yesterday against the Arse.

What A Relief

You know that feeling when you are busting for a wee?

I mean really really busting.

And you have to wait absolutely ages to find a loo (unless you are a boy, where you have the luxury of find a quiet spot out of the limelight and pretending you are inspecting the brickwork)

Then when you do finally get relief it's the most wonderful feeling.

Or what about when you have a really big spot, and have been waiting for days for it to get really ripe, until it eventually goes 'pop'?

Or get to finally scratch an itch that has been bugging you for ages?

Well I kind of imagine that's how players and fans of Tottenham are feeling today.

Big changes at the top overnight. Their first win of the season.

I guess they are hoping that now they have got Harry to help with the toileting arrangements, (metaphorically speaking), the rest of us might stop taking the p***!

Yabba Dabba Do

Fred Flintstone to Portsmouth?


You heard it here first.

Ol' Big 'Ed Returns?

Is Phil Brown, the Hull City manager, the new Brian Clough?

This is a question posed to me by my lover earlier today.

I can see the cynicism on your face already. "Phil Brown is nothing like him" I hear you saying.

And certainly they seem to be very different men. Phil Brown seems a modest, self-effacing man whereas Brian Clough - well wasn't.

I think what my lover is actually referring to is the way Cloughy took a bunch of very ordinary players and through a combination of skills development, tactics and most importantly instilling self belief, led them not just from League 2 to League 1 (Championship to Premiership in new money), but on to win back to back victories in Europe.

It is early days still of course but Hull's current position in the top three of the Premiership is absolutely remarkable and the product of some notable, unexpected and against-all-odds victories.

It has to be more than simply luck. There is a pattern of consistency and they have had some really tough fixtures.

Like I say though, it is early days and my response to my lover will probably be "Not yet"

Might be worth watching this space though......................

Down The Plughole?

I can't say I have ever particularly warmed to Tottenham Hotspur as a team.

But a soft-hearted girl like me can't help but feel a bit sorry for them.

There is clearly something wrong at a very deep level there. They are definitely in trouble.

So who's to blame?

Well of course there is increasing finger pointing at the manager, Signor Ramos.

Then what about this whole business of the quality of players, particularly in the light of the outcome of the summer transfer season, when they sold key players but didn't replace them.

Footballing decisions or the sign of a club in financial trouble?

My instinct tells me that simply sacking the manager isn't going to fix things, although if, as I suspect, the problem is one of leadership then Ramos is part of that.

I have little doubt there is considerable drama yet to unfold in that situation.

And if Ramos is still there at Christmas, I'll live on pies for a week.

In The Eye Of The Beholder

According to the Telegraph today, Chelsea "won ugly" last night.

That's the third time I have heard that expression.

The first time was when my lover said that England had won ugly against Kazakhstan a few weeks ago.

Then last night he was chatting to Luton Andy on the phone. They agreed that Liverpool, Chel$ea and ManUre all stand a chance of winning the Prem this season because they can win ugly. The Arse on the other hand (according to these two pundits) can't and do beautiful or nothing.

I can't say I'm entirely sure quite what it means. I presume it means that a scrappy goal is as good as a magnificent one on the score sheet.

Of course there are some people who could never be considered ugly - no matter how poor the football.

The Boys Done Good

What a great night of football last night.

Wenger and the boys defeated their critics and have every right to celebrate after their fantastic display against Fenerbahce.

And Sir Alex is undoubtedly justified in enjoying a little wine following the ManUre's sparkling win (despite several dodgy refereeing decisions) - which would probably explain his very purple nose when he was interviewed last night.

Whilst we are on the subject of these two managers, it seems there is evidence that a degree of peace has broken out between them in recent months.

It's no surprise if there is mutual respect - they are after all both high achieving managers and in my view very gifted in their own individual ways. What they certainly have in common is the ability to remain successful despite the massive change that has gone on in football during their management careers.

Presumably one of the secrets of their success is an ability to adapt...........